Eat-the-midlands

Philippe Boucheron

To celebrate Paddy’s Day, our food and drinks writer, Philippe Boucheron uncorks Whiskey with an ‘e’ for Irish Excellence

On the 17th March (this Wednesday) the Irish all over the world celebrate the feast day of St Patrick, their patron saint, who incidentally came from Wales!  As well as countless pints of Guinness they will be enjoying their other national drink – whiskey which was first created in Ireland around 630 AD.

It all came about in the fourth century when crusading monks from Rome watched with fascination while Arabs using alembic stills made perfumes from rosewater. They asked themselves what would happen if they did the same to their rather coarse wines - the result was brandy! Two hundred years later Irish monks visiting Rome witnessed this phenomenon, and since they had no wines repeated the experiment with their beers to produce the very first whiskey.  Some five hundred years later Irish monks landed in Scotland taking with them the two great blessings of civilisation – Christianity and whiskey. Read more »

La Becasse, Ludlow

La Becasse Michelin Star Restaurant, Ludlow ~ Chateauneuf du Pape, and Michelin Menu Selection Evening

Wednesday 14th April 2010, 7.30pm

“Wine from Châteauneuf brings courage, melody, love and joy”

Frederic Mistral - poet, author and Nobel Prize Winner for literature.

Gourmet-Life Midlands Lifestyle Dining Club are delighted to be associated with this exceptional event hosted by our very own wine expert Phillipe Boucheron to guide guests through the superb wines to be featured during this very special evening at La Becasse.  For Philippe, wine is not a just a hobby, it’s a way of life, having spent over three decades studying, writing and broadcasting about wine.  Philippe will enlighten guests on the unique qualities of each wine tasted during the evening and be available to answer questions - in this 75th anniversary year of  Châteauneuf du Pape.

Head Chef Will Holland, one of only 5 Michelin chefs under 30 in the UK, is creating a bespoke 7 course tasting menu especially for this event to ensure that guests can fully appreciate the superb wines to be featured during the evening.  These include: Read More HERE

The new Arch Hotel and Restaurant London Review

The Arch Hotel, London

I often like to escape the beauty of the countryside and indulge in some city life and its related adrenalin, with all the trappings of convenience, opulence and pampering – what better place than one of the new London Gourmet-Set additions to Gourmet Life, Midlands’ based rapidly growing lifestyle dining club  – The newly opened ‘Arch’ hotel, conveniently located 5 mins walk from Marylebone station, the High Street, and just around the corner from Marble Arch, as its adopted name suggests.

Officially opened for less than a calendar month at the time for visiting, The Arch offers friendly, personable, and re-assurringly genuine hospitality, set in the unique environment of seven Georgian houses which have been ‘merged’ into this luxurious boutique hotel – no doubt on a very un-limited budget. The ground floor has also encapsulated two mews houses, to accommodate its already popular restaurant and lounge bar. Red full review and more photos  HERE

Arch London Afternoon Tea - Champagne & Strawberry Eclair!

Many visitors from overseas still imagine that we are a nation where at half past three, everything stops for tea!

Sadly these days Afternoon Tea is usually only an occasional luxury for us mere mortals, a Sunday treat in a country house hotel, or a welcome break from a hectic days shopping “in the city”. More’s the pity I say, especially when you find a place that has the perfect excuse to indulge in this tradition whether it is a special occasion or not. The place is The Arch Hotel located in the fashionable area between Marylebone and Mayfair in a converted row of Georgian Houses.

We decided to take our afternoon tea in the drawing room; it was cold and wet outside and the lure of this beautifully appointed room with its soft furnishings, carefully chosen books and accents and flickering fire was the perfect backdrop to this fine English tradition. More HERE

Lowfield Inn, Shropshire Borders

Like many of my fellow foodies, I’ve found recent weeks a bit frustrating – snow, ice, more snow, and, according to restaurateurs – shortage of consumer funds due to a maxing out on credit cards during December.

To counteract the gloom I jumped in my car and made my way with my guest to The Lowfield Inn at Marton on the Shropshire/Powys border. Like Princess Diana, I felt that there were three of us in on this relationship: me, my human companion, and the necessary evil of my sat nav who took us all the way there – lazy I know, but I didn’t want to find myself in the Welsh hills, for no other reason than time constraints. Read more HERE

Head Chef Sudha from Saffron Birmingham

Birmingham chef Sudha Shankar Saha took Centre Stage at Hotelympia in London as part of its 75th anniversary celebrations.

The talented Executive Chef from Saffron fine dining Indian restaurant on Wolverhampton Road, Birmingham joined celebrity chefs including Gary Rhodes to demonstrate their cookery skills in front of hundreds of visitors to the five day event. After the demonstration, Chef Sudha spent time explaining the nutritional values of the dish to eager spectators who flocked to him with further questions.

Sudha, who specialises in exquisite fish dishes, prepared a pan-fried spice scented Alaskan salmon dish with baby spinach, assorted mushroom bahji, tomato Achar and Moilee sauce. It was the same presentation which helped him to win the National Alaska Seafood Recipe Challenge organised in association with The Craft Guild of Chefs – and the opportunity to participate in the event.

Louis Barnett of Chokolit

Louis Barnett of Chokolit, who recently returned from a trip to sauce ethical chocolate from Mexcio, explains the impact of Palm Oil on our endangered species and what he is doing to help reduce the impact.

“The impact of the palm oil production in Indonesia and Malaysia is dominating the global palm oil market much of this is produced in Borneo. Read more »