The one thing I learned judging Britain’s best croissant

I’m loth to admit this for fear of losing a few readers to jealousy, but I spent last Friday morning toiling at the viennoiserie coalface as one of the judges in the Isigny Sainte-Mère annual best croissant UK competition. It’s the third year the Normandy dairy co-operative has brought the contest across the Channel, and the first where the 20 finalists were decided by regional heats, rather than popular votes.

The pastries neatly laid out on tables in the basement of the Savoy hotel in London came from as far south as Brighton and as far north as Fife, from Cwmbran in the west to Cambridge in the east. So high was the standard that it was genuinely tough to rate each one on appearance, lamination (those all important layers of pastry), texture and flavour, particularly in the presence of patisserie experts including Richard Bertinet, Bake Off: The Professionals judges Cherish Finden and Benoit Blin, and Brock Afford of past winner Chestnut Bakery. The full list of finalists is available here, but Scoff in the Savoy itself was a worthy winner, with South Queensferry’s Dune and north London’s the French Bakery close runners-up.

I’ll be honest, having made croissants from scratch in the past, I’m of the opinion all that folding and coaxing of vast slabs of butter is something best left to the pros, who tend to be in possession of large work surfaces and, more importantly, laminating machines. Three exceptions to the rule: Meera Sodha’s pistachio and cherry cheat using puff pastry, Ruby Tandoh’s (slightly) simpler version, for those who don’t have a bakery nearby, or perhaps enjoy a challenge, and Georgia McDermott’s gluten-free, low-lactose, Fodmap-friendly labour of love, which, she says, took her 100 tries to get right. (You are appreciated, Georgia.)

I doubt any of the bakeries featured often end up with leftovers at the end of the day, but if they do, Tamal Ray’s clever croissant butter (inspired by Manchester’s Pollen Bakery) might be a handy diffusion line. Less innovative, but just as satisfying: Tom Hunt’s croissant and pastry pudding or Dominique Ansel’s more luxurious take with rum and vanilla seeds, Thomasina Miers’ baked blackcurrant jam croissants and custard or Trish Deseine’s Sunday night supper with mustard, lemon and gruyere.

Happily, here are examples of the patisserie’s art that lend themselves better to recreating at home: the wobbly custard flan, for example, or crunchy caramelised cannelés, to say nothing of Jeremy Lee’s tarte aux pommes with fluffy almond frangipane, and Marianne Stewart’s pretty pink macarons. Ruby’s chocolate malt millefeuille looks tempting, and surely no one could resist one of Claire Ptak’s chocolate eclairs, always at their best when freshly filled.

That said, it might be a while before I’m back on the butter. For now, a nice green leaf sounds quite attractive.

Top of the crops | I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to make it to the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale in Kent, but I will be making a note in next year’s diary to return for cherry season. And plum season. And pear season. Their pick-your-own apple weekends run until 21 October (my fridge is stuffed with blenheim orange, cornish aromatic and saint edmund’s pippins) – it’s well worth taking the time for one of their fascinating orchard tours first.

The best thing I ate | Chatting to the food and travel writer Caroline Eden about Green Mountains, the final book in her trilogy on Central Asia and the Caucasus, at Abergavenny food festival left me desperate to taste more of the region. While I’m lucky enough to have two Georgian restaurants and an Azerbaijani one within five minutes’ walk, I had to travel a bit farther for a rich, aromatic Uzbek plov, and juicy Uyghur dumplings – but not much. For fellow Londoners, Atush Uyghur Cuisine in Clerkenwell, Urumchi in Bloomsbury and OshPaz in St James’ offer reasonably priced tastes of central Asia – all washed down with excellent tea.

Czech mates | In the absence of central or eastern European restaurants locally, two cookbooks caught my eye this week. First up, Evie Harbury’s My Bohemian Kitchen, a fascinating collection of Czech recipes, from a homely spiced cabbage soup to many-layered honey cake. Second, Chesnok, by the Ukrainian-born, US-raised Polina Chesnakova, whose Russian mother met her Armenian father in Georgia – recipes such as boiled, buttery Siberian dumplings, grilled shashlik and crunchy, vividly coloured vitamin salat feel as if they’ll see me through the winter.

My best find | I happened upon 11 spiral-bound recipe books from the famous 1970s Time-Life Foods of the World series, still feted by serious cooks, in a charity pile in a butcher’s shop in Kent last weekend, leaving me just 16 to track down, plus all the gorgeously photographed companion volumes. In the meantime I’m looking forward to exploring the “sweets” chapter of Cooking of Vienna’s Empire.

Kudu, London | ​”While the decor of this new space sets out its stall as South African, this is definitely not a themed restaurant,” writes Grace Dent. “The lighting is campfire twinkly and the vibe sexy safari chic. It’s soft and plush, with an abundance of mirrors and textured pink and peach surfaces. There are shimmering green tiles around the open braai, and tasteful murals of scampering antelopes. In fact, it may well be London’s prettiest restaurant of 2025 so far.” Read the full review.