From banking to baking: How Austrian cuisine came to Islington islington baker Burn-out often leads to career change. So it was when Hubert Zanier tired of being an investment banker and instead dedicated his working life to schnitzels, strudels and other Austrian classics. He now runs Islington’s Austrian restaurant and patisserie Kipferl (German for croissant). “Kipferl started life as a small delicatessen near Smithfield. It quickly gained [...]
Get the cocktails right this Paddy’s Day Three of the world’s top cocktail virtuosos have released the definitive guide to Irish mixology just in time for the St Patrick’s Day festivities. Paddy Drinks: The World of Modern Irish Whiskey Cocktails, published by HarperCollins, features a comprehensive list of 90 recipes, although we don’t recommend you try them all tomorrow. It’s written by [...]
Why African spirits are an exciting frontier in the world of booze Even the most experienced of bartenders could perhaps be forgiven for having a blind spot when it comes to African spirits. While the continent has a long and varied distilling history, its produce has tended to be consumed on the continent rather than exported. But a wave of new distillers are hoping to change that. [...]
Toast the partygate PM with a special Boris brew January 29, 2022 If the endless partygate scandal has put you in the mood for a drink, one brewery has the beer for you. Perfect 10 pale ale by Congleton-based Beartown Brewery is equally at home being drunk in the garden or sitting at your desk in the office, and is said to pair excellently with Colin the [...]
Britain’s top gastropubs: Which London bars won big? January 27, 2022 Suffolk’s Unruly Pig has been voted the UK’s best gastropub. The ‘Britalian’ pub-restaurant in Bromeswell is one of five East Anglian pubs in the annual Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs List for 2022, with 18 in London and the South East being recognised. “This list is the gold standard. It’s the business. To be a [...]
How the wine-in-a-can revolution is hotting up thanks to The Uncommon January 14, 2022 Canned wine has had a refresh. The UK market alone is now already worth over £3.5m and has grown 125 per cent over the last two summers. Now the sector has produced the first UK winemaker to achieve B Corp status. The Uncommon has been certified by B Lab, the not-for-profit behind the B Corp [...]
Beach Bum Rum: How a Scotsman is making Mauritius’ favourite tipple January 10, 2022 A Scotsman living in Dubai is behind two award-winning rums made on Mauritius, the last home of the dodo. He is now hoping they will give the island’s long-established Pink Pigeon a run for its money. Born in Macduff in Aberdeenshire, David Adamson swapped wine making in England for rum-making, with some success: his Beach Bum [...]
Give it up for the world’s most extreme winemakers November 10, 2021 Every wine merchant has their hero or heroine – not necessarily their best sellers but the wines and winemakers they most admire. These are often viticulture’s unsung heroes – small producers who work with new techniques or revive old ones, sometimes toiling in the harshest terrain, where machines aren’t viable and human power is the [...]
Spend this Halloween in a hotel haunted by a giant sea beast October 26, 2021 The Averard Hotel in Lancaster Gate is perhaps the first such venue to guarantee a sleepless night. The pop-up hotel in the Grade II listed former home of a doctor, architect and two Liberal MPs is hosting a pre-Halloween “Kraken Dread And Breakfast”, offering the chance to join the Leagues of Darkness. The brainchild of [...]
Scotland may be famous for whisky but its gin is on the rise October 6, 2021 When you think of Scottish spirits, there really isn’t any competition. The ‘water of life’ is an international brand, and even fierce competition from Japan to the East and the US to the West have not shaken Scotland’s place as the one true home of whisky. But there is another spirits industry quietly gaining international [...]
