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Saturday, November 15, 2025

Good morning,

This week’s big question: has hospitality finally had its Frankenstein moment? After a Borough Market security guard halted an apple crumble review, the internet did what it does best – picked sides, loudly. Our piece looks beyond the ring-light pantomime to the messy middle where markets need crowd control, traders need custom and everyone thinks they’re a critic with a camera. If restaurants helped build the machine – the “Instagrammable” plates, the interiors made for the grid – what happens when the machine starts talking back? We ask where the line sits between safety and censorship, and whether a sensible code of conduct might preserve both the vibe and the view.

From camera rolls to cholesterol, Harry Bullmore sifts the latest longevity research to answer what we should actually be eating if we want to dodge the slow creep of chronic illness. Spoiler: it isn’t a fad. It’s fruit, veg, legumes, whole grains, healthy fats and a firm brake on the usual mood hoovers – processed meat, sugary drinks, refined grains. There’s a clear throughline on inflammation, too: useful when you’re healing, unhelpful when your immune system won’t stand down. Consider it a nudge to fibremax and plant-power your plate, with polyphenols playing the long game while you get on with your life.

Speaking of long games, James Martin has been doing Saturday mornings since many of us still thought “brunch” was a made-up word – and yet he still refuses to watch himself back. He talks cooking unrehearsed on TV, being kept honest by his mum’s running commentary on his shirts and why spontaneity beats script. The new book pulls from a decade of on-air dishes and the vibe is very much: if it can be done in 10 minutes, it can be done at home. Expect steak-and-chips energy at 10.15am and the sort of practical tricks that turn a 60p sponge into a showstopper.

Leaning into the season, our autumn feast is all golden edges and soft centres: spiced pumpkin soup with gingered heat, a rough-around-the-edges veg galette that eats like central heating and a sausage-and-apple traybake made for weeknights that want to feel like Sundays. There’s sweet relief too – salted pumpkin pie with a smoky pinch and a pistachio, rose and cardamom bundt that brings a little warmth to the gloom. It’s the kind of cooking that makes the darker evenings feel like an invitation rather than a threat.

And for anyone eyeing the waistband while craving comfort, Slimming World’s One-Pot Magic proves you can have the lot without the lecture. A gently spiced beef pot roast that melts on cue, salmon with smashed spuds and a bright green sauce, even an all-in puttanesca that keeps the punch but loses the baggage. One tray, one pan, one sink to wash – winter, but make it doable.

Written by Hannah Twiggs

Borough Market vs The TikTokers: Is this hospitality’s Frankenstein moment?

After a food vlogger was kicked out of Borough Market for filming a crumble review on his phone, Hannah Twiggs asks whether restaurants and markets have finally had enough of the social-media generation they helped build

It was going to happen eventually. After years of free meals, fawning posts and fluorescent ring lights, restaurants are finally starting to turn on the monster they helped create. Like Frankenstein, hospitality built its influencer economy from scratch – feeding it, nurturing it, basking in the fame that followed – only to recoil when it grew too powerful to control.

The tipping point came last week at Borough Market, when a food vlogger was thrown out mid-review. In a video that’s since been widely shared, Gerry del Guercio, one half of the duo Bite Twice, is seen filming himself and his friend eating an apple and cinnamon crumble when a security guard interrupts to tell them to stop recording. Del Guercio looks bewildered. “Are we being kicked out of Borough Market?” he asks incredulously during the kerfuffle.

The clip, filmed earlier this year on a smartphone rather than professional equipment, shows no ring lights, microphones or freebies – just two mates who’ve paid for their food, chatting casually about it on camera. It reignited debate over whether influencers have finally outstayed their welcome in London’s most famous food market – or whether the market itself is overreaching.

According to Borough Market, there’s no ban on filming, just rules, which have long been in place. Anyone wanting to shoot content for commercial purposes – that is, anything beyond a casual selfie or home video – must now apply for permission in advance and carry a letter of approval. Filming is prohibited at weekends, the market’s busiest period, and security are within their rights to stop anyone without clearance.

With more than 20 million visitors a year – roughly 55,000 a day – it’s easy to see the logic. Tripods, gimbals and crowds of gawkers don’t mix well with hot oil and narrow aisles. Still, for many online, the footage struck a nerve. Isn’t this meant to be a public market? Isn’t sharing food what Borough is all about?

Read the full article here

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