Two cookbooks from the Chef Patron of Le Gavroche Le Gavroche is one of London’s most prestigious restaurants. Sporting two Michelin stars, it was opened in 1967 by the Roux brothers and set the bar for classical French haute cuisine in the capital. A dynastic family in the food world, Albert (who died in January […]
French Date Night – A Valentine’s Menu
Avoid “une loterie d’amour” with our French Date Night Menu There’s nothing more romantic than zipping over to Paris on the Eurostar for a Valentine’s date with your significant other. But we can’t do that at the moment… Putain! So on February 14th, we will all be downing a couple of Valium, searching for our […]
Chicken in Red Wine – Coq au Vin from Raymond Blanc
Classic Chicken in Red Wine or Coq au Vin paired with Moon Wine! For years I’ve made Chicken in Red Wine, Coq au Vin, using the recipe Elizabeth David called Coq au Vin de Bourgogne and the second of her two recommended methods. I generally drink French wine with it though not necessarily the Burgundy […]
Lady of the Grapes Wine Bar – Review
Meeting the Lady of the Grapes in Covent Garden. Tucked away on Maiden Lane, almost opposite Rules, is a charming new(ish) wine bar with a focus on female winemakers. Lady of the Grapes is the brainchild of Parisienne, Carole Bryon, who set the place up to help redress an inherent male balance in the wine […]
Paris Food Tour with Eating Europe
Hip Eats and Backstreets – a Paris Food Tour. One of the best ways to get under the skin of a city like Paris is by taking a walking tour. For my money, the best walking tours always involve food – not just because I love to eat but because with a food tour there’s […]
Plate – Restaurant, Bar and Bake – Shoreditch
Plate – Arnaud Steven’s first Restaurant at M by Montcalm, Shoreditch: With a CV that sounds like a Michelin star in the making Owner and Chef Director Arnaud Stevens has previously worked with Pierre Koffmann, Gordon Ramsay, Jason Atherton and Richard Corrigan. I was curious to explore his newly opened Plate restaurant, located on the first […]
The Perfect Tarte Tatin – and the cheat recipe!
Professional Tarte Tatin from Galvin Brothers vs the cheat version: Earlier this year I was invited to take part in a competition to make the perfect Tarte Tatin. Unfortunately, I was in France at the time, but one of my friends did take part – and amazingly, he won! Ed Benson (who I’ve known for […]
Bon Vivant – French restaurant review
This new restaurant in the heart of Bloomsbury offers diners an authentic experiénce française. With the UK bracing itself for an upcoming Brexit, 2017 may seem a strange time to open an unashamedly European restaurant in the heart of the capital, but Bon Vivant hopes to add a little joie de vivre at a time […]
Classic Coq Au Vin Recipe
Coq Au Vin – A Classic Recipe from my Childhood: Now I’m well past my forties, I’ve become a firm believer that fifty is the new twenty. Despite that, I increasingly find myself spotting things that were significantly different when I was growing up. There are certain foods which really seem to have changed in terms […]
The Ivy Cafe, Wimbledon
The Perfect Bistro in Wimbledon – The Ivy Cafe: Wimbledon Village is charming, chic and can be a little expensive. I have no problem at all with pricey restaurant menus if the quality of the food warrants the cost to the consumer. But, in those ever-so chi-chi parts of London like Wimbledon, it’s easy to […]