Tag: Wine

Simplifying Sunday Lunch (in Chelsea)

Chelsea favourite No. Fifty Cheyne is now offering its Sunday lunch menu “in the comfort of your own home… with only very little further cooking needed”

For those stranded in Chelsea and its environs during the coronavirus lockdown looking to want to have a bit of time off from their kitchen this Sunday, Iain Smith, the head chef at No. Fifty Cheyne, “has prepared a special menu… with only very little further cooking needed” that can be delivered direct to your home.

Available to order via Uber Eats at just £25 per head, you could be having roast chicken with glazed vegetables, Yorkshire puddings and gravy without all the fuss. Orders can be placed from 10am to 2pm.

For those looking for fine restaurant food at home during the week, No. Fifty Cheyne – which was described in 2019 as “a good laugh and definitely romantic” by Grace Dent in the Guardian and having a “remarkable feel of settled ease” by the Evening Standard’s David Sexton – has the answer also. They are now offering a daily menu that includes a fillet of beef with salt-baked beetroot and truffled creamed potato (£29.50) and pan-fried pollock with potato and leek, cockle velouté and milk crumble (£26) from Monday to Friday.

Hampers (from £59.50) and wine (from £32 to £215 per bottle) can be supplied by the restaurant and in addition, shortly, home essentials including lavatory roll and rubber gloves will be available as well.

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April 4, 2020
Riccardo’s Responds

Riccardo’s restaurant in Chelsea leads the way in showing community mindedness during the coronavirus outbreak

Across the land small businesses are doing their bit for their communities and a case in point in Chelsea comes in the form of Riccardo’s, the popular Tuscan style Italian restaurant on Fulham Road.

Owner Riccardo Mariti, having had to close for seated lunch and dinner service, has most helpfully turned his premises into a deli and is offering a delivery service also. Not only is the restaurant selling standard items such as pizza and organic chicken from the Rhug Estate in North Wales, but they also offer lavatory roll at £2 per pack (limited to one per order), fresh milk, mixed fruit and vegetables, fresh meat and wine also. Food and other items can either be delivered or collected.

Whilst many others are providing such, Riccardo’s is going one stage further and is also offering use of their maintenance crew to help with shopping and emergency repairs in the locality as well. Here, indeed, is a fine example of selflessness and here is a business that deserves to be saluted. If you’re nearby, here’s a far better solution than facing the queues at Sainsbury’s.

Riccardo’s, 126 Fulham Road, Chelsea, London, SW3 6HU. Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7370 6656. To see what is available and order, click here.

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March 26, 2020
TIGing a Drunken Duchess

The boozy bird the Duchess of Sussex and the newly formed The Independent Group have something in common; this “TIG moment” lover should become their leader

The former Meghan Markle – a bizarre woman who ludicrously likes to create “spaces to share” and “breeding grounds for ideas and excitement” – once had a blog called ‘The Tig.’ It was supposedly about matters “lifestyle” and on it she created “a hub for the discerning palate – those with a hunger for food, travel, fashion [and] beauty.”

On this oracle of wisdom the busybody ‘Murky Mucky’ shared information that the world simply shouldn’t be without. On the now defunct site’s ‘About’ section, she bizarrely stated:

“Several years ago I had a sip of wine called Tignanello (pronounced “teen-ya-nello“). But let’s be real – in the states most people said “tig-na-nello“…or just plain old “Tig.” The Italiano of it all gets a little tricky, so the bartender kept it simple; it was a glass of “Tig.“ So there I am, with very minimal wine knowledge and I take a sip of this wine. It wasn’t just red or white – suddenly I understood what people meant by the body, legs, structure of wine. It was an ah-ha moment at its finest. For me, it became a “Tig” moment – a moment of getting it.”

“From that point on, any new awareness, any new discovery or “ohhhhh, I get it!” moment was a “Tig” moment. At New York Fashion Week understanding that clothes aren’t just pieces of fabric, but that they can be art. So Tig. Traveling off the beaten track and hand diving for sea urchin in Jamaica – understanding that travel is adventure and discovery, culture and surprise. A Tig moment, indeed. And the same could be said for my love of cooking & dining, for cultivating friendships that inspire you, for the idea of “beauty” and what that means to us. An understanding that comes with living your life to the fullest so that it bursts at the seams. An unbridled joy. An insatiable curiosity. That’s what Tig means to me.”

We won’t bore you with the rest of this right royal pest’s drivel but yesterday, in Westminster, seven now ex-Labour MPs quit their party. They formed a group called ‘The Independent Group’ or more simply ‘TIG.’ Perhaps it might be appropriate that their fellow ‘Tigger’ The Duchess of Sussex become their leader.

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The Independent Group announced their creation in Westminster yesterday; they came across as a bunch of attention seekers.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, in New York, ‘The Modern Day Mrs Simpson’ couldn’t help but don the look of an extra from ‘Last Of The Summer Wine’ in wearing a flat cap. Here indeed was a right royal embarrassment.

February 19, 2019
Fishwife Ferne

Reality television ‘star’ and ex-girlfriend of acid thrower Ferne McCann caught hurling drinks at National Television Awards

Ferne McCann and chucking things seem to go together. First, the father of her child was deservedly jailed after attacking 22 innocent people with acid and now it has been revealed that this Brentwood born broad chucked wine at a fellow guest at the National Television Awards at the O2 Arena on the 22^nd January.

During the attack, Ms McCann – a tawdry fishwife-like woman whose ‘fame’ stems from stints on such drivel as TOWIE, Loose Women and This Morning – also supposedly shoved a plastic cup containing the liquid in the face of her victim, Love Island participant Adam Collard.

Here is a woman who also tastelessly promoted lip plumping primer on the day her evil ex, “despicable liar” Arthur Collins, was sent down and here also is someone happy to pose with the creepy Christian crooner Cliff Richard. Ferne McCann – who was questioned by police over the drink throwing incident – is as common as muck and plainly also deserves to be sent to anger management classes.

#NameAndShame #ShameOnFerneMcCann

Pictured above: Adam Collard (who is threatening to release CCTV footage of the incident) and Ferne McCann (who named her child Sunday in spite of its father carrying out his vile assault on a Sunday).

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Ms McCann took to Twitter to tell her 827,000 followers about the incident but tried to justify her actions rather than properly apologise.

January 27, 2019
From Ceaușescu to The Queen

1967 Rolls-Royce state landaulet originally built for the Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu – but considered too extravagant even by him – and later used by Her Majesty The Queen to be auctioned

Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu was a dictator whose extravagance was a bit like that of Barbara Amiel: It knew no bounds. In 1966, ignoring the wishes of his Russian handlers, Ceaușescu decided to order what became the most costly Rolls-Royce Phantom V state landaulet by Mulliner Park Ward ever produced and spent £20,000 in 1966 (the equivalent of £652,000, $824,000, €726,000 or درهم3 million today) creating a truly luxurious vehicle.

Featuring nearly every available option possible, including a rear seat that could be raised or lowered to suit the height of passengers, this luxurious limousine also came with a combination cocktail bar and entertainment cabinet with a television. It had dual air conditioners for both the front and rear compartments, fluorescent lighting for parades at night and a refrigerated wine cooler. So over-the-top was it that, though Ceaușescu allegedly “probably could not have cared less” himself, Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Communist Party, complained about the lavishness of the vehicle, had it stored for one year and then shipped back to England.

Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena

Replaced with a “more suitable Silver Shadow,” Ceaușescu’s Phantom V state landaulet was sold on to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania based Dr. Erle M. Heath and his wife Bonnie. They used it on a daily basis for three decades and racked up 117,000 miles in it but also loaned it to dignitaries and personalities on occasions. Used to chauffeur Her Majesty The Queen on her state visit to Bermuda in 1975, the car was also her transportation during her visit to the Grand Cayman Islands in 1983.

Subsequently, in 1978, the vehicle also was used by Princess Grace of Monaco in Pittsburgh in 1978 and then after the death of Dr. Heath in 1992, it eventually became part of the Calumet Collection. Exhibited at various concours d’elegance, the Phantom V state landaulet also transported the American astronaut Buzz Aldrin and now has 161,795 miles on its clock.

RM Sotheby’s will sell this “rich in history” car at their Arizona 2019 auction on Friday 18^th January 2019. They offer it with no reserve and an estimate of £791,000 to £1.2 million ($1 million to $1.5 million, €880,000 to €1.3 million or درهم3.7 million to درهم5.5 million).

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December 26, 2018
Picture of the Week – A Bottled Baroness

Racist Marie-Claire, ‘Baroness’ von Alvensleben spotted dashing for sparkling wine as she ‘works the room’ at chi-chi antiques fair

Last night at LAPADA, waiting to pounce on unsuspecting innocents complete with her trademark helmet hairstyle, Marie-Claire ‘Baroness’ von Alvensleben perched on a bench at the entrance.

The wannabe Elnett ambassador’s eyes beamed when a bottle of Gusbourne English sparkling wine appeared on the horizon and a witness spotted the convicted racist dashing towards it. As a waitress poured, an observer remarked: “If she has any more, she’ll be on the floor” (in reference to the author of Absolutely Everything’s previous antics drunkenly rolling around at a party with television presenter Michael Barrymore).

Here, in our Picture of the Week, we share an image of this bigoted woman ‘at work’ in this liggers’ paradise.

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September 14, 2018
Fame & The Beeb

John Stoddart exhibition of silkscreen prints of his iconic works at Chelsea Arts Club attracts the attention of some BBC heavyweights

On Tuesday, at the Chelsea Arts Club in London, photographer John Stoddart illustrated his versatility as an artist in exhibiting silkscreen prints created from his works.

Present at the preview were a whole array of characters – amongst them both former host of BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs Sue Lawley and political commentator and BBC One’s The Marr Show host Andrew Marr – and as the wine flowed, guests got to admire images of Joan Collins, Mel Gibson and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Of the exhibition, Claire Rubinstein, herself formerly of the BBC also, remarked: “I love the vibrancy and colour of these images. John has injected some joie de vivre into the faces and I am especially taken with the one of Hugh Grant. Doesn’t he look camp?”

The works – which are limited to editions of ten and titled ‘Famous! by Stoddart’ – are priced at £300 ($388, €334 or درهم1,425) per print or £2,000 ($2,587, €2,226 or درهم9,500) for a boxed set of all ten prints.

The exhibition will remain on show for the next two weeks and those interested in purchasing prints are invited to telephone the Chelsea Arts Club.

Chelsea Arts Club, 143 Old Church Street, London, SW3 6EB. Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7376 3311.

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September 6, 2018
Brexiteer Tim Martin’s Dog’s Dinner

Whackjob Wetherspoons owner Tim Martin has followed up on banning foreign booze including Moët & Chandon and now banned dogs from his entire chain of pubs

Pro-Brexit publican Tim Martin has landed himself quite literally in dogshit.

According to a report in Friday’s Mirror, Martin’s pub chain, Wetherspoon, will ban dogs from both the inside and outside areas of his 880 pubs from Monday 10^th September 2018. The reason? “The group’s hard-working staff had grown tired of picking up poop.”

Back in June, this king of ‘making a dog’s dinner of it’ scored another own goal when he banned European alcohol such as Moët & Chandon champagne from his premises also. At the time, this multi-millionaire commented: “The EU’s customs union is a protectionist system which is widely misunderstood. The products we are now introducing are at lower prices than the EU products they are replacing.”

In April, plainly showing how much he likes to ban things, Martin ordered his staff to delete all the firm’s social media profiles. Whatever next? Will he ban his very own customers?

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August 24, 2018
A Wine Winner

Half price bottles of wine at The Enterprise during January; price per bottle starts at £9.98 per bottle

The Enterprise in Walton Street, Chelsea is an institution that locals know and love. The staff and management are charming, the atmosphere is fun and the food and drink superlative.

For the whole of January, this popular neighbourhood bar and restaurant is offering its entire wine list at 50% off list price per bottle for those buying lunch or dinner. With everything from an Australian shiraz for £9.98 a bottle (normally £19.95) to Château Margaux le Pavillon Rouge for £137.50 (normally £275), there is something for everyone and we most definitely say cheers to that!

The Enterprise, 35 Walton Street, London, SW3 2HU. Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7584 3148.

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January 15, 2018
More gin, vicar?

As Public Health Wales claims drinking spirits is bad for you, we rebut their frankly stupid study

On Tuesday, The Telegraph reported that a completely unscientific study by an organisation named Public Health Wales had found that spirits are more likely to “trigger bouts of depression and unexpected weeping.”

Said also to cause an increase in negative feelings and levels of aggression, spirits also are said to boost confidence and energy levels and make people “feel sexier.”

Whilst The Telegraph’s article about the study focused on the spirits category in general, today The Guardian moved the focus to gin specifically. In a feature titled: ‘Spirits down: proof that gin makes you sad,’ the paper mocked the survey and rightly pointed out: “Other things that make you sad include literally everything that has ever happened in the world over the past decade.”

They are right, but we’d go one stage further and suggest this: “Drink whatever makes you happy and if you can’t have one at eleven, have eleven at one.”

Cheers!

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November 23, 2017