Historic eatery in capital’s theatreland given to heritage charity after changing hands only three times in 228 years

When Thomas Rule served his first oyster to diners on Maiden Lane in London’s Covent Garden, “mad” George III was on the throne of England, John Adams was US president and William Pitt the Younger had just come up with a wheeze called income tax to pay for the Napoleonic wars.

More than two centuries later, Rules, the restaurant Thomas founded in what became the capital’s theatreland, has outlasted nine British monarchs and 45 prime ministers – but has changed hands only three times. The interior of its four-storey home, stuffed with historic playbills and vintage caricatures and gilded antlers, is little changed from the 19th century, nor has the tone of its determinedly meaty menu – think rabbit rillettes, shin of veal and roast guinea fowl.

Ultra-processed foods are displacing traditional diets, warns Prof Kent Buse. Plus letters from Hugo Harper, Dr Pawan Randev and Patricia Hampton

Your editorial on cancers in under-50s (8 October) rightly names food among the culprits. But the confrontation it calls for should be aimed less at obesity than at what produces it. Obesity is the intermediary; the exposure is a food system engineered for profit.

The Lancet’s series on ultra-processed foods showed these products displacing traditional diets worldwide and driving chronic disease, and documented more than 200 interconnected lobby groups through which the industry organises its influence to block regulation.

Don’t cook it too quickly – and skim, skim, skim, says our expert culinary panel

Why is my chicken stock always cloudy?
Ryan, by email
From broths and risottos to sauces and braises, there’s no question that a good, flavourful stock will stand you in good stead. “It’s an underestimated kitchen job,” says Adam Byatt, chef/owner of Trinity, in southwest London, and author of Trinity: The Cookbook, which is published next week. “I love stock: it’s wholesome and fruitful, frugal and delicious.”

Ryan’s clarity issue, Byatt says, is “only ever caused by cooking the stock too quickly or by allowing the fat to boil back into the base liquid”. So it’s crucial to take things low and slow. You will also need a pan that’s “big and heavy enough to give the bones enough room for movement, as well as a very fine sieve for straining the stock”.

Got a culinary dilemma? Email feast@theguardian.com

Roast chicken thighs with roast squash, leeks and two punchy dressings

I’m delighted that it’s roasting tin season once again, and what better way to kick it off than with this chuck-it-in-the-oven sticky miso chilli chicken with squash and leeks? The sesame, miso, garlic and ginger marinade can go on the chicken ahead of time if you like (in which case, I’d include a squeeze of lime juice), but if you’re short on time, five minutes before cooking will do the trick. The vegetables cook under the chicken, in the manner of potatoes sitting under a rotisserie chicken, but with the added hit of flavour from the miso. Then, to make it really sing, there’s a punchy sesame, chilli and coriander dressing to finish.

Herring, flatfish and oysters are increasingly off the dining table, with just five fish species now dominating

In days gone by, the UK’s domestic cooks were an adventurous lot when it came to seafood, prepared to dish up anything from an oyster cocktail to whale meat curry.

But an academic investigation of more than 1,000 fish and shellfish recipes published in a lifestyle magazine over the last century suggests tastes have become much narrower. Ruth Thurstan, from the University of Exeter, studied seafood recipes published in the British version of the magazine Good Housekeeping from 1923 to the present.

Pre-1970s: A diverse mix of species in recipes. No single group ruled but flatfish, herring and oyster were prominent. Recipes emphasised domestic skills, economy and preparing whole fish.

The 1970s shift: A decline in diversity of fish species in recipes, with increased focus on the “big five”.

1980s-present: “Big five” present in the majority of recipes, with a decline of other species – though not all have vanished entirely.