THERE is no doubt that times are hard for most of us so we need to make the most of simple pleasures. And what could be more simple, more elemental, than food?

You may have noticed that The Herald Magazine has increased the amount of space we are devoting to food – we now have five pages every Saturday of the best food and drink in Scotland.

We think food is important. It’s a time to relax, to spend time with loved ones, whether we are cooking or eating out.

This weekend, chef Josh Katz shares two of his favourite recipes, for chilli roasted pumpkin and jewelled tahdig. Both sound exotic but definitely worth a shot. Hearteningly, for those who try to grow vegetables he admits he’s struggled to grow his own produce.

We also have chef Gary Townsend, of Glasgow’s One Devonshire. He’s serving up at Asian style crispy chicken, which he promises makes a memorable starter or main. I’d believe him. I’ve made many of Gary’s dishes – and while he’s a fine dining fellow, his recipes are easy to follow and deliciously elegant.

For royalty fans, man about town Phil MacHugh shares a few suggestions for those who are looking to find a nice afternoon tea to mark the jubilee, while drinks writer Gerard Richardson, a former navy man, suggests a few royal-themed cocktails.

When it comes to eating out, our restaurants, like so many sectors of the economy, are under pressure with rising energy costs, the impact of Brexit, and staff shortages. Ron Mackenna, our restaurant critic, has much sympathy for them. However, he will always review restaurants without fear or favour. It’s worth repeating, he always pays his way and never accepts free meals.

As someone who spent £100 on a recent disappointing meal in Edinburgh and regretted it, honest reviews – not flammed up online rubbish – have never been as important.  This week Ron visits the latest iteration from Six by Nico and, it’s fair to say, he was pretty impressed – apart from a few very annoying niggles.

All his past reviews are at heraldscotland.com in the food and drink section or you’ll find them on Google. If you’ve enjoyed a restaurant recently drop him a line at ronmackenna@me.com if you think it’s worth reviewing. He may or not agree.

A new feature, or rather an old one we have brought back due to popular demand (not least from Ron), is the round up of recent reviews. We hope it will prove helpful as sometimes we all remember that he has praised somewhere but we can’t remember where it was, or what it was called. Oh, well, none of us are getting any younger.

We hope you enjoy the food content and let us know if you try out the recipes.