Michelin reviews have star quality | Brief letters

Re your article on Michelin stars (‘It was very difficult to hold on to’: are Michelin stars a blessing – or a curse?, 21 April), wherever I have been in Europe, Michelin-recommended restaurants have been reliable and often memorable. Not just at the upper end, but especially in the lower ratings. Recently, in Ireland, the only restaurant we really enjoyed was one we found on its easy-to-use app. I would far rather use a guide that uses professional assessors, whose consistent and unbiased views are a better indicator of quality than the vox pop approach of Tripadvisor and others.John Summers Abergavenny, Gwent Determined to speak to a human being, I telephoned the Halifax bank last week (The death of customer service: why has it become so, so bad?, 17 April)

What’s the secret to the perfect spring breakfast? | Kitchen aide

Breakfast normally means porridge, but what are the alternatives in spring?It’s a truth universally acknowledged that most breakfast binds can be solved with oats. But when porridge doesn’t float your boat, it’s got to be bircher muesli or overnight oats. “I have always been a bit rude about overnight oats,” says Will Bowlby, co-founder of Kricket, whose Shoreditch arm recently launched a breakfast menu. “But when the weather is warm, soaking oats in coconut water, mixing them with jaggery, then throwing in things like fresh coconut, rhubarb or raspberries is a really nice alternative to porridge.”And it’s those extras that will set your oats apart, says Nia Burr of Esters in north London

How an American businessman lost his job and found himself in an old French vineyard

One Friday night 24 years ago, Peter Hahn was sitting in the back of a cab to Heathrow, sleepless after yet another 48-hour work bender.“My computer’s on my lap,” the American-born organic winegrower from France recalls, the spring sun lighting up the deep pink walls of his study in his ancient manor house in the Loire Valley, his beloved vines outside, “and I’m doing a spreadsheet.“My boss is giving me shit because I hadn’t stayed at work – I’d promised my French girlfriend after I don’t know how many promises that we’d go away that weekend – then she calls and starts yelling at me because she knows I am going to miss the flight to Paris.”Moments later, “something was inside of me and just going like this” – he does a vice grip with his right hand – “crunch crunch crunch.” Paralysed, unable to breathe, the 36-year-old corporate strategy consultant was having a panic attack

The extraordinary rise of bakery tourism: ‘People travel from all over the world. It’s mind-blowing!’

Beer crawls are out and bakery crawls are in, with people arranging whole days, weekends or even holidays around the search for the perfect loaf or croissantJust one day into a 225-mile hike across the width of Scotland last August, Dan Warren was feeling the burn, his old trail shoes wearing painfully thin. But neither sore feet nor swarms of midges would stop the librarian and his scientist wife, Dee Johnson, from reaching their goal: the promise of pastries at the Bakehouse in the west coast fishing town of Mallaig, a 14-day trek plus two ferry hops away from their home near Montrose.The pair are so-called “bakery pilgrims”, travelling significant distances in the pursuit of a fine loaf or bun. “Some of the time we were pushing through overgrown tracks, and there were lots of bogs,” Warren says of their journey. But their eventual reward was a soft brioche bun, filled with crème pâtissière and finished with crumble and berries

Georgina Hayden’s recipe for spring onion flatbreads with smoked salmon

Yoghurt flatbreads make a weekly appearance in our kitchen, because they are so effortless and versatile. If I have forgotten to pick up a loaf, I will often panic-make them for breakfast or packed lunches. While they are great on the side of stews, soups and curries (or on the barbecue, if that’s the way the weather is going), I’ve made them the hero in this elegant but easy brunch/lunch-style setup. You can make one flatbread per person (as instructed), or you could make multiple mini ones that are almost like little herby pancakes. The dill-spiked cream cheese, however, is a must with smoked salmon

Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for roast hake with tomato and chilli sambal | Quick and easy

This is a lovely, fiery variation on my favourite weeknight dinner, namely “any fish topped with harissa”. Hake is my new go-to white fish: it’s sustainable, it has a lovely texture, it roasts beautifully and it’s the perfect foil for a spicy topping. My sambal pays homage to the Indonesian versions made with tomatoes and chilli – it starts off as a light, fresh sauce that cooks down beautifully with the fish and tomatoes.For ease, I use a high-speed blender to make the sambal.Prep 15 min Cook 25 min Serves 2300g cherry vine tomatoes, halved4 echalion shallots, peeled and quartered1 tbsp neutral oil 1 tsp sea salt flakes 2 thick hake fillets (about 160g each)30g salted peanuts, roughly chopped5g chives, finely slicedHot white rice, to serveFor the sambal2 large long red chillies, like really large ones, deseeded60g cherry vine tomatoes½ lemongrass stick, roughly chopped2 echalion shallots, peeled2 garlic cloves1 tsp sea salt flakes, plus extra to serve20ml neutral oil1 tbsp palm sugar, or dark brown sugar½ lime, juiced, plus extra to serve Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7