20 questions with winemaker Carlo Mondavi
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
The continued belief that we can make wine that sits along side the finest in the world. The belief that we can strive for excellence and no matter how far we have come, the truth is that we have really just begun.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
Making good wine is a skill, fine wine is an art.
A review of Princi in Soho
Alan Yau OBE is a restaurateur who opts to have bouncers outside his restaurants. On Tuesday evening in the company of two foodie friends, I had the misfortune as to learn why. (more…)
The Queen and every American ambassador to Britain have dined at Rankin’s Bruton Place restaurant, Bellamy’s, since it opened in 2004 and of it A.A. Gill commented: “You could eat here once a week for the rest of your life”. More recently, this suave gentleman host has established Gavin Rankin Fine Art and deals in fine vintage posters. He learnt his art from none other than Mark Birley.
L’Enclume’s Simon Rogan to take the helm at Claridge’s
Gordon Ramsay burnt his bridges at Claridge’s after twelve years at the helm in February this year and now, today, his replacement has been announced. Simon Rogan, whose two Michelin starred L’Enclume in Cartmel, Cumbria, will take the helm from spring 2014 and “lead the way for a new dining direction” at a hotel that is often referred to as an “annexe to Buckingham Palace”. (more…)
Review: The Lyric in Soho
Soho is an area that one associates with the likes of pornographer Paul Raymond, gambling addict ‘Soho Pam’ and the legendarily rude landlord Norman Balon. Discovering The Lyric in Great Windmill Street, therefore, was a refreshing revelation. (more…)
As Jack Monroe speaks at a fringe meeting at the Conservative Party conference, she continues to rant and again makes an utter fool of herself
Is there anything that “food-and-politics-gob” Jack Monroe can do gracefully? It seems not. Today, she’s speaking at the Conservative Party conference at a fringe meeting on food banks and, naturally, this foul mouthed freelance writer had to use the run-up to the occasion to let out a rant. (more…)
Tesco place a “Back to School” banner above an alcohol display in Swansea
Shoppers at Tesco in Fforestfach, Wales were controversially confronted by a display of gin, vodka and whisky complete with a “Back to School” sign in recent days. (more…)
An image of John Kerry dining with Bashar al-Assad in February 2009 surfaces
John Kerry is a man who should be more careful about who he gets snapped with. As Chamberlain learnt to his peril after visiting Hitler in 1938, it is best not to consort with tyrannical leaders and it is better still not to be photographed with them. (more…)
Matthew Steeples suggests TripAdvisor needs to reform its ways
I’ve written about the ‘Trippies’ (those who write reviews on TripAdvisor) before and just like the ‘Groupies’ (voucher loving Groupon users), I’ve had direct experience of their type. They’re an accursed nuisance. (more…)
