I invented a new game the other week. We were heading off to Gloucestershire for a festival in the mud and, naturally, my thoughts turned to where we were going to eat on the way. I’d heard about a new sat-nav version of the Harden’s Restaurant Guide — it has all the usual potted reviews and scores for food, service and atmosphere, plus directions to 3,550 eating places across Britain. This seemed like a good opportunity to give it a go, so I borrowed a gizmo thing and set off.

The game is called restaurant roulette and it works like this: you pick a time in advance — say 1pm for lunch or 7.30pm for supper — and whichever restaurant the sat nav says is closest at that precise moment, you have to go to. It might be amazing or it might be just okay. That’s the roulette part; that and the price. Either way, it means you eat in places you might never otherwise have discovered.

The first time, we ended up at the Crab at Chieveley, off the M4 in Berkshire, and tucked into grilled plaice and brown shrimps. On the way back, the sat nav led us away from the A40 to john dory fillet with scallop sauce and pancetta and oxford-blue salad in the sunny walled garden of the White Hart in Wytham.

Of course, you could just type in your destination and choose a good place to eat, but accidental food tourism is a lot more fun — the equivalent of navigating a city by always following the green man at pedestrian crossings. It certainly brings a new meaning to destination dining.

There’s apparently a sat-nav version of Sawday’s Pubs & Inns as well. I’m going to another festival this weekend. I think I might give it a spin.

Harden’s Restaurant Guide for sat nav, £9.95, from RoadTour; roadtour.co.uk

Spice up your life

Mighty Spice may sound like the unnatural love child of Clark Kent and Geri Halliwell, but don’t let that put you off. It’s actually a great range of fresh spice pastes for curries, stir-fries and marinades. Designed to last a few days in the chiller cabinet, rather than months on the shelf, they contain no nasty additives, just well-judged blends of spices and subtle layers of flavour. There’s a Thai green curry, a tandoori version and (the best, in my view) a fragrant Szechuan mix. Mighty Spice, from £3, from Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and Whole Foods Market

Cupboard love

Self-catering this summer? Kit yourself out with a portable store cupboard — the Survival Pack — from Rowley Leigh’s Le Café Anglais. It has everything from salt and pepper through risotto rice to a corkscrew and champagne. £110; 020 7221 1415

Take 3

George Roberts from Browns Bar & Brasserie gets spicy with this simple idea for roast chicken.

Serves 4

8 organic chicken thighs

1 tsp hot smoked Spanish paprika (pimenton)

4 baby pak choi

Marinate the chicken thighs for an hour in the fridge in a little olive oil with the paprika and some salt and pepper.

Blanch the pak choi in boiling water for 20 seconds, then place in ice-cold water to refresh.

Place the chicken thighs in a tray and roast for 35 minutes at 180C/ 350F/Gas Mark 4. Split the pak choi in half lengthways, then add to the chicken in the oven. Turn up the heat to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 and roast for a further 5 minutes.

Place all the ingredients on a platter to serve. If you want, a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkling of chopped fennel will take it to the next level.

Browns, 82-84 St Martin’s Lane, WC2; 020 7497 5050

Explore Food & Drink

• Gordon Ramsay

• Heston Blumenthal

• Recipes

• Wine

• Real Food

• Drinks

• Anjum Anand

• Eating Out

• Video Recipes

Times Recommends

• Champagne cocktail
• Food that's good for body and soul
• Joe McCanta’s never-fail hangover-relief shake