Xmas Drinks 2021: The spirits you need on your cabinet over the holidays December 15, 2021 The Botanist Islay Dry Gin is ideal for seasonal cocktails. Made by the experimental Scotch whisky-makers at Bruichladdich, using a rare, salvaged Lomond still, the Botanist combines nine traditional gin botanicals with a further twenty-two ingredients foraged from the island. The resulting spirit is incredibly smooth, enlivened by citrus, mint, and harmonious floral flavours, that make [...]
Things between Zurich and Greggs heat up as insurer insists on slicing bakery’s £100m covid claim to £2.5m December 14, 2021 Zurich Insurance has retaliated in a London court against a claim by bakery chain Greggs for between £50m to £100m in payouts for Covid-19 related losses, according to reports. The insurance giant told the court that its business interruption cover went up to £2.5m for a single event, according to Legal 360, which first reported [...]
The One that Trot Away: My dream of a Peppa Pig restaurant empire December 8, 2021 As Pied à Terre celebrates its 30th anniversary, there are plenty of highs and lows I could look back upon. Winning a Michelin star just over a year after opening; regaining our second Michelin star with chef Shane Osborn; the fire that closed the restaurant for most of 2014 (at least my badminton game came [...]
The last supper: Actor Nathaniel Parker on his dream final meal December 8, 2021 I prefer the sound of a “final meal on Earth” to “Last Supper”, as otherwise it feels a bit too much like the night before an execution. I also like it because if I was religious, I’d feel as if I was going on to somewhere else, which would be nice. My final meal on [...]
The big cheese: How old food can sell for crazy prices at auction December 7, 2021 It took two hours for bidding to draw to a close, but it was worth it. The 2.62kg Cabrales cheese left the auction tent at the 2018 Cabrales Cheese Competition to rapturous applause. Cream of the crop, the cheese had caught the attention of 15 restaurateurs from around Spain, each bidder hell-bent on blessing their [...]
‘Americans will be licking their lips’: Export of UK lamb to US from January as three decade-old ban ends December 4, 2021 Exports of British lamb to the United States are set to resume in January. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has amended the rule which currently prevents imports of lamb from the UK into the US. The amended “small ruminant rule” will come [...]
Shares drop as Deliveroo founder sells £47m stake to settle tax bill December 2, 2021 Deliveroo's stock is down 4.5 per cent after takeaway business founder Will Shu had to sell off £47m of his shares to pay a tax liability.
The wine diaries: Living the roaring 20s with Ramon Bilbao December 2, 2021 What a night was had at the celebratory launch of Ramon Bilbao’s The Journey Collection at glamorous Hispania. Throwing back to the joie de vivre of the 1920s, guests in varying degrees of vintage dress clinked crystal martini glasses in front of jazz singers before being swept up the turning staircase to a sumptuous candle-lit [...]
Wine Wednesday: Buy Burgundy – and buy it now! December 1, 2021 Burgundy has established a world-wide reputation for excellent quality, premium wines, despite the term being created as an Anglicised word for marketing purposes. In France the region and wines are ‘Bourgogne’ and there is a push among winemakers in the area to reclaim this original name. Whether you call it Burgundy or Bourgogne, however, if [...]
Quick review: Wine bar and restaurant Hackney Coterie is boldly sophisticated December 1, 2021 WHAT IS IT?A wine bar and restaurant, Hackney Coterie manages to both be relaxed and boldly sophisticated. Opened in July 2021, it’s the brainchild of two friends, restaurateur Anthony Lyons (of Lyons Seafood & Wine Bar) and sommelier Kelvin McCabe. The wines hail from across Europe, and form a seriously impressive collection. As for the food, [...]