Posted by peter | November 30th, 2009 (by peter)
Two behind-the-scenes videos of filming BBC1′s Saturday Kitchen – this time featuring the inside of Maidenhead’s very neat Majestic store, producer Andy Clarke (doing the filming), cameraman James Cook, and Peter in a suit talking a frightening amount about wine and food.
Feel free to laugh at my blunders (I inadvertantly clone Angela Hartnett) and spot the technical wizardry that lets me know where the wines are on the shelf while I’m talking to camera
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Posted by peter | November 30th, 2009
(by peter)
Some brilliant seasonal cooking this week from Angela Hartnett and French chef Stephane Reynaud.
Stephane, author and chef at Paris restaurant Villa9trois, knocked up a delightful little salmon and prawn number, for which I chose Waitrose’s Valençay Le Petit Saint Louis 2008, La Cheteau, which is currently on offer at £6.99 (down from £9.99) – but you’ll have to be quick as that deal runs out tomorrow, on Tuesday 1st December.
It went down really well – not surprising
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Posted by peter | November 30th, 2009 (by peter)
This weekend saw Winchester’s brilliant annual Christmas market open to the public.
Cue traffic chaos, parking hell – and rain.
Despite all this, we couldn’t contain our excitement (not to mention the fact that we have a small child to tire out) so we dragged our poor visiting friends along to taste the action, which you can get a glimpse of in the video at the end of this piece (also features a brass band and Susie lurking in the background).
It’s great fun in the daytime,
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Posted by peter | November 25th, 2009 (by peter)
This week, the Saturday Kitchen wine bandwagon visited Maidenhead.
Here are two videos of the experience. On an unseasonally sunny November morning, we went to film at Boulter’s Lock.
In the first video, producer (and noted theatrical talent) Andy Clarke sets the scene:
In the second, we find a slightly more scenic site for our introduction, and James is about to get set upon by the local fowl:
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Posted by peter | November 25th, 2009 (by peter)
Today, I have learnt three things about Maidenhead.
One: Richard Dimbleby used to live on an island in the vicinity.
Two: The Thai Orchid is run by a very friendly man named Ralph and does a fine lunchtime buffet spread (see photographic evidence, below, of our producer Andy Clarke in delighted pose).
Three: There is lots of goose poo down by the river and your posh shoes will be thoroughly soiled if you try to do some filming to camera while down by the waterfront.
So, all in all
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Posted by susie | November 25th, 2009 (by susie)
I don’t want to give the impression that wine writing is a glamorous profession – it isn’t. But last Thursday evening I did somehow manage to find myself rubbing shoulders with Emma Thompson, Lee Mack, Michael Ball and Stephen Merchant. Actually it’s not possible to rub shoulders with Stephen Merchant unless you are seven feet tall or standing on a very high stool, but I was certainly within spitting distance and that was good enough for me.
The setting was Quaglinos
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Posted by peter | November 23rd, 2009 (by peter)
If you haven’t yet witnessed the riotous kitsch that is Carnaby Street at Christmas, now is the time to strap on your galoshes and get out there.
Massive inflatables hover garishly overhead, spewing forth their love for all things Santa. People stop, stare, take photos, then move off, dazed and amused.
We got to witness it several times, because we arrived for dinner at Dehesa early and they were full to the rafters, so we wandered back to the underground Champagne bar at Liberty
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Posted by peter | November 19th, 2009 (by peter)
It’s not every day you get to taste Georgian and Swiss wines on the night that Thierry Henry single-handedly denied Ireland a place in the 2010 World Cup finals.
But then, over the years we’ve learned to roll with things, so we took it all in our stride.
There wasn’t any particular design behind it (the tasting, that is) – just that we had been kindly sent some samples and were keen to try them. So we did it together. For a bit of fun.
(We don’t get out much.)
The upshot
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Posted by peter | November 19th, 2009 (by peter)
Currently, the Richards family reading at 6am in bed centres around a certain fairytale entitled Beauty and the Beast.
The story needs no retelling, but I’m constantly amazed at how little people are both intrigued and terrified by the beast. Pages need to be constantly referred back to; pictures pored over with both delight and disgust. (It’s the same with the Big Bad Wolf…)
I got the same feeling from Finca La Anita’s wines. This Argentine winery isn’t on everyone’s
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Posted by peter | November 17th, 2009 (by peter)
It was decidedly odd to be back in the grand surroundings of the Vintners’ Hall.
It felt like yesterday that assembled family members were there lauding Susie’s unbelievable performance in her Master of Wine inauguration ceremony.
This time, however, it was for Farr Vintners’ Christmas tasting: a rare chance to taste some of the wine world’s more celebrated (ie expensive) names.
A fellow journalist in attendance (there were only two of us) noted that the tasting wasn’t
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