The Sunday Times describe him as a “secretive US financier” but Hersman, who is a sometime resident of London’s Bulgari Hotel is also said to have brokered the $1.6 billion buyout of Formula One over lunch on the French Riviera in the spring of 2005. Hersman was a contributor to the McCain-Palin campaign in 2008 and his company, Churchill Capital, is based in Mayfair.
Tag: London
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Eric Hersman
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Ricardo Garcia
A former financier who is the brains behind New York’s Red Hot-Society media journal. He states his religious views as “crusader” to his 5,000 followers on Facebook and loves Saint Émilion wine. He certainly knows how to party and is also a whizz with a camera. Try and keep up with his itinerary at your peril. -
Five of the best: Lunch deals in The Royal Borough
Five of the best places to enjoy a great lunch deal in The Royal Borough
It being January, we’re all after a deal. Here are a few places that you can enjoy on a budget in the country’s most expensive borough.
Sette, 4 Sydney Street, SW3, 6PP
Situated in the heart of Chelsea, this stylish Italian restaurant is popular with locals and visitors alike. Owned by Frankie Dettori MBE, where else can you get to sit amongst rock and racing stars for just £15 for a two course set lunch that includes a glass of wine?The Rib Room Bar & Restaurant, Jumeirah Carlton Tower, 1 Cadogan Place, London, SW1X 9PY
Ably managed by Michele Caggianese, this Knightsbridge institution offers a 3 course set lunch for £29 including a glass of champagne during January and February. The bar is the perfect spot to start as the offering here includes some of the finest English gins and a great selection of aromatic bitters.Brompton Bar & Grill, 243 Brompton Road, London, SW3 2EP
François O’Neill pulled off a masterstroke in opening this neighbourhood bar and grill. With a set lunch menu priced at £18.50 for two courses, here you’ll find not only great English classics but if you daring enough abinsthe served traditionally with a water fountain.Maggie Jones’s, 6 Old Court Place, London, W8 4PL
If you are on a real budget but feel like living like a royal, head to the restaurant named after Princess Margaret off Kensington Church Street. For just £10, they offer a soup and a salad. The sister restaurant of Belgravia’s La Poule au Pot is a must visit for anyone shopping in Kensington.Blakes Hotel, 33 Roland Gardens, London, SW7 3PF
The world’s ultimate boutique hotel offers a tremendous set lunch if you’re on a date or want to impress. If you want privacy and discretion, this is the place to go. With 2 courses for just £19 and 3 courses for £24.50, you can dine amongst the opulence and splendour of this hidden secret without blowing the bank.Sette: http://www.sette-restaurant.com
The Rib Room Bar & Restaurant: http://www.theribroom.co.uk
Brompton Bar & Grill: http://www.bromptonbarandgrill.com
Maggie Jones’s: http://www.maggie-jones.co.uk
Blakes Hotel: http://www.blakeshotels.com
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Francisco Alves Gomes: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times asks nightlife guru Francisco Alves Gomes: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom.” What’s your guiding force?
Passion and desire.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
“If the glove doesn’t fit, you’re full of bullshit.”
Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2013?
Poverty.
Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?
My family as I live far away from them.
What might you swap all your wealth for?
If I had any, I would be delighted.
Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank.” What’s your view on the banking crisis?
It’s bad for business.
What phrase or word do you most loathe?
“I don’t work, I just play.”
In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home.” What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?
I am annoyed by the chuggers. They should be banned. People should give when they feel willing.
The judge in “Law Abiding Citizen” states: “I can pretty much do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?
Phones should only be used at only the appropriate moment.
Nightlife guru Francisco Alves Gomes If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?
People who matter in my life.
If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?
A meal cooked by my mother with my family.
What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?
It depends on the circumstances.
A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?
A cup of tea.
Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?
My own at Bodos Schloss because partying is my life (so far).
Who is the most positive person you know?
My father.
What’s your most guilty pleasure?
Women.
If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?
I don’t like tattoos.
If you were a car, what marque would you be?
A Ferrari.
Cilla Black presented “Surprise, Surprise.” Tell us the most surprising thing about you.
I’m a true gentleman.
What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?
I don’t have one but I do have a barbecue.
Francisco Alves Gomes is a London based expert in hospitality. His current projects number the nightclub Bodos Schloss and he is looking forward to owning the most exotic cars in the world in due course.
Bodos Schloss: http://www.bodosschloss.com
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Knightsbridge’s playboy racers
A review of Channel 4’s Millionaire Playboy Races by Matthew Steeples
I watched last night’s Millionaire Playboy Racers expecting to find myself in agreement with Knightsbridge residents complaining about the noise generated by Arabs and their supercars. In many instances I would have previously agreed that they are bloody pests but surprisingly, by the end of the 45-minute Channel 4 documentary, I was left with feelings quite to the contrary.
My followers on Facebook often comment on the snaps I take of the supercars that come to London from Dubai, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Some are impressive and amazing. Others are vulgarity personified. A few are shown below.
A pink Rolls-Royce Phantom 
A purple Mercedes-Benz G-Class 
The white way to go? Millionaire Playboy Racers was commissioned, like most television these days, to provoke. It failed. The whingeing residents of The Royal Borough complaining about the cars, one of whom was bizarrely named “Panda” Morgan-Thomas, came across as spoilt and obnoxious whilst it was a Kuwaiti named Abdul Aziz Al Rashed who came across best.
Panda Morgan-Thomas and her daughter in Sloane Street 
Abdul Aziz Al Rashed in one of his supercars
This sensible young man expressed his views clearly. He understood the situation and though the British police treated him unfairly at one point, he remained reasonable. As the show ended he stated:
“I be very serious with you… At 12am I stop using this car as many people are sleeping… My friends are very sad to go back to Kuwait… I feel very sad to leave this nice place to go back to my desert… Give us London and we give you Kuwait.”
Morgan-Thomas, her daughter and their friends on the other hand came across as weird busybodies. These resentful, hectoring pests showed the people of this wealthy enclave in their worst light. As an example, Ms Morgan-Thomas showed the cameras a tree made out of roses that she had dried in her flat that she was building up towards her ceiling. She stated that when the top was reached she might marry her partner. Who on earth would do such a bizarre thing? The woman is plainly a loon.
Justin Downes, another of their number, did not help the cause of the anti-supercar crusaders with comments like:
“[They’ve created] a kingdom of Qatar in the middle of London… Idiots… I’ve seen the area move from being a very quiet residential area to being cosmopolitan in a way that is extreme… These Gulfies come in and use the area to drive recklessly. If they were UK citizens they’d be prosecuted… I am angry.”
Here were people who came across as racists and bigots. They damaged their cause and of the residents the only one I felt sorry for was an elderly lady who lived in a basement studio near Harrods. This poor woman came was indeed being disturbed late at night and if more like her had been interviewed then an entirely different perspective would have been presented. Instead, Channel 4, to satisfy their viewers, allowed a woman who lived in one of London’s main shopping streets to make residents come across as a bunch of utter weirdos and freaks.
I am still of the opinion that many of these Arab drivers are reckless and vulgar but having watched this programme, the ridiculousness of the “Knightsbridge girl” Panda and her chums has now truly been exposed. In fact, I’d rather it be her who is kept off the streets of SW1.
Watch Millionaire Playboy Racers at: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/millionaire-boy-racers/4od
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Anne Robinson
She’s best known for the catchphrase: “You are the Weakest Link, goodbye!” but this television great has accomplished much else. The “Queen of Mean” is renowned for her knack of coming up with great newspaper headlines and has also accumulated a fortune of some £40 million. Robinson is vehemently pro fox hunting and lives in Kensington but don’t get her started on what she thinks about the Welsh. -
Dr Alexander Moulton CBE (1920 – 2012)
This genius of British design was told by leading bicycle manufacturer Raleigh that his lightweight, small-wheeled bicycle wouldn’t sell in the early 1960s. He proved them utterly wrong and his work with Sir Alexander Issigonis on the Austin Mini created a car that will be remembered forever. This unmarried and utterly eccentric engineer was also told by the Duke of Edinburgh “that he might end up under a glass case himself” and went as far as to swap his Rolls-Royce for a chauffeur driven Mini to beat ever escalating fuel costs. -
Leave the burger be
Matthew Steeples suggests Westminster City Council have no place meddling with how the humble burger is cooked
In the last week both the Evening Standard and BigHospitality.co.uk revealed that Westminster City Council had served notice on a restaurant named Davy’s for “undercooking” burgers. Current Food Standards Agency guidelines state that burger meat should be cooked at 70°C for two minutes and it is suggested that Davy’s have failed to adhere to this.
A rare burger: the pleasure of millions and something that the bureaucrats should leave be A spokesman for Davy’s told the Evening Standard:
“[Our] burgers are produced from high quality ingredients and Davy’s contends that it has safe measures in place to serve rare or medium-rare burgers.”
John Cadieux of Burger & Lobster went further in his comment:
“If you follow the guidelines to the letter then you’re going to destroy the burger industry. Not only that but you’re opening a Pandora’s box, because where do you finish? Steak tartare, runny eggs … the list is endless.”
If this ruling is maintained, a precedent will be set and those who enjoy rare and medium-rare burgers will find that their pleasure will be taken away. The busybodies of Westminster Council and their passion for cremating meat must be stopped.
I wish the Davy’s burger crusaders all the very best when they appear at Westminster Magistrates Court in May 2013.
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Dame Judi Dench CH, DBE, FRSA
Undoubtedly best known as one of the greatest actresses of the post-war period, Yorkshire born Dench briefly played Pru Forrest in the BBC’s The Archers. She’s an advocate for “more progressive drug policies” and only took the role of Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Pride & Prejudice after director Joe Wright wrote to her and said: “I love it when you play a bitch. Please come and be a bitch for me.” There’s barely a role she hasn’t conquered.
