Martino, I haven't shopped in Switzerland before but as it's only 45 minutes away it might be worth a trip. I'm aware it's very expensive, but do they sell more UK products than in Italy? Saying that my appetite has gone, it always happens when it's hot ! Do you have high humidity there ? In Milan it's terrible, yesterday was 35 degrees and impossible to breathe.

Does anyone know if I can get cheddar in north Italy? Have tried Carrefour but no luck. Oh well!

My home town Leek in north staffs has some excellent places to eat, as this town in en route to Alton Towers I thought I 'd let you know. We have a large number of Indian places, the best being The Bolaka (Stockwell Sttreet), which has won several awards, secondly The Peak Weavers Hotel (King Street), which is excellent and finally Number 64 (St Edwards st), both serving traditional & modern style food. If you want country pub food then there are lots around, The Three Horseshoes (Buxton Road ) is good & out of Leek in a small village called Butterton there's The Black Lion. If you're there in the morning you should try Staffordshire Oatcakes, usually served for breakfast they are a kind of pancake made from oats filled with melted cheese & bacon and are lovely, you can find the oatcake shop on Haywood street.

hi I also live in Italy & have found HP beans in carrefour. Esselunga sell mustard, HP sauce, bacon, golden syrup, sherry & chocolate finger biscuits. I don't know if these supermarkets exist in the centre of Italy though, I'm in Milan where there are a lot of foreign food shops. As for cheddar, I don't think you'll find it, when I want a similar taste I use Provelone
piccante (mature) or dolce ( mild). Good luck!

Bruschetta is always a good starter and yummy. Here in Italy we eat antipasti such as Bresaola covered in a dressing of lemon juice and olive oil, then dressed with parmesan or grana shavings, the same can be done with carpaccio. How about bufalo mozzarella sliced & dressed with olive oil & origano, or a Caprese salad, which is slices of tomato & mozzarella with oil & origano. Pasta is usually a starter here, we generally eat lots of seperate dishes of food and never mix anything. Risotto also makes a good starter. For the next course we usually have a piece of meat or fish , again with oil & lemon juice, with veg as a side dish. For dessert I also recommed semifreddo or fruit in dessert wine, or even Tartufo affogato ( drowned truffels) which can be made with an ice cream truffle (or a ball of ice cream) 'drowned' in alcohol or coffee or both!

When my Italian friends used to visit me when I lived in the UK, they always asked for a roast beef or lamb, as generally the British meat is better than Italian meat. Make sure you don't over cook the meat as they like it 'with blood' and supply plenty of bread! Don't give them anything Italian, in my experience it won't be appreciated very much! English cakes seem to go down very well, as the cakes in Italy are less elaborate (my friends were totally taken in by simple things like Lemon Meringue & Choccy fudge cake ) The most important thing is keep it simple & don't mix too many flavours. Also a little tip is to keep some tooth picks on the table & napkins if you don't use them, as these are standard items to an Italian. When I go back to the UK from Italy, pasta /pizza etc is also the last thing I want, I head for the nearest carvery or curry house!

Intertia, -I use olive oil every day, most people I've met here in Italy use it daily for frying, but we also use it as a sauce, for example, on a steak after it's been cooked, or just to dip bread in to . I have to say that here in Italy there aren't any food fads or crazy diets, it's almost unheard of to buy diet food, if fact you get strange looks in the supermarket if you buy brown bread ( they think you've got some 'tummy' problems) Italians also love sugar, you can spot the English tourist straight away as the want sugar free drinks! I've lost 1 stone after living here for three years, I eat lots more oil, meat, pasta, & sugar than ever before but I feel great. I really believe that the Italian diet is good but really it's just healthy eating with a good balance of food. Maybe it's because they don't mix food ( as they say it ferments in the stomach) but you'll never see any self respecting Italian eating salad with their Lasagne, or having pasta as a main dish . Maybe it's te hvast amount of tomatoes that people eat which leads to a good long life. Shockingly, I've never seen so many smokers as in this country, it's still fashionable here, only yhis year laws have been introduced to reglate smoking, but I'm sure that's not a key to long life !

Does anyone know how much powder to use or a good recipe for chicken curry. I only usually make indian curry & then I make my own powder, but I've been given a massive bag of the Chinese stuff, & I want to try it.

Coffee machines improve with use. I used mine at least 8 times ( pouring the coffee down the sink) before it was ready to use, my coffee also tasted bitter. This is a little tip I've picked up from the Italians and goes for any type of coffee machine. Also only use water & never soap to clean it.

Martino - ciao ! I've also tried growing coriander in Milan, but it didn't survive the hot weather in August last year! Anyway, I've found a shop next to Central Station in Milan which sells it fresh by the bunch, the shopis called Kashmir International Supermarket. I've also been able to find it in bigger branches of Esse Lunga on the odd occasion, they keep it in the fruit & veg section, but it's not a plant it's just a packet of leaves. Good luck!

Lorna I used to really hate olive oil until I moved to Italy and actually tasted some decent oil, you have to take care which type you buy as the flavour varies. Now after three years of living in Italy, I'm addicted to the stuff, I can't think of any better snack than bruschetta with yummy ripe tomatoes, oregano and a drizzle of a good oil. I use Fraticello or Pietra Colombina, both are full of flavour.

Hi Michelle007 I think the carnival is on Feb 28th, so If you're here it'd be good to see !!

Michelle007 - The Conte Rosso serves both meat & fish !

I recently went out for an African meal, when the dish arrived I was quite surprised as it wa served on a giant oatcake (about the size of an LP record) then in the centre was braised beef (very spicy) and then all different veg around the beef, looked like a giant flower & tasted lovely. I'm thinking about adapting this to an oatcake..


In my north staffs home town people use cols oatcakes with sliced cheese for buffets, & I've also had them with jam !

Hi I'm originally from nortn Staffordshire, my granda gave me this recipie for oatcakes;

mix equal quantities of flour & porridge oats, add a pinch of salt & mix with cold water to form a batter consistency, let this stand for 1/2 hour at least.

Put a drop of oil into a frypan and cook in the same way as pancakes.

Serve with bacon & cheese, or as I do filled with Chilli & covered with cheese & baked in the oven !

There are lots of good places to eat here in Milan, authentic Italian is difficult, as all the food is regional. The Naviglio area is good ( the canal area) you can find all kinds of cusine there. Most restuarants are either meat or fish where you will eat many courses (pasta being a 1st). One of my favourite place is the Ristorante Conte Rosso, Via Conte Rosso,36 in the Lambrate (green line on the metro I think) area of the city. Le Biciclette ristorante & art bar, via Torti/Corso Genova is nice for an aperitivo or something to eat. If you are coming at the end of February, you'll be in time for the Carnevale (carnival) in the cente around the Duomo. ciao ciao

sorry my message has appeared so many times! The last one is the correct one !

I live in the north of Italy, I've never seen anyone use cream in Carbonara. I use three egg yolks for 2 people beaten with black pepper, and then add a mixture of Grana (like parmesan) & Pecorino, but any stong hard cheese is ok. When the pasta is almost cooked I start to fry the pancetta in oil. Once the pasta is ready, drain return to the pan, then add the egg/cheese mixture STRAIGHT AWAY, and mix until all the pasta is coated,( this also cooks the egg) then add the pancetta including the oil it was fried in, mix again & serve with more cheese if you want ! This dish should not be runny, in fact it's quite dry, the Italians use much less sauce than in the UK, but it tastes great ! Buon appetito

Mary- I've never tried it with other types of flour, but give it a try ! No worries about the cream maker!

Martino, I'm in the west of Milano, nr San Siro !

Hi I'm originally from norht Staffordshire, my granda gave me this recipiefor oatcakes;

mix equal quantities of flour & porridge oats, add a pinch of salt & mix with cold water to form a batter consistency, let this stand for 1/2 hour at least.

Put a drop of oil into a frypan and cook in the same way as pancakes.

Serve with bacon & cheese, or as I do filled with Chilli & covered with cheese & baked in the oven !

Hi - I'm also in Italy (milan), I've had the same problems trying to find double cream here, I've tried all the long life ones, b ut the're just not the same, I've strarted using mascarpone instead for some desserts, georgeous with a splash of brandy mixed in, I'm ust h oping one day soon Esse Lunga will save the day ! Ciao