A guest blog - The Stafford London by Kempinski

I was invited to join the team at The Stafford London for a Gourmet Soiree but due to more boring commitments, I couldn't make it - but my foodie friend, Nicole Wright, did.  So see below for her view on the event. Sounds like I missed a goodie:

Hidden away on a side street of the historic St. James’s district, away from the hustle and bustle of nearby Piccadilly, this is not an easy hotel to find. This is all part of its charm however, as once you are greeted by the doorman and shown inside you feel like you have found a well-kept London secret.



I went along to the first in the series of their (free!) ‘Pub Talks’ entitled ‘Gourmet Soiree’,lead by Executive Chef of the hotel’s Lyttelton restaurant, Brendan Fyldes. I was escorted down to the superbly replete wine cellars dating back to the 17th century. If you ever need a special private dining space for the wine buff in your life then this would be the place to hold it.

Word has obviously not got out yet about these evening talks as less than 20 people took part. A likeable mix of PR girls, hotel residents and genuine Foodies. Once everyone had a glass in hand Brendan began preparing his first creation; sea bass with rosemary and lemon. He made gutting and scaling the 12lb fish look like something everyone could easily try in their own kitchen, pointing out the techniques for removing the head and scales and how once removed the head and bones can be used to create a fish stock (make sure to remove the fish eyes!). The prepared fish was then whisked away and came back 20 minutes later beautifully grilled and ready for us all to dig in to accompaniedby a simple and delicious dip of blended chick peas and olive oil.


Following on from this we were shown how to prepare foiegras with rose salt and andPedro Ximenez (Spanish sweet wine from the Andulsian region). This reappeared later for us to try in the form of an incredible foiegras burger. I would definitely have indulged in a second one if Brendan had not whisked me away to the kitchen to try his freshly prepared Eccles cakes. The Eccles cakes alone make it worthwhile coming for afternoon tea here.


Throughout the food preparation and tasting we were encouraged to try a variety of different beers picked to match the food as well as being shown the different effects that different shaped beer glasses can have on taste. The final cheery beer was served elegantly in a martini glass.


I left having learnt how to gut and scale a fish, eaten well, sampled beers I never would have tried myself, made new friends, and with a new destination in my address book. There are 4 more Pub Talk evenings scheduled throughout September and October looking at wine and cigar pairing, cocktail making, custom jewellery and portrait photography and I plan to be at all of them!

http://www.kempinski.com/en/london/Pages/Welcome.aspx

Brendan’s recipe of the week can be found on the Lyttelton’s website: http://www.thelyttelton.com/Recipe-of-the-Week/

Venetian Style Tapas

I love Tapas.  I love the whole sharing, passing around ritual and love even more the fact that you get to try a bit of everything without really trying...which is why i'm excited to hear about the new Venetian Style Tapas at Zizzi. Launching in September (so just a couple of weeks to wait) the tapas dishes give us a taster of Italian Tapas. Originally from Venice, you can now try this across the country.

Dishes range from Polenta Croccante - crunchy nuggets of polenta - to Arancini, mini risotto balls with mozzarella, peas and a tomato chilli sauce,

I've never been that keen on Zizzi, as it's always felt like a bit of a 'poorer sister' of pizza express...but I think these new dishes may well persuade me otherwise.

Don't worry, i'll let you know what i think when September comes around!

www.zizzi.co.uk

L'Italiana, St Albans

Since we moved to St Albans, a full year and a half ago, there were two places we didn't hear the end of - The Waffle House and L'Italiana. Well, we've made it to the waffle house once already (review to go up soon I promise) but until Friday night, we had tried and tried but not been able to get a table at L'Italiana. Amazed that we finally managed to pin down a table, we were pretty eager to get started and arrived ten minutes before our booking.

We were told to wander around town for ten minutes before we could take our seats - which was a little strange, but I felt the food would be worth it, so didn't mind too much.

We shared some calamari to start, which was melt in your mouth delicious. Followed by a L'Italiana pizza on my part (rocket, parma ham, cheese and tomato) and a prawn and scallop pasta for my other half. Both were fantastic - in particular the pasta.

We finished up with an irish coffee and a creme brulee (as all my friends/readers know, i'm a bit partial to a creme brulee!)

Overall the dinner was pleasant and well put together but neither of us could understand quite why the restaurant was so busy.

I think this is one of the places you go to for the atmosphere more than anything...singing along, clapping to the music and dancing all make for a great night out.

Definitely one to go back to!

Wicked Lady, Wheathampstead

So, i've been a bit slack in keeping up with my blog - but don't worry, i'm back on board again and have been visiting plenty of restaurants to tell you all about. So i'll be working backwards over the next few days.

Last night was the most gorgeous weather in a long time and the perfect opportunity to go for a drive into the countryside for a pub dinner. The Wicked Lady in Wheathampstead really is in the middle of nowhere. It's not the first time i'd been as i'd visited previously for their Sunday lunch which is pretty impressive and takes up an entire plate.

Last night though we went for the regular menu, sharing some rosemary pizzetta and splitting the fishcakes and the spit chicken in garlic with chips. Finished off with a decadent Eton Mess and Caramelised Banoffee Cheesecake. Fantastic.

This is standard pub fare at it's best - service is impressive as they were incredibly busy but didn't leave us waiting and always had a smile. Food was good and hearty.

Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.

http://www.thewickedladypub.co.uk/

The Clarendon

When my friend suggested we go with our boys to a pub for a good old fashioned Sunday lunch I jumped at the chance. So we woke up late, pulled on our jeans and headed off to The Clarendon, which was apparently a pub which did a good Sunday lunch just outside Watford.

Well, we were under-dressed and pub didn't really describe it - definitely a restaurant. Admittedly I should have done some research first, as it doesn't describe itself as a pub but as a restaurant and bar. Fantastically furnished, designer looking venue in the middle of the country side.

We went for mains and dessert. Main for me was a delicious traditional roast beef which came with an enormous Yorkshire pudding on top of the plate. The beef was cooked to perfection and the whole dish well co-ordinated. I finished off with my favourite dessert of all time, Creme Brulee and it wasn't the best I've ever had, but it was decent enough.

If we'd just been for the food and weren't worried about the service, the meal would have been amazing. Unfortunately, we received appalling service. Drinks were taken away before being fully drunk. The waitress actually stuck her finger in my drink and then instead of getting me a new one, just poured the same one into another glass.

It took ages to order and staff were hard to get hold of and miserable. One of the waitresses, who was highly pregnant, was trying her best, but needed more help.

All in all, great meal, fantastic location and i think we were probably unlucky with the service. I'd definitely try it again. Great place to take someone you want to impress (parents?)

www.clarendon.co.uk
01923 270009

Giraffe

I've always had a few issues with Giraffe. I've been there twice in my life time and both times been limited to eating the same dish - and no, i don't remember what it was. Try visiting Giraffe with a nut allergy - i dare you. There is literally nothing on the menu to choose from - everything has, or may have nuts. Pretty poor really. Surely they can manage not to sprinkle nuts on top of everything.

However, I'm always tempted to visit Giraffe due to the bright colours, good feedback I get from everyone else who goes there and the varied and interesting menu, which is why it was with a glad heart I heard that Giraffe has it's own cookbook. The cookbook features over 90 different recipes from across the globe including green onion slaw, miso lime salmon and more.





Sounds like a bit of a challenge to me - now I have access to the Giraffe Family Cookbook (£14 I can create my own 'Giraffe' experience at home. Just have to buy it now (unless Santa drops it off for Christmas!)

I'll update you on how it goes!

The past couple of months

I just don't seem to be able to remember to update this blog which is disappointing. So a new mid November resolution is to keep it up regularly to let you all know what i've been up to...

Over the past few months i've eaten in a variety of places:

Wahaca, Soho - Much better than the Covent Garden version - more spacious and better service. Even better - didn't even have to queue!

Back to my favourite venue for afternoon tea - Bob Bob Ricard - we started at 4pm and left at 10pm - fantastic place with amazingly good service - i'll be back!

The Waffle House in St Albans - apart from the fact they can't guarantee a nut free experience - delicious bannoffee waffles with flake on top - definitely a must for the wrong time of the month!

Norfolk Arms, Bloomsbury - Great venue for Tapas - although i'm not sure you would classify Greek food as being a Tapas option - great variety and good atmosphere

The Grove, Hertfordshire - Very fancy afternoon tea in very posh surroundings. £25 a head for it. Service wasn't good but the afternoon tea was.

Harvester - enough said - everyone goes out for one of these once in a while - this was my first trip.

The Speckled Hen pub, St Albans - good basic pub grub

Billesley Manor restaurant, Stratford Upon Avon - Delicious 3 course meal - cheap but tasty!

Many many more places that have slipped my mind at the mo. We've been having our house done so our kitchen has been out of action!

I'll be doing proper reviews from now on - i promise!