Ben Viveur: September 2026

“Bensoir! It's me, Benjamin. I like to eat and drink. And cook. And write.
You may have read stuff I've written elsewhere, but here on my own blog as Ben Viveur I'm liberated from the editorial shackles of others, so pretty much anything goes.
BV is about enjoying real food and drink in the real world. I showcase recipes that taste awesome, but which can be created by mere mortals without the need for tons of specialist equipment and a doctorate in food science. And as a critic I tend to review relaxed establishments that you might visit on a whim without having to sell your first-born, rather than hugely expensive restaurants and style bars in the middle of nowhere with a velvet rope barrier, a stringent dress code and a six-month waiting list!
”There's plenty of robust opinion, commentary on the world of food and drink, and lots of swearing, so look away now if you're easily offended. Otherwise, tuck your bib in, fill your glass and turbo-charge your tastebuds. We're going for a ride... Ben Appetit!

Thursday, September 3, 2026

Made to make your mouth water?

As you may or may not know, one of my many alter egos is The InnQuizitor. If you knew that, one point. Which is meaningless as this isn't a quiz.

Anyway, I like to think my pub quizzes are entertaining, rewarding and possibly even informative. I even try to be 'fair', which can mean a lot of different things to different people but, specifically, I deliberately seek out questions to which I personally wouldn't instinctively know the answer, and avoid leaning too heavily into 'my era'.

The participants are a fairly healthy spread of ages from those in their late teens or early 20s right up to octogenarians, whose exact ages I wouldn't like to ask, so it's not as though I'm setting questions for a bunch of my fellow 49 year olds.