The yellow raspberries I harvested from the allotment recently were so beautiful I wanted to make something pretty enough to do them justice. Having filled a couple of tubs with blackberries too, a fruit tart seemed an ideal way of putting both to good use. I’ve peered through the windows of countless patisseries, admiring the ... Read more »
The Hotel du Vin chain is pretty well known now for their stylish and inviting hotels – they’re modern but not so achingly hip that us normal folk feel out of place! And their hotel restaurants, called Bistro du Vin, have proved popular not only with guests overnighting at the hotels, but with local diners ... Read more »
This Christmas, I decided to buy whole, raw foie gras and prepare it at home. I’m going to skip the foie gras ethical debate because anyone who wants to has already informed themselves about the issue and because there are already plenty of resources on the web. So, on to the foie gras! Terminology Given ... Read more »
I have a sweet tooth. Drinks of choice remain sugary concoctions such as Midori, Pimms & lemonade, Amarula, Dr Pepper, Coca Cola. Yes, really. No, I’m not fifteen. More accepted in adult circles is my deep and abiding love for dessert wines including honeyed French seducers Monbazillac, Coteaux du Layon and the various Muscats, aromatic ... Read more »
I’m generally not fussed about being an early bird visitor to a new restaurant, not because of worries that the food or service might not yet be perfect but simply because I’m happy to wait until the buzz dies down and it’s easier to get a table. And yet here I am blogging about Pierre ... Read more »
When I read, in Richard Vines’ food news round up, that Raymond Blanc was opening a branch of his Brasserie Blanc chain in London, and that there was a 50% soft opening discount being offered, I thought it would be a good chance to reassess the chain after my previous visit to the Bristol branch. ... Read more »
Two Mondays in a row now, I have visited Racine for lunch. “What’s the rush?”, you might ask… “You’ve never been before and now twice in the space of 8 days? What’s the big deal?” Well, I’ll tell you. The first visit came on the back of the recent food debate, yes, yes, the one ... Read more »
Although it’s not our normal stomping ground, we popped down to Chiswick to meet friends for dinner the night before we left for our holiday in the Falklands (in late January). On a Monday night, the restaurant was nearly empty when we arrived promptly for our 7.30 booking but we were shown to a lovely ... Read more »
Looking for somewhere to meet for a casual afternoon tea in central London, my twitter and blogger friends came through with the suggestion of Maison Bertaux in Soho’s Greek Street. A quick google revealed a french-style patisserie with a good reputation for delicious goodies and the location fit perfectly so I met a friend there ... Read more »
Having enjoyed such a magnificent meal at Bell’s Diner the evening before, it was really hard to assess our meal the following night, at Brasserie Blanc, objectively. It suffered in comparison. Which is a shame as it’s the kind of relaxed, straightforward French brasserie that we’d probably appreciate more without that juxtaposition. The brasserie is ... 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]