akandpa (Alan King)

akandpa (Alan King)

Having been interested in cooking from an early age, I often cooked at home as a child.  My first job was as a trainee chef at The Ritz Hotel in Central London. However, split shifts and unsocial working hours were not for me, so I left and took up office work. I entered a career in the Civil Service, where I worked until late 2008, when I took early retirement.  I now have the privilege of working on things that I enjoy. Food and its creation has remained a passion throughout my life and I have been writing about it for some years now, originally as a house reviewer for london-eating, I moved to foodepedia at its launch. I write under the akandpa name as it is more distinctive than Alan King – there are a lot of Alan King’s out there!

  • Camino, Puerto Del Canario has a media party

    Saturday October 2nd, 2010

    Together with some 30 media colleagues, I arrived at Hays Galleria - by London Bridge - with a view to hitching a ride on the ‘sherry ferry’ to Canary Wharf pier.  This trip had been arranged so that Richard Bigg could introduce us to his latest bar/restaurant, Camino Puerto Del Canario. Camino, Puerto Del Canarion really should be experienced, try getting there on the ferry, it’s very relaxing.

  • English Apple season launches

    Thursday September 30th, 2010

    I was invited to attend a Dinner to mark the launch of the English apple season on the 29th September at ‘The Deck’, a great venue which sits on top of the National Theatre and has stunning views of some of London’s most iconic buildings. I was also inspired to urge you all to seek out and buy English apples while they are available, which I do, wholeheartedly.

  • Asda, changing image, developing products

    Thursday September 30th, 2010

    Asda have introduced a lot of new products and tell us that they have made improvements to many, both in the Chosen By You and their Extra Special ranges, all three items I tasted while there were fine examples.

  • Laithwaites display their wines at high altitude

    Wednesday September 29th, 2010

    When invited to the wine tasting that Laithwaites put on recently, at Altitude 360, I was hardly going to turn down the opportunity, some excellent wines and a stunning venue at the top of one of the south bank’s tallest buildings. I just had to go.

  • Mien Tay launch their new wine list with a flourish

    Wednesday September 22nd, 2010

    It was a little ambitious, inviting a bunch of food writers and bloggers for a meal with a view to their tasting some 11 dishes paired with their new range of 11 wines all in the space of two hours, but the people at Mien Tay in Clapham, did just that recently. We didn’t quite get through this potentially mammoth feast, but....

  • Little Beauty, a new face from the new world

    Sunday September 19th, 2010

    How's this for something beautiful. The Little Beauty range of wines from New Zealand have a special offer for Foodepedia readers - an initial discount of 15% on their first order.  First though we went to Claridges to have a tasting of these new wines from the the new world

  • Harrods launch their Festival of British Food with Valentine Warner

    Thursday September 16th, 2010

    Ably fronted by celebrity chef, Valentine Warner, Harrods launched their Festival of British Food, on Wednesday this week, the festival runs for a little over two weeks until 3 October. For the launch food writers were invited to lunch in The Terrace Bar on the fourth floor where we met and mingled with British food producers, myself clutching my flute of Knightsbridge, English sparkling wine.

  • Armagnac continues to celebrate 700 years – pairing with Indian food!

    Thursday September 16th, 2010

    When invited to an event, celebrating 700 years of Armagnac production, I thought how bizarre – well who wouldn’t when the theme was pairing Armagnac with Indian cuisine from the Moghul region in the north west of India? It was absolutely an invitation I wasn’t going to turn down and I was glad I didn’t.

  • Absinthe, makes the heart grow fonder?

    Thursday September 9th, 2010

    I have to say that whenever absinthe is mentioned my mind goes straight to the little green fairy, played by Kylie Minogue at the start of Moulin Rouge and imagine that many other do the same. That little sequence in many ways summed up the reputation that Absinthe attained in the early part of the 20th century.

  • Camino, Puerto Del Canario, set to launch on the Thames

    Tuesday September 7th, 2010

    If the food and the ambience is anything like the original Camino in King’s Cross, Camino, Puerto Del Canario looks to be a great addition to the dining scene in Canary Wharf, providing customers with authentic Spanish food and wines in an idyllic location. It's one to investigate, definitely.

  • Languedoc wines, a new hierarchy and some great wine

    Friday September 3rd, 2010

    AOC Languedoc in Southern France forms the largest wine-making region in the Mediterranean. In the past it has been suggested that the region is a hotchpotch of terroirs and crus, made up, as it is, of 29 different named wines. We sampled two Languedoc wines recently and here are our thoughts.

  • The Bowler, Wandsworth’s new gastro-pub, developing a tasting menu

    Friday September 3rd, 2010

    Invited to the sampling of The Bowler’s tasting menu, we thought why not, it should be interesting. The Bowler’s chef is undoubtedly a talented guy, these dishes were all interesting creations that were beautifully presented.

  • McGuigan classic, The Semillon Blanc 2010

    Tuesday August 31st, 2010

    With many of us more conscious of our alcohol intake, at 11.5 percent by volume, the Semillon Blanc from McGuigan, the Australian wine producers, may be the wine you are looking for. McGuigan’s The Semillon Blanc is an excellent wine to drink as an aperitif, it feels great in the mouth and has a great freshness, but it does pair well with bolder fish dishes.

  • NUMI Tea arrives in the UK

    Friday August 27th, 2010

    NUMI tea promotes Fairtrade and Organic tea brands. From Oakland, California popular with health and wellbeing aficionados, the Numi tea range is now available to British tea lovers. We tried some of Numi’s range of teas and here is what we thought of them.

  • Hardy’s launch a Pinot Grigio to join their single grape variety range

    Wednesday August 25th, 2010

    With the growth in popularity of Pinot Grigio, Hardys have recently launched a Pinot Grigio into their single grape variety range. The label suggests that it would pair well with more delicate fish and poultry dishes as well as a spicy Thai curry and from our tasting I can see that it would.

  • Hardys Nottage Hill Cabernet Shiraz 2008, FreshCase

    Friday August 20th, 2010

    The box boasts that the wine in the case will remain fresh for up to 6 weeks after opening, if you can keep it that long that is. This makes it very suitable for those red drinkers among us who might just want to enjoy a glass every now and then. I have to admit that my box didn’t last anything like 6 weeks, my partner and I had got through it in two days!

  • Nicolas Feuillatte Rose Brut

    Wednesday August 18th, 2010

    I don’t subscribe to the view that Champagne is a wine only for special occasions, although it is the natural choice for them, the French for example drink it regularly as an aperitif and with dessert, so why shouldn’t we? I am certainly sold on this one.

  • Spaghetti House, Sicilian Avenue, London

    Wednesday August 18th, 2010

    Whilst we were eating we saw several people queuing for tables, given that this was a Wednesday evening, this is a popular restaurant indeed. I imagine this is for two reasons, the food is very good and it is very reasonably priced.

  • Canton Tea Co Wins Eight Great Taste Gold Awards

    Tuesday August 17th, 2010

    Having tried these five teas, I can report that they are all very good indeed. Foodepedia has been in discussion with the people at the Canton Tea Co and has agreed a special promotion for our readers. All first orders from foodepedia readers will be subject to a 15% discount until 30 September 2010.

  • KitchenAid ice cream maker – a cool piece of kit

    Friday August 13th, 2010

    In testing out the ice cream attachment, I tried the French Vanilla ice cream recipe in from instruction booklet and I have to tell you that it did turn out exceptionally well, smooth, creamy and full of flavour, the guests that I had made it for loved it, as did I. The process of freezing it was made a whole lot easier than it otherwise would have been having used the KitchenAid.