Money blog: Top chef on the 'luxury' food he hates, the best city in the world to eat and a cheap weeknight recipe (2025)

Donald Trump has announced a new 25% tariff on all imported cars.

Signing an executive order last night, Trump said the tax would kick in on 2 April - what he has called "liberation day".

This is when all his retaliatory import tariffs are supposed to take effect, but they have been delayed before.

The move ratchets up the global trade war Trump himself kicked off at a time when his administration is battling the continued fallout from the Signalgate security breachin Washington.

Read the full story here:

Every Thursday we interview chefs from around the UK, hearing about their cheap food hacks and more. Today we chat to Alex Naik, head chef at the family-run tasting menu restaurant Thirteen in Poole, Dorset.

The one thing I hate that customers do is... turning up without providing us with their dietary requirements. We run a 13-course tasting menu, so as you can imagine if they tell us on arrival that they are lactose intolerant (for example) it is very hard for us to make that many changes on the spot.

The worst type of behaviour in kitchens is... having a negative attitude. Negativity from one member of staff can bring the whole mood of the kitchen down.

The most overrated single food item is… foie gras. Once it was seen as the height of luxury, but now I feel this is more of a showy thing found on menus to make an establishment seem fancy, not to mention it's unethical.

The best chef in the UK is…Simon Rogan. Having eaten at L'Enclume before it received its third Michelin star,I was just blown away by the complexity of flavour and simplicity of presentation of the food, use of ingredients and care given from growing to preparation.

You asked me why there are so few female chefs in top kitchens but I disagree...There are many very talented women in top kitchens across the UK. Claire Smyth, Monica Galetti, Sally Abe, Adejoke Bakare, Helene Darroze, Angela Hartnett, Chantelle Nicholson to name but a few...

One cheap place I love where I live is...Miso Rice Bar in Bournemouth. This tiny family-run eatery specialises in Korean cuisine. You can tell from the moment you walk through the door that all the food is cooked with love. Mum is behind the stove, with son running front of house. Big smiles and delicious food. What I order: bulgogi bibim-bap for £8.90.

My go-to cheap eat at home is... tuna pasta bake. Here's my recipe:

• 200g penne (any robust pasta will do)
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Handful frozen peas
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
• Whatever cheese you have lurking in your fridge
• 1 tin of tuna

Sweat the onions and garlic in a little vegetable oil. Add the chopped tomatoes and herbsand peas.Cook the pasta until al dente. Combine pasta, tuna and sauce in an oven-proof dish and grated cheese ontop, bake until cheese is melted and golden and enjoy.

The best city in the world to eat in is...San Sebastian in Spain.

One ingredient you should never skimp on is... truffle.

I've cut costs in my restaurant by...growing our own produce. It has really helped, especially when it comes to expensive herbs and flowers. We also do all of our own laundry, which has helped save us more than£700 a month.

That's all for our live coverage in the Money blog today but we're working with the UK Tonight team this evening to bring you all the latest on what the spring statement means for you.

Our presenter Sarah-Jane Meeis hosting the show as usual, and our Money live reporter Jess Sharpis joining, along with financial experts Abi Foster and Cameron Smith.

They'll be answering your questions and exploring all the key issues from 8pm - watch along in the stream at the top of the page.

By Saywah Mahmood, data journalist

The Treasury has estimated how government decisions on tax, welfare and public service spending will affect household incomes.

The analysis covers all the decisions made from the autumn budget last year to today's spring statement and looks at the impact across the income distribution - from the lowest to the highest-income households:

Their analysis shows that, on average, the lowest-income households in 2028-29 will benefit the most from government decisions at those events, if decisions relating to public service spending are included.

Increases in tax will mostly affect the highest income households.

But without public service spending decisions included, lower-income households are hit hardest by decisions on welfare changes:

In a rush? Catch up on all the key announcements in Rachel Reeves's spring statement here - including welfare cuts and a defence spending boost:

And data and economics editor Ed Conwaycrunches the numbers here:

By Joely Santa Cruz, data journalist

Today's report from the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that the number of homes in the United Kingdom could increase by 1.26 million over five years.

Labour hopes to achieve 1.5 million additional homes in England alone over the period, so a total equating to 240,000 (16%) below England's target for the whole of the UK falls significantly short of this.

It is also fewer homes than the number built in recent comparable periods.

This decrease is largely driven by a projected fall in completions by the public sector, calling into question whether the government can achieve its goal of delivering a generational increase in social and affordable housing.

Compared to the five preceding years, the number of homes completed by private companies is forecast to increase by 10% to 836,000, while other net additions are expected to fall by 20% to 426,000. This is equivalent to 66% of forecasted new homes built by private companies.

Rachael Williamson, the Chartered Institute for Housing’s interim director of policy, communications and public affairs, said the report showed the government would struggle to meet its building targets without "significant investment in social and affordable homes" to bridge the shortfall.

Reforms to planning are expected to contribute an additional 170,000 to the total increase in housing over the period. These reforms are focused on requirements for local authorities to release land for development unless the adverse impacts significantly outweigh benefits.

Most of the housebuilding increase is projected to take place towards the end of this parliament as housebuilders adjust to the new regulations and interest rates fall.

However, significant workforce shortages will need to be overcome if this acceleration is to take place, with around 240,000 recruits needed across the sector by 2027.

The chancellor today announced a £625m million boost to the construction workforce.

By Becky Johnson, social affairs correspondent

The stark impact of welfare cuts is 250,000 more people will be living in poverty, including 50,000 children.

For some people already struggling to get by, losing benefits could be the difference between being able to put food on the table for their families - or not.

And the fact that sick and disabled people are those set to lose out adds to a sense that the vulnerable are being targeted.

Few would argue the welfare bill doesn't need looking at. Spending on sickness and disability benefits has ballooned since the pandemic. It stands at around £65bn, with one in ten people of working age now claiming.

Almost a million young people are not in employment education or training. A welfare system that means people signed off sick get around double the amount jobseekers receive has been blamed for incentivising more people to opt out of the workplace.

But an attempt to tackle those perverse incentives will mean many who desperately need the money will lose out.

In Wolverhampton, 57-year-old Winston told me life would be a real struggle if he loses part of his PIP. He thinks he'll probably have to turn the heating off. It'll be okay in the summer, he says, but he's worried about the winter.

At a mother and baby group, one woman agreed that more people should be working. But she can't, she says, due to childcare costs. And as for people off sick she asks where are all the jobs for them?

People with very little feel like they're losing out. They question why the wealthy weren't targeted instead. And don't understand why the chancellor couldn't have broken her self-imposed fiscal rules.

Viewed from Wolverhampton, the chancellor's statement in Westminster appears to target those who can least afford it.

In the autumn budget, the chancellor reduced the relief rate for retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses from 75% to 40%.

The industry has been struggling since and has been asking for the government to reform the current system to offer them more support.

But the chancellor failed to make any announcements on the business relief rates.

We asked Andrew Sanford, a partner at leading tax firm Blick Rothenberg...

What impact is this going to have on businesses?

He says: "Business rates reform is hugely overdue.

"It is simply unfair that bricks and mortar businesses, often in the service sector which are being disproportionately hit by national insurance and living wage increases, are being hit with more tax than other businesses.

"Reform is overdue and has simply been put in the too difficult column by successive governments."

The Office for Budget Responsibility has said the tax burden will hit a "historic high" of 37.7% in 2027/28.

It said the main driver of the increase in the tax burden are personal taxes, "particularly income tax and national insurance contributions".

We asked Andrew Sanford, a partner at leading tax firm Blick Rothenberg...

What does a "historic high" tax burden mean for the average person?

He says: "This will mean that the percentage of tax on gross pay will be higher, resulting in less discretionary spend.

"It will make consumers more frugal in their spending and concentrate more on those items that are of necessity."

He adds that he was pleased that no further tax hikes were announced today.

"There was a large tax raising event in October, and tax raises should be just once a year. Business needs certainty and not a frenetic tax raising agenda," he says.

A government department has found that an additional 250,000 people, including 50,000 children are estimated to be pushed into poverty because of newly announced welfare cuts by the end of the parliament.

Publishing its assessment of the cuts, the DWP said those people would be pushed into relative poverty by 2030, based on its projections.

"It is estimated that there will be an additional 250,000 people (including 50,000 children) in relative poverty after housing costs in financial year ending 2030 as a result of the modelled changes to social security, compared to baseline projections," it said.

"The impact on the number of pensioners in poverty is expected to be negligible," it added.

Some three million families will "financially lose" as a result of the welfare cuts, another report added, with an average loss of £1,720 per year compared to inflation.

"There are also estimated to be 3.8 million families - some current recipients and some future recipients - who will financially gain from this package, with an average gain of £420 per year compared to inflation."

Some will be much harder hit.

The analysis shows just over 370,000 people who currently claim personal independence payments (PIP) will lose them and another 430,000 who would have been eligible for them in the future will not now get it.

They'll be worse off, on average, about £4,500 a year.