‘The Spice Tailor’ curry sauce range

Three unassuming sachets sit in front of a skeptical me. Nice packaging design, colourful, clean graphics- and the reassuring photo of Anjum Anand, noted for championing authentic, tasty Indian food. But, ambient curry sauces? Really, Anjum? With all due respect, I’m not sold. Until, of course, I unequivocally am. Tail firmly between my legs, I award a resounding victory to ‘The Spice Tailor‘.

Patak’s New Stir-fry Sauces

‘People are always ashamed to admit they use their leftovers in curries,’ Anjali Pathak declares in her broad Northern accent, ‘But that’s what Indian families do. Whatever’s around, you throw in a few spices and turn it into something tasty- nothing’s wasted’. Hopefully the notion is one which won’t be wasted on the British public, either- especially when we’re all in dire need of a cheap yet fulfilling feed.

Donald Russell Launches Curry Ready Meals

A particularly noxious Indian takeaway lubricated with copious amounts of cheap cooking oil and redolent with raw spices left me feeling somewhat dirty and used. Heck, they didn’t even throw in a couple of poppadoms. So it was with due trepidation I took delivery of a large box of curry ready meals from Donald Russell- akin, if you will, to Superman handling a polystyrene crate of Kryptonite.

Carte Noire Instinct Launch

We’re seated in a silk-lined ‘pod’ with a small group of strangers, with a piped soundtrack featuring the slippery strains of modern jazz, low lighting, and a troupe of scantily-clad burlesque dancers. A honed, toned male model draws the curtains closed behind him. The stage seems set for some wholly unwholesome nefarious behaviour.

Bowmore Transports Londoners to Islay

Tired of city life and craving the rugged wilds of bonnie Scotland? Next week, purveyors of that top-drawer dram, Bowmore, will host an interactive event promising to transport guests to a galaxy far, far away… well, the island of Islay, found off the West coast and home to Bowmore’s distillery.

Easter at Harrod’s

Hand made in either milk or white chocolate and exploding with nuts or freeze-dried berries, these beauties are like the Ferarri of Easter fun. If you’re looking to impress someone this year, or just sick of keeping the purse strings tight, this is the perfect way to go all out for Easter this year.

Inaugural Macaron Day at Pierre Hermes London

Macarons? Really? You sure? Been there, done that, had the sugar rush. Yet, judging by the chattering classes clamouring for the candy-coloured confections, it seems the appetite for the whimsical, bijou mouthfuls remains unsated. And, when they’re so deceptively insubstantial, how could it be?