According to Jean-Michel Carton, the owner of Artisan Boulanger-Pâtissier Carton Paris ( 6 Boulevard De Denain, 75010) and the winner of this year’s “best croissant in Paris”, a perfect croissant has to have… A perfectly browned shell, with the central leaf “la couleurette” slightly darker than the rest, each “feuilletage” pastry…

From the perfectly crunchy baguette tradition to a fluffy croissant, good bread is abundant in France, but Alex Croquet pushes the art of baking to a whole other level. Based in the small village of Wattignies in the outskirts of Lille, Alex Croquet has refused proposals to expand from all over the world whether it's in London, Paris or Tokyo. In the style of a true artisan, a shokunin, he wakes early every morning to make bread at his boulangerie in Wattignies village, which also supplies the bread to his Lille bakery.

We sit down with Victoria Espinosa, founder and owner of Xocao Chocolate, one of our favourite and stunning products from around the world. The chocolate company has gone from strength to strength, transforming artisanal and bean-to-bar chocolate in the country and showcasing the quality of their native beans. Now, they…

PÂO DE LO cake recipe by Nuno Mendes,from the book “Lisboeta: Recipes from Portugal City of Light” My kind of a dessert! Serves 4 100g caster sugar 4 whole eggs plus 1 egg yolk 80ml olive oil 20g plain flour Extra-virgin olive oil, to serve Sea salt flakes, to serve…

Hidden in an ordinary residential street in Tokyo’ Shinjuku ward, Ken’s Cafémakes the most extraordinary gâteau au chocolat in Japan and the best-molten chocolate cake I’ve ever had. It is also the most difficult to get too. If you buy it directly from the shop where it’s made, the waiting…

Three of my favourite traditional French tarts by Richard Wilkins, the head chef of 104 Restaurant in London. Ingredients below. Apricot Tarte Fine Puff pastry:560g bread flour150g milk140g water10g salt56g melted butter in dough456g butter to laminate To finish:Apricot jam Fresh apricots Bake for 30 min in 180 C oven.…

Some of my favourite, mainly Provençal dishes and tarts, prepared by Richard, the head chef of 104 restaurant in Notting Hill (who used to work at Anne Sophie Pic 3* in Valence), and who does take away now.

Here are my Instagram subscriber’s most common answers and my research of the best cheesecakes in Spain. (10 – in random order) Enjoy! La Viña, San Sebastian Zuberoa, Ugaldetxo Tickets, Barcelona Estimar, Barcelona Bodega 1900, Barcelona Llisa Negra, Valencia La Buena Vida, Madrid Fismuler, Madrid Cañadio, Madrid Cataria, Cádiz

The legendary La Viña cheesecake and its recipe from “Basque Country”, Marti Buckley’s book, with whom I had a chance to share my first meal of 2019 (and that was THE cheesecake!) You can buy this brilliant Basque recipes book on Amazon. Yesterday was La Viña’s last day of operation…

Bean-to-bar chocolate making is much more than wrapping up the bars in fancy paper and selling for a high price. It’s a lifestyle that encompasses the whole production from the moment cocoa beans are harvested, personally knowing your cocoa farmers and being socially responsible. I first met Samantha Aquim at…