Can wine school teach me to talk like a sommelier? Wine Could a day spent learning to tell your Pinots from your plonks at London’s WSET turn the average wine-lover into a bona fide wine connoisseur? Carys Sharkey finds out The UK’s wine sector is going through a period of chop and change. The UK is still the second largest importer of wine in the world, [...]
St Barts: The hidden City restaurant looking beyond the British larder Food The Toast the City Awards are mere days away, with the great and good of the Square Mile preparing to descend upon Steel Yard for the party of the year. One of the Finalists is the stunning Barts North Wing – but did you know there is also an incredible place to grab lunch after [...]
Gordon Ramsay restaurants top £100m as Lucky Cat ‘star performer’ Hospitality Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant group took more than £100m in revenue in the UK last year, as the group named its five Bishopsgate sites its “star performer”. The celebrity chef’s 34 UK restaurants posted a three per cent uplift in revenue to £100.7m in 2025, as its operating loss narrowed from £7.3m to £5.8m. Gordon Ramsay’s [...]
‘King of Mayfair’ Richard Caring hits out at ‘lacklustre’ economy September 7, 2026 Richard Caring, dubbed the ‘King of Mayfair’, has blamed the UK’s “lacklustre” economy for falling sales at his luxury restaurant group. The hospitality tycoon’s Caprice Holdings reported a four per cent dip in revenue to £90.5m in the year to January, which it blamed on rising employment costs and US tariffs. Caring’s hospitality group includes [...]
Vraic: The Michelin-starred restaurant putting Guernsey on the map September 2, 2026 At Vraic, Nathan Davies has created a restaurant worth flying to – and back from – in a single day, writes Carys Sharkey Flying anywhere for lunch is pretty decadent. Flying back the same day is borderline obscene. But Vraic, which opened on Guernsey a year ago, is a restaurant that has muscled its way [...]
Lita: The pursuit of the perfect neighbourhood restaurant August 26, 2026 After running a three-Michelin-starred kitchen, one chef has set out to create the ultimate neighbourhood restaurant at Lita in Marylebone, writes Carys Sharkey What makes the perfect neighbourhood restaurant? Some immediately come to mind: Perilla in Stoke Newington, Camberwell Arms in Camberwell, Chez Bruce in Wandsworth, Saikei in the retail complex side of Greenwich. All [...]
Hélène Darroze à la carte is the ultimate lunchtime luxury July 30, 2026 When it comes to fine dining, who says we shouldn’t have a choice, writes Carys Sharkey There is a continual grumble in fine dining, a tedious debate that flares up every now and again when a critic complains about a sore arse from sitting through a tasting menu. I love tasting menus. I should get [...]
Fine dining and The Jab: A Michelin dinner with the Ozempic set July 21, 2026 The age of Ozempic is changing fine dining. Anna Moloney asks how to run a Michelin-star restaurant when your diners don't want to eat.
Ynyshir: Gareth Ward’s shrine to heavy metal cooking June 25, 2026 Years ago, a spoonful of Gareth Ward’s blew her mind, now Carys Sharkey makes a pilgrimage to his two Michelin-starred restaurant Ynyshir Many, many years ago, when I had just finished university and was listlessly waiting around to be headhunted, I supported myself by picking up the occasional hospitality odd job. This was normally hours [...]
Tom Aikens finds his Muse May 26, 2026 From Norwich to London to Paris, Tom Aikens is serving his life in food, but does the conceit live up to the eat, asks Carys Sharkey Walking through the corridors of Norwich catering college, Tom Aikens knew he was exactly where he wanted to be. After “underperforming superbly” at school alongside his twin Robert – [...]