Food and Drink

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Perfect for anybody looking to start the new year with a detox, those abstaining from alcohol for the month of Janaury, designated drivers, and even children: The Bloomsbury Hotel have a new range of non-alcoholic cocktails. Set up as a collaboration between Bar Manager Mathieu Gaudin and Henrietta Lovell – founder of Rare Tea Company – The Bloomsbury Bar’s ‘Tea Total Cocktail List’ features eight non-alcoholic drinks using Rare Tea Company’s finest tea leaves....

Set across two floors of a stunning structure just off the famous Bund area, David Beckham propped up the bar of the Haig Club Shanghai sporting designer stubble and a scooped up retro quiff as a guestlist of actors, actresses and models filtered in to taste what Beckham himself has dubbed a “modern and stylish new Scotch Whisky”. That much I can’t argue with. The oversized, blue-tinted perfume-esque bottle would certainly add a new dimension to your whisky shelf, and...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Thank God It’s Not Friday. As the sun sets on Friday evening, Leicester Square inevitably turns into the closest thing that the city has to hell. It’s certainly not helped by the fact that the local Wetherspoon’s is famously one of the very few places so close to the centre where a pint of lager can be bought for less than £5, thus inviting the world and his wife to descend upon the pub...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Strength: 5.8% ABV Brewed: Hackney Wick, London Set up in 2012, Crate Brewery operates from an old print factory in the heart of London’s vibrant Hackney Wick. Priding themselves on using only the finest British Malts and internationally sourced hops, Crate’s core range consists of ten beers, and has been the subject of much acclaim, having garnered support from a number of restaurant groups and hotels, including celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver, Gordon...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food When Italian Chef Francesco Mazzei’s famous city restaurant L’Anima was at its initial peak, I was a young teenager, still in school. And like most Brits from a working class background, at that time I was shamefully unadventurous when it came to food, and thus did not – quite sadly – manage to experience the Chef’s cooking at the pinnacle of his acclaim. Eight years on, however, things have changed and Mazzei has recently...

This salad includes a good helping of fruits and vegetables without compromising on flavour.

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Fresh from her work as a judge on the recent series of BBC’s MasterChef: The Professionals, Chef Monica Galetti has taken over the Searcys – the restaurant at the top of 30 St Mary’s Axe AKA. The Gherkin for a unique dining experience. Taking place throughout the rest of January until mid-February, the Chef’s residency within the renowned London landmark is heavily inspired by Monica’s passion for seasonal ingredients, thus providing a strong focus...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food As the result of a collaboration between the Chase Distillery and the acclaimed restaurateurs behind Pizza Pilgrims, Pococello was inspired by a trip to Italy, using specially selected Amalfi lemons for a drink that’s not too dissimilar to classic Limoncello. Pococello, however, is far less sickly-sweet – crafted with some of England’s finest spirit and hand-crafted in small batches. And in the time of brutally cold weather, Pizza Pilgrims have recently added the Hot...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Strength: 4.3% ABV Brewed: Chicago, Illinois Set up in 1988 by founder John Hall, inspired by his travels of Europe, through which he managed to experience some incredible tasting beers from the continent, Goose Island is now one of America’s most popular craft breweries. Operating from Chicago, a city that was at the time an ideal start with plenty of rapidly evolving tastes, not to mention the largest fresh water system on the planet...