Chocolate Mousse

Today's cutting-edge chefs may think they invented foam but it has been around a good while - since the 1700s, according to historian Alan Davidson. Recipes for foams both sweet and savoury (and, yes, mousse is the French word for foam) were recorded by 18th-century French writer Menon. His book Suppers at Court, published in 1755, describes Louis XV's favourite chocolate drink as a mixture of melted chocolate, boiling water and beaten egg (white or yolk). The 19th-century painter and keen cook ...

The Fragrant Gourmet

If you adore the marriage of sweet citrus and bitter chocolate, then get out of the kitchen and over to the perfume counter.