Here are a few helpful gift ideas for heart shaped success this Valentine’s Day. Continue reading
Pierre Bonnard (1867 – 1947), Dining Room in the Country, 1913, Minneapolis Institute of ArtTo help us cope with the speed and stress of modern life, we’re encouraged to try slow cooking, slow tourism and slow living. Now, with its first show of the new year, Pierre Bonnard: the Colour of Memory, Tate Modern introduces us to the delightful concept of slow looking. I viewed the show, slowly, earlier this week and was completely smitten.
My Blue Monday was a mild one. It was fairly productive, even fun. One of the best things about it was dropping by the Pop-Up Happiness Experience put on by office supplies retailer Staples to launch its In Pursuit of Office Happiness report. The launch included a presentation by Professor Sir Cary Cooper of Manchester Business School, who spoke to a small group of media folk about happiness in the workplace and the simple things that employers can do to maintain a more content and fulfilled workforce. Continue reading
COMPETITION IS NOW OVER AND THE WINNER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING TIKICHRIS. PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR LOTS MORE FUN AND FREEBIES TO COME.
Manchester Gin is the product of a love story. Its creators Seb and Jen first fell in love over a gin and tonic on a chance encounter in February of 2013. By 2016, their love for each other – and for gin – had grown so much that the couple launched their own distillery in central Manchester. Multiple gold medals in the UK and abroad started stacking up for their range of contemporary style gins.
There are four gins in the range: Signature, Raspberry Infused, Wild Spirit, and Overboard.
Raspberry Infused is the brand’s bestseller. Known as “Pink Manchester Gin”, raspberry notes meld with a classic gin flavour profile, complemented by light floral notes and a pretty pink hue.
A perfect potion for you and your sweetheart? Perhaps! Continue reading
Weeks go by. The film you aimed to watch is no longer screening in the cinemas.
That’s how it is with me most of the time. I mean to see a film but never get around to doing so. Life gets in the way. Obligations pile up. The title I want to see is only playing on the other side of London.
Case in point: Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman. Thanks to Rakuten TV for providing a convenient and affordable way for me getting to catch the movies I missed. Continue reading
The London Bridge outlet is Roasting Plant’s sixth cafe and its first outside the US. The cafe has all the hallmarks that finicky coffee drinkers are apt seek in a central London coffee shop plus an elegant and stylish Javabot roaster as a centrepiece display.
So what’s a Javabot? Continue reading
Here’s the low down on some fine things to see, sip, savour and more – all of which I’ve recently come across and thought were worth sharing with you. Enjoy.
If our Head for the Heel mini-series has whet your appetite for travel, food and drink of southern Italy, you’ll want to try our friend Antonella’s recipe for her delicious, traditional Pasticciotto Leccese cake.
You’ll find Tempranillo wines in other Spanish wine regions too, from Toro to Ribera del Duero, Valdepeñas to Penedès. Although you’ll also find a host of other names it goes by, depending upon the area. Continue reading
COMPETITION IS NOW OVER AND THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN CONTACTED. THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING TIKICHRIS.
STILL KEEN TO ATTEND THE FRANCE SHOW? USE VOUCHER CODE TFSCOSB TO PURCHASE £3 TICKETS (REGULAR PRICE IS £13). BOOK HERE:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/
Tickets are priced at £12 each, but I’ve got several to giveaway for free. Continue reading
Every great holiday must come to an end, and so too must Judith Schrut’s glorious gambol down the heel of Italy’s boot.
We literally jumped with joy (see above) to hear that our last few days in Italy would be spent cozying up to its beautiful east coast, our backs to the blazing sun and our full frontals to the azure Adriatic.
Continue reading
Living in the Big Smoke, as we do, I’m certainly open to pampering my hair and skin. This week, I was happy to hear that London has a brand new range of luxury beauty products. Gorgias London launched its O Range; natural, cold-pressed and oil-based products with a difference. The Gorgias promise? Honest luxury: 100% natural ingredients chosen for their effectiveness. Continue reading
Earlier this week, I pulled over to The North Yard of The Stables Market for a burger (plus steak and sides ) from this newly launched food stall. I was impressed – not only with the quality food but with the concept as well. Continue reading
photo credit and copyright Antonello Naddeo
The time has come to bid farewell to the seductive charms of Alberobello and re-mount our trusty bici. We also have to up our two-wheeled game considerably, as we are joined for today’s 40 km route by a couple of pedal pros, cycle journalists Antonio and Antonello.
For this 60th episode of tikichris Talks, I chat with Tom about mead, the world’s oldest alcoholic beverage, and his contemporary take on making it in South London.
Listen now:
Download and subscribe to tikichris Talks at Apple Podcasts.
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So why wine?
Sure, beer is an obvious choice with a curry. But once you’ve worked out the subtle differences between a Cobra and a Singha beer, you’re done.
With wine, there’s much more to explore. Continue reading
We kept hearing that Noci was yet another historic and hospitable Puglian town renowned for its gastronomy. But let’s be honest, we were going to Noci for one reason and one reason only: to spend an evening in the exuberant company of Chef Marino Notarnicola, Italy’s panini king, and experience his legendary three course sandwich dinner. Continue reading
The study looks at the top 10 UK airports by passenger volume. All of its findings are fascinating. A few go against what you might expect to be the case.
Some of them turn out to be great time and money saving tips, including these handy tidbits:
I have a confession to make. Harrods fascinates the hell out of me. It’s a gawking kind of fascination for the most part; the scale of the place and scope of its offer, the people watching, the opulence (spanning the very real and the extremely faux) overwhelm and beguile me. I also get a little giddy when combing Harrods’ food halls where I don’t gawk so much as I ogle and dream – and usually end up buying something yummy to nibble.
So when the invitation came my way to visit the Harrods branch of Chucs Restaurant & Cafe and sample its January Detox Menu, I was eager for the chance to explore another nook of the giant luxury labyrinth and have something new to eat there. Continue reading
The trulli of Alberobello, Puglia: you’ve probably seen them loads of times – in ads for romantic getaways, stylish snaps on Instagram and front covers of Italian travel guides. But there’s a perfectly good reason why that’s so. For the extraordinary UNESCO World Heritage town of Alberobello is truly, or should I say trulli, a magical place.
It wasn’t too long ago I tried – and loved – CoCo Ichibanya for the first time in Japan. To know I now can have it here is delicious news indeed! Continue reading
With a well established pizzeria in Archway, Lost Boys has launched a second site. This one’s in Camden near Mornington Crescent Station. Downstairs is a basement bar called Croque Monsieur. It’s an absinthe bar – not adhering to the movie theme but still rather vampire-y.
I dropped by the new Camden outlet for the press launch this week. Here are some thoughts. Continue reading
Whether you’re an Easy Rider, Whizz-bang Wheeler or Velo Virgin, I truly believe the best way to explore Italy is on a bike. And joy of joys, that’s how we’re spending the second day of our hiatus in the heel. Continue reading
As with the only other time I had visited Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto and Hakone back in 2012), I found it was practically impossible to have a bad meal, no matter the price point or venue. Whether hunched over a grill in a hut at the back of an industrial lot on Hiroshima Bay for a breakfast of roasted oysters, or admiring the precision of a private chef grilling top-grade Kobe beef for lunch in an exclusive upscale restaurant, quality and provenance of ingredients were accorded the utmost respect and value for money was all but a given.
Read on to discover the best bites I experienced during my time in the meaty metropolis of Kobe, where I was keen to get to the meat of the matter of what makes this city’s namesake beef so coveted.
Read the complete article at Great British Chefs.
Already a fan of Dwivedi’s doings – vegan and otherwise – as well of the original Coya restaurant in Mayfair, I was pleased to make it round finally to the sister location, Coya Angel Court near Bank Station, for a tasting of the new vegan dishes. Continue reading
It’s one of the oldest cities on earth, inhabited for over 9,000 years. It’s a place of infinite beauty and picture postcard views, ancient cave houses carved into limestone rock, meandering streets and narrow alleyways in a largely undiscovered, unspoilt part of Italy. This is where Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ and Richard Gere’s King David were filmed because of its astonishing likeness to Jerusalem. And it’s probably the most stunning European city you’ve never heard of. Continue reading
When I first visited The Oystermen Seafood Bar & Kitchen soon after it opened during the summer of 2017, my meal was one of the best I had that year. It was one of few restaurants I made a special effort to return to as well as the place to eat I raved about most for months.
Heading over to The Oystermen for a friendly lunch earlier this week, I found the year and a half old eatery to be doing an even tastier job than before with an updated and broadened – but still exquisitely simple – menu.
Highlights were manifold. Continue reading
During our friendly conversation at a cafe in Waterloo, Chef Budi and I talk about his work as Executive Sous Chef at London Marriott Hotel County Hall and his involvement with the first ever Indonesian Organic Food Day, which was held at County Hall in December.
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Download and subscribe to tikichris Talks at Apple Podcasts.
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The heel of Italy’s beauteous boot might be summed up in three words: past, present and Primitivo. Just add pasta, panini and pasticciotto and you’ve pretty much got the main ingredients of this wonderful place.
I’m marking the seemingly inauspicious milestone with Lucky 13: a yearlong miniseries about 13 places to eat and drink that helped shape and define what I love about the London food and drink scene. Continue reading
During our conversation at La Mia Mamma on the King’s Road in Chelsea, Luca and I chat about his high end VIP clubs in London (and across the world) as well as the first-of-its-kind concept behind La Mia Mamma, where visiting chefs are “real Italian Mammas” from each region of Italy cooking their specific local cuisine during limited run residencies.
Listen now:
Download and subscribe to tikichris Talks at Apple Podcasts.
Follow and save tikichris Talks on Spotify.
COMPETITION IS NOW OVER AND THE WINNER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING TIKICHRIS. PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR LOTS MORE FUN AND FREEBIES TO COME.
The range includes five lightly sea salted flavours (three potato, one sweet potato, and one parsnip, sweet potato and beetroot):
Keen for something new to crunch? I’ve got a taster box of Corkers Olive Oil Crisps to share with one lucky tikichris reader. Continue reading
ViaVan covers Zones 1 to 5 as well as rides to/from Gatwick and Heathrow airports. Sign up now with my referral code chris3a8r for £4 off your next three rides. Continue reading
Here’s a quick update on some things before I roll out the next set of in depth interview episodes.
Listen now:
Download and subscribe to tikichris Talks at Apple Podcasts.
Follow and save tikichris Talks on Spotify.
