10-week fitness challenge: The Get-Fit Diary of an out of shape office worker May 12, 2014 I never thought I’d say this, but I’m going to miss going to the gym every morning. I’m going to miss being shouted at to lift really heavy stuff until I’m perspiring and weak and bad tempered. I’m even going to miss not being able to go to the pub, or eat dessert; or at [...]
Great culinary feats can still be achieved, even if you only have a microwave in your office kitchen March 25, 2014 FOREVER associated with the processed, the prepackaged and the unsophisticated, the microwave gets a bad rep within foodie circles. The microwave meal has come to symbolise everything that’s wrong with today’s food culture. They make our cooking easy and unhealthy, fast and fatty, and facilitate our tendency to prioritise convenience over care, The way that [...]
48 hours in… Florence April 13, 2014 WHERE TO STAY Book in for a night at JK Place Firenze, the five star hotel of choice for the likes of Bono and Kylie Minogue. Situated on the Piazza Santa Maria Novella, it also boasts a roof terrace bar with incredible views over the city. WHERE TO EAT One of the most talented young [...]
From fast food to fasting: Osborne’s austerity diet March 17, 2014 LAST year his Budget preparations included a calorie-stacked Byron burger, wolfed down with a side of chips. But Chancellor George Osborne is unlikely to be chomping on fast food as he prepares for Wednesday’s big speech. Proving he has a head for figures – not least his own – Osborne last month took up the [...]
Toto’s makes a return to its west end home May 13, 2014 @steve_dinneen RESTAURANT TOTO’S Walton Street, SW3 2JH Tel: 0207 589 2062 FOOD Four Stars VALUE Three Stars ATMOSPHERE Three Stars Cost for two with wine: £170 Toto’s, the Italian between Sloane Square and South Ken, was one of those places that existed on the periphery of my brain. I knew it had been around for [...]
Risk tolerance: Why decadent Europe is whistling as chaos reaches its gates June 29, 2014 WILL the US ramp up its involvement in Iraq? And if so, on what terms? Will Europe build on its new partnership agreements with Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia to draw an effective line over which an expansive Russia would not dare cross? Will Israel persist in rattling its sabre, while Western powers search for a [...]
What your business card says about you July 29, 2014 A man pats his slicked back hair as he slides his business card across the table to his colleagues. It’s off-white and the words “Patrick Bateman, Vice President” are embossed on it in a finely etched black font. “Picked ‘em up from the printers yesterday. That’s bone. And the lettering is something called Silian Grail,” [...]
10-Week fitness challenge the get-fit diary of an out of shape office worker April 7, 2014 Steve is undertaking a 10 week “total body transformation” programme with No.1 Fitness, which involves four sessions at the gym a week, a strictly controlled diet and absolutely no alcohol under any circumstances whatsoever (not even a little bit, just to take the edge off…). Here’s how it’s going: BEFORE I started I thought giving [...]
Review: Dirty Burger/Chicken Shop Stepney June 20, 2014 Food: ★★★★☆ | Value: ★★★★★ | Atmosphere: ★★★☆☆ A few months ago I swore to myself I was going to stop reviewing anywhere that’s part of a trendy chain; Dirty Burger and Honest Burger and Burger and Lobster and Patty and Bun. Not because I don’t like them – I slum it with the rest of the plebs [...]
The perfect fit: Meet Girl Meets Dress co-founder Xavier de Lecaros Aquise June 23, 2014 Harriet Green talks true grit with Girl Meets Dress co-founder Xavier de Lecaros Aquise. Advocates of the sharing economy, otherwise known as collaborative consumption, claim that it is finally reaching a mainstream audience. Earlier this month, for example, the government announced reforms to outdated legislation, ending long-running questions over the legal status of ultra short-term [...]