Late last month, we were invited along to one of my favourite cafes, Boulangerie Victor Hugo, for their special French evening to celebrate the release of the Beaujolais Nouveau! The event took on a new meaning following the awful terrorist attacks in Paris, which happened just a few days before the evening. It was a fantastic chance to show our solidarity with our French brothers and sisters by doing what they do best – sharing good times and enjoying great food and drink!
Recently, I was lucky enough to have my diet derailed by some delicious food at WestQuay! The shopping centre recently launched its SummerDine promotion (see here) and was keen to show off its restaurants to a group of bloggers – including me.
I absolutely love going to Taste of London – the first time I went was in 2010 as part of my hen party (which also included afternoon tea at The Ritz, karaoke and Louboutin shopping at Harrods!) and it was such a ball I’ve been dying to go back for ages! This year the stars aligned and I managed to visit the June festival for the Friday morning sessions.
If you love food and you love the London restaurant scene, you should definitely make sure you pay the event a visit! Here’s my guide to the best the event has to offer…
I had some incredible meals during my week long visit to Marseille, but let me tell you about the best one – Bouillabaisse at Chez FonFon. Continue reading
One of the jewels in Marseille’s crown is the brand new €191m museum, MuCEM, which sits on the seafront of the city, not far from the picturesque Vieux Port, which is the main hub of the old town. This beautiful building houses exhibits depicting the history of the city and the Mediterranean, cultural artifacts and the like, and is well worth a day of exploring. One of the highlights for me, though, was Gérald Passédat’s bistro, La Cuisine du Môle Passédat.
Gérald Passédat is a Michelin starred chef, whose menus are priced appropriately to his level of expertise. His main restaurant, Le Petit Nice, is located up the coast in Marseille and has been awarded three Michelin stars. If you don’t have the cash for €200 menus, though, you can still experience a little bit of his kitchen magic at an affordable price. €21.50, to be exact.
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This is the price for the cold buffet (and dessert!) at La Cuisine du Môle Passédat, which is located on the roof of MuCEM, and right next to La Table du Môle Passédat – another of Passédat’s pricier restaurants. The queues start early for La Cuisine, and once you’re inside it’s easy to see why. The complimentary loaf of bread is just the start of the delicious spread on offer.
Ever since I read Breakfast At The Wolseley by A. A. Gill, I’ve been desperately trying to plan a visit there on one of my trips to London. Finally, at the end of last month, I managed to get in and partake of their rightly famous morning spreads.
When my friend told me a new French cafe had opened in town, I had to rush down there as soon as possible to test it out! Boulangerie Victor Hugo (or BVH, if you’re going to be cool about it) is located down town, past the Bargate and just past Zen and La Lupa.
This week I took a trip up to Manchester to visit the Corrie set, and soak in the Corrie-related sights of the city. No Corrie-fan’s visit to Manchester would be complete without a stop at Annie’s, the restaurant owned by Jennie McAlpine, who plays Fiz in the show.
Annie’s is located in the centre of the city, within walking distance of all of Manchester’s great shopping areas, and it’s also a great place to go for a pre-theatre meal.
We popped in on a Monday evening – it was really quiet but apparently we just missed the pre-theatre rush.
I ordered a glass of Annie’s Fizz, which is Prosecco and cherry brandy, with a cherry at the bottom. It was so good I had another one!
Anyway, onto the proper menu! Annie’s serves a simple selection of good, Northern fare, all presented with modern flair to give it a bit of restaurant pizazz.
I ordered the Lancashire rarebit which came with a delicious chutney and was served on whole meal bread. A great start to the meal, and the chutney was the perfect balance to the heavy, rich cheese.
Meanwhile, my husband had the corned beef hash cake, topped with a perfectly cooked poached egg and accompanied with another relish. Again, a great balance of flavours.
For my main course, how could I have chosen anything other than a hotpot? Famous across the country, the Lancashire hotpot is a lamb stew topped with sliced potatoes. It’s also famous in Coronation Street thanks to Betty, a sadly departed character whose legendary hotpots are still served in the Rovers today. You can’t visit Lancashire without eating a hotpot.
Served with a gorgeous side dish of red cabbage, the hotpot was a decent size and chock full of lamb. My only nitpick was that it was a little dry – I like mine swimming in sauce, but this had just enough to keep everything moist.
My husband had the cottage pie – which he thoroughly enjoyed, along with the carrots which came on the side.
We also had chips because we were on holiday. So it was basically a legal requirement. These were crispy, thick and delicious. Definitely try these if you get the chance!
Halfway through our meal, we were greeted by the lovely and (literally) fragrant Ms. McAlpine herself, who pops in from time to time to greet guests and see how everything is going.
It was a lovely surprise as she plays one of my favourite characters! And she and her father Tom were both incredibly friendly and chatty.
Onto the pudding – this was another no brainier. It had to be the Fizz Bomb! (This is the nickname given to Jennie’s character on the show!)
We shared this between us as by this point we were both really full. It was very tasty indeed – chocolate ice cream coated with a shell of milk chocolate, drizzled with sauce and studded with popping candy.
All in all, it was an enjoyable meal, great service and a lovely evening! The staff were great and the food was tasty and traditional.
You can find Annie’s online at anniesmanchester.co.uk. The restaurant is located at 5 Old Bank Street, Mancheter, M2 7PE, and you can call them on 0161 839 4423 or book via email at bookings@anniesmanchester.co.uk.
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It’s been my ambition for a long time to be able to eat at some of London’s most famous and established restaurants. I had my hen party at The Ritz and am plotting breakfast at The Wolseley, but before all that, I decided to cash in my Valentine’s day treat for lunch at The Ivy.
Not as exclusive or trendy as it was in its heyday, it’s still an amazing place to eat, and if you choose wisely, not as expensive as you would think!
The menu is full of old English and French classics – it’s not a particularly innovative menu, but then, that’s not why you go to The Ivy. You go to soak up the atmosphere and to sup in the same restaurant as countless celebrities like Noel Coward, Vivian Leigh, Marlene Dietrich, and more recently Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise, the Beckhams, etc. These days, though, these celebs have migrated to The Club at The Ivy, which is a private area that requires membership to enter, leaving the main dining area relatively celeb-free.
So, you’ll have to content yourself with the food itself – solid, unsurprising fare that is incredibly delicious and reasonably priced.
I started with the seared foie gras – beautifully tender on top of a sheet of delicate pastry with a sugary crunch to it. The rich jus and sharp cherries were the perfect accompaniments. My husband had the leek soup, which was poured from a mini saucepan into a bowl already full of the toppings. It was delicious, smooth and creamy.
My main course was the confit of duck – it was certainly skilfully cooked, although a bit gamier than I’m used to. The potatoes were the highlight for me – cooked with onions, butter and parsley. I also shared some green beans and bacon with my husband, who ordered sausages and mash. This, again, was an exceptional example of a much-loved classic.
Dessert was the thing I was most looking forward to – Scandinavian iced berries. They were as delicious as I expected them to be – an assortment of wild, frozen berries topped with a gorgeously decadent hot white chocolate sauce at the last moment.
My husband opted for the creme brûlée – studded with vanilla seeds, it was rich and light at the same time!
Despite its fearsome reputation, I didn’t dress up for my visit – I just wore a cute striped jumper from Joules that I’d bought in Cornwall and a pair of black jeans. As this was lunch time, most people were dressed casually, although a few large groups were dressed to the nines and I lost count of the number of red Louboutins I saw flashing their way across the wooden floor!
If you’re after a meal to remember, I wouldn’t pick The Ivy as my first choice. But as far as boast factor goes, it’s pretty high up on the list, and I think the menu is very well executed. And so it should be, considering it’s full of much-loved, traditional dishes!
You can book a visit to The Ivy online at www.the-ivy.co.uk
The second part of my foodie guide to Cornwall is about one of my husband’s favourite childhood memories, which he was nice enough to share with me for the first time this year – ice cream hedgehogs from the Chapel Porth Beach Cafe!
Honestly, he had been going on about these ice creams for years – YEARS! – so we naturally made it one of our first stops during our holiday!
Sounds blimming good, right? And the rest of the menu was pretty amazing too!
Did the truth live up to the hype?
I’m just going to leave this here….
Of course, part of the enjoyment came from the beautiful surroundings:
Swallows Tee, People Tree / Sunglasses, French Connection / Jeans, Gap / Binocular Case Bag, Primark / Trainers, Converse
That ice cream was definitely needed as energy to get up the hills…
It’s not food, it’s fuel… Honest…
Check out Chapel Porth Beach Cafe on Facebook! Or, better yet, visit them in person and have an ice cream! The address is Chapel Porth, St Agnes, TR5 0NS.
Food, Fashion and Fitness 