FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
CELEBRATE THE ROYAL WEDDING WITH AN ENORMOUS HESTON TRIFLE
In case you were worried about what to feed your guests at your royal wedding party (and who isn’t? Honestly) – Waitrose has swept to the rescue with a cake, “created” by Heston Blumenthal and big enough to feed 10 people. The Royal Trifle (pictured below) is certainly a patriotic dessert, borrowing from two British favourites, trifle and Eton Mess. It’s also royally delicious: layers of strawberry compote scented with orange zest and decked with crumbed amaretti biscuits. Marc de Champagne has replaced traditional trifle sherry and classic custard has been swapped for cream infused with saffron strands. Crowning it all is a ring of meringue sprinkled with an edible confetti of rose petals, caramel almonds and dried strawberry jewels. Panic most definitely over. Available from 20!April, from £13.99.
MET BAR’S NEW BELLE EPOQUE COCKTAILS
Park Lane’s dark red and very sexy Met Bar is relaunching forgotten classic cocktail recipes to pay homage to “post-Victorian decadence”. Fewer ingredients and oft-overlooked alcohol (think vermouth, fino and port) are the lynchpin of the new cocktails. The Mayfair Stinger combines Disaronno amaretto and port; the Fino Royal blends sherry with champagne and the Secret Formula pairs Johnnie Walker Black together with antica formula. New menu launching on 5 April. 19 Old Park Lane, W1K 1LB, www.metropolitan.london.como.bz.
ANNA HANSEN’S POPS UP WITH MEZA
The Modern Pantry’s famously innovative chef Anna Hansen has opened a pop up called Meza, in Soho. It’s a four week treat for those who don’t normally go to her Farringdon flagship, with a mixture of her signature dishes, such as the sugar-cured prawn omelette with sambal, and okra and feta fritters, and new ones like roast cod, chorizo, clams, squid ink mash and samphire. There’s a pre-theatre menu of three dishes for £15, which strikes us as an absolute steal. Until 16 April, 100 Wardour Street, W1F 0TN. www.themodernpantryatmeza.co.uk
SAVOY GRILL PRIVATE DINING ROOM
The Savoy Grill has launched its private dining room in partnership with Bombay Sapphire. Decorated in silk in the gin’s famous blue, the table seats eight and has a Baccarat crystal decanter at the centre. Opulence incarnate.