Marylebone Journal issue 99

MARYLEBONE JOURNAL

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PATRICIA MICHELSON OF LA FROMAGERIE ON WHY EVERYTHING SHE SELLS HAS A STORY TO TELL

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FOUR OF MARYLEBONE’S TOP CHEFS ON THE ONE INGREDIENT THEY COULDN’T DO WITHOUT

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SOPHIE BRATT OF NOBU BAR ON WHY A GREAT BAR IS ABOUT MORE THAN JUST THE DRINKS

ISSUE NO.99

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE HOWARD DE WALDEN ESTATE AND THE PORTMAN ESTATE

MARYLEBONE FOOD FESTIVAL EDITION

Marylebone Journal marylebonejournal.com

Marylebone Village marylebonevillage.com

Instagram: @marylebonevillage

Twitter: @MaryleboneVllge

Portman Marylebone portmanmarylebone.com

Instagram: @portmanmarylebone

Publisher LSC Publishing lscpublishing.com

Editor

Mark Riddaway mark@lscpublishing.com

Advertising sales

Donna Earrey 020 7401 2772 donna@lscpublishing.com

Contributers

Jean-Paul Aubin-Parvu

Ellie Costigan

Clare Finney

Orlando Gili

Viel Richardson

Design and art direction Em-Project Limited mike@em-project.com

Owned and supported by The Howard de Walden Estate 23 Queen Anne Street, W1G 9DL 020 7580 3163 hdwe.co.uk annette.shiel@hdwe.co.uk

The Portman Estate 40 Portman Square, W1H 6LT 020 7563 1400 portmanestate.co.uk rebecca.eckles@portmanestate.co.uk

MARYLEBONE JOURNAL ISSUE NO.99

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE HOWARD DE WALDEN ESTATE AND THE PORTMAN ESTATE

The

Cover: Patricia Michelson of La Fromagerie, by Orlando Gili

25 – 30 APRIL MARYLEBONE FOOD FESTIVAL

Marylebone Food Festival returns to shine its spotlight on the area’s vibrant culinary culture. Organised and funded by The Portman Estate and The Howard de Walden Estate, the festival is raising money for The Food Chain charity, which provides meals, groceries, food education and communal eating opportunities for people in London living with HIV. Over six busy days and nights, dozens of Marylebone’s restaurants, pubs, bars, cafes and food shops will be hosting events or providing special menus, dishes or drinks. Visit the website for up-to-date listings.

THESE ARE JUST A FEW HIGHLIGHTS. FOR FULL LINEUPS AND TO BUY TICKETS VISIT:

marylebonefoodfestival.com

marylebonefoodfestival

25 APRIL

LAUNCH DINNER

As is now established tradition, the Marylebone Food Festival kicks off with a communal feast for 120 people in the spectacular setting of St Mary’s, a Grade I listed church. The tasting menu and drinks are being served up by a veritable honours board of Marylebone’s restaurants and retailers – Cavita, Cubitt House, Delamina, Donostia, Hagen, La Fromagerie, Ottolenghi, T by Tamara, The Cavendish, The Italian Greyhound and Zoilo. Jay Rayner, one of the country’s top food writers and broadcasters, is on hosting duty for the second time. He’s also providing the music: his jazz quartet will be playing a suitable selection of cocktail jazz, with Jay on piano. Every penny spent on tickets for the event is going to The Food Chain charity.

25 APRIL, 8am RARE COFFEE TASTING EXPERIENCE

WatchHouse Marylebone

32-34 New Cavendish Street, W1G 8UE

WatchHouse head of coffee Ryan Garrick hosts a guided tasting experience highlighting the exotic varietals, precise harvesting and innovative processing techniques behind four of the world’s rarest coffees, all of them at the peak of their flavour. Tickets cost £50.

26 APRIL, 6pm

OYSTER MASTERCLASS

The Coach Makers Arms

88 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2PY

The Clubhouse, the cocktail bar hidden within the basement at The Coach Makers Arms, plays host to a celebration of British oysters. Run by the team behind the Wright Brothers fishmongers and restaurants, the session offers a chance to sample oysters from around the shores of the UK. Tickets cost £20, including a glass of Coates & Seely English sparkling wine.

26 APRIL, 6pm

MARYLEBONE TASTING TOUR

Meeting at George’s Pop-Up Park, 62 George Street, W1U 7ET

Organised by the Baker Street Quarter Partnership and led by a Blue Badge guide, this special evening tour of Marylebone’s food scene includes visits to four of the area’s top eateries, kicking off at the new street food pop-up on George Street. Tickets cost £5, with all funds going to The Food Chain.

26 APRIL, 6.30pm

ESSENCE OF INDIA: ATUL KOCHHAR KITCHEN TAKEOVER Home Grown

44 Great Cumberland Place, W1H 7BS

For one night only, Atul Kochhar, one of the UK’s most influential Indian chefs and the winner of two Michelin stars, takes over the kitchen of the Home Grown private members club. Also available to non-members, the £65 tickets are inclusive of a welcome cocktail, a four-course dinner and entertainment.

26 APRIL, 7pm

MEZCAL MASTERCLASS

Mayahuel

56-60 Wigmore Street, W1U 2RZ

Mayahuel, the atmospheric subterranean bar beneath the Cavita restaurant, hosts an introduction to Mexico’s national drink: mezcal. Guided by head bartender Manuel Lema, guests will taste a wide selection of agave spirits and learn about the rich history and culture of mezcal making. Tickets cost £50, including totopos chips and salsas.

1. Jay Rayner at the Marylebone Food Festival Launch Dinner 2022

2. WatchHouse Marylebone

3. Manuel Lerner at Mayahuel

4. Oyster tasting at The Coach Makers Arms

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27 APRIL, 12.30pm

MARYLEBONE FOOD TOUR

Marble Arch London

Meeting at The Italian Greyhound, 62 Seymour Street, W1H 5BN

This epicurean expedition up Seymour Place, organised by the Marble Arch London BID, starts with crab linguine at The Italian Greyhound, followed by plantbased tasters at The Gate, ending with Levantine tiramisu and mhalabiye (milk pudding) at T by Tamara. Tickets cost £5, with all funds donated to The Food Chain.

27 APRIL, 7pm

LEVANTINE SUPPER CLUB

T by Tamara, 17 Seymour Place, W1H 5BF

Tamara al Saadi, founder of the gorgeous Levantine cafe

T by Tamara, hosts a supper club at which she and her team will share a generous spread of beautiful food from around the region while sharing their knowledge of its rich culinary and cultural traditions and telling the stories behind the handselected imported ingredients. Tickets cost £60.

1. The Italian Greyhound, Marylebone Food Tour

2. Celia Brooks Tasting Tours

3. Butchery classes at The Ginger Pig

4. Afternoon tea at Seymour’s Parlour

5. Champagne brunch at Daisy Green

6. Chocolate tasting at Rococo

26 – 28 APRIL, from 12pm AFTERNOON TEA FOR TWO Seymour’s Parlour 28-30 Seymour Street, W1H 7JB

27 APRIL, 7pm

BBQ BUTCHERY CLASS

The Ginger Pig

8-10 Moxon Street, W1U 4EW

The Ginger Pig’s butchers show how to turn onglet into steaks, bone and butterfly half a leg of lamb, and make chuck steak bone marrow burgers. Afterwards, tuck into a roast beef dinner, accompanied by St JOHN wine, then leave with a bag of treats to take home for your weekend barbecue, plus everything you need for a full English breakfast. Tickets cost £225.

27 APRIL, 7pm CHEF’S TABLE WITH MR ANJAN CHATTARJEE Chourangi

A priceless opportunity to sit down with a legendary restaurateur and hear his stories first hand. Anjan Chattarjee, the owner of Chourangi, has been opening acclaimed restaurants in India, China and the UK since 1992. For your £45 ticket, enjoy a three-course menu of Calcutta classics and the company of a masterful host.

28 APRIL, from 11am

CHAMPAGNE BOTTOMLESS BRUNCH

Daisy Green

20 Seymour Street, W1H 7HX

Start the weekend early and in style with this boozy Friday brunch at Daisy Green’s original café on the corner of Seymour Street. For £80, dine on Daisy’s famous two-course brunch, with options including the fancy bacon roll, smoked salmon royale, banana bread sandwich and blueberry buttermilk pancakes, paired with bottomless fizz.

Zetter Townhouse’s cosy, whimsical and enjoyably eccentric lounge, Seymour’s Parlour, offers the comforting ritual of a classic afternoon tea. Plump for Aunt Wilhelmina’s traditional selection of finger sandwiches or opt instead for Uncle Seymour’s hearty selection of warm pastries. The £75 cost covers tea for two people, including a glass of sparkling wine each.

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28 APRIL, 6.30pm SUSTAINABLE CHEF’S MASTERCLASS Hyatt Regency

30 Portman Square, W1H 7BH

The Montagu Kitchen Lounge’s chef Gianluca Augello shows guests how to recreate two dishes from the restaurant’s menu. After welcome nibbles and drinks, Gianluca will talk about the philosophy and techniques that inform his cooking, before commencing with a live demonstration. Tickets cost £75, including food and drink.

28 APRIL, 7pm

GIPSY HILL BEER TASTING

Philglas & Swiggot

22 New Quebec Street, W1H 7SB

Founded in 2014, south Londonbased Gipsy Hill has grown over the past decade to become one of the largest independent breweries in the UK. Hosted by brewery representative Charlie, this tasting offers an opportunity to try a selection of Gipsy Hill’s core beers as well as a few new lines. Each £15 ticket includes a takeaway can of your favourite beer.

THESE ARE JUST A FEW HIGHLIGHTS. FOR FULL LINEUPS AND TO BUY TICKETS VISIT:

marylebonefoodfestival.com

marylebonefoodfestival

26 – 29 APRIL, from 5pm COCKTAIL & ANTOJITO PAIRING

KOL Mezcaleria

9 Seymour Street, W1H 7BA

KOL Mezcaleria, the atmospheric mezcal bar beneath Santiago Lastra’s Michelin-starred restaurant, is offering a special food and drink pairing for the duration of the festival: a sorrel and hop sour with a wild garlic quesadilla, made with Kentish Oaxacan cheese. This pairing, which costs £20 per person is available for tables of up to four guests, with a reservation only.

26 APRIL, 3pm & 30 APRIL, 10am

CELIA BROOKS: TASTING TOURS

For these two tours, the brilliant Celia Brooks leads guests around some of her favourite haunts. The Wednesday tour takes in the amazing run of restaurants that meander along the atmospheric stretch of Marylebone Lane. On the Sunday, the tour includes the farmer’s market and culminates in a picnic. All food and drink consumed along the way is included in the £50 price.

30 APRIL, from 1pm

TXAKOLI FESTIVAL Lurra

9 Seymour Place, W1H5BA

As is now traditional, Lurra marks the last day of the Food Festival with a highly enjoyable afternoon of Basque-style partying. For £65 per head, enjoy three delicious courses of sharing plates, including boquerones, hake a la vasca with clams and Basque cheesecake. The food is accompanied by flowing txakoli wine and soundtracked by live music.

25 – 30 APRIL, 6pm

CHOCOLATE TASTING Rococo

3 Moxon Street, W1U 4EP

Rococo’s expert chocolatiers lead a whistlestop 15-minute tour of the fascinating world of artisan chocolate making. Sample some of the brand’s very finest chocolates while learning about the provenance, traditions and techniques that underpin their manufacture. The ticket, which costs £10, includes a £10 voucher to spend in store after the event.

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HAPPENINGS IN MARYLEBONE EVENTS EXHIBITIONS

FILM MUSIC SHOPPING TALKS THEATRE WALKS

MUSIC 20 APRIL

CHRISTOS MARANTOS: TRADITION & VISION

The Hellenic Centre 16-18 Paddington Street, W1U 5AS helleniccentre.org

Pianist Christos Marantos takes a journey through time from the Baroque to the present day, bridging the epochs while using different genres of classical and contemporary music to illuminate facets of human life such as grief, hope and joy.

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EXHIBITION

Started in 2016 as a side project by House & Garden stylist Charlie Porter before completely engulfing her life, Tat London is an online jumble shop with a highly engaging blog attached. For this pop-up exhibition, she’ll be bringing a characterful collection of antique homewares, textiles and visual art to the 67 York Street gallery.

23 – 30 APRIL

TAT LONDON

67 York Street

67a York Street, W1H 1QB 67yorkstreet.com

THEATRE

20 – 23 APRIL

DON’T CLAP FOR ME

MR JOHNSON

The Cockpit Gateforth Street, NW8 8EH thecockpit.org.uk

In Agape Theatre Company’s latest stage production, Covid is raging, the economy is in crisis, and the country is reliant on the heroic efforts of NHS staff who are tired, hungry and battle worn. Even as they too succumb to the disease, they keep fighting to save our lives.

MUSIC

28 APRIL, 7.30pm

CLARON MCFADDEN & ALEXANDER MELNIKOV

Wigmore Hall

36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk

Claron McFadden, a soprano with an extraordinary range, joins pianist Alexander Melnikov for a programme of 20th-century works by Luciano Berio, Cathy Berberian, John Cage and more, including Erwin Schulhoff’s famously salacious Sonata Erotica for solo female voice.

MUSIC

30 APRIL, 11.30am

JENEBA KANNEH-MASON

Wigmore Hall

36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk

A member of the prodigiously talented Kanneh-Mason family and a rising star of the piano makes a solo appearance with a programme of works by Debussy, Prokofiev and Shostakovich, together with a performance of Fantasie Nègre (1929) by the pioneering Black composer Florence Price.

MUSIC

3 MAY, 6pm

NEW WORKS FOR OCTET

Royal Academy of Music

Marylebone Road, NW1 5HT ram.ac.uk

The Academy’s master’s programme for jazz musicians culminates in the public performance of new works by postgraduate students. Previous years have premiered pieces by acclaimed young players such as Alex Hitchcock, Lauren Kinsella, Lukas DeRungs and Ashley Henry.

MUSIC

2 – 5 MAY

FRAGILE FESTIVAL

Royal Academy of Music

Marylebone Road, NW1 5HT ram.ac.uk

This four-day festival, inspired by the natural world, features new works by student composers. The event has been created in collaboration with Martyn Stewart and The Listening Planet, which is dedicated to promoting a wider appreciation of our planet’s beauty, diversity and fragility.

THEATRE

31 MARCH – 6 MAY

THE DRY HOUSE

Marylebone Theatre

Rudolf Steiner House

35 Park Road, NW1 6XT marylebonetheatre.com

In the Irish border town of Newry, Chrissy promises her sister Claire that after one final drink she will go to the Dry House to get sober. Does she mean it this time? An all-female cast perform this powerful new play by Eugene O’Hare about love, loss and the potential for hope.

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1. Tat London, 67 York Street

2. Christos Marantos, The Hellenic Centre

3. Don’t Clap for Me Mr Johnson, The Cockpit

4. Clarron McFadden, Wigmore Hall

5. Fragile Festival, Royal Academy of Music

6. The Dry House, Marylebone Theatre

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EVENT

7 MAY, 12PM

THE CORONATION BIG LUNCH ON THE BROADWALK

Friends of Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill

The Broadwalk, Regent’s Park, NW1 4NR friendsofregentspark.org

Enjoy a lunchtime extravaganza of music, face painting and prizes in Regent’s Park to celebrate the coronation of King Charles. This community event is open to all, and attendees are invited to bring their own food and drink.

EXHIBITION

25 APRIL – 8 MAY

THEMBALETHU MANQUNYANA

Thompson’s Gallery

3 Seymour Place, W1H 5AZ thompsonsgallery.co.uk

A vibrant collection of works by Thembalethu Manqunyana, who hails from Gqeberha, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape and has a distinctive, highly colourful approach to portraiture. His paintings take inspiration from the boundary-breaking approach of artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Blessing Ngobeni.

MUSIC

13 MAY, 7.30pm

THE AFRICAN CONCERT SERIES

Wigmore Hall

36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk

Wigmore Hall’s three-part series devoted to composers and players of African heritage, concludes with Ubuntu Ensemble performing a programme of chamber music, including pieces by Mokale Koapeng from South Africa, Fodé Lassana Diabaté from Mali, and Moussa Dembele from Burkina Faso.

1. EXHIBITION

Born in Eigen, Germany in 1969, Frauke Eigen began her career as a photojournalist working in the Balkans, Afghanistan, Mexico and Ukraine. Leaving hard-hitting reportage behind in the early 2000s, she instead began to focus her lens on the softness and elegance of abstract natural forms.

EXHIBITION

UNTIL 13 MAY

FRAUKE EIGEN

Atlas Gallery

49 Dorset Street, W1U 7NF atlasgallery.com

1. Knie im Sand, Ukraine 2001, by Frauke Eigen, Atlas Gallery

2. The Singer, by Thembalethu Manqunyana, Thompson’s Gallery

3. La Cmbiale di Matrimonio, Royal Academy of Music

4. Elaine Mitchener, Wigmore Hall

5. Palacio da Alvorada (Dawn Palace), Brasilia: the swimming pool with the chapel in the background, 1962, by Monica Pidgeon, RIBA

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MUSIC

16 – 19 MAY

LA CAMBIALE DI MATRIMONIO

Royal Academy of Music

Marylebone Road, NW1 5HT ram.ac.uk

Royal Academy Opera performs Rossini’s bitingly satirical one-act opera La cambiale di matrimonio (‘the marriage contract’). It tells the story of an avaricious older man, Tobias Mill, who plans to sell his daughter Fanny to a rich Canadian, who is visiting London to find a suitable European wife.

MUSIC

26 MAY, 10pm

ELAINE MITCHENER & APARTMENT HOUSE

Wigmore Hall

36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk

The remarkable mezzocontralto Elaine Mitchener joins leading contemporary ensemble Apartment House for a latenight programme of two works: Maxwell Davies’s Eight Songs for a Mad King Op. 39 (1969), and an instrumental piece by the US artist and poet Albert M Fine.

EXHIBITION

From 1946 until 1975, Monica Pidgeon was editor of the magazine Architectural Design. She was also a talented photographer who used her camera to capture both people and architecture as she travelled the world for work and pleasure. Her archive, from which this exhibition is drawn, is one of the lesser-known gems of the RIBA Photographs Collection.

UNTIL 27 MAY

MONICA PIDGEON 1960-1970: A MAGAZINE EDITOR AND HER CAMERA RIBA

First Floor Gallery, 66 Portland Place, W1B 1AD architecture.com

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EXHIBITION

1 – 31 MAY

JEAN COCTEAU

Gloucester Room

5 New Cavendish Street, W1G 8UT gloucesterroom.com

The poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic Jean Cocteau was one of the giants of 20th century French culture. This exhibition presents a series of his lithographs from the late 1950s, including illustrations from his plays and exhibitions.

EVENT

The Marylebone Summer Festival is back. Funded and organised by The Howard de Walden Estate, this long-established highlight of the local calendar returns with a blend of familiar attractions and exciting new additions. On Saturday 10th June, for the very first time, there will be not one but two al fresco film screenings in Paddington Street Gardens: a daytime movie for children and an evening one for adults. Then, on the Sunday, an all-day street party complete with food and craft stalls, sports and wellness activities, a farmers’ market, live music, dance, a festival bar, children’s entertainments, a ferris wheel and rides, and a community dog show. There are special offers and events to be found at many of the local retailers and restaurants throughout the weekend. All money raised from the festival goes to the Greenhouse Sports charity.

10 – 11 JUNE

MARYLEBONE SUMMER FESTIVAL

marylebonevillage.com

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EXHIBITION UNTIL 31 MAY

THE GOLDEN AGE OF MELANCHOLY

Royal Society of Medicine Library

1 Wimpole Street, W1G 0AE rsm.ac.uk/the-library

This free exhibition in the RSM library uses medical literature from 1550-1750 to explore how, for many centuries, melancholy was understood as both a physical condition within the body, caused by an excess of black bile, and the associated distemper of pensive sadness.

MUSIC

1 JUNE, 2pm

FAMILY CONCERT:

SHINING THE SPOTLIGHT

Wigmore Hall

36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk

Designed for children aged 7-11, this concert from presenter Lucy Drever and baroque/folk fusion trio Nobody’s Jig takes a trip back in time to the 17th century theatre, when some of the first professional female actors were creating vibrant and visionary work on English stages.

THEATRE

10 MAY – 10 JUNE

ONCE ON THIS ISLAND

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre Regent’s Park, NW1 4NU openairtheatre.com

A new season of plays kicks off with Lynn Ahrens’ and Stephen Flaherty’s Caribbean-set musical – a story of love, grief, faith and meddling deities on the French Antilles. Peasant girl Ti Moune falls for a wealthy young man called Daniel – a union forbidden by social norms and interfered with by the gods.

THEATRE

22 MAY – 10 JUNE

EVERY LEAF A HALLELUJAH

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre Regent’s Park, NW1 4NU openairtheatre.com

Booker Prize-winner Ben Okri’s new fairytale, Every Leaf

A Hallelujah, brings to life an enchanted world of endangered trees. Adapted by Chinonyerem Odimba and set on the Open Air Theatre’s lawn, these magical daytime performances are suitable for children over the age of four.

MUSIC

26 APRIL, 17 MAY, 14 JUNE, 1pm

ACADEMY PIANO SERIES AT WIGMORE HALL

Wigmore Hall

36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk

The Royal Academy of Music’s three current Bicentenary Scholars, Aidan Mikdad, Junyan Chen and Bocheng Wang, present a new piano series at Wigmore Hall, featuring compelling interpretations of Schumann, Scriabin, Bach, Liszt and Gubaidulina.

1. Jean Cocteau, Gloucester Room

2. Nobody’s Jig, Wigmore Hall

3. Marylebone Summer Festival

4. The Golden Age of Melancholy, Royal Society of Medicine

5. Once on this Island, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

6. Academy Piano Series, Wigmore Hall

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MUSIC

14 – 16 JUNE

SUMMER PIANO FESTIVAL

Royal Academy of Music

Marylebone Road, NW1 5HT ram.ac.uk

Curated by Joanna MacGregor, the Academy’s head of piano, the annual Summer Piano Festival celebrates the creativity and boldness of the conservatoire’s pianists. This year’s typically varied festival includes a film improvisation, essential Schubert and Brahms, Birtwistle and Meredith Monk.

THEATRE

13 – 17 JUNE

TIPSY

The Cockpit

Gateforth Street, NW8 8EH thecockpit.org.uk

In this new dark comedy, Maria, an overstretched young woman, walks into a nail salon to get a manicure after a stressful day at work. The problem is, this nail salon serves booze. Consumed by her thoughts and plagued with a feeling that her nail technician hates her, she drinks, and drinks, and drinks.

MUSIC

15 – 18 JUNE

JANE EYRE

Royal Academy of Music

Marylebone Road, NW1 5HT ram.ac.uk

Charlotte Brontë’s epic 19th-century story of love, secrets, unimaginable hope and unspoken passion is given new life in this Tony Awardnominated Broadway musical, written by Paul Gordon and John Caird and performed by the Royal Academy Musical Theatre Company.

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MUSIC & TALK

Born on the island of Syros in 1905, Markos Vamvakaris became revered as the ‘patriarch of Rebetiko music’, know for his bouzouki playing and his deep, earthy voice. Following a talk about his life and music, the musicians of the Rebetiko Carnival perform his greatest hits and lesserknown gems.

24 JUNE, 6.30pm

CELEBRATE VAMVAKARIS

The Hellenic Centre

16-18 Paddington Street, W1U 5AS helleniccentre.org

MUSIC

21 JUNE, 7.30pm

EXPLORE ENSEMBLE

Wigmore Hall

36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk

Founded at the Royal College of Music in 2012, Explore Ensemble has forged a reputation as one of the UK’s finest performers of new music. For this concert, two world premières by Nakul Krishnamurthy and Alex Paxton sit alongside works by other leading contemporary composers.

EXHIBITION

3 MAY – 24 JUNE

MATTER AS ACTOR

Lisson Gallery

67 Lisson Street, NW1 5DA 52-54 Bell Street, NW1 5DA lissongallery.com

This group exhibition brings together works by artists from a wide range of cultural backgrounds, all of whom find ways to explore the properties, history and dynamism of various forms of mutable matter – clay, rock, pigment, plastic, metal or organic substances.

THEATRE

7 JUNE – 24 JUNE

ROGER PELTZMAN: DEDICATION

Marylebone Theatre

Rudolf Steiner House

35 Park Road, NW1 6XT marylebonetheatre.com

In this powerful one-person show, New York pianist Roger Peltzman uses performances of everything from blues to Chopin to explore his family’s tragic experiences of the Holocaust, his second-generation survivor trauma, and the respite provided by music.

MUSIC

The Marylebone Music Festival returns with a fourday programme of performances in Manchester Square Gardens. Highlights include The Orion Symphony Orchestra performing cinematic works by Hans Zimmer and John Williams, Sue Perkins conducting Peter and the Wolf, an appearance by The Royal Band of The Welsh Guards, and a special performance of Mozart’s Mass.

22 – 25 JUNE

MARYLEBONE MUSIC FESTIVAL marylebonemusicfestival.com

1. Markos Vamvakaris, The Hellenic Centre

2. Tipsy, The Cockpit

3. Explore Ensemble, Wigmore Hall

4. Roger Peltzman, Marylebone Theatre

5. Marylebone Music Festival

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HAPPENINGS IN MARYLEBONE

EXHIBITION

5 MAY – 28 JULY

CHIARA AMBROSIO: MONOCHORDS

The Hellenic Centre 16-18 Paddington Street, W1U 5AS helleniccentre.org

Chiara Ambrosio presents a suite of linocuts inspired by Yannis Ritsos’s Monochords, a collection of 336 one-line poems composed by the Greek poet in August 1979 following one of his many political exiles on the island of Samos.

EXHIBITION

UNTIL 15 JULY

THE BROWN COLLECTION

The Brown Collection

1 Bentinck Mews, W1U 2AF glenn-brown.co.uk

This eponymous exhibition at The Brown Collection shows off the full span of Glenn Brown’s body of work, including his earlier paintings, drawings, sculptures, editions, and three new works from 2022: Bikini; Shipwreck, Custom of the Sea; and We’ll Keep On Dancing Till We Pay the Rent.

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UNTIL SEPTEMBER

WIGMORE HALL: PORTRAYING OUR PEOPLE

Wigmore Hall

36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk

Photographer Christopher Jonas spent several months behind the scenes at Wigmore Hall, capturing candid shots of everyday life at one of the country’s most important musical venues. His fascinating exhibition shows a side of the Hall usually hidden from the public.

EXHIBITION

Through carefully selected paintings, sculptures, drawings, works of art and even taxidermy, this exhibition highlights the unique bond between humans and their canine companions across many centuries. Dog portraiture, which emerged as far back as the earliest cave paintings, flourished in Britain from the 17th century onwards. Bringing together over 50 works of art at Hertford House, the Portraits of Dogs exhibition presents a broad range of artworks showing dogs in all their different shapes and sizes.

UNTIL 15 OCTOBER

PORTRAITS OF DOGS: FROM GAINSBOROUGH TO HOCKNEY

The Wallace Collection Manchester Square, W1U 3BN wallacecollection.org

1. Monochords, by Chiara Ambrosio, The Hellenic Centre

2. Fat Boy (1945), by Glenn Brown, The Brown Collection

3. Hector, Nero & Dash with the Parrot, Lory, by Edwin Landseer, The Wallace Collection

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Sat 10 JUNE

FILM

Children’s daytime screening, evening screening, food stalls and festival bar. Tickets on sale now!

Sun 11 JUNE

Street party

Live tennis screening, enter tainment & music , food, drink & shopping stalls, spor ts & wellness activities, children’s zone , ferris wheel & rides, farmers’ market and community dog show.

PATRICIA MICHELSON IN PROFILE

The owner of La Fromagerie on her ski slope revelation, the ravages of Brexit, and why everything she sells has a story to tell

Words: Mark Riddaway

Images: Orlando Gili

The Damascene moment – a sudden, transformative revelation – is a powerful dramatic device. So too the miscommunication trope: a misunderstood message or mangled exchange that opens a floodgate of consequences. The rather wonderful origin story of La Fromagerie, one of Marylebone’s best and most beloved shops, manages to contain both. And it’s worth repeating in detail, not just for its quality as a yarn but for the light it casts on Patricia Michelson’s approach to food, retail and life in general.

It starts at the turn of the 1990s, when Patricia had a young family, a solid secretarial career and a quiet yearning for something more. Born in Essex, she’d moved to London at the age of 17, married at 24 and, against the grain of her upbringing, fallen in love with food. “I find that a lot of people who really love food either have a family who were totally into food, or a family that totally weren’t,” she says. “I had a mother who absolutely hated cooking. When frozen food came in, she was so delighted, because it meant that she didn’t have to pod a pea ever again.”

Rather than follow her mother’s march towards convenience foods, Patricia turned to the books of Elizabeth David to show her the way. “They weren’t just cookbooks,” she says, “they were stories, and they really resonated with

Being a shopkeeper is about more than just putting things on a shelf, it’s about giving customers a reason to buy it. That’s what shops like this can do. Everything that you’ll see in this shop is something that has a story behind it and has a meaning. It’s got a reason to be here.

me.” As her interest crystalised, she would trawl London for high-quality French and Italian ingredients – particularly cheese. “I’d spend £20, £25 on French cheese for the weekend, which was a lot of money. We’d have a big party, have dinner and bring out the cheese. I loved it. I knew nothing about it, but I knew that I loved it.”

In the 1980s, there were very few places in London selling good cheese, and they weren’t always the most welcoming of places. Patricia remembers being driven mad by one “snooty” cheesemonger in Kensington who refused to engage with her growing curiosity about the profile and production of the cheeses on display. “I thought, my god, if I had a place like this, I certainly wouldn’t treat my customers like that.’ It planted these seeds in my head. I knew deep down that I should be doing something other than what I was doing, but how to do it? Then we went skiing...”

The Michelsons liked to ski. In 1990, they were in Méribel, in the French Alps. Patricia’s intrepid husband Danny had a taste for off-piste adventures. One day, as a storm brewed and good sense suggested that hitting an isolated slope was a bad idea, he urged her to join him on the mountain – a choice she quickly regretted. “He sped off and I tried to follow, but then had a tumble in the ice,” she says. “When I got up, I looked around and everything was white. When it’s like that, the sky closes in to the ground. You feel you’re in this white cube. Everything is silent, very silent. I called out to Danny. But there was nothing. Nothing at all.”

Lost, alone and a little afraid, she struggled across thick, soft snow, through woodland, over the bumps of an empty mogul run, until the whirring of cables overhead finally led her down towards civilisation. “I came to the top of a very steep run, the one you see on Ski Sunday. It’s so high and fast. I’d been there before, but only round the edges, never down. I thought, after everything I’ve been through today, I’m doing this. I flew down this very fast run, and it felt so good: that I’d done it, that I’d survived, that I’d come through it. And I said to myself: ‘You know what, this is a sign. I need to do something with my life.’” In that moment, everything changed.

Safe, elated but hungry to her core, Patricia walked through Méribel to a cheese shop called La Fromagerie. All she had on her was 10 francs, about £1, enough for a small piece of cheese. “The cheesemonger smiled and said to me: ‘I’m giving you the Beaufort Chalet d’Alpage.’ It’s a high-mountain speciality, made with summer milk. And it was fantastic. This beautiful sweetness and earthiness and fruitiness. It was just everything I needed at that point.” Revelation piled upon revelation.

The next day, Patricia made her way to the market to find the cheesemaker responsible. “In my very bad French, I told him: ‘I love your cheese and I’d like to take a piece home

when I leave on Saturday.’ He offered to bring it up to our chalet, which seemed very generous.” When he arrived, his van contained not the small piece of cheese she wanted but a whole wheel. “I said: ‘Ma fromage?’ He said: ‘Votre fromage.’ I said: ‘What?’ He said: ‘Une pièce de fromage.’”

‘Pièce’, to a French cheesemaker, doesn’t mean piece. ‘Tranche’ means piece. Patricia had accidentally ordered a wheel of Beaufort, at vast expense. Too noble to back out, she scrambled to find the large pile of French francs needed to complete the transaction. “We stuck the cheese in the back of the car, and Danny said: ‘What are we going to do with it?’ And I said: ‘Well, we’ve got 16 hours to think about that on the drive home.’

What she did, after running out of friends to give tranches away to, was take samples to some of London’s best restaurants, including the new and extremely buzzy Pied à Terre in Fitzrovia. “I thought, that’s a young crew, they’ll get the idea of having a real farmhouse cheese. And they loved it. They said: ‘We’ll take it. Can you get more?’ I said: ‘Yes, I can get you a bit more.’ Then they said: ‘What about some other alpine cheeses?’ And that’s how it began.”

That, then, is the La Fromagerie origin story: the Damascene moment, the miscommunication, the unexpected path to fulfilment. The important thing to note from it, other than the sheer power of happenstance, is that this wasn’t a venture underpinned by a business plan, by spreadsheets, by investors looking for a quick return. It was the accidental consequence of one woman’s deep-seated love of food and nagging urge to do something meaningful.

It grew slowly. First, boxes of cheese from the Méribel market brought over in the back of the van which transported chalet workers to and from the ski resort, then stored in her garden shed. Later, a burgeoning relationship with a ‘maître fromager’ (master of cheese) in Lille, who organised weekly deliveries from a variety of regional producers. Then, in 1992, the leasing of a small shop in Highbury: a La Fromagerie of her own.

Patricia opened her Marylebone store in 2002. This wasn’t planned either – at least, not by her: “Highbury used to be very cool back then, very media and arty, so when these two gentlemen in suits walked into the shop, the blood drained out of me. I thought it was the tax inspectors. I thought, what have I done? But they introduced themselves and said they were from The Howard de Walden Estate. They said: ‘Would you like to have a shop in Marylebone?’ and I was like: ‘This is extraordinary. How is this happening?’”

As she slowly built her business, Patricia was also building her knowledge and connections, aided at first by a book recommendation from the legendary Clarissa Dickson Wright, who managed Books for Cooks in

Notting Hill. “She told me: ‘The best book ever written on French cheese is by an Englishman.’ It was by Patrick Rance, a proper tome. It’s not just about the cheese, it’s about the who, the where, the why and the how. The history and the people. He even gives Ordnance Survey map references. I read it from cover to cover and made notes of the places I wanted to visit. And that’s what I did. I went off and I visited those places and got to know the cheeses and the people who made the cheeses.”

Her immersion into Gallic cheese culture accelerated after a Frenchman called Eric walked through the door of the Highbury shop looking for two weeks’ casual work. “He was just so intrigued by the way I’d put it together. He said: ‘You’ve thought like a French person, and I’ve never seen this outside of France.’ After two weeks, he went back home, but then phoned me a few days later saying: ‘I’ve given up my job and I’m coming to work with you.’” Bolstered by Eric’s knowledge of the language, the country and the people, Patricia was able to buy directly from French producers.

By cutting out any unnecessary links from the supply chain, she and her growing team of enthusiastic proteges could act as a direct conduit between producers and shoppers. “A passion for food and for telling the stories behind the food is the main thing I look for in my staff,” she says. “Being a shopkeeper is about more than just putting things on a shelf, it’s about giving customers a reason to buy it. That’s what shops like this can do. Everything that you’ll see in this shop is something that has a story behind it and has a meaning. It’s got a reason to be here.”

Decades later, her relationships with producers remain the bedrock of the business. “It’s been a case of finding the right people in the right places and then nurturing those connections,” she says. Most of her suppliers she has tracked down through her own bloodhound instincts for good food. A few have heard of her reputation and sought her out. “There’s one in the Pyrenees,” she says. “The wife, who’s English, went over as a student for a summer job working in the vineyard and fell in love with the farmer’s son across the road. She went to work in his dairy and started making cheese with him. She’d heard about me, so sent me an email. When she was visiting her family in England, she brought me some cheese. I tasted it and said: ‘I’ll take as much as you can give me.’ It’s a hard sheep’s milk cheese from a tiny little area very close to the Spanish border and it’s absolutely delicious, absolutely unique.”

Cheese like this is blessed with a complexity and mutability a million miles from the bland sameness of its industrially produced peers. It reflects the place it came from and the time it was made. As the seasons unfold and the weather changes from day to day, the character of a farmhouse cheese can shift in endlessly subtle ways. “The grass changes, the seeds, the flowers in the pasture, the

bacteria in the dairy,” Patricia explains. “If the animals are pasture-fed, which is what we’re always banging on about, you’re getting that diversity of the feed and it shows in the taste of the milk and then the taste of the cheese.”

There is diversity too in the shop’s regional spread. At first, her focus was purely on France. Now it’s Spain, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Ireland, even Sweden. Britain’s growing cadre of amazing farmhouse cheesemakers are also well represented. It’s a gathering of the tribes that simply wouldn’t happen in most of the European countries from which La Fromagerie sources its cheese. “They’re so proud of what they produce in their region, and that’s all they eat,” says Patricia. “That’s what makes them so different from us. When it comes to food, we, the British, are unnaturally curious as a nation. We’re willing to explore what else there is outside of our island.”

Her worry is that the death grip of Brexit is now crushing our ability to satisfy that curiosity, as specialist food producers balk at the bureaucracy involved in sending their wares this way. “Leaving the EU has closed a lot of doors,” she says. “It’s just too arduous on the producers. They’re so small, it’s simply not worth their while to jump through the hoops of government paperwork.” The whole

delicate ecosystem that thrives within La Fromagerie is vulnerable; not just the continental cheeses but the Tuscan pine nuts, the Pyrenean honey, the wines, the oils, the fruit. “If we want to still do what we do, which is to bring in the very best from elsewhere rather than just sticking to the UK, it’s a real slog, a real hard slog.”

Increasingly, her thoughts turn to quite how much of that slog she’s got left in her. “I’m here every day. It’s 32 years now, coming up to 33,” she says. “But one day I will want to hand things over to the next generation. There are so many talented people here. My whole thing is that whoever works here has to have the same love that I have for doing the work. A time will come when I have to trust them to take it on.” It’s a daunting thought, given how tightly the selection and sourcing of this vast wealth of products are tied to her own tastes and relationships, but bit by bit she’s starting to let go.

Not that she’s ready to stop just yet. It’s many years since Patricia Michelson plunged blindly down this particular slope, but she’s still enjoying the descent.

LA FROMAGERIE 2-6 Moxon Street, W1U 4EW lafromagerie.co.uk

“Lemon is a seasoning; it’s the balance of acidity that brings dishes together. If I’m seasoning a sauce I’ll use salt, pepper and a tiny squeeze of lemon.”

FIRST, LAST & EVERYTHING

Four of Marylebone’s top chefs on the one ingredient they couldn’t live without

Interviews: Clare Finney

Imagery: Sam Harris, Issy Croker, Lateef Photography

Lemons

Ben Tish, The Grazing Goat and The Coach Makers Arms

Txuleta beef

Atanas Fragov and Alvaro Robles, Lurra and Donostia

My favourite ingredient could not be simpler. It has to be the lemon. Being a Mediterranean cook, it’s one of the ingredients I find constantly inspiring, and one I use all year round. It’s citrus season at the moment, so they’re bang in season and we’re using them in multiple ways on our menus, in starters, desserts and mains.

My favourite pasta dish of all is a simple Sicilian dish of spaghetti, olive oil, sage, breadcrumbs and then loads of lemon juice, tossed through at the end. Lemon also works really well as a seasoning; it’s the balance of acidity that brings dishes together. If I’m seasoning a sauce I’ll use salt, pepper and a tiny squeeze of lemon. If grilling fish or even meat, like lamb, I’ll add a squeeze of lemon as it comes off the grill.

Lemon serves as the star ingredient in several of our dishes, like the steamed lemon syrup sponge and lemon meringue tart. Most of the restaurants in the Cubitt House group have a whole grilled market fish on the menu, served with half a lemon that’s also been placed in the grill so the juice is sweeter and smokier.

In fact, I put lemons in most things. I always have loads around, at home and in the restaurant. As well

as the juice, you also have the zest, which is amazing. It has a different flavour altogether; it’s far more aromatic. At this time of year, the lemons come with the stalks and the leaves on, which we can also use. We have lemon leaf ice cream as a special, and we save loads of lemon leaves in the freezer; they’re perfect for flavouring sauces and custards. I also have a Sicilian recipe I love, with pork or veal meatballs wrapped in lemon leaves and skewered – they get this wonderful, subtle lemony taste when you bake them. The leaves are quite different to the zest and juice: it’s more of a sweet scent and flavour, like a perfume.

Right now, our lemons are coming from Italy’s Amalfi coast and from Sicily: these amazing, big, knobbly lemons, sourced from a network of small-scale suppliers. We use every part of them – juice, zest, rind, leaves – and if we have a glut, we preserve them, packing them into a jar with salt so they create their own brine. We use these in dishes like the crispy squid, throwing them together with the squid into the deep fat frier. Lemons might not seem that exciting at first, but when you break them down and look at all the ways you can use them, they are truly amazing things.

Our txuleta beef comes from Galician dairy cows, which are around 15 years old – much older than regular beef cattle. They’ve been milked for seven years, then retired for seven years on pasture, which builds up the marbling of their fat. Everything is organic; everything has been taken care of. We dry-age the carcass for 60 days to break down some of the protein structure, so that the flavour intensifies and the meat becomes tender. You barely have to cook it for it to melt in your mouth, and the flavour is the cleanest, purest taste of beef you can possibly imagine. It’s almost not like steak at all; it’s like something completely different.

At Lurra, we have fridges where people can see the steaks and choose which one they prefer. I remember that was the thing that really grabbed me before I even started working here, when I first came to Lurra for dinner. It’s a big responsibility working with such a beautiful product, but it’s also a privilege. We grill the beef over our charcoal grill, which is the ideal way of cooking it, with the high heat sealing all the juiciness in and turning the fat golden. That’s the way to respect the product, and all the work that’s

“Lemons are truly amazing things.”

THE GRAZING GOAT 6 New Quebec Street, W1H 7RQ cubitthouse.co.uk/the-grazing-goat

THE COACH MAKERS ARMS 88 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2PZ cubitthouse.co.uk/the-coachmakers-arms

Market fish with lemons

Txuleta steak

“Working with txuleta beef is a responsibility, but also a privilege.”

LURRA

9 Seymour Place, W1H 5BA lurra.co.uk

DONOSTIA

10 Seymour Place, W1H 7ND donostia.co.uk

been done over so many years to get it here. To serve, we season it with nothing more than Maldon salt; we don’t want another flavour taking over its pure nature.

At Donostia, which is our smaller tapas bar, we cook the txuleta ‘a la plancha’ and serve it on a hot seasoning plate which we bring to the table, so the guests can experience the aromas. We also serve it in pinxtos, for standing customers who are having a drink and a chat; instead of serving the whole steak, we place it on a lovely brioche with caramelised shallots. We cook the shallots with butter and sugar for a long time, to release even more of the onion’s sweetness, then we serve the grilled txuleta with chimichurri, which is a sauce of garlic, olive oil and herbs.

All the plates we serve at Lurra and Donostia are inspired by a strong sense of good quality, paired with a preference for simplicity. We source the best seasonal products locally and from Spain, and we don’t add too much: the rule here is three ingredients to a plate. It’s simple –but the produce and the cooking are at such a high level, you don’t need to add anything else. The dish will speak for itself.

Dulce de leche

Diego Jacquet, Zoilo

If there’s one ingredient that always brings a smile to my face particularly after a busy day or a difficult day, it has to be dulce de leche. It makes me so happy. I guess that’s because it reminds me of good moments with my family, particularly my grandma. Dulce de leche is made from condensed milk. It’s very sweet and it’s not very healthy – but then, that’s true of many nice things. In the restaurant, we use it for several of our desserts. We have a crème brûlée infused with dulce de leche, and it’s a killer. It’s been on the menu since forever – it’s a signature dish of the restaurant, based on a banana split they serve in Argentina, which is very different to the banana split they sell over here.

In Argentina a banana split is a banana-based ice cream with lots of big chocolate chunks inside, and great big spoonsful of dulce de leche. Argentinians are particularly passionate about their dulce de leche. You find it throughout South America, and you can buy it in Europe, but it’s not all the same. When I went to live in Sweden for a while, I took a load of dulce de leche with me in my bags – and then I made my own from condensed milk when I ran out.

Dulce de leche is actually not easy to make. It requires a lot of patience, and you need to pay close attention, because you’re boiling condensed milk for six or seven hours. For years, we bought it readymade from an Argentinian supplier, but we really wanted to make it ourselves, like we do everything else in the restaurant, from the ice cream to the charcuterie. We tried and failed many times – then finally, last year, we really cracked it. We use a Thermomix so the temperature is controlled, meaning you don’t need to stand next to the stove for hours, and we finally got the right flavour and texture. It was a big moment for us!

Myself, I eat it with everything. You can have it with all sorts of things: milkshakes, ice cream, crème caramel, spooned over cheese (it’s fantastic with a semi-hard cheese like emmental, trust me). I even eat it straight from the jar. I can eat four or five spoonsful, no problem. At home, it lasts no time at all. I’ll come home late from the restaurant and eat it all up with cheese. I have to remind myself that we do have to control ourselves. We can’t always be eating it. But when the time is right, it really is the food for the moment.

“Dulce de leche makes me so happy. It reminds me of good moments with my family, particularly my grandma.”

ZOILO

9 Duke Street, W1U 3EG zoilo.co.uk

Crème brûlée & ‘banana split’ ice cream

“I couldn’t imagine my kitchen without sumac. No dish can fail to benefit from its addition.”

DELAMINA

56-58 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2NX delaminakitchen.co.uk

Hummus with caramelised onions, roasted tomato relish, crispy chickpeas and sumac

Sumac

Limor Chen, Delamina

I couldn’t imagine my kitchen without sumac. It is special, beautiful, versatile and I simply love using it; no dish can fail to benefit from its addition. Sumac is made of dried berries, cultivated primarily in Turkey and Iran, and it’s very popular in Middle Eastern cuisines. The berries are crushed to a coarse texture, and the flavour is tangy and a bit salty. I want to add it to everything, to add saltiness, colour and a slightly lemony tang.

The first time I saw it was as a young teenager, when my dad added it to basmati rice, creating a lovely layer of colour and flavour. I remember the smell, and the way it altered the taste and appearance of the rice. I remember thinking, “Wow! this is tasty!” and since then there’s been no going back. That rice dish was the first, but there have been so many dishes since. Sumac goes superbly well with roasted vegetables and is wonderful sprinkled on salads of cucumber or tomatoes, as well as dips. Our hummus dish at Delamina has lots going on: crispy onions, a roasted tomato relish, parsley and crispy chickpeas, finished off with sumac and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. My daughter loves labneh with olive oil and sumac and some soft bread.

It is wonderful with fish. You know when you just want to add a slight lemony flavour? Sumac does that beautifully. You can use it as a marinade, but mostly I add a sprinkle at the end of a dish, to finish it off. Barbecued meats, koftas, chicken, shakshuka – sumac lifts literally almost any dish you could think of. You can even have it just with great sourdough or a fluffy pitta. Olive oil, a bit of sumac, bread: that’s enough. That’s why I love this spice so much; unlike liquorice, coriander and other spices which can be a bit ‘love it or hate it’, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like it. It’s easy on the palate, but it adds richness – and I think it looks superb.

You can find sumac in the niche sections of big supermarkets, or in Turkish shops. Look for coarseground sumac with large chunks of light burgundy pieces; fine and powdery is not as good. I stock up on sumac whenever we go to Israel, to Tel Aviv. I go to a spice merchant where they crush everything on site, so it’s wonderfully fresh. The potency and colour fades with time, but in the fridge it lasts for months. In my forthcoming cookbook, My Tel Aviv Table, there’s a special mention of a few ingredients I regularly use and love –and sumac, of course, is one of them.

“Unlike liquorice, coriander and other spices which can be a bit ‘love it or hate it’, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like sumac. It’s easy on the palate –and it looks superb.”

DURING LONDON CRAFT WEEK 10th - 14th May 2023 10am-6pm

The Golden Age of Melancholy

An exhibition exploring the importance of melancholy in early modern society and culture.

Monday - Thursday: 9:30am - 6:00pm

Friday: 9:30am- 5:30pm

Saturday - Sunday: Closed

Admission free. Open to all.

Monday 16 January - Wednesday 31 May 2023

For more information ring 0781 6435126

The Library, Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, London, W1G 0AE

Liz Workman | ceramics studiolizworkman.com

Caroline Egleston | ceramic tiles piccolpasso.com

Sarah Villeneau | sculpture villeneau.co.uk

Luciana Bohm | metalwork lucianabohm.com

THE DIFFERENCE MAKERS

The Marylebone Project is one of the largest women’s hostels in the UK. Our vision is to empower women to end their homelessness and live life to the full. We aspire to turn people’s lives around by accompanying them on the journey to a happy and independent life.

Homelessness has a very particular impact on women. It’s quite scary to hear about what they go through. They are targeted and harassed when they try to sleep rough. We hear many stories of violence and sexual harassment. Some have described having people trying to get to their belongings by going through their clothing while they’re sleeping. Even when they’re in mixed hostels, they’re sometimes propositioned or made to feel unsafe. Women’s homelessness is rarely raised as a specific issue, though. In part, that’s because it’s quite hidden – women are generally not as visible and in-your-face as men.

Introducing the people behind Marylebone’s vital charities and community organisations: Ruhamah Sonson, acting operations manager for the Marylebone Project

Interview: Jean-Paul Aubin-Parvu

Portraits: Orlando Gili

Many of the women we support have experienced significant trauma. Some have been affected by domestic abuse or human trafficking, for example, while others have had their children taken into care for various reasons. Many have no recourse to public funds and are essentially destitute. Recently, we are seeing an increase in women who are struggling with the rising cost of living and have been unable to maintain their housing. To deal with their trauma, some women sadly turn to drugs and alcohol. Some will engage in sex work to fund a drug habit. Everyone’s story is different. Everyone’s story is complex. But whatever their story, we aim for the same ending, which is self-esteem, employment and independent living. And we do this by providing shelter, educational opportunities, activities and events in a welcoming and safe environment.

The work that we do is underpinned by four values: hospitality, empowerment, resettlement and spirituality. Hospitality means providing a welcoming environment, bringing women into an inclusive, safe, secure space. Empowerment is about equipping the women to make informed choices and giving them a voice. We encourage them to get involved at every level of the organisation, whether that’s by sitting on interview panels, helping us write policy or even delivering workshops for other service users. Resettlement means encouraging and supporting women towards independent living – last year, we helped over 200 women move into more stable accommodation. And spirituality means we provide a range of activities with the aim of giving each woman the hope they need.

At the Marylebone Project, which is run by Church Army in partnership with the Portman House Trust, we have 112 beds and provide a resettlement service for

women who are ready to live independently. We also have the Sanctuary, a drop-in centre for women who are homeless or at the point of crisis, where they can get housing advice and be signposted to relevant professional services. They have access to a shower, food and laundry facilities. The Sanctuary also provides four emergency beds. And the beauty of this service is that you don’t need a referral. It’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. You can walk in off the street and immediately be in a safe space.

Our in-house team offers accredited courses such as childcare, health and social care, and we have a contract with Westminster Adult Education enabling us to deliver a range of adult learning courses, including English and IT. We had 10 women recently take part in a Training the Trainer course, which gives them the skills they need to lead their own workshops internally.

To complement these courses, we provide opportunities for the women to develop their vocational skills and experience by participating in our Made in Marylebone social enterprise. This has two distinct arms, and the women get involved in running both businesses. With Space in Marylebone, we hire out meeting rooms, and this gives women the chance to build their administrative and customer service skills. Munch in Marylebone provides a range of catering services, and the women can gain catering skills and qualifications. We can also link them in with different placements, usually at local hotels, to gain invaluable work experience. As part of Munch in Marylebone we’re going to have a stall selling cakes and cookies at the Baker Street Quarter food market.

To address some of the significant trauma that the women experience, we provide a range of therapeutic activities such as counselling, massage, body realignment, voice expression and art therapy. We also run regular pampering days. The team from Selfridges came in and treated the women to facials and nail painting. A range of health services are available on site, so women can, for example, access a nurse clinic and have substance misuse support. There’s a lot going on here!

Our biggest challenge is trying to fund everything. The council commissions a very small part of our work, but for the majority of it we rely on fundraising, donations and sponsorship. That is always hard, but particularly so in the current economic climate. As well as financial donations, we’re in need of food, clothing and toiletries, which can be dropped off at our reception.

The Marylebone Project partners with amazing organisations and local businesses who help us to enhance the activities on offer. For example, we work with Barclays Bank and Selfridges, whose volunteers run a range of workshops including CV writing, interview skills and public speaking. We also work closely with the Baker Street Quarter Partnership. They oversee 200 local businesses and link us up with them to provide opportunities for our service users. They also provide volunteers for fundraising or to help us in the activities.

Volunteers play a crucial role in supporting our work and delivering activities to our women. As well as the corporate volunteers, we have individual volunteers who approach us with ideas around how they’d like to use their skills to help our women. We currently have a fantastic volunteer who is running a knitting class, which is one of the most successful and well attended classes that we’ve ever had here.

As the acting operations manager, I’m essentially responsible for overseeing the general day-to-day running of the Marylebone Project, which includes putting systems in place and ensuring that the processes are being followed and that our teams are facilitated effectively. I oversee the incredible managers who run the key areas of the Marylebone Project. My aim is to give them the tools they need to lead their teams effectively, so that our women are supported to the highest standard.

I love seeing our service users being empowered. The biggest inspiration for me is seeing their journey. When they first access the service, many women feel disillusioned, rejected, ostracised and have low self-esteem. During my two years working here I have witnessed so many of these women have their lives completely turned around.

I actually have a lovely quote from a service user who stayed in one of our emergency beds, which I think sums it up perfectly: “Thank you so much for giving me this amazing and special opportunity to be in your beautiful home and to be in a safe place. This is such a blessing and a gift from God. I felt so safe as soon as I got here. I felt cared about and respected. Everyone has been so kind to me. I slept very well and had a lovely breakfast and shower. I feel so happy. I feel positive and confident. I feel like I have got my life back. I feel like I can achieve anything. The world is my oyster and I can now reach for the stars.”

MARYLEBONE PROJECT

Bradbury House, 1-5 Cosway Street

NW1 5NR

maryleboneproject.org.uk

“When they first access the service, many women feel rejected, ostracised and have low self-esteem. I have witnessed so many of these women have their lives completely turned around.”

A CLOSER LOOK

FOOD » 36

STYLE » 44

HOME » 52

HEALTHCARE » 54

FOOD » 39

FOOD PHILOSOPHY

Michael Daniel of The Gate restaurants, on youthful naivety, cooking from scratch, and the changing face of vegetarianism

STYLE »44

Q&A

Victoria Stapleton of Brora on the brand’s 30th anniversary, her hands-on approach to business, and the growing awareness of provenance

HOME » 52

ANATOMY OF A DESIGN

Corin Mellor of David Mellor Design on a simple, functional but very beautiful cafetière

Q&A: SOPHIE BRATT

The bar manager at Nobu Bar on falling in love with hospitality, meeting the legendary Chef Nobu, and why a great bar is not just about the drinks

Interview: Viel Richardson

Images: Lateef Photography

How long have you been at Nobu?

I joined Nobu just over six months ago, and I’m loving it. There is a really great atmosphere, and the teams are amazing. Like most bartenders and bar managers I kind of fell into hospitality and then fell in love with it. It gets under your skin. I think hospitality is one of those careers that you either absolutely love or it’s not for you. For me it was love. I also like the fact that you never stop learning – there is something that I can be trying to get better at every single day.

You refer to yourself as a bartender rather than a mixologist. Why is that?

I think that, more than anything, the job is about looking after people and making them happy. They’re coming into your space to lift their spirits, and for me that is the real essence of the job. I see it as my role to make their day better, and that involves a great deal more than the drink you serve them. That’s why I like the term ‘bartender’. It covers everything that happens both in front of and behind the bar. My job is to create an ambience where people will love to come with their friends but also want to come to work. I always use the analogy of a circus. The bar manager is the ring master – you have to set

the tone not just for the guests, but for the staff as well. If I arrive in a bad mood and take that into the bar, it will impact on my staff, which is going to reflect on the guests’ experience. You’ve got to have that energy, that spark. Mixing drinks is only part of the job.

Nobu was founded by the Japanese chef Nobuyuki ‘Nobu’ Matsuhisa. Apparently, he has inspired some of the bar’s cocktails… We have a series of cocktails called the Japan Passport, which has been inspired by chef Nobu’s life and travels. The cocktails in the passport take inspiration from his birthplace in Saitama in Japan through his time in South America in places like Argentina and Peru to his meeting Robert De Niro in Los Angeles and the birth of Nobu. Taken as a whole, they reflect the highs and lows of his journey. I’ve met him and he’s a lovely man. He just sees himself as one of the team and will come over to give you a hug when you meet. You can see that he cares about both the staff and customers. That’s reflected in the whole team here.

Are there any cocktails that stand out for you?

They’re all brilliant drinks with a range of flavours and styles. For me the interesting parts are the stories

behind each drink. I love Shadow on the Wall, which is a split-base cocktail with tequila and mezcal. It’s based around a time when Chef Nobu found himself feeling lost and a bit disconnected. In the passport, each cocktail has an accompanying piece of artwork and for this one there is a shadow of the chef on a wall in a desert landscape, which references Los Angeles. I also love the story behind the Rikidozan. It’s named after a famous wrestler who his grandmother loved watching when he was a child. This drink is a reflection of the connection between Chef Nobu and his grandmother. Family is hugely important to me, so I love the fact that he’s giving us a glimpse into his life as a child.

The Japan Passport began its conception before your arrival, but what is your own process when creating a cocktail?

Strangely, the process can be both really difficult and easy at the same time. If I have a spirit that I need to work with, I can sometimes come up with some initial ideas quite quickly. But there are other times when I can get an absolute block and reach a point where I have no idea how to proceed. If I’m in that situation, I find the only thing to do is switch off. I go for a run or do something that takes me out of work mode completely. That’s when I find that the answers will often present themselves. Sometimes I find myself waking up with ideas. I now go to sleep with a notepad nearby in case I need to write them down before they disappear.

How fully formed can these ideas be?

Sometimes it’s just a concept, other times the whole drink can be there almost fully formed. The key thing about making great cocktails is getting a balance of flavours. You have a huge number of ingredients to play with, so it’s easy to get a bit lost. You need to know what you’re aiming for and find a way to get there. I have been a judge for cocktail

competitions, and you can always tell when a drink has been forced – you can understand the idea behind the drink, but the person making it hasn’t found a way to get the layers of flavours to take you there naturally. That’s when you end up with an unbalanced drink. Balancing the flavours in a new cocktail is the hardest part. It takes time and experience to do it well.

What for you makes a great cocktail?

A great cocktail is a drink that puts a smile on someone’s face. A great cocktail should tell a story,

take you on a journey, transport you somewhere else. It’s a form of escapism. But it’s not just about the drink. It’s about finding out what the customer wants. That’s the essence of hospitality. Working behind a bar is really all about talking to people. For me, serving a great cocktail starts with finding out what the customer likes and what mood they’re in. Do they want something to pick them up or relax them? We have drinks on the menu that are perfectly balanced, but if the guest says they like a cocktail where the bitterness or sweetness is a bit more pronounced, you can use your experience to tweak it enough

to give them what they want without destroying the cocktail.

How do you create an ambience? We’re trying to create a fully immersive experience, through the drinks, the music and the decor. At night the curtains are closed and the place is dark and atmospheric. It’s kind of moody and sensual, and the music has to represent that. It also has to take you on the same journey as the drinks, so we have Latin beats as well as Japanese music. Then on Thursday, Friday and Saturday each week we have some brilliant DJs who are great at reading the room, seeing

Left: Last Frontier

Below: Chazuke

Opposite left: Shadow on the Wall

Cocktails from the Japanese Passport menu, inspired by Chef Nobu’s life:

FOOD PHILOSOPHY

THE GATE

Michael Daniel, CEO and founder of The Gate restaurants, on youthful naivety, cooking from scratch, and the changing face of vegetarianism

Interview: Ellie Costigan

When my brother and I first opened The Gate in Hammersmith back in 1989, there weren’t many vegetarian restaurants around. We came across this empty restaurant, off the beaten track. You wouldn’t have been able to find it even if you’d wanted to. We got the space and just started cooking.

When we first opened The Gate, we were both very young. I was 22 and my brother was 25 – and we didn’t know anything about cooking or running a business. We just thought we did! We were very naïve. We’d invite friends and family in, make a few quid, then use that to buy the next load of vegetables. It grew that way, very organically.

I didn’t grow up in a vegetarian environment. My mum is ArabicIndian, so I was brought up with a broad, interesting diet, though it included traditional British food –shepherd’s pie, that sort of thing.

The whole highly processed vegan food trend isn’t our thing. I don’t really like the word ‘natural’, but that’s what our food is – we make everything ourselves, down to the ice cream. It’s a central component of who we are.

We’ve appealed to people who weren’t vegetarian from day one. Our whole thing is about just making really tasty food and giving everyone an experience.

if the mood is more relaxed or the people want something more up-tempo.

How do you want customers to feel as they’re picking up their coat to leave?

First of all, refreshed, not thirsty. Happy and like they want to come back. That they’ve found a place to be transported out of their daily world. I want Nobu Bar to become one of our guests’ happy places.

NOBU BAR

22 Portman Square, W1H 7BG nobuhotels.com

We had a baby grand and played live music most nights. We didn’t have an alcohol license, which meant we couldn’t sell it, so I’d give bottles of wine away. People would say: “This guy’s mad!” But I wanted people to have the best time.

Society and food have changed so much over the last 30 years. That’s affected who our staff are and who our customers are. People come in for different reasons: you have the ethical bunch, people who want vegetarian food for health reasons, people who eat vegetarian for religious reasons. There are customers who come in now who wouldn’t have done a few years ago. It’s no longer niche.

A few years back, how many vegetarian or vegan restaurants were there? Not many: Mildreds, Manna. Only a handful. Now there are hundreds. The market is more challenging, but you’ve got to stick to what you are.

Waste is always an issue in any restaurant, but we try to minimise it across the board. Many years ago, we calculated all our waste with the help of the Sustainable Restaurant Association – weighed everything, categorised it, figured out what percentage was typically left on people’s plates. There was very little waste. The stats were off the scale, compared with restaurants that

serve meat. What did we throw away? A few coriander stalks, perhaps, which we then taught our chefs to throw in the stock.

From day one, we were obsessed with not having too much of any one thing on the menu. We’ve always had Asian, European, South American influences, all on the menu at once. Often if I go to a restaurant and they have dishes from here, there and everywhere, I think, what is this place?! But at The Gate, it works.

We try to imitate classic dishes but give them a vegetarian twist – when ceviche became a big thing over here, for example, we tried a mushroom version. It’s challenging, we need a nearinfinite well of creativity, while hitting a particular standard.

We have an executive chef who has been with us for 20 years. He started as a kitchen porter. On his first week I said to him: “If you stay here, you’ll be head chef one day.” “Who, me?!” And now look where he is. He reminds me of myself. He’s got so much energy.

I still come and help out on the floor. I love waiting tables, I love customers, I love entertaining people. I’m hands-on. I am very much part of my business.

THE GATE

22–24 Seymour Place, W1H 7NL thegaterestaurants.com

A GLASS APART

Tim Schroeder, founder of Hagen, on a cold brew coffee with deep sustainable roots

Interview: Viel Richardson

The cold brew that we’ll be serving during the Marylebone Food Festival is a drink that showcases Hagen’s core ethos, which is to be as socially responsible and sustainable a business as we can be.

This coffee is made using Himalayan single origin coffee beans – not something you would have heard of a few years ago. Together with the Human Practice Foundation, we’re working closely with farmers in Nepal to develop a speciality

coffee industry which will contribute not just to the local area but the country as a whole.

The coffee is made from three varietals: Bourbon, Caturra and Typica. These varietals are grown elsewhere in the world, too – but as with wine, aspects of the environment they’re grown in come through in the beans, resulting in a character that’s unique to the area.

We only sell coffee, so for us the taste is everything. The final product had to be something

we’re proud to sell. At first, we couldn’t find a cold brew process that produced a drink we liked, so we decided to create one of our own. It was a huge team effort, taking many months, but this is our fourth year of production and we’ve ended up with a recipe and process we’re happy with. It involves submerging the beans in special vats for around 24 hours. We then filter the brew for clarity before storing it chilled. It’s designed to be drunk icecold, which shows the blend of flavours at its best.

When you cold brew coffee, the bitter-tasting compounds don’t develop. This allows other flavour notes to come through. All three varietals are naturally processed, with their fruity notes to the fore. The coffee also has sweet notes, and a light body. This year’s coffee represents the whole of last year’s crop, so we’re the only place in the world where you can taste it.

The most important thing about this coffee is what it represents. By directly trading with a community of 1,000 farmers, with a 100 per cent profit re-distribution, we’re part of creating something truly sustainable. Not because of charitable support, but because everybody involved is determined to produce world-class coffee that people across the globe will want to buy for years to come.

HAGEN MARYLEBONE

82 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4QN

thehagenproject.com

ANATOMY OF A DISH CHICKEN SCHNITZEL

Claud Grant, head chef of Fischer’s, on one of the restaurant’s signature dishes

In a nutshell

For me, the beauty of the chicken schnitzel is its simplicity. It’s something you can bring to any table that will please everyone, no matter how sophisticated their palate. With its rich Austrian heritage and hearty flavour, the schnitzel is a casual, easy dining classic that doesn’t skimp on either taste or tradition.

The inspiration

One of the best-known specialities of Viennese cuisine, the schnitzel is also a national dish of Austria, so it’s an absolute must on our menu at Fischer’s. Evoking nostalgia of the 1920s glory days of Vienna’s grand cafés – where

a restaurateur called Johann Figlmüller claimed to have served the first schnitzels in his tavern behind St Stephen’s Cathedral – it became a symbol of national pride. It manages to be simultaneously a cultural classic and a versatile comfort food.

The form

The schnitzel is a dish that can be prepared in many different ways. While my personal favourite is made with chicken, we also have veal and – new to our menu – a tromboncino courgette schnitzel. So, it’s a dish that can be made to suit everyone. We serve ours with either a wonderfully rich jus

Parisienne, or a lingonberry compote for a sweet and tangy alternative.

The technique

We butterfly the chicken breast and flatten it with a mallet until it is even. To make the crispy exterior, we dip both sides of the meat in a flour mix, then an egg mix, and finally in breadcrumbs. We then fry it in a pan, three to four minutes on each side, until golden brown. We finish by garnishing in sea salt. If it were for me, I’d cover it in our Parisienne jus before tucking in.

The secret

The secret to an evenly cooked chicken schnitzel is in the

tenderisation process. We always tenderise our chicken in a sealed vacuum bag, which takes away the direct hit of the mallet and creates a much more even surface. Without the sealed bag, some parts of the chicken can become flatter than others – these areas become overcooked, while the thicker areas don’t cook enough. As the schnitzel guardians at Figlmüller café in Vienna advise, the secret is “pounding, pounding, and pounding it out some more!”

FISCHER’S 50 Marylebone High Street, W1U 5HN fischer’s.co.uk

Carlotta

The recipe for creating a successful restaurant is not a complex one: make good food from high-quality produce, price it fairly, then have it served up it in a stimulating setting by people who are clearly happy to be there. It’s a recipe from which far too many restaurateurs forget an ingredient or two, with depressing consequences. Not Big Mamma, though. They get it right every time.

Founded in 2013 by two Frenchmen, Victor Lugger and Tigrane Seydoux, the Big Mamma restaurant group conquered Paris with its lively, irreverent approach to Italian cuisine, before quickly doing the same in Madrid and London. The group’s four wildly popular London restaurants – Gloria, Circolo Popolare, Ave Mario and Jacuzzi – are now being joined by a fifth: Carlotta, a 150-seat trattoria on Marylebone High Street.

Headed up by chef Armando di Costanzo, who hails from Naples, Carlotta promises Neapolitan and Sicilian classics “with an Americano twist” – expect a grill section heavy on barbecued beef and lamb as well as the traditional pasta, vegetables and seafood of southern Italy. All the usual Big Mamma tropes will be in play: impeccably sourced ingredients, vibrant design (a long skylit dining room with leather furnishings and a soft suede ceiling on the ground floor, “an 80s midnight blue velvet paradise” in the basement) and the odd internet-breaking menu sensation (a giant 10-tiered chocolate fudge cake is in the works). The restaurant opens in mid-May. Expect excitement.

CARLOTTA

77-78 Marylebone High Street, W1U 5JX bigmammagroup.com

MY PERFECT DAY

Tamara Al Saadi, founder

of the Levantine bakery and deli T by Tamara, describes her perfect Marylebone day

Interview: Clare Finney

Breakfast

I would choose T by Tamara. And I’m not saying that just because it’s my place! My customers love it too, because it’s not your typical eggs and avocado. You get to experience a proper Levantine-style breakfast, like Lebanese sausages with baked eggs, served with bread and pickles. It takes me back home.

A breath of fresh air

Paddington Street Gardens is a good place to sit, have a coffee, watch the kids play and maybe call someone for a conversation. I also love Portman Square; it’s nice to walk around, especially in spring.

Coffee

Again, I would choose my

place because we have really good coffee, including Turkish coffee. We’re near the farmers’ market, so on a sunny Sunday I would take my coffee and go to the farmers’ market. There are some really interesting stalls.

A new outfit

Sandro and Maje on the high street are my kind of style. I also love shopping on New Quebec Street, particularly John Boyd Hats. I love to look at the different hats they have. I bought a hat for Ascot when I went last year.

Shopping

I get my cologne from Cologne and Cotton – they have beautiful scents in there – and I love going to The White Company for bedding. I also really like

The Conran Shop. They have such nice ceramics.

Culture

Daunt is one of the best bookstores I’ve ever been to. I love to walk around and explore what they have on the shelves. It’s always good to watch a movie at the Everyman, too; it’s one of London’s oldest cinemas.

Pre-dinner drinks

I love to have a few drinks with friends in The Marylebone pub.

Dinner out

Before I opened the business and became very busy, I would have dinner with friends at La Fromagerie. They have interesting classes there, too. I’ve always wanted to do their cooking class.

Dinner in

I would go to Bayley and Sage, the new place on the high street. They sell wine and flowers, as well as lovely produce. I would get a few select items from there. I would get cheese from La Fromagerie, of course, and the rest of my ingredients from Waitrose.

Anything else

Marylebone Town Hall is just over the street from where I live, and I love watching newlyweds come out, take pictures and celebrate. It’s such a lovely way to start your morning. I always say I’d like to get married there some day.

T BY TAMARA 17 Seymour Place, W1H 5BF tbytamara.co.uk

Q&A: VICTORIA STAPLETON

The founder of Brora on the brand’s 30th anniversary, her hands-on approach to business, and the growing awareness of the importance of provenance

Interview: Ellie Costigan

Imagery: Johnnie Pilkington

You’re celebrating Brora’s 30th anniversary this year. How did the story begin?

Thirty years ago, I was working for a tweed mill called Hunters of Brora in the northeast of Scotland. They had a little shop in the village of Brora but wanted to set up a retail business on the side, so I set up a retail arm. There was definitely a market for this very authentic Scottish product. The more successful it became, the more stock it needed and the larger the expense. The consortium of people who owned the tweed mill, who’d bought it to save the mill and jobs in Brora, decided they couldn’t really do it anymore. By this point I had a mail order service and agents around the country, so I said I’d really quite like to start this as a separate business. I’d keep buying cloth from the mill and call the business after the village where it all started. The whole thing then grew very quickly.

How so?

When I started in 1993, it was a mail order business. I started in a bedroom in my house, in London, cardboard boxes everywhere and a telephone line. No internet. We had a paper catalogue. Gail Rolf, the then-fashion editor of the Daily Mail, featured us in her column and the following week, the phones started going. By then we

had two lines, so I called in a friend to help. We would literally pick the phone up, put it down, pick it up, put it down. From that one piece, we had 3,000 phone calls and of that, about 1,200 actually ordered. This was only four months in, so it was a massive thing for us. All those people came back, because they’d found this lovely little niche brand doing Scottish cashmere, but in lots of colours. That was the real beginning.

Do you think your origin, working at the mill, is why quality material has stayed at the heart of Brora? A lot of people who are starting a business now come to me for advice or mentorship and I say, be really careful how you launch, because it’ll stay with you forever. Even though we’ve been selling clothing alongside our knitwear for 20 years, so many people think of Brora as the cashmere brand, when in fact, we sell just as many beautiful blouses or dresses or coats. It’s not a bad thing to be pigeonholed as selling the most beautiful Scottish cashmere – it means when people come into the store they’re rather pleasantly surprised, because not everything has this super-expensive price tag. Scottish cashmere is terribly expensive, because it’s very expensive to make.

What makes Brora cashmere so special?

We buy only the very finest material, and there are 50 processes that go into making one cardigan. It’s fully vertical, so it does everything from dying the yarn and spinning it, to knitting. The knitting goes on in lots of different machines: the sleeves might be made on one, bodies made on another, then it all gets hand linked. The ribbon is hand sewn, as are the buttons. Going to the mill is an exceptional experience. Seeing something made, be it a cardigan or cheese, changes your whole perspective. You see the time and effort and energy and care that goes into making one piece. It’s amazing.

You’ve recently launched your 30th anniversary collection, drawing on your extensive archive to inspire new pieces. It must have been interesting to reflect on how your style’s developed.

I sat with my design team for the day, got all the brochures we’ve ever produced, and chose one piece from each year as inspiration – 30 pieces representing 30 years. You’d think it would be all over the place, but Brora’s designs are so timeless that we absolutely can take something from 2000 and wear it today.

At Hunters of Brora, I’d been sourcing cashmere from one of the oldest mills – an amazing mill that I still source from today, which makes for Chanel, Hermes, it’s the couture of cashmere mills. When I started the brand, I said to the guy who ran that mill: I really want to start doing something a bit funkier. It had all been quite country; I wanted to do cashmere in bright colours, skinny-rib polo necks, little cropped jumpers. That was the sort of thing people wanted in those days. Now everyone wears lovely, slouched knits and it’s all so comfortable. Today, fashion is more about what suits you and works for your body shape, and I think that’s lovely.

You’ve had a store in Marylebone for most of that time. Why do you think that’s the case?

When we opened the store 20 years ago, it was just at the beginning of Marylebone’s renaissance. My friends at Emma Bridgewater told me about it: they said, we’re going to Marylebone High Street and there’s a shop next door to us that’s empty, why don’t you come and have a look? To be honest, we haven’t looked back. It’s been wonderful. As Marylebone’s grown, it’s just become an even better fit for us. My customers in Marylebone are different. They tend to be more London-based. I also get a huge number of people who

are there because they’ve got some kind of medical appointment. It might be something quite grim, like having treatment for cancer. They find themselves in that neck of the woods and want to treat themselves, and Brora is a very cosseting brand. I have found the last year to be incredibly busy, which just shows what a key shop and area it is for us. It’s also a lovely street – ideal if you want to get some nice cheese or a good book or do a bit of interiors or boutique shopping.

Brora customers tend to be incredibly loyal. What drives that? I think people cherish their Brora

ISABEL MANNS

Isabel Manns, founder of the eponymous women’s clothing brand, on reversible clothes, quality fabrics and spontaneous designing

Interview: Ellie Costigan

I knew I wanted to go into fashion design from the age of about 15. I loved painting, which is how I started, and I loved the idea of turning my prints into something that can be worn.

I came up with the idea for reversible clothing while I was studying fashion in New York. I always wanted to start my own brand and I always knew what my style was going to be.

You have to use a lot more fabric to make reversible clothing and there are lots of technicalities. Our zips are made for us in Italy. Buttons were the hardest thing to

STYLE PHILOSOPHY

An outfit from Brora’s 30th anniversary collection inspired by 2003, modelled by Georgia May Jagger Above: A look inspired by 2019 and 2020

pieces. It’s special. We’ve had a fun time celebrating 30 years, we’ve had such an outpouring of love. I’ve been sent so many nice notes from customers. There’s one on my desk now that says, “I work to help endangered wildlife and also enjoy attending classic concerts. Whatever my day looks like, Brora outfits see me through.” People feel really personal about Brora. I’ve tried to get my head around why that is and I think one of the reasons is, I do still own the business 100 per cent. It’s very personal. I’m in the stores, managers can email me directly with requests, everyone in the office

knows me well and I know them, what’s going on with their families. I’m not alone, I employ really lovely people and employ carefully – only 100 people work at Brora – and people tend to stay. The value from that is exceptional. Somehow, I think those things filter through to the customer.

Brora is also the sort of place you can come to, get a couple of pairs of trousers, a dress, a shirt, some knitwear and you really don’t need to go anywhere else. The whole shopping thing can be so exhausting so when you find a brand you like, you tend to stick to it. We all want to

buy less and less and that’s fantastic. At last, that message is getting through. I didn’t think it was ever going to. I’ve been trying to tell people about where their clothes are made and to think about provenance for so long, and it felt like it was falling on totally deaf ears. People were really aware of where their food was coming from, really prepared to go to a farm shop, but weren’t getting the whole thing of, where is the wool from? Where is the fabric from? Where’s it been made? How many air miles has this thing taken to get here? There’s been a massive shift, especially with the

atmosphere of Miami, which I visited for work. The collection before that was pond life and before that, northern Spain.

Unless it’s the smallest scrap that you literally can’t do anything with, we use all our off-cuts to make accessories. Our headbands in particular are very popular.

Unlike most fashion brands, we tend to produce just one main collection a year, in the summer. Because we make our clothes in London, we can create a new style very quickly if we want to. Someone might come in and ask for a red dress and if we don’t have one, we can have one in store within a few weeks. I like doing it that way. It’s much more spontaneous.

source, as a lot of them are flat on one side. Labels have to go between two layers and factories aren’t used to doing that, so at the beginning there were always mistakes! There’s no room for error when it comes to reversible clothing, because everything can be seen.

Over time, silk will naturally stretch, especially if it’s an A-line style with a lot of floaty fabric. Usually, the lining of the dress is shorter than the outer layer, so you don’t really notice it, but when they’re cut the same length, as ours are, it’s a problem. We let everything hang for at least 24

hours before we sew the hem. We stretch it out then re-cut it, which takes a lot longer than a factory, which just does it straight away.

I was quite young when I started – just 22 – and I struggled to find a factory to make my designs. They’d either give me crazy prices or just didn’t want to work with me. They didn’t take me seriously. In time, I found one who understood what I was trying to do and took that chance. Two of my three suppliers – which all happen to be owned by women – have been with me since the beginning.

Reversible clothes give you two outfits for the price of one: a vibrant print on one side and a plain option on the other. A lot of our clients travel for work, and they can pack a skirt they can wear twice without anyone knowing. I’ll wear the plain side for day, then turn it round for a glamorous print for the evening.

The prints are always inspired by nature. It all started with the English garden: I grew up in Herefordshire and my mum loves gardening. She has beautiful flowers. My most recent collection was inspired by the architecture and beach

The quality of our fabrics is our number one priority. Our main fabric is the highest quality silksatin. It’s slightly thicker, so it’s longer lasting and drapes a lot better on the body.

There are so many reasons

Marylebone is a good fit for us. The customers here have an appreciation for quality. I also love that there are so many independent brands – especially on our street. Most of the owners are here every single day, and that’s so nice.

ISABEL MANNS

18 New Quebec Street, W1H 7RQ isabelmanns.com

younger generation. I’m thrilled about that.

It sounds as though you’re every bit as hands-on as you’ve ever been –and have no plans to slow down. There’s still so much we could do. When I start to think about it my mind boggles. There are just never enough hours in the day. I don’t think I’m particularly controlling – I can’t be, there are 10 shops selling clothes all day and I’m not there – but I’ve always got an opinion! Whether it’s how a label’s going to look in the back of a neck or how the brochure’s laid out. Because I’m so old fashioned, once

we’ve done all the photoshoots, I’ll get the sheets of imagery and cut out and stick them onto paper, for all 24 pages. My graphic designers then put it all in place with the copy and make it look lovely, then I go and sit with one of them and tweak it. That’s very hands on. It’s rubbish, really! I sometimes wonder what would happen if I went on sabbatical for six months. I’d have to go somewhere there was no internet. I’m so lucky to have something I feel so passionate about.

BRORA

81 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4QJ broraonline.com

A look inspired by 1997 and 2006 Left: A look inspired by 2014 and 2008

SUN WORSHIP

Henrietta Rix, co-founder of RIXO, on a look inspired by the colours of Goa

RIXO’s Postcards from Goa collection was inspired by my co-founder Orlagh McCloskey’s trip to Goa, where she visited the Fontainhas, Goa’s Latin quarter. She was so drawn to the beautiful colours found in the area, from the tiled buildings to the flowers; it felt so in line with RIXO’s DNA and inspired both the colour palette and key prints that make up the collection.

In this picture, our gorgeous model is wearing the Amina dress; one of my favourites from the collection. The little sun motif and wave print were hand-painted in the RIXO offices in London, and it’s such a true summer piece. The lace trim, low V and tie-front detailing are lovely feminine touches which work perfectly with the relaxed bias-cut of the dress. I really love the combination of colours, they’re so fresh and easy-to-wear. I’ll be living in this when spring finally arrives in London!

For our March campaign we paired the Amina with one of RIXO’s new bags; the Ailish. It’s a romantic raffia bucket-bag with floral embroidery, perfect for the city and also a summer holiday. The necklaces used to style the look are vintage (from mine and Orlagh’s personal collection!) and the bracelet is from RIXO’s new jewellery collection – this style is the Adie; it provides the perfect touch of Bohemian glamour with vintage-inspired engravings and turquoise gems.

For the office, I’ll pair my Amina dress with my Birkenstocks or trainers. For an evening, I’ll swap the shoes for a pair of strappy heels – our gold Ciervo heels are the perfect match. When it’s a little cooler I’ll pair the dress with one of my vintage jumpers. It’s the perfect piece because it can be dressed up and down so easily – a true example of a dress for every occasion.

RIXO

27 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4AD rixo.co.uk

SPRING SUNGLASSES

No, it isn’t sunny enough to justify sunglasses. Of course it isn’t. It’s April, you’re barely out of your boots and overcoat, and bare legs and sunnies seem like an impossible dream. However, there are some beautiful sunglasses out there that will service you on cool days as much as on hot ones. These are the sunglasses you’ll take pleasure in wearing even when the sun is at its most pathetic and the cloud at its most vindictive. They’re not quite sunnies for all seasons, but they are the specs to see you into May.

MONC CHILTERN, from £280 monclondon.com

No matter how bright the light, there will still be some people who will judge you for wearing sunglasses prior to summer. These glasses are for wearing around those people. A confident frame designed for the more expressive among us, their thick 6mm bioacetate frame, strikingly structured look and strong sustainability credentials give them a go-big-or-go-home energy. Show the naysayers that summer really is just a state of mind.

MALLON + TAUB

CLUNE X SUN BY GARRETT LEIGHT, from £375 mallonandtaub.com

Mallon + Taub makes the very act of shopping for sunglasses a joy. Being pioneeringly sustainability conscious, they’ve been selling many of the same models for years, including these guys, which are mid-century inspired and come in shades ranging from brown tortoise to light mustard. The reassuringly thick frame and custom logo pay tribute to the enduring qualities of the brand and of its glasses. Being a visionary isn’t always about identifying the next big thing. Sometimes, it’s about knowing what lasts.

BLOOBLOOM

THE DAYDREAMER, from £95 bloobloom.com

Bloobloom’s case is hard to argue with. For each pair of sunglasses you buy, they send a free pair to those in more disadvantaged communities. Those glasses are made in factories that share the brand’s commitment to ethics and sustainability and are dispensed by people who have been trained by Bloobloom to assess the needs of their clientele. Local business is boosted, as well as the sight and self-esteem of the happy recipients. And that’s before you even get to the style, which is chic and clean. These rose gold daydreamers are a case in point.

Jacadi Paris

Parisian style, that very particular blend of tradition and modernity, of understated elegance and striking detail, has been making its mark on Marylebone for many years. Now, with the recent arrival on the high street of Jacadi Paris, it’s time for the area’s children to get in on the act. Since 1976, Jacadi Paris has been embracing the timeless design heritage of its home city and using it as inspiration for some of the most elegant childrenswear imaginable. Designed both for everyday life and special occasions, for children aged from one month to 12 years, its clothes are defined by their audacious prints, refined materials and classic styling.

JACADI PARIS

51 Marylebone High Street, W1U 5HW jacadi.co.uk

ANATOMY OF A DESIGN

CAFETIÈRE

Corin Mellor, creative director of David Mellor Design, on designing a simple, functional but beautiful item of kitchen equipment

Interview: Viel Richardson

The requirement

The coffee ritual has been around me for most of my life, as my mother was a great coffee drinker. I still remember this beautiful cafetière we had, which was designed by Aldo Rossi. I became very keen on the idea of designing a cafetière set as part of a wider philosophy of creating things outside of David Mellor Design’s traditional base, which is knives and forks. A cafetière is a very interesting design challenge. Firstly, it is a functional item, something with a task to fulfil, and it needs to fulfil that task well. There is also a simplicity to it as an object. It can be beautiful to look at and pleasurable to hold. If we were going to create one, I wanted something that could work as a centrepiece for your table as well as make great coffee.

The inspiration

I suppose the inspiration goes back to my father, David. He was one of the country’s leading silversmiths. At our design museum in Derbyshire, we have a collection of tea pots, coffee pots and metalwork he designed. That family tradition of silversmithing is very much part of my heritage. I wanted to do something fresh while retaining our design aesthetic, which is very pared down, very minimal. If you’re designing something like a cafetière with very little detail, the form has to be exceptionally good or it’s simply boring, and the smallest changes can make a big difference. For example,

whether the radius is 60mm or 65mm can have a significant impact.

The design has to appeal to me on a gut level, but it also has to appeal to our customers. Because I spend time in our shops, I often hear from customers about the kind of things they appreciate or find offputting, which is a bit unusual for a designer. No doubt some of that knowledge found its way into the finished design.

The process

As with every design, this started with a pencil and a sketchpad. I sketched until I felt the design was going roughly in the right direction. I then started making physical prototypes. I took some aluminium tube into the workshop and started filing it into shape. I made and welded on a handle, then used a lathe to turn out a sort of top cover. I then filed out a spout and glued it all together. After that, I started finessing the different elements. It can take quite a few prototypes until I’m happy. Feel is a hugely important part of that process for me. I was constantly assessing the proportions, how it handled, how it poured.

When I’m happy, my design assistant James will take measurements from the final prototype and use a computeraided design (CAD) program to create the files for the design. At this stage, we start rapid prototyping plastic models, and continue tweaking the dimensions until we know the

files will create exactly what we want. This is an old-fashioned way of working – a lot of studios design entirely on CAD and are rapid prototyping right from the start, or else they move to the computer after just a few preliminary sketches. Once the CAD files are ready, we get some more robust samples made, and if I’m happy with those we move to the production process.

The materials

Stainless steel is a brilliant material for food or drink. Nothing comes off it, so there’s no possibility of contaminants getting into the food, unlike aluminium and some types of coating. When it’s brightly polished, stainless steel has a certain glamour. It’s also incredibly durable and can go in a dishwasher safely. Also, it provides good heat retention, keeping the coffee warm for up to half an hour. That’s why our cafetière is not double walled. We did think seriously about having double walls, but we found it really compromised the design for not significant benefits. As well as an all-silver version, we also make the cafetière with a silver-grey handle and top knob. These are also made from stainless steel, but we use a process called physical vapour deposition to change the chemical composition of the surface of the metal. This makes for an extremely durable finish that will look fresh year after year.

The philosophy

My design philosophy is based on Dieter Rams’ maxim of ‘form follows function’. I design practical objects, so first and foremost they have to work well, be a pleasure to handle and be made to last for years. However, I believe that the really great designs break out of that box a little. I want to design elegant things that are wonderful to look at and interact with. I aim for very subtle design; design that is not shouting at you but is quietly smiling at you; design where form follows function, but with a hint of beauty.

DAVID MELLOR

14 New Cavendish Street, W1G 8UW davidmellordesign.com

BEAUTIFUL BAKEWARE

THE EDIT

PASTRY BRUSH OTTOLENGHI, £3.20 ottolenghi.co.uk

NORDIC WARE SWIRL BUNDT TIN DAVID MELLOR, £58 davidmellordesign.com

STONEWARE DOUGH DISH LE CREUSET, £56 lecreuset.co.uk

BEESWAX BREAD BAG LABOUR AND WAIT, £26 labourandwait.co.uk

OAK SPATULA THE CONRAN SHOP, £15 conranshop.co.uk

GLASS CAKE STAND THE WHITE COMPANY, £60 thewhitecompany.com

COMING UP SMILING

Dr Reena Wadia, founder of RW Perio, on the transformative impact of periodontics, the trouble with gum disease, and the importance of a good oral hygiene regime

Interview: Viel Richardson

What is periodontics and where does it sit within the field of dentistry?

There are several different specialties within dentistry, and periodontics is mainly focused on the gum and the bone that supports the teeth. Gum disease – an infection of the tissues that hold your teeth in place – is actually the most common disease in humans. Severe gum disease affects about 11 per cent of the population. It’s typically caused by plaque – a sticky film of bacteria, which builds up on the teeth. Left untreated, disease can spread to the bones surrounding the gums. This is extremely important to treat because this area provides the foundation for holding your teeth in place. There’s no smile without that foundation! Periodontics is about managing gum disease, but it’s also a lot to do with gum aesthetics. Crown lengthening is particularly popular. We’re essentially lowering the gum and the bone underneath the tooth to show more of the teeth. We also deal with gum recession, where we have to build up gums that have regressed too far. This is something we are seeing people become more and more concerned with, especially with our ageing population. In short, periodontics deals with all the pink stuff in the mouth!

Many people rarely go to a dentist. What are the signs that gum disease has developed or is developing?

There are a couple of really key signs. The first one is bleeding gums. Often people think that when they’re brushing their teeth, a little bit of bleeding is normal. But it’s not. There shouldn’t be any bleeding from healthy gums when you’re brushing your teeth. Bleeding from anywhere in your body is a sign that something’s not quite right! If your arm was bleeding, you wouldn’t ignore that. The first thing to look out for is any bleeding at all from the gums, regardless of whether it’s spontaneous or during brushing.

Other reasons for concern are gum swellings. You might start to notice that part of your gum starts to swell, or that some of your teeth are becoming loose, or gaps are starting to form. Those are all indications that the support underneath the teeth isn’t ideal. A bad taste or bad breath are common signs as well.

We also see patients who literally have no symptoms, but where gum disease is present. The only way of definitively knowing whether you have it or not is to visit your dentist and make sure they do a gum screen with x-rays. This is especially important because gum disease can be a marker of wider health issues such as diabetes.

How hard is it to treat?

The good news is that the condition is preventable, and treatable in most cases. As a specialist clinic we do see the more extreme cases, but in most instances we usually start with nonsurgical treatments. It’s not invasive, it’s very conservative and patients can go straight to work afterwards, so there’s minimal disruption to their day. We try very hard to work around the patient’s lifestyle.

What is the process when treating someone with gum disease?

It depends on the patient. Some people will have gum disease everywhere while in others it will be restricted to certain areas. The first thing is to get back to a healthy foundation. We disinfect above the gum line to get rid of all the bacteria causing the disease. One of our specialists would then treat any ‘gum pockets’, which are gaps that can develop between a tooth and the gum supporting it. These can harbour bacteria, so after disinfecting inside the pocket we seal the pockets back up so the bacteria can’t return and continue attacking the bones. It’s all done under local anaesthetic and there is no pain during or after the procedure. We usually wait up to two months before the patient comes back in for a specialist assessment. >

What can you do for those people whose issues are not caused by gum disease?

One very common issue we see is gum recession. These are not gum disease patients, but people who over-brush their teeth and gums –they’ve brushed away their gums and the roots of some teeth are exposed. We have a lot of patients who don’t like the way it looks, so there is a significant aesthetic component, but that’s not the only problem. These people are often very sensitive to cold things, which can be really disruptive in their daily life. It also makes it uncomfortable to clean the area properly, increasing the chances that the bacteria that causes gum disease will take hold. You’re also more likely to get decay if your root is exposed. For those patients, we go through how to stop things getting worse and look at how we can deal with any sensitivity. Some of them will then move on to having surgery, where we actually correct the gum recession using a gum graft, which again, is minimally invasive.

We also deal with ‘gummy smiles’, where patients are unhappy because there is too much gum visible when they smile. For them, we do something called ‘gum sculpting’, where we reshape the gums and the bone underneath and around the teeth to make it more aesthetically pleasing.

Can you replace bone that has been lost to gum disease?

Less than 10 per cent of our patients need some level of regenerative treatment. It’s usually very localised – just one or two teeth that haven’t responded to the non-surgical treatment. This is usually due to the shape of the bone, or other local factors such as certain teeth having a root groove, which makes them more likely to get gum disease. The bone graft material can be in different forms – sometimes it’s granules, sometimes it’s a gel, sometimes we mix the two. We place the material against the areas where bone has been lost. The idea is that the graft forms a kind of scaffold and then new bone growth fills out that scaffold. You end up with a very strong mix of bone graft and new bone formation, which we call ‘regeneration’. Although it’s a surgical procedure, we only need to make a very small cut, with one or two stitches to close the wound. This is the least aggressive way of approaching a bone graft, and it’s much kinder on the patient.

What happens after you send your patients home?

Alongside the treatments we do, we work with our patients to get their home care on point. Getting the right long-term outcome is 80 per cent about what they do at home and 20 per cent about what we do here in the surgery. We have advanced hygienists who have undergone more training and gained extra qualifications compared to a regular hygienist, and they work with each patient to develop a tailored system for looking after their own mouth. This may sound simple, but it’s actually quite difficult to do well. We spend a good amount of time going through the home care regime because that will make sure the treatment we do here works well and lasts. This includes things like brushing technique, interdental cleaning, tongue cleaning, and more.

A good home regime is clearly key. What should we all be doing to keep our teeth and gums in the best possible condition?

Using an electric toothbrush is key. They are much more effective than a manual one. So is brushing twice a day. When you’re brushing, technique is really important. Angle the brush bristles towards the gum line at a 45 degree angle, because that’s where all the bacteria get trapped. When you use the electric toothbrush the bristles are doing the work for you so you shouldn’t be scrubbing as well, just hold the brush still for three seconds per tooth. Make sure you brush the outside, inside and the tops of the teeth.

The other thing, which is super important, is brushing in between the teeth, otherwise you’re missing half the surfaces of the mouth. Dental floss is good but interdental brushes are best. I would also recommend a tongue scraper. If you don’t clean your tongue, the coating can lead to things like bad breath. Mouthwash is nice to use, but never straight after brushing, as it washes away all the toothpaste, which contains a lot of good stuff. It’s good to use it after lunch or throughout the day, but not during your brushing periods. And the most important thing is to be consistent with your regime.

What do you like most about your job?

I just really enjoy having the ability to make a big impact on someone’s quality of life. I have seen people walk out of the surgery with more confidence and self-assurance than they had when they walked in. We often have patients telling us about the hugely positive impact their new-found confidence is having on their lives as a whole – and that is hugely satisfying.

RW PERIO

75 Harley Street, W1G 8QL

rwperio.com

World-class medical treatment. Truly personal care.

123 years of patient centred care in the heart of London.

Treatment centred around you

At King Edward VII’s Hospital, modern medicine and traditional values are combined to provide the very best individualised care. From the warm welcome patients receive at reception to the reassurance we give them as they leave, we aim to make every patient feel like our only patient.

Experts in your condition

Our multi-disciplined teams include world leading clinicians in Urology, Women’s Health, Digestive Health and Musculoskeletal Health

Our highly skilled teams will create a uniquely tailored care plan to help you get back to feeling like yourself again. Find

call our friendly team on 0203 991 1182

CAUSE & EFFECTS

Matthew Glithero and Eleonora

Sansoni of Wellthy Clinic on their integrated approach to pain reduction

Interview: Mark Riddaway

Matthew: It was through having an injury myself and experiencing the benefits of osteopathy that the seeds of my professional journey were sown, but it wasn’t until later that I went down that pathway. When I was young, I experienced lower-back pain through playing sport. I went to see an osteopath and I thought she was amazing, and the treatment was very effective – I was completely sold on it. Then in my late twenties I decided I needed a profession, so I took on a master’s degree in osteopathy.

Eleonora: My first degree was physiotherapy. While I was training, I was shadowing a physiotherapist who was also a cranial osteopath. I developed a real passion for osteopathy due to its holistic approach and great benefits it brought to patients. I worked for six years as a physiotherapist and then moved to London to study osteopathy. That’s where Matthew and I met.

Matthew: Osteopathy is a highly regulated profession. You have to complete a

four-year master’s and be registered with the national governing body, and you need to keep up to date with your professional development every year after that.

Eleonora: It can be quite difficult to explain osteopathy in simple terms. In essence, it’s about trying to understand what’s causing your pain. Many of the patients we see come in with neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain. Our priority is to get to the root of the problem. Is it mechanical pain? Is it postural? Is it compensatory pain from somewhere else? Is it stress? Is it something inside of your organs? Could it be a nutritional deficiency?

Matthew: What makes us unusual is that we’re able to combine osteopathy, cranial osteopathy, nutrition and Pilates, bringing together these different elements to optimise healing. For example, we treat quite a few people with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) issues, which can result in neck pain, back pain, headaches and

tinnitus. TMJs are very complex. As osteopaths, any treatment we provide will involve an element of muscular stretching and joint articulation, working on the muscular and fascial connections going down into the upper back, into the shoulder, trying to take pressure away from the neck and the jaw. We also want to get to the source of the problem. Could it be stress that is causing them to clench or grind their teeth? There may be a nutritional element – a magnesium deficiency can sometimes cause TMJ issues. As we make progress, we might incorporate Pilates to keep them as flexible as possible and prevent a reoccurrence. That integrated approach can be very powerful.

Eleonora: That’s why talking to patients to really understand their story is super important. There are a lot of external and internal factors that can play a part in pain, pain perception and general health, so you need them to talk about their life,

their stresses, their diet. As an osteopath, you need empathy. You have to be able to walk in other people’s shoes.

Matthew: You’re treating the whole person, and very rarely is it a quick fix, so it’s important that you build trust. If it’s a 30-year-old who has injured their knee while playing football, you know you need to treat the knee, but if it’s someone with chronic pain, breaking that negative pain pattern is not so straightforward. As a primary healthcare practitioner, you also look for red flags that might lead you to say: “Actually, you’re not in the right place at the moment. Go and see your doctor.”

Eleonora: We have seen incredible results from people with chronic problems. We have this lovely lady with multiple sclerosis. On her first appointment she attended our clinic with her partner as walking by herself was difficult. Obviously, I’m not treating her MS, but I am treating her back pain, neck pain, mobility, fatigue. I started with stretching and joint articulation, then introduced cranial osteopathy. She had gut dysbiosis, was very bloated and couldn’t sleep, so we looked at her nutrition and did lots of work on the gut. Gradually, very gradually, most of her symptoms have improved. Now she’s even doing Pilates with us and she comes to the clinic by herself.

WELLTHY CLINIC

63 New Cavendish Street, W1G 7LP wellthyclinic.com

Fursecroft, George Street, W1H

Guide Price £2,595,000 Joint Sole Agent

An interior designed three bedroom apartment for sale in a secure portered block located next to Marble Arch & Hyde Park.

This property has been reconfigured and refurbished to an excellent standard throughout, offering a modern style of living including air conditioning and underfloor heating. The kitchen is separate and there is a spacious dining area. There are two en-suite bathrooms, plus a family bathroom, plus a guest cloak room. To be sold with the benefit of a new 100 year lease.

If you are looking to buy or sell and would like advice on the current market or a free market appraisal contact:

Nicholas Jaffray

07515 777 634

Nicholas@Jaffray-Estates.co.uk

www.Jaffray-Estates.co.uk

42 Upper Berkeley Street

London

W1H 5QL

Fifteen, Portman Square, W1H

Guide Price £1,395,000

Jaffray Estates are delighted to present this bright two bedroom apartment situated on an upper floor in Fifteen Portman Square.

This carefully designed property offers a well laid out reception room with dining area, and separate fully equipped kitchen. There are two bedrooms and two shower rooms, the master is en-suite, plus both rooms offer plenty of storage.

Leasehold: 127 years

Fifteen, Portman Square, W1H

Guide Price: £1,895,000 Sole Agent

A rare opportunity to purchase a stunning two bedroom, garden facing flat in Portman Square.

The property offers excellent modern living space with open plan kitchen, with high quality appliances. Each bedroom has built-in wardrobes, and there are two shower rooms, an en-suite in the master bedroom. All rooms face south with direct views onto the beautiful Portman Square gardens.

Leasehold: 100 years

If you are looking to buy or sell and would like advice on the current market or a free market appraisal contact:

Nicholas Jaffray

07515 777 634

Nicholas@Jaffray-Estates.co.uk

www.Jaffray-Estates.co.uk

Executive Property Specialists

020 7486 6711

sales@mcglashans.co.uk / lettings@mcglashans.co.uk

Sussex Gardens, Paddington W2 £1,095pw / £4,745pcm

A duplex apartment with private roof terrace. Living/dining room, kitchen, 2 double bedrooms, 2 bathrooms (1 en suite), study, guest cloakroom, roof terrace, EPC – D, Council Tax (Westminster) Band F, Security Deposit - £6,570

Baker Street, Marylebone W1 £1,330,000 STC

A refurbished 4th floor apartment. Living/dining room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, lift, porter, Leasehold –970 years remaining plus Share of Freehold, Ground rent – £253 per annum, Service charge – £3,200 per annum, EPC – C

107 Crawford Street, London W1H 2JA

www.mcglashans.co.uk

NEW CAVENDISH STREET, MARYLEBONE VILLAGE, LONDON W1

A fabulous two-bedroom apartment approximately 1,855 sq ft (172 sq m) located in the heart of the Marylebone Village.

This unique apartment has recently been modernised and comprises of two bedrooms, two bathrooms, reception room, separate study area, laundry room, kitchen, guest w/c. The reception room benefits from being bright and airy with exceptional ceiling height.

The apartment is located on New Cavendish Street in the heart of Marylebone Village, moments away from Marylebone High Street and the green spaces of Regent’s Park. Baker Street, Bond Street and Great Portland Street stations are also within close proximity.

£2,000 PER WEEK

BOURLET CLOSE, FITZROVIA, LONDON W1

The mews house, of approximately 1,137 sq ft (106 sq m), comprises three bedrooms, three bathrooms, open plan fully fitted high spec kitchen / living room, and features a south-facing terrace.

The principal bedroom benefits from an en-suite shower room, and access to the terrace. Two further bedrooms with generous built-in storage, one with en-suite bathroom and a further guest bathroom, are located on the first floor. The kitchen and living room are fully open plan, providing spacious and light accommodation with high ceilings and wood flooring throughout.

Bourlet Close is situated just off Riding House Street, in the heart of fashionable Fitzrovia, and has excellent transport links nearby.

FREEHOLD; £2,295,000

Harley Street

Marylebone W1

Stunning penthouse on 6th floor (with lift) of this portered building in a fantastic central location in the heart of Marylebone, offering easy access to Marylebone High Street, Harley Street and Bond Street.

3 bedrooms • Reception room • 2 bathrooms • 1446 sq ft • Concierge/porter • Flat/apartment • Upper floor with lift • Leasehold 114 years approx • EPC rating C

Guide price £2,500,000

Marylebone & Regent’s Park 020 7299 2447

robert.oatley@carterjonas.co.uk

Harrowby Street

Marylebone W1

A recently refurbished 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment in a purpose built portered block with a long lease.

2 bedrooms • Reception room • 2 bathrooms (1 en-suite) • 882 sq ft • Porter • Leasehold 977 years approx

Guide price £1,299,950

Marylebone & Regent’s Park 020 7299 2447

robert.oatley@carterjonas.co.uk