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This season's It ingredient — plus more trends to know
Meet summer's answer to wild garlic: meadowsweet, a pretty (and delicious) wildflower with tall-stemmed sprays of cream-coloured flowers in season from now until September. With a distinctive taste (a medley of hay, almond and vanilla), it's popping up on the most creative menus.
In Ormskirk, Lancashire, at the Michelin-starred Barn at Moor Hall, the raspberry tart topped with meadowsweet mousse is the go-to pud, while the cool Edinburgh bistro Leftfield uses the flower in its Leftfield 75 cocktail (gin, cava and homemade meadowsweet fizz), a riff on the classic French 75.
Down in London, Counter 71's strawberry sablé tart comes doused in meadowsweet custard, while James Knappett's two-Michelin-star Kitchen Table uses the bloom in its bread course: featherlight Parker House rolls, truffle butter and meadowsweet honey (top). Dig in.
• Read more fashion advice and style inspiration from our experts
Looking for a hip place to visit? Heading to the southeastern European peninsula — aka the Balkans — is without doubt top of the discerning traveller's list this summer. Last year Tirana was the 'vacay de jour', while this year it's Sofia. But the area is also enjoying a fashion moment in the sun, with designers drawing on the region's rich history.
The Romanian designer Alexandra Sipa is creating a buzz with her e-waste upcycling, and the Transylvanian label Abodi made the madcap castle headpiece Jaden Smith wore at the Grammys. In the art world, the Serbian provocateur Marina Abramovic is heading to Factory International in Manchester in October with a new show called Balkan Erotic Epic, but for a taste of all this from home, make a Balkan breakfast: the viral TikTok picky-bits brekkie of raw veg, bread, meat and cheese. Washed down with a glass of rakia, of course.
