How to host the perfect evening this Valentine’s day February 4, 2021 This will be the first year in over a decade I won’t be working in a restaurant this Valentine’s day. For hospitality professionals it’s the most dreaded day in the calendar for so many reasons – it’s the first busy day of the year, restaurant owners cram in as many tables of two as possible. [...]
Unilever restores confidence as sales jump 3.5 per cent February 4, 2021 Consumer goods giant Unilever today reported underlying sales growth for the fourth quarter, buoyed by strong demand in emerging markets. Sales rose 3.5 per cent for the owner of Persil, Dove and Marmite, meeting analyst predictions. For the full year, sales grew by 1.9 per cent but turnover and underlying profit dropped 2.4 per cent [...]
Best of travel: Eating and drinking with the St Petersburg locals February 3, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. This week we revisit Ashwin Bhandari’s trip to St Petersburg, the cultural heart of Russia. Read more: Jaguar XF P300 review: revitalised luxury at a surprisingly low price ••• There are not many places that have left me [...]
Why baijiu is set to take the UK spirits business by storm February 2, 2021 The famous Chinese poet Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty had some very precise ideas about drinking. He once wrote, “One’s drinking companions should be elegant, unrestrained, forthright, understanding, old friends or beautiful”. He further counselled that “The best places for drinking should be in front of flowers, in the bamboo forest, in a high [...]
Get your lockdown foodie kicks with a YORStory Zoom night February 2, 2021 As the current lockdown drags into its third month, simple pleasures like a meal at a restaurant or a trip to the pub are becoming increasingly distant memories. For those of you desperate for gustatory experiences and human contact, YORStory has launched a weekly series of food and drink themed workshops to rescue your Thursday [...]
How Tampa went from fast food badland to supercool trailblazer February 2, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. This week we revisit Ashwin Bhandari’s trip to Tampa to see a food scene revolutionised by a new generation of chefs. ••• On a Friday night in Seminole Heights, The Refinery restaurant is buzzing. Every seat is [...]
How pre-made cocktails changed the way we drink February 1, 2021 RTD, RTS, RTE, RTS, PPPM, PB, BTCBQ and SSC are all part of modern R&R. The latest drinks trend is Ready-To-Drink, Ready-ToServe, Ready-To-Enjoy, Ready-To-Savour, Premium Perfectly Pre-Mixed, Pre-Bottled, Bar-Tender Cocktail Bar Quality, Superior Serve cocktails. They come in a bottle, a can or even a box. But should you be stocking up? Xhulio Sina used [...]
No-and-low alcohol spirits are here to stay, so do it in style January 29, 2021 Dry January has always been a challenge, but 2021 has made going sans alcohol even harder. If you have stuck with it this far – through Zoom meetings, home-schooling, and an inescapable sense of existential dread – then you deserve a treat in this final weekend of the month. We’re already well-versed in low- or [...]
Visit London’s first ever absinthe distillery January 29, 2021 London’s first absinthe distillery has opened in east London in a suitably trippy location. The Devil’s Botany Distillery is the brainchild of two devoted “absintheurs” – owners of The Last Tuesday Society, the Hackney bar famous for its taxidermy collection and absinthe-based cocktails including “The Naughty Nun” and “Magik & Medicine”. “Devil’s Botany London Absinthe [...]
Best of travel: Why the best Chinese food is found in Taiwan January 27, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. This week we revisit Simon Thomson’s trip to Taiwan, home to some of the world’s finest Chinese food. ••• In 1949, after years of civil war, the nationalist forces of the Kuomintang withdrew to an island in [...]