Beach Bum Rum: How a Scotsman is making Mauritius’ favourite tipple January 10, 2022 A Scotsman living in Dubai is behind two award-winning rums made on Mauritius, the last home of the dodo. He is now hoping they will give the island’s long-established Pink Pigeon a run for its money. Born in Macduff in Aberdeenshire, David Adamson swapped wine making in England for rum-making, with some success: his Beach Bum [...]
Best of 2021: J Sheekey remains a masterclass December 31, 2021 Before the pandemic, the London food scene was all about the hot new thing. Upon meeting up with friends who consider themselves part of that scene, the first question would always be “where have you eaten recently?” or “have you been to so-and-so yet?” (this paragraph is the journalistic equivalent of a subtweet to half [...]
Best of 2021: Bob Bob Ricard City reopens December 30, 2021 The more things change, the more they remain the same. In June of 2019 I was at the opening of Bob Bob Cité, the sister restaurant to Soho’s Bob Bob Ricard, which I wrote, with no little hyperbole, was the best place to eat in the City of London. It was a wildly expensive venture, [...]
Waitrose makes headway into home delivery through Mindful Chef partnership December 29, 2021 Supermarket Waitrose has partnered up with Mindful Chef, a British company that delivers recipes and ingredients to people’s homes, in a bid to capitalise on the trend propelled during the pandemic. The news comes as the online food delivery industry has become increasingly popular during the pandemic, and just weeks after Asda announced its own [...]
Poverty looms for millions of UK families as energy bills climb by £1200, inflation rises and taxes jump 1.25 per cent in 2022 December 29, 2021 Soaring energy bills, inflation and rising taxes are likely to lead to a ‘cost of living catastrophe’ for millions of UK families, an economic think tank warned this morning. The Resolution Foundation (RF) said from next April families would typically face a £1,200-a-year hit to their incomes as the energy price cap is raised and [...]
Last Minute Xmas gifts: Singleton X Biscuit Boutique December 20, 2021 If you’re stuck for gift ideas, this culinary match made in heaven could be for you. Matching fine scotch with excellent confectionary, The Singleton x Biscuit boutique is one of our top gift picks of the year. The Singleton 12 Year Old is a delightful, fruity single malt, with buttery hazelnuts, baked apples, and blackberries, [...]
Christmas wine for your dry bird: How to pick the perfect festive bottle December 15, 2021 It is the festive season, and we will soon be shoving turkeys into ovens to feed the masses, but turkey is a notoriously dry bird and calls for the right wine to help wet our whistles. Though traditionalists may feel the classic Bordeaux is always acceptable beware of drying tannins. A wiser choice if you [...]
Xmas Drinks 2021: The spirits you need on your cabinet over the holidays December 15, 2021 The Botanist Islay Dry Gin is ideal for seasonal cocktails. Made by the experimental Scotch whisky-makers at Bruichladdich, using a rare, salvaged Lomond still, the Botanist combines nine traditional gin botanicals with a further twenty-two ingredients foraged from the island. The resulting spirit is incredibly smooth, enlivened by citrus, mint, and harmonious floral flavours, that make [...]
Things between Zurich and Greggs heat up as insurer insists on slicing bakery’s £100m covid claim to £2.5m December 14, 2021 Zurich Insurance has retaliated in a London court against a claim by bakery chain Greggs for between £50m to £100m in payouts for Covid-19 related losses, according to reports. The insurance giant told the court that its business interruption cover went up to £2.5m for a single event, according to Legal 360, which first reported [...]
The One that Trot Away: My dream of a Peppa Pig restaurant empire December 8, 2021 As Pied à Terre celebrates its 30th anniversary, there are plenty of highs and lows I could look back upon. Winning a Michelin star just over a year after opening; regaining our second Michelin star with chef Shane Osborn; the fire that closed the restaurant for most of 2014 (at least my badminton game came [...]