Essays & Columns
Writing from inside the restaurant — on money, service, the Bristol food scene, and what it takes to keep a room alive. Published in Country Living, Bristol Life, and Notes on a Napkin.
Leave Them Wanting
On standing in Wilson's kitchen eating three snacks, and why the best restaurants leave you hungrier for the next visit than the last one.
Why Most Restaurants Shouldn’t Do Tasting Menus
On why joyless meals gave tasting menus a bad name, and what the good ones understand about surrender, pacing, and the difference between reverence and fear.
You Think Restaurants Are Expensive?
On VAT, napkins, broken glasses, and why the restaurant that just charged you £227 made about £7 from your table.
Country Living · May 2026
In his regular report from his beloved allotment, the Bristol restaurateur is enjoying spring in full bloom
Country Living · April 2026
Introducing our new columnist Dan: restaurateur and keen allotmenteer. This month, he’s sowing beetroot and carrots, and cooking with wild garlic and rhubarb