Allen’s Of Mayfair, the legendary Mount Street butchers and its sister company Rare Butchers of Distinction launch an exclusive range of Church View English Angus beef in conjunction with Blade Farming SW and available at the Mayfair shop as well as online for nationwide delivery.


Church View Angus beef is matured for a minimum of 21 days and meets the specification of the EBLEX Quality Standard Mark. Raised and finished to the highest quality, all Angus cattle supplied by Blade Farming SW for the Church View brand is grazed for at least 6 months and finished on a high cereal diet with a mineral supplement. This combination of craftsmanship and husbandry results in an incredibly tender, succulent and flavoursome joint, cut or piece of beef, which is ideal for discerning consumers and lovers of top quality British beef.

www.allensofmayfair.co.uk

This Christmas, Artisan du chocolat’s exquisite chocolates are both magical and traditional. From Magic Wands that change flavours and limited edition O Magic Collection decorated with mythical creatures to the traditional, stackable boxes of Christmas Fruits and Nuts, Chocolate Brandy Butter and the famous, limited edition Spiced Fig Liquid Sea Salted Caramels. Hand moulded chocolates include Pinecones filled with a crunchy gingerbread spices praline, finished in pearlescent gold or silver and milk and dark chocolate Frogs filled with praline and caramel. Each box of frogs contains a golden frog prince.

Prices and product information: O Magic collection (thin disc are filled with delicious jellies made in collaboration with one of the best confituriers in France. Flavours include apple and cider jelly, cherry and whisky jelly, Champagne and redcurrant jellies), £15 for a box of 12. Pinecones, £15 for a 250g bag, Frogs, £10 for a box of 5, Christmas Fruits and Nuts (selection includes cranberries, orange, Brazil nuts coated in either milk, dark or white chocolate), £7 for 100g, Chocolate Brandy Butter £6 for a 200g jar. Spiced fig caramels and ‘Infinity’ caramels (pot luck assortment of flavours), £13.50 for 140g.

http://www.artisanduchocolat.com

Davna Czeri is a brand new flavoured Polish vodka launched and developed by Marblehead UK and available from Harvey Nichols (priced at £18.50 for 50cl bottles).

Having been responsible for launch and distribution of some of the UK’s most famous Polish Vodka’s including Zubrowka and Wodka Wyborowa, this is the first time Marblehead have had a hand in creating their own premium vodka.

Davna Czeri is produced using traditional methods dating back 180 years in Silesia, an area of Poland famed for producing the finest flavoured vodkas. The distillery, at the foot of Beskidy Mountains, uses crystal clear mountain water in the distilling process along with whole cherries, picked in southern and eastern Poland with the end result being a pure, clean vodka packed with natural flavour of the fruit.

http://www.davnacherryvodka.com

Harvey Nichols’ Fifth Floor Café, the iconic, much loved Knightsbridge institution is currently undergoing its first refurbishment in twenty years to open on 21st November with a bigger, open plan space, and a brand new interior alongside a new food and drink offering.

Highlights of the new interior will include the horseshoe Espresso bar, now with its own seating area and a new cocktail list, that includes lighter, daytime cocktails, to match. The main Café area will offer a variety of seating areas, from intimate leather banquettes running along the side and by the floor-to-ceiling windows, to open and social in the central space.
The new menu will highlight new and seasonal produce from the Foodmarket, as well as reflect emerging trends with dishes that suit different moods and times of the day. Breakfast will include Belgian waffles, lavender cream, blueberry compote. Sharing dishes include Little Oyster Sandwiches (oyster tempura, wasabi mayonnaise) while main courses feature Jonas’s Grandma Ingrid’s Meatballs with mashed potatoes and lingonberries alongside perennial favourites such as Smoked Ricotta Ravioli, tomato and light herbs and Fish and Chips (Meantime brewery beer battered cod and chunky chips).

http://www.harveynichols.com

Hand crafted in a former WWII hangar just outside San Francisco by Jorg Rupf, godfather of artisan distilling in the US who had a revolutionary idea of creating a ‘farm to glass’ vodka by distilling it with real fruit to capture its aroma and flavour.

Hangar One's most famous product is Buddha's Hand Citron, a vodka with a wonderfully complex flavour, which also has jasmine overtones and hints of fruitcake spices. While most other citrus vodkas use highly purified extracts resulting in a one-note product, Hangar One uses Buddha’s Hand, an unusual citron shaped like outstretched fingers of a hand, originally from China and now grown locally at Lindcove Ranch in California exclusively for Hangar One. The distillers use only whole, freshly picked fruit and create Buddha's Hand Citron once a year, in small batches when the fruit is in season.

http://www.marblehead.uk.com

Co-authored by Huw Gott and Will Beckett, owners of Hawksmoor, alongside their head chef, Richard Turner, Hawksmoor at Home is an essential book for all meat lovers. Beautifully photographed by Dan Lepard (Giorgio Locatelli’s Made in Italy) and designed by David Eldridge (Yottam Ottolenghi’s Plenty), Hawksmoor at Home is priced at £25 and available now, published by Preface, an imprint of Random House.

Hawksmoor at Home is an extended love letter to beef, from finding the right breed to aging, the book explains and illustrates different cuts alongside historical references and anecdotes. Closer to our time, science of steak takes in flavour chemistry and the all important umami flavour to explain why eating steak makes us happy. Above all, Hawksmoor at Home is a practical cookbook with over a hundred recipes including roasts, the restaurant’s famous burgers and sauces. There are also extensive chapters on Seafood, Brunch, Puddings as well as Cocktails – always an integral part of Hawksmoor experience and, finally a chapter on wine and how to best match it with beef and seafood.

Will and Huw are donating all their profits of the sales to Action Against Hunger, a charity the restaurant has supported for a number of years. To order a copy: http://hawksmoor.bigcartel.com

http://www.thehawksmoor.com

The new Hawksmoor steak restaurant and cocktail bar on Basinghall Street in the City is now open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Monday to Friday. With 160 covers in the dining room, 50 in the bar and a private dining room seating 22, Guildhall is owners’ Will Beckett and Huw Gott biggest opening to date.
One of the highlights of the new restaurant is the 7am opening and a breakfast menu that can only be described as ‘definitive’, featuring everything from a selection of Steaks and Eggs, Wild Mushrooms and Bone Marrow on Toast, Manx Kipper & Poached Eggs to sandwiches such as Sausage & Egg HkMuffin. Lighter dishes include Scotch Pancakes (with Streaky Bacon & Maple Syrup or with Roasted Plums), Marmalade French Toast, granola, porridge, pastries and plum and custard doughnuts. Breakfast drink selection includes a Bloody Mary buffet in the bar with an assortment of juices and garnishes and a selection of ‘anti-fogmatic’ cocktails as well as juices, shakes and Climpson and sons coffee brewed in a chemex for a purer taste.
Other highlights include the six course beef tasting menu, available for tables of 8-10 and priced at £700 for the table and the brand new cocktail list inspired by a day in the life of a cocktail lover, including pre and post prandial cocktails, cards and cigars section and disco drinks for late night drinking.

http://www.thehawksmoor.co.uk

Hawksmoor bar teams from Seven Dials and Spitalfields have collaborated with local London Kernel and Camden breweries to each create their own beers in the spirit of friendly competition.

The two beers, Hawksmoor Seven Barrels Red Rye, created by the Seven Dials team and produced by Kernel Brewery and Devil’s Architect Pale Ale, created by the Spitalfields team and produced by Camden Brewery will launch on the 21st June in a special Burger and Brews tasting event for customers (priced at £20 per person for a bottle of each beer and a burger’). Diners at both steak restaurants and cocktail bars will then have the opportunity to try the beers and vote for their favourite and the competition will be open for a month.

While the winner will have the honour of having created the ultimate Hawksmoor Brew, both teams are very proud of what they’ve come up with and happy to have had the opportunity to work closely with some very talented brewers and explore their craft. The two brews are a result of extensive consultations to determine the type and style, to create something unique that will appeal to Hawksmoor customers and complement the food. The beers also pay homage to their locations – the Devil’s Architect is named after Nicholas Hawksmoor, the architect of the Christ Church Spitalfields, while Red Rye was once brewed by Watney Combe brewery, on the site of the Seven Dials restaurant.

www.camdentownbrewery.com
www.thekernelbrewery.com

Votes can be placed via Twitter (http://twitter.com/HawksmoorLondon), Facebook (www.facebook.com/Hawksmoor) or email

http://www.thehawksmoor.com

La Bottega delicatessen, purveyors of finest traditional Italian produce with shops in Belgravia, Chelsea, South Kensington and St. James’s have just launched their own range of fabulous treats and hampers for the festive season with prices starting from under £10 for individual items and £25 - £250 for hampers.

Products include a selection of traditional sweet treats, such as biscotti, Sfogliatine, cantuccini – all priced at £6.90 for 250g bag. Small hampers include La Bottega’s own Panetonne and Prosecco (from £30) and Tuscan Delicacies (£33 and including Vin Santo and a selection of Bottega cantuccini), while large hampers include Bottega Delicacies (£69), Cipriani Presents (a selection from the Cipriani product range - £69 or £93 including a panetonne) and Christmas Celebrations (£120, including a large selection of authentic and traditional Italian Christmas treats).

http://www.labottega.co.uk/

As a proud supporter of Movember, the charity changing the face of men’s health, OXO Tower Brasserie will celebrate the halfway point in the growth of the ‘mo’ with a long lunch on Friday, 18th November.

Brasserie head chef, Deon Jansen has created the menu specifically using ingredients proven to reduce men’s chances of developing prostate cancer. The menu, priced at £39.50 per person (£10 will be donated to the Movember fund) features: Seared hot smoked salmon, truffle potato puree, crispy pancetta to start, mains include Pumpkin gnocchi, pumpkin cream, rocket pesto, aged parmesan and Sea bass, colcannon mash, cavolo nero, brown shrimp, yuzu butter sauce and to finish, Milk chocolate slice, peanut butter ice cream, salted caramel sauce.

‘Mo’jitos will be served at the Bar, with 50p from each also donated to charity. For more information or to purchase your tickets please call 0207 803 3888 or email oxo.reservations@harveynichols.com

http://www.harveynichols.com/restaurants/oxo-tower-london

Head Chef, Daniel Sherlock has just launched an exciting new Bar Menu inspired by the world famous tapas bars and restaurants of San Sebastian and designed to be mixed, matched and shared.
Highlights include Crispy Pollack brandade, romesco sauce; Squid, chilli, lemon, garlic and cavolo nero; Slow cooked rabbit, borlotti beans, spinach and Steamed clams, parsley, lemon alongside a great selection of charcuterie, including a variety of Iberico hams (Jabugo, Lomo, Salchichon and Chorizo). Cheeses sourced from Cheese at Leadenhall and sweet bites such as Mini churros with chocolate sauce complete the offering.
The new Bar menu is available from the recently revamped Lower Ground Bar as well as in the Main Bar from 11:30am right through until 9:45pm, Monday to Friday.

http://www.harveynichols.com

Roussillon in Pimlico has recently announced the appointment of Shane Hughes as its new head chef. Shane takes over the reigns after five years of running the kitchens at Ynyshir Hall in Wales where he was awarded a Michelin star for the past three years.

Shane’s menus for Roussillon focus on a luxurious take on modern European and classical French cooking with his passion for the finest quality regional produce shining through into his chosen dishes. The a la carte offering includes Pig & Crayfish, slices of braised pigs head, crayfish, artichoke, pumpkin seed, cider vinaigrette and Langoustine & Scallop, carpaccio of shellfish, tomato jelly and caviar to start. Main courses include Turbot, pan seared turbot, poached clams, linguini, coriander Thai style nage and Beef & Lobster, spiced shin tortellini, Cardigan Bay lobster, young vegetables & truffle emulsion. The new menu is priced at £55 for three courses at lunchtime, while the evening tasting menu is priced at £75 for eight courses. Another of Shane’s new offerings is the exceptionally priced Menu du Déjeuner at £21 for three courses.

www.roussillon.co.uk

Beth Coventry’s pub-with-food in Hampstead is a firm local favourite. Situated between the Heath and Hampstead Village, the Georgian building has three dining rooms on the first floor, seating 10, 16 and 20, which lend themselves perfectly to private dining and events. The main bar downstairs is a comfortable space, suitable for eating, drinking and regular events and there is also plenty of outside seating, ideal for warmer months.

On 15th October, The Wells will hold Restaurants Against Hunger Charity Quiz, hosted and created by John Spiteri, much loved restaurant manager, currently residing at Bentley's.

Tickets are priced at £50 per person and include a three course dinner and half a bottle of wine with a £30 charity donation. Supper from 7pm, the quiz will start at 8pm

http://www.thewellshampstead.co.uk

Having worked in the PR industry for over ten years, Irena has extensive experience across all areas of consumer and lifestyle public relations. She has worked in fashion - representing Preen and Olivia Morris amongst others and with consumer brands such as Bandai toys and Take Two Interactive computer games. Lifestyle clients have included the launch of the Mr & Mrs Smith Hotel Collection book. Since 2001, Irena has found her niche, specialising almost exclusively in food and drink, launching the Hope and Greenwood confectioners and working with some of London's most popular restaurants, such as Zuma, The Cinnamon Club and OXO Tower

irena@kitchencommunications.com

Henry started his career in the kitchens of The Savoy Group, as an apprentice chef. This included working in the kitchens of Claridges, The Savoy Grill and The Connaught under the legendary Michel Bourdin for three years. After having satisfied his culinary curiosity, Henry temporarily changed direction and joined The Moving Picture Company, London's foremost post production company as a junior producer. Two years later he moved into on-line production, and worked on various commercials and pop promos around the world. Unable to resist his passion for food and drink, Henry joined Jori White PR where he headed the restaurant division. Henry worked for Jori White for three years and his client portfolio included The Cheyne Walk Brasserie, Kai Mayfair, The Jessen Group and Embassy.

henry@kitchencommunications.com