Lois London

Lois London

Writer, broadcaster, and family food ‘expert’ (yes, she hates that word too), Lois is a woman on a mission: to get our ‘yoof’ truly excited about home-cooked fresh food.

To this end, Lois currently develops family recipes for Unilever and has been invited to appear (and cook) at a number of prestigious foodie events – including Raymond Blanc’s Oxfordshire food festival. She’s also consulted with a number of corporations – including TUI Travel and Waitrose Plc.

Lois has wanted to write for Foodepedia for a looong time and was thrilled when Mr Foodie (Nick H) finally popped the question. She also does a spot of travel writing – for publications ranging from The Independent on Sunday through to The Evening Standard.

Recently signed by Borra Garson (whose ‘fame academy’ includes Jamie Oliver and Gary Rhodes) Lois hopes that one day she too will not have to worry about the next mortgage payment. Her first (cookery) book is due for publication in August 2011.

Oh, and her name’s not really Lois. Check out more at www.fionafaulkner.co.uk

  • Danesfield House, Marlow

    Tuesday January 3rd, 2012

    At Danesfield boxes are ticked, effortlessly. Plaudits firstly for service – which was exemplary. At the main door I had one of the warmest and most sincere welcomes I think I’ve ever received (bar the day I offered to look after all three of my friend’s psychotic kids for the night) and this formal but friendly vibe weaved its cheery path pretty much throughout the entire building

  • Hartwell House. Aylesbury

    Sunday December 11th, 2011

    Hartwell House, incidentally a grade 1 listed as well as National Trust property, more than lived up to the promise of its grand, if over-familiar entrance. The main building, a seventeenth century mansion house, accommodates 33 guests at full capacity (a former stable block in the grounds has been converted to create a further 16 rooms and suites). This place is, as they say, steeped in a history – but in its truest and most tangible sense

  • Gidleigh Park, Chagford, Devon

    Wednesday May 25th, 2011

    The trouble with heading someplace that everyone proclaims “you’ll absolutely love!” is that it immediately puts the recipient of such a comment on the back foot. But Gidleigh Park deserves all its accolade and acclaim. The food is sublime; packed with beautifully juxtaposed flavours.

  • The Canteen – Axminster, Devon

    Friday April 22nd, 2011

    Despite probably having never worked in an office or factory in his life (Old Etonians don't, do they?), Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has opened a Canteen. Lois London joins the Barbour'd up crowd cramming in to cram it all down.

  • The Mount Somerset, Taunton

    Wednesday February 23rd, 2011

    Recently given a bit of a facelift (by way of a new spa) The Mount Somerset is one of those places that quite possibly actually deserves the title 'hidden gem'. A stone's throw from the M5 (make a note next time you're en route to Cornwall) it still manages to feel tucked away, enjoying a quiet sense of calm.

  • Veggie cool, London style

    Tuesday August 17th, 2010

    Veggie has suddenly become uber cool – almost over-night it seems. In July The Observer Food Monthly dedicated an entire edition to the cause; end of August sees NY’s highly regarded Otarian comes to LDN (fast-food, veggie style); and pretty much every other week every other celeb (as long as they’re of the young, female and lithe variety – oh and Russell Brand) is name-dropping Meat-Free Monday as the new ‘in’ cause. It’s hippy-chic all over again – but this time we’re talking food, not fashion.

  • The Park Restaurant, Lucknam Park

    Sunday July 25th, 2010

    I’ll lay my cards on the table from the off: I think Hywel Jones is one of the UK’s most exciting chefs. In fact let me go one step further: last night I had one of the most enjoyable meal of my life (and I’ve darned lucky enough to have been to some of the best). The Park is one of the best (as far as I’m now concerned).

  • Le Cafe Anglais

    Thursday June 24th, 2010

    Just moments from the Queensway drunks and suited career climbers (drunker still), Le Café Anglais occupies its own private entrance on Porchester Gardens. Lift ahoy up to the first floor (making it all feel a bit private members club) and you’re in.

  • Cedar Falls- Spa hotel in a Somerset style

    Thursday June 24th, 2010

    Cedar Falls is one of the most refreshing places I have been to in a long while – figuratively speaking as much as anything else. A beautiful Georgian Manor House in the pretty village of Bishop’s Lydeard in Somerset, it’s a spa-and-stay kind of affair (although day guests are welcome too) with a very exciting and ambitious young chef to boot

  • Creating the cupcake - we taste a few cookery courses to see which is the icing on the top

    Friday March 12th, 2010

    Apparently name-dropping the ‘cupcake revolution’ is the fashion equivalent of extolling the maxi-dress: very 2008 darling. But the cupcake trend is still on a [parchment baking] roll – except that in 2008 we were buying ‘em, now we’re making ‘em. Enter the cupcake class – tutorials for the disenfranchised office-worker, wondering if they too could clear four grand a month* just by knocking up a few of Nigella’s best and selling them at £2 a pop to London’s glitterati. Of course it would seem I’m suggesting that such an entreprenual venture might be as simple as it is appealing. Believe me, it’s not

  • Meals in Heels - Jennifer Joyce

    Wednesday February 3rd, 2010

    Aiming itself quite deftly at the ‘ladies who lunch’ demographic – or, quite possibly, anyone who can’t be arsed with faffing about – the premise here is that all the dishes can be made ahead of time. Then, when the moment comes, it’s simply a case of pimp my [salted caramel sauce] profiteroles, slip on the heels, and away we go.

  • Artichoke, Amersham

    Monday January 18th, 2010

    When Raymond Blanc declares that he’s taken a bit of a ‘shine’ to a restaurant, you figure it’s worth investigating. Artichoke, occupying a Grade-II listed 16th century building, reopened last December after a devastating fire. Lois London finds a warm welcome.

  • Umu

    Monday December 14th, 2009

    If you’re the kind of person who likes their restaurants to be a bit ‘hidden away’ then you’ll like Umu. As I tap, tap, tapped my way down Bruton Place, a discreet little lane just off Berkley Square, I felt that little bit of excited anticipation that comes just before you’re shown into a posh hotel bedroom. I like the idea that a restaurant has to be sought out rather than stumbled upon.

  • The Old Thatch, Adstock, Buckinghamshire

    Wednesday November 25th, 2009

    The Old Thatch in Adstock, Buckinghamshire ,is a bit of a  celebrity in its patch - as one local told me, " it’s one of a small handful of places worth going to round here.” So what’s made this seriously tucked-away village pub survive where others have been converted into super-homes?