Douglas Blyde
Indian Chefs Offer Food for Thought
“India has made me, and now is the time to give something back,” said Atul Kochhar, spice-savvy, Michelin-starred Chef. The roomful of critics, chefs and editors had been clapped to order to hear about ‘Food for Thought’, an initiative to help stave off hunger in rural Northern India.
The Landmark Hotel’s twotwentytwo
‘I’m very sorry Sir, but we can’t turn the music down. It’s preset to this level, or off.’ That statement spoke volumes. ‘222’ (or ‘twotwentytwo’ as the menu advises) is the basement restaurant at London’s Landmark Hotel (222 Marylebone Road). It re-opened a month ago, a victim of a makeover more about vanity than sanity.
The Underground Restaurant
The night before Easter my girlfriend and I ventured to the deviant sounding ‘Ms Marmite Lover’s Underground Restaurant’. Emailed instructions guided us to a surprisingly suburban, stained glass front door.
Saki of Smithfield Celebrates Cherry Blossom
I test-dined Smithfield’s Saki to see whether Chef Omakase’s seven-course ‘Cherry Blossom’ tasting menu captured the essence of spring. In Japan, as with the autumn leaves and harvest moon festivals, the blossoming of cherry and plum trees is a time of national celebration.
Eagles Tremble in Mayfair With Vic Reeves
Vic Reeves’ suit may have upstaged his art. Despite atmospheric twilight, he insisted on the flash when I took his portrait. It turned out to be interwoven with reflective hi-vis strands…
Food With a Side of Art in Wapping
A question banded around by those in gastronomy is: ‘can food be considered art?’ It is, I think, basically rhetorical, although with a mouthful of main course and a bellyful of grog, I enjoy the debate. Whether or not the restaurant at the Wapping Project, a barely converted hydraulic power station overlooking the infamous Prospect [...]
Brick Lanes’ All Star Lanes
I ate so much meat that I think I harmed myself. The venue for this chicken, pork, beef and lamb feast: All-Star Lanes’ ‘Luncheonette’, which ironically only serves midday meals at weekends. Their latest boutique bowling alley occupies part of the increasingly interesting Old Truman Brewery off Brick lane. Whilst bouncers prowl the entrance, inside [...]
Dining at The Guardian Canteen
A hack from a national newspaper recently lured me to lunch at his brand new HQ. All was not well within its wavy, gleaming glass walls. Apparently the canteen was in critical condition. An imported catering company ‘barely able to cope with the numbers’ was making meals a misery. I dutifully cancelled Claridges and made [...]
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