London’s Indian summer: How a new generation of restaurants shook up the food scene July 24, 2019 You could spend a year’s worth of Friday nights eating out at London’s upmarket Indian restaurants and still have a few left over to carry into January. The capital is crammed so full of Kashmiri morels and quail naans there’s barely room for kulfi. The last couple of years have seen critical and popular success [...]
Da Terra at Bethnal Green Town Hall Hotel review: Three’s the dream for this storied dining room July 23, 2019 Bethnal Green’s Town Hall Hotel has been home to two of my favourite restaurants. When I moved to London in 2010, Nuno Mendes had just opened Viajante, his Portuguese-minded take on world cuisine. It was his first proper restaurant – and his first Michelin star – after running lauded supper clubs and gastro pubs. It was [...]
Tom Brown, the superstar chef behind Hackney Wick’s Cornerstone, cooks lunch for Last Shadow Puppets star Miles Kane July 23, 2019 Starter: Salmon pastrami; airdried monkfish; cuttlefish salami; oysters; brill tartare with egg yolk, peas and morels Miles Kane: We met through my mate Gizzi Erskine, didn’t we? She’s a chef, and she told me bout the place. I was intrigued when I heard it was named after an Arctic Monkeys tune. I came for a [...]
Why there’s never been a better time to drink tequila July 23, 2019 Tequila has come to connote summer, fiestas, and the rich culture of Mexico. It’s also incredibly versatile: you can sip it, down it in one, mix it with soda, have it in a margarita, use it to replace the key ingredient in pretty much any traditional cocktail. For those wanting to explore options beyond shots [...]
Hotel Chocolat shares worth even more than this July 18, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. They’re hardly cheap, but shares in this fast-growing chocolatier could go higher still. At a time when many retailers are finding trading tough, Hotel Chocolat Group (LSE:HOTC) continues to make light work of justifying its punchy stock market valuation. The chain, which listed on AIM in 2016, produced more strong figures today as an [...]
Turnaround time for struggling food giant July 12, 2019 | City Talk By Rodney Hobson from interactive investor. The proof of the pudding lies with a new chief who looks set to sell off poor performers to boost spending on premium lines. A heavy burden lies on the shoulders of Miguel Patricio, who took over as chief executive officer of food and beverage giant Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC)last month. The reputation of [...]
In the case of sugar, the nanny state really does know best July 11, 2019 Boris Johnson created a furore last week by announcing that he was considering getting rid of the so-called sugar tax. Was he right to question the levy, or does it serve a purpose? Introduced in April 2018, manufacturers now have to pay more tax if their drinks contain a high amount of sugar. The producers [...]
Why Ocado shares have been chased sharply higher July 9, 2019 | City Talk A costly warehouse fire hasn’t dented enthusiasm for the shares. Our head of markets explains. Ocado (LSE:OCDO) transformation from online retailer to cutting-edge technology provider remains clear for all to see. The Andover fire in February was an unwelcome distraction and has come at a cost both in actual terms as well as in lost [...]
High-yielding Greene King shrugs off weather warning July 4, 2019 | City Talk Bad weather is bad news, but the dividend is attractive and Greene King typically excels in winter. On balance, Greene King (LSE:GNK) full-year numbers edge into the “glass half-full” category, as the pub owner and brewer continues to extract value from its brand and estate. Apart from a healthy return on capital of 8.5 per cent, Greene King [...]
Are labelling rules about designation of origin just a form of protectionism? July 3, 2019 Are labelling rules about designation of origin just a form of protectionism Matt Kilcoyne, head of communications at the Adam Smith Institute, says YES. Loyalty is not won by being first. Nor should it be won by locking out competitors by law. It is won by being best. Brand matters. This is not the case [...]