This is what it’s like to be a young chef in London, from Michelin trainees to pop-up proteges November 2, 2017 Depending on who you speak to, young chefs are either the rock stars of the 21st century, or the last vestige of a Victorian-style workforce, toiling away in cramped conditions under tyrannical bosses for pay that makes nurses look like millionaires. What’s beyond question is that London is one of the most exciting culinary cities [...]
Fitness advice: How can you keep fit around all of these end-of-year parties? October 31, 2017 For many people, November is the start of the hardest time of year for keeping fit. Cold weather makes us crave stodgy comfort food, and that’s before you factor in the parties. But rather than wait until the new year for yet another resolution to get fit or lose weight, how about trying to [...]
Nobu Shoreditch review: Sophisticated Manhattan-style dining arrives in London’s coolest postcode October 27, 2017 The ever-expanding Nobu empire of classy and upmarket Japanese restaurants plants an incongruous outpost in the gritty hipster bricklands of Shoreditch. A cavernous basement lounge hidden beneath the first Nobu hotel in London, the restaurant exudes the refined early-era Bond-villain aesthetic of Tokyo’s fine dining scene. A giant glass wall allows an adjacent light well [...]
It takes a village: How Simon Rogan transformed a Cumbrian town into an international culinary destination July 6, 2017 The village of Cartmel lies just beyond the boundaries of the Lake District. It’s quietly beautiful, with squat stone buildings, rows of shops selling postcards and tourist knick-knacks, and a 12th century priory that dominates the town square. You can find lazy, bucolic idylls like this dotted across this part of the world; it’s the [...]
How to mix: Happiness Forget’s Forest Hill, a cocktail using mezcal and a new spirit made from birch sap June 1, 2017 There must be a lot of expectation on your shoulders when you run one of the World’s 50 Best Bars. But Rhys Wil- son, general manager at Happiness Forgets in Hoxton Square, puts his high profile gig at the tenth best bar in the world to good use, namely pro- moting young bartending talent through [...]
Losing weight means a new diet plan, whether you like it not. Here’s how to find the best diet for you May 23, 2017 Although hitting the gym isn’t for everyone, nutrition is something we literally can’t avoid. But there’s a problem: everybody thinks they are a nutritionist these days, meaning it can be very hard to determine fact from fiction. Does the latest health fad really work, or is it just another urban wives’ tale? Over the [...]
Working Lunch review: Bocca di Lupo is the place to wolf down Italian small plates in the West End April 26, 2017 Bocca di Lupo 2 Archer Street, W1D WHAT? A small-plates restaurant that prides itself on regional Italian cooking, a considered wine list and a fizzy atmosphere. The bar stretching alongside an open kitchen puts the theatre in Theatreland, but the rear dining room is a more intimate, austere affair. WHERE? Jostling for attention in Soho, [...]
Our resident chef Mark Hix comes out fighting over his early-season asparagus tips March 14, 2017 Last week we received our first cutting of asparagus from the Chin family up in the Wye Valley. They always seem to be ahead of the game with early asparagus, not to mention their second season asparagus in autumn – to my knowledge they’re the only UK producers working this way. I often get criticised [...]
Ristorante Frescobaldi review: A well curated wine bar tempered by some tame Italian fine dining March 14, 2017 Opened in November 2014, this is the first UK restaurant of those world-renowned purveyors of grapejuice, the Frescobaldi family. They’ve been turning out Tuscan wines since 1308, and their bottles are said to have been enjoyed by everyone from Renaissance visionaries to Popes. The glass-fronted wine cellar by the entrance is a statement of intent: [...]
Marks and Spencer has shut down its Beijing branch as it heads out of China March 14, 2017 Marks and Spencer has pulled out of China, closing its prestigious Beijing branch earlier this month, the company confirmed. The retailer said it also closed two stores in February in the country and three more in January. Three remaining stores in Shanghai are scheduled to close by 1 April. Adam Colton, Marks & Spencer managing [...]