The Festive Edition

VOLUME T WO | ISSUE THIRTEEN | FREE

The Festive Edition Tis’ the season to be jolly with gluttonous dinners, extravagant gifts, exotic travels and Turner Prize Nominee, David Shrigley

Alexander Bogomazov (1880 - 1930)

‘Experimental still life’ (1928-29) Watercolour on paper, 34 x 25 cm

jamesbutterwick.com

Editor’s letter It ’s that time of ye ar where ever yone is taking sto ck: what were the successes of the ye ar? Or the failings? What will next ye ar hold and will I make the most of it? I for one, won’t be going in on an existential crisis this festive se ason and inste ad will be rollicking in the gre at be aut y of London at Christmas.

There are few places that come quite as alive as the Big Smoke, and fewer still than Kensington and Chelse a. Within this issue you will find ever y thing you ne e d to indulge, sp oil and enthral yourself. For the mind, you’ll find a key inter view with ar t-maverick David Shrigley alongside fe atures on the tast y cre ative morsels happening in the Royal Borough. For the b o dy, the Be aut y se ction has you covere d and the extende d fo o d and restaurant se ction (let ’s face it, this se ason belongs to the appetite) should give you plent y of cause for celebration. For the soul, our travel choices for next ye ar will ke ep your spirits high during the cold months ahe ad and for the devil within, the shopping se ction has ever y thing you ne e d to ke ep your bad side go o d.

As ever, you can ke ep up to date with all things at KCR Towers via our Twit ter @ KCReview. Ke ep the self-improvement spiel for next ye ar, for now let ’s live a lit tle.

PUBLISHER Talismanic Me dia FOUNDER AND M ANAGING DIREC TOR Sid Raghava EDITOR Co co Khan NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Gre g Holmes ART DIREC TOR Harriet Be dder PUBLISHING DIREC TOR Stephen Slo combe

EDITOR COCO KHAN

Contents 2.

News

6.

Arts

16.

Family

22.

Beauty

20.

Food

26.

Travel

47.

Shopping

OFFICE M ANAGER Le e Marrero CONTRIBUTORS Megan Orpwood-Russell, Eugenie Fitzgerald, Annet te Bet te Kellow, Annie Vischer, Karin Rus, Stephen Slocombe, John Under wood, Nancy Gr yspeerdt, Sam Kinchin-Smith, Sarah Jackson, Taffeta Gray All material in Kensington and Chelsea Review is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system without prior permission of the publishers. Colour transparencies and photographs submitted for publication are sent at the owners’ risk and while every care is taken, neither the publisher nor their agents accept liability for loss or damage however caused. The publishers can accept no liability whatsoeverof nature arising out of nor in connection with the contents of this publication. Opinions expressed within the articles are not necessarily those of Kensington and Chelsea Review and any issues arising therefore should be taken up directly with the contributor.

News curated from the worlds of art, culture and intrigue

We meet David Shrigley, the seminal illustrator who turned the art world on its head; profile upcoming local artist Anan Al-Olayan; take a peek into the world of architect Gregory Phillips; and muse on Portobello Film Festival.

Kicking off our new section we meet three parent experts who give us their top tips.

We meet a top Chelsea hairstylist and take a spa break.

Cooking with acclaimed chef Matt Tebbutt and an extended restaurant reviews section.

Around the world in seven features: Dubai, Catalonia, Skiing in New York, Rome, China, Algarve and the Cotswolds.

Everything you need to eat, wear, and give this Christmas.

PAGE1

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

READ ALL ABOUT IT A rundown of news from the worlds of art, culture and the plain intriguing, all handpicked for the Royal Borough resident.

LOCAL ARTIST AUC TIONS MURAL FOR GREAT OR MOND STREE T HOSPITAL Kensington-based children’s artist Sigalit Hart, also known as Siggistardust, is auctioning a bespoke bedroom mural in order to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

After being approached by a group of mums, Hart decided to launch the nationwide auction in support of G.O.S.H. She will paint a mural of a ‘Siggistardust magical tree’ – her most popular creation – at the home of the winning family.

The final piece will take around 5 days to complete.

The starting value is £5000 and it can be on a wall or wall attachment.

Find out more information and place your bids at: www.childrensartworld.co.uk

LOND ON ART STUDIES EQUIP YOU WITH WHAT’S HOT IN THE ART WORLD London Art Studies are teaming up with the Bulgari Hotel to offer a new scheme to make learning about art accessible and entertaining.

From January 2015, they will host a series of classes comprising ‘power hours’ over a cocktail and morning discussions over coffee in the Bulgari’s private screening room.

From investigating the works of Picasso, Warhol and Grayson Perry to getting the most out of hotly-anticipated exhibitions, lectures have been carefully curated by London Art Studies to make each session highly relevant as well as compellingly full of insider knowledge.

NEW WINE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE BRINGS WINE TASTING TO YOUR D O OR Wine tasting subscription service Vinoa have launched in the UK, delivering wines from around the world to your door. The service aims to help wine enthusiasts discover new wine regions by delivering them a monthly tasting box.

Each month subscribers will receive four 50ml samples of carefully chosen wines. Each delivery will also come with interactive guided tasting.

“We felt that through small tasting samples, we could give the general public access to some great hand-crafted wines that are being shunned by the high street” says Vinoa CEO Cyrus Tchahardehi

Individual ticket prices range from £50 to £175 and can be purchased from: www.londonartstudies.com

Sign up for the monthly service at www.vinoa.co.uk.

MEDITATION APP L AUNCHED

BY ANA M AYA World-renowned London-based health and wellbeing centre have launched a new meditation app which offers scientifically-proven long-term change to thoughts and emotions.

The eponymously named app is based on clinical work carried out at the centre.

Developed by centre co-founder Graham Doke, and Apple veteran Jonathan Koch, the application features more than 350 meditations, founded on 20 years of rigorous scientific research and psychology. There are 11 different focus areas including worry, anxiety, stress, pain, sports and pregnancy, and it is already being used by the GB Ultra Running Team and the London OCD Clinic.

The app is now available as a free download from the App Store.

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

PAGE 2

UP OR TH HE ING ING AU T LL T OF TSE PLIT S S BE E & RC VO DI

Not just This Morning... but every morning.

STANFORD TRAVEL WRITERS FESTIVAL LINE UP ANNOUNCED The line-up for the 2015 Stanford Travel Writers Festival has been announced. The festival is part of Destinations, the holiday and travel show taking place at Olympia from 29 January to 1 February 2015.

From explorers, adventurers, TV presenters, journalists and politicians to food writers, poets and comedians, the Stanfords Travel Writers Festival brings the very best travel authors to Olympia.

Amongst those attending are BBC journalist Kate Adie, comedian Griff Rhys Jones, TV presenter Simon Reeve, poet Simon Armitage, sports writer Simon Barnes and explorer & former Welsh rugby international Richard Parks. Other names appearing include Kenton Cool, Frank Gardner, Tristram Hunt, Tim Moore, Chris Stewart and Levison Wood, as well as many more. Authors will be sharing their incredible adventures and expeditions, and offering some expert tips along the way for all those heading to these destinations. Alongside the auditorium there will be 'Signings at Stanfords' shop where attendees can purchase books, meet the authors and have them signed and dedicated.

NEW: Stowe Family Law’s wills and probate service is now available at our Central London office.

Entrance to the Travel Writer’s festival is included in the ticket to the Destinations festival. For information on the festival, and to purchase tickets, go to Twitter @ StanfordsTravel, or Facebook: facebook.com/StanfordsTravelShop, or visit the website: www.stanfords.co.uk.

Marilyn Stowe is the senior partner at Stowe Family Law and is also known for her ‘Divorce Clinic’ on ITV’s This Morning.

Leading her handpicked team of talented lawyers at the UK’s largest specialist family law firm, Marilyn has handled more than 12,000 divorce cases over her 30-year career.

“Regarded as one of the most formidable and sought-after divorce lawyers in the UK.” The Times

“A friend gave me the firm’s telephone number and said Marilyn was brilliant.

What an understatement!”

SA ATCHI GALLERY SHOWCASES POP ART’S LEGACY The Saatchi Gallery is showcasing pop art’s legacy in a new exhibition.

‘Post Pop: East Meets West’ examines why of all the twentieth century's art movements, Pop Art has had such a powerful influence over artists from world regions that have had very different and sometimes opposing ideologies. The exhibition brings together 250 works by 110 artists from China, the Former Soviet Union, Taiwan, the UK and the USA, and shows how far reaching the influences of the 1950s art movement was.

‘Post Pop: East Meets West’ runs until 23 February 2015 at the Saatchi Gallery.

For more information visit http://www.saatchigallery.com/current/postpop.php.

Former client If you need family law advice, early support can be essential.

Stowe Family Law can help.

For more information contact enquiries@stowefamilylaw.co.uk or call 020 7421 3300 Central London Office 8 Fulwood Place, Gray’s Inn, London WC1V 6HG www.stowefamilylaw.co.uk www.marilynstowe.co.uk

RED LEMON L AUNCH PORT & PORTOBELLO BAR The Red Lemon pub in Notting Hill has launched a festive pop up, running daily up until Christmas Eve. The pop up offers selected festive drinks, and a menu of winter bites created by head chef David Green. The space will be decked out in Christmas decorations providing the perfect festive retreat after a day’s shopping at nearby Portobello Road market or for a post-work drink with friends.

It will be open daily from noon until 8pm, serving a specially selected range of ports, sherries and local ales, alongside a paired bar snacks menu. Paired highlights on the menu include stilton and onion marmalade on toast together with a glass of Graham’s 10yr Tawny port (with aromas of honey and figs with a rich, oaky finish); Welsh rarebit served with All Saints ale from the local Portobello Brewing Company; and mini mince pies paired with a glass of Gonzalez Byass Nectar / Pedro Ximenez sweet sherry featuring flavours of caramel, dried fruits and figs.

Newly opened this year by owner and manageress Alli Kyle, The Red Lemon prides itself on being aproper London local, with seasonal British pub dining seven days a week in a relaxed and inviting setting. We visited ourselves, and couldn’t recommend it enough!

THE NEW ANGEL NOT TING HILL NA MED AS ONE OF THE UK’S BEST RESTAURANTS John Burton-Race’s latest restaurant opening, The New Angel in Notting Hill, has been named one of the Top 100 Best Restaurants 2014 in the UK, by OpenTable diners.

Chef Patron, John Burton-Race says, “What’s so fantastic about this achievement is that it was made possible by our diners. We have such a talented team here at The New Angel, and we are all devoted to creating the most exceptional dining experience for our customers.

There is nothing more rewarding than knowing that this award comes directly from them.”

The New Angel was also recently included in Harden’s Top 10 Best New London Restaurants 2014.

For more information on the restaurant, go to www. thenewangel-nh.co.uk

For more information, go to www.theredlemon.co.uk, www.facebook.com/theredlemonpub or follow @ theredlemonpub on Twitter.

ROYAL OPERA HOUSE ANNOUNCES REBO OT OF L A BAYADERE The Royal Opera House’s Linbury Studio Programme have commissioned British choreographer Shobana Jeyasingh to create a very contemporary vision of La Bayadère.

Bayadère - The Ninth Life is a radical reimagining of Petipa’s celebrated 1877 ballet. The music is by Jeyasingh’s frequent collaborator Gabriel

Prokofiev and will be performed live by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.

The new interpretation will be performed from Wednesday 25 to Saturday 28 March 2015 at the Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House.

For more information or to book tickets go to www.roh. org.uk, or contact the box office on 020 7304 4000.

WILD FO OD M ARKE T OFFERS CHRISTM AS CO OKING M ASTER CL ASSES During December, West London’s brand new Wild Food Market in Brook Green will be showing funloving foodies how to get festive with free on-site cooking master classes. Learn how to make firm favourites such as Studded Gammon, Mulled Wine and Orange Decorations.

The market will also have an abundance of festive produce, artisanal and homemade baked goods on sale. There is also a special Christmas raffle where the winner will be announced on the 20 December, and Santa is scheduled to be making an appearance as well. The market is open every Saturday from 10am-3pm in Addison Primary School, Addison Gardens, Brook Green, W14 0DT. For more information visit : www.thewildfoodmarket.flavors.me/#about-themarket

THREE VERY DIFFERENT NEW YEAR’S EVE OPTIONS If you still haven’t decided how you are ringing in the new year, here are three ideas. Kettner’s in Soho is set to welcome the New Year with a Black Tie Masquerade Ball. Dining tickets are £110 per person, or £50 for the Ball alone. Tickets can be bought here http://www.designmynight.com/ london/bars/soho/kettners/new-years-eve-party.

Located on London’s Embankment, the Royal Horseguards Hotel offers a front row seat to the breathtaking New Year’s firework display, in 5 star comfort. With a roaring coal fire, it’s a perfect setting to welcome in 2015.

Alternatively, there is ‘New Years Eve Laff’ at the cosy Chelsea Pensioner pub on Fulham Road. They will be offering up a festive evening of live music, nibbles from the chefs at Dirty Apron and craft beers, wine and cocktails in teacups.

Order your tickets online at: info@thechelseapensioner.co.uk or at the venue.

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

PAGE 4

There’s a coach in every watch.

Meet the GPS running watch with coaching features so dialled-in, it might know your abilities better than you do.

Forerunner 620 gives you essential running data like distance, pace and heart rate plus a touchscreen, VO2 max estimating and a recovery advisor. And when you pair 620 with HRM-Run you have access to advanced running form coaching data like cadence, vertical oscillation and ground contact time. The 620 is compatible with free training plans from Garmin Connect, which you can send to your watch, for real-time coaching.

To learn more, visit Garmin.com/ForerunnerCoach

©2014 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries

Forerunner ® 620

Cruet Set - David Shrigley OPPOSITE: Afternoon tea

DRAWING PRAISE David Shrigley was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2013. Although he didn’t win, he’d already won the hearts of the public. By far, Shrigley was the people’s choice. His comical, light-hearted line drawings (with more than a hint of the macabre) thrust the underappreciated art of illustration into the limelight.

MEGAN ORPWOOD-RUSSELL met him ahead of his installation at Mayfair’s Sketch.

David Shrigley is a very tall man indeed. A very tall man who looks slightly uncomfortable in the vast peacock chair he is sitting in. Shrigley has one of those excellent faces that immediately puts people at ease. We meet in the Glade room at Sketch on Conduit Street, where Shrigley’s 239 original works have replaced Martin Creed’s installation, a visual cacophony of works.

Yet where Creed’s gallery stimulated, Shrigley’s room is different. It is more soothing. The velvet rose-hued chairs form small cocoons around stark white tables, gently asserting a bygone Hollywood glamour. His drawings are laid out in a way that you know that they are artwork.

He describes them as being “sort of illustrative or decorative to some extent” yet his main focus seems to be where art interacts with the dining experience. For the first time in his career, Shrigley has developed a line of tableware which will be used and sold at Sketch. The interplay

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

between food, art and the anticipated Shrigley surrealism is reminiscent of Dali’s often forgotten cookbook, Les diners de Gala. The condiments are existential, the plates cartographic – and the teapots pour perfectly. “I figured it was an excellent opportunity”, he tells me, “to make an intervention around the dinner table in a restaurant. That the refined tea-room with its traditional gallery is subverted by eating from the artworks.

It’s been an interesting year for Shrigley, nominated for the Turner, securing a bid for the Fourth Plinth. When I asked how he felt about his success with the Fourth Plinth he transformed into an oversized boy and did an air punch. “It felt like that. I felt very happy”, he said with a broad smile.

“In an odd sort of way I was reluctant to do either of them”, he says. “You know that the Turner Prize might come around at some point, because that’s the way of these things, but I didn’t really want to do it that much. Oddly, the Fourth Plinth PAGE 6

was something I hadn’t even considered that I would be nominated for, but there’s a process by which they ask quite a number of people for a proposal. I did that – of course you get paid for it as well – and then the next stage is when you get shortlisted, and at that stage you can make a model. I realised then that I really wanted to make a model as it would be such an interesting exercise, and you get to keep it. So I made the model, and then went to Trafalgar Square, and just looking at the space made me realise how amazing it was, and I thought I really want to get this.” Shrigley seems to be at odds with how much he desired success in this instance.

“Suddenly you’ve set yourself up for massive potential disappointment, which makes you feel ambitious and needy and ultimately uncomfortable – all of these things which I don’t think are particularly good as character traits. So I was really chuffed about it.”

“At the end of the day you have to criticise yourself, you can’t make art by committee, or what other people think about it.

You have to be hard on yourself and ignore what everybody else says.”

‘I want to look like this’

‘I’m on the moon, I’ll be back shortly’

‘My body is strong, but my mind is feeble’

The Fourth Plinth meant more to him than the Turner Prize, which is easy to understand.

The Fourth Plinth is arguably one of Britain’s most known sites of public artwork, and he felt fortunate in his proposal being accepted “because you get to make something. If you win a prize you just get a pat on the head and a cheque but with this you get the opportunity to make something so that’s exciting.” Shrigley says that he didn’t really have any expectation of winning the Turner because, he says with a laugh, “I read all the commentary about it, and was told in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t going to win and was just there to lighten the mood.” He seems bemused by his place within the contemporary art world. It is “a world of opinions and you have to accept the fact that other peoples’ opinions do not align with your own and it doesn’t really matter. At the end of the day you have to criticise yourself, you can’t make art by committee, or what other people think about it. You have to be hard on yourself and

ignore what everybody else says. It was an educative process”.

He seems a rather quiet and humble man, his ego is not one of the grandiose artist, but one of a man who likes to quietly and consistently produce excellent work. He says that one of his strategies is “never to expect too much from any individual artwork. There are days when I really don’t want to do it, but I’ve learned from experience that if you just work through it, something always happens. I just focus on the process rather than the individual work itself.” It is perhaps this humility that is what makes Shrigley so likeable. He is unassuming and kind. When I ask him about his process, he manages to knock over a cup of white tea, and briefly becomes all limbs and apologies. “Whoops! I didn’t mean to do that… I sit down and do it, I guess. Allot some time. I think you have to be disciplined about these things, or I do, certainly. I don’t think you can ever make work just by sitting there and looking at the

window, inspiration doesn’t just come like that.

It comes from a bit of pointed, directed process.

And –“ he says, eyes twinkling, “I’ve been doing it for such a long time, I should know how to do it by now”.

Shrigley graduated from the Glasgow School of Art in 1991 and his rise to fame has been gentle. How does success sit with him?

“When it first arrives, it is intoxicating. But after a while it becomes the norm. And people often ask in interviews ‘how does it feel? Isn’t it amazing that you’ve become famous for doing crude drawings?’ and it is, of course it is. Or it was for a while, but now it’s just normal so I don’t think about it. I don’t think about any of the things anymore as being remarkable, but that doesn’t mean I’m depressed or anything, there are just certain things you become quite ambivalent about after a while. Then again, there are certain things that are thrilling in my life, but success isn’t one of them. Maybe the thing with success is that

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

PAGE 8

Garden of Eden

Ceramics ‘Salmon’

erotic art, antiques and collectables

Heavenly Bodies in Chelsea Where East meets West in the world of erotic art

“Erotica is not a dirty word”, says Olivia Eden, owner of aptly named erotica art gallery Garden of Eden based on the Kings Road in Chelsea. “Appreciating the human body is not something we should be ashamed about”, she continues, “it’s something that should be celebrated and adored, a prime reason behind my desire to open a gallery that does just that.”

533 Kings Road, London SW10 0TZ +44(0)7502 225690

you notice its arrival and its departure, when it’s actually here, you don’t notice it anymore.

There’s always the thought that you might fall on hard times, when the journalists stop coming to talk to me I’ll miss them.”

Since studying in Glasgow, Shrigley has made the city his home. So will he vote in the independence referendum? “Yes, I will, though I won’t be voting for Scottish Independence.

I instinctively favour remaining part of the UK but I can see merits to the argument for independence.

The problem with it, for me, is the subtext of Scottish nationalism is a pathological hatred of the English and it’s very difficult to square that with the concept that independence is a good idea. No-one acknowledges it in any debate.

As an ethnically English Scot you’re acutely aware of these things. When the World Cup’s on you can’t go to the pub to watch England play because you’ll get beaten up. Until that situation changes, it’ll be a very tough sell to the 400,000 English nationals living in Scotland.

Until you address those things it’s difficult to divide the ideology from the pathology and separate the two.”

As for the Glasgow School of Art, how does he feel about the damage caused by the fire back in May? “It’s been decades of people doing daft things in there, I’m sure I did things that contravened health and safety. There was a certain era where the floor was swimming in turps and everyone was smoking roll-ups – how it didn’t happen before I do not know. I guess expanding foam is one of the more interesting substances that’s been used, but I really am surprised it hasn’t happened before. As I said – when it happened, we were all thinking that was the end.

Luckily a lot of the archives were offsite in some lead box somewhere, but the fabric of the library was terribly damaged. Luckily, there were a lot of people who saved the day.”

His next project will be a coffee table book entitled Weak Messages Create Bad Situations, a ‘sort of manifesto about graphic art and my opinions about the world. It’s all in black and white and it’s quite relentlessly graphic. It’s a bit more intense than the other books I’ve done.

So we’ll see how it goes and see if I can secure a second book.” Why does he think he might not?

“Well, you’re not supposed to say ‘I don’t care’ when they talk about sales.

“I just want to make this book” “will it sell?”

“I just don’t care”

I do care, but only because it will negate my ability to make more books, unless I publish them myself which is a pain. I think it’s an interesting book and I’m happy that Canongate are allowing me to make it.”

Considering how prolific his output is, I ask when he is most content. “Being in the studio and making something is really as much fun as I can have. I feel completely involved and happy”.

With the Fourth Plinth and his book underway, he must have plenty of studio time. “Yes”, he smiles, “it’s also not for a long time so there’s so much to look forward to.”

For more information, visit www.sketch.london

Bogomazov Locomotive

Kreshchatik

Cubo Futurist Composition

ADVERTORIAL

JAMES BUTTERWICK Alexander Bogomazov (1880-1930) is one of the lesser known artists of the Russian avant garde and yet his body of work bears comparison with that of the great masters combining the ideas and motifs of Malevich, Rozanova, Popova and others.

Bogomazov’s decision to remain first and foremost a Ukrainian, and base himself in Kiev is one of the main factors behind his relative obscurity. Whilst other Ukrainian nationals, Exter and Malevich found a greater audience in Russia and beyond Bogomazov, aside from a visit to Finland in 1911, never travelled abroad and, in 1917 began to devote himself to teaching.

Between these dates, however, he produced a series of cubo-futurist masterpieces as well as a manifesto on the subject, “Painting and Elements” whose ideas pre-date those of Malevich. Speed, dynamism, tension, these are the sensations the artist sought, frequently using representations of the new Industrial Age as motifs.

“Locomotive” or “Tramway, Lvov Street, Kiev” are cases in point. It is difficult to imagine more dynamic representations of speed or the sheer weight of the Locomotive hurtling towards the viewer. The theme is repeated in the oil, ‘Landscape. Train’ as the blue line

of the locomotive fades into the distance, set in a futuristic landscape as revolutionary as any work of the masters of the Russian avant garde. The notion of movement or, in this case, the hustle and bustle of the Main Street in Kiev, “Khreshchatik” (1914) is another work worthy of closer study. The closest Western equivalents are Balla, Boccioni, Italian futurists that are household names in the West. The artist’s life was cut short by tuberculosis in 1930, a disease with which he was first diagnosed in 1920. This misfortune in part has caused the name of Bogomazov to be missing from the first names of the avant gardists.

A small exhibition in Moscow in March is a first step towards his rehabilitation.

James Butterwick began collecting and selling Russian Art in 1985 and has established himself as one of the world’s leading experts. For more information on purchasing a work by Alexander Bogomazov visit: wwww.jamesbutterwick.com PAGE 11

‘Speed, dynamism, tension, these are the sensations the artist sought, frequently using representations of the new Industrial Age as motifs.’

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

“Hearts, Blossoming” is a 70x100cm digital print on wood.

ANAN AL-OLAYAN Local Kensington Artist Exhibits at Exclusive Online Gallery, The Lahd Gallery.

WORDS: EUGENIE FITZGERALD

London and Riyadh based online gallery, The Lahd Gallery plays host to many talented artists from all over the MENASA (Middle East, North Africa, and Asia & Southeast Asia) region.

The gallery showcases some of the region’s best talents in contemporary art and encourages works by young artists, in particular women artists from the region with a desire to introduce them on an international level as the artists of the future.

Among these is London based artist Anan Al-Olayan, Saudi Arabian by birth; currently living between Kensington and Al-Khobar, Anan travels frequently between the two, and around the world, using this travelling experience to draw upon the inspiration of such differing cultural experiences.

With an unusual journey to becoming an artist, Anan’s initial calling, following parental expectations, was an academic one. Her first career was as a microbiologist and medical researcher. However, her passion for the arts prevailed, and after years of studying art in workshops and courses, it was clear her calling lay within the artistic world.

“Art for me is more than a passion. It is a way of thinking, and a way of living, where failure does not exist and success does not matter. In art I’ve found that ultimate sense of freedom I have long been seeking. It has enabled me to create my own world where I can be who I am with no restrictions, or limits. There’s a lot that has been said and done in Art, but it’s still not enough.

It never will be and that’s the beauty of it.

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

There’s always more to say, and I want to be part of that dialogue.”

A self-taught artist, Anan creates digital composite images using insertions of drawings and photographs, her work has often been referred to as digital fine art. Anan has also previously worked in mixed media paintings and collages, on both wood and canvas. It is the blend of mixed media methods and traditional painting techniques that sets Anan apart from other artists working currently; a new take on fine art in a digital age.

When exploring Anan’s work, it becomes apparent that her interest lies within the mind set, power and notion of being a Malika (Queen).

She makes clear all that had always existed but outsiders never knew.

“This Malika series is dear to me because it came as a result of self-empowerment, at a time when I needed to remind myself to stay strong.

It has worked for me and I hope it can do the same to others.”

She aims to discover, and brings a contemporary twist to the unseen world of royalty, through a multitude of detailed images; highlighting aspects that are usually unseen.

Anan opens up this world and demonstrates just what “lies behind the veil”.

To see more of Anan’s breathtaking work, visit the Lahd Gallery www.lahdgallery.com

PAGE 12

“Art for me is more than a passion.

It is a way of thinking, and a way of living, where failure does not exist and success does not matter” –Anan Al-Olayan

Still from Annette Bette Kellow’s film screened at Portobello Film Festival

YOU HAD ME AT PORTOBELLO Next year, the Portobello Film will celebrate it’s 20th birthday. Delivering curated and quality independent cinema from across the globe at no cost to filmmakers or viewers, PFF is testament to what true collaboration can bring.

ANNETTE BETTE KELLOW—a long-time PFF attendee and now, a filmmaker screened at the festival—explains why PFF is one of Kensington’s contemporary icons.

The Westway hanging over Portobello may look like a simple stretch of gray highway winding away from West London, but historically it has inspired writers, artists, poets and filmmakers through its looming significance to brutalist architecture.

Blur, The Clash, Don Letts and Edward Platt have all written about the Westway in their songs, books and movies whilst this year the Portobello Film Festival celebrated its 19th year from under a purpose-built cinema, directly beneath the elevated dual carriageway.

Portobello Film Festival fever hit in 1996 and now plays host to other Notting Hill venues such as the Tabernacle, Westbourne Studios and The Muse Gallery. Over two weeks documentaries, music, animation, international, comedies, horrors, dramas and local filmmakers creations

were shown to audiences for absolutely free.

Indeed Jonathan Barnett started the festival with the fundamental goal of free to apply and free to attend, believing cinemas prices are often too high therefore isolating filmmakers.

PFF consequently brought filmmakers much greater exposure without any starting costs, in which other festivals have since followed suit. It means that young and old can enjoy the festival, with a clear creative forum to show new, exciting and often daring work to a receptive audience.

BBC London radio describes the festival as “the best in London,” whilst the Metro calls it “the wild side of Brit Film,” and I have to admit being a local Notting Hillbillie myself, Portobello is the perfect setting for such a festival. The area hugely supports the arts, whilst the leftover bohemia from

decades gone by is juxtaposition with the whitepillared grandeur of mansion blocks that all run in parallel together.

‘It’s like a cross between Edinburgh and Glastonbury,’ says festival director Jonathan Barnett, ‘but on the Portobello Road.’

Guy Ritchie and Shane Meadows used the festival as a launch pad for showing their films, but it is not just the well-known filmmakers taking a chance on the festival.

This year, over six hundred films were shown from all over the world by new and experienced film makers, culturally bringing awareness with such events titled, ‘A night of Romanian films’, and ‘Ukraine, Russia and beyond.’

Why do they curate such an abundance of mixed films in such a short space of time?

PAGE 13

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

‘It’s like a cross between Edinburgh and Glastonbury, but on the Portobello Road’ The message is simple according to Jonathan.

It is the beauty of filmmaking, the art of curating a story, with the tender touch of a heartfelt creation—filmmaking purely as it should be.

I first attended the festival in 2011 with my first film being shown in the local sector. I had blagged everything for free and bought most of the costume from vintage stalls on the Portobello market, whilst wages didn’t even get a mention. I think the highlight though was not paying to film on a very prestigious road and stopping all the traffic, which didn’t go down too well with anyone!

But it was a great catapult to invite professionals to my first film screening as well as having a rather fun night out with my friends (especially good when you only have to travel around the corner to get home!)

This year I visited the Art and Culture evening, where documentaries and shorts were shown. Sitting in vintage chairs in the Portobello

pop-up cinema, with just the light of the cinema and the huddles of people, it had a romantic and endearing glow of being there for one thing: to enjoy the simple pleasure of the silver screen.

My personal favourite part of the festival though is the awards ceremony held on the last night. There are talks with filmmakers, a few cocktails and the chance to win a sculpted golden Trellick Tower award, I actually think architecturally it looks better than an Oscar!

So if you fancy a schmooze, a night of entertainment or just to see unusual captivating creations, underneath a long gray slab of concrete is the perfect place to be.

For more information on next year’s Portobello Film Festival visit www.portobellofilmfestival.com/.

To read more about Annette Bette Kellow visit: www.annettebettekellow.co.uk

CHELSEA HARBOUR Inside the refurbishment of an apartment at Thames Quay in Chelsea. WORDS: EUGENIE FITZGERALD National and international award winning interior designer and architect, Gregory Phillips, has been recognized for the building of new properties as well as substantial extensions and refurbishments. With clients hailing from The Rich List in the fields of technology, property and more, including a country home for founder of the Ted Baker fashion label, it is not surprising that Gregory’s projects use the very best materials to create truly special, contemporary homes that are at the cutting edge of design.

Project architect Gregory Phillips says, “All projects are designed with some fundamental ideas. They should be totally practical, the relationships between spaces must work and be elegant. Each project will have an idea or series of ideas related to the context. If an existing building or site has inherent qualities then we prefer to work with these. Certain ideas are taken as truths…. The beauty of the way light enters a space, appreciation of the texture of materials, views, relationships between experiences, these are tools of being an architect that we use to elevate our designs.”

In the apartment he and project architect Jay Salero designed in Chelsea Harbour, the concept was to take the shell of the apartment and to make a ‘perfect’ interior. It is immaculately detailed using luxurious materials; including Pietra Serena floor slabs with under floor heating. Pietra Serena is a stone that Michelangelo used on the steps to the world famous Laurentian Library in Florence.

The walls are largely clad in stained oak as well as Italian marble plaster. The palate of materials used in this project is restricted to a minimum to provide calm and elegance to the space.

This luxury apartment also incorporates 100% energy saving LED light fittings that are both functional and aesthetically beautiful; the technology of today allows architect Gregory Phillips to design and create homes that are both sustainable and provide elegant solutions.

He says, “For me, a house and an apartment is a home and should provide a sanctuary for the owners. It must be totally practical and provide a support for their lifestyle. It should also provide luxury and beauty.”

Gregory Phillips prides himself on his ability

to be not simply an architect but also a talented interior designer; with this property as with many of his others he provided the design for both the architectural aspects of the home, as well as input into the interior design. This particular project shows off Gregory Phillip’s holistic approach to architecture and design in a truly spectacular way.

He says, “I have specialized in designing homes since 2000 and I have worked on residential projects since the late 1980’s.

In recent years many architects have taken on residential commissions because other work has been scarce. So there is more competition. I hope that clients appreciate that we provide a unique service and holistic designs and so we stand out from the crowd. I aim that we give more time to our projects than most, with more experience and relevant skills to ensure we get the right result.”

For contact information and to see more of the Gregory Phillips Architect’s spectacular portfolio, visit: www.gregoryphillips.com or call 020 7724 3040

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

ASK THE EXPERTS To kick off our brand new Family section, we rounded up some world-leading in parenting to pick their brains on the secrets, tricks and insights into building the bright minds of the future.

Nicky Cox, Editor of First News, the awardwinning weekly national newspaper for children aged 7 to 14:

Before founding First News along with Piers Morgan back in 2006 Nicky worked at the BBC launching more than 50 children’s magazines ranging from Teletubbies to Top of the Pops.

She was also editorial director responsible for all BBC children’s books, DVDs and brand development. Nicky has been a BAFTA judge for children’s programmes and, while at the BBC, she was executive producer of Top of the Pops charity concerts at Wembley in aid of ChildLine featuring Boyzone, Dannii Minogue and Take That. As a young reporter, Nicky was named Young Journalist of the Year shortly before working as a sub editor on The Sunday Times.

Nicky got the idea for a newspaper for children when she was 12 and found it hard to follow adult news because she didn’t know the history behind the stories. Nicky was awarded an MBE by the Queen in 2009 for her services to children.

WHAT DREW YOU TO FIRST NEWS? I launched it! First News was my idea. I had always been interested in the news as a kid and couldn’t understand why there wasn’t a newspaper for children. I vowed at 15 that I would become a journalist and launch my own!

WHY IS TEACHING CHILDREN ABOUT THE NEWS SO IMPORTANT? It’s important that children grow up with an understanding of the world we all share.

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

That way they will be informed, active and engaged global citizens. My hope is that it will go some way towards moving us closer to global leave, tolerance and understanding of different people’s beliefs and cultures. Children (and adults) spend so much time in front of screens, that it’s good to get a break and actually hold a tangible printed newspaper in your hands. You can glance at a page and pick out the things that grab your attention.

WHAT HAS THE FEEDBACK BEEN FROM PARENTS/TEACHERS AND OTHER ADULTS? Really positive. I’ve just been for Christmas drinks with the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg.

He told me that he reads First News with his children. I know that David Cameron and George Osborne do too. They say, as do other parents and teachers, that First News gives them a platform to discuss events in the news with their children. One mum emailed me recently and said her 9-year-old daughter had come into the kitchen clutching her First News and said: “Mum, do you think anything good will come out of the G8 summit?” Haha! That’s my girl!

WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT ON CHILDREN? They are informed and empowered. We always tell them that, even though they might be just one small person, they can make a difference.

235,000 of our readers signed a First Newsletter calling for an end to the use of child soldiers in PAGE 16

wars. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office brought forward a review of their child soldier policy and a question was raised at the United Nations - we give the children of the UK a voice and I am so proud of that.

HOW DO THE ADULTS ON THE STAFF LEARN TO WRITE FOR CHILDREN? We spend time with children. We go into schools.

We read First News with them and talk to them about what they’ve heard about in the news.

Some of our team have had teaching experience and all the journalists are specialists in writing for children - several, including me, worked at BBC Children’s. I was editorial director of BBC children’s magazines and books.

DO ANY CHILDREN WRITE FOR FIRST NEWS? Yes. We have Your News where readers send in their own reports. We also send them on assignments, perhaps to review a film or a new theme park ride. Readers also do interviews for us. We have a show on Sky News called First News Hotseat where readers quiz politicians about issues that concern them, or anything else they want to know. One of our readers asked Chancellor George Osborne if he knew the answer to 7 x 8. The Chancellor refused to answer the question which made headlines across all the adult newspapers!

WHAT ADVICE COULD YOU GIVE TO PARENTS ON TACKLING TOUGH TOPICS

WITHIN THE NEWS? Read First News. We help parents with that job by explaining all the major news stories that are making headlines. Unlike some adult papers, we don’t sensationalise nor do we scaremonger.

We present the news accurately and put events in context, often explaining the background to happenings. Obviously, we sanitise to a degree.

We’re the PG version of the news. We wouldn’t show upsetting or graphic images, nor go into graphic details about violent or tragic events.

But nor do we shy away from tackling any story that we know children will have heard about- on TV, radio, internet or (probably inaccurately) just in the playground. Proper knowledge is power. www.firstnews.co.uk

Nanny Anita, Norland Trained Chelsea Super Nanny:

Nanny Anita is MyBaba.com’s resident Super Nanny. Having trained at the famous Norland College in Bath, she has over 12 years experience, working all over the world with children from 2 months to 17 years old.

Nanny Anita is an expert when it comes to keeping the little ones entertained and writes a column with Leonora called ‘Get Crafty’ for Little London magazine. Nanny Anita has been on hand to answer MyBaba.com reader questions, and she provides weekly arts, crafts and activities for families to do with their children at home.

She really is a modern day Mary Poppins…

IT’S THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS – HELP! WHERE SHOULD YOU START WHEN PLANNING ACTIVITIES FOR LITTLE ONES? There are just so many places to go and activities to do it can sometimes be hard to fit it all in.

I would head over to mybaba.com for some excellent ideas about what to do and where to go, Time Out will also have what’s going on where and things for everyone of all ages.

For craft ideas Pinterest is a fountain of knowledge.

HOW MUCH RESEARCH WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR THE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS, HOW MUCH SHOULD EACH DAY BE PLANNED? I wouldn’t worry about spending lots of time researching, obviously if there is a place you want to visit check opening times. Not every minute of every day needs to be planned, instead maybe plan to do a few things in a week.

The Christmas holidays can be so manic with everything that is going on that it is nice to have some down time and have some spontaneous fun WHAT ABOUT FESTIVE FOODS - SHOULD THEY BE KEPT OFF THEM? Part of the fun of the build up to Christmas is the festive food: if you are worried about sugar intake then you could limit to them a snack or a pudding. Head to mybaba.com for some wonderful healthy festive treats.

HOW ABOUT LEARNING, WHAT’S A GOOD WAY TO TIE IT INTO THE SEASON? The last thing people want to do during the

‘One mum emailed me recently and said her 9-year-old daughter had come into the kitchen clutching her First News and said: “Mum, do you think anything good will come out of the G8 summit?”’ holidays is “homework”, but I think that doing maybe 5 or 10 minutes every day, first thing in the morning, can help keep things ticking over.

I have been tying in winter themes to my maths activities such as sticking the correct number of decorations on to a Christmas tree, or giving a snowman the right number of buttons. The 12 days of Christmas would be a wonderful tie in.

WHERE COULD YOU RECOMMEND IN K&C TO TAKE YOUR CHILDREN THIS HOLIDAY? There are so many great places to see in Kensington and Chelsea this holiday: head to the Natural History Museum for some ice skating, go on a mini Paddington bear trail, take them out for a hot chocolate at Baker and Spice or if you wanted to do something a little bit different that why not grab a camera and go on a Christmas tree search around The Kings Road.

IF YOU COULD GIVE ONE BIT OF ADVICE TO PARENTS THIS FESTIVE SEASON, WHAT WOULD IT BE? My advice would be Relax and Smell the Roses; this is such a magical time of the year and as adults we try so hard to make everything perfect and fit everything in that we often forget to enjoy the simple things. www.mybaba.com Dr. Amanda Gummer, Child Psychologist:

Amanda has over 20 years’ experience working with children and families.

Widely considered as the go to expert on play, toys and child development, Amanda combines her theoretical knowledge (developing the Parent-Centred Parenting model of family life and the Fundamental Model of Child development, both of which are exclusive to Fundamentally Children) with a refreshingly pragmatic approach to family life, that resonates both with parents and professionals.

Amanda is regularly in the media, and continues to take an active role in research, presenting a paper at the International Toy Research Association’s World Congress in Portugal in July 2014. She is often involved in government policy around children’s issues, recently contributing to the Bailey Report and the Childhood Inquiry. Her book on child development is out in May 2015 through Ebury Publishing.

WITH TECHNOLOGY BEING A LIGHTSPEED WORLD, ARE PARENTS ALWAYS PLAYING CATCH UP? Parents might always feel like they are playing catch up but that’s just the way of PAGE 17

the world. The important thing is to try and understand enough about the technology that your child is using to facilitate conversation and keep those all-important lines of communication open between parent and child.

ARE THERE ANY BASIC RULES A PARENT CAN BE ARMED WITH? Stick to guidelines on age appropriateness.

If your young teen is on social media, make being their friend one of the rules of them having an account but don’t comment on their activity online.

WHAT IS APPROPRIATE AND WHAT IS INAPPROPRIATE, HOW CAN A PARENT BE SURE? Imagine the digital world is similar to the physical world. What is inappropriate offline (e.g. talking to strangers, being unkind, publicly humiliating people) is inappropriate online too.

IN YOUR EXPERIENCE, WHAT HAVE BEEN THE MAIN HURDLES FOR PARENTS TO ENSURE E-SAFETY, AND HOW WERE THEY OVERCOME? Many parents think their children are either too young to set parental controls, or that they’re too old and know it already. Understanding how to set controls on your home internet connection and each device your children have is important, but not as important as making sure you’re able to talk to your children about their online activities and nurture an open and supportive relationship so that your children feel able to come to you with any difficulties or issues they have whilst online.

Make sure your children know about CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) and understand the permanence of digital content.

WHAT ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA? WHAT ARE THE BASICS A PARENT NEEDS TO KNOW? Social media is one of the fastest changing areas of the internet - it’s not important to know the difference between Snapchat and Tumblr but you should understand the basics - and there’s a lot more to social media than Facebook and Twitter.

IF YOU COULD TELL PARENTS ONE THING, WHAT WOULD IT BE? The one thing I’d tell parents is to make sure you are able to talk to your children about all aspects of their life, and that you know enough about their on and offline worlds to have discussions about the issues, dangers and challenges they face. www.fundamentallychildren.com

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

Gavin Scott, Partner

ADVERTORIAL

STOWE FAMILY LAW There are a number of different approaches that can be taken in relation to dividing the finances upon separation and divorce. Each case is different and not all options will be appropriate in all cases. Expert GAVIN SCOTT, Partner at Stowe Family Law, tells us how to reach financial agreement when you split up or divorce.

Since 22 April 2014, it is a requirement that a separating couple attends a MIAM (Mediation Information Assessment Meeting) with a mediator before issuing proceedings at court, to determine whether the case is suitable for mediation.

The government hopes that compulsory MIAMs will prove to be an effective cost cutting measure for the court system. It is important to understand, while in most cases attending MIAM is compulsory, the mediation itself is not.

Negotiations between the parties directly – if the parties are able to reach an agreement between themselves, a Consent Order can be prepared and filed at Court, recording the agreement and the court would be asked to approve the order.

This is to prevent either party attempting to go back on the terms of the order at some point in the future. It is very difficult to challenge the terms of an approved order in the future, unless there are exceptional circumstances. This option is only possible if both parties have a clear picture of the matrimonial finances and it is advisable in every case to have a full and frank exchange of financial disclosure before entering in to any agreement.

Negotiations between solicitors – parties exchange disclosure on a voluntary basis, i.e. without the Court ordering it, with a view to

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

negotiating an early settlement, outside of the court arena. This option is suitable when both parties are open to reaching a fair settlement and are prepared to make reasonable concessions.

If one party is unwilling to negotiate or provide financial disclosure, this is usually apparent from an early stage and financial remedy proceedings can be issued.

Litigation – the financial remedy procedure is a three stage Court process: First Appointment - This is a short attendance required at Court to decide how the case should proceed and on what timetable. Directions are given about the valuations of assets, where necessary, and when questionnaires should be answered and any further directions required to help further the proceedings before the Financial Dispute Resolution hearing.

Financial Dispute Resolution (FDR) - This is held at Court on a without prejudice basis, to try negotiate settlement. The Judge listens to both parties’ point of view as to how the case should be settled and will then give his/her own view on how a settlement should be reached before encouraging the parties to settle. The majority of cases settle at this point.

PAGE 18

Final Hearing - If the parties cannot reach an agreement at the FDR or thereafter, the case proceeds to a Final Hearing. Both parties will be cross examined and the Judge will then decide what order they think is appropriate and the parties will have that order imposed upon them. Very few cases reach this stage of the proceedings.

It is very important, at every stage of dealing with a divorce that consideration is given to seeing whether the finances can be settled by agreement without incurring significant legal fees.

Early advice is essential.

Gavin Scott is a Partner (and mediator) at Stowe Family Law, 8 Fulwood Place, Gray’s Inn, London WC1V 6HG. If you have questions regarding Divorce, or any aspect of Family Law, please email gavin.scott@ stowefamilylaw.co.uk. All enquiries will be treated as strictly private and confidential.

Further information and articles on various aspects of Family Law and the Firm can also be found on our Blog at www.marilynstowe.co.uk. We hold a free legal advice clinic (30 minute appointments) on a daily basis between 12pm and 2pm and on a Monday evening between 5pm and 7pm. Please call to make an appointment on 020 7421 3300.

SHORT COURSES CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS Online Weekends Daytime Evenings Bespoke training Courses for under 19s Dual city and Study abroad Art, Design, Fashion and Performance www.arts.ac.uk

Search: csm short courses

ADVERTORIAL

ST BENEDICT’S

In December 2013 St Benedict’s School was recognised as an Investor in People – Gold, an award held by a select group of fewer than 700 organisations in the United Kingdom.

St Benedict’s is London’s leading independent Catholic co-educational school. Our Mission of ‘Teaching a way of living’ is at the core of the holistic Catholic education that is provided to boys and girls throughout the School from Nursery to Sixth Form.

St Benedict’s is committed to supporting all children to develop their full potential and has a proud academic record. Inspections by ISI (November 2012) and Westminster Diocese (September 2013) have endorsed our success in fulfilling the School’s aims and have recognised the many strengths of the School. In December 2013 St Benedict’s School was recognised as an Investor in People – Gold, an award held by a select group of fewer than 700 organisations in the United Kingdom. The school welcomes children of other Christian denominations and other faiths.

The Junior School and Nursery provide a supportive, friendly and vibrant co-educational environment. Your child’s educational journey begins and the seeds of our Benedictine ethos are planted, nurtured and given every opportunity to flourish. In the Nursery a carefully planned and child-centred programme enables and extends learning and development. The Junior School provides a broad and balanced curriculum based on a rigorous academic core and with extensive opportunities in music, art, sport and drama. Sharing excellent facilities with the Senior School and participating in cross-curricular activities helps ease the transition at 11+ to the Senior School.

Senior School pupils are encouraged to think and express themselves creatively, to work independently and to take pride in all their

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

achievements. High standards are expected, but our pupils are not just educated – they are given the tools with which to attain knowledge and wisdom. In the Sixth Form students are encouraged to take on leadership roles and all contribute to a variety of projects, which raise funds for communities across the world.

There has been huge recent investment in buildings and facilities, including a full size all-weather facility at the playing fields, a new playground area for the Junior School, a major refurbishment of the Senior School Library and a new serving area adjacent to the dining hall.

St Benedict’s is renowned for its sporting tradition and has a national reputation for rugby.

Whilst promoting the highest sporting aspirations, the school is committed to sport for all. A wide range of co-curricular activities is offered including music, drama and opportunities for Christian service. The Junior School runs a programme of after-school hobbies, while in the Senior School there are over eighty different clubs and societies.

St Benedict’s School is unique. We are an extended family in which pupils can thrive and we are proud of our cohesive community. Come and visit and see what we have to offer. You can be sure of a warm Benedictine welcome For more information visit www.stbenedicts.org.uk PAGE 20

St Benedict’s, Ealing Independent Catholic Day School Teaching a way of living

Co-education from 3 years through to 18

OPEN MORNINGS in NOVEMBER

6th – JUNIORS, 13th – SENIORS, 20th – NURSERY

‘Outstanding’ Diocese of Westminster Inspection Report (Sept 2013) SCHOLARSHIPS AND BURSARIES IN THE SENIOR SCHOOL To book a place at an Open Event or for more information please contact: 020 8862 2254 enquiries@stbenedicts.org.uk www.stbenedicts.org.uk We respect the dignity of all and welcome children of other faiths.

HANNAH GABOARDI KNOWS GOOD HAIR Close to ten year’s experience glamming up the hair of the rich and famous, a less-is-more approach and a keen eye for the right colours and practices. Master colourist HANNAH GABOARDI knows how to perfectly frame each individual’s features. No wonder clients keep coming back for more.

Personally I don’t spend a lot of time on my hair and needless to say that shows. That’s why I jumped at the opportunity for an appointment with Hannah Gaboardi. She is the woman behind some of the most glamorous hair, belonging to some of the most famous people. And she is honest: “You see this here? It’s dead.” My hair is rather long and has had to deal with a regular dose of home-dye. I know she’s right. The good news is she can do something about it, her rescue plan involves a tint at the roots, a gloss treatment and a revitalising mask.

Hannah is based at the realhair salon in Chelsea, where she started as celebrity colourist Josh Wood’s assistant at sixteen. “I have always loved being in London, the vibe of this city is just amazing. Working in the centre of it all, at a place where clients expect the highest standard possible, was exactly what I wanted.” Over the years she has built up a wealth of experience, learning every technique and developing her signature style as a master colourist. She is known to steer her clients towards natural looks with a glamorous edge.

In my case it is all about getting the life back into my hair. By colouring only the roots and using a gloss on the rest, the colour subtly goes from dark at the roots to a tat lighter at the tips. It hasn’t looked this natural since I started dying my hair.

Hannah has a talent for understanding hair, and knows what techniques to use to get the perfect result. “It is great to make a woman feel better about herself. I love it when my clients leave the salon feeling super sexy and confident about their hair colour and their appearance.”

Realhair is open from Tuesday to Saturday and a buzzing place, especially on weekends. No wonder. Once you have seen your hair in it’s best possible colour, you are more than likely to come back for more. Hannah’s hands can turn even the most mistreated hair – mine – into a glossy head of glamour. And that’s pretty addictive.

Hannah Gaboardi at realhair 6-8 Cale Street, London, SW3 3QU 020 7589 0877 www.realhair.co.uk

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

PAGE 22

SPA DIARY : DANESFIELD HOUSE ANNIE VISCHER makes a break for Bucks for some well-needed relaxation at Danesfield House.

There is never a bad time for a spa visit. Ever. So when I was invited by Danesfield House to visit and sample the delights of their Marlow based hotel and spa, I was more than happy to oblige.

I persuaded a not entirely reluctant friend to join me and we set on our way one chilly January day. Both professional girls walking the walk in London, we were submerged in the depths of the January blues, and the Danesfield House invite appeared as a sparkling white life belt to lift and revive us. And that is exactly what it did.

Bags packed we hopped on at Paddington for a quick journey to Marlow. An even shorter taxi ride later we were crunching up the long drive towards our destination. As Danesfield House came into view we both took a girlish intake of breath. A bright white castle of a hotel beamed at us and we immediately wished we had brought fancier luggage. And a chauffeur. Not that it was intimidating, far from it. Peter, whom we loved on the spot, greeted us and took us to our twin room which boasted beautiful views of the gardens below, two televisions (not that that impressed us cultured girls…ahem) and one seriously inviting bath.

We took a cup of tea together in the drawing-room-esque area of the room before swiping our bikinis from our bags and heading to the spa. The spa is situated at the other end of the house, joined by a walk way flanked by full length windows on both sides preceding it.

After signing in we fed our ‘good girl’ sides and took to the gymnasium. It is small and compact in that perfectly delightful health club sort of way.

There are no heavy-weight lifters grunting and dramatically dropping weighted bars and no yoga fanatics twisting barefoot on sweated-up mats.

Everyone was working out serenely and quietly.

And effectively of course. We spent some time working up a ladylike sweat before showering and making our way to the steam rooms, pool and jacuzzi.

If you thought chatting over a coffee in Starbucks was relaxing, try it reclining on a wood bench in a sauna in the middle of January.

It really hits the spot. We stayed there getting pinker and pinker until we it was all a little too much and we had to hit the pool. The Danesfield House swimming pool is one of those delicious royal blue types that give you the impression that the water is of oceanic proportions.

Devoid swim lanes and floats it is, especially in the dark light of the evening, a relaxing haven.

The chitter chatter continued as we alternated between resting at the side and making smooth and easy lengths together across the pool.

And of course we finished our session off with the jacuzzi, a beautifully babbling finishing touch.

Inevitably we had spend far too much time enjoying ourselves in the spa and had fallen slightly behind schedule, so some quicker than quick preparations followed before we made our way down to The Orangery for our evening meal.

The staff were as courteous as ever, as they showed us to our seats and talked us through the seasonal menu. The Orangery overlooks the house gardens and although it was dark, the feeling of being closer to the countryside outside set a fresh ambience for the evening. I started with the hand dived scallops which were blissful, my friend opting for a parsnip veloute, which kept her quiet for a good few minutes, so it must have been rather lovely. We both opted for the pork for the main, and whilst I finished with a pistachio parfait and chocolate sorbet, my friend chose a selection of cheeses. All of this was accompanied by a house white wine, which was well-chosen by our waiter for the night, and set us on a rather tipsy path as we were in the midst of ‘dry January’.

This was a treat pass night incidentally.

We topped off the night with a Bailey’s coffee each in the bar area. The barman had walked over, confidently promising he could make us whatever we wanted. We didn’t tax him too much with our coffees.

Thoroughly relaxed, talked out and tipsy we flopped into bed, waking headily in the morning to make our way down to breakfast. Which was wonderful. In fact it entirely sabotaged our health kick plans. We had skipped our way down to The Orangery in our gym kit, ready for an early morning session, but when faced with the hot breakfast selection and the sumptuous buffet we ended up spending only having time for a ten minute spurt on the cross trainers before our treatments. Don’t judge! It was worth it.

We both enjoyed an Aromatherapy Associates Ultimate Escape treatment which, at 55 minutes long, consists of a tailored facial and massage. My therapist talked to me to decipher what my skin needed and gave me a selection of oils to choose from, which determined the nature of my massage. As always the 55 minutes were up far too soon, but I was entirely relaxed (to the extent of being dopey) and my skin felt fresh and tended to. My friend and I were reunited, both lead sleepily by our therapists to the relaxation room, which had its own steam room and sauna too. We lounged on chaise longues before steaming, sauna-ing and reluctantly shuffling back to change and ready ourselves to leave.

After an Austen-esque turn about the PAGE 23

gardens we bid goodbye to Danesfield House, The Orangery and its staff. There is a lot to be said for a hotel and spa so conveniently situated between deep countryside and London. It is one of those places you can decide to treat yourself with at the drop of a hat, especially when just a single night there is worth the journey.

Danesfield House Hotel & Spa, Henley Road, Marlow-On-Thames, Buckinghamshire, SL7 2EY. For reservations, please call: 01628 891010 or visit www. danesfieldhouse.co.uk.

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

ADVERTORIAL

NEAL’S YARD Best known for its iconic blue bottles, Neal’s Yard Remedies has been the UK’s foremost destination for natural and organic beauty and wellbeing for over 30 years, offering the UK’s largest range of certified organic health and beauty products, all of which are formulated and lovingly handmade in the UK.

‘At Neal’s Yard Remedies, beauty isn’t just skin deep.’

From the beginning, it’s these eco-principles that have set them apart from the rest – they were the first certified organic health and beauty company, the first company to produce Soil Association Certified cosmetics and the first company to be awarded 100/100 for ethics by the Ethical Company Organisation.

Neal’s Yard Remedies eco-factory is where all the magic happens. Products are created in small batches, using premium quality, ethically sourced, organic ingredients, to ensure their purity and efficacy, and the production team check every single bottle, jar and tube by hand to ensure ultimate quality. It’s this care and attention to detail that has made Neal’s Yard Remedies the multi-award winning, high quality health and beauty brand it is today.

PAGE 24

At Neal’s Yard Remedies, beauty isn’t just skin deep; since the beginning they have believed that beauty begins from within, promoting good health from the inside with herbs and natural remedies, and from the outside with certified organic skincare formulations made from all natural ingredients that actually make a visible difference to your skin.

With 43 stores across the UK, including Kensington, Notting Hill and the Kings Road, you have access to a one-stop shop for your complete holistic health and wellbeing. Expert staff are available to offer you a skin consultation, as well as talk you through the complete range of superfoods, supplements and holistic therapies, including luxurious massage and facials.

For more information visit: www.nealsyardremedies.com

Too for the Bin?

Got items too big for the bin?

Book a bulky waste collection The Too Big for the Bin service will remove up to ten bulky items from domestic properties in the Royal Borough. There is a charge of £27.60 and it is free to residents in receipt of housing and/or council tax benefits.

The Council will not collect: • • • •

Garden waste Car parts Hazardous waste or Builders/tradesman waste.

Collection times Collections are between Monday to Saturday from 7am to 3pm.

To book online visit www.rbkc.gov.uk/toobigforthebin or contact Streetline on 020 7361 3001 or email Streetline@rbkc.gov.uk

Alternatively you can contact the London Re-Use Network which collects and sells unwanted household items, giving them new homes in the capital. See more at www.londonreuse.org or call 020 3142 8506.

Love the streets you live in

South West London Fencing School adds new dates for junior beginners classes The Fencing School, based at The Royal Academy of Dance in Battersea Square, has gone from strength to strength over the years. Head coach Mark Kent has set up a successful Junior squad, which has recently seen various youngsters selected for national teams and moving up in the rankings.

16-year-old Rory Lewis from Hammersmith has been selected to fence for Great Britain in the European Cadet Circuit after reaching the top eleven in the UK, while 18-year-old St Paul’s student Ebba Brunstromm, recently represented Sweden at the Junior (U.23) World Cup. Among the youngest in the squad, Sofia Committeri recently became 5th in the UK Nationals (U10 Age Category).

These most recent successes have highlighted that there is certainly fencing talent in South West London and Mark Kent says: “It’s very encouraging that so many young students, especially so many girls, have taken a keen interest in fencing and are progressing well. Fencing is all about speed and tactical thinking and boys and girls can compete equally.

At The Fencing School we like to keep the squad relatively small to be able to give enough time to

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

each student and although relatively informal, the squad is results and quality driven.”

With this in mind, Mark Kent will be offering more beginners classes for Juniors in both categories (7 to 9 and 10 to 13-year-olds) in 2015.

The new courses will start from the beginning of February on Wednesdays from 4.30 pm to 5.30 pm and Saturdays from 3.30 pm to 4.30 pm during term time. The children will start fencing foil with all equipment provided and will cost £110 per term.

Potential new students are welcome to come along to classes from the middle of January to see if fencing is for them, before signing up for classes.

To find out more please visit: www.thefencingschool. com and to sign up contact Mark Kent on: contact@thefencingschool.com or call 07768 698189.

PAGE 26

“Fencing is all about speed and tactical thinking and boys and girls can compete equally.”

– Mark Kent

ADVERTORIAL

The family office: The one-stop shop solution WORDS MARTIN GRAHAM, Chairman of Oracle Capital Group Today’s High Net-Worth and Ultra High Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs and UHNWIs) need reliable advice on wealth management which is of high quality, consistent and confidential. As with many people, many of them have lost a great deal of faith in the banks, not only because of the uncertainty surrounding the global economic crisis, but also because the banks frequently offer standard solutions. Wealthy clients deserve tailor-made solutions.

This is where the family office comes into its own; and Oracle Capital Group was named Best Family Office of 2013 by Spear’s magazine.

HNWIs and UHNWIs need to balance their business life and their family life.

This means not only receiving sound guidance on investments and wealth management, with the correct insurance and legal advice. It means also finding somewhere suitable to live or to stay.

It frequently means finding the right schools for the children. All of these services and more come under the umbrella which Oracle Capital Group provides. It is the ultimate one-stop shop for the bespoke solution to the challenges faced by wealthy individuals.

Many of the world’s HNWIs and UHNWIs chose to live or at least have a base in London. London is business-friendly, with vast opportunities, sensible regulation, a solid legal system and stable politics. It has a rich cultural history. And London has long been open to immigration. It follows that Oracle Capital Group’s largest office is in London.

But Oracle has six other offices worldwide; and by the end of the year the Hong Kong office will be open, too. Oracle Capital Group is not only flexible in its relationships with its clients, but the company understands the need to develop and change as the global situation changes, too.

And as with any relationship, there has to be trust on both sides. The 50 or so families which Oracle serves are largely self-made people and fairly newly wealthy. Oracle Capital Group is very careful in client selection and spends time and resources in checking how their clients have made their money and that they are ‘legitimate’. But however big the client, once that trust is established, this becomes a very personal business.

‘As with any relationship, there has to be trust on both sides’

For more information visit www.orcap.co.uk PAGE 27

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

A LAMB IN WOLF’S CLOTHING Under the well-trained eye of Matt Tebbutt—Welsh national and one of the UK’s leading chefs—JOHN UNDERWOOD discovers the magnificence of PGI Welsh lamb, our unsung food hero.

‘My mission: to find out exactly why we should be turning away from the Antipodean interlopers and rediscovering homegrown lamb.’

On a train at a platform in a station in London, one of the world’s foremost gay rights campaigners is on the phone. “No, Tatchell. Peter Tatchell.

No, I’m Peter Tatchell! I’m just calling to tell you that the train’s going to be delayed. No, I’m still coming, but I’m going to be late. Paddington.

No, Paddington. Yes, I’m sure I’ll still make it.

Hang on, I’ll find out.” The legendary activist stands up, shoulders a rucksack (not, to my enduring disappointment, a satchel), and stalks out of the carriage to find a guard. As the first thirty seconds of train journeys - or, indeed, articles - go, this has been an odd one.

Sometime in 2013, I was invited to spend a few days in Wales experiencing the singular joys of Welsh lamb. On that occasion life conspired against me, but some while later I was finally gearing up for a trip to the land of song - my first, in fact, since a traumatic scout camp in 2000.

Once I’d been assured that I wouldn’t be required to set up a tent, eat a Pot Noodle or go to a leisure centre full of strapping teenagers with unresolved aggression issues, I was all for it. Welsh lamb is one of the UK’s most important and underrated specialities - although it’s one of just forty British products with Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, you’re more likely to be eating defrosted meat from New Zealand next Sunday (carbon footprint and all) than you are a shoulder or leg that’s travelled from Wales. And so, several hours after my exposure to the humdrum behindthe-scenes reality of radical activism, I arrived in Usk. My mission: to find out exactly why we should be turning away from the Antipodean interlopers and rediscovering homegrown lamb.

There can be few better places to eat Welsh lamb than at the Foxhunter. Tucked away in the village of Nantyderry, the converted stationmaster’s house and former pub has become famous through the sterling work of Matt Tebbutt, a Welsh-born chef who has run the restaurant for the last twelve years after stints working for Marco Pierre White and Alastair Little in London.

Tebbutt, who is known to millions from his appearances on Saturday Kitchen, the Great British Food Revival and his own programme Food

Unwrapped, is an enthusiastic ‘Lambassador’ (not my choice of word, I assure you) who exclusively uses Welsh lamb, hoggett and mutton in his kitchen. When I arrived at the Foxhunter with two other journalists, he sprang out of the kitchen with an energy at odds with our rustic surroundings.

Pausing only to distribute wine, warn me not to bang my head and then laugh at me for banging my head, he led us through to the restaurant kitchen to begin our instruction.

The climate and soil of Wales have never been especially suitable for growing crops, so sheep farming has been important to the country’s economy and culture for centuries.

Roman settlers probably brought sheep that interbred with the hardy native varieties, and by the 13th century Welsh wool and mutton were established as the small nation’s principal exports.

1200km of coastline provides sea air, furious salty storms and a multitude of tasty shoreline plants, which give the famous ‘salt marsh lamb’ its unique flavour.

Matt had several dishes planned to showcase the variety of cuts and how best to use them. First of all, a gorgeous leg of lamb was massaged with herbs and Dijon mustard and wrapped in a thick blanket of salt dough, forming a watertight crust which would allow the meat to steam rather than dry out. We received the news that it would take several hours to cook with muted sobs, before Matt produced a golden parcel from a warming oven in the best Blue Peter tradition. I think I roast a pretty acceptable leg of lamb, but Matt’s coddling technique produced the most astonishingly tender meat, gently enhanced by its pre-oven rubdown and moist throughout without being soggy. If you’re looking for a striking centrepiece for a birthday dinner or even next Easter lunch, you couldn’t do much better.

Next up was another well-known cut, French trimmed rack of lamb. Unsurprisingly the most popular dish on the Foxhunter’s menu, this classic preparation was served medium rare with braised lettuce, peas and wild garlic picked in the nearby woods. The Foxhunter has a few simple but wellappointed rooms, and guests can sign up for a PAGE 29

foraging fieldtrip before cooking their findings in the restaurant kitchen - I’ll certainly be heading back to do just that. Matt explained the important of colour when choosing lamb - the youngest meat is a pale pink, with older lamb taking on a duskier hue and mutton appearing almost as dark as beef. Our racks were virtually translucent, with a correspondingly delicate flavour that sat perfectly with their fresh and fragrant accompaniments.

Impressive though these two dishes were, there are any number of restaurants that serve excellent rack of lamb or a sumptuous Sunday roast; in order to be truly convinced that Welsh lamb had something special, I wanted to see something more unusual. Matt’s response was a preparation of lamb belly (otherwise called breast), the same cut that’s trimmed away from the rack in order to expose its elegant bones.

A cheap cut that’s never been as fashionable as rich, fatty pork belly, lamb breast requires attentive cooking to give of its best. And since nothing screams TLC like pork fat and deep fryers, Matt produced a dish of confit breast, gently seethed in pork fat for hours until the meat was soft, juicy and gloriously far from the ultra-lean lamb beloved of the health-conscious.

The breast meat was cut into thick fingers, breaded and deep-fried until crisp, before being served with a simple anchovy and leek vinaigrette that cut through the unctuous richness of the lamb. During our tasting, I’m not (that) ashamed to tell you that my convoluted questions about mutton were largely a smokescreen that let me filch extra slices.

One final glass of wine later, and I was on my way home with a headful of recipes and a fierce determination to choose crispy confit lamb breast for my last meal. I’d tried one lamb dish for every hour I spent in Wales - surely a record - and I returned to London with an almost evangelical desire to spread the good word. Not only is PGI Welsh lamb a living link to our island’s agricultural heritage, its versatility and depth of flavour leave foreign pretenders in the shade.

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

RESTAURANT REVIEWS ANGLER South Place Hotel, EC2M 2AF anglerrestaurant.com WORDS: SARAH JACKSON

The first thing you’ll notice about the South Place Hotel, home to the Michelin-starred fish restaurant, Angler, is the edgy glamour. It is, to put it simply, effing cool. A mixture of low lighting, cool prints, animal skins and unobtrusive DJing sets the tone downstairs, whereas the restaurant itself, presents a slightly more classic yet still quirky face, with white table clothes, slanting windows, metallic and glass wall partitions and mirrored ceiling by Grace & Webb.

The first thing to do at Angler is visit the bar.

There you will find a veritable treasure trove of goodies, along with some well-informed and welcoming staff. I’ve spent the last week literally slavering over the delectable cocktail menu and I’m glad to say that the reality is twice as good as my imagination!

As a big fan of the Bloody Mary, I would recommend anyone try the South Place version, made with their own daily prepared mix, which is made up of tomatoes, smoked paprika and fresh basil. Vodka is then blended in before the liquid is strained and a stick of obligatory celery added.

I’ve had some pretty heavenly Bloody Marys in my time and Angler doesn’t disappoint.

Their Caipirinha is perfectly done too, which cheers me, since it’s one of my all time favourite summer drinks. They keep it simple by using Cachaça (sugar cane rum) then adding brown sugar and fresh lime and giving it the quickest of shakes. Paradise in a glass!

Another to try is the Torino Spritz; a divine mix of hibiscus flower, gin liquer and red vermouth topped off with prosecco. One of their most ordered drinks over the summer, they’ve chosen to keep it on the menu all year, so never fear; no matter what month it is, you can still order this cocktail. But my favourite off the list has got to be the Hampton’s Treat, which I wasn’t expecting to like, not being a big whisky fan. This is made with a combination of South Place’s homemade ginger syrup, Woodford Reserve straight Kentucky bourbon, and a tiny bit of lemon, then topped up with soda. The added lemon is a genius move as the sour contrast really brings out the sweetness of the drink.

Now to get to the heart of the matter; what should you eat if you go to Angler? My top picks would be the yellow fin tuna tartare with lime and chilli (£14.00) and the salmon ceviche (£14.00) to start. The tuna is seasoned with soya sauce, lime, chilli and spring onions with an avacado and wasabi mousse and melts onto the tongue like cream into cocoa. The ceviche is marinated in chilli with lime and passion fruit juice, with flecks of red pepper and slices of avacado. The addition of the passion fruit injects a refreshingly sweet twist to a dish I usually expect to be decidedly piquant.

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

WINE MATCH: Springfield “Life From

SUMMER COCKTAIL LIST REVIEW: There’s something for everyone on the South Place summer cocktail menu. Because of the World Cup, they’ve created an exciting Brazilian inspired list of new cocktails for the enjoyment of your taste buds with the Maracana, Ipanema and Capoeira as some of the top drinks to try. Here are the Kensington and Chelsea Review’s top picks:

For me the best dishes on the main menu are Tony Fleming’s notorious and daring combinations of meat and fish, as presented in his Cornish cod with crisp chicken thigh and salt cod cake in roasting juices (£19.50) and my personal favourite, seared Orkney Scallop with red wine braised beef, butternut squash and sage brown butter (£13.50). Some would say incorporating both fish and fowl, or indeed mollusks and meat in the same dish is nothing short of an unholy union, but I would urge those nay-sayers to give it a try.

The key to Fleming’s dishes is that the matches are in fact perfect compliments to each other; for example he pairs the delicate flavour and silky robustness of the scallop with the stronger flavoured, but melt in the mouth texture of the beef. For those who still refuse to give it a go, all I will say is this: you may as well say that you can never have white wine with red meat. Which as any foodie will tell you is nonsense; a dry white from the South of France goes perfectly with a lamb stew for example.

Wine Match: A bottle of Tokana, Directors Reserve (another South African white) is the ideal counterpart. A mixture of Semillion and Savingnon blanc grapes, it retains the full bodied quality of the former whilst displaying the characteristic crispness of the latter.

From the dessert menu you absolutely must try the caramelised apple, brown butter icecream with Calvados (£7.00), which walks the tightrope perfectly between the three main camps of tart, sweet and creamy, making this the perfect to end to a glorious repast.

Maracana, £11 The Botanist, Chase Rhubarb, grapefruit and egg white, served straight up.

Created by one of the bar-tenders at the South Place for a recent Botanist competition back in April 2014, this cocktail is actually named after a football stadium in Rio. It’s got a fabulously crisp taste, with the creamy egg white and tarter rhubarb cutting through to make this a refreshing and unique cocktail.

Stone”, Sauvingnon Blanc, Robertson 2012. The grapes are grown near Cape Town, in an area high in minerality, which gave the wine a strong, warm nose, exuding notes of passion fruit, kiwi fruit and gooseberry, but with a well-balanced acidity which cuts through the fish. The finish is so exquisitely mellow, I had to double check that I was actually drinking a Savingnon Blanc!

WINE MATCH: Coupled with a 2008 Royal Tokaji a botrytised Hungarian wine, this wine is fruity without being too sweet and therefore doesn’t overpower the flavours in the desert.

Eating at Angler was an experience I would recommend to anyone I know and not just because of the unbelievable food. The mood is fun and relaxed, the staff are knowledgeable, attentive and clearly love working there. There is nothing better than enjoying an evening with people who are really passionate about what they do, from the barman to the head chef. That kind of atmosphere is impossible to fake and it infuses everything about the place. I can 100% guarantee that if you go there, even for a drink, you will leave with a big fat smile on your face.

PAGE 30

Summer Burst, £11 Absolut pear vodka, Manzana Verde, apple, lime and best of grape juice, served long.

The name speaks for itself; this cocktail is simply bursting with the tastes of summer. Manzana Verde (an apple liquer) combined with the pear, apple, lime and “best of grape juice” (wine), gives this drink the characteristic hint of a Sauvingnon Blanc, without losing that classic sweet cocktail flavour.

Ipanema, £11 Tanqueray, Aperol, lemon, rhubarb and strawberry.

This is the ideal cocktail for a hot summer’s day on the beach. Packed with fruity flavours like apple and strawberry, with the mere suggestion of citrus and a touch of sugar, this drink is perfectly balanced; the kind of cocktail you could drink all day long.

BOULESTIN 5 Saint James’s Street, SW1A 1EF www.boulestin.com WORDS: COCO KHAN It’s the end of summer when I arrive at Boulestin, the bustling St James eatery. It’s lunchtime and it’s full – which isn’t surprising given its Prix Fixe menu offers two courses for just £19.50.

That might not seem out of the ordinary but it really is when you consider both Boulestin’s location and the level of cooking it’s offering.

You can spend £8 in Pret a Manger and have very little or you can spend less than £20, eat duck confit or flank steak, sit in banquette seating at a white tablecloth in tranquil surroundings, and be properly waited upon…oh, and that’s before dessert.

The food at Boulestin is classic French cooking, done well. Indeed, to some the name Boulestin may sound familiar –it is named after bon viveur Marcel Boulestin (hailed as the world’s first TV chef) who rose to fame in London when in 1925 he opened the eponymous restaurant in Leicester Square, where it remained until 1994. During this time it came to the attention of the exceptional restaurateur Joel Kissin whose achievements include launching Bibendum and Quagliano’s after a tenure working with Terence Conran. Kissin continued the Boulestin legacy here in St. James.

The spirit of Boulestin is steeped in its traditional methods. No gimmicks, no changing the molecular structure of whatever random vegetable is on trend. Traditional methods, solid flavours. You won’t find a watery red wine sauce here, or a confit potato that is not cooked through.

Everything is as it should be, lovingly prepared and meticulously cooked. For the Masterchef fans, the cooking at Boulestin is the sort that Marcus Wareing would applaud, as a place that had respect for the history of cooking against the tide of fanciful, additive-heavy creations.

Though it isn’t the season for it, keep an eye on Boulestin in the warmer months and make a B-Line for a seat outside. In this part of town, where every square inch is precious, finding a place to eat outside normally means sacrificing peace and quiet as most restaurants will simply put tables and chairs onto the bustling street. Boulestin has courtyard seating at its rear, and you won’t hear any lorries reversing here.

Instead you can enjoy a bit of authentic France, in the heart of London - just like Marcel would have wanted.

simply became too popular. Head chef Michael Reimenschneider looked high and low for a space that was suitably connected to the well-heeled diner and yet could house a generous amount of people without them feeling cramped. By his own admission, the Chelsea spot was a find, and the move to Sloane Square was a heavily considered one. This consideration is felt in the food, the ambience and the interiors of Canvas.

Tables are meticulously spaced out just enough to give a sense of privacy and the chairs are made to melt in.

We begin our visit with a drink at the cocktail bar, a science-inspired mixology haven and are treated to gold-leaf champagne. The mixologist talks us through the range of high end liquors on offer and there are simply too many to name.

That’s a trait of Canvas, there’s just a lot of good stuff. The House Manager points to the various members of staff, reeling off the world-renowned restaurants around the globe from which they’ve come. It’s all a bit of a blur—“something something Heston Blumenthal something something Philippe Rochat”—their achievements as a team truly are too many to name.

The menu itself is divided into three

sections: Sea and Coast, Land and Earth and Guilty Pleasures. There’s a freedom to the menu; choose your dishes a la carte or select smaller plates in the tasting menu.

I would strongly recommend the tasting menu. There are just so many delicious offerings (Sea Bass and Fondue Caper Berries) and many that truly push the boundaries of consumer expectation (Roasted Lamb and Porridge) so denying yourself one dish over another can only be described as self-harm. Tasting menus certainly seem to be part of the experience at Canvas as they offer so many options and, with a modest five courses starting only from £60 there really is no need to break the bank.

As I write this I’m perusing the menu online, but it’s not giving much away. ‘Venison’ it says, and nothing more. ‘Octopus’ full stop. But the dishes don’t end there. Every dish at Canvas is perfectly cooked, created from tellingly quality ingredients and presented in top restaurant fashion. Much of it is Pan-European, taking influences from across Western Europe, reflecting the Swiss heritage of Riemenschneider himself and the various kitchens he has cooked in. There was little fanfare when Canvas opened, but that was again, a considered choice. This restaurant is not out to blow its own trumpet, rather relying on the wordof-mouth reputation of good solid cooking day in and day out.

When Head Chef Michael joins us at the table at the end of our service, just to check-in, it’s clear that Canvas is an embodiment of him.

He’s very young and extremely well-accomplished though his modesty doesn’t let him brag.

We notice a man at an adjacent table talking to him. Later we find its one of his foodie fans, a diner that follows him from restaurant to restaurant, and that he’s sent him a couple of glasses on the house. ‘I want to take care of my guests’ he says with a cheeky grin. And with Canvas, he is certainly doing that.

Canvas also offers diners the opportunity to eat with Michael as he cooks with their 12 person chef’s table.

L’ETO CAFFE 243 Brompton Road, SW3 2EP www.letocaffe.co.uk WORDS: SARAH JACKSON A short walk from the bright lights of South Ken tube station is a delightful slice of culinary kitsch called L’Eto café. This is the sixth branch to open in London; they have others in Soho, Belgravia, Brompton Road, Kings Road, Fulham and Mayfair. Despite sounding French, L’Eto is actually Russian for “summer”, the irony of which is not lost of me as I hurry through the winter streets, longing for somewhere warm and inviting to enjoy my dinner. Luckily L’Eto is the perfect place to spend a freezing winter’s evening, or any evening for that matter.

If I had to use three words to describe the vibe, I’d choose cheerful, eclectic and unique.

The restaurant is sectioned off into different areas, with the back resembling a comfy sitting room-cum-library and the middle section being

CANVAS 1 Wilbraham Place | Chelsea, SW1X 9AE www.canvaschelsea.com WORDS: COCO KHAN Canvas is tucked off Sloane Square, in a distinctly residential spot. In fact, it sits in the basement of a high-end apartment block. It’s a trait that might feel at odds with the notion of ‘luxury’, but Canvas is not a conventional place.

We’re greeted downstairs by the house manager who tells us the background of Canvas.

In short, it was a Marylebone-based eatery that PAGE 31

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

t door and aurant was I’m told the vening and all the while city as they e and back nd is not to

irly lengthy wood-fired some real ingly, there We choose urrata with d courgette with celery, nts here are y, prepared ffice to say, ything with ti providing dings. From the Risotto orino which it clinging rridge on a

mustard and ry as is the mushrooms requested, with mouthme buttery A signature abass, and ves this day ad, I can tell ly removed utiful sheen nessed and nded. nu arrives, I a ice cream. s lighter still mousse with triumph, an s peppered crust which intensely mousse is s it came in t got to it. struggle to orsel in the lp but look are supping aring pizza, ng. As more otherwise, a All of life is has a pulse. simplicity, a s restaurant ’t just take wander, see her of those

PAGE. 39

the most typically restaurant-y, with quirky white leather deep button upholstery and low filament chandeliers. The entrance has one vibrant wall with purple flock wallpaper and pictures of long-legged birds (and I mean the ornithological varieties – storks and cranes, etc!), whilst the other is brightly lit with shelves housing homemade jams, granola, truffles and knickknacks, reminiscent of a cosy grandmother’s sitting room.

Underneath these homely shelves is the buffet: a veritable treasure trove of gourmet delights, ranging from mains like smoked salmon, marinated in pink peppercorns and beetroot and goats cheese pie, topped with creamy mashed potato, to luscious sides like their Georgian style aubergine salad with garlic, walnut, coriander and pomegranate seeds and the fresh cabbage salad with an olive oil and lemon dressing. The prices are remarkably reasonable, with a main and three sides costing only £15.90, and the portion sizes are hefty to say the least.

The a la carte menu is equally impressive.

We choose the artichoke soup and blue fin tuna for our starters and are not disappointed, although I was very tempted by the winter truffle salad with winter vegetables (£14). The artichoke soup is velvety, with the accompanying slow cooked duck’s egg breaking apart and creating a melt in the mouth umami masterpiece. I am quite keen to try this “egg in soup” thing out at home, but after asking how it’s done I decide it’s a bit more hassle than it’s worth, as it takes an hour and a half cooking it in a water bath at exactly sixty five degrees. Since the soup is only £9, I

Durbar?

ASIAN CURRY AWARDS 2013 * WINNER * CHEF OF THE YEAR

SHAMIM SYED

think I’ll just come back to L’Eto whenever the urge for eggy soup hits me. The blue fin tuna is the polar opposite of the comforting soup; the fish is rare, barely sealed on the outside and perfectly paired with the zesty flavour of lemon, mango and pineapple that simply zing on the tongue.

I also choose beef from the a la carte menu (£37.95), although I must make clear that this is the most expensive dish on the menu. The pasta dishes start at £13.95 and the mains at £14.95 so this really isn’t the kind of place you need to save up to go to. However, since I saw the beef on the website, I knew I had to have it, partly because it looked so lip-smackingly succulent and partly because I wanted to know what the hell the white knotty looking things that come with it were. I discovered that they’re called crones or Chinese artichokes, so there you go; you learn something new every day. L’Eto get their fillet steak from Allen’s of Mayfair, and that should be enough info to let you know the quality. I have mine rare as any respectable foodie should and it is a pure ecstasy of texture and flavour. I highly recommend this dish.

In the front window is spread one of the most impressive arrays of cakes and pastries I’ve ever seen – each one a mouth-watering work of art. Their signature dish is the honey cake (£4.80 a slice), which tastes as good as it looks and consists of layers of sweet and sour cream between tiers of honey-soaked sponge with a honey and walnut crumble. Fast approaching the honey cake as L’Eto’s second most popular desert is the dulche de leche (also £4.80 a slice), which is a rich and creamy yet unbelievably light vanilla sponge, soaked in three types of milk (condensed, evaporated and concentrated), coated with double cream and berries.

L’Eto also do a range of gluten free and dairy free cakes for those who are gluten or lactose intolerant, and their vegetarian options are plentiful and imaginative.

Now, onto booze. They have a small but well-chosen wine list, ranging from £19-60 a bottle, meaning that there is something here for everyone. We chose the Chianti Collo Senesi, Casale Falchini 2011 (£31), which is a classic of its type; a hint of oak on the nose, very well balanced with a fruity flavour, great length and the tannin not overpowering. Cocktail-wise, they have their festive menu (ranging from £4.95-£6.95), which includes the typical mulled wine (although theirs includes brandy) and rum and orange punch, plus their regular cocktail menu, which has beauties like the basil and honey daiquiri (£7.50) and the bubbly mojita, a twist on your average mojito as they add sparkling wine and angostura bitters (£9.50).

One of the wonderful things about L’Eto, other than the lovely atmosphere, unbelievable prices and the delicious food, is the friendly and welcoming staff, who make you feel right at home straight away. I had such a fabulous evening there and I will certainly be going back. In fact, I’ve already started recommending it to my friends.

If you’re in South Ken, make an effort to drop in there, for breakfast, lunch, dinner or just for a slice of their delicious cake. I promise you, you will not regret it.

RIVEA Bulgari Hotel, Bulgari Hotel & Residences, 171 Knightsbridge, London SW7 1DW www.rivealondon.com WORDS: COCO KHAN It’s raining cats and dogs when we turn up to Alain Ducasse’s new restaurant. It’s situated in Knightsbridge’s Bulgari Hotel, a hotel and brand that is synonymous with A-List celebrities and the elite billionaires of the world—which is fitting because in the food world, Alain Ducasse is the equivalent. He was the first chef to win three Michelin stars for his restaurant and has been instrumental in spearheading the fine dining scene in cities across the globe. He is instantly recognisable, a household name, the chef’s chef…so he wasn’t going to let a little rain put him off.

You know someone is skilled when they can take two bedraggled, sodden and shivering Brits, feed them light, airy and barely-a-carb foods from the French Riviera and have them walking away with summer in their heart. That’s what Rivea is, summer in a meal. Think Monacan glamour and St Tropez style in food form.

Head Chef at Rivea is Damien Leroux, one of Ducasse’s proteges, who has taken his influences from Provence and Italy. As is a la mode, the dining style is to select several small plates, three to four a person being the recommended number, with the cost of each being between £8-21. The benefit of this is that you could probably eat relatively cheaply if you fancied a light lunch, and while cost isn’t really the thing you should be thinking about when you choose to dine in the Bulgari, it’s a delightful addition to know it’s a possibility.

Rivea does serve meat but it’s not really about that (though I do need to mention the roast duckling because its soft, sweet and gooey texture still visits me in my dreams); seafood and fish is its strong suit, in keeping with its ‘sunshine on the South coast’ feel. We start with a colour palette, a series of dips lined up by colour gradient. It’s a playful way to start the experience, literally guessing which flavours the dips took (‘Tomato!

Anchovy!) before moving to the lobster, teamed

with delicious purple artichokes from Provence.

Later we would try the turbot and muscat grapes – perfectly cooked, aromatic and flavoursome – but the star of the show without a doubt was the Rivea salad. It arrives in a crispy socca - a light unleavened bread - folded in such a way to resemble an ice-cream cone stuffed with a kind of deconstructed tuna nicoise. It’s a simple flourish but this additional texture stands out for me as being so effective, it’s almost brilliant.

The wine selection, in keeping with the food, is drawn mainly from France and Italy, and it goes without saying that the sommelier knows what he is doing. By the time we’d reached dessert, waistbands at bursting point, we opted for the palette cleansers – the lemon sorbet and raspberry palet – but for the truly decadent there are chocolate, cream, and cheese options.

There is one issue with Rivea. For all its attempts to serve up top Cote D’Azur cuisine, which it does successfully, there is no magician in the world that can truly reconstruct the experience in London.

No engineering could rival the feeling of eating out in the open, watching palm trees out of the corner of your eye as you relax in little more than a cotton shirt. Rivea does its best to keep it casual, (the waiters wear t-shirts and Converse for example) but it’s still in a hotel basement, with chrome, plastic-finished wood panelling and artificial light. There is a disparity between what the food wants to achieve and what the surroundings can let it; but if we denied ourselves dining styles and flavours from around the world because we couldn’t perfect every aspect of the experience then we’d eat very little. I for one, found summer at Rivea, and I suspect many others will also.

SKETCH 9 CONDUIT ST, W1S 2XG WWW.SKETCH.UK.COM WORDS: COCO KHAN There’s been a huge spike in the amount of hybrid restaurants we have here in London. The humble ‘bar-restaurant’ is no longer enough—now it’s all about bar-restaurant-clubs that double up as a workshop centre, exhibition space and possible

PAGE 33

tattoo parlour. But before this exhausting trend, there was Sketch, one of the first spaces in London to combine food and art. Having been open for 12 years, you might expect Sketch to have become old-hat, and to be dwarfed by, well, most things in Shoreditch. But you’d be wrong.

The first thing to mention about Sketch is that it’s bloody huge. In terms of food and drink, it’s comprised of five different spaces, each designed differently, but all flamboyantly inspired by contemporary art. It’s the brainchild of art and fashion connoisseur Mourad ‘Momo’ Mazouz and three-star chef extraordinaire Pierre Gagniare, so there’s not a hint of ‘Final Year Art School Project’ that can be found in many other fusion culinary spaces.

Having burst onto a stuffy culinary scene in 2002, it’s no surprise that Sketch quickly gained a celebrity clientele of fashion icons and creative titans—and it still is a favourite of this milieu.

It’s luxurious but youthful, stylised but casual— the wonderful cocktail bar has a ‘no suits’ policy, and the main dining room—The Gallery—is a brasserie style dining room with a laid-back approach. The toilets are quite possibly the most famous in London (each cubicle is a standalone egg pod), and you’ll find pieces of regularly updated art dotted around all over the place—but it’s the design collaborations which are really to write home about.

Most recent is its collaboration with renowned illustrator David Shrigley, who we’ll be interviewing in the next edition. We’re talking about one of the most esteemed graphic artists in the world here, a man who turned line-drawn cartoons into a boundary-breaking art form, meticulously overseeing every element of design in the restaurant. When I ate there, it was Martin Creed who took the reins on the artist-designed space. For an artist as visceral as Creed it was surprising to see how chic and achingly-stylish the space had become—perhaps this was even infuriating for the Creed purists—but with no two items of furniture or tableware the same, it was playful, tactile space that we felt was extremely memorable and inviting.

So what’s the downside? Sketch really isn’t cheap and looking at the price solely against the food

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

itself, could even be regarded as overpriced.

Sketch clearly uses top ingredients and has an ambitious, almost haute menu (suckling pig and foie gras gateau—need I say more?) but the execution wasn’t quite there for me. My £18 Udon Noodles had a bland broth and can you really charge £42 for the Dover Sole with baby spinach if it’s just a bit of butter and lemon on the plate?

However, if you’re just looking at Sketch just for the food, you really are missing the point. If you want to eat in a dining room designed by one of the greatest artists of our generation, you have to pay for it. That’s just how it is, and it strikes me as fair enough. Sketch has never tried to position itself as anything but an upmarket and luxury establishment, but in the uptight, often corporate world of dining in Mayfair is a well-needed relief.

Indeed, if you do want sublime food, you could always head up to Sketch’s top floor to eat in twoMichelin starred restaurant, The Parlour.

absolute royalty. The restaurant itself doesn’t seat many and its intimacy is maintained by softlighting and obliging staff.

Umu specialises in Kyoto cuisine, and while you can dine from the a la carte menu you’d be a fool to try anything other than the Kaiseki menu.

Umu is one of just a handful of restaurants serving Kaiseki—a traditional multi-course dinner—and is without doubt the most luxurious.

The key feature of Kaiseki is that dishes are small, expertly presented, and require a high level of a variety of skills. It’s essentially haute cuisine, in nouvelle cuisine appearance with the benefit of having been refined over hundreds of years.

At Umu they change the Kaiseki menu seasonally so you could try it several times a year and get something completely different. It is nevertheless always eight courses, and always delicious.

The food is heavily weighted towards fish (as is traditional) but often uses decadent game or world-renowned Wagyu beef for the other courses. No expense is spared on freshness of ingredients but most impressive of all is quite how much time is spent on each dish. This is clear from their expert and often creative presentation.

On my experience I had a dish of broth for ramen noodles presented to me as a flowered lotus pond, and another dish as an ancient Japanese painting. It’s no wonder Umu has a Michelin star, you don’t need to look far to see they deserve it.

ZAIKA 1 Kensington High Street, W8 5NP www.zaikaofkensington.com WORDS: SID RAGHAVA

UMU 14-16 Bruton Pl, Mayfair, W1J 6LX www.umurestaurant.com WORDS: COCO KHAN One doesn’t just walk into Umu—literally.

You need to be buzzed in. It’s this atmosphere of secrecy, of a kind of dining-elite which makes Umu such an alluring prospect. This is definitely not the kind of place one would casually dine, rather it is the sort of destination restaurant for those special occasions and the moments to remember.

The chefs are on display at Umu and diners are welcome to sit around the culinary-creators and watch them at work. It’s a traditional but effective feature in making the diner feel like

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

‘Revamped, Refurbished and Re-Imagined’ was the announcement on the Zaika website a scant day or two after the soft opening of the former jewel (of the metaphoric crown) of top class Indian restaurants that have arisen all across London in the last decade. This does hold true and yet, the song remains the same; Mughlai food emanating from Lucknowi Awadhi and traditions as interpreted by Sanjay Gaur, Executive Chef, under the watchful eye of Director of Cuisine, Alfred Prasad. The result, as expected is a lipsmackingly authentic gastronomic experience in a suitably resplendent setting of a former bank with aesthetic and ethnic touches that befit a regal setting. Zaika had of course originally opened in 1999 and along with other precursors such as Vineet Bhatia’s Rasoi revolutionised the Indian scene in London – Zaika was the restaurant to earn a Michelin star - and compete with the capital’s culinary heavyweights. The Tamarind Collection with its portfolio of stalwarts such as Tamarind of Mayfair and the more casual Imli of Soho have snapped up the opportunity to reintroduce this trendsetter to Kensington, and the Christmas season couldn’t have gotten off to a better start.

Ambience is key to the Zaika experience and the Grade II building in which it’s housed boasts wood panelled walls, intricately carved marble doorways, giant windows and tropical plants and flowers. The acoustics of the vast hall offer the dreamy dichotomy of hushed privacy across the table and an alluring clamour all around much PAGE 34

like the Iranian cafes of Bombay. More than a hundred minimalist paintings reflect Indian life spanning from the Raj to relatively modern times in the last century. The bar segues in towards the back of the capacious hall right in front of the semi-open kitchen and serves amongst other signature cocktails: The Bonfire (Bombay Sapphire gin, lychee juice, lychee liquor, red chillis: flamed, on the rocks) and Khira Martini (Hendricks gin, fresh cucumber, crushed black peppercorns). The absolute favourite all around is Winter Berries (Old Monk rum, blackberries, apple juice, manzana, red chillis, gingerbread syrup: served tall). The bartender did inform us that Old Monk Rum, with is probably the one brand that connects Indian spirits and beer drinkers even more than Kingfisher, is a must for the latter and I firmly concur. This uniquely Indian king of rums makes all the difference and renders it bewitchingly brilliant.

Sanjay Gour has previously worked at The Connaught, Maze London, the Savoy Grill and Murano so Zaika is a return to his Indian roots with a dollop of European sophistication; sophistication which has come from working with successful chefs such as Jason Artherton and Angela Hartnett. Appetisers such as Papdi Chaat (spiced chickpeas, wheat crisps, yoghurt, blueberries, tamarind chutney), Bindi Jaipuri and Seared Scallops are a great introduction to the feast that is to follow. But the most essential starters in an Awadhi court are Kebabs so a second round is a must. The Kakori kebabs (fine ground lamb with saffron, cardamom, mace), Malai Tikka and the star of the show Peshwari Champen (Lamb chops marinated with raw papaya, paprika, fennel and star anise) will not let you down even if you’ve scoured Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi for the choicest kebabs in the land.

For mains, look no further than the Mahi Mussallam (oven baked fillet of sea bass, spinach, Awadhi sauce), and Gosh Dum Biryani (goat biryani with Bhurrani raita) the latter made in the traditional Indo-Iranian Dum Pukht style of cooking complete with an earthen pot sealed with dough to trap all the vital juices and fragrances.

This will most effectively titillate your olfaction and seduce your palate. Handi Chicken, the forbear of Butter Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala also impresses. The Truffle Naan is the queen of the breads amongst the sea of regular Indian breads.

Dessert is a much easier choice simply because of the limited choice afforded. The ‘Old Monk’ Rum Baba, Chocolate Bounty Bar (a gluten free ‘bounty’ with nougat, apricot and popcorn) and Poached Winter Fruits (in a spiced Xylitol syrup with nuts and frozen yoghurt) do nicely to round of the evening.

Zaika has been revamped and refurbished and even re-imagined to an extent. But thankfully, it retains the original formula which helped to transform the London restaurant scene as we know it. For those who didn’t savour it the first time around, count your lucky stars. It’s your turn to discover the luxury that is Lucknowi cuisine.

“Many see Australia as a ‘New World’ producer, but vineyards such as these are a reminder of its long history of winemaking.”

ADVERTORIAL

A TASTE OF AUSTRALIA AT AMATHUS KNIGHTSBRIDGE WORDS ALEX BETH Australia is a country whose wines are as diverse as the terrain in which its vineyards grow. For every high volume, household brand exists, a family-owned winery caring for its every vine and making small production, hand-crafted wines.

To coincide with its newly opened Knightsbridge store, Amathus, the London based drinks importer, distributor and specialist retailer, has recently been on a quest to seek out some of Australia’s most progressive Australian wineries making top quality wines with a story to tell.

Grape vines are usually ripped up and replaced after twenty to thirty years, as the older they get, the less productive they become. But, while grape productivity may decrease, the concentration of flavours in the grapes intensifies each year. For winemakers like Collett, who prize quality above all else, his Shiraz vines planted in 1900 are the jewels in the winery’s crown and undoubtedly responsible for the immense concentration and complexity of his ‘Stocks’ Shiraz.

Woodstock, McLaren Vale The Woodstock winery is located in McLaren Vale, just south of Adelaide. Whilst it is very much an Australian producer, its name actually derives from England. In the quaint town of Woodstock in Oxfordshire stands a set of wooden leg stocks. In Medieval times, these stocks were used to punish the local townsfolk who had over imbibed. As a cheeky nod to the town’s history, Woodstock has named its flagship wine, the ‘Stocks’ Shiraz.

Whilst Woodstock may owe its name to English antiquity, it has created its own history when it comes to its vineyards. Owner, Scott Collett, sources his grapes from 18 hectares of vineyards which include Shiraz vines that are up to 110 years old. Many people see Australia very much as a “New World” producer, but vineyards such as these are a timely reminder of its long history of winemaking.

Maverick, Barossa Valley Leaving the McLaren Vale, we can find another winery with historic, low yielding grape vines – Maverick in the Barossa Valley. Maverick may have been founded recently, in 2004, but its vineyards have seen many a vintage and in some cases pre-date the winery by over a century!

Yet, whilst Maverick’s grape vines may have a lot of history, its approach to its winemaking is very progressive. Through the vison and eccentricity of winemaker and owner, Ron Brown, Maverick has embraced a biodynamic system of farming in his vineyards. Biodynamic wine is effectively a supercharged method of organic farming that is becoming increasingly on trend.

Ron uses no chemical weed killers, fungicides or pesticides in his vineyards. In fact, he does not actually need them thanks to his army of 300 sheep which patrol the vineyards to do this PAGE 35

job for him. He makes his own organic compost to fertilise his vines and also harnesses manure from his own cows. This is the point where the biodynamic element really comes to the fore – the agricultural, spiritual and philosophical elements join forces.

This manure, which is taken from lactating cows, is stuffed into 100 cow horns. These horns are then buried deep underground where they remain during the winter. The horns are then dug up and put in copper “biodynamisers” and sprayed throughout the vineyards.

Maverick’s old vines and biodynamic farming allows the creation of intense, pure, lowyielding fruit. It is little surprise that his Shiraz, Chardonnay and Riesling wines are routinely awarded 90+ points each year from leading Australian wine critic, James Halliday.

Alongside the wines of Woodstock and Maverick in the Knightsbridge store, as well stores in Leadenhall Market and Soho; Amathus boasts a wide selection of rare and wonderful products from around the globe, as well as talented and insightful people to tell you about them. They can also be found online at http://www. amathusdrinks.com/

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

FINDING ATLANTIS KCReview founder SID RAGHAVA travels to Dubai to live like a Sheikh at Atlantis, The Palm

Love it or hate it, it is beyond doubt that Dubai is a trailblazing pioneer in size, scale, sophistication and speed in terms of urban development.

It easily beats its South East Asian and Middle Eastern city competitors ranging from Shanghai to Kuala Lumpur to Doha. Dubai boasts the tallest building (Burj Khalifa), the biggest mall (Dubai Mall, soon to be bettered by Mall of the World, a temperature controlled city within a mall) and the most luxurious of hotels (Burj Al Arab the only ‘7 Star’ hotel). The discovery of oil was a critical catalyst for this unmitigated and unanticipated growth which has transformed Dubai from a fishing village in 1966 to a modern city of the 21st century, a quite extraordinary achievement.

The Palm Islands project initiated in 2001 is testament to Dubai’s unrestrained appetite for attempting the seemingly impossible in cityscape and architecture. The two artificial islands, Palm Jumeirah and Palm Jebel Ali, the latter still to be completed, have been dredged from the bottom of the Persian Gulf. The first resort to open on the Palm Jumeirah was Atlantis, The Palm, themed around the legend of the mythic submerged island. It is a 1500 room tour de force of architectural complexity complemented by a water park, a beach, an aquarium and myriad restaurants. As with most of Dubai, luxury is

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

the name of the game and Atlantis boasts a wide variety of extravagances which compare favourably with the most immaculate of holiday offerings. We set out to explore their Signature Suites, Atlantis’ truly regal experience.

ruins through their floor to ceiling windows whilst Manta Rays and Sharpnose Sharks whizz on by unaware of human residents beyond the thick bullet proof glass. Stupendously surreal indeed and very romantic at the same time!

Signature Suites Atlantis, The Palm arches above the landscape like a mirage in the Dubai dust. Housed within a complex of tourist attractions, man-made beaches, fantastic restaurants, enticing shops and more than a thousand other hotel rooms are the Seven Wonders – the Signature Suites.

Opulence, splendour and luxury are bywords when it comes to describing these distinct spaces which range from the Underwater and Presidential Suites (2 each) to the grander Grand Atlantic Suites and on to the Royal Bridge Suite which true to its name, bridges the mythic arches of the Atlantic complex like its own private castle above the clouds. Each of these seven suites affords 24 hour private butlers who will cater to your most precious needs. The Underwater suites named Poseidon and Neptune, are the most unique in that they are submerged within the Ambassador Lagoon, home to 65000 marine inhabitants. The bedroom and bathroom areas offer kaleidoscopic views of the underwater

Food, Glorious Food Atlantis is a town by itself. You can go visit the Aquaventure Waterpark with kids and go down the biggest of waterslides, swim with Dolphins at Dolphin Bay, view exotic marine life at the Lost World Aquarium or take a dive for the better at the SCUBA centre. Other things to do include holistic treatments and massages at the ShuiQi Spa and Fitness, helicopter tours of Dubai or a chance to let your hair down at N’Dulge, one of the hottest nightclubs in the city. And then there are restaurants. Whether you live to eat or eat to live, Atlantis has it all covered when it comes to sating your gastronomic desires. Here are some of the finest from a long list:

Ossiano – At the same subterranean level as the bedrooms in the Underwater suites is the seafood paradise of Ossiano. You will most likely find an alternative menu on your table not for food but a detailed description of the marine life within Ambassador Lagoon. Whilst you savour Confit

PAGE 36

‘It is a top class family destination with a huge dollop of luxury.’

Loch Fyne Salmon and Octopus Carpaccio, you can gaze at the wall of glass that separates you from some of the most exotic sea residents whilst they go about their business. It has been awarded the Best Seafood Restaurant 2013 and 2014 by Time Out Dubai and Best Restaurant at the Middle East Hotel Awards 2013. A must-go even if you’re not residing at Atlantis or if you’re without a dinner date and fancy some of the finest seafood.

Kaleidoscope and Saffron – It is a pleasure to wake up every morning at Atlantis and have the choice of having breakfast or lunch at the two multi-cuisine choices at the resort. Kaleidoscope is a buffet restaurant which offers Indian, Arabic and Mediterranean cuisines whilst Saffron offers flavours from South East Asia and South Asia.

Yuan – A modern Chinese restaurant at heart, Yuan is still interlaced with several traditional touches. The Cantonese and Szechuan dishes are immaculate preparations using fresh ingredients. The decor resembles a traditional Chinese courtyard imbuing Feng Shui. The inner room incorporates aspects of nature which coupled with the warm interiors is reminiscent of dining halls built for Chinese nobility.

Apart from the above, Atlantis also features the world famous Nobu, Seafire Steakhouse and Bar (for Barbeque lovers), the Italian fare at Ronda Locatelli and Far Eastern spoils at Asia Republic.

All in all, there are eighteen top quality restaurants at Atlantic and there is absolutely no way you’ll go hungry or unsatisfied. It is a top class family destination with a huge dollop of luxury.

The variety of rooms available at the resort offer a wide choice of accommodation to suit business and leisure needs. It is the perfect destination for families, romantic couples and loners alike. But if its hedonism, romance and luxury that you seek, look no further than the Signature Suites. Dubai has never been a more opulent experience than those seven wonders as we like to call them.

Western & Oriental offers 3 night stays in 2015 at Atlantis, The Palm from £895pp based on two sharing a Deluxe Room on a half board basis. Price includes return direct flights. To book visit www.westernoriental. com or call 0207 666 1234.

PAGE 37

‘It is a top class family destination with a huge dollop of luxury.’

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

GASTRO BRAVO, COSTA BRAVA STEVE SLOCOMBE heads to northern Spain to get to grips with the culinary traditions and contemporary gastronomic successes of this much-heralded region

“Sure, every now and then one of us might become famous, but it makes no difference,” says Joan Roca, with a smile and just a hint of a shrug.

Roca founded, and is head chef of, El Celler de Can Roca, voted the world’s best restaurant in 2013, and currently lying second behind the legendary Noma in this year’s awards.

We are at a lunch at the Hotel Costa Brava, perched atop a craggy cliff overlooking the Mediterranean, on a glorious summer’s day.

He is explaining the philosophy of the chefs in the region to me. “The aim for us is not to compete with each other but to share our knowledge, to learn from one other so we can all become better.”

He gestures around the room. The lunch is like a family get-together, writ large, with a hundred diners, possibly more, spilling over into every available inch of the Hotel. It’s a hive of activity, with all generations represented – kids running playfully amok, grandparents sat chatting animatedly at large, round tables. The food is buffet-style, with at least thirty different stations, each a different dish, served from large, school dinner-esque trays.

It could be any informal get-together – the end-of-season bash for the local sports team, say, or part of a fun day out hosted by a mediumsized family-run firm – only the men and women cooking and serving the food here, now, just happen to be the region’s finest chefs, many of international renown. Indeed, if Michelin stars were actually wearable, this room would boast more than a second world war memorial dinner.

Earlier that morning, before the lunch, I had also witnessed the chefs taking part in their annual golf tournament – an equally jaunty and good-natured spectacle (most are still wearing their commemorative orange polo shirts) that clearly demonstrates their cameraderie and communal ethos.

“Yes, we do this every year,” continues Roca.

“Also, when it is possible, we try to go together to visit restaurants in different places, different countries, to learn, to experience different things.”

I can’t help but think that it’s such a far cry from the typical macho image and testosteronefuelled antics of chefs, particularly on TV, in the UK – sweary Gordon, stroppy Marco – yet,

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

listening to Roca, it makes perfect sense, and may well go some way to explaining the region’s phenomenal gastronomic successes of recent times.

And what success this region has had.

As well as El Celler de Can Roca – the proud holder of three Michelin stars – the area also plays host to two Michelin-starred restaurants Lens Cols at Olot, and Miramar at Llança, as well as over a dozen other Michelin-starred restaurants.

Most famous of all, of course, is El Bulli, the super-legendary, game-changing restaurant founded by Ferran Adrian. (if you don’t know it, think Heston and the Fat Duck, before Heston and the Fat Duck, with added global influence).

Located at Roses, a little further up the Costa Bravan coast, El Bulli achieved unparalleled international recognition before closing a few years back. The fact it now lives on as an educational institute neatly reinforces the sharing, learning ethos espoused articulated by Senor Roca.

I’m lucky enough to be here on a gastronomic tour – to sample the cuisine and to try to understand the area’s approach to gastronomy.

The Costa Brava is essentially the coastal strip of Catalunia, stretching north from Barcelona all the way up to the French border. Its name essentially means ‘brave’ or ‘wild’ coast, and it is naturally beautiful in a craggy, sometimes dramatic way, a little as if Cornwall had been relocated to the Mediterranean.

It’s also a region that is naturally blessed.

It runs alongside the Mediterranean, so has an ample supply of fresh fish and seafood.

Equally, it boasts incredible natural produce from the land, having produced top quality meats, fruits, vegetables and wine for pretty much as long as it’s been inhabited.

The traditional gastronomy of the region has produced a whole number of speciality dishes, with one of the best known being ‘arroz negro’, (black rice). Uniquely, the black colour in this dish is produced not by using colouring, but by reducing onion to the extreme point of caramelisation. This dish also involves both seafood (crayfish and prawns) and meats (pork, various sausages), another approach typical to the region. Other specialities include chicken PAGE 38

with crayfish, suquet (aka ‘Catalan fish stew’), Emporda fritters, escudella (a traditional soup) and carn d’olla (where the meat used to make the stock is served seperately). Key sauces are the picada and sofrito, which form the basis of many dishes served in the region.

The contemporary success of restaurants in the region has, in a large part, been their ability to utilise the fine local natural produce, and to build upon the area’s gastronomic heritage, whilst developing and building upon them by adding contemporary techniques and approaches.

I get to dine in the one Michelin-starred restaurants Mas Pau, Els Tinars in Llagostera, Casamar in Llafranc, and can highly recommend all three. The thing that strikes me most with all of them is how different here, in Costa Brava, fine dining is as an experience to that in Michelinstarred restaurants in London. Whilst all superwelcoming and comfortable, they all exhibit a degree of informailty, a casualness, even, that is a world apart from your typical Mayfair highend eaterie. They so clearly know their food, and so clearly also know that a lot of the faff and ceremony around fine food it is just that – if anything is almost a distraction.

I also sample food at Mas dels Arcs in Palamos, Llevant in Llafranc and La Costa, all of which are members of the Cuina De L’Empordanet, the gastronomic union of the region. This union is yet another example of the communal mindset that underpins the gastronomic mindset – and successes – of the region, and is also behind the recent moves to create the ‘Productes de l’Emporda’ brand – essentially a denomination de origin for producers in the region.

As a holiday destination, the reputation of the Costa Brava has been somewhat blighted by the now all-too-familiar story of over-development of identikit resorts for the package holiday hordes.

What I discovered, however, was that if you step just a fraction away from this you are instantly reminded just how beautiful the countryside is, how dramatic the coastline is, and that this is a region with a culinary past and present that is worth the trip alone – and one that is remarkably easy to get to from London, at any time of year.

El Bulli PAGE 39

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

NEW YORK, NEW YORK SAM KINCHIN-SMITH goes skiing in New York State, hoping to discover the ultimate composite holiday.

It might be saying more about me than it does about upstate New York to mention that before I spent a week skiing its finest resorts, I hadn’t given it much thought. I knew about its mountain ranges because of, primarily, scary movies: the Catskills’ starring role in Martha Marcy May Marlene, Deliverance, set in Appalachia and the Adirondacks in Lake Placid (although actually, confusingly, the latter is set on a fictional lake in Maine, rather than the famous NY village of the same name). But in the traditional manner of a Brit trying to comprehend a nation with 11 states larger than the entire UK, I’d sort of always imagined New York City basically bordering Pennsylvania, Vermont and Canada itself, with just a few hundred square miles of buffer-zone parkland in between.

Well, the first thing to say about New York is that actually, its Big Apple aside, it is a state dominated by mountains and rivers, lakes and national parks. There’s the Niagara Falls in the north, of course; it’s also the only state to touch both the Great Lakes to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. New York’s Adirondack Park is the largest publicly protected area in the USA, bigger than Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon combined. In other words, visiting New York for reasons entirely unrelated to the city is, it turns out, something a lot of people already

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

do – but could skiing be one of those reasons, alongside better known examples like hiking, watersports and cultural heritage?

Not really. Which isn’t to say the skiing isn’t wonderful in places, but rather that it’s difficult to make the case, purely in terms of mountains and terrain, for choosing upstate New York ahead of resorts in Colorado, Utah or California. And so we come full circle: New York has a lot more going for it than NYC, but it is the presence of NYC a couple of hours away that represents the best USP for the state’s natural assets. The skiing needs the city to stand out as a player, for international visitors anyway. The combination of city-break and skiing holiday is an enticing one, and who wouldn’t prefer good resorts and the greatest city on earth to slightly better skiing and the delights of ... Salt Lake City?

I travelled almost 300 miles due north of NYC stopping off at the major New York State ski resorts as I went. Broadly speaking, the skiing got better the further I got from the city, so there’s a trade-off here: how far should one go to find the best of both worlds?

A LIT TLE OVER T WO HOURS AWAY: BELLEAYRE MOUNTAIN AND HUNTER MOUNTAIN The Catskills won’t tick some of the sublime PAGE 40

aesthetic boxes one expects of, say, alpine resorts. They’re beautiful in a gently rolling, babbling-brookish way, lowland maple forest turning to spiky beech as the hills got higher. But the lack of almighty, sky-cleaving mountainscapes was a bit of a disappointment.

Located in ‘forever wild’ parkland in the heart of the Catskill Forest Preserve, Bellayre is a state-run enterprise and it shows in the lowkey branding and relaxed community feel. Skiers forced to queue at lifts greeted the resort staff like old friends, rather than complaining. I had a joyous time on Belleayre, its 1404’ of vertical incorporating blissful glade skiing and surprisingly brutal moguls. One can test oneself technically to an exhausting extent, before joining one of its long relaxing blues, such as Deer Run, or exploring the forest with darting little off-piste diversions.

Drinks in front of a massive log fire in the (slightly utilitarian) lodge were similarly imbued with the chilled-out good humour of the resort.

Belleayre also benefits from being close to the Emerson Resort and Spa, a large complex of absurdly generous luxury suites – the entire upstairs area was taken up by an ocean of bed – where I got a week of major eating off to an excellent start with strong onion soup, steak and a slab of cheesecake. Apparently the Clintons are fans of this place.

Hunter Mountain, to the east of Belleayre, had the difficult job of following all this in more challenging conditions. Pound for pound, Hunter probably offers the best skiing and terrain in the Catskills, but the overall experience lacked Belleayre’s easy charm. A huge year-round commercial operation that also hosts a music festival in the summer, the Mountain Jam, Hunter pulls together three peaks, 1600’ of vertical, and probably the best snowmaking infrastructure in the state.

Penning beginners into a genuinely out of the way base area, and slightly lacking in blues (although anybody used to skiing in Europe will, as ever in the US, find the blacks a doddle) the runs are sensibly and challengingly organised, with a great little freestyle park and lovely, sudden double-black cliff-faces with names like Racer’s Edge to fly down. There weren’t the vast crowds I’d been led to expect, either, although Hunter is clearly built for them, with its massive cafeteria and banter-tastic bar.

I stayed in the convenient if unexceptional slopeside Kaatskill Mountain Club, where the most memorable quirk was a bath located in the bedroom, rather than the bathroom. The eats at Van Winkle’s restaurant were very respectable, the Buffalo wings better than the salads. And to be fair to Hunter, the bars were better fun than

anywhere else we went.

A LIT TLE UNDER THREE HOURS AWAY: PL AT TEKILL MOUNTAIN AND WINDHA M RESORT If Belleayre’s vibe felt community-led, than Plattekill’s was more that of a big happy family.

A tiny privately-run mountain not far from Belleayre, but taking a longer time to get to because of its out-of-the-way location (chosen for the snow, rather than its proximity to the freeway) it’s like the skiing equivalent of a local, where everybody knows your name.

I skied all of its runs several times with Laszlo, the super charismatic GM, who stopped on every piste to greet folks, ask how their kids were getting on with their lessons, or laugh about a memory of something shared on the mountain a decade before. If offers five main ‘straight down’ runs with big greens sweeping down the entire circumference of the mountain on either side, and little connecting passages to give the impression that the terrain is more diverse than it actually is.

The quality of the snow was excellent, but this is not skiing one flies across the Atlantic to find. Sat in the Twin Peaks-esque panelled lodge, though, eating an excellent Reuben washed down with a couple pints of Saranac IPA, while local families showed up in trucks to ski for an PAGE 41

‘New York has a lot more going for it than NYC, but the presence of NYC a couple of hours away is it’s best USP.’

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

hour or two, to point this out felt like missing the point. Plattekill offers an endearing experience of what a self-sustaining local skiing community can look like, in the context of provincial American hospitality, and that makes it worth the trip.

Imagine if Scotland had little mountains like this!

Similarly worth going a little further to find is Windham, the so-called ‘country club’ of upstate New York skiing which is right in the sweet spot of the distance vs. quality trade-off I alluded to. Windham is a famous playground for the inhabitants of NYC’s wealthy suburbs, and actually we saw a few of them in action in the bars of lovely old Windham town, with its Wild West facades and porches – clad in gilets and braying.

Don’t let that put you off a mountain that feels one with the Catskills around it, a snug yet expansive set of runs pitched right down the middle in terms of difficulty, with a whole face of one of its peaks given over to crunchy, interlocking blues.

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

This clears space for long, straight, extremely quick blacks. I recommend having a rest halfway down and peering into the epic privately-owned holiday lodges half-buried in the snow.

Regulars can also blow thousands of dollars on membership of the exclusive private club at Windham, where we had lunch.

I’m sure it sounds vulgar and elitist but it is without question one of the most comfortable, quiet, elegant spaces I’ve ever seen on a mountain.

My chicken and red pepper sandwich was superb, the atmosphere pleasant and low-key. I fell a little bit in love with Windham, a resort that gracefully straddles that difficult line of providing 5* service without cutting into the intimacy and fun of its everyday experience.

OVER FOUR HOURS AWAY: G ORE MOUNTAIN AND WHITEFACE MOUNTAIN PAGE 42

Poor Gore. My first day on the Adirondacks wasn’t a happy one, and saw me dislocating my shoulder in a whiteout. It was entirely my own fault, and I was looked after very well but it ruined my experience of the resort. It is, frankly, a less successful version of state-run skiing than Belleayre, with facilities that felt cavernous and a bit grim, after Windham, albeit on a beautiful – and compared to the Catskills, tall – mountain, with a vertical drop of 2537’.

That night’s accommodation, the Alpine Lodge in North Creek, combined huge suites with the attention to detail Gore lacked, though. Codeine-drunk as I was, I appreciated my introduction to Adirondack soft furnishings.

The mountains themselves are a very different proposition to the Catskills, a hazy blueish neverending landscape of peaks and lakes, gentle and luminous like a John Ford

‘... I’m sure it sounds vulgar and elitist but it is without question one of the most comfortable, quiet, elegant spaces I’ve ever seen on a mountain.’

film. The skiing experience is more familiar for Europeans, all snow-drenched pine forests and dazzling height. It is staggeringly beautiful; the views alone are worth a drive of four or five hours.

But if you’re willing to drive this far it’s difficult to see why you’d stop at Gore, rather than continuing on to Whiteface.

Unquestionably the biggest, best and most important ski resort in New York State, Whiteface is located a (curling) stone’s throw from Lake Placid, two-time site of the Winter Olympics, in 1932 and 1980. With 3430’ of vertical drop, 86 trails and terrain capable of challenging both intermediate and expert riders (it’s not the best resort for beginners) making the case for skiing there is unnecessary: anybody with a genuine interest in American winter sports has a responsibility to ski here, it’s as simple as that.

Alas, I wasn’t allowed to brave one of its greens in my sling.

PAGE 43

What is worth asserting is the charm of this 80s Olympic village, with massive administrative buildings at odds with its tiny population, kitchy winter sports experiences such as bobsledding on the Olympic track, and clear obsession with icy activities and the athletes. Best of all, though, is the presence of the Whiteface Lodge, surely one of the most brilliantly conceived family hotels in the world. From enormous suites in which every detail is a specially commissioned work of art inspired by rustic woody Adirondack crafts, to amenities including a remarkably tasteful games room for the kids, and a ‘cigar and cognac’ leanto for dad, it is a masterpiece of curated fun.

As I tucked into blue-rare venison, and the fabulous sommelier talked me through beer, wine and whiskey options for before, during and after, I found I’d stopped worrying about my shoulder. www.iloveny.com

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

A ROMAN HOLIDAY KCR Editor COCO KHAN visits the Eternal City with Luxury Link, and finds that with a little know-how, even the familiar can surprise you.

“A Roman Holiday? Really? That’s what you’re going to call the piece? Like no-one’s done that before”. I am arguing with a colleague of mine ahead of publishing this article. He has a point, but it’s a point that can be tiresome to the luxury traveller. After all, we can’t always do something entirely original when we work, or when we travel.

Much like intrepid types search the globe high and low for something ‘authentic’, an unquantifiable Holy Grail-like aspect of travel, so do many search for the ‘hidden’ aspects of a destination— steering clear of the ‘tourist traps’; experiencing a place ‘like a local’; finding the secret treasures of a destination that no one has before.

However, quite often discovering the hidden can be at odds with a truly luxury experience.

It makes sense: how are you going to guarantee a certain standard of service if there aren’t enough numbers to warrant putting that service into place? Equally, while the world is developing at light speed in all directions, there are some holiday hotspots that aren’t going to be changing their DNA any time soon. Rome, is the perfect example of this. Yes, modern Rome will change in accordance to its own and world trends – new restaurants will open, new galleries – but the heart and soul of Rome, its history, its flavours will not

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

change. Therefore, you’ll always be competing with millions of others who have experienced something similar.

This summer I travelled with Luxury Link to Rome to find out if it was possible to experience a city as famed as Rome in a capacity that was both luxurious, authentic and offered up some of the hidden treasures of the city. It was a tall order, but if anyone could do it, it would be them.

Luxury Link is a collection of luxury travel websites offering value-added, immersive experiences at five-star accommodation around the world at mates rates. Their reach is impressive – they work with over 700 luxury and five-star hotels in more than 80 countries and have been in operation for nearly 20 years.

We’re staying at the Jumeirah Grand Hotel Via Veneto. For those of you who have visited Rome before you’ll know this is the heart of the Eternal City, Via Veneto itself being one of the most famous roads in Rome not least for hosting Harry’s Bar, the watering-hole from Fellini’s La Dolce Vita. It’s a lovely hotel—much like London, space is at a premium in Rome and the Jumeirah does a fantastic job of utilising its space to feel really quite huge. It’s a Mary Poppins house in many respects; you might not guess from the PAGE 44

outside but it boasts 116 rooms, two (lovely) restaurants, a spa/fitness centre, and several wonderful suites kitted out in nothing less than Hermes furniture. It even has a Solarium which, as decadence goes, trumps most things. There is little that can compare to soaking up the sun with a Martini in hand, on a Roman rooftop looking out to where some of the greatest leaders of civilisation were born and fell. It’s a find, that’s for sure, but not because it’s out of the way or new—but because it’s clever in a way you might not have expected, or might not have been advertised.

This is what Luxury Link do well, exceptionally well. Yes we do the standard things, all of which are suitably pleasant – tours of Roman ruins, a trip around the Bulgari flagship store, wine and cheese tastings – but none of those aspects warrant a third party planner like Luxury Link. That’s not to say those experiences are not thrilling, moving, inspiring and luxurious in their own way, but they are well documented, well-known and can be booked yourself with a few clicks online.

But who else is going to put on a picnic for you in Rome’s most Royal Park (Villa Borghese), complete with uniformed waiting staff and chilled wine as you get off your weary feet and lay in

‘Quite often discovering the hidden gems of a city can be at odds with a truly luxury experience.’ the grass in the sun? Who else will take you out of your comfort zone and put you on a Segway (that’s right, I said Segway) to experience the classic sites in a way you may never have considered? Who else really understands what the hidden gems of Rome are out there when you might ignore it on a webpage?

Such as walking out of your hotel room and discovering a line of classic Fiat 500s for your next tour, the ones that defined sixties Rome in their golden age of cinema—and the smallest car you’ll have ever sat in. You have your driver and tour guide in this tiny car, yet there’s nothing uncomfortable or cramped about this experience. It’s exhilarating. There are few thrills that can compare to whizzing around the city in such an emblematic car as Roman passers-by stop and salute in reverence at the modest but iconic motor.

It’s worth pointing out that these experiences aren’t exclusive to Luxury Link, indeed these are experiences put on by third parties, but these prices (and very good prices) are exclusive to Luxury Link.

I’m not going to spend any time talking about Rome’s history, how epic, beautiful and spiritual it all is. How modern Rome wins on style, food,

and character almost every time. How you could spend a month there and never truly see every treasure and hear every tale. To find out about that, how unique and truly spectacular Rome is, even millennia later, you need to spend some time on Google and watch La Grande Bellezza.

But for that experiential stuff, the exhilaration, the wonder, the new perspective and the hidden, someone like Luxury Link certainly knows what they’re doing. Perhaps in every famed city, there are more treasures to unearth for the luxury traveller after all.

On your next Roman Holiday, book a stay at the five-star Jumeirah Grand Hotel Via Veneto with Luxury Link for 3-7 nights from £901, based on two people sharing. Your stay includes private roundtrip airport transfers, VIP welcome upon arrival including a bottle of Prosecco, daily full English breakfast for two, complimentary wireless internet, early check-in and late checkout, subject to availability. To book please visit: www.luxurylink.co.uk or call 0808 189 0029 Luxury Link: The Luxury Link Travel Group is a collection of luxury travel websites offering valueadded, immersive experiences at five-star PAGE 45

accommodation around the world at insider prices. LuxuryLink.co.uk features luxury vacation experiences from over 700 luxury and fivestar hotels in more than 80 countries. For 17 years, the trusted luxury hotel experts at Luxury Link have worked directly with the world’s top properties to create premium, hand-picked travel experiences not available anywhere else.

Airline: Monarch, the scheduled leisure airline, operates flights to Rome from Birmingham and London Luton and Leeds Bradford airports with fares, including taxes, starting from £34.99 one way (£72.76 return) (lead fares summer 14).

For further information or to book Monarch flights, Monarch Holidays or Monarch Hotels, please visit www.monarch.co.uk Explore the hidden gems of Rome with the Rome 500 Experience in a classic Fiat 500 from 99 euros. www.rome500exp.com Segway tours of Rome from 75 euros www. segwayrometours.com

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

EASTERN PROMISES SAM KINCHIN-SMITH and NANCY GRYSPEERDT put some of the founding principles of bespoke, luxury travel to the test in one of the world’s most intimidating countries: the People’s Republic of China. PHOTOGRAPHY SAM KINCHIN-SMITH

ABOVE: Temple, Lijiang OPPOSITE: Banyan Tree, Lijiang

PART I: THE STRAND, LONDON Travel ideas often start big: I want to explore Central America, India, China. The latter might be the most daunting prospect of all: China, all inaccessible cultural differences and impossible language, the country we all feel we ought to know more about. Getting there isn’t too difficult, but making the most of your days in the world’s most populous country? Choosing the locations and activities that represent a route into its rich, surprising, intimate heart? It is, above all, a question of curatorship – of selecting and sampling experiences, of finding the right balance of intensity and pleasure, shortcuts and sidesteps.

This is an article about visiting China. But it is also about curated travel in a part of the world where the stakes are highest.

Well-planned travel requires time or money. We can pay for someone else to make the curatorial choices. That’s what luxury travel is about, isn’t it: putting oneself into the hands of people who know what we should be looking for, how to access it, and the special and direct ways of covering as much ground as possible in a short time. But whose hands, and how can we trust them?

For those who travel with market-leader Abercrombie & Kent, they belong to founder Geoffrey Kent. He remains the driving curatorial force behind the organisation, exploring new experiences and tweaking them based on his remarkable instincts. We met Geoffrey to talk about bespoke travel, in an office on the Strand full of pictures of him smiling with American presidents and Hollywood legends.

To understand his vision, one has to go back to his roots. The details of Geoffrey’s early life are well-known, all baked days spent shooting elephant guns on horseback in the Maasai Mara.

What happened next is more interesting, though.

An ‘out of control, totally impetuous’ Geoffrey was sent to Sandhurst by his father, and ‘it totally sorted me out’. He learned ‘the sophistication … the form of how these guys lived’ as aide-decamp to Lieutenant-Colonel John Frost, a wealthy war hero. It was for Frost that Geoffrey created his first ‘product’, a refrigerated truck, so that Frost could enjoy ‘his usual caviar, champagne, pâté’.

Geoffrey had suggested such luxury wouldn’t be possible in Libya and Frost had replied, ‘what are you talking about? Get it done!’ This became a mantra for Geoffrey, and A&K’s basic formula was in place: a wild streak, a taste for luxury, and an eye for technological innovation to resolve the apparent incompatibility between those two things.

It is ‘products’ that drive Geoffrey. He’s an entrepreneur, not a travel agent. ‘People have always thought of it as a service industry. But all the time, I’m always thinking, I’m thinking right now, of new products to sell.’ A good product is the difference between nothing happening and everything taking off. ‘I realised this product of mine was fabulous. How could David Rockefeller, the richest man in the world, spend 30 days with me, in Africa, and love it? Because I took him right up to the edge. It was crazy, rhinos charging, but then at night I had all this incredible food and luxury. I controlled the last minute, through

fabulous guides. Mine were all officers, gentleman types. It was the whole package.’

Geoffrey went to Egypt next, with David Niven, ‘and realised I’ve got to build a ship, so I did, the first small ship with a swimming pool, which also became famous.’ Product followed product: ‘I had this motto from my father, go everywhere you can’t drink the water. So jungles, the Amazon, first company into China in ’79. Anywhere dangerous, but you have to have a product that supports it, a lodge or a ship or whatever.’

We ask whether A&K’s reliance on its own products reduces the flexibility of its curatorship, referencing a plagiaristic rival, Ampersand Travel, which offers a much lighter operation of custom itineraries. ‘Sure, but we’re completely vertically integrated, and that’s what bespoke travel is all about. We start with you at the front end, here, you’re counselled by people who have been here for years, they understand the world. Then you’re down to the lodges, the Land Rovers – I own everything. Which means we can make sure you have gluten-free bread, caffeine-free cokes.

That’s what we deliver, that’s bespoke travel.

It’s not just some website that puts together fancylooking itineraries. That’s like a Bentley without an engine!’

Does he worry he’s insulating clients from the kind of magical jeopardy that was the making of him, though? ‘Not at all. When I first got this idea, we did canoe safaris down the Tana river, and hippos would charge, I came face to face with huge puff adders. So I said: we can’t do that, too dangerous. Instead, I would do the most dangerous version first, and then we’ll throttle it back a bit. Maybe bring a boat in, a lodge, then the guides. I call it the Abercrombie & Kent cocoon. It means you can be even more flexible, actually, because you’re safe.’

It’s a convincing sales pitch. But does the reality of rolling out ‘unique’ experiences to thousands of people result in the loss of that extra something which means so much to Geoffrey? We put the theory to the test in the ultimate battleground, China, by exploring two quite different manifestations of A&K’s bespoke approach. First: a cruise, on the kind of

PAGE 47

‘We felt we’d got to know our second guide... when she told us the story of how she’d once been married to three brothers simultaneously. ‘ ship Geoffrey likes to say he built himself – an A&K possession presented as a stand-alone experience, in other words – with a fixed itinerary.

Then a much more intimate and customised programme relying on that other key A&K commodity, imaginative, spontaneous guides.

If outsourced curatorship can indeed create experiences that feel like laser-guided insights into otherwise inaccessible contexts, then premium travel becomes a hell of a lot easier to defend – doesn’t it?

Part II: Yangtze River, Hubei Province In truth, we weren’t going into China completely blind. There were a couple of things we definitely wanted to do, in amongst our outsourced choices, one of which was a Yangtze cruise. We’d heard from other scenery junkies that sailing up the middle of the river’s famous gorges is a uniquely spectacular experience.

Sanctuary Retreats operates the most luxurious cruises on the river as part of a small but perfectly formed portfolio of African safari lodges and unique river-cruising ships in China, Egypt and Myanmar. Each is a product built by Geoffrey to help A&K offer a genuinely bespoke experience in a special place. Sanctuary is one of the most prominent and self-sufficient brands A&K operates its possessions and itineraries through: one can book a cruise with them, independently, and A&K’s visibility on board is limited to the sizeable number of one’s fellow cruisers carrying branded holiday schedules. In short, the Yangzi Explorer presented a great opportunity to test both an independently curated experience and a key component of A&K’s general approach, in a glorious location.

A cruise involves handing over almost all

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

Sanctuary cruise excursions

of one’s agency. Fortunately, Sanctuary are keenly aware of the potential claustrophobia inherent in this, and make much of the Explorer experience about, precisely, choice. The choice to attend the continuous programme of activities that runs throughout the cruise, for example – our calligraphy and early-morning Tai Chi classes were delightful, as was the garrulous cruise director Bob’s lecture on his experiences as an American in China – or to relax with a spa treatment or a complimentary Tsingtao at the bar.

The choice between a spectacular range of buffet options at breakfast and lunch – the latter featuring more than ten mains and almost as many desserts – and Chinese and Western á la carte menus in the evening. (Our cruise catered for an audience that was roughly 50/50 Chinese and American/European and while the food was of a decent 4* or 5* hotel standard, it pitched itself slightly too much down the middle, with the Chinese options in particular lacking the fresh ginger and garlic audacity of, say, street food.)

The choice, too, to go on a guided excursion every day, or to enjoy the temporarily silent, stationary boat.

Excursions were terrific, communicating an informative and evocative slice of life on the riverbank. All riffed off the ‘theme’ of the cruise that was firmly stuck to, despite its somewhat technical and traumatic nature. Construction began on the Yangtze’s Three Gorges Dam in 1994, and by 2012 had resulted in the water level rising over 90 metres in some areas. In other words, everything about the part of the Yangtze the cruise navigates – archaeology, society, environment, aesthetics

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

– has recently changed beyond recognition.

All three excursions addressed this phenomenon head-on.

We visited, first, the surviving portion of Fengdu, one of the few conurbations left standing after 13 cities, 140 towns and 1352 villages disappeared. We explored a bustling food market and were encouraged to confront the realities of families split, land lost and culture drowned in the name of technological progress. The tone was well-judged, the only bum notes being an uncomfortable visit to a primary school and a slightly suspicious approach to translation (‘this is Mr Han, he lost his home and all his farmland, he is so happy’).

For the second, we were ferried from the Explorer to the Shennong stream, a gorgeous Yangtze tributary where one of the few famous ‘hanging coffins’ to survive the flooding was visible, wedged into the rockface. There we hopped onto a fleet of beautiful sampans, propelled the traditional ‘tracker’ way, pulled by ropes held on the bank by absurdly athletic men, who later oared us further upstream. The third saw us visiting a museum and park dedicated to the dam itself, an insight into the civic pride in its industrial infrastructure China is keen to foster in its citizens. It felt like an empty theme park dedicated to large-scale engineering, an attempt to compensate for the loss of so many lovely things that hasn’t quite found an audience yet.

Then again, peculiar tourism experiences are one of the most endearing things one encounters in China, and this was perhaps the most memorable of all.

PAGE 48

It is individual moments from the cruise that really stick in the memory: entering Qutang gorge in the early morning mist, with coffee and pastries, suddenly flanked on both sides by almighty wooded crags, folding over one another and all around. Or the bizarre (but again, endearing) variety show, involving crew, staff and profoundly unwilling guests and compered by a semi-naked Bob. Or going to sleep to the clanks and crashes of our overnight progress through the dam’s fivestep ship-lock.

But it is smooth and continuous beauty and comfort that are the Explorer’s greatest assets. Our suite, halfway up the pricing scale, was very generous, particularly the proportions of its bathroom. We loved the balconies, a feature of even the smallest cabins on the boat, and spent quiet hours watching timber-laden container ships chug past, as the greens and turquoises of tallow, camphor and orange trees on the riverbank changed slowly, slowly, and then dramatically. The bar was friendly, the hundreds of staff superbly attentive and the old-fashioned approach to dining, at a set time with the same table plan at every meal, was rather sweet.

As we emerged from the world’s largest water stairway what greeted us was both a blessing and a curse for the cruise. In hazy sunshine we saw the Yangtze as she used to be, her interactions with the riverbank far more subtle than the stark chalky waterlines of raised water and flooded bank, all splashy beaches and limestone cobbles. Roads sweeping round bends in the river, sampans and jetties and architecture evoking Lake Como more than the bristling

Variety show, Sanctuary cruise

concrete of Chongqing, where our voyage had begun: it was a balmy highpoint but also a counterpoint of regret.

Perhaps 20 years ago would have been a better time to explore! Then again, apparently the cruising boats of the mid-nineties were a rusty, hostile experience compared to the elegant, cultured armchair of the Yangzi Explorer.

Part III: Lijiang, Yunnan Province Back in the UK, we’d spoken to our A&K ‘counsellor’ (Geoffrey’s word) about how we might like to use our remaining days in China.

Our priorities were beauty, contrast and cultural surprise, an antidote to the country’s undeserved reputation for homogeneity. Before we’d finished explaining, he’d closed his notebook. It must be Yunnan! A land in the sky built from red earth, bordering Tibet, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, where 56 tribes live side by side in the shadow of the Himalayas. The promise of otherworldly landscapes and precious wildlife, of ancient cities and tradition, of yak barbecue and rosti: it sounded perfect. But choosing a general location for us was the easy bit. Once we got there, we only had five days. A&K had to make them count.

They pulled it off for three key reasons.

First, efficiency: our itinerary honed in on two key destinations, Lijiang and Shangri-La, but also turned the journey between them into a sublime adventure in itself. We spent a tear-inducing day hiking up then down Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the deepest river canyons in the world, all fecund landscapes of buckwheat, pomegranate and tobacco at the top, and brutal churning

rapids at the bottom – before ascending up and up through the mountains onto the piglet-strewn Tibetan plateau, 10,000 feet above sea level but oddly flat.

Second: we found ourselves, either side, in two of the most imaginatively conceived boutique hotels in Asia, the Banyan Tree Lijiang and the Banyan Tree Ringha in Shangri-La County.

Thirdly, we were matched up with two guides who were not only knowledgeable, mischievous and unashamedly themselves, intriguing idiosyncratic personalities; they also lived and breathed the cultures they introduced us to.

First up was Wu, responsible for leading us around Lijiang and its surrounding villages.

The old town, a UNESCO world heritage site known (inevitably) as the Venice of the East because of its canals and cobblestone streets, was a little Disneyfied for our tastes, reflecting China’s consistent indelicacy when it comes to cultural heritage. The distinctive grey-tiled roofs of its ancient houses formed wonderful riddling networks when viewed from the temples that overlook the town, though. Indeed, it was in the quieter monasteries and courtyards – with a 500 year-old Camellia tree in blossom, or a distinctive flaking mural fusing Taoist, Buddhist and Dongba aesthetics, around every corner – that we truly found the special poetry of old Lijiang.

The spectacle of everyday life in the serene hillside villages, strangely akin to old Andalucía, was similarly a better evocation of the customs of the Naxi tribe than the slickly run facilities Wu also took us to, such as the Dongba Museum and the ‘Lijiang Impressions Show’ – a vast PAGE 49

tribal performance choreographed by the man behind the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.

As we ate together in little family-run restaurants (clean-living Wu insisting we ordered our chillidominated Yunnan specialities MSG-free) he explained the Naxis’ customs, so central to the culture of the region: their matriarchal society, for example, and preference for casual marriage and beds built from the cured carcasses of pigs, to be snacked on in the night. His passion for Yunnan, its history and environment, was rivalled only by his addiction to English aphorisms. It was amusing to hear the splendour of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, the ‘half’ of Tiger Leaping Gorge that looms over Lijiang, described in terms of ‘a bird in the hand’ and so on.

We felt we’d got to know our second guide, Anna, when she told us the story of how she’d once been married to three brothers simultaneously.

Her Tibetan ethnicity, upbringing and faith lent integrity to our experiences in Shangri-La, once called Zhongdian but renamed in 2001 by opportunistic local government officials.

Whereas Wu brought encyclopaedic knowledge to his locale, with Anna it was all about experience.

We visited a small temple and the vast Ganden Sumtseling Monastery and much preferred the former, which felt like a more appropriate location for the intimacy of Anna’s style, its grounds flecked with prayer flags and overrun with live animals left for the sake of good karma, rabbits and goats frolicking in the fragrant smoke.

She helped us locate genuine bargains from a warehouse market – dried mushrooms, street

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

Tiger Leaping Gorge, Yunnan

workers’ rubber shoes and shockingly cheap roast duck – before taking us to Shangri-La old town, once an important cultural and artistic hub, as well as a tourist trap, now a haunting ruin.

Anna was almost in tears as we walked through the wreckage of the fire that tore through the town’s oldest buildings back in January, apparently caused by the neglect of an outof-towner, a cautionary tale for other regions dependent on tourists and holiday homes.

For Shangri-La, like Lijiang, is a popular staycation destination – a place for Han Chinese to imagine a pre-Revolution world rich in diversity and tradition.

Each night we returned to hotels chosen for their intelligent interaction with historic and natural contexts, and their delicate luxury.

Although neither Banyan Tree resort can really be described as a hotel: at both we basically had our own home.

Lijiang is a network of chalets, connected by paths and artificial canals – presumably referencing the old town’s waterways. They are an architectural synthesis of traditional Naxi cottage design and contemporary minimalism: we stepped through huge glass doors into open-plan, feng-shui heaven, with a giant bed to float on in the middle. Each ‘room’ comes with its own private hot tub in a walled front garden, from which we admired the way the pagodas and gateways of the hotel buildings framed the sacred snow mountain in the background. An exceptional restaurant in a pristine glass box offering contemporary, almost humorous takes on local ingredients, such as

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

yak meat and matsutake mushrooms, further contributed to our overall impression of a resort responding to its surroundings with exceptional sensitivity and taste.

The Banyan Tree Ringha goes even further in its efforts to construct a kind of organic and truthful luxury. Guests are housed in actual Tibetan farmhouses, picked up piece by piece from a nearby village and reassembled in a remote area of quiet beauty, at the end of a potholed track. Each contains hand-crafted features that transcend the conventional standards of 5* hotels – this is on a different planet, basically – such as the free-standing wooden tub that dominates the bathroom.

This is thick woollen blanket territory, a place to sip steaming cups of green tea (from the extensive complimentary selection) relishing one’s absolute privacy, before wandering over to the restaurant for a Tibetan hotpot, a cook-yourown revelation of yak and black chicken boiled in broth and dipped in wonderful concentrated flavours. As we wandered out of our farmhouse and along the Shu Du Gang river on our final morning, we felt blessed on a level nobody has any right to expect of a hotel.

It can’t be a coincidence that the ship and hotels, the itineraries and guides that were chosen for us by A&K represented a remarkably consistent sequence of triumphs, each responding to challenging, magnificent locations with insight and sensitivity, comfort and style. And though it’s clear they deliver what they promise to via a PAGE 50

formula, rather than a genuinely unique approach for every client – that the expert consultation and the suggestion that one can ask for anything represent a performance as much as they do a curatorial principle – it would require a great deal of knowledge, resources and experience to work out a better one.

It must be interesting to observe the way customers’ expectations increase as a result of every trip. We’ve found it difficult to get excited about European hotels since we stayed in the Banyan Tree Ringha. Presumably it’s that – the thrill of having something or somewhere up his sleeve, ready for the most adventurous, the most well-travelled, the richest and the most impossible to impress clients – that keeps Geoffrey Kent in this game, 50 years on from his first safari.

Sam and Nancy were guests of Abercrombie & Kent, Sanctuary Retreats and Banyan Tree. To explore A&K’s China tours, visit: www.abercrombiekent.com/travel-destinations/ asia-luxury-travel/china/ They travelled on the three-night Yangzi Explorer cruise between Chongqing and Yichang in a Suite Cabin.

Rates start at 8980 yuan per person in shoulder season 2015, for more information visit: www.sanctuaryretreats.com/china-yangzi-riverholidays They stayed at the Banyan Tree Lijiang in a Deluxe Garden Villa – King: www.banyantree.com/ en/web/banyantree/cn-china-lijiang and they stayed at the Banyan Tree Ringha in a Ringha Lodge: www.banyantree.com/en/web/banyantree/cn-chinaringha

THE NOVELIST, THE COMMUNIST, THE DUCHESS AND THE NAZI JOHN UNDERWOOD takes a well-needed break from the city, and travels to Swan Inn, Swinbrook—the Cotswold home of Debo, the youngest of the notorious Mitford sisters.

It’s Sunday morning in Swinbrook, Oxfordshire, and I’m toying with a remnant of sausage and trying to decide if my flimsy London shoes will cope with a walk to the church. I survey the dining room, hoping to find someone who’ll make the call for me. The available arbiters of inter-prandial locomotion appear to be my girlfriend (currently inflicting the final indignity on a ribbon of smoked salmon), the waitress (busy bustling), the novelist, the Communist, the duchess, the Nazi, the other Nazi and, errm, Pam.

Alas, the latter six judges in my little tribunal weren’t present in person - in fact, only one of them is still drawing breath - but their presence infuses every inch of the Swan Inn. The Mitford sisters, Britain’s most famous family of Golden Age ‘It’ girls, had an extraordinary presence in high society for decades, and reeling off their various achievements and quirks feels like playing a pearl-embossed game of Guess Who. Was this Mitford a writer? Nancy, Decca and Debo, raise your hands. Did this sister hold extreme political views? Step forward Decca, Diana, Unity. Who in this room took tea with Hitler, danced with JFK, was interned in Holloway? They really were the

most extraordinary bunch.

On the train from London I resolved to fill in some of the gaps in my Mitford knowledge by reading Wait for Me!, one of a dozen published books by Deborah, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire and the only survivng sister. The former chatelaine of Chatsworth House was born the youngest of seven (the solitary Mitford brother, Thomas, is often unjustly forgotten), and grew up in the astonishingly pretty village of Swinbrook, all Cotswold stone and wandering ducks. Although the family moved away in 1936, Debo’s remaining holdings in the area include the Swan Inn, where a row of airily sketched Mitfords were waiting above the fireplace to cast silent judgment on my reluctance to go for a walk. (We did in the end, because “if you sit in that bloody armchair eating sausages for much longer, you’ll either turn into a pig or an antimacassar.”)

My trip to the Swan unconsciously echoed a recent visit by quondam Royal Borough resident and long-time fan David Cameron, who took the French premier François Hollande to Swinbrook for a working lunch of potted shrimp, rainbow trout and apple crumble. A photo of the occasion

PAGE 52

‘There’s no sense in leaving London if you aren’t going to do things properly.’ now hangs by the bar, underlining the Swan’s reputation as “the UK’s poshest pub” (the Mail, glorying in the fortunate collision of politics, celebrity and Britishness). A pub patronised by PMs and owned by a duchess might be expected to feel exclusive, as if you and your Labrador need to get on a waiting list three months before fancying a pint, but the Swan retains the unmistakeable community feel of a proper local.

When I first walked into the bar on a wet Saturday night, I found a pleasant mix of locals, tourists and escaped Londoners who’d folded their striped shirts and stolen into the night in search of somewhere less frenetic than Mayfair.

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

“It’s not poncey, that’s the thing,” said a charming fellow who bought me a drink before we’d even exchanged names. “The food’s great, but the Swan’s still a pub - there’s no ‘restaurant with rooms’ feel about it.” Archie Orr-Ewing, who comanages the Swan with his wife Nicola and takes particular interest in the food and drink side of things, has done a wonderful job with the bar - by my count, the Swan has at least six of the ten qualities that Orwell ascribed to the ideal pub, plus a few he didn’t think of.

To pick up on my drinking companion’s comment about ‘restaurants with rooms’, the Swan’s accommodation is one of its standout features. Nicola Orr-Ewing’s crisp, clean approach to interior design has produced some truly gorgeous rooms - there are now eleven, six in a striking stone barn and five in a newly converted cottage on the bank of the River Windrush, which babbles contentedly past the west end of the pub.

Our room commanded a view of the tumbledown summerhouse (for which Nicola has big plans), an apparent conference centre for local geese situated on a bend in the river, and an awful lot of sky, fields and trees. When I woke up on Sunday morning I spent nearly an hour watching the adventures of a red kite, stately and dignified as a retired colonel poking around a spa town, and felt as relaxed and happy as I’ve ever been.

Because there’s no sense in leaving London if you aren’t going to do things properly, we ate three consecutive meals at the Swan

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

and enjoyed a pleasant variety of peoplewatching opportunities. Dinner on Saturday night underlined the pub’s community appeal, with a predominantly local clientele eating, drinking and arguing about sport - personally, I’d have sworn blind that football is better than rugby (it isn’t) if there had been seconds in the offing. A generous slab of terrine was glossy, firm and redolent with the pleasing punch of properly hung game, while woodpigeon salad glowed ruby and emerald like a dragon’s pension plan. Given my pitiful reliance on protein, I was surprised to find that the most memorable dish of the evening was a side serving of garlic kale ordered by my companion - there are plenty of places (including the Swan) to get an excellent steak frites, but teasing such moreish depths of flavour out of the dull and worthy emblem of the superfood smoothie brigade was sorcery indeed. I have no idea what we had for pudding, an oversight which you may attribute to the exciting and sensibly priced wine list.

Once I’d been torn away from my kitewatching, we joined the other guests for breakfast in an airy conservatory. Whilst I was minded to strangle the party at the next table, who all asked for their full Englishes without black pudding and made absolutely no attempt to offer the deliciously clotted surplus to me, both the food and the service were entirely impressive. The Swan appears to employ a mix of eager local kids and professional front-of-house staff sourced from London, and the combination is entirely lovely.

PAGE 52

Archie and Nicola themselves are both alive with energy, and their enthusiasm and knowledge are well-represented throughout their team. We eventually went for that walk, which took in the charming village church and its attendant Mitford memorials, before returning for an excellent lunch in the company of various day-trippers and local families. Once again under the watchful eye of the six sisters atop the mantlepiece, I caved and ordered the true-blue potted shrimp, which remains the best thing that’s happened to my mouth this year. David Cameron may have bad taste in advisors, but I will say this for him: the man can certainly pick a seafood starter.

A startlingly miserable cabbie took us back to the local station, where we sat and quietly digested our lunch and our trip while waiting for a train home. The embankment, which at one point must have stood out like a scar across the face of the gently undulating landscape, was now grassy enough to look as if it had always been there. Like the railway, and like aristocrat-turnedElvis-devotee Debo Mitford, the Swan stands as a perfect interface between tradition and innovation, the pastoral past and the progressive present. There may well be no lovelier holiday spot in England.

For more information or to book visit http://www. theswanswinbrook.co.uk/

ALL HEART; ALGARVE What comes to mind when you think of Portugal? The white-washed villages of the Algarve? Well-kept golf courses?

Sandy beaches and lively resorts? TAFFETA GRAY asks us to think again.

The Algarve is undeniably beautiful, and deserves its popularity. But there is so much more to Spain’s noble neighbour. The north, for instance, where the Douro Valley is flanked by the Tras-os-Montes, offers visitors a little bit of almost everything: it has scenery to match any part of Italy and some of the world’s finest wines, cheese and cured meats.

As a treat, I’m taking my oldest friend Sophia with me to Porto, to discover a little known hotel called Vidago Palace. Between us we have five boys and are therefore eager for some peace and quiet.

We’ve come to the right place.

The privileged Portuguese have been holidaying in this part of the world since the early 1900s, drawn to the therapeutic properties of Vidago’s natural thermal springs. But it is only recently that the international tourist is beginning to discover this jewel in Portugal’s faded crown.

It was Portugal’s King Charles I (1863– 1908) who had the bright idea to build a place where his family and members of the aristocracy could come and bathe in Vidago’s springs.

Poor Charles was assassinated before his dream was realised, and revolution followed.

Portugal’s insurgents were clear-sighted however, and knew better than to dismiss the project. And on 6th October 1910, Vidago Palace opened for the first time as one of the most luxurious hotels on the Iberian Peninsula.

Vidago entertained the rich and famous for many years, even through a post war slump.

But gradually neglect and Portugal’s economic decline took their toll and the palace closed in 2006.

Fortunately, a knight in shining armour was on its way in the unusual form of UNICER, the Portuguese drinks company, which swooped in with the investment that the region was desperately seeking. And in October 2010, after a great deal of restoration under the direction of award winning architect Alvaro Siza Viera, the mini pink Versailles that is Vidago Palace re-opened, one hundred years since its inception.

Siza Viera seamlessly combines the old with the new. Outside, the grounds are punctuated with Farrow and Ball coloured pagodas with tutti frutti coloured stained glass windows.

These are the original buildings which still house the source of the water. Ladies in white hair nets and mops busy themselves around the tap and wait for guests to come in and drink from the spring.

It is pretty powerful stuff, salty with a distinctive iron kick.

The Spa provides a modern twist to the hotel with corridor upon corridor of white marble and huge angular glass windows which allow the light to stream through at unusual angles. It’s all about the water at Vidago, so a Vichy treatment is a must. The water takes ten years to filter through layers of granite to the surface, and picks up all sorts of minerals along the way. In fact it has the highest mineral content in Europe. But perhaps most impressive is the fact that the water comes out of the ground slightly fizzy.

I tell Sophia that it is normal to strip down before going off for our Vichy shower. She looks suspiciously at me but followed my instruction.

I later learn that she tried to wear her disposable paper knickers that her therapist gave her as a bra, which caused endless amusement for the rest of the trip.

Probably the best part was the massageshower. Four shower heads are suspended over the bed and pound you with warm mineral water while the therapist gives you a kind of underwater massage with sweet almond oil.

The second stage involves a hydrotherapy bath with frothing warm mineral water that gradually rises in temperature.

Our hair drenched in all that mineral stuff, we have a quick (normal) shower and head off to the outdoor Vitality pool. We play like naughty children pressing all the buttons as taps shoot out water with impressive force and bubbles tickle every inch of your body. Later, we drink Jasmine tea and then have a sushi and salad feast in the PAGE 53

Juice Bar. Stuffed and bloated, we then head off on a hike into the cedar and pine forest hills behind the hotel. We need to rebuild our appetite.

Dinner is held in the ballroom. It’s a Sunday night and quiet but the handsome Victor guides us through four out of the 75 labels of Portuguese wines that live in the cellars. I cannot profess to have any knowledge of wine but I like to think I can spot what’s good from the dross, and this was all delicious. We have sparkling wine to start; a chardonnay grape combined with two local grapes, Arinto and Bical. We devour a regional Moira sausage with spiced apple and Tras-os-Montes “Alheira” with mushrooms which is like a very fine spring roll stuffed with a mixture of meats, accompanied by a light rose called Vallado. Next up is another traditional dish; Bisaro pork neck that has been slow cooked for 12 hours. The flesh falls away into a pool of white bean and smoked ham stew. Victor offers us quite a sweet white called Moscatel, which would not have been our usual plonk of choice but it works.

Our eyes wider than our bellies, we order a delicious biscuity pud with ice cream and a chocolatey red port to finish.

We spend the next morning nursing sore heads by the pool. For a (very brief) moment we think about how lovely it would be to return to Vidago with our families. There is enough space for you not to annoy those without children, a plethora of restaurants to choose from, and plenty to keep the little ones occupied from exploring the grounds on foot or on wheels, hiking the mountains or just lounging by the pool.

But that can wait. Instead, we spend our last minutes drinking in the sun, in the deep quiet of a child-free break.

Vidago Palace room rates start from 140 euros per night B&B in a standard room rising to 930 euros for a suite BA, easyJet and TAP Portugal all fly from London airports to Porto and then it is an hour’s drive.

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

1. LEUTTON POSTLE X KOPPARBERG RRP £150 WWW.MACHINE-A.COM

2. LACROIX HEATED LEATHER E-GLOVES RRP £398 WWW.NET-A-PORTER.COM

3. ZUZUNAGA IPAD/MAC CASES £20-£65 WWW.ZUZUANAGA.COM

SHOPPING: GIFT GUIDE Everything you need to give this Christmas 7. BO CONCEPT OVAL DOT VASE. Shown colour, white, carved glass RRP £ 179 WWW.BOCONCEPT.COM

4. KEITH HARING LIMITED EDITION PRINT £200 WWW.PUREEVIL.ME

8. SAMSUNG GEAR 2 TITAN SILVER RRP £245 WWW. CARPHONEWAREHOUSE. COM

5. YAPHANK BAG £200 WWW.LEXINGTONCOMPANY.COM

9. POPPET IN THE POST LUXURY HAMPER BRIGHT RRP £230 WWW.POPPETINTHEPOST.CO.UK

6. CASSANDRA GOAD TEMPLE OF HEAVEN EARRINGS, 9ct gold, with clip and post RRP £1,745 WWW.CASSANDRAGOAD.COM 10. FERRARI RED POWER GIFT SET RRP FROM £29 WWW.BOOTS.COM

PAGE 55

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

FERRARI RED POWER DRIVEN BY PASSION

The very soul of Ferrari.

The ultimate olfactory expression of affirmation, a charismatic attraction united to the passion for excellence, in the smallest detail. This new Ferrari fragrance confirms the passion for the timeless values that the Prancing H or se brand shares with its connoisseurs and admirers... the great attitude, the natural born elegance and the driving power of a heart-beat that nothing can withstand.

THE VISUAL. THE IMAGE OF FERRARI PASSION. The man e merges out of the shadows, ba thed in the red glo w of a m ysterious sensuality. His gaze is direct, penetrating, revealing a new world of passion an d the d riving force, the challenging power of the winner.

A strong personality smouldering power of seduction from Ferrari.

FERRARI RED POWER. DRIVEN BY PASSION.

THE DESIGN STRONG LINES, SOPHISTICATED MATERIALS FERRARI RED POWER: the new fragrance dedicated to the authentic Ferrari man.

Passionate. Forceful. What he is, he is totally. What he learns, he knows. A natural char mer, he breathes power, independence and strength.

THE FRAGRANCE. The first note is a rush of freshness from Calabrian bergamot and Sicilian blood orange, shifting up a gear with dashes of lavender and red pepper.

The fragrance accelerates throu gh meticulously tuned florals and spices, violet and geranium leaves giving way to war m Mediterranean notes of cardamom and r osemary.

Little by little the base notes develop their energy, a woodyamber harmony mingling white moss, tonka bean, red cedar and patchouli, leaving behind it a sensual, powerfully masculine scent of Latin seduction.

T h e n e w b o t t l e c re a t e d b y celebrated designer Thierry de Baschmakoff and the Aesthete agency embodies the passion for perfection and elegance in the clean purity of its shape, the choice of materials and the symbols of exclusivity that reflect the Brand's inimitable Italian style.

The design team has masterfully created an aesthetic and graphic expression of all that is Ferrari to hold this powerfully seductive fragrance.

The clear glass bottle embossed with the silver Prancing Horse and the Ferrari logo is classically proportioned for strength and elegance. Across it runs a broad strip of soft-touch rubber in the legendary Ferrari red, with the RED POWER name in silver.

A final touch of sophistication is the cylindrical brushed steel cap, topped by the silver horse on a red rubber disc.

The box, like a perfect block of brushed steel, is a very masculine statement repeating the FERRARI RED POWER emblems.

Available Exclusively at Boots: Eau de Toilette 40ml: ÂŁ29.00 Eau de Toilette 75ml: ÂŁ37.50 For images, samples and further press information contact:

11. LOGITECH UE BOOM RRP £169 WWW.LOGITECH.COM

15. IPHONE 6 PLUS, FREE ON 4G RED XL PLAN, £53.50 PAYM WWW.VODAFONE.COM

17. MICRO 3-IN-1 SUITCASE SCOOTER RRP £279.95 WWW.MICRO-SCOOTERS.CO.UK

16. MITOQ ANTIOXIDANT SUPPLEMENTS RRP £37.50 WWW.MITOQ.COM

12. TEMPLESPA TRUFFLE CREAM RRP £85 WWW.HARRODS.COM

13. MADELEINE THOMPSON MARTHA PYJAMA SET £595 WWW.SELFRIDGES.COM

18. CORAVIN, wine device that allows you to pour a glass without removing cork, RRP £269 WWW.CORAVIN.CO.UK

14. DICK WINTERS BOXING SHORTS RRP £28 WWW.HOUSEOFFRASER.COM 19. LE CHAMEAU OVER THE KNEE WELLINGTON BOOTS RRP £750 WWW.LECHAMEAU.COM

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

PAGE 58

WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR. AND A LOT MORE...

visit us in store:

KNIGHTSBRIDGE 203 BROMPTON ROAD SOHO & CITY 0207 745 7477 @AmathusKnights knights@amathusdrinks.com

and online: www.amathusdrinks.com

SHOPPING: FOOD & BOOZE 1. ABSOLUT VODKA, ‘WARHOL’ EDITION RRP 21.99 WWW.SELFRIDGES.COM

6. DON MELCHOR 2009 RRP £59.95 WWW.HARRODS.COM

7. ALMA DE CUBA, FINE CUBAN COFFEE RRP £20 PER 250G TIN (BEANS OR GROUND) WWW.ALMACUBA.COM

2. HAMPSTEAD TEA MOONLIGHT SILVER TIPS RRP £50 WWW.HAMPSTEADTEA.COM

8. HENRY WESTONS MULLED CIDER PACK RRP £7.00 WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/HENRYWESTONS

3. MAILLE CHABLIS MUSTARD WITH BLACK TRUFFLES IN A PERSONALISED BOTTLE RRP £29 WWW.MAILLE.COM

4. SWAROVSKI LUXURY CHOCOLATE BOX FROM GODIVA RRP £ 120 WWW.GODIVACHOCOLATES.CO.UK

9. JACK DANIEL’S ‘SINATRA SELECT’ RRP £150 AVAILABLE IN SELFRIDGES AND THE WHISKY SHOP WWW.THEWHISKYSHOP.COM

5. CHAMPAGNE JACQUART CUVÉE ALPHA 2005 IN GIFT BOX RRP £99.95 WWW.HARRODS. COM

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

10. GÜ LIMITED EDITION EDIBLE BAUBLES RRP £85 WWW.GUPUDS.COM

PAGE 60

Immerse yourself in a world of unlimited travel inspiration • Discover thousands of travel ideas from more than 500 brands

• Exclusive show offers, discounts and upgrades

• Experts on hand to tailor-make your next trip

• Over 50 hours of free expert talks and advice EW

N

Hear inspiring stories from the very best travel authors at the Stanfords Travel Writers Festival and have the opportunity to purchase signed and personalised copies.

World-renowned travel writers include:

Kate Adie Broadcaster & Journalist

Frank Gardner Broadcaster & Journalist

Simon Reeve TV Presenter & Author

Griff Rhys Jones Author & Broadcaster

For the full festival line-up visit www.DestinationsShow.com

ader e R ry e v E r o F ts e entary Tick

*

Two Complim

DE5B † 0 7141 and quote 23 71 08 ll ca or om k extras. estinationsShow.c minute plus networ 5. †Calls cost 10p per ur tickets at www.D don – 28 January 201

Claim yo *Maximum

Manchester – 14 e box office closes: ticket applies. Advanc king fee of £1.50 per Boo er. ord per ets two tick

KENSINGTON & CHELSEA REVIEW

PAGE 60

January 2015 and Lon

Neal’s Yard Remedies

Supports skin’s

night-time regeneration

Helps to reduce the appearance of

lines & wrinkles

Clinically proven to moisturise for up to 24 hours

FREE Organic Night Time Tea with every purchase in-store* your perfect combination for a beautiful night

King’s Road

High St Kensington

Notting Hill

SW3 4TR

W8 4LF

W11 2JA

*FREE box of 18 teabags (worth £2.99) with every product purchase, excluding Gift Vouchers, Therapies & Courses, from the three stores listed above only. Simply quote FREETEA14 at the till. Offer from 26th September 2014, for a limited time only, while stocks last. One box of tea per customer.

No cash or other alternatives available. Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer.