The Portman, Marylebone

Trained at Cape Town’s Higgs School of Good Cooking (Meerendal Hospitality Academy), Wet sharpened his craft at South African restaurants, Hauté Cabriere and De Oude Welgemoed (the latter offering Cape-Malay cuisine) then Brula Bistro, La Buvette, Landsdowne Club, Brasserie Roux (Sofitel St James) and The Carlton Club in London.

The Mount Somerset

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.

London’s latest Thai restaurant Ora launches City Jazz

London’s latest Thai restaurant, Ora, and the City Jazz group, invite music lovers to end their weekend in style with a series of Sunday evening jazz nights. City Jazz saxophonist Sam Sharp will entertain alongside a different guest musician each week, treating diners to a mix of classical and contemporary jazz. With three-courses for just £25 per person

Wine with your pancakes, why not?

We surveyed the shelves of Sainsbury’s looking for some interesting wines that you might like to pick up over the coming weeks. We selected four wines that, with Shrove Tuesday coming up, could well go with dishes you are preparing if you are doing something special with friends or relatives on or around that day and would like a wine to go with your pancakes, whether they are sweet or savoury.

The Vintner, supplying the trade and the public

I seem to be writing about New Zealand wines a lot of late and it has to be said, quite justifiably. I have tasted some excellent vibrantly fruity produce from this part of the world. So when invited along to a wine tasting at The Vintner, I was pleasantly surprised to find that all the wines on the table for tasting were also from New Zealand.