The Steeple Times

Tag: friends

  • How the mac ’n’ cheese met the truffle oil

    How the mac ’n’ cheese met the truffle oil

    Christian Huhnt recounts an evening of rock ‘n’ roll at the opening party for Hollywood Road’s latest venue, Honky Tonk

     

    When you hear about the opening of a London-based “underground NYC inspired rock ‘n’ roll restaurant,” the last thing you expect is to find it in the very heart of an area that estate agents now call “Little Chelsea.”

     

    Honky Tonk, 6 Hollywood Road, London, SW10 9HY

    So, my companion Steffen and I headed off to determine what this mystery may be, and to learn what the owner, who is supposedly involved in The Supper Club, was willing to reveal that night. As soon as I arrived, I found myself sipping a chilled drink, while listening to some Screamin’ Jay Hawkins vibes. “The Gringo,” a mix of tequila, juice and wheat beer is described as “a delectable intertwining of Mexican and British” on Honky Tonk’s drinks menu and it is just such.

     

    As I was pushed deeper into the venue, away from the bar at the entrance, I felt I had been left alone in the middle of Shoreditch, with a 60s-inspired retro-American “highway diner” flair interior of unrendered walls, raw lightbulbs, Formica tables, and pierced and tattooed modern-hippy looking 20-somethings; only the pretty waitresses reminded me, that I was in fact not in a greasy US-diner, but at an opening in Chelsea, West London.

    Guests enjoying Honky Tonk’s opening bash
    Honky Tonk’s bar staff creating cocktails
    One of Honky Tonk’s waitresses serving cocktails

    When it came to the food, served as canapés, it again became clear, that I was in SW10. The “not” fried chicken, as the waitress educated me, is only coated with a “special recipe” and then oven-baked. It has as much crispy pleasure as it would have had fried, but it is far healthier and plainly designed so as not to dispossess the figure conscious guests of this elite neighborhood.

     

    Almost finished with this delight, I tasted the next dish on the menu: New England crab cakes in a chili-mayo sauce, followed by little potato skins loaded with chilli con carne and sour cream. As I wasn’t sure anymore if this food could be solely called “good old-fashioned American bites,” the next dish was most definitely the tip of the iceberg: the macaroni cheese, apparently the “Baked Beans of America,” the synonym of cheap grub, the epitome of total culinary absence. Here at Honky Tonk, though, they controversially served this with a porcini béchamel and truffle oil sauce, along with roasted wild mushrooms. Believe it or not, it worked and it was bloody good.

     

    While getting in the mood with another fancy drink, one of my favorites by the way, I tried a rum and ginger beer concoction topped with a slice of lime and listened to Elvis Presley’s Mystery Train playing in the background. Whilst enjoying this, I realise that the Chelsea boys and girls have arrived and are mingling with the hip East London crowd. I have seen this lot at many other openings and can’t assume they were shipped in, but nonetheless the spot is suddenly buzzing and a great evening follows.

     

    Examples of the humour of Honky Tonk’s management adorn the venue’s walls

    Honky Tonk promises to deliver the New York vibe, bringing cool Blues, Jazz and Rockabilly tones with regular live music to the heart of posh Chelsea. Well done so far.

     

    Rock on!

     

    Honky Tonk, 6 Hollywood Road, London, SW10 9HY. Telephone: +44 (0) 207 351 1588. Website: http://www.honkytonkchelsea.com.

  • Ferrari's 'F'lipping 'F'ool

    Ferrari's 'F'lipping 'F'ool

    The case of a Ferrari FF driver with more money than sense

     

    Last November, on my way to a lunch at The Stafford Hotel with The Steeple Times restaurant critic, Anthony Brown, I took a photograph of one of my favourite vehicles, a Ferrari FF, in Curzon Street, W1.

     

    Emblazoned with a Westminster City Council parking ticket, this particular FF, baring an Arabic registration “66 C,” was especially noticeable as it was “wrapped” in orange and black and I took a photograph of it.

     

    My photograph of the orange-black “wrapped” Ferrari FF in Curzon Street, Mayfair, London, W1 in November 2011

    After sharing the image on Facebook, I received, in Margaret Thatcher style fashion, the following reply from the renowned designer, Bruce Oldfield: “No, no, no!” Another friend, Anne Marie Legault added: “It doesn’t fit with the neighborhood.” Karen Ashworth, a Mercedes SL 500 driver and friend from my school days, summed up the thoughts of the majority though when she stated of the car: “I’m not a fan to be honest!”

     

    I subsequently saw the car a few times in the months that followed but never imagined that I’d see it on the Mail Online website and would certainly never have predicted that it would have ended up as an advert against uninsured drivers outside New Scotland Yard.

     

    The very same Ferrari FF outside New Scotland Yard today
    Instead of a parking ticket, this Ferrari FF now has a police notice glued to it’s windscreen
    28-year old His Highness Sheikh Rashid Bin Humaid Al Nuaimi. His nickname is “RRR,” which supposedly stands for “rich in real estate resources.”

    The Steeple Times picture of the week, following on from this morning’s coverage of it, therefore, has to be of this particular FF. It turns out that it is owned by His Highness Sheikh Rashid Bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, the 28-year old son of His Highness Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, the ruler of Ajman, and was recently impounded in South Kensington, London after he hadn’t bothered to insure it. Having paid £227,000 for such a magnificent vehicle, one would have thought he’d have the brains and finances to have done such. Plainly the age of excess and stupidity is still with us.

     

    Read the Mail Online’s coverage of the story at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2209551/Going-fast–Ferrari-proudly-display-outside-police-headquarters-deter-uninsured-drivers.html

  • Charlie Richardson (1934 – 2012)

    Charlie Richardson (1934 – 2012)

    This father of six and his gang were amongst the most notorious and sadistic criminals in South London in the 1960s. Using scrap metal and slot machine businesses as fronts, they ran fraud, protection rackets and received stolen goods. They were best known for nailing those who displeased them to floor and then made them mop up their own blood. This process was known as “taking a shirt from Charlie,” since afterwards a clean shirt was provided for the victim to return home in. Richardson, however, maintained the torture stories were a myth. In his twilight years, Beckenham based Richardson mellowed and spent his time campaigning on behalf of young offenders.

  • Winging it

    Winging it

    Sarah Tucker gives an update on goings on at the resort where Madeleine McCann vanished

     

    Four hundred and thirty euros, one bedroom apartment, one week at the height of season at a luxury family resort in Portugal. And oh yes, it’s the Ocean Club at Praia da Luz. There’s availability with two and three bedroom apartments as well. I asked about apartment 5a where Madeleine disappeared but the PR is coming back to me on that one. That was four days ago.

     

    The Ocean Club entrance and Apartment 5A at the top of the street

    I checked this out because having looked at the comments on The Steeple Times McCann roll call entry, I wanted to know what became of the resort where she disappeared.  Last year the lady who owned the property itself couldn’t sell it because women buyers were put off by it’s history.  I don’t blame them. I would never recommend buying from a divorcing couple, no matter how good the deal, so buying somewhere where a child has been allegedly kidnapped is a no no. Estate agents will say nonsense, but that’s a woman’s superstition for you. Or a mother’s superstition.

     

    I remember writing at the time about Mark Warner, a company synonymous with a reputation for keeping parents who treated parenting as a subject to be studied to A*, not as something to leave to instinct, God forbid.  Perhaps that’s an exaggeration, but having recently vox popped over 500 parents* asking if they would leave their children in their hotel room unsupervised while they ate in a restaurant on site, none of them, not one, said they would do so. I never mentioned the McCann case. The question about childcare was mixed in with other family travel related stuff, but some even mentioned the McCann’s case when they responded.  And all claimed they would take advantage of a babysitting service if it was offered or eat earlier and with the kids if it wasn’t.

     

    I was asked at the time if I would ever leave my son alone. I never have. Too risky and having lost him for ten minutes in the salubrious area that is East Sheen high street at five in the afternoon five years ago, because I refused to wait for him to tie up his shoe lace for the nth time, and getting no less than eighteen other men and women, all who had been either waiting for buses, serving or being served in shops, or in several cases drinking in the local pub, to run up and down, shouting his name, I understand the McCann’s need to go to the end of the earth, the prime minister, the Pope, to find their daughter. I completely understand this. What I never understood was their emotional reaction or rather lack of it.    In the meantime babysitting services are still offered at the Ocean Club.

     

    * Using social media (parents of three to six year olds).

     

  • Gin O’Clock

    Gin O’Clock

    Celebrate World Gin Day at The Rib Room

     

    At 12 noon I often receive a message from my good friend the photographer to the stars, John Stoddart. As a fellow gin aficionado, we regularly raise a toast to one another as well as all manner of others things. After all, as they say: “If you can’t have one eleven, have eleven at one.”

     

    Hogarth’s famous print “Gin Lane”

    Saturday 9th June marks a celebration of all things gin as it is World Gin Day™ and I am pleased to share with you news of a brilliant way of celebrating what could become the only invented celebratory day that I will agree to embrace with gusto. The Rib Room at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower is offering a Sloane Street Vesper to all who take their mum to their bar and quote the words “Mother’s Ruin” absolutely free of charge.

     

    The drink itself consists of a combination of Sipsmith Gin, Pinky Vodka, Americano Cocchi and Lillet Blanc served straight up. The Rib Room themselves describe it as being: “Cheek, chic, pose and poise.”

     

    I’ll certainly be there to celebrate “Gin O’Clock.” Make mine a treble.

     

    The Rib Room Bar & Restaurant, Jumeirah Carlton Tower, Cadogan Place, London, SW1X 9PY. Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7858 7250. Website: http://www.theribroom.co.uk.

     

    Follow The Rib Room on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/RibRoomSW1

     

    For more information about World Gin Day™, go to: http://worldginday.com

  • Gerry & Kate McCann

    Gerry & Kate McCann

    Their daughter Madeleine disappeared on the evening 3rd May 2007 from a holiday apartment whilst they sat enjoying tapas with a bunch of friends. Some believe the poor child was kidnapped. Others have alternative theories. A public fund to find “Maddie” raised hundreds of thousands of pounds but Mrs McCann’s book, Madeleine, contains so many references to trips on private jets and meeting famous people that it makes one question whether the search for the child or fame has become the focus.

  • God Save The Queen

    God Save The Queen

    A weekend of celebration

     

    The launch of The Steeple TIMES today, 1st June 2012, coincides with a weekend that celebrates something far more significant.

     

    Tomorrow, 2nd June, marks the 60th year of The Queen’s reign and over an extended weekend, the nation will gloriously raise their glasses to this amazing lady. The Queen, herself, begins by attending the Epsom Derby whilst the nation will participate in The Big Jubilee Lunch, sharing food and conversation with neighbours and friends. Laughter and joy will undoubtedly be the focus of the day.

     

    Elizabeth II, Queen of the Commonwealth realms (1926 – )

     

    On Sunday 3rd June, the highlight will be a pageant of 1,000 boats assembled from across the UK, the Commonwealth and around the world. Organised under the patronage of The Prince of Wales, the boats will sail from Battersea to Tower Bridge and The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the Royal Family will travel in a Royal Barge, the Spirit of Chartwell.

     

    The main event for Monday 4th June will be a Diamond Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace directed by Take That’s Gary Barlow.  10,000 members of the public will attend and performing artists include Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Cliff Richard, JLS, Ed Sheeran, Annie Lennox, Kylie Minogue and Sir Paul McCartney.

     

    On the same day, a network of over 4,000 beacons will be lit throughout the United Kingdom. The Queen will light the National Beacon at the end of the Diamond Jubilee Concert and other key beacons will be the ones on the country’s four highest mountains: Ben Nevis, Mount Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Slieve Donard.

     

    Tuesday 5th June is marked by a National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral where a special prayer will be read. This is to be followed by receptions at Mansion House and Guildhall and a Diamond Jubilee lunch at Westminster Hall. Following the lunch, The Queen, and The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Henry of Wales will depart the Palace of Westminster for Buckingham Palace, travelling by carriage. A 60-gun salute will be fired during the procession and personnel from all three military services will line the route. Shortly after, The Royal Family will appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch an RAF Flypast and Feu de Joie given as a salute by The Queen’s Guard and this will conclude a truly spectacular celebration.

     

    ‘God Save The Queen’ by Keith Haynes. Presented in a Perspex box frame, 350mm x 350mm. Vinyl and Perspex. Edition of 10. Signed and numbered.

     

    Meanwhile, I was lucky to attend a Jubilee Party at the Belgravia Gallery in Mayfair last night that featured artworks celebrating The Queen’s reign. Featuring works by Prince Albert, The Prince of Wales and Lord Snowdon, here was a true celebration of all things connected to the Monarchy.

     

    The highlight, however, for me were the works of Keith Haynes. Like The Queen, who undoubtedly has prospered as Monarch because of the support of her steadfast husband, Keith Haynes is an artist inspired by the encouragement of his wife, Kim Clayton-Jones. A graduate of the Harrow School of Art, Haynes exhibited a series of works inspired by both The Queen and the Sex Pistols that were kitsch and collectable. Priced at £350 each and limited to editions of 100, these brilliant pieces represent a great way to remember this historic weekend.

     

    ‘God Save The Queen’ by Keith Haynes. Presented in white box frame, 250mm x 250mm. Vinyl, paper and board. Edition of 100. Signed and numbered.

     

    Comments Keith Haynes:

     

    “Since it’s release in the Silver Jubilee year of 1977 the Sex Pistols seminal punk single has been indelibly linked to the history of The Royal Family. This Diamond Jubilee year sees the 35th anniversary of the single’s release and to commemorate this event I have produced a limited edition portrait of The Queen made from original vinyl copies of the single; my tribute to the extreme ends of British culture.”

     

    May I thank you all for your support for The Steeple TIMES to date and more importantly, may I take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful Jubilee Weekend.

     

    “God Save The Queen – We mean it Ma’am.”

     

    Belgravia Gallery, 45 Albermarle Street, London, W1S 4JL. Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7495 1010. Website: http://www.belgraviagallery.com

     

    For information about Keith Haynes and The Haynes Partnership, go to: http://www.art-partnership.co.uk

     

    To view the official website of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, go to: http://www.thediamondjubilee.org

     

    For information about The Big Jubilee Lunch, go to: http://www.thebiglunch.com

     

    For information on The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, go to: http://www.thamesdiamondjubileepageant.org/

     

    For information on the Diamond Jubilee Concert, go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/diamondjubilee

     

    For information on The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Beacons, go to: http://www.diamondjubileebeacons.co.uk

     

     

  • Elliott waves

    Elliott waves

    A review of Blummyz, Hollywood Road, SW10

     

    Blummyz is certainly a restaurant that has nothing in common with Brinkley’s, its better-known neighbour and home to ageing lotharios and single women of a certain age. The only similarity, apart from their being on the same street, is that neither fall into the grey area when it comes to the opinions people have about them.

     

    The Hollywood Road frontage of Blummyz, 6 Hollywood Road, London, SW10 9HY

    For me, the Hollywood Road is best remembered for my encounters with a gentleman named Richard Bond. Always seen in the same blazer and supposedly resident in a green Jeep Cherokee stuffed to the rafters with old newspapers, here was a character who, like the restaurants I describe, was polarising in the minds of those he introduced himself to.

     

    On our first meeting Mr Bond, who was a successful racing driver in the 1960s and 70s, simply asked: “Eton or Harrow?” When I replied: “Neither,” he launched into a diatribe about the relative merits of half of the public schools of England. In these comments he came across as an utter bore but on the occasions he regaled all concerned with such stories as how he drove a Ford GT40 in the World Sportscar Championship Series, he came across as a far more interesting man. Better known as “Bondino” or “Bondini,” Bond passed away in July 2011 but I am sure that he would have approved of the Bugatti inspired logo that graces 6 Hollywood Road, now known as Blummyz.

     

    Richard Bond driving a Ford GT40 in 1980

    Blummyz is the brainchild of Elliott “Blummy” Blum, a young Swiss born entrepreneur, and his friend Richard Renaud, who comes to the restaurant as general manager after having worked at La Place in Toulon and Las Bastide du Cours in Aix en Provence. The duo met in their youth and in teaming up have created a restaurant that is far more elegant than most of its somewhat clapped out neighbours.

     

    Blummyz owner Elliott Blum pictured with Yasemin Yelkenci at the launch party for Blummyz

    Blum has invested heavily in creating a stylish high-end European feel in his restaurant. The focus is an open kitchen with a wood fired oven and the décor features velvets and starched linens. It quite a world apart from the artisan look of Friends, owned by Chelsea footballer Roberto Di Matteo, which formerly occupied the site. A bar area, complete with a black granite bar, seats 20 whilst the restaurant itself has space for a further 40 diners.

     

    Blummyz originally launched in February 2012 with Stefano Stecca, who advised Arkady Novikov prior to the opening of the £8 million Novikov in Mayfair, as chef. Mr Stecca departed to work for Frankie Dettori and Pete Burrell’s at their Sydney Street restaurant, Sette, after having described Blummyz’s menu as “too expensive” in an interview for BigHospitality magazine.

     

    Now, with a new chef named Dionisio Randazzo, Blummyz has had a slight change in direction and officially launched on the 12th April 2012 with an event organised by the ever popular PRs Meritaten Mance and Brave Benson. Such characters as E4’s Made in Chelsea’s Jamie Laing and Oliver Proudlock, son of Foxtrot Oscar co-founder Michael Proudlock, were in attendance.

     

    The majority of the other guests at the party were youngsters in tight fitting Dolce & Gabanna jeans and ladies replete with Hermès Birkin bags that wouldn’t have looked out of place at the restaurant formerly known as Cipriani. If the gathering were reflective of the restaurant’s typical clientele, this is a place that will appeal primarily to the likes of Tamara Ecclestone and Holly Valance rather than to Chelsea’s old-school aristocratic set.

     

    On my first visit in March, I was joined by a trader best known to my friends as “The Spy.” My companion, most suitably given the name of the restaurant’s owner, is a specialist in a phenomenon known as the Elliott Wave Principle and was pleased to be able to continue monitor the markets from his smartphone throughout our lunch thanks to Blummyz having Wi-Fi. We opted to allow the charming and personable staff to bring us a selection of signature dishes from a menu where starters were priced between £10 and £19 and mains were mainly between £21 and £28.

     

    The bar area at Blummyz

    The bread was freshly baked and the flat bread was especially good. A tapas style dish of baby meatballs (£5) featured a delicious tomato sauce but the meat was perhaps a little tough. Mussels and clams served with the same sauce and broccoli, however, were truly excellent.

     

    For mains, the traditionally served sea bass (£22) was of the finest of quality whilst a beef fillet with a green peppercorn sauce (£26) was tender and perfectly cooked. The Spy and I were truly impressed with both dishes but somehow managed to leave space to share a final course in the form of a well executed chocolate fondant with pistachio ice cream (£8). All of this was washed down with first a well chilled Chablis (£9.50 a glass) and then a Chianti Classico (£10 a glass). We left feeling heartily satisfied.

     

    On my return for the launch event, I was introduced to a new menu that takes onboard much of what Blum, Randazzo and Renaud had learnt during their “soft launch.” It includes a “small eats” section (all at £5) featuring such dishes as deep-fried prawns, a raw artichoke salad with Pecorino cheese and pear and zucchini fritti. Other new additions include superb pizzas priced very reasonably between £9 and £15 and burgers at £9 to £10 each.

     

    Blummyz is a restaurant that has great potential and one that most definitely deserves to make waves. For perfectly executed French-Italian and Mediterranean inspired cuisine in a sophisticated setting, be sure to make a beeline for Blummyz. Ladies: Be sure, though, not to forget to arrive without your Birkin.

     

    Blummyz, 6 Hollywood Road, London, SW10 9HY. Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7351 1588. Website: http://www.blummyz.com

     

    Follow Blummyz on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/BlummyzLondon

  • Vicomte Arthur de Soultrait

    Vicomte Arthur de Soultrait

    A televised encounter with Pippa Middleton and an incident with a gun brought this French aristocrat to prominence but behind the wild façade, Arthur de Soultrait has a serious side. (more…)

  • James Murdoch

    James Murdoch

    Considered by many as the pretender to the fortune of his father, Rupert, the phone hacking scandal may have put paid to that. He dropped out of Harvard to start a hip hop label named Rawkus and even gave an airing to a then little known Eminem. Here’s a rebel, complete with two tattoos, who, like a phoenix from the ashes, will undoubtedly rise again.