Mark Gregory returns to RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023 with a “Plot To Plate” haven for Savills
“King of Chelsea”, Mark Gregory, is set to return to the RHS highlight for 2023 with a “plot to plate” garden for Savills.
The Savills Garden will be his 108th Chelsea show garden and marks his return to design in his 34th consecutive year. The Savills Garden is set within the grounds of a country hotel. Revealing an intimate walled seasonal potager, with the show’s first ever working kitchen at its heart.
“The garden will be a feast both for the eyes and for the palette”
Mark said: “I am incredibly proud to have designed this garden for Savills. I think it will speak to a lot of people and has, at its core, elements that are very close to my heart. A beautiful space, created considerately, that brings people together to enjoy fantastic food and great times. The garden will be a feast both for the eyes and for the palette, demonstrating that productive gardens can be both elegant and delightful.”
Designed to demonstrate an “edimental” planting theme, combining edibles and ornamental planting, the garden provides inspiration for a “plot-to-plate” alfresco dining experience. Ingredients will be foraged from the surrounding living larder and used to prepare delicious meals for the guests to enjoy in the adjoining dining area. Cementing the relationship between grower, guests and chef.
Visitors are invited to immerse themselves in this tranquil retreat, resting beneath a mature tree, taking time to reconnect with nature, enjoying the formal planting, whilst anticipating the taste experience to come. The aim of the space is to help change the way we think about our gardens, the way we eat and source our food. And to share ideas and knowledge that can be introduced into even the smallest of plots.
This evocative and aromatic garden will capture the sights, smells and tastes of a productive garden while also delivering a beautiful, elegant space and a haven for wildlife.
Following the show, in keeping with its sustainability commitment, Savills will work with the Shaw Trust, a national charity running employability programmes and complementary services for people with complex needs, to relocate the garden. It will be replanted at Meadow View House in Nottinghamshire for their residents to enjoy.
Additionally, Savills will work with existing charity partner Rethink Food, an organisation focused on educating school children on food security, to share learnings from the garden.
Richard Rees, Savills MD, said: “We are excited to be returning to Chelsea with a garden design that touches on so many themes that are core to the future success of our industry and gives us the opportunity to bring to life our commitment to promoting sustainable development. It’s impossible to overstate the importance of nature in our lived environment. Whether in an urban or rural setting, and Mark Gregory, five times Chelsea Gold Medal winner, has designed a garden that will be both stunning to the eye and packed full of learnings for us all.
“I look forward to seeing the garden relocated post show in conjunction with the Shaw Trust. An organisation committed to challenging inequality and breaking down barriers to enable social mobility. We also welcome the opportunity to further develop our employee engagement with Rethink Food, and to exploring with them issues around food production and food miles, sustainability and the learning and sharing of knowledge.”
Oscar-winning actress Hayley Mills, 76, talks about life & loves ahead of starring in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel at Woking’s New Victoria Theatre, 15th-19th November
Q. You’ve had such a varied career. What have been your highlights? “The first film I ever made was Tiger Bay with my father [John]; a masterclass in film acting. I didn’t go to drama school, which I probably should have done later, but I was lucky to work with some incredible actors, my father included. I’m also very proud of some of the plays and musicals over the years. I love a challenge because it frightens the life out of me.”
Q. Do you feel enough stories are being told about the older generation? “No. People think ‘old people are boring’. But I’m in my 70s and I don’t feel as if I am that age, and I realise that’s how other old people feel too. We don’t feel old at all. [Laughs] We just look it and that’s why we all avoid the mirror.”
Q. What attracted you to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel? “I loved the script and there wasn’t a shadow of a doubt about wanting to do it. I love the play, the writing, the part and I’m mad about the director Lucy Bailey. It’s a wonderful play and Deborah Moggach is a great writer. Like most people, I had seen the film and there’s something about the story that just gets you. It’s very truthful. It’s a reminder that where there’s life there’s hope.”
There’s something about the story that just gets you. It’s very truthful. It’s a reminder that where there’s life there’s hope.
Q. Can you relate to Evelyn, the character you play? “Absolutely. She’s such a beautifully written character and I can relate to her age, plus the fact we all look back on our lives realising we’ve made mistakes. One of my least favourite songs is Frank Sinatra’s My Way. It’s so smug! Who can really say ‘Regrets, I have a few but then again too few to mention’? You’d have to be in your own very selfish bubble.”
Q. Dame Judi Dench played Evelyn in the film version. Is it daunting in her footsteps? “If I dwelled upon it then yes, but I don’t. I briefly thought about watching the film again but I decided ‘no’. She is such a wonderful actress and I couldn’t begin to play it the way she does. That’s what is so fascinating about this business: everyone brings their own experiences and understanding to a role. But Judi is a consummate actress. I could watch her all day, even reading the telephone directory.”
Q. Can you relate to the theme of starting over or have you had a pretty steady ride? “[Laughs] Come on! Life is not a steady ride for anybody. My goodness, there are peaks and valleys, ups and downs, feast and famine. You have to weather the storms.”
Q. Have you worked with any of your co-stars before? “I haven’t. I’ve known Rula [Lenska] for years from bumping into each other but I’ve never worked with her. I’ve seen Paul Nicholas’ work over the years but not worked with him either. It’s fun meeting people you’ve admired and getting to be in a show together.”
Q. What do you hope audiences take away from seeing the show? “I hope they’ll feel infused with optimism and hope about the future as well as the belief that life really is what you make it. There are so many things dragging us down in the world today. We’re going through dire straits but then when you look back over history you see what people went through in the First and Second World Wars, the Depression, what have you. The world has gone through some very tough times but I believe in the goodness of the human race.”
Get your tickets for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel at Woking’s New Victoria Theatre
Dr Marion Gluck, Hormone Expert, and Founder of The Marion Gluck Clinic explores the different treatment options available for anyone experiencing menopause or perimenopause symptoms.
With October being Menopause Awareness Month, and many women experiencing debilitating symptoms that make carrying out everyday tasks difficult, it’s important that women know there are treatment options available, and they needn’t suffer in silence.
Synthetic HRTs made from estrogens derived from horse urine, or synthetic oral estrogens are still available on the NHS but are not the optimal choices. The British Menopause Society recognises that bioidentical HRT is the gold standard form of HRT, which is derived from plant sterols such as beta-sitosterol and diosgenin from Mexican yams. Bioidentical and body identical hormones are exactly the same but body identical refers to the regulated standard dose treatments available on the NHS, and bioidentical refers to the personalised HRT from a compounding pharmacy.
As a menopause doctor, I prefer to prescribe compounded Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) and regulated body identical HRT where appropriate, depending on each individual client. BHRT differs from synthetic HRT as bioidentical hormones have an identical molecular structure to the naturally occurring hormones which are produced in the body. Whereas synthetic hormones are structurally different and do not have the same physiological reaction.
Comparing body identical and bioidentical hormones
Although body identical and bioidentical hormones are made with similar ‘ingredients’ there are differences between the two. Including the manufacturing process, dosage, delivery, and which hormones are available in terms of estradiol, progesterone, DHEA, and testosterone. For example, body identical progesterone is only available as utrogestan which is an oral capsule rather than a cream. The availability of suitable testosterone preparations for women is also limited.
Body identical hormones are produced by large pharmaceutical companies in regulated, set doses and application methods, and while this one-size-fits-all approach works for some patients, the dosage and application of body identical hormones cannot be altered to cater to those with more specific needs.
On the other hand, BHRT can be compounded into a personalised dosage and in different application methods, creating a better solution, with fewer side effects, for many women. Women can choose to have their medication as a cream, sublingual drop, or lozenge, making the treatment fit with their lifestyle and preferences. BHRT is also usually prescribed in much lower dosages than regulated hormones, meaning women experience fewer side effects and can enjoy feeling themselves again in a much shorter timeframe. With BHRT, shortages are rarely faced as individual prescriptions are made in the compounding pharmacy.
BHRT is prescribed in personalised dosages, based on thorough testing, and produced to order. This means that the pharmacy (which must meet industry standards for purity of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and Good Manufacturing Practice) is able to prepare custom doses and application methods to address the individual needs of a patient.
“Women around the world face an ongoing needless struggle with hormonal issues. I have made it my life’s work to raise awareness about the treatment and holistic changes that can help them feel themselves again”
As we’re living longer and working later in life, menopause is something that needs to be discussed and women need to feel they have choices in their treatment plans and control of their wellbeing. For too long we have suffered in silence, and it doesn’t need to be this way. There are effective and safe treatments available to women who are experiencing debilitating symptoms such as brain fog, palpitations, anxiety, and sleep deprivation. Whether a woman chooses HRT, body identical HRT or my pioneering method of BHRT, I am on a mission to raise awareness, champion getting life-changing treatment, and offering women choice.
Round & About’s resident wine columnist gives his top picks of Champagne which are worth a pop!
Hello. I’ve just returned from my latest foray into the wonderful world of wine, this time a visit to one of my favourite regions, Champagne. To many champagne is a by-word for celebration; the wine with which to mark life’s highlights. While I wouldn’t disagree with this sentiment, that is to overlook champagne’s place as one of the great wines, one that can be enjoyed with food or as a celebration in itself.
In my latest column for Round and About, I’ll give you a brief guide to this fascinating region, its styles, and run down of my top ten champagnes. So, without further ado, let’s talk chalk.
Champagne: Beauty isn’t skin deep
Take a former inland sea, a hill with delusions of grandeur, trillions of dead fish, a good supply of trees, and place them in cool, north-western France, and what do you get? You get the world’s greatest sparkling wine region, Champagne.
Beneath a thin layer of largely poor soils, lies meters of ancient chalk. It’s this chalk that allows grapes to ripen in what would otherwise be (pre-climate change) an inhospitable place for vines. By leaching heat and storing water, the vast chalk deposits that underlay the region, Champagne manages to get chardonnay alongside the black grapes of pinot noir and pinot meunier to ripen and produce its wondrous wines.
For many of the top champagne houses – names such as Taittinger, Ruinart, Moet & Chandon, and Gosset – the chalk plays another vital role in the creation of these singular wines: ageing.
In the 5th century Roman settlers planted vines here. The name Champagne derives from the Latin’ campania’ in reference to the rolling hills of Campanula near Rome which the area resembles. When they arrived, they discovered very little in the way of building materials on the surface and so they started to dig. They soon discovered the vast deposits of chalk which they excavated to build cities such as Reims and Epernay, leaving behind huge subterranean caves – the ‘crayeres’ as they are now known – in their wake.
Today, many of these are used to house champagne while it slowly matures. Given the crayeres impressive depth – some go down over 30 metres – they provide the continuously cool, vibration-free environment the wines need as they develop.
Time is an essential element in the production of champagne. Even non-vintage wines, those blended from several harvests, received at least 18 months of bottle ageing prior to release, and vintage wines, ones from a single year, needing at least 3 years. And when it comes to rare cuvee de prestige wines such as Taittinger’s sublime Comte de Champagne or Gosset’s Celebris, a decade or more of ageing may be required.
Champagne’s Grapes and Styles
Given the wine itself is white or rosé, it may come as a surprise to you that most wines are made with black and white grapes. Around 75% of champagne’s grapes are black, the rest being made up of chardonnay.
As the juice of almost all grapes is white when pressed, the colour comes from contact with skins, and while there are seven authorised varieties in Champagne, the three most important vines are:
Chardonnay – which produces mineral-rich wines with wonderfully pure fruit, fragrance, and aromas
Pinot Noir – an aristocratic red grape that gives acidity, backbone, depth, and body to the wines
Pinot Meunier – rarely seen elsewhere, pinot meunier adds fruitiness and roundness to the finished blend
In terms of styles, that is largely in the hands of the winemaker and even wines produced from similar blends – the ‘cepage’ – can deliver markedly different wines. Try a bottle of Taittinger’s Prelude with its ripe, peaches in syrup fruit, subtle yeasty undertow, and generous weight beside Gosset’s equally long-aged Grande Reserve and you’d be forgiven for thinking the wines were made in different regions. The Grande Reserve is high-toned and fresh, with a piercing citrus flavour that’s softened by a rich seam of red berries and creamy yeast.
In terms of labels, the following are the styles you are most likely to see:
Brut – this is a dry wine which has a limit to the amount of sugar that gets added to the wines – the ‘dosage’. In the case of a Brut wine, this is less than 12g of residual sugar per litre. Brut is a movable feast, however, and some Houses have residual sugar levels that are close to the limit while others, such as Gosset, tend to be far lower
Demi-Sec – this is an off-dry champagne that is often served as an aperitif or with deserts
Blanc de Blanc – white wine made from white grapes; this is invariably 100% chardonnay. Most of these wines are good for early drinking while the fruit is young and bright, but given the structure of Champagne’s chardonnay, some blanc de blanc can age wonderfully. Taittinger’s Comte de Champagne is routinely aged for a decade before release and will reward another decade or more of cellarage. I’ve enjoyed venerable bottles of Ruinart’s R de Ruinart Blanc de Blanc, and my recent encounter with the sublime Gosset Blanc de Blancs show it’s a wine that has time on its side
Blanc de Noir – made exclusively from black grapes, blanc de noir is an odd category. Much of the cheap (and let’s face it, nasty) supermarket champagne is blanc de noir and is made almost exclusively from pinot meunier with the aim of being drunk young. At the other end of the scale, you have wines such as Bollinger’s Vielle Vignes Francaise or Krug Clos d’Ambonnay which combine extraordinary power, depth, and concentration and are amongst Champagne’s most revered (and expensive) wines
Rosé – in Champagne this is invariably bone dry and can be made in one of two ways. The first is to allow the grape to come into contact with the black grape skins and bleed its colour into it the must – the ‘saignee’ method. The alternative is to add around 15% of red wine to the white
Champagne’s Best 10 Wines
The following is my top ten and is based on a combination of excellence, value, and availability. It would be easy for me to reel of the off top ten greatest champagnes I’ve ever had, and some of them are included on this list. But unless you work in the trade or have a bank balance the size of Moet’s marketing budget, listing the likes of Krug’s Clos de Mesnil 1982 (£3,300) isn’t that helpful.
Now, the following represents ten wines that show champagne’s diversity, styles, and that its brilliance doesn’t have to be reserved for special occasions:
Taittinger Comtes de Champagne (£150 Waitrose) – Comtes is an astonishing wine. 100% chardonnay – so a blanc de blanc – logic would suggest that it wouldn’t stand up to a decade of aging before release, let alone that it would cellar well for years to come. Equally how does a chardonnay have such intensity, complexity and depth of flavour? Comte’s nose is flowers and white berries with a whiff of creamy yeast. On the palate it begins as a gentle vanilla mousse, but this soon builds as tones of apple, preaches in syrup, minerals and brioche flood in. Yes, it’s expensive, but in terms of quality phenomenal and is well-priced when viewed against its peers.
Gosset Grand Rosé (Ocado £60) – Gosset’s wines are intense, precise, capable of seemingly endless ageing, and wonderfully sophisticated. Their Grand Rosé is pale pink, with a nose that combines fresh summer berries, pear drops, and yeast. In the mouth it’s clean, tangy and fresh with an underlying richness and power. This is a wine for the mind as well as the mouth, and I would urge any wine lover to try it.
Vilmart Grands Reserve (The Champagne Company £35) – Vilmart is a small, high-quality house that takes a Burgundian approach to making wine. Visit winemaker Laurent Champs and you’ll find a small, pristine cellar that’s lined with new oak barrels. Oak ageing is at the heart of what Vilmart does, and it imparts a richness and weight to their wines, giving a creamy mouthfeel without smothering the fine red and white berry fruits.
Taittinger Prelude (The Champagne Company £48.50) – while the Taittinger Prestige Rosé (Majestic £44.99) was named as the ‘Best Rosé’ by Good Food Magazine in 2022, the Prelude is probably my favourite Taittinger. Such is my ardour for this glorious wine, that at my recent visit I passed up a second glass of Comte de Champagne 2012 (lovely, but so young) in favour of this. Prelude is aged for six years prior to release, and this gives the Grand Cru chardonnay and pinot noir fruit time to mellow and soften. Mid-gold, the nose is a complex blend of yellow autumn fruits, honey and citrus. In the mouth it’s weighty and ripe, but with that signature Taittinger elegance.
Roederer Brut Premier (£35 Majestic) – I first encountered this while working at Harrods as part of a tasting that included every champagne in the shop – over 100 wines. This was a standout for me and remains one of my favourites. The ripe, peach, apricot, and citrus nose gives way to rich, weighty, brioche and red berry palate that oozes class and refinement.
Alfred Gratien (£38 Vinatis) – Alfred Gratien is one of a few Houses that still age their wines in oak – other notable Houses include Krug and Bollinger. The barrels in question are old and the idea isn’t to add a vanilla flavour, but to allow micro-oxygenation (apparently) that imparts a richness and roundness to the wines. Richness is certainly a key trait. These are super-ripe, luxurious, sumptuous wines with a baked apple tone that’s balanced by minerals and a touch of salinity.
Adnams Selection Rosé (Adnams £33.99) – there’s a lot to be said for own-label or buyers’ own brand champagnes. In many cases these wines are from prestigious Houses who create bottlings for merchants. This is definitely one of the best I’ve ever had. It’s made by Blin, an excellent, but not that well-known House, and gives you a lot of wine for your money. Deeply pink, the nose is an enticing blend of red berries, citrus, and brioche. The palate is broad, rich, and satisfying but with enough freshness to keep it balanced.
Billecart Salmon Rosé (Laithwaites £60) – I first bought ‘Billy Rosé’ as we call it as it had a pretty bottle, and pretty is a good way to describe the wine. The pretty in pink colour is flecked with amber highlights, while the nose is a complex, fragrant blend of black fruits, rose petals, and yellow plums. The palate is soft, silky and loaded with strawberries and raspberries, minerals and a lovely yeasty finish. This is a great champagne to serve with lamb, salmon, and chicken.
Pol Roger Brut Reserve (Waitrose £39) –Pol Roger was Winston Churchill’s favourite champagne, and their cuvee de prestige is named in his honour. This is a traditional style of wine that never disappoints. The nose combines intense berry fruit with brioche and white flowers. The palate is taut, refined, and gives the sense of everything being where it should be giving a perfect balance to a rounded, yet clean tasting wine.
Dom Perignon (£160 Sainsbury’s) – despite its vast production and rising price, this remains an excellent wine. Best drunk a few years after release, Dom Perignon is a charmer of a wine. Its appeal lies in its complexity, which is admirable, and it offers a classic ‘biscuity’ nose that combines berry fruit with yeast and honey. The palate is typically rich and rounded, with noticeable flavours of Mirabelle plum, raspberries, peaches, and offers a long, complex finish.
Until next time…
Well, I hope that’s whetted your appetites for all things Champagne. Next time I’ll look at some reds that will make the long autumn evenings seem just a little too short.
Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms show at Tate Modern has been extended until April. Liz Nicholls steps inside
Who doesn’t want to be fired up with The Brilliance Of Life?
I’ve followed many an avenue in quest of this. And Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms at the Tate Modern have been lighting up various social media feeds in my orbit all summer.
The installations (originally made for Kusama’s 2012 retrospective at Tate Modern) have proved so popular with visitors that the run has been extended until next spring.
A trip to Tate Modern, and the buzzing South Bank, is always a delight, and this celebration of the stellar Japanese artist, now aged 93, provides a trippy treat for the senses.
Kusama, who has been affected by hallucinations for much of her life, makes art that tries to show things “only the mind can see”, and it’s a fabulous way to highlight awareness of mental health.
A trippy treat for the senses
Seen from the outside, the space occupied by the two installations is tiny, which tickles your sense of time and space. Houses in a hexagonal unit the size of a parking space, stepping inside Chandelier of Grief is a discombobulating experience, fizzing and popping a boundless universe of rotating crystal chandeliers that threaten to smash and splinter.
Meanwhile, the watery walkway through the boxed Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life seems to offer a sense of limitless serenity. Each visit is two minutes (time enough to grab that obligatory selfie) and I recommend making a return trip in and through, for a different experience, on another level (ie sitting down, or taking a different angle).
Small yet perfectly formed on the outside, the light fantastic space offers a rare chance to step inside the mind of one of the world’s most iconic living contemporary artists. This has been one of the hottest tickets in town this summer, and doesn’t disappoint, offering an all-encompassing sense of wonder and freedom.
Round & About’s resident wine columnist gives his top picks for the new season – mellow wines for the mellow season!
Hello. As a wine lover, I’ve always liked autumn as a season. Unlike winter or summer, where the weather and food tend to prescribe reds or whites, autumn, with its early warmth and latter chill, offers a much broader palate to work with.
As Keats put it, doubtless, after a glass of wine (or something altogether stronger knowing what the Romantics were like), this is the ‘Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’ and the following suggestions make for the perfect accompaniment to this golden transition.
First up is a white from Portugal, The Lisboa Valley Selection (The Wine Society £7.95). Portuguese reds have been a favourite of the wine trade for some time now, but the whites have never quite caught people’s attention. I tried this for the first time last year, and it’s become a regular in our house. Offering an intriguing combination of freshness – grapefruit, green apples, and watermelon – with a balancing richness – peaches and dried pears – it has a tang of Atlantic salt to the finish. Marvellous with seafood, it’s also lovely on its own.
As Keats put it, doubtless, after a glass of wine (or something altogether stronger knowing what the Romantics were like), this is the ‘Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’
Next is a wine from Sicily, a wine-producing island that has seen its fortunes soar in the last decade or so as winemakers have got to grips with the natural gifts they have been afforded. My recommendation is the Nostru Catarratto Lucido (Kwoff £12.49). This organic wine is made from the rare (I certainly had to look it up) Catarratto grape. Mid-gold in colour, it offers a complex nose of jasmine cut with almonds and peach stones. The palate is fresh and tangy with plenty of gooseberries and white currants, but this soon deepens as greengages, peaches, and apricots come in at the end.
And for my last white, we have one from another region whose fame lies with its reds. Abruzzo sits east of Rome, where its coast borders the Adriatic. Its Montepulciano is a great source of inexpensive, often highly drinkable reds, such as Tesco’s Finest Montepulciano (£7).
Whites are thinner on the ground, but wines such as the Contessa Abruzzo Pecorino (£9.95) are well worth seeking out. Pecorino gives fragrant wines with plenty of citrus freshness that also offer riper notes of apricots, Mirabelle plums, nuts, and dried herbs. The Contessa is an excellent example of this, and I found it went well with creamy cheese pasta – one that was loaded with pecorino cheese, funnily enough.
There will now be a short interval for a glass of Champagne.
I’m a huge fan of Champagne. Good as sparkling wines are, even the best cannot match the complexity, elegance, and depth of the greatest sparkling wine on Earth. While I am a fan of many houses, the one I keep coming back to is Taittinger. Across the range, their wines are the epitome of style, and their Prelude (John Lewis £55) is arguably the best sub-£100 Champagne on the market. But it’s to the Taittinger Brut Reserve (Tesco £39) I’d like to give a nod to. This is a show-stopping wine. Mid-gold, the tiny, even bubbles (‘bead’ if you want to get technical), lift notes of spring flowers, red apples, citrus, and yeast. In the mouth, it’s gentle yet persistent, and at its core is a glorious note of peaches in syrup that is offset by taut acidity and creamy yeastiness.
And so to the reds.
You can’t talk about wines that boast mellow fruitfulness and not mention Rioja. Rioja’s reputation is at an all-time high. A succession of good vintages coupled with innovation and investment from leading producers has made the wines of this fantastic region world-beaters.
One that’s been turning my head lately is the Cune Reserva 2017 (Majestic £12.99), and it’s autumn bottled. The nose is a smoky, rich mix of red and blackberries with highlights of citrus fruits and spices. The medium-bodied palate is loaded with crushed black fruits, vanilla, cranberries, and liquorice, and finishes with a fresh, fruits of the forest in cream flourish. Magnificent now with hearty tomato dishes or red meats, it will improve over the next three to five years.
South African wine has undergone a reinvention to match Australia’s over the past couple of decades. Their traditional ‘big is better’ approach has been replaced by the pursuit of perfection done their way. Like Australia, South Africa has a hugely diverse mix of soils and microclimates that lend themselves to the creation of truly fine wines. One of these is the Neil Ellis Cabernet Sauvignon (Cellar Door Wines £19.95). Cabernet Sauvignon is often said to be the king of red grapes, one that is capable of producing aristocratic wines that combine elegance, power, and longevity. The Neil Ellis shows these characteristics to the hilt. Inky black, the nose is an inviting mix of blackcurrants, prunes, and mint, while the palate offers a powerful mix of cassis, raspberries, chocolate, and a whiff of cigar smoke. I had this with a cheeseboard – and it was excellent – but with a fine steak or mushroom risotto, I think it would be even better.
And finally, a claret. I don’t recommend red Bordeaux that much these days because the good wines tend to be horribly expensive, and the cheap ones are just horrible. Stalwarts like Château Talbot – a wine I used to buy for under £30 – will now set you back over £60 a bottle. Great vintages, hysterical scores from critics, and wine investors have sent prices skyward and left drinkers out in the cold.
It was with deep joy then that I recently tasted the 2016 Caronne St. Gemme (Majestic Wines £16.99). The Nony family has worked wonders with this excellent estate, and the winemaker claims that the 2016 is the best wine he’s ever made. Classical nose of blackcurrants, smoke, cigars, and grilled meats, the medium-bodied palate is choc-full of plums, currants, blackberries, and chocolate, that lead to a long, well-integrated, satisfying finish. Just starting to open up, it will be fascinating to see how this develops.
Until next time...
Well, I hope that’s whetted your appetite. Next time out, I’ll look at some affordable fizz.
Make-up with spectacles? Yes, you read that right! Feel Good Contacts have come up with a perfect guide for you! Spectacles aren’t a hindrance to highlighting your eyes. In fact, you can make your eyes appear even bigger with glasses.
Tips & tricks!
• Neutral eye shadows: Fill your make-up palette with neutral eyeshadow shades like beige, brown or ivory shade. If you are wearing glasses due to myopia, you will notice that your eyes look smaller due to concave lenses. Dark and heavy makeup will shrink them further while neutral colours brighten up the eye socket and make the eyes appear more prominent. For an evening look, you can opt for shimmery or sparkly eyeshadow which also helps by giving more light reflection.
• A soft eyeliner: A soft eyeliner in brown would be the ideal pick to define your eyes without making them look small. Also, make it a point to blend the lines in order to prevent them from appearing too harsh.
• A white pencil on the waterline: This will help boost that wide-eyed look and make your eyes appear even larger. Just what you need for a glam look!
• Don’t forget a coat of mascara: Mascara always helps to add definition to your eyes, even whilst wearing spectacles. In fact, if you want to give your eye area an extra lift, grab your eyelash curlers and curl your lashes before applying mascara.
• Concealer for the under-eye area: A good quality concealer will help you brighten up the under-eye area in addition to covering dark circles. It will give you the appearance of larger eyes and a more awake look, especially if your eyes are looking tired from a lack of sleep.
Make sure you choose a frame that's the right size and shape for your face
• Keep your brow game strong: You don’t want your brows to disappear behind your frames, so remember to fill in your brows with a brow gel or pencil. It will also help to frame your face and draw more attention to your eyes.
• The right frame: Make sure you choose a frame that’s the right size and shape for your face. Smaller, thinner frames are ideal if you wish to enlarge your eyes, while large, thick frames will make your eyes appear smaller.
• Foundation only where it is needed: It is recommended to apply foundation only on the areas where you need it to prevent transferring foundation from your nose bridge to the nose bridge of your frames. Foundation should be as close a match to your skin colours as possible. If you like to wear your foundation all over, then try to go for a product which is designed for long-lasting wear and set it with a powder.
• Dewy and natural: For the rest of your makeup, it is advised to keep it dewy and natural. A light blush for a fresh-faced look can be paired with a bold lip colour.
• Match the thickness of your eyeliner to the thickness of your frames: Keep liner more delicate on thin frames and go a little chunkier if your frames are bigger. A great trick indeed!
So get glam with the right make up, pick the most stylish frame and don’t forget your mask while heading out. Remember, precaution is better than cure!
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Established in 2008 by qualified optometrists, Feel Good Contacts (feelgoodcontacts.com) is one of the UK’s leading online suppliers of contact lenses, spectacles, and sunglasses. It is a one-stop-shop for all eye essentials including contact lenses, prescription glasses, designer sunglasses and eye care products across UK, Ireland and France. At Feel Good Contacts, customers enjoy up to 50% off compared to high street opticians. In fact, Feel Good Contacts is the only UK company to offer a discounted service via a mobile app as well.
We’ve teamed up with The Rice Association to offer you some seasonal inspiration to jazz up a store-cupboard ingredient.
National Rice Week is back this September (12-18th September), and to help you Rice Up Your Life we have some delicious and easy new recipes to tempt you to try a new rice dish.
From bomba rice in Arroz De Marisco, Basmati rice in Turmeric Garlic Rice, long-grain rice in Middle Eastern Green Rice with Tofu Kebabs, risotto rice in Risotto Soup and to using leftover rice in Vegan Rice Pudding with Roasted Plums, there’s a new recipe that everyone can enjoy.
All types of rice offer equally good value as they are convenient, full of nutrients, easy to cook and versatile. In fact, rice is one of the few foods that can be enjoyed sweet or savoury, hot or cold and for every meal of the day, even snacks.
To find out more ways to make the most of rice and to discover what’s happening during the week this National Rice Week, visit riceassocation.org.uk and for even more tasty rice recipes, visit riceassociation.org.uk/recipes
Vegan Rice Pudding with Roasted Plums by Samantha Hadadi
Prep time: 5 mins | Cooking time: 15 mins | Serves: 2
Start by preheating your oven to 180C / gas mark four and then prepare the plums. Whisk together the vanilla and maple syrup. Arrange your sliced plums on a lined baking tray, then drizzle with the maple syrup. Sprinkle over ground cinnamon, then toss to coat. Roast until juicy and oozing (around 15 minutes but check at 12 minutes). Set aside.
In the meantime, make your rice pudding. Add the cooked rice to a medium pan, then pour in 180ml of milk, as well as the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and 2 tbsp of maple syrup. Stir well, then heat (on a low to medium heat) until thickened, creamy and the rice is soft (around 10 minutes) – add a splash more milk, if needed. Stir in the plant-based cream until you achieve texture desired.
Serve warm with flaked almonds and the plums and their juices.
Turmeric Garlic Pilaf by Your Food Fantasy
Ingredients:
• 350g Basmati rice
• 2 tsp turmeric
• Two star anise seeds
• Five or six black peppercorns
• Two or three cloves
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• Two black cardamom
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• Two bay leaves
• Six or seven cloves garlic (sliced/chopped)
• Large onion (thinly sliced)
• 20g cashews
• 45g green peas
• 15g raisins
Wash and soak rice in water for minimum 30 minutes. Bring 1.2L of water to boil in a large saucepan, add soaked rice, turmeric powder, star anise seeds, black peppercorn, cloves, cinnamon stick, black cardamom, and 2 tablespoons of oil. Gently stir, then let the rice boil for 5-7 minutes.
Once rice is cooked (rice should soft) switch off the heat and drain in a colander. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Heat the remaining oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add cumin seeds, bay leaves and stir. Add sliced garlic and onion to it and sauté till they are golden in colour. Add cashews and sauté again.
Now add peas and sauté again. Cover the pan with lid and let peas cook for 3-4 minutes. Add raisins and sauté. Add cooked rice and mix well. Cover the pan again and let rice steam for 3-4 minutes.
Switch off the heat and serve the rice hot. Enjoy!
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In the first in a series of dining out reviews, ten-year-old Louis Savage samples the hospitality on offer at The Crazy Bear in Stadhampton.
My driver and I arrived at The Crazy Bear and it was busy. Outside were two bears and the reception was a London bus. We decided on the Thai menu which meant we had to eat inside. This was a shame we couldn’t eat in their extraordinary gardens.
A waiter took us downstairs where there were mirrors on the ceiling. We were seated in the corner of the restaurant on a table with a sofa as my chair, which I thought was cool. We had some Thai prawn crackers to start with which had plenty of spice.
There weren’t loads of drink choices for kids, but there was Coke, lemonade and apple and orange juice. But my driver had a beer and he said there were lots of choices for wines, champagnes and beers.
For starters, we shared some Cotswold chicken satay. My driver had some crispy rice paper and duck spring rolls. I ordered some crispy salt and pepper king prawns which turned out to be very very crispy!
For mains, I had a dim sum – this type of dough which is wrapped around lots of things such as prawn, pork, prawns and pork and fish. My driver had some chargrilled lamb cutlets that were super nice (a bit better than my dim sum to be honest) as well as some egg fried rice.
For dessert my knickerbocker glory had delicious strawberries on super-smooth whipped cream, then more strawberries in a delicious puree with strawberry ice cream under it and then vanilla ice cream.
Michelin-starred chef & dad Tom Kerridge, 49, chats to Liz about life, loves and his Full Time Meals campaign with Marcus Rashford.
Q. Hi Tom! As this month is our education supplement, I wonder, did you enjoy school? “I loved school but it wasn’t necessarily the right thing for me. I had fun hanging out with mates but the academic system of remembering things and then repeating them wasn’t right for me. I felt much more at home at culinary college, vocational learning. I’m a using my hands, getting things done kind of person. But our son Ace loves school; he’s six so he’s making friends and loving it every day.”
Q. Your charity campaign with Marcus Rashford is very admirable; what’s your mission? “The big thing I’ve been involved in with Marcus is trying to end childhood poverty, trying to make sure kids from disadvantaged backgrounds are given those equal opportunities irrespective of their financial background. It shouldn’t matter where you’re born or what your background – I’ve love people from families who are struggling not to know: don’t be duped into believing you’re part of a system – believe you can achieve anything for yourself. The Full Time Meals campaign that we’ve put together is about using pocket-friendly ingredients and it’s for beginners or people who can’t or haven’t spent lots of time cooking before. It’s about confidence, which means less time cooking.”
Q. What’s the most surprising thing that fatherhood has taught you? “How hard it is! Parental guilt is a massive thing. I never thought I’d feel caught between two worlds, professionally and personally, paying your bills then the guilt of not being at home. Finding that balance is very difficult. Everybody feels that – but as long as the kid’s all right you’re doing all right!”
Q. Did lockdown highlight your love for your community? “We’re very lucky to live in Marlow. It’s quite an affluent town but it’s also very loving and giving, a very supportive environment. But it does also have its share of people who are needy and vulnerable in society. We made 1,000 meals a week for people from all different backgrounds who you wouldn’t normally see. It was incredibly worthwhile.”
Q. How are your dogs getting on? “Really well thanks. We’ve now got a French bulldog rescue called Zee and a puppy Labrador called Diddler. Marlow woods and common are great places for dogs – it’s like dog heaven with rope swings on trees.”
Q. What’s the first meal you cooked that blew your mind? “Spaghetti bolognese is one of those first meals everybody else cooks. I still adore it, especially if it’s been made the day before to allow the flavours to mature. My wife & I constantly argue over whether to put carrots in; I’m in the ‘carrots in’ camp.”
Q. What would you choose as your last meal? “It’s gotta be something brilliantly British like fish and chips or maybe roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.”
Q. What kitchen gadget could you not live without? “It’s always the simplest things that are the best, like a great knife and a good wooden chopping board. Or one of those speed peelers that works really well.”
Q. You look so fit & well – do you have any guilty pleasures? “You’re very kind but I have a daily battle like everybody else. My world is full of food which makes it very very difficult, no matter where I am in different spaces. I feel guilty about eating all of it! I basically try to go to the gym four or five times a week if not more to offset my eating. I give myself specific long-term goals. It used to be swimming a mile or doing heavy deadlifts – I like something to work towards.”
* For more about Tom, his restaurants and the Full Time Meals campaign at tomkerridge.com
