Theresa May agrees to fund full-scale Met inquiry into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann
Last year, Theresa May hosted a reception with a woman named Lady Meyer in Downing Street. Kate McCann, the mother of Madeleine McCann, who disappeared in 2007, was amongst the guests. Now, it has been claimed that May has agreed to fund a full-scale Metropolitan Police inquiry into the McCann case.
A review of Westminster’s Blue Boar Smokehouse
Westminster is one of the most intriguing parts of London but it can also be one of the most soulless. It’s an area that is inhabited by politicians and civil servants and it is the haunt of tourists. It’s a place of regal pageantry and ceremony but equally, it’s not a place that true Londoners flock to for food or drinks. Yes, of course, the tourists head to see the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and 10 Downing Street, but locals don’t venture to these historical landmarks all that readily apart from if summoned by Her Majesty, the Archbishop of Westminster or David Cameron.
With the opening of the Intercontinental London Westminster next to Scotland Yard, city centre residents truly have good reason to reconsider their reluctance to consider the culinary offerings of this area. The restaurant and bar at this new hotel, the Blue Boar Smokehouse, is, I would suggest, a great addition to the London restaurant scene and head chef Jon Ingram’s “testosterone-fuelled menu” of meaty delights is most definitely innovative, unusual and spectacular.
I dined at the Blue Boar on a quiet Monday lunchtime with their vivacious PR Jennifer-Anne Sutcliffe. I had sadly missed the launch party Sutcliffe had organised earlier in the month and it was fascinating to learn from her that The Steeple Times roll call and party loving stalwart David Pun had turned up with Mick Jagger’s ex, Jerry Hall. We did laugh about how such an odd union could have come to being. Perhaps one of our readers will be able to conjure up a suitable explanation.
The restaurant itself is named after the 14th century Blue Boar’s Head Inn that stood on the site until it was demolished in 1899 but apart from its name, it bares little resemblance to a public house. The decoration is simple yet elegant and one could just imagine Francis Urquhart of House of Cards legend plotting the downfall of his contemporaries here. No doubt budding future Cameronites and Millibands will indeed be spotted whispering over pulled lamb shoulders and perhaps, even, a Blair-Brown style Granita pact could even happen at a table at the Blue Boar.
The art collection of the Intercontinental London Westminster has been sourced by a specialist curator named Peter Millard. It is described as capturing “the essence of British political life” and is themed around being “knowing about the way the world works”. Alongside Gerald Scarfe and Martin Rowson cartoons are two works by Agamaria Pasternak. These contain the faces of every current Member of Parliament and in addition montages of the eras of Tony Blair and John Major before him illustrate memories of recent political history. Much thought has plainly gone into this collection and it is indeed appropriate given the setting.
The restaurant’s menu cleverly combines the use of the best quality British produce with the American pit style cooking of Tennessee and the Deep South. Slow cooked meats and wood-grilled steaks are the order of the day and Ingrams’ 12 spice rub is certainly his signature.
To start, we began with sautéed wild mushrooms served with a crispy duck egg on toast (£8). This simple dish was well executed but the true highlight were the Blue Boar ribs that followed (£8/£15). Spicy and not too sweet, these were as far away from what you’d traditionally expect of ribs as Ken Livingstone is from ever owning a Rolls-Royce. The tender, fleshy meat, which is smoked for some 24 hours, was exceptional and I can genuinely state that I’ve never had ribs as good before.
Though the option of a “carpetbag” Hereford fillet steak stuffed with oysters sounded tempting (£27), I opted for a Yorkshire rose T-bone veal steak. I very much enjoyed it and other dishes such as glazed pork belly served with Coleman’s English mustard and honey (£14.50) sounded equally tempting. To accompany the steak, I tried a portion of the smoky bacon baked beans recommended by Miss Sutcliffe and the restaurant manager. The flavor was perfectly balanced and these are well worth trying.
To conclude, the offering includes options very much suited to the political classes. With dishes similar to what might be found in the dining rooms of the Houses of Parliament, diners can try Cambridge cream (£7), vanilla baked pineapple (£7) or sticky toffee pudding (£5). I plumped for a bread and butter pudding served with marmalade ice cream (£5) and found it most satisfactory. All in all, I’d conclude that this was a meal deserving of a mention in anyone’s edition of political dispatches. Jon Ingram is a chef worthy of great accolade and a plot will no doubt ensue to ensure that this restaurant receives the accolades that it truly deserves.
The wine list at the Blue Boar offers a mix suitable for both wealthy lobbyists and those suffering as a result of George Osborne’s latest budget. Wines start at around £26 a bottle but what truly impressed me – and what I shall certainly return for – is the collection of vintage gins. This is a paradise for any gin lover and with Booth’s Gin topping the list, it is plain that much research has gone into this element of the bar’s conception.
Additionally, for those looking for a new place to brunch on a Sunday, the Blue Boar has a “feasting table” each week. Available from 12.30pm to 3pm each week and priced at £45 per adult and £15 per child, the deal includes unlimited Bloody Mary’s and Buck’s Fizz. In addition to what the Blue Boar call a “butcher’s board” featuring ham hocks, venison and smoked chicken, the offering also includes a seafood bar with oysters, prawns and herrings and a whole selection of salads.
If you are passionate about fine meats, make a beeline for the Blue Boar. Just be sure also to keep an eye out for Bo-Jo under a hog’s head in a hidden corner. It’s probably not as surreal as it sounds.
Blue Boar Smokehouse & Bar, 37 – 45 Tothill Street, London, SW1H 9LQ. Telephone: +44 (0) 20 3301 1400. Website: http://www.blueboarlondon.com
Follow the Blue Boar Smokehouse on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/blueboarlondon
Michael Benjamin pays a visit to Marylebone tea shop, Amanzi
Try walking into Starbucks and just asking for a cup of coffee. It is now an old joke. The pun is that whereas you used to be able to go to a café and order a cup of coffee, you now have to have to specify whether you want a latte, a cappuccino, a filter coffee, or no doubt a host of other varieties. Moreover, you must specify the size of cup and the type of milk, if any, you desire.
This has not yet happened to tea. Ask for a cup of tea and the response will be: “Do you take milk or sugar?” Tea has not progressed very far. Sure, a café might have green tea or peppermint tea, but there is not much point in asking if they have any green dragon pearls, or white peony because they won’t. Speciality teas are largely the preserve of luxury hotels.
This could change if Amanzi, a new teashop in Marylebone, have their way. They have a bewildering selection of loose-leaf tea. From Assam, genmaicha, lavender chamomile, various types of rooibos, through to a selection of kids’ teas with names such as “Tutti Fruity” and “Coco Loco.” And then there are tea based non-alcoholic cocktails such as “lychee mar-tea-ni,” smoothies, tea based frappes and something they call “bubble tea”. Don’t ask – just go and try one!
A complaint I have with the way tea is served in some establishments is that the cups are thick china more suited to drinking coffee. My ideal choice for tea is a more dainty bone china cup. Amanzi have struck a reasonable balance and gone for a sturdy glass, but one with a handle, which makes a perfectly pleasant drinking experience. Another thing that they seem to get wrong virtually everywhere but luxury hotels is the temperature of the water. I am appalled at how often green tea is served with boiling water. Amanzi do not make that mistake: they serve it correctly at 82 degrees.
The company charge £1.85 for a regular cup and £2.00 for a large cup, but some teas, including my personal favourite of silver needle, have a 50 pence premium. This is not too dissimilar in price to Starbucks, but the tea choice is vastly superior.
If there was one disappointment, I thought their pastry and cake selection somewhat expensive and not the most appetising. However, I am informed that is set to change. I certainly hope so.
Amanzi is an American chain of teashops. The owners of the company have big plans. While they currently have just one shop in the UK, they envisage an initial ten and then even more. They also want a wholesale tea business and to develop a fully functioning UK website. Neil Sanyal, who works with the owner of the business, David Elghanayan as head of operations, mentioned that a different American teashop chain, Teavana, with 300 locations, recently sold out for $620 million. It is clear what he has in mind for Amanzi.
I have no idea whether they will be successful. What I do know is that I am now back at home drinking some of the company’s lychee pomegranate green tea and that it tastes rather good.
Amanzi, 24 New Cavendish Street, London, W1. Website: http://www.amanzitea.co.uk
Follow Amazi Tea on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/amanzitealondon
A review of Wolfgang Puck’s CUT at 45 Park Lane
Continuing our series of revisiting articles from the blog that preceded The Steeple Times, today we re-publish our review of CUT at 45 Park Lane. We’re delighted to report that it’s just as good today.
Wolfgang Puck once commented that he “learned more from the one restaurant that didn’t work than from all the ones that were successes.” With the opening of his new restaurant, CUT, at The Dorchester Collection’s newest hotel, 45 Park Lane, he certainly proves that he learnt well.
Now magnificently illuminated at night and featuring 24 metal panels by Thierry Despont, this narrow Park Lane building was unoccupied for 13 years until The Dorchester Collection creatively brought it back to life. The building has a fascinating history having been owned in the 1950s by one George Parkin Catchpole, a liquidator, who rented it out “for anything legal.” He is said to have told a group of artists named the Park Lane Group: “When I’m not using it, you can – and I won’t charge you” and they did. They set up a 150-seat theatre and the pianist John Ogdon and the Welsh soprano Dame Gwyneth Jones DBE performed there.
In the 1960s Catchpole sold the building and 45 Park Lane took on a new life as the Playboy Club. Run by Victor Lownes, the casino at the club became the most profitable in the world by 1981 but following a decision to revoke the club’s gambling licence and a row between Lownes and Hugh Hefner, the venue closed.
45 Park Lane is now well and truly back on the map of the international jet-set following this latest refurbishment. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt stayed in September and the opening party was itself attended by Philip Green and his daughter, Chloe, as well as Kate Moss, Jamie Hince, Matt Bellamy and Kate Hudson.
CUT itself is a stylish space that seats 70 guests that is managed by the most personable Loyd Loudy, formerly of the OXO Tower, Hakkasan, China Tang, Shoreditch House and Sartoria. This is a slickly run dining room that has art deco hints and is dominated by Damien Hirst artwork.
When I told a friend that I was going to CUT, he complained that the music there was a “horrible mixture” of 1970s and 1980s rock music chosen by Puck himself. My dining companion, a fan of such tunes as KC and The Sunshine Band’s Come To My Island, was delighted, however, by this prospect and only disappointed that his favourite tune didn’t get an outing. I was hoping for a rendition of the Strawbs’ Part of the Union in honour of, excuse the pun, those protesting about the government’s ongoing economic cuts, but I guess that would hardly have gone down well with the Mayfair hedgies and well heeled hotel guests who flock to this glamorous dining destination.
John Walsh, in his review of CUT for the Independent, describes Wolfgang Puck’s name as being “Mozart-meets-Shakespeare” and this culinary maestro is himself worthy of note. Austrian by birth, Puck began his career at Maxim’s in Paris, the Hotel de Paris in Monaco and the Michelin 3-starred L’Oustau de Baumanière in Provence. In the 1970s he moved to the United States and set up his first flagship restaurant, Spago, in 1982 on the Sunset Strip of West Hollywood. Spago became known for its signature dishes of haute cuisine pizzas topped with smoked salmon and caviar and awards galore and a burgeoning restaurant empire followed in the 1990s and 2000s with further openings in LA, Las Vegas and Singapore.
Puck has brought in David McIntyre as executive chef at CUT at 45 Park Lane. Part of his team in Los Angeles for the last 13 years, McIntyre’s career began at the Culinary Institute of America and progressed eventually to a “strong culinary partnership” with Puck first at Spago and then at CUT, Beverly Hills and WP24.
Puck and McIntyre offer a menu that most certainly couldn’t fail to please any meat lover. Though not designed for those on a budget, the focus here is on cuts of beef, be they from Casterbridge in Devon or Creekstone Farms in Arkansas City, Kansas, that are grilled over hard wood and charcoal then finished under a 650 degree broiler.
To start, I began with an Australian wagyū steak sashimi with spicy radishes and a Greek cress (£22). It was truly delicious and the envy of my companion who found his bigeye tuna tartar with wasabi ailoli, ginger, tōgarashi crisps and tosa sauce (£21) just as enjoyable. For those looking for a meatier option the Austrian oxtail bouillon (£9) certainly should appeal and vegetarians could definitely enjoy the roasted baby beetroot salad with goat cheese (£12).
For our main courses we naturally both chose to try out the cuts but those looking for something different could opt for a sautéed dover sole (£45) or a warm lobster club sandwich (£24). Both my 6oz filet mignon (£30) and my companion’s 35 day aged 10oz New York sirloin (£34) melted in the mouth and truly top my list for the best steak of the year. The accompanying Armagnac and green peppercorn sauce was a phenomenal choice and utterly perfect. Though slightly over salted, the French fries with herbs (£5.50) were pleasant and the tempura onion rings (also £5.50) could not be faulted.
To conclude, though somewhat conquered by the feast we’d just enjoyed, we moved on to a light banoffee pie and a delicious chocolate dish that tasted akin to a Kit-Kat with blackberries. Here ended a meal that was most certainly one of the best I’ve enjoyed in 2011.
The wine list is exactly what you’d expect to find in an establishment of this stature. Staring at £7 a glass for whites by the glass and £16 for Laurent Perrier 2002 champagne, key highlights include a Château Petrus 1988 for £4,900 a bottle and a 2009 offering from the estate of Sir Peter Michael at £270 a bottle.
Above the restaurant a striking staircase leads to Bar 45, a chic space serving cocktails and offering bar-dining for 30. Adjoining this is media room with 10 comfortable armchairs and a library. The remainder of the building appropriately consists of 45 stylish rooms and suites that include a most impressive penthouse suite with a wrap-around balcony that offers expansive views across Hyde Park.
Fay Maschler concluded her review of CUT with the words: “Cut and come again.” I’d only add that this is a restaurant that is cuttingly magnificent.
CUT, 45 Park Lane, London, W1K 1PN. Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7493 4554. Website: http://www.45parklane.com
Follow CUT on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/WolfgangBuzz
Follow 45 Park Lane at: http://www.twiter.com/45ParkLane
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.
This Californian became a child star to help solve the financial woes of his family. He excelled in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and received a $15 million cheque for Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Aside from acting, he’s been in relationships with Carey Mulligan, Isabel Lucas and Megan Fox but it is bar brawls that seem to form a staple of his existence. LaBeouf was questioned by the Los Angeles Police Department after one at the Mad Bull’s Tavern in February 2011, thrown out of another called the Cinema Public House in Vancouver in October 2011 and lost his hat during another at the Hobgoblin in London, SE14 in November 2012. We somehow doubt this wild child will be transforming into a reformed citizen any time soon but we’re also betting his career will rocket.
A home suitable for James Bond
The latest James Bond film Skyfall is the talk of the town and it’s received many a rave review. The fictional James Bond allegedly lived in Royal Avenue, off the Kings Road in SW3, but if he were looking for a house today, we think 9 Hillgate Street would be the perfect pad.
Utterly unassuming from the street, what lies behind the exterior of this four-storey building is deceptively a new build house constructed in 2010. Designed by Seth Stein Architects, the property is only 18ft wide but an amazing 85ft in length.
Bond would greatly appreciate the lower ground media room and gym with plunge pool and with a staff suite, there’s room to house someone to mix his martinis. A vast 29ft by 16ft living room is open plan to the kitchen and perfect for entertaining but it is most certainly the master bedroom suite that would make the perfect spot for his extra curricular activities. Four terraces arranged around a courtyard provide ample outdoor space and with all manner of techonological gadgets, 9 Hillgate Street most certainly would make an ideal bachelor pad.
What truly would suit Bond perfectly, though, in this 4,286 square foot £7,950,000 house is the garage. Cleverly disguised and decorated as a normal room, there’s even an Aston sat waiting parked there. Daniel Craig should put in a bid.
9 Hillgate Street, London, W8 7SP is on the market with Domus Nova. Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7727 1717. For more details, go to: http://www.primelocation.com/for-sale/details/16234784?search_identifier=1dc68e7f093f381788be3dda54be33ed
For more information about Seth Stein Architects, go to: http://www.sethstein.com
She called the Conservative Party the “Nasty Party” in a speech in 2002 and now Theresa May makes for a pretty nasty Prime Minister herself. Gaffe prone May failed to appeal to the police in May 2012 when they heckled her at the Police Federation conference and was too busy hosting a party with Lady Meyer later that month to deal with problems at Britain’s borders. Ken Clarke once described her as “childlike”, Joan Collins has made a fool of her on Twitter and it is for dressing like Worzel Gummidge that this hectoring vicar’s daughter is known best. Please, someone, just shoe her out.
A review of Valt Single Malt Scottish Vodka
When thinking of places where vodka is made, Poland and Russia are probably the first places that come to mind.
Valt Single Malt Scottish Vodka, however, is unique in being the only single malt vodka from Scotland and Ricky Christie, it’s founder, claims to be on a mission to “change your perspective.”
Christie describes his vodka, which currently sells around 3,000 cases a year, as having a “barley sugar and cream nose, [a] sweet vanilla ice cream taste [and a] warm melting butter finish.” I personally found it very distinctive and much more punchy than the standard “colourless, odourless and tasteless” description that is applied to most vodkas. Valt is not a vodka for a traditional Stoli fan but more one for someone willing to be a little more adventurous in what they consume.
The spirit is made with water from the famous salmon fishing river, the 107-mile long Spey, and Scottish malted barley. Using a traditional copper still, Valt is a vodka that undergoes a charcoal and chill filtration and one that is quintuple distilled. The result is a pure and mellow taste.
Christie first launched Valt in the UK but it is now also available in Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, Malta, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Poland. It can also be found in Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore and Jakarta but the brand has yet to conquer the biggest and toughest spirits market, the United States of America.
Nonetheless, Valt’s progress since launch in 2006 is somewhat impressive and case sales of some 10,000 a year are now within reach. Rabbie Burns would be proud.
For more information about Valt Single Malt Scottish Vodka, go to: http://www.valtvodka.com
Follow Valt Single Malt Scottish Vodka on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/valtvodka
To purchase Valt Single Malt Scottish Vodka for £24.95 a bottle, go to Master of Malt: http://www.masterofmalt.com/vodka/valt-single-malt-vodka/?agegate=true&gclid=CKu2nZTiz64CFcImtAod9XXhlw