Posted by peter | August 6th, 2010 (by peter)
Prior to my lunch date at Terroirs with Susie (plus dozing baby), I had been attending an event at the Royal College of Physicians in which the UK was described as being in the grip of a ‘raging epidemic’ attributable to alcohol, a substance branded ‘a corporate-borne disease like mosquitoes carry malaria’. (More of which scientific harrumphing you can read on my immediately preceding blog entitled ‘Corporate-borne disease’.)
Time for a drink, and a meditation
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Posted by peter | May 19th, 2010 When we heard that our friend and rabid foodie Claire Quigley Ward and her husband Wally (fellow Winchester denizens) were off to Noma in Copenhagen – this after it had just been named the “best restaurant in the world” – two thoughts immediately occurred.
One: naked envy is never a pleasant emotion to experience.
And, two: we must get her to record her experiences for the website.
And so, here it us: a much-anticipated review of Noma, where bookings are now as rare as hen’s
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Posted by peter | April 24th, 2010 (by peter)
The 40th birthday of a very good friend is always an occasion to relish.
But savouring the event took on new meaning at this particular party, which was held at the private dining room in The Square, the widely celebrated two-Michelin-starred restaurant in buzzing, glitzy Mayfair.
I’d been to The Square before – a La Conseillante lunch springs to mind – but I’d forgotten just how good it was.
Chef Philip Howard is an understated genius.
There’s nothing flash about his
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Posted by peter | April 11th, 2010 (by peter)
Things had been so busy before our brief trip to Verona that we hadn’t had time to do our usual research in to the local restaurant scene.
But we struck lucky.
We bumped into a friend at Vinitaly who was immediately on the phone to the owner of what turned out to be Osteria Giuilietta, in the Corso Sant’Anastasia, right in the heart of Verona’s stunning, atmospheric old town.
Although the name hinted at a tourist trap, on the same level as the tack being sold in the Piazza
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Posted by peter | March 26th, 2010 (by peter)
Our first encounter with Le Café Anglais, chef Rowley Leigh’s latest culinary adventure, was a short while ago, not long after it opened.
It was a birthday dinner (mine, I think), the kind of occasion we tend to savour because it’s a brilliant excuse for a great night out.
Only problem was, we left distinctly under-whelmed. The food was good – but not really good enough. The ingredients were simple and very tasty, but it just seemed to lack the wow factor that the reviews,
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Posted by peter | March 10th, 2010 (by peter)
The mobile road sign read “tsunami alert” as we drove towards the coast on a blazing hot Sunday morning in Marlborough.
We stopped, and turned the car around.
It was just one of the many sobering reminders of the Chilean earthquake that have been filtering through to us in recent days. Being on the road, we’ve been somewhat disconnected from the real world of late, and have not been able to be in touch with our many Chilean friends and colleagues as we would have liked.
As
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Posted by peter | February 22nd, 2010 (by susie)
Auckland: 3.38am.
We have arrived.
One of the many things I said shortly after we’d touched down into a steamy Auckland airport was: I need a large glass of Sauvignon Blanc. Twenty four hours of alcohol-free flying with a two-year-old followed by the welcoming New Zealand sunshine had left me rather parched.
I wasn’t to be disappointed, either. After a brief interlude, including picking up our shiny red yet spatially challenged Ford Focus hire car and duly getting lost in
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Posted by peter | February 8th, 2010 (by peter)
OK, so we needed a break. Badly.
Our options were limited. Time was running out.
As many have done before us, we weighed up the critical factors. Flying time (more is bad) versus likelihood of sun (more is good) against expenditure (you get the idea). We also needed assurances of good food and wine: a staple in our daily existence.
For the first week in February, it’s never a particularly pain-free equation.
After much hand-wringing, we settled on Dubai. A friend and former
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Posted by peter | January 13th, 2010 (by peter)
Though you might not realise it from first appearances, I’ve been led down a fair few dodgy alleyways and corridors in my time.
Some were notably dead-ends. Others were mildly diverting. And some, very rare ones, led to pots of gold. Today’s dodgy corridor was decidedly one of the latter.
Today was lunch in the Krug Room at The Dorchester. With Olivier Krug. Tasting Krug – the headline event being the launch of the Clos d’Ambonnay 1996.
This is a wine that makes headlines
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Posted by peter | December 21st, 2009 (by peter)
As part of our grand plan to get to know Hampshire’s gastronomic scene inside out, Susie and I have ticked three more names off our list lately: Vatika, the Woolpack Inn and cosy Winchester eatery the Corner House.
First up: Vatika. This was our office Christmas party, with an annual guest list of two (not including photocopiers). Having kissed the baby and briefed the babysitter (at least, that’s the way round I remember it), we drove about 20 minutes south-east of Winchester
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