The Guardian Feast – 5 September 2026

Summary

The Guardian Feast Issue No. 450, 5 September 2026, moves into early autumn with global flavours: Meera Sodha's Malaysian bean stew, José Pizarro's sardine salad, Felicity Cloake's perfect Sri Lankan chicken curry, and Helen Goh's brown butter apple and blackberry bars. The issue marks the transition from summer produce to heartier cooking with 15 contributors across 24 pages.

Contributors span Sodha (Kacang pool — Malaysian bean stew), Pizarro (sardine salad), Alexina Anatole (tahini panzanella and curried farinata), Georgina Hayden (courgette and lemon couscous), Ravinder Bhogal (seeded filo crackers), Cloake (Sri Lankan chicken curry), Goh (brown butter bars), Tom Hunt (corn cob chowder), and Rachel Roddy (not-sachertorte). The food filter rates tinned tuna, and Grace Dent reviews a restaurant playing mid-80s music.

The issue balances quick weeknight meals (couscous, sardine salad) with weekend projects (curry, chowder) and baking (brown butter bars, not-sachertorte). The food-filter column provides a practical buyer's guide for pantry staples.

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Content Guide

▸ Early Autumn / Global Recipes / Pantry / Restaurant Reviews

Felicity Cloake — Perfect Sri Lankan chicken curry
Cloake's definitive version of the classic curry, with a spice blend that she tests across three ratios before landing on the winner. The recipe specifies which coconut milk brand produces the best consistency. Anyone attempting Sri Lankan cooking for the first time should toast the spices in a dry pan for 90 seconds before grinding — Cloake explains why in the method notes.

Meera Sodha — Malaysian bean stew (Kacang pool)
A hearty bean stew spiced with cumin, coriander and fresh chilli, served with flatbreads. The recipe rates as vegan and uses tinned beans for speed. Cooks looking for a high-protein meat-free dinner can prepare the full dish in 30 minutes using the one-pot method described.

Helen Goh — Brown butter apple and blackberry bars
A traybake that combines brown butter with early-season apples and blackberries. Goh recommends a specific apple variety for structure. Bakers can freeze the baked bars for up to 3 months — the recipe includes thawing instructions.

Tom Hunt — Corn cob chowder
A zero-waste chowder that uses the corn cobs for stock before adding the kernels. Hunt calculates the saving versus using vegetable stock cubes at 75p per portion. Anyone with leftover corn from a barbecue can make this chowder the next day using the six-step method.

Rachel Roddy — Not-sachertorte
Roddy's take on the Austrian chocolate cake, simplified for home bakers who do not want to temper chocolate. She explains which supermarket dark chocolate (70% minimum) works best. Bakers short on time can skip the apricot jam layer — the cake works without it as a plain chocolate torte.

The food filter — Tinned tuna, rated
A blind taste test of 8 supermarket tinned tuna brands, rated for flavour, texture and value per gram. The winner costs GBP 1.25 per tin. Meal-preppers should stock up on the top-rated brand for lunch salads this week.

Grace Dent — Restaurant review
Dent reviews a restaurant she says would be improved by playing mid-80s music instead of its current soundtrack. She names the specific dishes that worked and the service failures that did not. Diners planning a visit should order the dish she calls "the only reason to book."

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Editor's Take

This is a transitional issue that handles the move from summer to autumn well — there are still light salads (Pizarro's sardine number) alongside the first proper curries and chowders of the season. Cloake's Sri Lankan chicken curry is the standout: proper recipe testing with transparent ratio comparisons. Helen Goh's brown butter bars are a close second. The weakness is the not-sachertorte — it is good but does not improve on the original enough to justify the "not" gimmick. This issue is for home cooks who want seasonal transition recipes with global influences.

Strengths
• Cloake's spice-ratio transparency in the Sri Lankan curry
• Tom Hunt's zero-waste corn chowder with 75p-per-portion saving
• Tinned tuna taste test with blind rankings and value scores

Weaknesses
• Not-sachertorte gimmick outweighs the recipe improvement
• Georgina Hayden's couscous is too brief to be useful

Verdict: Recommended — the curry and chowder are autumn kitchen staples worth the cover price.