This time of year is usually quiet and maybe even lame for me, a time to plan and reflect and prepare for the coming months ahead. This year the last three weeks have been slightly different.... It is a small world and since the start of the year I have been able to explore and taste a measure of it.Put simply, a lot of travel and meeting new people....as well as an unusually large number of new cocktail bars and speakeasies and all in a number of different cities and countries and all in a matter of days.
In Roma, I loved the JERRY THOMAS PROJECT (cocktail bar and lounge) - a kind of Blue Grass meets Marrakech joint with a very cool cast of barmen located down a side street in the centre of Rome. Antonio Parlapino and Leonardo Leuci have created a very cool dive indeed and I was made to feel most welcome when I arrived alone ...and equally again on another night when I arrived with a small party. My Roman hosts were very impressed to be introduced to such a cool bar in their own city by a first time foreigner. The Sazerac cocktails were just as they should be and made for best night-cap after a good dinner following a day spent exploring an already magical city.I am ashamed and amazed to admit that this was my first visit to Rome. As a traveller and amateur foodie - quite apart from being raised as a Catholic in school run by Benedictine monks - it seems almost impossible. Of course it didn't disappoint. Everything that could be written about Rome has been done so. Apart from the art, architecture and love of life ( they seem to have it all) one of the great things about Italy is that you know every day you are going to eat well...for brekka, lunch and dinner; whether you are in a pension or stopping at a fuel station, you will eat well. What a lovely life enhancing thought that is.I of course loved the Vatican and the Pantheon but my favourite is the Basilica St Clemente...quite near, but easily missable, the Coliseum. Mind you, these fabulous treasures were a far cry the night clubs and strip joints.... that you could go...to if every bit as ancient. I had a lovely dinner with Hannah Roberts, the intelligent and very attractive Daily Mail correspondent who has taken up a new post in the city.
Back In London I enjoyed the new Worship Street Whistling Shop cocktail bar as a guest of Erik Lorincz, who was guest barman for evening before going on to spend a couple of hours with his wife at the wonderful Asian-speakeasy-meets-lounge bar, OPIUM on Gerrard St in Soho. Right next door is the Experimental Cocktail Club...another speak easy with a draconian door policy. Once in, both are well worth the visit and since I seem to have been a few times in as many days, the doormen nowadays couldn't be more obliging. I loved the oriental take on the classic cocktails. Richard Godwin of the Evening Standard took me along to a preview of the B.Y.O.C bar in Convent Garden....a really novel concept of a hideaway that you bring your own booze...pay an entry fee and they provide the mixer (Dan from Milk and Honey ) and the mixers, with all the trimmings. A great place to spend time catching up with a good friend full of good conversation. I like good conversation, it leads to good ideas. Richard is full of both.
In Stockholm I loved the warm hospitality of the fire-hydrant-red Miss Voon Bar ......right in the middle of town at Sturegaten 22, and overlooking the park. The warm hospitality of the clever barman, Boudy Ghostine, who made me and my guests so welcome, contrasted with the minus 4 degrees outside. A great spot to take yer misses after you collect her from the coolest and probably most stylish hairdresser in Stockholm, Gustavo Björkman, who can be found just up the way at Sturegaten 26. It is a city of great conversation as the revellers....everyone of them attractive...are good humoured, approachable and out to enjoy themselves in a civilised and very attractive manner.I loved the vibe of the city of Stockholm. Gentle and interesting architecture - saffron and terracotta coloured buildings, vast expansive waterways, an impressive and inhabited palace as well as a number of parks - all under a heavy blanket of snow. The contemporary houses appear functional and perhaps a little plain until you enter them. Then you find them as cosy as hell after the sub zero temperatures outside. Moreover, each house seems to display an attractive lamp in the window or maybe a candle burning in a tin either side of the front door...often you find that in shops too. It provides for a nice warm welcome....almost like the ones we put out for Santa when we kids...an overall scene that is picturesque.I sat gossiping and taking in the scene with my host and business colleague, Stefan Lindblom, in various Fika's around the different islands.
Mind you I didn't learn about the uniquely Swedish tenet that "lagom är bäst" which is a guiding principal and so explains so much about their character and their culture....you have to look that one up!It is amazing how hospitable and kind hearted the Swedish can be. An attractive race, well built and effortlessly athletic (what people call fit and ripped nowadays) and many of the women Amazonian, ....the kind of everyday looks that would have your average British lads' eyes out on stalks....and that is just at the entry level. Glance into a shop early evening and even the girl cleaning looks like a-model-in-waiting. Why Barcelona should be the favoured place for a Laddish stag week end when this is surely nivarna, I'll never know. Perhaps it has something to do with the prices....the average glass of house wine is £10-15!
The BAFTAS and the LONDON FASHION WEEK supplied wonderful mixes of adventure with italian truffles and pasta at Cecconi's, in the company of Koreans and every other race. We learnt about Henry VII's crown made by Harry Collins and now in the chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace ; watched Real Tennis under instruction from Lesley Ronaldson, explored the crown jewels in the Tower of London and sought out sealing wax from a supplier in the East end of London.
The Wolseley served up delicious sea bass and Le Caprice delivered on Lunch before a spectacular show from Burberry. Ben Safra from head of VICs from head office, assisted by Gogo Cheng from Hong Kong, took us to dinner at L'autre Pied in Bloomsbury and a group of VICs (very important customers) and other guests were royally entertained yet again.The print room at the British Museum yielded up it's treasures...the Rembrandts and Albrecht Drurer etchings and prints were expertly explained to us by Annabel Howard and the Elgin Marbles were vividly brought to life by Kate Bryon, head of contemporary at the Fine Art Society....all followed by a very good lunch on the top floor of the National Portrait Gallery. Eleven guests travelling from eight different countries.
I was reminded of the chop houses of Chicago when I had dinner at The Palm with Mark Palmer, travel editor of the Daily Mail....the steaks are better than normally found in London and I was relieved that they can cut them down to the size you want before cooking them. The barmen knocked up a pertinent Gibson's and was generous with the onions...they are very really served with enough...it's the sort of sipping cocktail that you want to eat rather than just drink.
Over in Soho, the Old Fashioned served at the Groucho appeared suspiciously swiftly on the second round ......which kind of confirmed my suspicion that they were made with a premixed syrup but my old school friends Ollie Butcher ( over from LA where he has been working with Liam Leeson) and Murray Shanks (now a high court judge here in London) .........{note to self - wish I had paid more attention in class} were consoled by the steak and kidney pudding at Soho House finished off with excellent Sazeracs back at the Experimental Cocktail Club on Thursday.Finally, the Bassoon Bar at the Corinthia served up the most delicious hot toddies for my cough and cold followed by an Old Fashioned with a hint of truffle. My new friend Arfi Lamda, of Slumdog Millionaire fame, and his producer friend Laura Wu, were enjoying the scene with the COO of the hotel, Liam Lambert. Liam has run some of the most iconic and prestigious hotels in the world and Arfi was thrilled to learn that his own brother in law, an executive chef, had cooked at the wedding of Liam's daughter last year in Bombay!
As they say: it's a small world.
But then again, I wouldn't want to walk across it....
In Roma, I loved the JERRY THOMAS PROJECT (cocktail bar and lounge) - a kind of Blue Grass meets Marrakech joint with a very cool cast of barmen located down a side street in the centre of Rome. Antonio Parlapino and Leonardo Leuci have created a very cool dive indeed and I was made to feel most welcome when I arrived alone ...and equally again on another night when I arrived with a small party. My Roman hosts were very impressed to be introduced to such a cool bar in their own city by a first time foreigner. The Sazerac cocktails were just as they should be and made for best night-cap after a good dinner following a day spent exploring an already magical city.I am ashamed and amazed to admit that this was my first visit to Rome. As a traveller and amateur foodie - quite apart from being raised as a Catholic in school run by Benedictine monks - it seems almost impossible. Of course it didn't disappoint. Everything that could be written about Rome has been done so. Apart from the art, architecture and love of life ( they seem to have it all) one of the great things about Italy is that you know every day you are going to eat well...for brekka, lunch and dinner; whether you are in a pension or stopping at a fuel station, you will eat well. What a lovely life enhancing thought that is.I of course loved the Vatican and the Pantheon but my favourite is the Basilica St Clemente...quite near, but easily missable, the Coliseum. Mind you, these fabulous treasures were a far cry the night clubs and strip joints.... that you could go...to if every bit as ancient. I had a lovely dinner with Hannah Roberts, the intelligent and very attractive Daily Mail correspondent who has taken up a new post in the city.
Back In London I enjoyed the new Worship Street Whistling Shop cocktail bar as a guest of Erik Lorincz, who was guest barman for evening before going on to spend a couple of hours with his wife at the wonderful Asian-speakeasy-meets-lounge bar, OPIUM on Gerrard St in Soho. Right next door is the Experimental Cocktail Club...another speak easy with a draconian door policy. Once in, both are well worth the visit and since I seem to have been a few times in as many days, the doormen nowadays couldn't be more obliging. I loved the oriental take on the classic cocktails. Richard Godwin of the Evening Standard took me along to a preview of the B.Y.O.C bar in Convent Garden....a really novel concept of a hideaway that you bring your own booze...pay an entry fee and they provide the mixer (Dan from Milk and Honey ) and the mixers, with all the trimmings. A great place to spend time catching up with a good friend full of good conversation. I like good conversation, it leads to good ideas. Richard is full of both.
In Stockholm I loved the warm hospitality of the fire-hydrant-red Miss Voon Bar ......right in the middle of town at Sturegaten 22, and overlooking the park. The warm hospitality of the clever barman, Boudy Ghostine, who made me and my guests so welcome, contrasted with the minus 4 degrees outside. A great spot to take yer misses after you collect her from the coolest and probably most stylish hairdresser in Stockholm, Gustavo Björkman, who can be found just up the way at Sturegaten 26. It is a city of great conversation as the revellers....everyone of them attractive...are good humoured, approachable and out to enjoy themselves in a civilised and very attractive manner.I loved the vibe of the city of Stockholm. Gentle and interesting architecture - saffron and terracotta coloured buildings, vast expansive waterways, an impressive and inhabited palace as well as a number of parks - all under a heavy blanket of snow. The contemporary houses appear functional and perhaps a little plain until you enter them. Then you find them as cosy as hell after the sub zero temperatures outside. Moreover, each house seems to display an attractive lamp in the window or maybe a candle burning in a tin either side of the front door...often you find that in shops too. It provides for a nice warm welcome....almost like the ones we put out for Santa when we kids...an overall scene that is picturesque.I sat gossiping and taking in the scene with my host and business colleague, Stefan Lindblom, in various Fika's around the different islands.
Mind you I didn't learn about the uniquely Swedish tenet that "lagom är bäst" which is a guiding principal and so explains so much about their character and their culture....you have to look that one up!It is amazing how hospitable and kind hearted the Swedish can be. An attractive race, well built and effortlessly athletic (what people call fit and ripped nowadays) and many of the women Amazonian, ....the kind of everyday looks that would have your average British lads' eyes out on stalks....and that is just at the entry level. Glance into a shop early evening and even the girl cleaning looks like a-model-in-waiting. Why Barcelona should be the favoured place for a Laddish stag week end when this is surely nivarna, I'll never know. Perhaps it has something to do with the prices....the average glass of house wine is £10-15!
The BAFTAS and the LONDON FASHION WEEK supplied wonderful mixes of adventure with italian truffles and pasta at Cecconi's, in the company of Koreans and every other race. We learnt about Henry VII's crown made by Harry Collins and now in the chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace ; watched Real Tennis under instruction from Lesley Ronaldson, explored the crown jewels in the Tower of London and sought out sealing wax from a supplier in the East end of London.
The Wolseley served up delicious sea bass and Le Caprice delivered on Lunch before a spectacular show from Burberry. Ben Safra from head of VICs from head office, assisted by Gogo Cheng from Hong Kong, took us to dinner at L'autre Pied in Bloomsbury and a group of VICs (very important customers) and other guests were royally entertained yet again.The print room at the British Museum yielded up it's treasures...the Rembrandts and Albrecht Drurer etchings and prints were expertly explained to us by Annabel Howard and the Elgin Marbles were vividly brought to life by Kate Bryon, head of contemporary at the Fine Art Society....all followed by a very good lunch on the top floor of the National Portrait Gallery. Eleven guests travelling from eight different countries.
I was reminded of the chop houses of Chicago when I had dinner at The Palm with Mark Palmer, travel editor of the Daily Mail....the steaks are better than normally found in London and I was relieved that they can cut them down to the size you want before cooking them. The barmen knocked up a pertinent Gibson's and was generous with the onions...they are very really served with enough...it's the sort of sipping cocktail that you want to eat rather than just drink.
Over in Soho, the Old Fashioned served at the Groucho appeared suspiciously swiftly on the second round ......which kind of confirmed my suspicion that they were made with a premixed syrup but my old school friends Ollie Butcher ( over from LA where he has been working with Liam Leeson) and Murray Shanks (now a high court judge here in London) .........{note to self - wish I had paid more attention in class} were consoled by the steak and kidney pudding at Soho House finished off with excellent Sazeracs back at the Experimental Cocktail Club on Thursday.Finally, the Bassoon Bar at the Corinthia served up the most delicious hot toddies for my cough and cold followed by an Old Fashioned with a hint of truffle. My new friend Arfi Lamda, of Slumdog Millionaire fame, and his producer friend Laura Wu, were enjoying the scene with the COO of the hotel, Liam Lambert. Liam has run some of the most iconic and prestigious hotels in the world and Arfi was thrilled to learn that his own brother in law, an executive chef, had cooked at the wedding of Liam's daughter last year in Bombay!
As they say: it's a small world.
But then again, I wouldn't want to walk across it....