Pret a Manger has just opened its first veggie pop-up in Soho June 1, 2016 The City's top lunch spot, Pret a Manger, has had a green makeover today as it opened the doors at its Little Veggie Pop-Up on Broadwick Street in Soho. The pop-up offers 45 new vegetarian and vegans recipes for the menu, including open rye sandwiches, courgetti and cauliflower rice "plant pots" and savoury yoghurt bowls – as well [...]
Leon and Wagamama lead the way as casual dining and pub grub drive new restaurant and bar openings May 31, 2016 Just when you thought you'd had enough, casual dining and food-led pubs are helping to drive new openings in the UK's bar and restaurant market. Entrepreneurial food-driven businesses like Leon and Wagamama, and the conversion of drink-led ventures into gastropubs by pub groups are helping to offset the decline in marginal sites. The latest quarterly growth figures from [...]
Food is the megatrend of the future and investing in meat, pork, health foods and grains is making investors money May 26, 2016 Doom-mongers often talk of the impending explosion in the human population. There will be 9bn people on the planet by 2050, and one of the big problems will be how to feed so many mouths. “Global supply and demand is out of balance, and in a state of flux,” says Hugo Rogers of the Liontrust [...]
School of hard knocks: How to cut the soaring cost of private education May 26, 2016 When it comes to our children, a good education is priceless. But if you’re talking about sending them to a private school, there is a hefty price tag, and it has been rising precipitously. To send a child to a private day school from 2015 to 2028 will set you back an average of £286,000, [...]
Property of the Week: Sanctum is a rare floating home in Putney and it’s full of bespoke furniture and antiques May 25, 2016 Finding a property that meets all your requirements in London is no easy task. In fact, it’s such a bother that Charles Nicholson decided it would be easier to build one himself from scratch – on the Thames. Admittedly, Nicholson had a little help from his friends as he’s the managing director of The Contract [...]
Our columnist Mark Hix accepts a challenge from an old friend to catch a wild salmon in the weirs of Ireland May 24, 2016 Two or three times a year I’ll visit Ireland, mainly to see my good friend Peter Hannan who supplies my restaurants exclusively with Glenarm estate beef. My stay often includes a little bit of fishing, a lot of very good eating and experimenting with Peter’s new beef, lamb and pork products. But last time I [...]
Chelsea Flower show making you peckish? Craft London and Rotorino chef Stevie Parle tells you what flowers you can eat May 24, 2016 Chelsea Flower Show left you peckish? Chef/owner of Craft London Stevie Parle gives us tips on using flowers in cooking Most things that grow as a fruit or vegetable have a flower you can eat, such as peas, broad beans, apples, cherries and courgettes. But don’t just use flowers for food, they’re great as garnishes in [...]
Just Eat founder secures £1.2m funding for hairdresser booking app May 24, 2016 A London-based startup for booking hairdressers from the founder of Just Eat has secured a £1.2m investment from 500 Startups and Seedcamp alongside angel investors, including Tom Singh, the founder of New Look. The app, Rock Pamper Scissors, is targeting millennial consumers and connecting them with salon stylists. The app will help users find where the nearest appointment is available and [...]
Mumsnet and Netmums divide mums on Brexit in the polls ahead of live Q&A with MPs Yvette Cooper and Gisela Stuart May 24, 2016 Will it be statistics at dawn for Britain's mums? News reaches The Capitalist that Netmums, the straight-laced alternative to mothering social network Mumsnet, has polled its users and discovered that "the majority of women (mums) are planning to vote to leave, whilst 17 per cent are still undecided as to how they will vote". Around [...]
Beat the post-Eurovision blues with a trip to Stockholm, where these waxen ABBA nightmares stand in perpetual, staring horror May 20, 2016 Landing in Stockholm, bleary-eyed and frizzy-haired, I wondered if this was all going to be a bit too cool for me. People have got their act together in Sweden. They eat well, they look immaculate and everything they do is world-beating – from their achingly cool subtitled dramas, to their forward-thinking paternity leave policy and [...]