Festivals, shows and other events.
My friend Jenn is the founder of Chocolate Ecstasy Tours, a company dedicated to helping people enjoy great chocolate. She (and a team of dedicated guides) run chocolate-themed walking tours in Mayfair and Chelsea during which they lead the (small) group between a number of carefully picked specialists. During the tour, you learn more ... Read more »
Camden High Street, the stretch between Camden and Mornington Crescent stations, suffers a dearth of decent places to eat. Back in the late ‘90s – early ‘00s, I worked in the beautiful “Black Cat Cigarette Building” opposite Mornington Crescent station, more formally known as Greater London House. It was once a cigarette factory owned by ... Read more »
When The Living Room launched their new menu recently, rather than holding a run-of-the-mill event, they invited a small group of us to a Blind Supper Party, where we tried bite-sized portions of several dishes on their menu, blindfolded, and then answered questions about them, pub quiz style. It was a fun thing to ... Read more »
Abergavenny Food Festival is not just about visiting all the fantastic food and drinks stands spread out across the several market areas, though that’s a huge pleasure. A big part of the experience is attending some of the wide range of masterclasses, tutored tastings and food talks on offer during the weekend. This year, I ... Read more »
The Pershore Plum Festival celebrates plum growing in and around the Worcestershire town of Pershore. Many varieties are grown in local orchards, including Victoria, Monarch, Greengage and many more but, of course, the varieties that are most celebrated during the festival are those named for the town, Pershore Purple, Pershore Yellow Egg and Pershore Emblem ... Read more »
Last year was my first year at Abergavenny Food Festival and I loved it! I had a great time this year too! Hundreds of food and drink producers spread out in several different areas around the town centre, a packed agenda of talks, tutored tastings and masterclasses to attend and a lot of eating and ... Read more »
Last month I attended the very first Cake & Bake Show, held in Earl’s Court Brompton Hall over a September weekend. Thanks in large part to The Great British Bake Off, there’s a renewed interest in baking throughout the UK, and indeed both Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood were the star names at the show. ... Read more »
Pork from happy pigs tastes better. It really does! That was certainly the case for the feast of Dingley Dell pork served up at the Leather Bottle, during one of their Flying Visits. The pub’s huge garden was decked out in bunting, with rows of picnic tables laid out ready for eager pork eaters to ... Read more »
I loved the day I spent learning to cook Italian at Food at 52. So I didn’t hesitate to accept an invitation from Tesco to an evening of baking sweet afternoon tea treats there. The special class was organised as an introduction to the Tesco Real Food Baking Challenge, which invites home bakers to submit ... Read more »
All a bit last minute, but I was asked on Monday whether I’d be willing to host a bloggers breakfast event at this weekend’s Abergavenny Food Festival. Once we agreed it would be an informal event, more of a chat room than a convention, and with no organised material required in advance, I happily agreed. ... Read more »
The Place of Onions, in old Lille. After last night’s rainstorm the intense sticky heat has broken and today is cool, breezy, fresh… I love it! A drop of… [more]
We went to Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire at The Void this morning, an amazing VR experience where we got to be Rebel Alliance members going undercover as… [more]