Tag Archives: Drink
Bite Me Pizza, Westbourne Grove
An invitation to try out a new Notting Hill pizzeria proved a more than satisfying reason for me to mosey more westerly than usual for one of my all time favourite foods – pizza! Bite Me? With pleasure Continue reading
Ethos Meat-Free Restaurant, Eastcastle Street
Looking for healthy and tasty meat-free food in an attractive setting? Next time you’re passing through Oxford Circus and hankering something good to eat, keep newly opened restaurant, Ethos, in mind. Continue reading
Copas Turkeys and the Art of Christmas
I’ve been a fan of Copas Turkeys for a few years. So when an invitation from the family run farm landed in my inbox to attend “The Art of Christmas” masterclass on preparing and presenting their delicious free range, plucked by hand and game hung turkeys, I RSVPed ASAP. Continue reading
Commune at Goodhood: Open-Faced Situationist Sandwiches?
Originally a small indie label fashion and lifestyle boutique on Coronet Street just off Hoxton Square, Goodhood recently crossed Old Street to reopen in a considerable bigger retail space on Curtain Road. Downstairs at Goodhood and just a few weeks old is Commune, a partnership between Chef Brett Redman (Elliot’s Café Borough Market) and Goodhood co-founders Jo Sindle and Kyle Stewart with an aim to serve “clean, healthy and really tasty food, juice and coffee with a focus on good quality and good value.” Continue reading
Recipe: Duck Mai Tai (Gressingham)
Here’s a recipe incorporating the elements of one of my favourite cocktails – the Mai Tai – and what’s fast becoming my favourite meat to cook with – duck! This ‘ducktail’ recipe calls for rum, but the alcohol cooks off leaving just its robust and sweet tropical flavour to meddle with the fruit juices and roasted almond yumminess. Continue reading
Follow Scotland’s Historic Malt Whisky Trail (OneTravel)
The world famous and one of a kind Malt Whisky Trail in Scotland passes through seven Speyside working distilleries, as well as a historic distillery and Britain’s only cooperage. Continue reading
Hotel Cafe Royal and Valrhona Team Up for Exclusive Profile 66 Chocolate
French chocolatier Valrhona has co-branded with London’s Hotle Cafe Royal to develop an exclusive new chocolate: Profile 66. Only available at the hotel, Profile 66 is the creation of Andrew Blas and a team of Valrhona tasters. Continue reading
5 Scan-tastic Reasons to Visit Sweden’s Koster Islands (OneTravel)
About a month back I had the pleasure of visiting the Koster Islands, Sweden’s most westerly populated (if only sparsely) islands. Just south of the Norwegian coast, it’s a rugged and beautiful part of the world and a great place … Continue reading
Win a Pair of Tickets to the bettane+desseauve Wine Experience London
The third edition of the bettane+desseauve Wine Experience London will take place 24 and 25 October at Saatchi Gallery where guests will have the chance to sample more than 400 of the best European wines on the market today. Tickets for the tasting run 30 quid a pop. But check it out! I’ve got ten pairs of tickets to share with you lucky readers. Continue reading
Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller Jeff Arnett at The Macbeth in London #spiritofjack
A few weeks back I had the esteemed pleasure of sitting in on a tasting with Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller Jeff Arnett. It’s funny to think that I grew up only a couple of hours’ drive from where Jeff does his magic but wound up meeting him on the other side of the Atlantic in an East London pub. Of course, as the ‘nose’ behind one of the world’s most famous brands (and what I reckon is Tennessee’s biggest export), I suppose it’s not all that surprising that the chance to shake hands and sip whiskey with Jeff might take place anywhere across the globe. Continue reading
Win Dinner for Two at Pont Street Restaurant – Courtesy of Zomato
So, a couple of weeks back I had a very agreeable Friday night dinner for two at Belgraves hotel’s Pont Street restaurant. And now – thanks to a team up with online restaurant discovery guide, Zomato – I’m offering the chance to enjoy the same delicious experience to one lucky reader. Check it out! Continue reading
Lobster Safari in the Koster Islands, West Sweden
The Koster Islands are situated off Sweden’s western mainland just south of Norway. It’s a beautiful part of the world – a rugged and ‘out there’ archipelago where wilderness and cultivation blend in such a way as to suggest that humans and nature actually can get along. Summer’s the main time folks visit this tranquil area, but I was there at the onset of autumn for the start of the lobster season. Lured by the prospect of catching (and eating!) the regionally renowned “black gold of the sea” lobsters for myself from one of the cleanest of nutritionally rich fjords in Scandinavia, I tagged along on a Lobster Safari “activity and dining experience” offered by the lovely little Hotel Koster on the island of Sydkoster. Continue reading
Review: Pont Street Restaurant at Belgraves Hotel
Before making my rez for Friday night din-din at the Belgraves hotel’s Pont Street restaurant, I skimmed the web for a few reviews. Ouch! I’m not sure whether what I read was egregiously unfair or if Pont St subsequently got its act together, but my experience was way better than those perused online. Continue reading
Did Madrid: Lunch at Botin, the Oldest Restaurant in the World
Restaurante Botin was founded in 1725, which according to the Guinness Book of Records makes it the oldest restaurant in the world. Such a claim to fame ensures a steady flow of customers coming in and out its rustic wooden doors – the vast majority of whom are holidaymakers from abroad. As is the case, the Gonzalez family who keep this culinary marvel in operation could probably rest on their laurels, serve some schlocky semblance of traditional Spanish food, and still have vacationers queued up to pay just to say they’d been there. Nonetheless, the family reckons the restaurant is not just some monument to how things once were but a vital benchmark of Madrileño cuisine. Specialities include suckling pig and Castillian lamb – both roasted in the restaurant’s original wood fired oven. Continue reading
Did Madrid: Flamenco Soul
Our visit to Madrid was for sure a foodie escapade. But there’s much more to Madrid than tapas bars (and that’s a lot for a gourmand like me to get my head around). Without doubt the most memorable experience Kemey and I shared during our weekend away was our own private flamenco lesson. Olé? Oh yeah! Continue reading
Win a Month’s Worth of Vouchers from Innocent Drinks
Yep, you read the title right. I’ve teamed up with everybody’s favourite juice and smoothie maker to offer one lucky reader a chance to enjoy a month’s worth of vouchers redeemable for Innocent Drink products – smoothies, juices, fruit tubes, veg pots and the newly launched noodle pots. Continue reading
Good Stuff
Good Stuff and lots of it! Here’s the low down on some fine things to see, sip or savour – all of which I’ve recently come across and thought were worth sharing with you. Enjoy. Continue reading
Fresh Pasta Masterclass with Giovanni Rana – 17 September at Giovanni Rana Restaurant, NW1
Maker of Italy’s most popular pasta brand, Giovanni Rana will be visiting his Regent’s Place restaurant on the 17th of September to host an exclusive pasta making masterclass and teach a small audience how to make fresh filled pasta from scratch. Continue reading
New Distillery Tours in Louisiana (OneTravel)
Thirsty for a taste of something local in Louisiana? Two new distilleries in south Louisiana have recently started to offer tours of their facilities along with onsite tastings of their products made with Louisiana ingredients, and a third distillery is … Continue reading
Aberlour and the World’s First Outdoor Whisky Art Gallery (OneTravel)
Back in May, single malt whisky makers Aberlour launched the world’s first outdoor whisky art gallery. A few weeks ago, I got the chance to check the exhibition when I paid a visit to the distillery. Set on an idyllic stretch of babbling brook winding its way to Aberlour’s historic distillery, the exhibition aims to capture “the individual elements that together result in one of Scotland’s most famous exports.” And I reckon it certainly succeeds in doing so. Continue reading
Aberlour at the Source: Fine Finish
Clean air, clean water, clean tasting whisky – why’d I ever leave? I’d relish a repeat visit to Aberlour Distillery and the Speyside swath of heaven that’s its home. Folks looking for their own ‘clean’ break would be wise to go for a similarly relaxing retreat. Continue reading
Aberlour at the Source: Tasting Notes
To be honest, I’d never had a sip of Aberlour before my visit to its distillery. Always reckoning myself more an islands whisky kinda guy, I’m slightly embarrassed to say that I simply had not even given Speyside whisky a fair shake. I now realise the error of my ways and that I have been missing out all these years as a whisky drinker. Continue reading
Aberlour at the Source: A Whisky While beside the Lour Burn
Regardless of whether you actually like the taste of whisky, distilleries are fine places to visit if only for the scenery surrounding them. And to this point, age old Aberlour Distillery is no exception. Continue reading
Win an Assortment of Yoghurt Treats from The Collective
Known for its innovative approach and “daring dairy” spirit, gourmet brand The Collective makes some of the yummiest yoghurt on the market today. Fancy a taste? Keep reading for a chance to have a chiller bag full of luscious Collective products hand delivered to your door for free. Continue reading










