The Aperitif Guy

For all my grand entertaining, one of my chief pleasures is a bowl of soup. Soup is infinitely adaptable, economic to make and cheering to the spirit. As I write, I'm watching snow melting outside; the world is cold, wet and miserable, but I have a bowl of wonderfully flavoursome roasted tomato soup to look forward to. It'll warm me up like a blanket around me or a hug from a well-upholstered relative. Tinned consommé, "dollied" with savoury custard shapes Soups can be made to seem very fancy, or even decadent, if you want to put on a show. (Think how often you've seen contestants on Masterchef presenting the judges with a crystal-clear consommé to show off their skills.) They make a perfect starter for dinner parties, because they can be done hours or even days in advance and simply warmed through on the last minute and finished with a flash of chopped herb or a splodge of cream. I once found a recipe for a soup finished with foie gras and marinated c...

Image: N Markley As a confirmed meat eater with no allergies, I am in the fortunate position of being able to cook whatever I like when I cook for myself. I'm often challenged, though, by needing to cook for others who don't eat meat, are coeliac or have other dietary restrictions. I firmly believe my guests deserve the best of me, and I struggle with diets that are unfamiliar to me. I certainly wouldn't want any dinner guest to be served food that has something missing, taken out or replaced with a lesser substitute. For this reason, I dislike serving ersatz meat and jackfruit masquerading as pulled pork. Far better, in my opinion, to find dishes that make the best use of vegetables and plant protein on their own terms. Discovering Japanese cuisine, a few years ago, has been a Godsend to me. In Japan, tofu and vegetables are cooked to make the most of their natural properties. Soy and tamari, rice wine and vinegar, and salted, fermented or pickled fruit and veg give ...

A few weeks ago, I started to look at how to plan a good dinner for friends. I drew attention to the fact that serving food as a sequence of single dishes is a relatively recent phenomenon. I want to look this time at the alternative to that: service française - laying everything out together. It's what you do for one-course feats, table-suppers, tapas, meze, smorgasbords and sharing dinners. This type of dinner is becoming more popular again as hosts and friends alike hanker after less formality in their entertainments. There's something particularly sociable in passing serving dishes around the table, dibbing in as something interesting passes, and discussing with the diners 'over there' what they have worth trying at their end. For the cook, this type of service has the advantage of all the work being finished: you can sit down with everyone else and relax, knowing there's nothing that'll call you away from the table - short of a wine refill - until it...