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
Discovering the Real Beaujolais
Forget the wacky races of Beaujolais Nouveau, says Alan Kingsbury,instead go for the Beaujolais Crus as he did by tasting six of the best to be found.
HIlton Christmas Festivities 2011
Take a look at this lovely line-up of foodie festivities on offer at Hilton this Christmas. From afternoon teas to kitchen tours, it will be hard to narrow down the ways to spoil yourself.
How to make Hummus
You don’t have to as rich as David Beckham to sample the delicious dishes of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel & Al Khayal in Dubai. Executive Chef Maurice Fitzgerald has jotted down his recipe for Hummus for us. So get some pittas and get stuck in!
The London Chocolate Festival 2011
I didn’t get a chance to try the chocolate churros stand, and I would have loved to have sampled the pretty boxes of Baruzzo Italian chocolates. Look out for the trembling stacks of cookies from Galeta and the various cake, fudge and novelty chocolates stalls.
A bit of spice in your life with Spicentice
It was with some excitement that we broke open the box of samples from Spicentice and little packets of spice mixtures tumbled to the floor all around us. There must be around 24 spice kits in the range and we seemed to be knee deep in most of them.
Canapes inspired by Downton Abbey
To celebrate the release of Christmas at Downton Abbey on Blu-ray and DVD (available from 26th December), Hus Vedat, Executive Chef of the St Ermin’s Hotel, has compiled some traditional canapé recipes from the Downton Abbey era. They tell us that even cousin Violet would approve…
Oxford Companion to Beer by Garrett Oliver
Garrett Oliver has gone where no man has gone before. He has formalised the world’s most informal drink. This is not a coffee table book or a gift idea for Uncle Kevin who loves his lager. This is a serious book about a serious business
Vivek Singh to open a new restaurant in Soho
The Cinnamon Club and Cinnamon Kitchen’s Soho site will offer modern contemporary Indian cuisine using quality ingredients, but at a lower spend per head to reflect its more relaxed and informal surroundings.
Castello Cheese Giveaway
These days, for me it’s all about the blue, the kind of blue that could cure a serious bacterial infection. Luckily for me, Castello® cheeses can provide a cheese for walks of life, bacterial or otherwise.