Prudence Wade

Dior will present its pre-fall 2027 collection at Trinity College Dublin’s Old Library on December 4, marking the fashion house’s first show in Ireland. The event reflects creative director Jonathan Anderson’s Northern Irish roots and early career in Dublin. The invitation references Carmel Snow’s description of Christian Dior’s groundbreaking 1947 New Look, while the historic library is preparing for major restoration work. Anderson has also recently designed an unrevealed Dior couture gown for Taylor Swift.

The Wimbledon Championships are portrayed as a major fashion spectacle alongside the tennis, with celebrities embracing white tailoring, dresses and colorful summer looks. Featured outfits include Claudia Winkleman and Hannah Waddingham in white suits, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Pippa Middleton in elegant dresses, and Elle Fanning in Dior. Mary Berry, Prue Leith, Vanessa Williams, Ncuti Gatwa and David Jonsson add more varied takes on tournament style, with designers and high-street brands including Reformation, Holland Cooper, Karen Millen and Loewe highlighted.

White jeans are presented as a versatile summer essential, with stylists advising on cuts, tonal outfits, classic pairings, boho looks, dressed-up options, double denim combinations, colourful accents and edgier styles. Several high-street brands offer recommended white denim pieces suited to different aesthetics and occasions.

Grey hair lacks melanin, making it more porous, dry, coarse and vulnerable to heat, breakage and colour changes from sun exposure. Experts Amy Vowler and Silvina Neder recommend limiting direct sunlight, wearing a hat, protecting the scalp, using heat-protection products, and maintaining moisture with conditioners, masks and suitable oils. Sun-damaged hair should be treated like dry, inflamed skin, with extra hydration and reduced exposure to heat.

The piece revisits memorable Wimbledon fashion appearances by members of the British royal family, from Queen Elizabeth II’s 1957 floral dress and Diana’s striking red-and-gold 1994 ensemble to more recent looks by Catherine, Princess of Wales, Meghan Markle, Queen Camilla and Princess Charlotte. It highlights the royals’ longstanding association with Wimbledon and examines how each figure used contemporary silhouettes, bold colors, tailoring and accessories to express a distinctive style.

Claudine Boulstridge, a French-British chef and longtime Ottolenghi recipe tester, says serving her three children the same strongly flavored foods as adults helped them become adventurous, unfussy eaters. Influenced by French food culture and her children’s school experiences in France, she developed practical, nutritious recipes for busy families, emphasizing one-pan cooking, portability and minimal washing-up. Her Instagram account led to the cookbook Family, and a serious snowboarding wrist injury reinforced her preference for simple, efficient cooking. The article includes recipes for creamy tomato meatballs, coconut cod with greens and lime noodles, and low-sugar blueberry Danish pastries.

Dermatologists warn that plastic packaging may leach microplastics into beauty products, degrade ingredients such as vitamin C and retinoids, and potentially contribute to endocrine disruption, oxidative stress and changes to the skin microbiome. Risks may be greater for people with eczema, psoriasis, damaged skin barriers, older skin and hormonally affected teenage skin, while heat, humidity and sunlight can accelerate packaging breakdown. The experts recommend storing products away from heat and direct sunlight and considering glass packaging, with five glass-based products suggested as alternatives.

The clean-girl make-up aesthetic is giving way to more playful, sparkly beauty looks for summer. Influenced by Zara Larsson’s tour styling, the return of HBO’s Euphoria and celebrity face-gem looks, beauty experts recommend using shimmer subtly on eyelids, cheekbones, lashes and brows, while gemstones offer a more dramatic option. Layering glitter over a tacky base, preparing the skin and using setting spray can help the look last.

Author Anthony Horowitz says he uses ChatGPT frequently in his writing process, although he feels uneasy that doing so may amount to cheating and stresses the importance of human judgment. While promoting A Deadly Episode, the sixth Hawthorne and Horowitz mystery, he discusses the genre’s appeal amid widespread misinformation, saying readers seek truth and justice. Horowitz also describes improved well-being after reading poetry daily and leaving social media, and argues that casting a woman as James Bond would be a mistake.

Anthony Horowitz says he uses ChatGPT frequently while writing but feels uneasy that it may constitute cheating. He considers AI useful for quick information, while stressing the need to assess its answers and consult other sources. The author is promoting A Deadly Episode, the sixth Hawthorne and Horowitz mystery, and explains that crime fiction’s appeal lies in its promise of truth, justice and closure. He also discusses humour in his work, quitting social media, reading poetry and revisiting Thomas Hardy, while arguing that casting a female James Bond would be a mistake.

Water bills in England and Wales are set to rise by an average of 5.4 percent, adding about £33 a year after a 20 percent increase the previous year. Experts recommend installing a water meter where it is likely to reduce costs, checking eligibility for supplier social tariffs that can cut bills by up to 50 percent or more, and reducing consumption through shorter showers, pausing the water while shampooing, using flow regulators and selecting appliance eco modes. Because households cannot switch water suppliers, monitoring and reducing usage or seeking available financial support are the main ways to limit the impact of rising charges.

Lebanese chef Jad Youssef discusses his concern that modern adaptations are diluting Lebanese culinary traditions and explains his commitment to preserving classic recipes through his Surrey restaurant, Lebnani, and debut cookbook. The feature includes recipes for atayef, hummus Beiruti and bazella b’lahmé, while highlighting lesser-known Lebanese dishes, regional food traditions and the role of family cooking in Youssef’s life.

Viola Davis and James Patterson have co-written Judge Stone, a novel set in Union Springs, Alabama, where a Black woman judge presides over the trial of a doctor accused of performing an illegal abortion on a 13-year-old girl. The story explores how abortion restrictions, intensified after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, divide a community. Davis and Patterson say the novel is intended to encourage discourse rather than deliver a political message, drawing inspiration from To Kill a Mockingbird and emphasizing the complexity of its characters, particularly Judge Mary Stone.

Catherine, Princess of Wales attended the 79th British Academy Film Awards at London’s Royal Festival Hall wearing a blush-and-pink Gucci gown she first wore in 2019. She paired it with a plum velvet belt, loose curls and a diamond bracelet, while William, Prince of Wales wore a burgundy velvet dinner jacket. The couple regularly attend the BAFTAs because William is president of the British Academy, and Kate has previously promoted rewearing fashion by repeating an Alexander McQueen gown and Zara earrings.

Celebrities attending the 79th British Academy Film Awards in London embraced bold red-carpet fashion, particularly backless, cut-out and low-neckline designs. Emma Stone, Carey Mulligan, Jessie Buckley, Rose Byrne and Kerry Washington were among the stars highlighted, while Louis Vuitton, Prada, Miu Miu and Giorgio Armani featured prominently. Several male attendees, including host Alan Cumming, also experimented with unconventional suiting.

Curry expert Dan Toombs, known as the Curry Guy, shares techniques from his new cookbook, The Curry Guy Slow Cooker. He recommends mastering a mild onion-based curry-house sauce, adjusting recipes to personal taste, using slow cookers for deeper flavour and tender inexpensive cuts, and preparing fresh spice blends and pastes. The feature includes recipes for butter chicken, dal makhani and lamb nihari, as well as advice to try Sri Lankan black chicken curry for a distinctive alternative.

A TikTok-popularised trend encourages friends, partners and housemates to hold “admin nights” to complete personal finance tasks together. Experts Laura Suter of AJ Bell and Maike Currie of PensionBee say social accountability can make budgeting, debt management, emergency savings, insurance, pension planning and investing feel more manageable and motivating. Participants do not need to disclose exact financial details; sharing general practices, such as pension contribution rates, can still provide useful benchmarks. Breaking larger goals into smaller tasks can help people make progress toward long-term financial security.

The Turkish Riviera, particularly the ancient city of Side, is presented as a closer alternative to the Maldives for winter sun. Side combines Roman and Greek ruins, sophisticated ancient water and drainage infrastructure, warm autumn weather and fewer crowds. Nearby Bijal Resort offers Maldives-inspired luxury through private-pool villas, beach access, heated pools, a high-tech gym and creative activities led by artist Venetia Berry. The destination is portrayed as providing a relaxing, upscale experience without the Maldives’ long journey and jet lag.

Jamie Oliver presents three Christmas recipes designed to refresh traditional festive menus: cauliflower cheese lasagne, porchetta with stuffing and roast vegetables, and sticky toffee coffee pudding. The recipes provide detailed ingredients and methods, with alternatives to turkey and conventional vegetable sides, culminating in an indulgent dessert featuring espresso, rum and caramel sauce.

Gigi Grassia shares a vegan sweet potato and gochujang soup recipe containing silken tofu, chickpeas, nutritional yeast and rice noodles, with approximately 25 grams of protein per serving. The soup takes about 30 minutes to prepare, while seasoned chickpeas are roasted or air-fried until crisp. The recipe comes from Grassia’s cookbook Plant Protein: 80 Healthy and Delicious High-Protein Vegan Recipes.

Gigi Grassia’s vegan version of “marry me chicken” uses red lentils, sun-dried tomatoes, rosemary, vegetables, soya milk, nutritional yeast and spinach to create a high-protein dish in about 20 minutes. The recipe serves two to four people and is finished with plant-based cream or yoghurt, basil and vegan Parmesan-style cheese. It comes from Grassia’s cookbook Plant Protein: 80 Healthy and Delicious High-Protein Vegan Recipes.

Plant-based nutrition coach and personal trainer Gigi Grassia explains that vegans can obtain all essential amino acids and sufficient protein from plant foods. She recommends centering meals on tofu, tempeh, beans, lentils and other pulses; exploring cuisines such as Indian food; using nutritional yeast; and choosing higher-protein options such as soba or durum-wheat pasta. Protein supports muscle repair and broader bodily functions, while insufficient intake may contribute to fatigue and lower energy.

Gigi Grassia’s vegan quinoa protein brownies combine soaked quinoa, plant-based yoghurt, banana, cacao, maple syrup, peanut butter and flaxseed. The blended batter is baked with dark chocolate chips for 20–25 minutes, producing moist brownies that can be customized with different toppings. The recipe is from Grassia’s cookbook Plant Protein: 80 Healthy and Delicious High-Protein Vegan Recipes.

Vegan nutrition coach and personal trainer Gigi Grassia explains that plant-based diets can provide sufficient protein and all essential amino acids, countering common misconceptions about vegan nutrition. She recommends centring meals on tofu, tempeh, beans, lentils and other pulses; drawing inspiration from cuisines such as Indian food; and using lesser-known sources including nutritional yeast, soba noodles and durum-wheat pasta. Grassia also emphasizes protein’s role in muscle repair, tissue maintenance and energy, and promotes recipes from her cookbook, Plant Protein.

Three recipes offer alternatives to repeating Christmas dinner: roast-dinner sausage rolls made with leftover meat or vegetables, a ham and celeriac rémoulade sandwich, and a vegan Christmas pie using leftover roast or vegetables. The recipes are framed as practical ways to make leftovers more appealing while reducing food waste.

Fitness experts predict that padel, callisthenics, hiking, open-water swimming, quadrobics and roller skating will grow in popularity during 2025. The activities are presented as accessible alternatives to conventional gym workouts, offering benefits including improved strength, cardiovascular fitness, coordination and mental wellbeing. Investment in padel courts and rising sales of open-water swimming and roller-skating equipment are cited as signs of growing demand.

Nutritionist Angela Dowden’s recipe combines griddled bananas with Greek yogurt, oats, blueberries and honey. The dish is presented as a lower-sugar sweet treat, with bananas described as a source of prebiotics that support beneficial gut bacteria; slightly less-ripe bananas are said to contain more prebiotics. The recipe is adapted from Dowden’s book The Cortisol Fix Recipe Book, which focuses on stress-supportive eating and balancing cortisol levels.

A recipe for trout and dill fishcakes combines grilled trout with mashed potatoes, spring onions, capers, dill and lemon, then pan-fries the cakes until golden. Served with steamed Tenderstem broccoli and lime wedges, the dish is presented as a stress-supporting meal because trout is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which nutritionist Angela Dowden says may help balance cortisol levels.

Angela Dowden provides a beans-and-peppers recipe with harissa that serves four to six people and requires about 10 minutes of preparation, though the beans and sauce require longer cooking. The dish combines butter beans, kidney beans, peppers, tomatoes, herbs and spices, and is presented as a source of slow-release energy, magnesium and fibre that may support mental wellbeing during periods of stress.

Registered nutritionist Angela Dowden explains that cortisol is a normal stress hormone with a daily pattern, but stress can disrupt its levels. She recommends generally healthy eating rather than obsessing over cortisol, including more plant-based foods, healthy fats and omega-3 sources, flavanol-rich foods such as berries and cocoa, magnesium-rich ingredients, lean proteins and limited sugary snacks. Exercise, time outdoors and mindfulness may also help manage stress. Dowden emphasizes that meals should remain enjoyable and promotes balanced, slightly healthier treats in her cookbook, The Cortisol Fix Recipe Book.

Nagi Maehashi’s RecipeTin Eats cookbook is introduced as a source of simple weeknight meals, with three recipes provided in full: creamy sausage pasta, spicy Korean kimchi noodles, and an Indian lentil coconut stew-soup. The dishes use accessible ingredients and offer varied options for a quick dinner, a spicy noodle meal, or a hearty vegetarian stew served as soup or over rice.

Chef Ben Tish recommends cooking a thick T-bone, porterhouse, sirloin or rump steak over very high heat to create a caramelised, charred exterior while keeping the centre medium-rare. The Tuscan-style recipe seasons the steak with garlic, rosemary, lemon and optional grape or date molasses, then rests it before serving with its juices, ideally alongside chips and salad.

Chef Anna Haugh shares an updated traditional Irish soda bread recipe made with buttermilk, wholemeal flour, butter, sugar and egg. The dough can be baked in washed baked bean cans or a standard loaf tin, with the cans producing two smaller loaves. The bread is baked initially at 200°C fan before finishing at 160°C, and can be refrigerated or wrapped to extend its freshness.

Chef Poppy O’Toole shares a slow-cooker chicken pesto pasta recipe serving four. Chicken is cooked with wine or stock, Parmesan, pine nuts, mozzarella, garlic and cream cheese, then blended with basil and lemon to form a sauce before rigatoni is added. The dish is finished with shredded chicken, cherry tomatoes, olive oil and extra Parmesan.

Chef Poppy O’Toole provides a slow-cooker beef bourguignon recipe serving four, using beef shin, pancetta, vegetables, herbs, red wine and beef stock. The ingredients are cooked on high for five hours until tender, then thickened with cornflour. Dijon mustard can be added for extra flavor, and the dish can be served with mashed potato or crusty bread.

Chef Poppy O'Toole shares a vegetarian peanut satay curry made in a slow cooker with sweet potatoes, chickpeas, coconut milk, peanut butter, kale and spices. The curry serves four and can be cooked on high for two to three hours or on low for six hours, then finished with ginger, spring onions, coriander and chillies. It is recommended as a flavorful meat-free meal that can appeal to both vegetarians and meat-eaters.

Chef Monica Galetti explains how airline meals can be improved despite the constraints of reheating food at altitude. Her Singapore Airlines menus use carefully selected cuts, fresh seasonal ingredients, culturally meaningful dishes, and sauces to preserve flavor, texture, and moisture. The menus include Samoan and New Zealand influences such as yellowfin tuna oka and hokey pokey dessert, and are available to Suites, First Class, and Business Class passengers on flights departing the UK.

A recipe for chorizo and broken-yolk potato smash with tomato salsa, inspired by a café dish in Manchester and associated with Lisa Faulkner and John Torode’s cookbook. Potatoes, onion, garlic, spices and chorizo are cooked together, topped with broken egg yolks, and served with tomato salsa, coriander, soured cream and crusty bread.

A recipe for spatchcocked chicken marinaded with lime and chipotle paste, cooked skin-side down under a heated foil-wrapped brick to keep it flat and crisp, then finished in the oven. It is served with braised chipotle cabbage and optional fries and mayonnaise. A cast-iron lid can replace the brick, while a fire brick is recommended for high-temperature cooking.

John Torode and Lisa Faulkner provide a recipe for burnt Basque cheesecake served with caramel sauce. The cheesecake is baked at high heat until its top is deeply browned while the centre remains soft, then chilled before serving. A dark amber caramel sauce made with sugar, butter and cream accompanies the dessert, which serves 8–10 people and keeps for four to five days.

Burberry’s Spring/Summer 2025 show at London’s National Theatre drew prominent guests from fashion, sport, music and film. Attendees included Jerry Hall and Elizabeth Jagger, Olympic athletes Keely Hodgkinson and Katarina Johnson-Thompson, football figures Rio Ferdinand and Marc Guehi, and performers and actors including Jodie Turner-Smith, Gabrielle Union, Jade Thirlwall and Micheal Ward. The guests showcased Burberry’s signature checks, trench coats and more contemporary styles under creative director Daniel Lee.

Burberry’s spring/summer 2025 London Fashion Week collection under creative director Daniel Lee featured ultra low-rise trousers, sharply tailored outerwear and a strongly utilitarian aesthetic built around neutral colours, straps, buckles and cargo details. The collection also included floral elements, a sparkling backless dress and prominent accessories such as oversized hobo bags and large sunglasses. The return of low-rise trousers connects Burberry to Gen Z fashion trends and Alexander McQueen’s earlier ‘bumsters’, while the wearable designs and accessories appear intended to support the brand during a luxury retail downturn. Burberry’s removal from the FTSE 100 and roughly 50% share-price decline underline the commercial pressure facing the label.

Lexi Hughes, 18-year-old daughter of Amanda Holden and Chris Hughes, made her runway debut at London Fashion Week walking for Vietnamese designer Tran Hung. Holden praised her daughter’s achievement, while Hughes said she was nervous but enjoyed the experience and highlighted the label’s sustainability efforts. Tran Hung’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection combined floral details, romantic silhouettes and sharp tailoring, with the designer expressing confidence in Hughes’ future modeling career.

Harry Styles attended the London Fashion Week debut of SS Daley’s first full womenswear collection, designed by Steven Stokey-Daley, in whom Styles is a minority investor. Inspired by artist Gluck’s tailored and gender-fluid style, the collection combined sharp tailoring with romantic garments, floral motifs and experimental construction. Daley’s use of deadstock and donated fabrics continued his sustainable approach, while other guests included Emma Corrin, Laura Mvula and Anna Wintour.

The 2024 MTV Video Music Awards red carpet featured high-concept and nostalgic looks. Sabrina Carpenter recreated Madonna’s iconic 1991 Oscars gown in a vintage Bob Mackie design, while Taylor Swift wore a Dior tartan ensemble reminiscent of Cher’s outfit in Clueless. Katy Perry embraced futuristic styling, Megan Thee Stallion wore a dramatic black gown, and Lil Nas X, Chappell Roan, Tyla and Tate McRae made further bold or archival fashion statements. Swift won seven awards, tying Beyoncé’s record as the most decorated artist in VMAs history, while Perry received the Video Vanguard Award and Roan was named best new artist.

Chef and social media creator Jon Watts describes how learning to cook while in prison led to a career in Jamie Oliver’s restaurants, a food truck, television appearances and a new cookbook, Speedy Weeknight Meals. The featured recipe combines chicken thighs with peanut butter, Thai red curry paste, soy sauce and coconut milk to make satay skewers with a creamy sauce.

Kim-Joy’s recipe makes about 10 chunky bear-shaped cookies using butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, oats and flour. The dough is shaped into bears, baked at 190°C fan for 10–12 minutes, cooled, and decorated with melted dark chocolate. A gluten-free flour variation is provided, and the recipe is featured from Kim-Joy’s cookbook Bake Joy.

Kim-Joy discusses moving away from perfectionism and using baking as a creative, therapeutic outlet. Drawing on her background in psychological wellbeing and personal experience with mental illness, she argues that embracing imperfection and childhood creativity can support mental health. Her fifth cookbook, Bake Joy, uses playful animal-themed designs and recipes to encourage experimentation, emphasizing that imperfect bakes can still taste good and provide an opportunity for creative problem-solving.

Kim-Joy shares a recipe for 16 decorative thumbprint cookies inspired by a magical forest, with designs resembling bumblebees, mushrooms and frogs. The cardamom-and-vanilla dough is filled with flavored jam or marmalade, baked until lightly browned, then decorated with icing and food dye. The cookies can be adapted with vegan or gluten-free ingredients and stored in an airtight container for one to two weeks.

Kim-Joy’s lemon meringue pie uses a Biscoff biscuit base instead of pastry, a lemon filling made with condensed milk, and a stable Swiss meringue topping. The recipe includes chilling instructions and optional decorations such as meringue or toy ducks, with advice for preparing the filling in advance.

Levi Roots recounts his decades-long relationship with Notting Hill Carnival, from helping his aunt sell Caribbean food in the 1970s to performing with Sir Coxsone and later launching his Rasta’raunt. The carnival stall helped him develop Reggae Reggae Sauce, whose adaptation of a traditional family recipe led to his success on Dragons’ Den and in supermarkets. Roots believes the event has become more focused on partying and has lost some of its original role as a peaceful expression of Caribbean community identity and political voice. He also expects African food and Afrobeats, particularly jollof rice, to play a more prominent role alongside traditional Caribbean cuisine.

Diana Henry provides a recipe for ruby grapefruit and Campari granita, serving four to six people. The method involves dissolving sugar in grapefruit juice, adding Campari, freezing the mixture, and repeatedly breaking up the ice crystals with a fork to create a fine, glassy texture.

Three cookbooks are recommended for recreating Mediterranean holiday flavors at home. Ben Tish’s “Mediterra” covers cuisines from the northern, eastern and southern Mediterranean; Diana Henry’s reprinted “Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons” combines familiar Mediterranean recipes with influences from the Middle East and Africa; and Giorgia Eugenia Goggi’s “Moroseta Kitchen” focuses on seasonal, modern cooking from Puglia. The books range from accessible classics to technically ambitious recipes featuring less familiar ingredients.

Chef Giorgia Eugenia Goggi shares a roasted vegetable gazpacho made with peppers, San Marzano tomatoes, carrots and apricots. The vegetables are roasted, blended with marinated onion, basil and olive oil, then chilled and garnished with raspberries, currants, sumac, herbs and homemade bay leaf oil. The plant-based soup serves six and is said to develop more flavor when prepared a day in advance.

Jane Dunn provides a frying-pan pizza recipe for two, using a homemade yeast dough, seasoned tomato sauce, mozzarella and optional toppings. The dough rests for 30 minutes, is cooked briefly on the hob, then finished under the grill to brown the base and melt the cheese. The recipe is adapted from her cookbook Jane’s Patisserie: Easy Favourites.

Jane Dunn provides a recipe for a two-layer apple crumble cake serving 15. The cake combines cinnamon-spiced apple sponge, a homemade three-ingredient crumble and cinnamon buttercream, with detailed baking and assembly instructions. The recipe is adapted from her cookbook Jane’s Patisserie: Easy Favourites.

Jane Dunn shares a no-bake cookie dough bar recipe made with butter, brown sugar, condensed milk, vanilla, heat-treated flour and chocolate chips. The dough is pressed into a lined tin and topped with a milk- and dark-chocolate ganache, then chilled for at least four hours before slicing. The recipe yields 16 bars and comes from Dunn’s cookbook Jane’s Patisserie: Easy Favourites.

The Good Food Guide’s ranking of Britain’s top 100 local restaurants suggests diners are moving away from expensive fine dining because of the cost-of-living crisis. Co-editor Liz Carter says customers increasingly value affordable, owner-run restaurants offering warm service and local, seasonal produce, while noting that these venues are also providing opportunities for female chefs. Leeds French bistro Bavette took the top spot, with regional winners including restaurants in Edinburgh, Llansteffan, Levenshulme and Fowey. Despite rising prices and recruitment difficulties, Carter remains optimistic, saying local restaurants can thrive if communities support them.

Ruby Bhogal’s vegan adaptation of sticky Jamaican ginger cake replaces eggs and soured cream with plant-based alternatives while retaining a dense, moist texture and spiced flavour. The recipe combines ginger sponge with butterscotch filling and orange cream-cheese frosting, producing a three-layer cake that serves 10–12 people.

Ruby Bhogal shares a plant-based chai custard cream recipe adapted from her cookbook One Bake, Two Ways. The biscuits are made with plant-based butter, flour, custard powder and chai spices, then filled with a soy-enriched custard buttercream and chilled before serving.

Ruby Bhogal shares a cherry and almond pie recipe featuring almond sweet shortcrust pastry, a thickened cherry filling and decorative pastry topping. The pastry is chilled and blind-baked before being filled with cooked cherries and finished in the oven. The pie can be served warm or cold, and cherries may be substituted with firm stone fruits such as plums or nectarines.

Ruby Bhogal, a 2018 Great British Bake Off finalist, says her future wedding will feature an elaborate dessert table made with help from former contestants, including Rahul Mandal. She discusses baking her cousin’s wedding cake, overcoming anxiety about the responsibility, and developing her debut cookbook, One Bake, Two Ways. The book offers 50 recipes in conventional and plant-based versions, inspired partly by Bhogal’s mixed-diet Indian family. She explains her preference for natural ingredients over commercial egg replacers, the difficulty of developing vegan recipes—especially choux pastry—and the practical advantages of some plant-based bakes, including lower cost, quicker preparation and lighter results.

Architectural designer Charlie Luxton discusses the restoration projects featured in More4’s Great British Home Restoration, including an Elizabethan-era farmhouse in Devon that owners Yazz and Mark Webb initially believed was an 18th-century building. The discovery of historic woodwork and stonework forced major changes, increasing costs and extending the timeline. Other projects include a ruined fisherman’s cottage in Guernsey, a derelict confectionery factory in Ramsgate and a Victorian barn in Herefordshire. Luxton highlights rising material costs, under-resourced planning and conservation departments, and the stamina required for restoration, advising prospective renovators to plan finances, costs, risks and timelines carefully. He says historic buildings offer a sense of continuity and value because their survival reflects their enduring significance.

Thirteen-year-old Buddy Oliver is launching his debut cookbook, Let’s Cook: Fun, Easy Recipes For Kids, alongside the CBBC and BBC iPlayer series Cooking Buddies. The son of Jamie Oliver, Buddy describes cooking breakfast and fish with his father and shares advice for children, including starting with simple dishes, learning foundational techniques, accepting mistakes and enjoying the process. The cookbook focuses on colourful, straightforward recipes ranging from burgers and meatballs to vegetarian dishes and sweet treats.

Buddy Oliver’s kid-friendly spaghetti bolognese uses pork sausages, minced beef, grated vegetables, tomatoes and balsamic vinegar, simmered for an hour before being combined with pasta and Parmesan. The recipe is adapted from his debut cookbook, Let’s Cook: Fun, Easy Recipes for Kids, which accompanies a BBC/CBBC television series.

Buddy Oliver’s rocky road recipe combines dark and milk chocolate, butter, golden syrup, marshmallows, biscuits, nuts, honeycomb, and cherries or dried fruit. The mixture is chilled, finished with a white chocolate drizzle, and cut into portions; an optional Christmas-pudding presentation is also suggested. The recipe comes from Oliver’s debut cookbook, Let’s Cook: Fun, Easy Recipes For Kids, associated with the BBC series Cooking Buddies.

Buddy Oliver’s recipe combines homemade breadcrumb-coated white fish or salmon fingers with sweet potato chips, lettuce, submarine rolls and a ketchup-yoghurt sauce. The fish fingers are baked until golden and can be frozen for later use. The recipe comes from Oliver’s cookbook Let’s Cook and accompanies the BBC series Cooking Buddies.

Kate and Kay Allinson of Pinch of Nom provide a recipe for 12 low-fat white chocolate and blueberry muffins made in an air fryer. The batter combines self-raising flour, sweetener, reduced-fat spread, egg, fat-free yoghurt, skimmed milk, white chocolate chips and blueberries, then cooks at 160°C for 12 minutes. The muffins can be frozen and reheated or eaten cold.

Kate and Kay Allinson provide a recipe for air-fryer chicken tikka masala serving four. Chicken breast is marinated in yoghurt and spices, air-fried until charred, and combined with a blended tomato, coconut and spice sauce before being served with basmati rice.

Kate and Kay Allinson’s recipe uses air-fried aubergine coated in a sticky teriyaki glaze made with soy sauce, vinegar, tomato purée, honey, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, lime and chilli. The aubergine is cooked at 200°C, glazed, then air-fried again at 180°C until sticky, and served with rice and optional sesame seeds and spring onion. The recipe serves four and can be made vegetarian or vegan by replacing the fish sauce.