You catch glimpses of the man – Giorgio Locatelli, his trademark hair almost back to its original piratical length, emerges from his kitchen at Refettorio every now and then to see how the ‘grass’ is going down with guests.
I’m liking it a lot, the seasonal treat that is English asparagus, or ‘grass’ to greengrocers, is fresh, crisp and delicious. At this time of year it demands to be eaten every day because when it’s gone, it’s gone and we’ll soon be back to inferior foreign stuff.
Far from being a backwater, but a part of Europe unjustly ignored, Flanders has a lot going for it, not least how near it is to the UK and the fact that the locals speak French not the impossibly tongue twisting Flemish.
Matcha tea is not even remotely like the Chinese green tea or Japanese Sencha green tea that you steep in bags. The tepid green froth produced by Matcha’s super-fine powder tastes surprisingly thick and bitter, but not unpleasant, a bit like liquid grass.
Many people are not too sure what to expect when they are met with the words ‘Bavarian’ and ‘Beerhouse’. Is it a pub, which serves Pretzels? Or is it Bratwurst’s galore and a pitcher of beer? Priyanka Kara makes a visit to the new Bavarian Beerhouse opened at Tower Hill to find out!
Right wing nutcase? A legend in wet fish? A lifelong fan of Thatcher? Henry Root was all of these and now he’s a gastropub too. Anita Pati goes to see what the old man is cooking up in Chelsea.
Boisdale of Canary Wharf, Cabot Place West, Canary Wharf London E14 4QT www.boisdale.co.uk With a […]
If the grazing menu at Benares is beyond the reach of your wallet, popping into the pop up at Meza is a fabulous way of experiencing Atul Kochhar’s sparkling skills without breaking through the overdraft limit. Joanna Biddolph worked hard to do it justice on your behalf. You’ve got until Saturday 28th May to see if you can eat as much as she did.
I knew it was going to be dangerous soon after I arrived there, having rocked up at L’Atelier des Chefs for an event that was part of the launch of Red Stag. I was immediately brought a cocktail, which had been predetermined by my answer to a multiple choice question when responding to the invitation. My Claremont Julep went down very easily, a little too quickly and it confirmed that the evening was likely to be a slippery slope.
‘You’ve been shortlisted’, it read, and actually I knew that I had been, I’d been keeping a date free in my diary for months. This was my invitation to The Roof Gardens in Kensington for a formal(ish) four course dinner to celebrate the UK launch of the McGuigan range of award winning wines, The Shortlist.
Douglas Blyde heads to Islay, island of eight distilleries and one golf course. There he discovers his disinterest in golf is not a handicap.
