Food & Drink

The Globe & Rainbow, TN17

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Goudhurst. I couldn’t even pronounce it, let alone find it on the map. But this is where Gemma, the other half, decided to bring us for my birthday. We’ve been scouting villages around London, making a shortlist of places that are charming enough to call home—you know, buy a house, get nestled, and eventually fire out some little ones. So this was as much a reconnaissance as a celebration. One of the great, incontrovertible truths about England is that, deep down, we’d all rather be in the countryside. If you don’t feel it now, you will. The English weren’t built for the city and its Faustian promises. We’re too polite…

Angelina

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It was last November when I first received word that a new Japanese-Italian restaurant was opening in Dalston, East London.

Ten Trinity

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When I dwelled in the soot-covered streets of central London, I didn’t really have much need to pay dues to a members’ club. London is hectic, in a way that makes even the most confident and athletic appear grey and lifeless over time. But that wasn’t me, babe. I was living out of a certain hotel on Brook Street circa 2007 and all was gin-soaked and well with the world. Except, quietly, it wasn’t, was it. BNP Paribas was quietly blocking withdrawals from two of its hedge funds. The Dow Jones peaked at 14,164.53 and then started to decline faster than Gordon Gekko’s prison sentence. Shortly after the US bailed its players out to the tune of $800 billion (that we know of), the European ripple was in…

Bowcliffe Hall & The Yorke Arms

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As I continue to rack up the years like tree rings laced with gin and bittersweet symphonies, I am constantly reminded of the ever-increasing gap between the young and the no-so-young. This widening fissure between generations presents itself more often in the usage of phrases that my grandparents taught me when I was growing up. After all, the language we use in our formative years becomes our cultural lexicon. So, when I say to you that Jonathan Turner is ‘salt of the earth’, I expect those of you without the knowledge of the term to research it, whether you are scholarly or not. Established in 1919, in Leeds, by a…

La Patata

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Occasionally, whilst reviewing a restaurant, you come across a story that adds a real insight into the passion behind a business. Then, once in a while, you find one which really touches your soul. Having dined at La Patata, a classical family restaurant in Lenzerheide, we were introduced to Giancomo. The restaurant was his brother’s love and life’s work. Unfortunately, five years earlier, he was killed in the valley, in an avalanche. Giancomo took the view that, because the restaurant was, as he says, ‘his brother’s life’, the building should go to the employees. It now stands as a fitting tribute, and his brother’s dream lives on. Being towards the…

Galvin La Chapelle

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My visit to Galvin La Chapelle coincided with the first proper rainy day of the summer. My partner and I rejoiced at how wonderful it was—how we would soon see the restoration of the green and pleasant land of England—and celebrated by spending the day in bed watching the extended The Return of the King, whilst said partner, a historical architecture fanatic, remarked on the relative merits of fortifications and roof structures. It was rather fitting therefore, that upon leaving our hobbit hole we were dining in the Grade II listed St. Botolph’s Hall, now Galvin La Chapelle. Constructed in 1890, the building is late-Victorian architecture at its reminiscent best;…

Christie’s Finest Wines and Spirits

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Today Christie’s New York Wine Department announced the final wine sale of 2018 just in time to bolster your investment portfolio or restock the cellar for Christmas: Finest Wines and Spirits Including the Liberty Hall Museum Collection of Historic Madeira and an Extraordinary Collection of Pre-Prohibition Whiskey. The auction will take place across a day and evening session on Friday the 7th of December and will present a vast array of nearly 800 lots of rarities from regions of both the wine and spirit producing parts of the globe. Taking place concurrently is the Wine Online Sale (19th November – 5th December) featuring approximately 352 lots. Day Session, Lots 1-516, 10am The day sale commences…

Delphina Hotels 5* Freedom – Sardinian Style

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I had once again decided that this was the summer I would finally kick the habit of trying any and, more importantly, all food put before me when Peter (Ed) asked if I fancied popping over to Sardinia. My virtuous resolution at once gave way to voracious temptation and, before long, I was flying to the north of Sardinia in expectation not only of culinary delight, but to experience Sardinia’s renowned coastal beauty, the welcoming hospitality of its people and the longevity-inducing, sense of freedom that this island evokes. Delphina Hotels met these expectations and more. Sardinia, although politically a region of Italy, is ethnologically distinct. This family-owned business, consisting…

A man and his meat

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After navigating icy hairpin bends, snow banks and rushing waterfalls, we found our destination concealed in a valley between Lenzerheide and Chur in the Swiss Alps. In hushed tones, we had been told there was to be found a true specialist in the artisan field, who we could not miss visiting whilst we were in the area. The exclusivity of the suggestion was reinforced by the fact we were unlikely to discover his wares outside of the immediate region due to export restrictions. On checking the ‘tip off’ with restaurant and bar staff, we were returned the knowing smiles that experience has shown often lead to culinary excellence. Our interest…