No, we don't get "Nadia G's Bitchin' Kitchin" thank God...yet. Sounds dreadful. As I leave late youth, I am trying very hard not to shout at the television screen (like some awful grumpy old codger) but I'm finding it increasingly difficult. I know it's unattractive... My theory is that young producers think they know what people want to watch (super fast editing, constantly loud pop soundtracks, gimmicky camera angles; all style over content). It's an incredibly patronising attitude. What they don't realise is that many ordinary people might- actually- want to watch and enjoy something less vacuous. Rant over...

The food is surprisingly good there, isn't it? A cut above the standard gastro pub fare. Pity about the bland interior. Now, if they re-vamped it with old cracked photos, brasses, stuffed fish, roaring log fires, old local maps and the like- then it really would be something.

Terrific. Thank you.

Hi Petra I suppose you either like bacon, or you don't. Personally, I love the salty, smoky taste of the bacon, and think that it works well with the chili and the rest. The brilliant thing about experimenation, of course, is that you can subsitute ingredients at your whim.

Good to hear from you! I liked Peal. Remember how kind he was to me on my 30th birthday there- made me a little cake with "Love" piped across the top. Think I had heard on the grapevine that Shirley was no longer with us.

Yes, this dish is seriously good. I would use quite a bit of cream to make sure the sauce is thick enough- you don't want it to be too watery. I think, in theory, proper Finnan haddock comes from a fishing village near Aberdeen. My mother used to get it send down by mail order. And do you know about Arbroath Smokies, another Scottish delicacy? You could, of course, make a similar dish to the above using smoked cod, although I don't think it would be so good. The important thing is to use a smoked, oily fish. Un-dyed smoked haddock has a delicate taste. The yellow dyed haddock is okayish, and perfectly edible, but the 'smoked' flavour has been created using chemicals. Strangely, in our local supermarket, both versions are sold at the same price.