To tip or not to tip?
Tipping challenges the sweeping generalisations of economists and anthropologists alike. To understand how and why we tip is to begin to understand just how complicated and fascinating we human beings are.
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Why are foodies turning their backs on Fairtrade?
Workshop is one of a number of high-end food companies that says it is committed to fair trade, but doesn’t have the certificate to prove it. With the Fairtrade logo now appearing even on mainstream brands such as Starbucks coffees and four-finger Kit Kats, this absence is becoming more and more conspicuous, especially during Fairtrade fortnight, which starts this week. But for a variety of reasons, many speciality providers, which invariably boast about their impeccable sourcing policies, are choosing not to sign up to the Fairtrade labelling scheme.
ReadCustard tart fight
I’m in Lisbon listening to some live fado, the Portuguese folk music that expresses the sorrows and yearnings of ordinary people. Among these songs of love and loss is a hymn to the joys of Pastéis de Belém, the original version of the most traditional cake in Portugal, the pastel de nata, or custard tart. “Served with cinnamon or just as it is,” sings the lyricist Leonel Moura, “This beautiful delicacy has no equal in the world.”
ReadThe Philosopher in the Kitchen
Four new videos exploring the ideas – and foods – in The Virtues of the Table.
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