Here’s What a Two-Michelin-Starred Epiphany Cake Looks Like

Welcome back to Insta Stories, a column examining the London restaurant scene through the often-problematic medium of Instagram. This week’s filter looks weirdly familiar.

News of the week

Sad tidings to start this week, with chefs coming together to pay homage to Andrew Fairlie. The much-loved chef was perhaps best known for his eponymous two-Michelin-starred restaurant at Gleneagles Hotel, but he was so much more than that to a whole culinary generation. RIP.

Feed-clogging event of the week

The outpouring of tributes for Andrew Fairlie is a salient reminder that the hospitality industry is still a relatively small, close-knit community. That said, it isn’t very often that a single event can bring almost every single member of it into a single room. One such is the annual Galette des Rois shindig courtesy of Hélène Darroze at The Connaught. Here’s a video representation of how they compiled this year’s guest list.

Post-trend innovations of the week

Insta Stories introduced the tongue-in-cheek concept of alt-brunch what feels like a millennium ago now; it mentioned the words “katsu sando” so many times during the long, hot summer of last year that the column was almost renamed in the ubiquitous snack’s honour. And yet the funny thing about trends is that they continue to evolve, even after their period of peak hype — they get weirder, cooler, more inspired. Behold.

Sentient pastry work of the week

The new Doctor Who villain looks pretty underwhelming.

Head-scratcher of the week

Perhaps they had run out of the original punchline and had to swap it for something else?

Carry-on essential of the week

2019 trendwatch: going up — getting British Air-wasted.

Cake of the week

One in an ongoing, endearing series. Impressive restraint on the pomegranate seeds, too.

Dish of the week

As the French are known to say: oui.

Shot of the week

Slurp.