Latest Articles - cafecliches.co.uk

Waiter serving a woman multiple plates at a café, with other customers seated in the background.

What does it mean psychologically when we help waiters clear the table in a restaurant?

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

A quiet evening in a restaurant: empty plates, empty glasses - and you find yourself, almost on autopilot, stacking everything...

Hands tending to potted herbs by a sunny window with rosemary, sage, basil, and thyme plants.

Planting herbs in window boxes that require minimal watering for fresh flavors year-round

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

She rests her forearms on a narrow balcony rail, mug of coffee warming her hands while the traffic murmurs several...

Young person eating a healthy meal with vegetables and chickpeas at a wooden kitchen table.

The way mindful eating enhances satisfaction from meals

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

Your hand reaches for the fork before your eyes have even taken in the plate. Your mind is still on...

Two men in a garden, one picking tomatoes and the other examining a tomato and reading a paper.

Can your landlord enter your garden to pick fruit? The property-law detail that decides it

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

The first time a landlord lets themselves into “your” garden, it’s rarely subtle. Perhaps you’re padding about in a dressing...

Shirtless man pouring a yellow drink with ice into a glass on a wooden table outdoors with fruit and pottery nearby.

The traditional Northeastern fruit that hydrates, nourishes and strengthens your routine

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

Grown across the semi-arid backlands of Brazil’s North-East, umbu has traditionally helped rural households stay cool and refreshed. Today, nutritionists...

Hand cutting a piece of blue-veined cheese on a wooden board with a glass of white wine nearby

The reason why hard cheeses can be saved from mold by cutting it off, while soft cheeses must be thrown away immediately

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

Opening the fridge can feel delightfully innocent-until you’re met with a patch of green mould on the cheese. Your stomach...

Elderly woman surprised by pasta cooking, young man stirring pot and holding cream carton in cosy kitchen together.

Scandal in Italian kitchens: in France pasta is cooked like this and many say it’s sacrilege

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

In a compact flat in Lyon, a saucepan of pasta is bubbling away on a gas hob. The television chatters...

Person scattering fertiliser on young plants in a garden bed with a spade and steaming mug nearby.

Since I’ve Been Sprinkling This Breakfast Powder Around My Plants, My Roots Have Never Suffered From Frost Again!

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

By the time I’d pulled open the back door, the garden had the look of being lightly sifted with icing...

Person pouring hot water from a glass kettle into a small pumpkin on a wooden chopping board.

Do you know the hot water trick for cutting pumpkin more easily?

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

In the hush of the kitchen, the thunk of metal meeting pumpkin seems far too loud. One hand clamps the...

Person harvesting a parsnip in a raised garden bed with gardening trowel nearby.

This Forgotten Vegetable Our Grandparents Sowed In October For Tender Harvests As Winter Ended

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

As winter loosens its grip and the garden beds look bare and worn-out, one traditional root vegetable is poised to...

Hands removing a tray of steaming cooked bacon from an oven above a dish of roasted potatoes in a kitchen.

Skip the frying pan: Revolutionise your tartiflette with this foolproof way to cook bacon

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

Across Alpine ski resorts and modest city kitchens alike, one unassuming ingredient often decides whether tartiflette eats like a leaden,...

Person placing keys in a wooden tray labeled "drop zone" on a sunny kitchen countertop.

A simple way to keep your kitchen organized with less effort

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

The mug you genuinely want is always tucked away at the very back of the cupboard. The spatula you’re reaching...

Mother watching young boy pick fruit from a mixed healthy snack plate at the kitchen table.

Vegan parents accused of starving their children with healthy food

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

The small boy sitting opposite me in the paediatric waiting room won’t take his eyes off his snack. His mum...

Hands holding and preparing bay leaves over a kitchen sink with a jar labelled Bay's Herbs nearby.

Goodbye flies: this everyday kitchen ingredient sends them away instantly

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

Warm days, open windows - and suddenly the kitchen feels like a miniature airport for buzzing visitors that refuse to...

Person pouring olive oil and vinegar over a fresh salad with feta cheese in a glass bowl in a kitchen.

Bad news for a healthy eater who trusted salad dressings the hidden sugars that make you fat and sick a story that divides opinion

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

A woman pauses for a heartbeat at the salad bar, then turns the bottle upside down. A thick stream of...

Hands rinsing sliced red onion in a spoon under running tap water in a kitchen setting.

Rubbing a stainless steel spoon on your hands under cold water removes the smell of garlic and onions instantly

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

The chopping board looks like a crime scene: onion skins scattered across the worktop, a slick of olive oil, and...

Young woman adding salt or tablets to a glass of water at a sunlit kitchen table with lemon nearby.

Why you should add a pinch of salt to your water for better hydration

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

It was sometime between the second and third top-up of my reusable bottle on a packed commuter train that it...

Hand holding a clear electric kettle boiling water on a wooden kitchen counter near ingredients and a glass.

Forget scrubbing: boil this one ingredient in your kettle to remove thick limescale in seconds

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

White, crusty flecks gripping the heating element. A milky ring staining the base. And that slight chalky note in what...

Person placing a container of sliced cucumber and spinach into a fridge stocked with fruit, eggs, and vegetables.

Why leaving space between items in the fridge helps food last longer

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

Stuck-together yoghurts, leftovers wedged into opaque tubs, and a crushed bag of salad hiding behind the milk. You shove things...

Woman stirring a pot in a cosy kitchen surrounded by recipe notes and cookbooks on a wooden countertop.

A woman reinvents herself through cooking, her recipes tell the story of several generations

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

The first thing that hits you is the noise. Not the television, not a buzzing phone, but a wooden spoon...

Person wrapping a bunch of bananas in cling film on a kitchen countertop with fruit bowl nearby.

The reason why you should wrap the crown of a banana bunch with plastic wrap to trap the ethylene gas and slow down the ripening process

Harriet Ellwood • May 01, 2026

The bananas you set on the kitchen counter always seem blameless on day one: firm, bright yellow with a faint...