Alvin Leung cooks up a storm
I was invited to Alvin Leung’s cooking masterclass at L’atelier des Chefs in Wigmore Street recently to see how Alvin creates some of his X-treme Chinese cuisine at Bo Innovation in Hong Kong, where he holds two Michelin stars.
2009 – A good year for Beaujolais
I have never been a real fan of Beaujolais, my experience has mainly been the race each November to get and drink your first glass of that year’s vintage of Beaujolais Nouveau as soon after its release as possible. So having been invited to ‘Fabuleux Beaujolais 2009’ in Paris, how fortunate that I accepted, my eyes were opened to the great diversity of the produce from this part of France.
The Bull Hotel Restaurant and The Stable, Bridport, Dorset
The Bull a double fronted Hotel on East Street gives the impression that it is a fairly modest establishment. However, apart from the nineteen guest rooms, there are two bars, a dining room and a rather impressive ballroom. There is also The Stable, which has its own bar, where cider is the focus, together with some interesting and tasty pizzas and pies.
Zan Zi Bar, High Street, Edgware, Middlesex
The food at Zan Zi Bar is excellent, and worth going out of your way for, or maybe trying a take away or home delivery, we certainly enjoyed their food, beer and the Sauvignon Blanc.
Château Thivin 2007
Chateau Thivin has an attractive deep ruby/claret colour in the glass. This is a lovely wine that is great to drink on its own, or with food, this wine’s smooth fruity flavious with a slight acidity would work equally well with cheeses and dishes that have a richness to them.
The Bernard Series Basket Press Syrah
This rather lovely wine which comes from the Bellingham winery, which is more than 350 years old and located in Franschoek, a short distance from Cape Town. The Bernard Series Basket Press Syrah, 2007 is an excellent wine, a joy to drink and lovely on the palate, it is currently available from Sainsbury's at £9.99 and worth every penny.
Bob Bob Ricard, Upper James Street, London
Bob Bob Ricard is a great place to eat, you could simply go there and experience the Zakuski and ice cold vodka, or other small plates, with vodka shots or other drinks, alternatively choose from their a la carte menu which has items to suit all pockets. We had a great time there and will definitely go back. We loved it and are sure you will.
The Lock, The Runnymede-on-Thames Hotel, Egham, Surrey
The Lock is an excellent restaurant to seek out and go to for lunch or dinner. The decor in the restaurant is relaxing and makes for a great setting in which to sit and enjoy a meal, the patio should you wish to eat outside has a great outlook. With great views and really good food, this is a place worth making your way to.
Restaurant at The Petersham , The Petersham Hotel, Richmond,
The Restaurant at The Petersham is excellent. It would certainly be a great place to have a celebratory meal, or just to spoil yourself when you feel inclined. It is somewhere that should be sought out and visited. Definitely one for the list.
Identita London
Identita London brought 16 of the world’s premiere and renowned chefs together in one place to share some of their secrets and techniques with their colleagues and attendees interested in food. Now, this two day event could be a bit of a marathon, so I attended on the first morning when three of the four chefs I had most wanted to see were demonstrating the creation of some of their dishes.
Filippo Berio launch their new bottle design
It was on a wet morning earlier this month that I went to Francesco Mazzei’s rather lovely restaurant L’Anima for breakfast, all to hear first-hand about Filippo Berio’s launch of their new olive oil bottle.
The Lonsdale, Notting Hill, launches
We arrived at the launch party for The Lonsdale rather later than we had intended, it was after 9.30 and all was in full swing, with young and not so young, west Londoners spilling out onto Lonsdale Road with colourful cocktails and beers in hand, taking advantage of the warm evening and of course the freedom to smoke out there.
Tompkins, Canary Wharf, launches in grand style
Tompkins launched recently to a host of invited guests, yours truly amongst them. We arrived at this vast establishment early on in the evening, and it was as well that we did as it gave us the opportunity to take a good look at the place before it was crowded with several hundred people.
All Bar One launches its 3rd annual Rosé Festival
I always think of rosé as a summer drink, so refreshing when sat outside in some nicely shaded area on a warm sunny day with a well chilled glass of pink, droplets of water condensing on the side of the glass - heaven.
Richard Bertinet Launches his new book ‘Cook’ with a cooking masterclass
Invited recently to the launch of Richard Bertinet’s new book Cook, at a well known kitchen showroom in Wigmore Street, I arrived hot and bothered having not had the best of journeys. I descended to the lower ground floor where an active kitchen is set up to join a select gathering of food writers and others from the foodiemedia. After a quick cup of coffee, I was immediately set to work.
Olive oil from Liguria, Ligurian gold?
It seems that much of what I have attended recently is focussed on Italian produce and a tasting of olive oil from Liguria recently was yet another. The purpose of the tasting was to alert us to the quality of Italian olive oil generally, but in particular to that produced in Liguria which like many Italian region's oils has DOC status.
saf opens at Whole Foods Market, Kensington
Having been invited to its recent launch and not been able to attend, it seemed quite appropriate that I went along to this new food outlet during National Vegetarian week. An abbreviation of ‘simply authentic food’ saf, is a sister outlet to the restaurant in Curtain Road, East London.
four o nine, Clapham Road, London
four o nine has its own discrete entrance accessed via an entry phone controlled door to the side of The Clapham North pub, inLandor Road. This slight quirkiness somehow lends the restaurant an air of exclusivity, giving you the feeling that you are entering a private dining club.
Salumi Amo rolls its campaign into the UK
So, following my cordial invitation from the Italian Trade Commission and the Istituto Valorizzazione Salumi Italiani to a Press Conference on the subject of 'A celebration of Italian Cured Meats in Europe' I dutifully trotted along to the Haymarket Hotel in Suffolk Place and took my place among the myriad of foodie types from the disparate parts of this media.
Plaimont Wines
This French co-op, produces a range of wines using local grape varieties, many of which they have saved from extinction in order to maintain the originality of their wines. Plaimont wineries all use modern procedures in order to track the grapes from the vine to the bottle, using management software, to enable winemakers to know exactly where the grapes were grown.
