The wine list in the local Indian restaurant has long since been a source of amusement, befuddlement and woeful disappointment. And the appearance of bottles originating in the subcontinent is rare, if not exceptional. Perhaps because, until recently, the wines themselves were anything but. Acidic, thin, one-dimensional. But no more- with companies like Soul Tree, and now Ritu and Sula, slowly but surely seeping into the wider public consciousness.

hef Richard Corrigan has created a Summer of Elegance menu based around seasonal ingredients such as Cornish mackerel, Formby asparagus and English strawberries. The menu, available daily at the bar only, is available until the 15th of July and is priced at £25 for three dishes or £55 for nine.

Invivo, a premium New Zealand winery, launched its range of wines in London this week. The company was founded in 2007 by Tim Lightbourne and Rob Cameron who look after the marketing and winemaking respectively.

June is the month to head down to Suda, the Thai cafe and restaurant in Covent Garden, for some delicious mango dishes. Until the 30th of June, Suda has a special mango menu to celebrate mango season in Thailand.

Eurostar, an official supporter of the London 2012 Festival, has announced the full line-up for ‘Eurostar presents Traction’, an original one-day summer festival curated by internationally renowned DJ, Gilles Peterson at which numerous food and drinks concessions will be available.

TUK CHỢ, which offers South East Asian market food in the heart of Ealing, has created a weekend of fun and noodles for children over Jubilee weekend – which is also the weekend over which International Children’s Day is celebrated around the world. Each child’s ticket will cost £10 and £5 of this will be donated to TUK CHỢ’s preferred charity FRiENDS International, who work across Laos and Cambodia helping street children to escape poverty with employment skills and training.

There’s a very strong schedule of food events for this year’s Slow Food UK Week, with top chefs, including Richard Corrigan, Angela Hartnett, Giorgio Locatelli, Francesco Mazzei and Cyrus Todiwala making sure that there’s an event to attend each day of the week. You don’t have to be a Slow Food UK member in order to enjoy the packed schedule which has been created with many of the 53 Slow Food UK Chef Alliance members.

For £45, the Carluccio’s Classic hamper combined with a crisp, chilled white wine and a sunny day, would make a picnic outing or lunch on the terrace an absolute delight. I think I may have been won over to the picnic lifestyle after all.

No matter what dizzy heights our ‘tropical’ weather might reach over the Diamond Jubilee Bank Holiday, a dollop of congealed Coronation chicken’s about as exotic as it’ll get at most of Queenie’s street parties. Do your tastebuds a favour, then, and skip the alfresco free-for-all in favour of Namaaste Kitchen’s Jubilee menu. They’ll even chuck in a patriotic Union Jack napkin.