Less dough for better bread October 17, 2011 Bread Street Kitchen One New Change, St Paul’s, EC4M 9AF, 020 7592 1616 breadstreetkitchen.com FOOD **** SERVICE ** ATMOSPHERE **** Cost per person without wine: £45 YOU’D do well to forget that Bread Street Kitchen is owned by Gordon Ramsay. The restraint of his high-end restaurants is nowhere to be seen in the latest addition [...]
There can be only bubbles for a new arrival October 17, 2011 HEAD SOMMELIER AND MANAGER OF LUTYENS RESTAURANT THIS has been quite a week. I hope that you’ll forgive me if I start by thanking the wonderful staff of St Thomas’ hospital for the birth of my son. A new arrival is an event to celebrate so, with that in mind, I’m going to take a [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 16, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES CHOPPY MARKETS THREATEN EMI SALE Turbulent financing markets could derail Citigroup’s attempt to sell EMI, according to people close to the $3bn-plus auction who warned that the US bank could abandon the sale if it cannot squeeze higher offers from bidders. The bidding process remains fluid, with Citigroup expected to decide within two [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 16, 2011 WHITBREAD Analysts at UBS say Costa and Premier Inn owner Whitbread, which reports first half results tomorrow, is its most preferred stock in the leisure and tobacco sector. The investment bank is forecasting revenues of £889m, ebitda of £183m, and earnings per share of 69.6p. Whitbread’s restaurants continue to drag down on growth but Costa [...]
A journey to the promised land of New World wine October 16, 2011 It was a few years ago, on an evening near Christmas in a neon-lit office boardroom, that I set my heart on South African wine. Until that night, I’d floundered when faced with supermarket wine sections and restaurant lists. Nothing tasted worth the money. And yet wine played an almost daily role in my life. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 13, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES INSURERS BLAME APPLE AS LEVEL OF FRAUDULENT CLAIMS RISES The readiness of Apple to replace blocked or faulty iPhones with new smartphones is helping to fuel a big rise in fraud, insurers warn. Specialist mobile phone insurers say fraudulent claims have risen sharply amid the recession, especially related to smartphones. They estimate between [...]
Celebrate Big Food: Our diet is cheaper, richer and more nutritious than ever before October 12, 2011 BIG Food is widely regarded as the polar opposite of good food. Big food companies, we are told by campaigners and celebrity chefs, produce poor quality, waistline-busting, environment-wrecking, small-farmer-bankrupting products. The supermarkets allegedly destroy communities to sell rubbish to zombified shoppers. Industrial agriculture gives us nutrient-lite, flavourless, chemical-soaked food produced in a shockingly wasteful manner. [...]
The sherry bar that’s rocking South London’s food scene October 12, 2011 TONIGHT, José Pizarro is a rock star in his own restaurant. He’s shaking everyone’s hand, or rather, everyone’s shaking his hand. Hardeep Singh Kohli, the Scottish Sikh presenter, and his chums are settling in round a pillar to order and are giving him the pats on the back. It could be because today the Bermondsey [...]
Sketch and the art of the restaurant October 10, 2011 Q. What is Sketch’s relationship with art? A. Sketch wants to live with its time and this means engaging with art as a part of society today. Even if you don’t appreciate contemporary art – you need to have an eye on it and have a certain interest. Compared to some other restaurants we have [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 9, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES WATCHDOG HITS FRENCH AUDITORS French auditors have been lambasted by the UK’s leading accountancy regulator for their performance during the Greek debt crisis. Stephen Haddrill, chief executive of the Financial Reporting Council, criticised the way French banks and insurers had been allowed by their auditors to post smaller losses on Greek government bonds [...]