Seasons restaurant
Seasons restaurant face fines of over �30,000 - 27/06/02
A massive menu of health and hygiene failings at the Seasons
restaurant in Gloucester Road have left the owners with an enormous bill and the
continuing attentions of unforgiving food critics from the Council's
Environmental Health Department.
After a visit last July, inspectors
listed the food safety failings of finding a meat slicer with food debris still
on the blade despite just being cleaned, accumulations of food debris underneath
fridges, sink, storage shelves and the oven and elsewhere, spillages of rice and
flour, no hot water or even soap in the ladies' lavatories and potatoes and
onions stored on the floor and uncovered chocolate cookies on the counter, both
vulnerable to contamination.
Most serious of all was the restaurant's
failure to keep food within the safe temperature range and implement the
Company's own food safety checks set out in its "hazard analysis system".
Chips were stored in fridges that were just not cold enough to meet food
safety standards. And several menu items were kept at temperatures nowhere near
the required safety limit of 63C (145F): supposedly hot breakfast food was kept
at only 34c (93F), vegetable curry at 39c (102F) and chicken at just 29c
(84F).
The owners appeared before West London Magistrates last Friday (14
June) to plead guilty to 10 food safety offences. After hearing that the Council
had already formally cautioned the restaurant in 2001 for lack of cleaning and
poor maintenance, the Court imposed swinging fines totaling �31,000. In
addition, magistrates ordered the company to meet the Council's legal costs of
�3112.
The Royal Borough will be providing consumers and food
businesses with food safety improvements as part of the Tenth Annual Foodlink
National Food Safety Week (10-16 June 2002).
The Food Standards Agency
estimates that annually 4.2 million people suffer from food poisoning. Much of
this could be prevented by taking simple, inexpensive but important food safety
measures at home.
National Food Safety Week will have a broad food
safety agenda designed to raise awareness. The campaign will promote key food
safety messages including dealing with safe storage, temperature control (both
cooking and chilling), avoiding cross-contamination, kitchen cleanliness and
hand washing. For a range of helpful food safety tips and interactive quizzes
visit www.foodlink.org.uk.
To help promote the week a
food poster competition will be run among local schools. In addition to this the
Royal Borough has set up a new website, which is packed full of information and
helpful advice.
The new address is www.rbkc.gov.uk/foodhygieneandstandards.
Where and where not to go in Chelsea - 17/03/02
Don't go in The Bunch
of Grapes if you are a local. It's full of shoppers on jaunts to
horrible Harrods and the prices are very much like those in the Junkstore
- ridiculously high. No atmosphere at all - unless you count the sea of
unmistakable carrier bags. Locals boycott it: do we real want a ghastly
Weatherspoonesque place like this in Knightsbridge? The answer in a word: "no."
If you want a decent pub try The
Grenadier in Belgravia, The
Enterprise in Walton Street or The Ennismore Arms (behind Brompton
Oratory).
The Grenadier is a delightful pub - but hard to find.
You'll need to take a compass if you've not been before! It is located on Wilton
Row, a quietly hidden away mews behind The Berkeley and The Lanesborough and it
is the closest thing to a country pub in London. I don't think much of the food,
but for a pint in the summer it is definitely the place to go. It's full of
history and the interior ("crumbling" said one friend) is wonderful. You'll
always find the same old locals doing the crossword at the bar and if you get to
this "lost piece of London" you won't want to leave either.
Unfortunately The Ennismore Arms is due to close down in about a
year, but pay it a visit before it becomes yet another pub-private house
conversion. It can be packed full of cliquey groups of students or ALPHA course
attendees from Holy Trinity Brompton on occasions (fortunately you won't see
Jonathan Aitken in their number), but the landlord is most welcoming and his
staff are tremendous.
If you are standing outside The Bunch of Rotting
Grapes in the pouring rain, don't go in! You'd do much better, if you need
somewhere to shelter, to head round the corner into Walton Street to the
tremendous Enterprise. It is a gastro pub and they don't serve pints, but
it is fab, fab, fab. The staff are extremely welcoming; the d�cor has,
surprisingly for a pub, been thought about and if you want a meal you'll have
found one of the best 'mid-price' venues in London. I wholeheartedly recommend
the steak and chips - delicious. The only let down was a couple arguing
incessantly throughout their meal on one occasion, but it certainly did provide
much amusement.
If, after your meal, you are looking for a trendy bar
try the newly opened Art Bar
further down the street. It serves brilliant cocktails, there are reasonably
priced wines and the lager is good too. Watch out for the odd celeb (or two) and
make sure you get the sofa by the fire - it is just liking being in your own
sitting room and everybody loves the fire grate with the coals that are actually
wads of money! And best of all it stays open until very late.
Also worth
taking a look at is Marco Pierre White's gem - The Parissiene Chophouse
in Yeoman's Row (virtually next door to The Bunch of Rotting Grapes).
Perfect if you want a good hearty Sunday lunch - great value at �16 a head for
three courses. The stuffed animals are wonderful and the 30's posters look
tremendous. To get a G&T at the bar, you'd need to take out a second (or
third) mortgage but wines are very reasonably priced. Well worth a visit.
Min's Bar in Beauchamp Place was one of the best venues (until it
closed for a refurbishment last night anyway!!!). The staff can simply be
described as the best in London and they'll be back. They're just taking a
holiday whilst the premises are subjected to a facelift of this delightful
venue, which is soon to become known as The Townhouse. The bar will be much
bigger ("great," all my friends cry) and The Sunday Times Style section tip it
as "one of the places to be seen in London in 2002." Watch out. It should be
reopening in a month.
However don't bother with the Brinkley Group's
The Oratory (opposite Brompton
Oratory). Mr Brinkley's attitude to customer relations is lacking in the
extreme; reaching the lavatories is like going on the Krypton Factor or Fort
Boyard and don't even try the food. It is foul and my guests commented that it
was "the worst meal they'd ever seen served in London." Another tourist trap,
located between The Bunch of Grapes and The Oratory, and unsurprisingly equally
vile, is Ballans. Yuck, yuck, horrid. The service is abysmal and the food
inedible. Don't even walk through the doors unless you are taking the
mother-in-law from a hell out to lunch!!
Matthew
Steeples
Andy Varma lets slip some secret recipes - 14/03/02
TV chef Andy Varma is offering the chance to discover the
secrets of Indian cuisine at his King's Road restaurant. The Spring Term one-day
cookery classes will be taking place from 9th March to 8th June.
Co-owner and Executive Chef Andy Varma will be sharing some of his
gastronomic secrets, which have provided the basis of his restaurant's success.
Students will be invited to watch, listen and learn about different styles and
methods of Indian cooking.
The class begins with a short theoretical
lesson about the history of Indian cuisine and the use of different spices, and
then it's straight down to the kitchen for a practical session, before sitting
down to enjoy the taste of the day's learning.
The cost of each class
will be �35 per person and will include a theoretical and practical cookery
lesson, a live look into the kitchen and a lunch tasting session of your very
own creations.
For more information or to book a place for a class
please telephone Vama 020 7565 8500.
Special offer for MyVillage readers - 07/02/02
Chelsea favourite Isola is offering MyVillage a discount for early evening diners. Buy two courses for �14.00 or three courses for �16.50 lunchtime or early evening before 6.45pm, Monday to Saturday. Champagne drinkers arriving before 7.30pm are also entitled to a special offer with MyVillage - order a bottle of Taittinger and instantly get it upgraded to a Magnum. Available Monday to Saturday up to 8.00pm only. Only available in the bar. All you need to do is print this page and bring it with you to claim the set menu deal or magnum offer.
Thai hits the red spot - 24/01/02
For the first time in Europe a Thai restaurant, situated in Belgravia, has been awarded a Michelin star. Nahm at the Halkin Hotel, is amongst four ethnic restaurants to be awarded star status in the 2002 edition of the Red Guide.
There are only two Indian and one Japanese restaurants featured in the guide all of which are located in London.
David Thompson is the name behind Nahm, which opened last summer. He established himself within the culinary world in Sydney before moving to the London scene.
Mr Thompson is quoted in the Evening Standard as saying: "We are delighted to get this recognition. It has been much harder making the transition from Thai cooking in Australia to Thai cooking in London because we cannot always find suitable. ingredients in London."
Derek Brown, director of Michelin Red Guides, is quoted as saying: "The flavouring of the dishes is extremely skilful and the preparation very authentic. The cooking has not been loosened down or modified to pander to Western palates. It is generously spicy, fiery and well done."
Nahm
The Halkin
5/6 Halkin Street
London SW1X
7DJ
tel: 020 7333 1234
When MyVillage were invited down to Isola to taste test the
Knightsbridge stalwart's spanking new cocktail list last night, we decided it
would be rather rude to refuse them the pleasure of watching us drink head
barman Tony Conigliaro's wondrous creations.
After we'd settled
ourselves into a cosy spot we perused the menu and it was without hesitation
that I chose my first (of the night's many) cocktails - the Miss Knightsbridge -
I mean what else could I have? My drink was a thick mix of vodka, sloe gin,
pouched cherries and cream, not really the kind of drink you could sip all
night, but like Baileys, hit the spot for the right mood. Our editorial
assistant, Liz McGrath, opted for the rather fruitier Strawberry Campirinia.
Squashed strawberries.hmmmm.
It was then that Tony whipped out the new
list of wine-infused cocktails (yeah, I was pretty suspicious of these), all
sorts of variations on the classics we've come to know, love and at times get
bored of and a number of "Cucina Cocktails" - influenced by Isola's chefs.
Tony, a rather quietly spoken and very modest barman, was more than
enthusiastic about his "art". He explained to our motley group of editors, PR
types and hangers on about how his new menu was the result of a series of
experiments "finding out how chef's palates work" and to "open up a field of
flavour" to London drinkers.
His experimentations led to the scrapping
of the Miss Knightsbridge I'd sampled. But fear not for something altogether
more delicious was to emerge. The new Miss Knightsbridge was basically based on
a Strawberry Almond Zabaglione. The drink is a combination of Amaretto
(replacing a Zambliglione's almonds), vanilla, strawberries, Grand Marnier and
cream. This is the magic of Tony's kitchen cocktail theory - "not for bar
tenders to become chefs, but to translate the workings of the kitchen onto the
bar". Well, it certainly beats a screaming orgasm any day of the week.
Most of the cocktails we sampled were fantastic. But our tastes were
quite different when it came our favourites, especially when after the tenth
they all began to merge into one big fruity, creamy, boozy taste. So here's our
individual top threes, just for the record:
Ramona's favourites
1. Immaculate Conception: A Bloody Mary to beat them all. A drink, which
starts out clear with a red ice cube of tomato juice packed with the traditional
spices. As the drink reaches room temperature it starts to resemble (and taste
more like) a traditional Bloody Mary; the cube eventually gives birth to a wee
bit of celery hiding within the tomato juice cube. Gimmicky, but it certainly
sold me.
2. Apple and Herb Martini: Vodka, poached apple
and monasterium. Only for the truly bitter.
3. Mandarin Sour: A yummy mix of
Creole shrub (orange liquor for those that ain't in the know), mandarin liquor,
lemon juice, egg white and sugar. Fluffy and fruity. Liked very much.
Liz' favourites
1. Nelson's Cherry: This mix of cherry
liquor, port and champagne was one of the first drinks we sampled. It is very
sweet - but I have a very sweet tooth so I absolutely loved it. I liked it
because port is an after dinner drink, but this could easily be drunk before a
meal.
2. Dr Zeus: This drink looks crap - the murky brown liquid barely fills
the bottom of a small glass - but apparently this is how it's supposed to look
and how cognac has been served for many a year. Well who am I to argue with
tradition when it tastes so good? A fine mix of cognac, kaluha, raisins, fernet
branca and sugar. A true gents, or gentlewoman's drink (It was created by Adam
Peters-Ennis of the bar team).
3. Strawberry Caipirinha: I'm a sucker for
caipirinhas anyway, but this was divine. Outrageously fruity and colouful, made
up of campiri, cachaca, lime and fresh strawberries. Yum.
Isola
145, Knightsbridge
SW1X 7PA
tel: 020 7838 1044
Special offer for MyVillage readers - 07/02/02
Christmas Eve jazz dinner at Vama
Monday 24th
December @ Vama
438 King's Road
SW10 0LJ
Chic Chelsea restaurant
Vama will be celebrating on Christmas Eve with live jazz, a sumptuous 3-course
Indian menu and a welcome glass of Pink Champagne. �30 per person call 020 7565
8500 for details.
New Years Eve at Vama
Monday 31st December @Vama
438 King's Road
SW10 0LJ.
Award-winning chef Andy Varma (pictured left) will be cooking up a
lavish five-course dinner on New Year's Eve. Guests will be treated to a live
jazz band, DJ and dancing as well as a complimentary glass of Pink Champagne.
Tickets available including 5 courses, welcome drink and entertainment -
�50 for first sitting, �85 for second sitting. Call 0207565 8500 for
reservations.
Special Offers
