AN UNLIKELY PLACE TO EAT

What do you do when you are stuck at Gatwick airport, and have to kill quite a few hours? Treating yourself to the lounge is quite a good idea, as it is an oasis of calm, but if you want to eat something, the choice of restaurants is rather grim. So if you find yourself at Gatwick North (great fun at the moment, once you are there you dont wnat to move as the train is not operating and there is a bus replacement service) here is my suggestion. Walk to the Premier Inn (dont bother with the £2.50 bus, each way!), it's literally a five minute walk, and sit yourself down in the restaurant. This popular little hotspot needs booking, would you believe, as it gets very popular, especially in the evening. I was amazed at the quality of the food and how hard they try. OK, we are not talking Michelin star here, but the Cajun prawns were really tasty, and the portion was plentiful for a starter, and so was the salmon fillet served with very fresh vegetables for the main. The surprise was that this two course dinner was £9.90! What more can you ask for? The succulent lamb from the a la carte was £13 as a main course, and this too was tender, well cooked, and rather delicious. If you are hungry, you want to eat a proper meal without spending a lot, this is a little secret place worth checking out. What's more, you get a breath of fresh air by leaving the stuffy airport for a while! Check it out

AUTUMN MENU AT THE LAMBERT ARMS

There is this great new menu until the end of November at The Lambert Arms in Aston Rowant, which is on the border of Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. So you live in that part of the country or fancy travelling for an hour out of grimy London and breathe some fresh air, this is the place to come. The menu is just £10 for two courses with dishes such as Chestnut mushroom risotto with chives and parmesan, Cornish mussels, Slow cooked ducks leg with fondant potatoes and broad beans, and lots of other tempting dishes. Or you can have three courses for £15. I know the place, it's really great, that's why I am recommending it. And if you have some extra time, why not try the spa, have a massage or a little treat like a manicure, you will come back to London feeling a million dollar, no need to rush, and you will feel like you have had a weekend away. www.lambertarms.com

WINE TASTING ON MONDAY 5 OCTOBER

Hello there, I have been a bit slack this month with my blog postings, it just happens from time to time. But I am back in full swing as I have lots of new wines to tell you about and lots of restaurant news.

For a start, here is a reminder that on Monday 5 October there is a wine tasting event at the super Modern Scandinavian restaurant Madsen in South Kensington. See how well classic European wines complement modern scandinavian cuisine, and relish the new tastes on show, in a really fab atmosphere. You will love it. More details on www.euposia.co.uk or drop me a line via the blog. It's a great event!

Out and About Spotting Celebrities and Dining

The latest Spaghetti House at Westfield London has become the centre of attention with celebrities visiting regularly, and increasing every week.
Spotted there were former Chelsea manager Avram Grant and former Chelsea players Jason Cundy and Ken Monkou.
The Spaghetti House manager told me that there are also celebrities from Eastenders visiting, but he was not able to tell me who they were....... never mind, just go there. If there are no celebrities when you visit, the food is an even better reason to go. Try Olive Ascolane, my absolute favourite, stuffed olives from Le Marche region, then coated in breadcrumbs and fried. Yum....this is a restaurant worth making a note of.

Kräftskiva - The Swedish Tradition of Crayfish Parties

Have you heard about this?


Kräftskiva, or Crayfish Party is a traditional summertime eating and drinking celebration in Sweden. Crayfish parties are generally held during August, a tradition that started because crayfish harvesting in Sweden was, for most of the 20th century, by law limited to late summer. The celebrations are now a vital part of Swedish summer where dining is usually outdoors and customary party accessories are comical paper hats, paper lanterns and bibs.

Crayfish have been eaten in Sweden since the 16th century. For a long while, only the aristocracy partook of these delicacies, but in the last 100 years, crayfish became a national delicacy and all Swedes began celebrating the occasion. In the mid-19th century, people started eating crayfish as they are eaten today. The very few who have private access, of course, catch their own crayfish. The little creatures are night animals, so fishing has to be done after dark. They are caught in wire traps and the bait is often rotten or raw fish.

A traditional Kräftskiva

The preparation of the crayfish involves the crayfish being boiled in salt water and seasoned with fresh dill — preferably “crown dill” harvested after the plant has flowered — then served cold and eaten with the fingers. Bread, mushroom pies, strong Västerbotten cheese, salads, and other dishes are served buffet-style. Akvavit and other kinds of snaps are served, as well as beer. At Madsen we stock two kinds of Aalborg Akavavit and the Swedish OP Anderson.You eat crayfish cold, with your fingers, and sucking noisily to extract the juices is perfectly acceptable behaviour!

Well, I am going to sample this at Madsen Scandinavian restaurant. Anyone wants to join me?
http://www.madsenrestaurant.com/

Party from August 19 to September 14, 2009. It's £29.75 and includes seven menu items, not just the crayfish, such as handmade smoked salmon canapes, dil marinated crayfish, Swedish Vasterbotten Cheese, New potatoes and mixed leaves, Seasonal mushroom quiche.


Best enjoyed with a shot of O.P. Anderson or Skåne Akvavit, not to forget the refreshing Nils Oscar beer from Nyköping.

Paul Heathcote
One of the north's most high-profile chefs, Paul Heathcote opened his flagship Longridge Restaurant in 1990 and built it up to two-Michelin-star status. The Heathcotes group now extends to a dozen restaurants across Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Lancashire and Cheshire and includes his Olive Press chain of Italian restaurants and a flourishing outside catering business. Heathcotes took the award for best use of technology at this year’s Catey Awards. Paul has teamed up with Sugarvine to answer your cookery questions:Ask Paul Heathcote your question

Great Competition to Win Meals for a Year

I found this great competition on the BBC Good Food website http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/ - then go to competitions. Win Spaghetti House meals for a year. That means that once a month two people can go and have a meal at one of 11 Spaghetti House in London, from Fitzrovia to Westfield, and then go back to their favourite one. Worth entering I would have thought! Love the new Olive Ascolane, this speciality from Le Marche region, basically huge green olives, stuffed with a meat mixture, then fried and served hot. So tasty, great with good glass of wine.

The Horse & Groom Scoops Wiltshire Pub/Restaurant Award

I recently found this gorgeous place in Wiltshire, a proper 'pub' with great food, so I was not surprised to see that they had just won an award. Read this.

The Horse & Groom in Charlton, nr Malmesbury, Wiltshire has scooped the Wiltshire Pub/Restaurant award in the 2009 Wiltshire Life awards, celebrating the people that make Wiltshire great.

The awards, set up by the magazine to recognise excellence in several different categories to put this ‘magnificent county even more firmly on the map’, were presented by Malmesbury writer and broadcaster Penny Junor, perhaps best known for her writing on the royals. The grand surroundings of the Earl of Pembroke’s home, Wilton House, near Salisbury, provided the ideal setting for the presentations.

The Wiltshire Pub/Restaurant award went to The Horse & Groom because they judges said ‘they have a clear passion for food and drink’. ‘

The chef is Paul Nicholson. He was previously at the Michelin-starred Bath Priory Hotel. His food is seductive and includes Diver caught scallops, fresh linguini, hand picked Portland crab & Saffron fish sauce; Cornish lamb, roasted garlic mash and baby vegetables in a piquant wine & rosemary sauce; and Warm poached figs in puff pastry with honey mascarpone. A rare treat is the Charlton bar, with its flagstone floor and roaring log fires in winter, where lunch is surprisingly affordable and very good.

Solidly elegant, this striking 16th century coaching inn, built in Cotswold stone with a secret walled garden where to enjoy fine wines, epitomises what a good country pub should offer: a warm welcome to visitors and locals alike, relaxed, comfortable interiors, award-winning food and a picturesque rural location. It's also listed in the 2009 Michelin Eating Out in Pubs and in the Restaurant Guide, and it was the 2008 AA 'Pick of Pubs'. Not bad.

Great New Wine Found

I have just found a great new wine, Domaine La Bussole Pinot Noir Vin de Pays Doc, 2007. It comes from teh area which encompasses Languedoc and Roussillon. Pinot nois is a very elegant grape wherever it is grown and this one does not disappoint. It has a deep red colour and a fruity note, with ripe strawberries and secondary aromas of sous-bois and mint. It has a smooth but firm tanning. The importers are Cave du Pyrenees. The amazing thing is that it has all the elegance of a Pinot Noir, without the price tag. I have also found it on the wine list at Bradley's Restaurant, NW3.

Wine Tasting on Monday 6 July

MONDAY 6 JULY 2009 – BRADLEY’S 25 WINCHESTER ROAD LONDON NW3 (nearest tube: Swiss Cottage)
I have enlisted the help of chef-patron Simon Bradley to create a taste of a ‘French Summer’ – whatever the weather. Simon will delight us with a delicious menu of summer specialities, matched by some great wines from the vineyards of Southern France. Taste the famed Mazul, a sparkling wine made in the champagne style, which will be served with mouth-watering canapés in the walled garden (according to the weather) before sitting down to a three-course dinner and three more wines. As Bradley’s is updating its wine list with new imports right now, I will soon let you know the new wine choices. This event includes three courses, a glass each of four different wines, canapés beforehand, coffee, service, VAT. For more information go to http://www.euposia.co.uk/

Join us to meet friends old and new and to discover a few new gems from the vineyards of Southern France. Please book soon. Looking forward to seeing you all.