From the very first sip, dinner with this issue’s special guest, Ridley Scott, was another trademark Noble Rot interview that ran to more than several glasses and some unearthed little-known insights. Responsible for some of the greatest movies of all time – from Blade Runner and Thelma & Louise to Alien and Gladiator (the latter two of which we pay tribute to with this issue’s special dual covers by Gary Taxoli), Scott is also a wine lover who owns vineyards in Provence, and has a maverick perspective on everything from cooking the perfect scrambled eggs to how AI is changing the world. On the run up to the release of Gladiator II, with many new projects backed up, Noble Rot discovers what drives the 86 year old’s relentless work ethic in ‘Director’s Cup’. And while we’re on the subject of AI, sommeliers may like to hear that they’ve got little to fear from it stealing their jobs – at least if Hannah Crosbie’s conversation with ChatGPT after asking it to mimic a quick-witted Noble Rot Lamb’s Conduit St somm is anything to go by (‘I Drink, Therefore I Am’).
Also in this issue…
…Marina O’Loughlin comes out of the shadows and reveals her identity after years as an anonymous restaurant critic for The Times and The Guardian, and also reviews Bray’s The Waterside Inn.
…we welcome back Britain’s doyenne of home cooking Delia Smith, who tries to choose between a visit to Auberge de la Môle and a Simon Hopkinson truffle extravaganza as her ‘Greatest Meal’.
…our roving wine critic Keira Knightley gives her verdict on another eclectic selection of wines.
…Alice Feiring speaks to The Four Horsemen’s James Murphy and Justin Chearno about a decade of their adored Brooklyn restaurant and wine bar. Tragically, since the interview, the much-loved Justin has passed away and will be hugely missed by everybody who knew him.
Plus: We profile chefs Kwame Onwuachi of New York’s Tatiana and Merlin Labron-Johnson of Somerset’s Osip; Kermit Lynch tells us about an eye-opening encounter in a Paris wine shop; we visit the late, legendary Italian wine and food writer Luigi Veronelli’s mythical Bergamo cellar; and offer stories about Chartreuse, great Languedoc growers, BYO in restaurants, and much more.
Also in issue 37…
… we have dinner with Benedict Cumberbatch with Curnonsky’s Five Greatest Whites (Château-Chalon, Château-Grillet, Château d’Yquem, Coulée de Serrant, and Montrachet). The problem is that he only really likes drinking red.
… Irvine Welsh reviews an eclectic selection of wines, from La Mission Haut-Brion (“This one has the moves!”) to Mateus Rosé (“In its iconic flask-shaped bottle, smooth shoulders tapering from a long neck into that cerise dress, is this tipple as seductive as ever? You bet!”).
… Kwame Onwuachi travels to Jamaica to uncover the origins of jerk, and Slutty Cheff visits an abattoir to watch a cow being killed.
… Levi Dalton profiles Domaine Dujac founder Jacques Seysses (who besides making legendary Burgundies mentored a who’s who of other vignerons), and Alice Feiring meets Josimar Yacuta Verduzco, an illegal Mexican immigrant who joined the French foreign legion before finding his métier making Cornas.
Plus: we shine a spotlight on Jura Ploussard, Cahors, Beaujolais, F.T. Marinetti’s 1932 Futurist Cookbook, wine memes, XL Recordings’ co-owner Martin Millsand Spain’s Camino de Santiago pilgrimage reimagined as a wine tour, among much more.
Also in this issue…
…Marina O’Loughlin comes out of the shadows and reveals her identity after years as an anonymous restaurant critic for The Times and The Guardian, and also reviews Bray’s The Waterside Inn.
…we welcome back Britain’s doyenne of home cooking Delia Smith, who tries to choose between a visit to Auberge de la Môle and a Simon Hopkinson truffle extravaganza as her ‘Greatest Meal’.
…our roving wine critic Keira Knightley gives her verdict on another eclectic selection of wines.
…Alice Feiring speaks to The Four Horsemen’s James Murphy and Justin Chearno about a decade of their adored Brooklyn restaurant and wine bar. Tragically, since the interview, the much-loved Justin has passed away and will be hugely missed by everybody who knew him.
Plus: We profile chefs Kwame Onwuachi of New York’s Tatiana and Merlin Labron-Johnson of Somerset’s Osip; Kermit Lynch tells us about an eye-opening encounter in a Paris wine shop; we visit the late, legendary Italian wine and food writer Luigi Veronelli’s mythical Bergamo cellar; and offer stories about Chartreuse, great Languedoc growers, BYO in restaurants, and much more.
Also in this issue…
…Norman Cook – aka Fatboy Slim – tries his best to remember where exactly on tour in Tokyo he ate shabu-shabu for his ‘Greatest Meal’ and appeals to readers to help identify the mysterious location.
…Keira Knightley reviews another eclectic selection of wines, from 1978 Château Giscours (“If you were tripping, you might think you were a mollusc living under the earth”) to 2018 Trediberri Barolo ‘Berri’ (“It’s what you imagine Michael Corleone would drink before he becomes a mob boss”).
…we present Noble Rot’s guide to Melbourne Restaurants (‘Ravenous for Melbourne’) and report back on how top Oz producers such as Giaconda, Mount Mary and Place of Changing Winds are honing ever more terroir-expressive wines (‘The Vine Twitcher’).
…Marina O’Loughlin reviews the mighty Chez Bruce – one of Noble Rot’s favourite London restaurants – and takes the measure of TopJaw, one of a number of social media ‘influencers’ transforming hospitality media.
Noble Rot magazine is the home of exciting wine and food writing. Since 2013 Noble Rot has seen cooks like Angela Hartnett and Yotam Ottolenghi rubbing shoulders with The Chemical Brothers and LCD Soundsystem, blurring the boundaries between gastronomy and the creative arts.
