British appetite for Chinese cuisine soars

At noon on a recent sunny Saturday, I sat down on the wooden bench of a spacious open kitchen to enjoy my own delicious handmade herb linguine with sweet juicy tomatoes and fresh basil leaves.

Hours of busy chopping, dough kneading and pasta rolling that very morning certainly paid off as the lovely flavors melted in my mouth. Listening to jazz music in the background and birds chirping outside the window, I almost imagined I was on holiday in the exotic Tuscany countryside.

I was not in Tuscany, of course. Instead, I was taking a pastamaking class at Central London's La Cucina Caldesi cookery school.