Mother’s Day Specials at Oliver Peyton’s Eateries
This Mother’s Day, ditch the same old Sunday lunch and treat her to afternoon tea at one of Oliver Peyton’s fabulous London restaurants, combined with either a spot of shopping, a stroll in one of the capital’s most picturesque Royal Parks, or a visit to one of the world’s finest art collections.
CULTURE AND COCKTAILS
For the mother who is as familiar with the institution of afternoon tea as Mother’s Day itself, only a refined date at one of Peyton’s restaurants at The National Gallery will satisfy her craving for culture.
Opt for grandeur and understated elegance with a visit to The National Dining Rooms in the gallery’s Sainsbury Wing where reflecting the heritage of its regal location, afternoon tea is perennially British. On the menu are scrumptious buttermilk scones served with clotted cream, preserves and a selection of tasty cakes, sandwiches and savouries all from the restaurant’s in-house bakery, for £16.50 with tea or £20.50 with a glass of champagne.
For something less formal, enjoy a leisurely afternoon at the chic and cosmopolitan The National Café. Choose from a wide selection of delicious home-made sandwiches, pastries and freshly baked scones with Jersey clotted cream, jams and preserves, and your choice of tea or coffee for £14.50. For that extra touch of extravagance on Mothers Day, swap her cuppa for a sparkling Bellini cocktail.
As the perfect complement to this relaxing interlude, continue your afternoon with a free guided tour of the National Gallery’s stunning collection, especially for Mother’s Day.
The National Dining Room, Sainsbury Wing, The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN
T: 020 7747 2525 / www.thenationaldiningrooms.co.uk
The National Café, East Wing, The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4DN
T: 020 7747 5942 / www.thenationalcafe.co.uk
AFTERNOON TEA INN THE PARK
If your mum is an outdoorsy type, treat her to a stunning afternoon tea at Inn The Park, set in one of London’s most beautiful Royal Parks, St James’s Park.
With a choice of two magnificent high teas, made using only the most carefully sourced ingredients and traditional recipes, your mum will feel thoroughly spoilt. Grab a spot by the window overlooking ‘Duck Pond’, complete with pelicans, ducks and herons, and tuck into a traditional English afternoon tea. Look forward to a selection of freshly made finger sandwiches, light and fluffy scones with home made strawberry preserve and Cornish clotted cream, as well as a mouth-watering cakes including Victoria sponge, treacle tart, gooey chocolate cake, a mini passion fruit trifle and a pot of the finest tea, all for £15.00.
For a mum in a million, treat her to the ‘Luxury’ afternoon tea, which features the same delightful menu, but with warm Dorset crab, homemade foie gras, and smoked trout pate with toast, as well as a scrumptious clotted cream tartlet, for £22.00.
With such an excellent spread and relaxing location, it’s the ideal choice for a memorable Mothering Sunday.
Inn the Park, St James’s Park, London SW1A 2BJ
T: 020 7451 9999 / www.innthepark.com
FETE DES MERES
For the mother who appreciates the glamorous things in life, wow her with a trip to one of London’s most opulent galleries, The Wallace Collection in the heart of Marylebone, a stone’s throw from Selfridges and the area’s numerous boutiques.
After some serious shopping take in the gallery’s stunning collection of 18th century masterpieces and beautiful miniatures, gold boxes and porcelain before heading to Oliver Peyton’s The Wallace Restaurant. Set in the gallery’s indoor courtyard, complete with a dramatic glass roof, maman can indulge in one of two fabulous afternoon teas.
Sit amongst pretty camellia trees and under silk-fringed parasols, whilst indulging in Thé Anglaise featuring a selection of finger sandwiches and cakes, devilled Cromer crab on melba toast and scones with Jersey clotted cream, jams and preserves. For the ultimate indulgence, Thé Parisien is a truly deluxe afternoon delight boasting home-made foie gras, salmon tartare, pork and duck rilettes with Melba toast and an array of French fancies and pastries – each served with your choice of freshly brewed tea. Thè Anglaise is available at £17.50 and Thè Parisien at £24.50 per person. For a wickedly luxurious afternoon, treat her to a glass of St. Evermond Brut NV for an extra £7.50.
The Wallace Restaurant
At the Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, London W1U 3BN
T: 020 7563 9505 / www.thewallacerestaurant.com
THE YUMMY MUMMY
If your mummy loves to indulge, Mother’s Day is the perfect excuse to make for MEALS and have a fabulous day that combines design-savvy shopping with scrumptious food.
Tucked away on the first floor of Heal’s flagship Tottenham Court Road store, MEALS’ playful fairytale-esque restaurant is designed to delight pleasure seekers who enjoy the odd shopping splurge. After a carefree afternoon being spoilt for choice with glorious in-store goodies, mum can enjoy a well-deserved rest with a tempting array of afternoon treats as she shows off her latest ‘must have’ purchases.
Put down the shopping bags and find your own cosy corner to enjoy a selection of finger sandwiches, delicious scones with large dollops of jam and clotted cream and a range of spectacular tasty cakes such as treacle tart, carrot cake or fig rolls, served with your choice of Peyton and Byrne exclusively blended tea or coffee for £9.50, or £15.95 with a glass of sparkling Prosecco.
Meals, Heal’s, 196 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 7LQ
T: 020 7580 2522 / www.mealsrestaurant.co.uk
Michelin Starred Kinloch Lodge offers ‘beer flights’ matched to every dish
Kinloch Lodge on the Isle of Skye, owned by bestselling cookery writer Claire Macdonald, is championing the offer of ‘beer flights’ on its recently Michelin-Starred menu.
Sixteen beers have been selected for the list, and fifteen of these are from Scotland.
Tom Eveling, who manages Kinloch Lodge with his wife Isabella, selected the beers so as to offer guests a wide and gastronomically appealing list. It is one of the most extensive bottled beer lists of any restaurant in Scotland.
The beer flights have been matched to every dish on the menu and sit alongside the restaurant’s established wine flights, malt whisky flights and the ‘beer and a dram chasers’.
The Scottish beers include examples from the islands of Skye, Black Isle, Orkney and Arran whilst the Scottish mainland is represented by Edinburgh, Alva, Alloa and Fraserburgh: All manner of colours and styles of beer are on the list with ingredients as exotic as heather, seaweed and raspberries – historic beer ingredients popular in Britain before the arrival of hops in the 1500s.
Sam Smiths raspberry beer from Yorkshire is the only English beer.
Tom Eveling comments:
“Choosing the best flights to match each dish has been a real eye-opener. People still seem to think that wine is smart and wonderful with food and that, for some unknown reason, beers are not. They are wrong. The reaction from our diners has been very positive. Several have expressed both surprise and delight at the pairings, and there has been genuine interest in trying the new experiences which our beer flights offer.
“Scotland now brews a myriad of fantastic beers. I believe we should be proud of what we brew and match it to all our wonderful Scottish food. It would have been a real oversight not to offer this choice on our menu.
“My current favourite pairing is the Innis & Gunn Blonde, an oak aged beer from Edinburgh, with our ‘Fruits from the Loch’ dish; while my wife Isabella loves our cheese course – Strathdon Blue, with prune and orange mousse, Perthshire honey jellies and savoury cinnamon syrup matched with Ola dubh.
Tom is passionate about offering ‘flights’ to diners because he and Head Chef Marcello Tully believe this is the best way to match the tastes on the plate with those in the glass.
The Wortley Arms Charity Cook Book- Proceeds to Marie Curie Cancer Care
Cooking up ideas for fund raising can be difficult – but chef Andy Gabbitas and his wife Toni knew exactly where to start. As proprietors of The Wortley Arms, the couple decided to utilise their culinary expertise and create a cook book, with 100 per cent of proceeds going to Marie Curie Cancer Care.
In a society where celebrity-endorsed books are flying off the shelves, a publication featuring over 30 mouth-watering recipes (often found on the menu in The Wortley Arms and using ingredients sourced locally) offers the reader a refreshing change from the norm and the opportunity to support their community and a worthwhile charity.
Andy is a Masterchef of Great Britain who, prior to moving to the village of Wortley on the outskirts of Sheffield, spent seven years travelling the world and serving up fine cuisine to high-profile figures such as Margaret Thatcher, John Major and designers Dolce & Gabbana. After cancer touched his family, he and Toni mobilised and decided to do everything they could to raise money for Marie Curie. In April 2010 the pair will be running the London Marathon, and after months of training and getting sponsorship, they are ready to take on the challenge.
The concept for The Wortley Arms Cook Book was hatched in slightly more relaxing circumstances. While chatting over a pint with friends, Andy was encouraged to put his skills and knowledge to good use. After securing support from broadcaster and comedian Toby Foster and a local publishing company, the 48-page book went into production – kindly financed by Andy’s suppliers and friends with everyone working on it generously giving their time freely.
The team has finally reached boiling point with the book ready for release on 26 February 2010 and aiming to raise £15,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care – it will be available from The Wortley Arms, Mitchells Wines in Meadowhead and every branch of Crawshaws Butchers; the minimum donation is £5.
Now everybody has the opportunity to take the magic from the menu at The Wortley Arms into their own kitchen – Andy has even revealed the recipe to the famous Wortley Venison Pie!
Cooking With French Cheeses
When we think about cooking with cheese we tend to think of using parmesan in our pasta, stirring in soft cheese into sauces or some mature cheddar topped on toast, but there is a wealth of ways to incorporate delicious cheese in our diets and similarly, there is a vast number of different cheeses for us to try.
In fact in France alone, there are around 1,000 different kinds of cheeses made, that range from age old favourites such as Brie and Camembert to lesser known delights such as Beaufort, Epoisses or Reblochon. With such a wide variety, there’s never been a better opportunity to broaden our taste buds and add a certain “je ne sais quoi” to our repertoire?
In this video Garth Delikan, lifestyle coach and Vive le Cheese Ambassador for the French Dairy Interprofession (CNIEL) , and chef Sophie Wright tell us how to add French Flair to mealtimes and discover the very best of French cheeses.
To open and view the video in your browser : http://www.linkto.tv/iframe/show/uuid/AVLmdIJC8GU
For more information and recipe ideas visit www.vivelecheese.co.uk
Wagamama Unveils Uk’s First Food-Ordering App For Iphone
Iphone users with a taste for the pan-asian flavours of wagamama can now order their favourite food on the move, from today, thanks to the launch of the restaurant chain’s new iphone application. The company is the first restaurant chain in the uk to launch its own iphone app, which is free to download from the itunes app store.
Wagamama is known for embracing new technology, and the innovative app mirrors the super-fast ordering system wagamama customers are used to when dining in their restaurants. Hungry iphone users can use the app to locate their nearest branch of wagamama and browse the menu to place their order. Their selection is then transmitted straight through to the kitchen, in a similar way to the wireless hand-held devices used by wagamama restaurant staff. The app also lets users choose a convenient pick-up time if they do not want to dine immediately, and payment can be made securely with a debit or credit card.
Wagamama’s ever-evolving menu is reflected by the app, which automatically refreshes with new dishes and specials as soon as they are added. Eo download the wagamama app, iphone users can visit the itunes app store and search for ‘wagamama’.
Eo coincide with the launch of the new app, wagamama’s online take-out site, wagamamatakeout.com, has been relaunched with a host of new features. The site boasts a new super-quick ordering function designed for people ordering on the move, including an intuitive search technique to create a quicker and more streamlined experience for those in the mood for waga’s!
Also marking the launch of the iphone app is the chance for customers to win the exclusive prize of a Wagamama chef preparing a three-course pan-Asian meal for them in their own home. Further details will be announced shortly, with ten lucky winners set to enjoy the money-can’t-buy experience.
Wagamama’s CEO steve hill commented “we’re proud to be the first uk restaurant chain to introduce its own iphone app, and it’s great to be bringing the speed and quality of wagamama’s service to the latest in consumer technology. Alongside our new take-out website, it’s now easier than ever for customers to get their wagamama fix!”