Luxe jul aug 2013

£5.00 luxe magazine

ISSUE 23 JUL/AUG13

£5

ISSUE 23 JUL/AUG13

A N TO N I O CA R LU C CIO COM ES NORTH . Beac h bo d i es. OU TDOOR LOU NGING B OY S B A K I N G . Fa b f i f t i es . COOL COT TAG ES . Hi p ho t els. LIT TLE LUXES. Pa r ty p e o p l e . WR ITERS IN TH E KNOW. Summer c ul ture. ICONIC GOLF PL ACE S. Lu xe l a p s . G AR D EN D EL IG H TS . Bi g names . LUXE.

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The ROSE GOLD

CHERRY BLOSSOM COLLECTION

WELCOME

contents 6>> Luxe Life ISSUE 23 JUL/AUG13 I think it’s going to be a foodie summer. It’s tricky to get past a page in this edition of luxe without a mouthwatering mention of tempting foodstuffs.

Obviously there’s the Italian question - dishes inspired by our cover boy Carluccio will be coming from the kitchens of his eponymous new place opening in Newcastle in a few weeks’ time.

Then there’s the city’s Restaurant Week in August when the best eating places offer up wallet-friendly midsummer menus. It’s not a bad idea to use your annual hols to pitch up at the Quayside beach and use your holiday spends for a global gourmet dash round the world.

Saves on air fares. If you like seasonal food our allotment supremo Karen has some really great recipes in her column. I especially laughed at her ‘placebo’ Pimm’s. I won’t tell you the secret non-alcoholic ingredient but she served it by the jugful and watched her guests get tipsy - well worth a sneaky garden experiment.

As I write we’re about to get a scorcher of a weekend which I hope heralds the start of one of those real childhood summers.

To make sure that - whatever the weather - your summer days are packed with good stuff to do, sign up for our weekly dose of luxe in our newsy Luxe Loves The Weekend newsletter - just go to www.luxe-magazine.co.uk/theweekend Happy holidays!

All you need for a jam-packed cultural summer Antonio Carluccio’s Italian passions

25>> Fabulous baking boy John Whaite talks cakes and bakes

32>> Cooking classroom A Fab challenge in the kitchen

42>> High-speed fashion A bit of biker chic on the airfield

60>> Shrink to fit Busy lady Carol Malia’s life is definitely one of ‘juggling’. The Look North presenter lives in Corbridge and her luxe things are simple ones.

A glass of champagne at Malmaison after a shopping session in Newcastle, long walks with the children in the countryside and for a treat, a trip to The Sheraton in Edinburgh.

Bikini-ready beauty treatment

62>> Luxe Lads Win a made-to-measure suit from Psyche

68>> Colour pop cottage A designer’s des-res interiors project

74>> Luxe Local We check out nice-to-live places in the region

83>> Luxe Lounging Hip hotels with Debrah Dhugga

85>> Little Luxe With Nina Robinson, our fabulous five-year-old fairy

86>> Glam golf Six of the swankiest courses in the world

92>> Luxe Looks

kathryn@room501.co.uk www.luxe-magazine.co.uk Twitter @TheLuxeMagazine

Christopher March managing director chris@room501.co.uk I Did It My Way, Sinatra

10>> Do This 20>> Mushroom man

Kathryn

THE 501 TEAM A song that best describes you?

Prof Hayley Fowler, adventure girl

Our must-read people-spotting social diary

98>> Parting Shot

Fab Flournoy is basketball coach and player for Newcastle Eagles.

He’s a real foodie and cooks up a tempting, and challenging, dish in our food section. His foodie luxe things in life include: Chicken, which he eats every day. Also a trip back to mom’s kitchen in the States for usually-forbidden sweet treats and fried chicken.

Bryan Hoare sales and marketing director bryan@room501.co.uk Bring Me Sunshine, Morecambe&Wise EDITORIAL Kathryn Armstrong editor kathryn@room501.co.uk Red, Red Wine, UB40 Katharine Capocci Walking on Sunshine, Katrina and the Waves Fiona McLain fashion assistant Forever Young, Bob Dylan DESIGN David Stubbs davids@room501.co.uk Smooth Operator, Sade Sarah MacNeil sarah@room501.co.uk Bonkers, Dizzy Rascal Kev Waddell kevin@room501.co.uk Sexy Boy, Air! PHOTOGRAPHY Kevin Gibson info@kgphotoraphy.co.uk Basket Case, Green Day Nicky Rogerson nicky@nrphotography.co.uk Dizzy, The Wonderstuff SALES Lisa Anderson senior sales executive lisa@room501.co.uk

For advertising call the sales team on 0191 426 6300.

Jayne Watson is an insurance agent who lives on a farm in Northumberland with her husband and two boys. Her luxe things in life include a trip to Edinburgh with her mum and sister for a boozy lunch and shopping; helping with lambing on the farm and a facial at Fullerton Spa.

room501 Ltd, Spectrum 6, Spectrum Business Park, Seaham, SR7 7TT www.room501.co.uk room501 was formed from a partnership of directors who, combined, have many years of experience in contract publishing, print, marketing, sales and advertising and distribution. We are a passionate, dedicated company that strives to help you to meet your overall business needs and requirements. All contents copyright ©2013 room501 Ltd. All rights reserved. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, no responsibility can be accepted for inaccuracies, howsoever caused. No liability can be accepted for illustrations, photographs, artwork or advertising materials while in transmission or with the publisher or their agents. All information is correct at time of going to print, July 2013.

I Don’t Like Mondays, Boomtown Rats Debi Coldwell senior sales executive debi@room501.co.uk My Humps, Black Eyed Peas

luxe is published bi-monthly by room501 Ltd.

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JUL/AUG13

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LUXE LOVES Cyber cycling Cykno is a new-generation electric bicycle with vintage design lines, innovative and precious materials, sophisticated technology and a production strictly ‘made in Italy’. The name Cykno was said to be a Greek mythology hero with the gift of invulnerability. Certainly a head-turner this, not one for the shy cyclist. Price on request. www.cykno.com

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JUL/AUG13

LUXE LIFE

HAYLEY FOWLER

Hayley Fowler is Professor of Climate Change Impacts at Newcastle University’s School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences. She is one of two of the university’s academics to have been selected for the prestigious honour of delivering an Award Lecture at the British Science Festival which comes to Newcastle from 7 to 12 September.

When she delivers her talk, Climate change, extreme rainfall and flooding: what is happening to our weather? she will join the ranks of previous Award Lecturers including Professor Brian Cox and Professor Richard Wiseman.

Hayley’s love of the great outdoors not only shapes her work but also her free time and you’re more likely to find her up a mountain than in a shopping mall. www.britishsciencefestival.org LUXE PEOPLE >> My family and friends – they are scattered all over the world so getting everyone in one place doesn’t happen all that often. When it does I really appreciate it.

LUXE PLACES >> For a weekend > I adore the Lake District, particularly around Eskdale. In the winter, long walks in the hills or ice climbing. In the summer, road biking, rock climbing or fell running.

A long holiday > Pre-kids I would have said a mountaineering or climbing holiday somewhere exotic. My husband and I have climbed some great mountains together all over the world, the highest was Tocllaraju in Peru (at over 6000m). Nowadays though, Australia with the kids.

A treat > A treat for me is some ‘me’ time. With two small kids I do not get too much of it. A beautiful road bike ride in Northumberland, then visiting the Cheese Farm for a cup of tea and a scone, or a spa day at Matfen Hall. My main treat each year is going rock climbing for a week without the kids though!

LUXE RELAX >> Best food > Given a choice I would always go for Thai. I love hot, spicy food. The best Indian curry I ever had was in Delhi. My favourite place to eat Thai would be relaxing in Rai Lai after a hard day’s climbing.

Best wine > Since visiting South America we tend to drink a lot of Argentinean and Chilean reds (although they don’t import the good ones over here!)

Favourite restaurant > I love Pani’s in Newcastle, although I haven’t been for ages. Perfect weekend > It would start with sunny weather. Spending the weekend doing some fun stuff with the kids interspersed with cycling and climbing. My oldest is getting really into climbing now! I chill out by exercising. I have to be outside to chill out properly.

Best telly > I am not mega-impressed by the choice on TV, although do I like watching How to Train Your Dragon with the kids.

Best book > I loved the Time Traveller’s Wife. I watched the movie and it is nowhere near as good as the book. I read it on a plane on the way back from China and cried my eyes out. The guys next to me did not know where to look. That and Joe Simpson’s Touching the Void are my unputdownables.

Best sounds > I love the sea. When I was climbing in Rai Lai for three weeks in 2001, the best thing was hearing the sea all the time. The place was badly affected by the Tsunami in 2004.

I was really sad about that.

LUXE SHOP >> Best shopping city > I am not a great shopper but the place I have most enjoyed shopping is Boulder, Colorado. This is probably due to the great outdoor shops and the chilled-out atmosphere in the mall.

Luxe retail treat > Shopping doesn’t do it for me, but I guess going to a spa would be my choice.

Best buy > I love my road bike.

LUXE PARTY >> A memorable night out > Climbing the Chardonnet in the Alps or Tocllaraju in Peru. When climbing mountains you have to start very early in the morning (about 2am) to climb up before the ice starts to melt.

Perfect party > Good friends round for dinner or a barbecue.

Dinner date > Dinner out with my husband is really special nowadays as we have little kids.

YOUR LUXE THING IN LIFE >> I am passionate about my family and friends and enjoying life to the full. I also love my job. And climbing will always be a great passion.

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JUL/AUG13

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LUXE LOVES

LUXE LOVES Summer time Pre-owned is the new ‘new’ when it comes to watches. Give a wrist-dazzle with this ladies’ vintage Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust in stainless steel with a white gold fluted bezel, salmon colour dial on a jubilee bracelet. A very coveted piece, it sells for £2750 with a new replacement value of £4800.

The watch is one of more than 300 pre-owned Rolex watches in stock with prices ranging from £1,750 to £39,950. www.marketcrossjewellers.com

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JUL/AUG13

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DO THIS

Stay in >> go out >> enjoy Katherine Weir offers up a sofa-side view of cultural and seasonal happenings in the region

23 27 JULY

19-21 JULY Deer Shed Festival offers family-friendly music, arts and science, set in beautiful Yorkshire parkland. Set in Baldersy Park, Topcliffe near Thirsk, this year is sure to impress. ‘Machines’ is the theme for the festival, with robots, rockets, radios and all things mechanical. It definitely ticks the family-friendly box and is an all-round chilled affair with a diverse arts programme and fantastic food. www.deershedfestival.com

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JULY

Newcastle’s Exhibition Park will be home to Newcastle Pride, the free festival celebrating the region’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, with a great line-up including Toyah, X Factor finalist Amelia Lily and Katrina from the Waves.

Northern Pride, which organises this event, has linked up with Durham Cricket Club and its Durham Summer Night’s Live concert, to offer attendees the opportunity to buy tickets to see an outdoor concert by Jessie J that same evening. Once the formal events of Pride are over, visitors who buy tickets in advance can head over to Chester-le-Street and see one of the UK’s best-loved stars in action. Transport to and from Newcastle will be arranged on both nights, including a pick up outside Exhibition Park on the Saturday at 6pm. www.northern-pride.com

Cheesy but we love it – Joseph and that coat are back at Theatre Royal, Newcastle. Heading up the J role is ‘H’, fresh from the hit television series STEPS: On the Road Again, in a role he first played in London’s West End in 2005. This sparkling family musical tells the Biblical story of Joseph, his eleven brothers and the coat of many colours, this magical musical is full of unforgettable songs including Those Canaan Days, Any Dream Will Do and Close Every Door To Me. http://www.theatreroyal.co.uk/ whats-on/joseph

21 JULY As part of the Summer Tyne Americana Festival hop on a boat and sail to some fine sounds. All aboard the river cruise boat at Pitcher and Piano for a three-hour sail down the Tyne with live music from David Wax Museum and Dan Walsh. David Wax Museum is a folk and roots rock band blending traditional Mexican Son music with Americana in what they call “MexoAmericana.” One of the hottest new indie bands around. http://www.thesagegateshead.org/event/ river-cruise-david-wax-museum/

JULY

Something Old, Something New is the new exhibition at the Discovery Museum, Newcastle which looks at how weddings and attitudes to marriage have changed over the centuries.

It looks at the traditions that are part of people’s special day, and how they have adapted in modern weddings. www.discoverymuseum.org.uk

EVERY TUESDAY & THURSDAY 23 JULY – 29 AUGUST Back by popular demand – NE1’s Monument Movies return to Grey’s Monument for the summer. Every Tuesday and Thursday during school holidays, film classics and family favourites will be showcased on the big screen – free of charge. Pull up a deckchair, meet your mates and watch a movie, while keeping one eye on the passing crowds, there’s no better vantage point to people and movie watch in the city.

27/28 JULY

UNTIL 27 JULY

Leading British artist, Chris Gollon, returns to the North East with a new exhibition at Balman Gallery in Corbridge. Named ‘Gollon’s Return’, the show brings together a fantastic collection of his work featuring Chris’s trademark of expressive, large hands.

As First Fellow and Artist in Residence at the Institute of Advanced Studies at Durham University, many of his works highlight a strong relationship with the region. The exhibition is sponsored by De Vere Slaley Hall, which is accompanied by earthy angels from Jenny Holm and Scottish artist, John Johnstone’s new originals. www.balmangallery.com

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See the high speed jets and display teams of the Sunderland Airshow, from the comfort of a ship’s deck. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the airshow, and to celebrate, DFDS Seaways will be running two special sail-outs over the weekend of the 27 and 28 July giving passengers a unique view of The Red Arrows, The Royal Navy’s Black Cats and The RAF Falcons. The day includes a three-course buffet meal and live entertainment on-board.

Book on 0871 522 9976

UNTIL 17 AUGUST

Hatton Gallery brings you the exhibition, Touching Colour, which focuses on artists who are interested in the areas where colours meet and overlap in their work. This will include paintings, video, installations and sculptural works by major contemporary artists. The exhibition coincides with the Congress of the International Colour Association (AIC) being held in Newcastle in July. www.hattongallery.org.uk

JUL/AUG13

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DO THIS

WEALTH MANAGEMENT WITH HELEN TAVROGES

PROVIDING FOR PETS In England and Wales you are largely free to leave your assets to anyone you please. If you choose to disinherit your children in favour of a local pet rescue centre, you can make a will to this effect. If you want to benefit your own beloved pet, this might be more complicated than you think.

It isn’t legally possible to make a gift to an animal and even if you manage to structure your will in a way that can benefit your pet, a disgruntled relative or dependant who has lost out may be able to claim some or all of your estate, no matter what your will says.

In a case in 2012, Marlene Howes got into difficulties after her mother left £50,000 in her will for Marlene to use to look after her mother’s fourteen Persian cats. Marlene opened a separate bank account for the “cats’ money” and used the money for the cats rather than for herself. Despite this, Marlene, who was in receipt of state benefits, was taken to court on a charge of criminal fraud because she failed to declare the inheritance.

Although she wasn’t found guilty the case has highlighted the difficulties of leaving inheritances for pets.

5-11 AUGUST

It’s the finest way of gourmet feasting – Newcastle Restaurant Week is back offering the chance to savour the delights of some of Newcastle’s finest in what will be the sixth Restaurant Week the city has hosted. Great for a gastro tour – with restaurants offering special set menus to inspire. www.getintonewcastle.co.uk/ restaurant-week

13 AUGUST If you’ve never indulged in a day at the auction rooms give it a go at Thomas Watson’s Darlington. The Summer Fine Art, Jewellery and Antiques sale promises a bargain or two - with rugs, glass, jewellery, furniture and paintings - you can go all Kirsty and find yourself a project, if not a hidden treasure.

Viewings four days beforehand.

See www.thomaswatson.com

UNTIL 31 AUGUST Trumpets and trombones are taking centre stage as part of the South Tyneside Summer Festival this year. The annual event, which runs until the end of August, will host a free brass band concert every Sunday afternoon at the Amphitheatre on South Shields’ seafront.

NE Concert Band, Houghton Area Youth Band, Craghead Colliery Band and Murton Colliery Band will take to the open air stage in July, with August’s performers including Houghton Band, Westoe Brass Band, Durham Constabulary Band and Murton Colliery Band. Enjoy the sound of brass from 3-5pm in July, and 2-4pm in August. www.southtyneside.info/summerfestival

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AUGUST

Samling Academy Opera; Albert Herring, Sage, Gateshead.

Benjamin Britten’s bittersweet comic masterpiece in this fully staged production, directed by Miranda Wright. Two professional artists – baritone Johnny Herford and music director James Baillieu – join a cast of outstanding young North Easterners to tell this coming-of-age story. www.sagegateshead.org

Pets without personality Only a person or a body with “legal personality”, such as a charity, is capable of owning property. Animals don’t have legal personality and are treated as the property of their owner so it’s a legal impossibility to leave a legacy to your pet. So how can you make sure your pet will be adequately provided for if he outlives you?

A gift to a friend or relative - no strings attached If you have someone you trust to take care of your pet, you can leave them a gift of the animal and a gift of cash to help them cover the expense of looking after it. This option has the advantage of simplicity but the downside is that the person is free to spend the money however they wish and might not use any of it to benefit your pet. In the worst case scenario they could accept the money but reject the animal - and they would be perfectly entitled to do so.

A conditional gift To avoid the problems associated with the option above, you could make the cash gift to the person conditional on them agreeing to take care of your pet. They could still choose to reject the gift of the animal but they would have to reject the cash too. However, even if they agree to take care of your pet there is no practical way for the executors of your will to make sure that they do.

A gift to charity As an alternative, you could leave the animal and the cash to an animal welfare charity.

This might appeal if you can’t think of a friend or relative willing or able to take care of your pet. Gifts to charity are also exempt from inheritance tax. However, the charity will not be bound to use your money specifically for your pet and there is no guarantee that the charity will not put your pet to sleep if a new home cannot be found for it.

Potential challenges A final word of warning – the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 gives certain relatives and dependants the right to make a claim against your estate if you have not made adequate provision for them in your will. If the arrangements you make for your pet are at the expense of such people, there is a risk they will able to claim money from your estate.

Helen Tavroges, Partner, Private Wealth, Bond Dickinson Bond Dickinson, formed through the merger between Dickinson Dees and Bond Pearce on 1 May. T: 0191 279 9698 W: www.bonddickinson.com

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17 AUGUST Corbridge festival is set to be even bigger this summer, with Toploader being announced as the headline band. With hits such as ‘Dancing in the Moonlight’ and ‘Achilles Heel’, they are also set to perform their come-back single ‘Turn it Around’, which was released earlier this year. They will be joining a great line-up of bands and artists - from raw talent to well-known favourites - to make this open-air party something to remember. The festival promises a great mix of music, plenty of children’s activities, a fun-filled fairground and the best festival caterers. www.corbridge-festival.co.uk

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AUGUST

A great night at the races for all. Popsters Scouting For Girls perform live after racing at the CHUF Charity Racenight at Newcastle Racecourse. Scouting For Girls are one of the biggest pop bands in the UK with over two million record sales, four Brit Awards and two Ivor Novello nominations as well as four top ten singles. A massive singalong promised – especially if you’re flirty turned thirty. http://www.newcastle-racecourse.co.uk/

JUL/AUG13

DO THIS

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AUGUST McFly have been announced as the headline act for the Sound Waves concert, which will be held in August at Bents Park, South Shields. Joining them will be local star, and X-Factor winner, Joe McElderry who will be returning to the stage after his recordbreaking performance on the same stage two years previously, which saw 26,000 people rush to see him perform. This has been arranged as a one-off event but if it proves popular, it may become an annual occasion. More acts are to be confirmed. www.ticketmaster.co.uk

HOP ON

What better way to get around Newcastle city and into the suburbs of Gosforth and Jesmond during the summer than to pick up a Scratch Bike. Newcastle’s equivalent to Boris’ Bikes, the Scratch Bike phenomenon has really taken off with the hire stations situated at key locations across the city. If you haven’t given it a go, summer is the time to try. Visit scratchbikes.co.uk to find out how to sign up for your perfect journey around the city.

UNTIL SEPTEMBER Back in the city until September, Newcastle Quayside’s very own pop-up beach with beautiful white sands, palm trees and deckchairs.

Pull up a deck chair and watch the world go by or if you are feeling energetic round up some friends for a game of beach volleyball on the purpose-built court. This year the beach is 20% bigger with more sand and decking to be enjoyed by the thousands of visitors to Newcastle’s Quayside during the summer.

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JUL/AUG13

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DO THIS

FOR THE LOVE OF SCIENCE...

7-12 SEPTEMBER

Newcastle University will host a science spectacular to remember when one of Europe’s largest and longest-running public science events comes to Geordie shores.

Each autumn the British Science Festival transforms a different UK city into a celebration of science, engineering and technology - this year the North East of England will take centre stage.

The programme kicks off with a weekend dedicated to families and features everything from a real night in the museum to freaky food of the future and walking on custard.

Debates and lectures will feature eminent scientists, including stars of the small screen, those at the forefront of today’s technology and scientists searching for solutions to tomorrow’s challenges.

Adult-only events include the SciScreen all-night film show in which festival-goers are invited not just to be part of the audience, but also part of the experiment...

Booking is required for some sessions www.britishsciencefestival.org

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Jenny Eclair is the sparky speaker at the annual North East Ladies Day at Hardwick Hall.

The self-confessed ‘Grumpy Old Woman’ is often seen on shows such as ‘This Morning’ and ‘Loose Women’. Expect much wit and side-splitting humour. The ladies’ day organised by Neld (North East Ladies Day) is already well established as one of the leading events in the region’s social calendar, having raised more than £200,000 for over 83 North of England charities.

Tickets, £45. Tickets, 07542 153457 Email: nlunch@btinternet.com http://www.neladiesday.moonfruit.com

20 SEPTEMBER Hardwick Hall Hotel’s Oyster Festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, with an exciting line-up of entertainment.

Highlights will include comic pianist Kev Orkian, who impressed the judges of Britain’s Got Talent, soul diva Diane Shaw and Celtic folk-rock band Wildcats of Kilkenny. John Adamson, managing director of Ramside Estates, said: “The tenth anniversary of the Oyster Festival marks a great achievement, which is why we want to make it a fantastic occasion and celebrate in style.” Festival guests can also look forward to a superb three-course Fruits de Mer meal, as well as free-flowing drinks all day.

Dawn.coates@hardwickhallhotel.co.uk

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SEPTEMBER Rod Stewart has announced a five-date UK arena tour in celebration of his first No.1 album in 34 years. ‘Time’ sees Rod as a writer and producer on 11 of the 12 tracks, which he will perform when he visits Newcastle Metro Radio Arena in September. As Scotland’s biggest rock export, he will also be opening Glasgow’s new £125 million Hydro venue on September 30. www.aeglive.co.uk

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NOVEMBER

The hit West End show, Ghost the Musical, is currently touring throughout the UK with an exclusive North East premiere and pre-Christmas run at the Sunderland Empire. Based on the Oscar-winning film that captured the heart of audiences in the 90s, the show tells the story of the power of love in this romance and comedy with dazzling state-of-the-art staging. Ghost the Musical has been seen by over 500,000 people and has been nominated for five Olivier Awards and three Tony Awards. www.ghostthemusical.com

SEPTEMBER

The best piano man in the business, Jools Holland, will be joined by chart-toppers Texas at the region’s biggest garden party later this year. The Glaswegian rockers Texas will be joined by Jools and Alison Moyet at Hardwick Live. Texas will headline the Hardwick Live Garden Party in their only North East performance this year, before embarking on a UK tour.

Jools Holland joins the star line-up with his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra. The 20-piece band which consists of piano, organ, drums, female vocalists, guitars, saxophones, trumpets and trombones plays to audiences in excess of 300,000 each year.

Adding to the line-up will be Britain’s Got Talent sensations the Loveable Rogues along with local acts such as Natasha Haws who will be showcasing her talent with an acoustic set and the Fishburn Brass Band.

Hardwick Live party-goers can also take to the air in the luxurious Champagne Taittinger hot air balloon which has appeared at the famous Château-d’Oex winter balloon festival in Switzerland.

An International food village will also present a tempting menu of world food from Thai, Chinese and Indian to paella and hog roasts to appeal to more traditional tastes. There’ll also be a Champagne Taittinger marquee, Pimm’s bar and a Mojito tent.

The event will raise much-needed funds for Daisy Chain, the Norton-based charity which supports families affected by autism. Tickets are on sale now and are available at www.hardwicklive.co.uk as well as Hardwick Hall Hotel and Ramside Hall Hotel, and selected retail outlets. www.hardwicklive.co.uk or email info@hardwicklive.co.uk

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SEPTEMBER

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BOOK IT NOW OCTOBER

Sunderland Empire will be the home to international sell-out, West Side Story the Musical, wowing audiences with ground-breaking choreography and an unforgettable score. Based on Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’, this vibrant stage production of the classic dance musical features the famous songs, ‘Maria’, ‘Tonight’, ‘Somewhere’, ‘America’ and ‘I Feel Pretty’. www.westsidestorytheshow.co.uk

JUL/AUG13

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TAILORING SERVICE

Our Made-to-Measure service comes with essential advice from our expert tailoring team who are masters in their trade and are standing by to provide you with all the information you require to make those all-important sartorial style decisions.

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VISIT US IN STORE OR CALL TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT: Jesmond: 50 - 54 Acorn Rd, Jesmond, Newcastle. T: 0191 281 7855 (1) Kendal: 42 - 44 Finkle St, Kendal, Cumbria. T: 01539 723 874 (1) Visit us online at www.julesb.co.uk/made-to-measure.html for more information.

WWW.JULESB.CO.UK

FASHION PROFILE

Wardrobe essentials

Noreen McDaid, the newly-appointed fashion stylist at Fenwick Newcastle, gives us her guide to curating the perfect wardrobe Tell us your AW13 wardrobe essentials I have a list of things that I feel every good wardrobe should have: a crisp white shirt, some navy skinny jeans, a useful tote bag full of pockets, comfortable heels, a statement evening dress, a clutch bag and a versatile winter coat. Although these items may seem basic, finding the perfect version can be tricky, but that’s why I’m here to do the hard work for you!

Do you help people put together a whole new wardrobe?

Yes and no. I have clients who overhaul their wardrobe each season and truly change their style, but many of my appointments are to help clients build on the items that they already have. A few new pieces per season, perhaps some items the client wouldn’t normally go for, can really refresh and update their current wardrobe.

Then there are the clients who want help finding an outfit for a special event, whether that’s a wedding, christening or other social celebration. This year we have expanded our occasionwear collection and it has been great demonstrating that Fenwick can provide the whole outfit, from the hat to the heels!

How do you arrange a fashion consultation?

Styling sessions are by appointment only; this gives me

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the chance to prepare a selection of garments for the client before they arrive. When the appointment is initially booked over the phone I always ask the client the style, size and colour of the piece they are looking for so I can get everything prepared in advance. If it’s the first session we sometimes have a walk through the fashion floor too, this helps me to gather more information on exactly what the client’s requirements are.

Where does the styling session take place?

The consultation is in the Personal Shopping Suite, which is set away from the main shop floor. I bring all the outfits in, so there’s no need to move from

‘I never wear jeans’, and five minutes later when I find something that is the right shape for them they’re a convert!

Is it always one on one?

It can be, but many people bring a friend or partner with them, especially if they’re looking for something special.

We do take group bookings too: recently I’ve styled several groups of girls who were looking for Prom dresses and I have even helped couples choose their honeymoon wardrobes!

What makes your fashion styling service stand out from what others offer?

As well as the facilities within the Personal Shopping Suite itself there’s the fabulous range of fashion labels we have access to. Also, as a department store, we can

People often try on things they wouldn’t normally go for. I have clients who tell me ‘I don’t do dresses’, or ‘I never wear jeans’, and five minutes later they’re a convert! fitting room to fitting room trying on outfits from different brands. It’s much easier than that: everything is in one comfortable space with a beautiful lounge, two air-conditioned fitting rooms, access to a luxury shower room and a kitchen from which complimentary refreshments are dispensed. Plus, because it feels so private, people often try on things they wouldn’t normally go for. I have clients who tell me ‘I don’t do dresses’, or

offer food selected from any one of our ten in-store restaurants and can arrange bespoke hair and make-up appointments with our exclusive beauty houses.

Plus, if you’re looking for the perfect gift Fenwick offers a range of luxury shopping experiences that start at £500 and go up to £1,500 for our Opulence Experience. The latter includes a £1,500 fashion gift card, champagne and canapés on arrival, lunch at Café 21 and a very special goody bag. It really is fashion heaven!

To book an appointment with Noreen in the Fenwick Personal Shopping Suite call 0191 232 5100.

JUL/AUG13

A Quintessentially British Summer…

Rockliffe Hall, the luxury five star hotel, golf and spa resort, situated in the heart of County Durham, has created ‘The Summer of Afternoon Tea’ with their twists on this quintessentially British treat...

From Traditional Afternoon Tea including all the usual treats; home-made scones, cream cakes and sandwiches complemented by teas, to the new G & Tea; a must for gin lovers, including Hendrick’s cucumber gin cocktail served in a teapot, as well as the new Picnic Afternoon Tea featuring traditional treats and half a bottle of champagne served in a wicker basket, Rockliffe Hall has created a range of enticing afternoon teas to cater for all tastes...

Afternoon Tea is served 1pm till 5pm every Sunday to Friday and from 1pm till 4pm on Saturdays. Gift vouchers are also available.

TRADITIONAL AFTERNOON TEA: £19.50 per person

G & TEA: PICNIC AFTERNOON TEA: £29.50 per person £80 per couple

To make a reservation for Afternoon tea or to find out more about visiting Rockliffe Hall, call 01325 729999 or email enquiries@rockliffehall.com

www.rockliffehall.com Hurworth-on-Tees Darlington County Durham DL2 2DU +44 (0)1325 729999 enquiries@rockliffehall.com

JUL/AUG13

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SUPER AVENGER II

GREED IS GOOD

The Gourmet Godfather 20

JUL/AUG13

GREED IS GOOD

As the restaurant which bears his name prepares to open up in Newcastle, Kathryn Armstrong shares a bowl of pasta with everyone’s favourite mushroom man, Antonio Carluccio The greedy Italian is on something of a health kick. It’s just a week since Antonio Carluccio left hospital after a back operation but recuperation is underway.

It has involved a slim-down and the kicking of a 60-a-day tobacco habit. Waking up without a cough has proved a welcome benefit.

This day ‘therapy’ is taking the form of signing dozens of cookbooks at a marble table in the corner of his best-known restaurant, Carluccio’s in Covent Garden.

For the lunch crowd what a treat to see the legendary chef in there. They come as regulars or as food fans who know this avuncular Italian from his television series and many cookbooks.

The following days might be a bit more challenging to the legendary Carluccio waistline as he faces a tasting and testing session for the 100-plus recipes that will make it into his latest cookbook due out in autumn, The Collection.

It will go back to a favourite place, rustic Italian and pasta, pasta, pasta.

His specialist subject you might say. There’s never time to be bored with pasta, as much of a staple as it might be, so the testing session will definitely be something to look forward to.

“Fifteen years ago I wrote a book about pasta – the publisher wanted a new one. I have found 100 new recipes.

There are 600 different shapes of pasta and with different sauces that makes many combinations,” he says.

We will all be able to get a flavour of Carluccio when the restaurant bearing his name opens in Newcastle later this month, heralding something of a battle of the big names on the restaurant scene in the city.

Joining the Carluccio chain will be Jamie Oliver’s new Italian restaurant – the pasta knives are out – and local boy Kenny Atkinson also plans to open a place in the city.

While Kenny will be in his kitchen, you won’t see Antonio rattling the pans any time soon, though he plans to attend

the opening of the Grey Street eating place. These days, like the Marco Pierre Whites of the world, he is a consultant with an eye on the seasonal development of menus at the restaurant, something he relishes with menus changing four times a year.

Today’s has a seasonal asparagus risotto on the menu and the previous day he had been trying a lasagne for a new menu at the Carluccio central kitchens in Islington.

“It is about tasting, readjusting and making sure the combination of produce, time and materials is right – until you get perfection,” he concludes.

As we sit in the Garrick Street restaurant he is trying a new dried pasta that will be on sale in the deli alongside. He calls a waiter to ask chef to dish up a plate of the new filled pasta, suggesting to the kitchen that it will work with a light cream sauce.

After signing a few more books, bowls of pasta arrive at our table. We eat the raviolini – prosciutto-filled pasta with a light cream sauce as Antonio muses on the fact that this is the ultimate fast-food.

“Minimum of fuss, maximum of flavour is what I say. Italian food is about a combination of flavours to complement quality ingredients. The result is a union not a fight.

“Italians have been making these food combinations for a long time so they have achieved perfection.”

So in his new book and on Carluccio restaurant menus whilst you might see chocolate pasta – you won’t see any wild and wacky pasta

combinations that smack of the ‘F’ word.

“Fusion is confusion when it comes to food. Italian food is classic and doesn’t need any new adaptation. We Italians question the flavours people put together – mozzarella and lemongrass, fusion confusion!”

Antonio has been bringing us rustic Italian food classics since 1983 when he made his first appearance on BBC2 talking about Mediterranean food and at the same time was asked to write his first book, An Invitation to Italian Cooking.

Subsequently, he has written thirteen books, published worldwide and made numerous television programmes including the hugely-popular Antonio Carluccio’s Northern Italian Feast and Southern Italian Feast. Most recently he appeared alongside his pal Gennaro Contaldo in Two Greedy Italians, a series which perfectly pitched their food heritage and passion for their homeland.

Antonio was born on the Amalfi Coast in Southern Italy and raised in the wooded North-West, hence his breadth of culinary knowledge. It was in Piedmont, at the age of seven that Antonio started his life-long pastime of hunting and collecting mushrooms and fungi with his father.

He chuckles as he remembers his boyhood days when his father was a stationmaster. His mother would set the pasta boiling and send young Antonio down to check the expected trains were on time to ensure the pasta would be perfectly cooked. If the trains were delayed it was a disaster for the al dente.

“As a child I remember mama doing wonderful things in the kitchen – I would collect wild rucola, chestnuts, mushrooms and it was a joy to see what she made. I collected mushrooms from a very young age with someone who told me all about them. It is a question of learning from a young age about food. >>

Fusion is confusion when it comes to food. Italian food is classic and doesn’t need any new adaptation

GRAYSON PERRY

The Vanity of Small Differences 28 June - 29 September 2013

Summer Auction of Fine Art, Antiques & Jewellery Tuesday, 13th August at 10am

Pair of yellow and white diamond earrings £1500-2000

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Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens

Free entry

Burdon Road, Sunderland, SR1 1PP Tel: (0191) 553 2323 • Textphone: 18001 0191 553 2323 www.sunderlandmuseum.org.uk Sunderland

Monday - Saturday 10am - 5pm, Sunday 2pm - 5pm

Image: The Adoration of the Cage Fighters © the artist, Grayson Perry, The Vanity of Small Differences, 2012. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre London and British Council.

Gift of the artist and Victoria Miro Gallery with the support of Channel 4 Television, The Art Fund and Sfumato Foundation with additional support from AlixPartners.

VIEWING: Friday, 9th August, 9am-5pm, Saturday, 10th August, 9am-1pm Sunday, 11th August, 10am-1pm, Monday, 12th August, 9am-5pm

JUL/AUG13

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GREED IS GOOD

PASTA E FAGIOLI SOUP (SERVES 6) 300g Fresh Borlotti beans Good quality olive oil 1 Onion, chopped 2 Basil leaves 1 Sprig of rosemary 1 litre Veg stock (we have a great one in the food shop) 1 Red chilli, chopped (use as much as you like) 1 tbsp Tomato paste Salt & pepper to taste 150g Ditaloni pasta Carluccio’s Sardinian EV Olive Oil (to drizzle at the end) Place the beans into a large pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and cook gently for 1 hour.

When soft, drain and puree half the beans in a blender, then mix together with the rest of the whole beans.

Gently fry the onions in a saucepan until soft. Add the basil, rosemary, stock, chilli, tomato paste and beans.

Season to taste. Bring to the boil, then add the pasta & cook for 7-8 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente.

We like to leave it to rest for about half an hour as it allows the flavours to develop and mingle. Re-heat it if you like your soup piping-hot! Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil when serving and enjoy with a glass of our Botromagno Gravina. Buonissimo!

“In Italy and France you learn about food and cooking as you grow. You are interested in food and as an adult you remember what you saw in the kitchen – that’s how and why I cooked, I wanted to eat the things my mother had made me – and there was a proportion of greediness too! I never trained and I always strived for perfection not second best with food – and that doesn’t have to mean expensive.

“I would come home to mama’s kitchen and dive into the fridge for things like stuffed peppers, capers, bread, tomatoes, oregano. Today I love good quality produce – I will eat a simple spaghetti with lemon and some oil or I love pork, chicken and game, especially grouse. For a quick meal I love a simple tagliata.”

His food journey has been a lifelong one. In 1958 at the age of 21 he began to cook simple pasta suppers for himself and his flat-mate on a two-ring stove in Vienna. Now he is regarded as the Godfather of Italian gastronomy. After time spent living in Germany, in 1975 Antonio moved to London and while learning English, traded as a wine merchant of Italian wines. His hobby of studying and collecting wild mushrooms continued to flourish as he found many varieties growing in the English countryside close to London, almost completely undiscovered.

Antonio took over the Neal Street Restaurant in Covent Garden in 1981, which traded for 26 years. In 1991 Antonio opened a deli next to the restaurant and in 1998 started the

first Carluccio’s Caffè in Market Place, London.

He has been in the UK a long time now and seen many changes in food fashions, attitudes and trends.

He is British enough to have been awarded an honorary OBE and in 1998, Antonio was awarded the Commendatore OMRI by the President of Italy for services to Italian gastronomy, the equivalent of a British knighthood.

So what does he think of the way we approach food?

Well, for a start, he laughs when the question is posed.

“I notice that people are starting to cook but not with expertise,” he chuckles.

“It has to be about pleasure otherwise there is no point – there are millions of books, many TV programmes but if there is no pleasure?

“In Italy the family participates in every meal. In England it does not seem to be possible to have every meal together so that social element is lost.

“You need that because during that time you talk about what you have done, you enjoy food, you have joyful moments, raucous moments – you learn about family life.

“If you don’t learn it there where do you learn it? Eating together is part of the magic of a family.”

Carluccio’s opens in Grey Street, Newcastle in July.

Antonio Carluccio: The Collection by Antonio Carluccio, published by Quadrille Publishing, £25

>> Photography >> Alastair Hendy >> Cover portrait of Antonio ©Briggs

PENNE GIARDINIERA SERVES 6 SPINACH BALLS: 100g Breadcrumbs – dry 2 Eggs 1/2 Garlic clove, very finely chopped 50g Finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano Ground black pepper to taste Salt to taste Nutmeg – very small pinch 300g Cooked spinach Olive oil for shallow frying PASTA: 120g Butter 30g Red chillies finely chopped 3 Medium courgettes finely grated 4 Garlic cloves, finely chopped 250g Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano 750g Largest penne

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Method Make 42 mini spinach balls as follows: Cook the spinach in slightly salted water for 2 minutes.

Drain and let cool.

Squeeze out all the water.

Cut the spinach coarsely with a knife (in order to create a well rounded finished spinach ball).

In a bowl place the chopped spinach, garlic, eggs, nutmeg and mix well, add in the Parmesan then half the breadcrumbs; season with salt and pepper. Roll and fry one ball. Taste and check consistency. Add more breadcrumbs or seasoning if needed. Fry until golden.

Cook the pasta to al dente in salted water – this may take from 10 to 15 minutes – drain and keep warm.

While the pasta is cooking heat the butter in a pan, add the garlic and chillies.

Then add the grated courgettes and pan-fry for about a minute or two.

Add the cooked pasta into the pan and toss with the grated cheese.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve in a pasta bowl with spinach balls sprinkled over the top.

JUL/AUG13

LUXE LIFE

JAYNE WATSON

Jayne grew up on a farm in the Cheviots, riding horses and playing hockey until heading for university in London. She travelled to South Africa, Victoria Falls and the Namibian Desert before settling back in Northumberland. Jayne is an agent for NFU Mutual, Morpeth and is married to farmer Jonathan with two children Thomas, six and James, eight. In the last decade she has become involved in Glendale Agricultural Society’s Children’s Countryside Day – educating 1600 primary children a year about countryside life; where their food comes from, how it’s grown, reared or made. She is also a school governor and parish councillor. She loves Cragside, especially when the rhododendrons are out.

LUXE PEOPLE >> My husband Jonathan who keeps me grounded with his simple outlook on life – work hard, eat well and sleep when you can.

My business partner Stephen (of 16 years) who still tolerates my loud telephone voice.

My mother Marian who has never persuaded me to change my mind about anything, never disagrees with anything I say and always listens – hope I can do the same for my children.

LUXE PLACES >> For a weekend > Ski-ing with the boys in the Cairngorms – my sister and family live there so the apre-ski is hearty.

A long holiday > Maldives – we honeymooned there and the complete isolation was good therapy. I struggle to be detached from my iPhone for more than an hour these days. I know, I know.

A treat > A walk on the hill at Ilderton Moor where I grew up – the open hill, the silence only broken by the sky lark, clean air and natural beauty – makes you feel small in this mighty world.

LUXE RELAX >> Best food > Fresh fish cooked simply, by someone else or roast lamb with all the trimmings cooked by mum or steak and chips at home.

Best wine > Rich fruity red, light white or cheeky prosecco. I do enjoy a glass of wine with my evening meal but do rely on Lance Struther Wines to supply to my taste – he never lets me down.

Favourite restaurant > I don’t really eat out at restaurants too often – I tend to entertain at home or enjoy an Indian takeaway from Magna in Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Perfect weekend > Helping Jonathan on the farm with the boys, especially lambing time. Hard work but very fulfilling.

Downtime means > Cooking supper then enjoying with my husband or girlfriends with a few vinos.

Best telly > Scott & Bailey – girl power!

Best book > I’m afraid I don’t read books at all.

Best sounds > I have Radio 2 on in the car most of the time. CD collection is limited but I do believe music is the best therapy and if ever asked about my desert island discs they would probably consist of Queen, Texas, ELO and Coldplay.

LUXE SHOP >> Best shopping city > Edinburgh, with mum and sister Sandi – we meet up there twice a year for a boozy lunch in a nice restaurant wrapped around shopping.

Favourite shop > Morpeth shopping in general is very very good these days. I can definitely do my entire Christmas shop here Rutherfords of Morpeth always has something for every occasion.

Luxe retail treat > Massage or facial at Fullerton Spa, Shortflatt Tower or having hair done at Hooker & Young, Gosforth.

Best buy > Sat nav - I got a degree in geography but would get lost on a daily basis if it weren’t for that cheeky lady on my dash.

LUXE PARTY >> A memorable night out > My hen night in Newcastle – it has to be hen night capital – dancing to The Weather Girls in Baja’s with 20 or so of my nearest loony girl friends.

Perfect party > Champagne, pretentious food with non-pretentious friends.

Best dress > An Indian silk full-length fitted dress made for me when I was 17 which I have worn on many occasions, the most recent being last year in Rome (20 years later) A timeless classic – the dress that is.

Dinner date > What’s one of those – my husband is a farmer, for goodness sake.

YOUR LUXE THING IN LIFE >> Life itself – live it. At the beginning of 2013 I made a promise to myself that if I wanted to do something I would make it happen – I may have to give up something else but unless one makes a plan it’ll never happen.

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JUL/AUG13

www.fq-magazine.co.uk

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THE BEST OF NORTH EAST FOOD & DRINK JUL/AUG 2013

MAKE OR BAKE TIME John Whaite brings his sweet charms North

CREATING MAKE ‘FAT MAN’ SALAD DINING MARTIN BLUNOS AT SEAHAM HALL EATING CHECKING OUT WHAT’S NEW IN FOOD SEASIDE FEASTING AT THE BEST BEACHY FESTIVALS COOKING LAYBOURNE’S MASTERCLASS GARDEN PERFECT SUMMER SNACKING CURRY CLASS STIRRING STUFF WITH EAGLE FAB FLOURNOY JUL/AUG13

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Liking the sound of... Drink New places, flavours and diary dates for gastros and gourmets

with Robin Winterschladen

TAPAS TO GO Tapas-style dishes on the menu at Joffers new eaterie in Whitley Bay include poached scallops with orange and garlic, black pudding with quail egg and roasted peppers and the salmon ceviche with mango, chilli and lime.

The menu also boasts cakes and ovenbaked breakfasts and a traditional afternoon tea for two which includes two pots of tea with a selection of four different sandwiches, scones with strawberry jam and cream, together with cakes of the day.

Don’t forget to sign up for this year’s NE1’s Newcastle Restaurant Week 5 - 11 August.

Enjoy your fill with special menus from the city’s best restaurants – the best-value culinary tour in town.

For full details of participating restaurants visit www.getintonewcastle. co.uk/restaurant-week

GONG GLORY A shiny gong for Nick Shottel, front-of-house supremo at Terry Laybourne’s 21 Hospitality Group who has been ‘invested’ within the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts.

This is an annual honour where senior members of the Academy are invested into ceremonial chairs in recognition of their commitment to the Academy and contribution to the hospitality and catering industry. Following an investiture ceremony that took place at the Academy’s AGM in London, Nick has been welcomed into the Academy Fellowship – the only person from the North East to have received such recognition and among only 50 in the country.

Forty-nine-year-old Nick, Essex boy and adopted Geordie, started his career in the industry as a poorly paid waiter in a hotel restaurant. He came across the books of Prof John Fuller, particularly ‘The Restaurateur’s Guide to Gueridon and Lamp Cookery’ and they inspired him to a career in restaurant management. He later met rising chef Terry Laybourne and the rest is history - for more than 25 years Nick has been his right hand man, seeing restaurants like Café 21 win national recognition while helping oversee the successful development of 21 Hospitality Group.

shepherd’s pie to seasonal vegetable curry.

The restaurant will also be open for dining on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Bookings are now being taken for the restaurant on 0191 515 5555 or by emailing info@nationalglasscentre.com.

KENNY’S NEW GAFF GLASS ACT New food goings-on at the new Brasserie at Sunderland’s National Glass Centre after a £2m makeover – and anyone dining in the stunning restaurant can brush up on their knowledge of Sunderland’s glassmaking history, courtesy of a set of specially commissioned plates.

Glass artist Katya Filmus created a set of unique crockery, telling the story of glass making in the city. Visitors to the Brasserie will be able to enjoy a wide range of food, served on the stunning plates, A variety of seasonal breakfasts, such as traditional drop pancakes with summer fruits, homemade raspberry sauce and crème frâiche, will be available. Lunch will include homemade soup, signature club sandwich with prime sirloin steak, sharing platters and a variety of seasonal salads.

A daily specials menu, aptly named The Looking Glass, will showcase an additional array of dishes with options ranging from

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An historic building on Newcastle Quayside will be the site of chef Kenny Atkinson’s first solo restaurant venture. The plan is to open a restaurant in a listed former merchant house close to the iconic Cooperage pub near the city’s swing bridge.

There’s no name for the restaurant as yet but fitting-out is underway. It will have 70-80 covers and be a more relaxed venture than the dining experience at his former place, Rockliffe Hall’s Orangery.

Kenny says, “I will be using fine-dining elements like execution, finesse and quality ingredients, serving food in a relaxed environment.”

He promises the new restaurant will be about great food using great ingredients and creating a fun environment that people want to come back to, The décor will be in keeping with the building with rustic furniture, private booths overlooking the quay as well as an open kitchen.

The quayside is of course prime territory for Terry Laybourne – will it be a case of knives out for the chefs?

NEW BLUE Musician and cheese man Alex James, has selected Shepherds Purse, Thirsk to produce his Blue Monday cheese under trademark. The cheesemaker is known for making top-notch blue cheese at its family farm.

Blue Monday, traditionally handmade with 100 per cent cow’s milk, has been redeveloped to a new recipe created by Alex and the Shepherds Purse team and is a soft, creamy blue cheese with strong blue veining.

Originally named after Alex’s favourite New Order song, the new Blue Monday will be added to his fine British artisan cheese range, ‘Alex James Presents’ and is set to officially launch in August at The Big Feastival, a two-day celebration of music, food and fun for the family, founded by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and Alex James.

The ultimate summer G&T guides GIN The popularity of gin has soared over the last few years and many new boutique distillers have emerged with different styles and flavours. As well as familiar brands such as Bombay Sapphire (with its fresh, delicate floral flavours) and Hendricks (with its subtle flavours of rose and cucumber), Fenwick now stocks over 30 more unusual gins. Here are a few of my favourites.

Bathtub Gin, 43.3% volume, £34 This gin is made in small batches of 30-60 bottles at a time by the traditional method of cold compounding. The botanicals are left to infuse in a high-quality spirit for a gin which has a rich grain spirit backbone lightly tinted by the botanicals, particularly juniper and cardamom, but with hints of cinnamon and orange blossom.

Portobello Road No. 171 Gin, 42% volume, £25 This gin was first conceived in Ged Feltham and Jake Burger’s Ginstitute, which is above their celebrated Notting Hill bar, The Portobello Star. It’s an old style London dry gin using nine traditional botanicals and spices. Good flavour of juniper with fresh citrus and coriander, with a peppery finish from liquorice and nutmeg.

Death’s Door Gin, 47% volume, £42 Death’s Door gin is made from organic red winter wheat grown on Washington Island, Wisconsin. It’s made with just three locally grown organic botanicals: wild juniper berries, coriander and fennel.

A full-flavoured, soft gin in which all the botanicals can be tasted. Loaded juniper berries can be tasted up front, followed by spicy, citrusy notes from the coriander and then a fresh cooling finish is provided by the fennel. A good gin to drink neat on the rocks, as well as in cocktails.

The Botanist Islay Gin, 46% volume, £27 This artisanal gin is made in small batches by the Bruichladdich Distillery using 31 different botanicals. They hand-pick 22 wild, indigenous botanicals including their own native juniper. A highly distinctive, sophisticated floral gin.

It is rich and mellow with a citrus freshness that excites the taste buds.

DRINK WITH Fentimans Tonic Water 4x200ml £3.50 Fentimans tonic water, the world’s first to be botanically brewed, is made with a blend of herbal infusions and lemongrass extracts which results in a unique, refreshing and distinctive citrus flavour.

Robin Winterschladen is wine buyer for the Wine Shop at Fenwick Newcastle.

JUL/AUG13

dining

Sea view A new Michelin man is heading up the restaurant at Seaham Hall. Kathryn Armstrong gets a first taste Chef Martin Blunos looks a bit scary behind his walrus moustache and ponytail. Bit rock ‘n’ roll, bit temperamental.

He’s new to the region but not to the kitchen with an impressive two Michelin stars under his chef’s whites from his restaurant life in the south west. He’s a regular on the TV cookery show scene and accolades have followed him wherever he cooks.

The good news is that behind the moustache, which somehow befits his Latvian heritage, is a West Country drawl that’s the antithesis of fearsome. He smiles, he jokes and makes his food fun. Phew.

He’s a people-person - and not all chefs are - with a big personality that he’s keen to show off to the North East.

He is, in fact, very excited about his Northern adventure and has already fallen in love with the beach on his doorstep where he runs and runs.

His eponymous Blunos Sea Grill is the bright shiny star replacing the former White Room restaurant.

The hotel’s new owners hope that their makeover of the hotel will bring it back to the glory days when the hall was ‘the’ place to be seen.

They’ve added touches of bling in the cocktail bar with shimmering chandeliers and touchy-feely fabrics, big mirrors and striking artwork.

The White Room has been given an unrecognisable shot of colour

What was the White Room restaurant has become Blunos Sea Grill with an unrecognisable riot of colour. Deep red wallpaper with a witty antler print sits alongside light-bouncing mirrors and period-framed pictures.

There’s lots going on and that sterile white room, so ‘of its time’ is no more.

The new restaurant is friendlier and more informal, as is the Blunos menu.

We ate at the kitchen’s first formal outing and it started with a pie as an amuse bouche – a gourmet take on the pie and mash shops of Martin’s childhood only more refined obviously. A teeny pie with an eel ‘jus’. One mouthful in and we liked the man.

Our starter was a Bortsch terrine. Latvian roots getting centre stage this time. Bortsch, admitted chef, a bit too cheap to serve up, so he’d prettied it up into a jellied terrine and added a sweet caraway pastry and soured

JUL/AUG13

cream alongside. Very definite flavours here – and beetroot tends to be one of those love-hate foods.

Flavoursome as it was, I liked but didn’t love.

Next up, the main event. Interesting to see just what would emerge from the kitchen. Would it be delicate and unsubstantial or something too clever for its own good?

Sea trout. In season, fresh from the boats – the epitome of Mr B’s Sea Grill? His take on it was to team it with a fat scallop – the meaty sea trout steak wrapped around the delicate scallop – a contrast of flavours and cooked just right, the scallop still milky white in texture next to the dense, deeply flavoured sea trout. Vegetables alongside were perfect – bright fresh peas and broad beans and soft small new potatoes. The essence of the season - simple and good. I was surprised by the simplicity and impressed by the flavours. It was delicious.

Pre-dessert caused a chuckle – a boiled egg, but not as

you know it. This a crowd-pleaser. To all intents and purposes a boiled egg – real shell and little soldiers – but the yolk was a mango puree and the white a vanilla cream.

Oozy and super-sweet - way too sweet for me but certainly bags of fun-factor.

Dessert for real – could you? Very well executed strawberry soufflé. Looking perfect and the spoon delving into a velvety, moussey textbook pud saying much about the technique of the kitchen.

The verdict: a breath of fresh air. Mr Blunos is a man likely to be seen and heard a lot in these parts – he hopes to become a fixture on the food scene and is certainly a jolly addition to it. If he can’t shake Seaham out of its troubled recent past then nothing will.

Blunos Sea Grill, Seaham Hall www.seaham-hall.co.uk Tel: 0191 516 1400

27

people

Sweet guy

Great British Bake Off winner John Whaite talks macarons and madeleines in a chat ahead of his visit to Northumberland later this month. Katharine Capocci catches up with the fabulous baker boy

fq front-cover image and pictures from John Whaite Bakes, Headline, £20

John Whaite is busy in the kitchen whipping up macarons and tarts and all manner of baking delights, when I ring through for a chat.

The treats in question are sweet, matching the temperament of the top baker boy, who is both relaxed and patient on the phone.

That’s despite the fact that he’s baking for a book party in two days’ time, where said cakes and bakes will be all the talk.

It somehow seems very fitting that John’s up to his elbows in pastry and the mixers are whirring away in the background...

After all, as 2012 winner of the BBC2’s The

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Great British Bake Off, he is officially Britain’s best amateur baker.

John sounds pretty grounded though and is cheery about the forthcoming party to celebrate his new cookbook.

“I’ve got about 50 people coming along.

I’ve got all my mixers going at once! I’ve been up since 6am,” he says.

The party’s in Soho and foodie friends like Eric Lanlard and Ed Kimber, a fellow winner of Bake Off, are dropping by.

The book in question is his much-talkedabout debut offering, John Whaite Bakes: Recipes for Every Day and Every Mood.

It’s caused quite a stir among baking fans

and is big on Twitter with devotees tweeting about their favourite recipes.

And fans of John (and all things Bake Off) can meet him in person when he pops to Vallum Farm on the Military Road in Northumberland for a book signing and a bit of chat.

The date for the diaries is Wednesday July 31, with an evening of good food and good conversation planned from 5.30pm.

Award-winning chef David Kennedy who runs an eaterie from the artisan foodie hub will be serving up sweet and savoury bakes and drinks, rather fittingly in the paddock marquee.

I’ve had an obsession with baking since I was a tiny tot and having my own cookery book has always been a dream of mine The signing, in association with Forum Books, will see John take part in a q & a.

Tickets cost £6, including welcome drink, and food tickets, £4 in advance, £5 on the night, are available at Vallum shop & Tea Room and from Forum Books, Corbridge.

John’s been to the North East only once, for a concert in Newcastle, but loves his new life post-Bake Off, meeting foodie fans, guest appearances and demos at food festivals and running cookery workshops at the Vanilla Workshop kitchen in Greenwich.

The publication of his new book is another highlight in an eventful year for the 24-year-old, who hails from Wigan.

A Manchester lad, born and bred, he now lives in Greenwich, London with his partner Paul, a graphic designer, whom he says is a calming influence.

Winning Bake Off, and the many surreal days spent in a marquee in a field somewhere in Bristol doing his best to impress queen of cakes Mary Berry and master baker Paul Hollywood, was the start of a rollercoaster year.

“It’s been crazy. I still cannot believe it.

To work in what I’m truly passionate about it’s incredible.”

Baking has been his life from a very young age. “I’ve had an obsession with baking since I was a tiny tot and having my own cookery book has always been a dream of mine. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to express my passion to the whole of the UK.” He’s incredibly modest too and insists winning Bake Off was all an accident (although who can forget that accident with the finger in a food processor, still switched on!).

“I’ve just been very, very lucky. It could have happened to anyone else. I have just struck gold. It was an accident.”

He loved filming the series and all its mad marquee moments. “It’s in the middle of Bristol. You wake up at 5.30am with all these people you don’t know and go to breakfast.”

On the location itself, he says: “You went up this drive, over the bridge, and there was the tent in all its glory...”

The legendary Mary, author of over 70 cookbooks, is lovely, he says, “with this maternal vibe going on”.

“She won’t pander to people, though, who give her a cheeky smile!” A good thing, he reckons, for a judge and also a formidable businesswoman. “She’s worked so hard.”

“Paul’s a big softie, he can be a bit of a grump but he’s a lovely man.”

John has been back to film a segment for the upcoming series, when he talks about life after Bake Off and the Diploma in patisserie he’s currently working towards at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu in London.

“It’s a pastry course. It’s very French, traditional stuff from madeleines to macarons. “It’s a good foundation. I have just completed the intermediate level.

“It’s good fun. A lot of people have said,

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‘Why are you doing that’. But I won the Bake Off as a home baker. It doesn’t necessarily mean I am the best baker in Britain. It’s a game, a competition.

“I wanted to get the qualification. I like to work hard and with that comes the respect.

“It’s credibility as well and I do want a career in baking and books.”

Although if it does all go soggy bottomed, which seems highly unlikely, he has still got his law degree to fall back on.

He managed to complete the final year of his degree at Manchester University during the filming of Bake Off, graduating with first class honours. ”If I need to I can always fall back on law!”

John originally got a place at Oxford University but jokes he left because they didn’t have an oven.

His cookbook John Whaite Bakes, the first in a two-book deal, features a mix of sweet and savoury recipes, to suit all moods.

Baking has always been an integral part of John’s life, he says. Whether he was down or happy, in love or heartbroken, on his own or with friends, he’d find the perfect recipe to fit the mood.

And the book, an indulgent and comforting cookbook, pretty much reflects that. So whether you need a pick-me-up for dinner or a lazy Sunday breakfast treat, John has pulled together some delicious moody recipes.

The photography, too, is captivating and

his very honest introductions to each chapter, charming and disarming. Chapters include Seeking Sweet Solace, Calming a Bag of Nerves, and The Mood for Food and Love.

As for the future, is there a game plan?

“The plan is just to see how it goes. My career so far has grown organically.”

His follow-up book, a six-month project, will be out next spring.

Does he have aspirations to open his own bakery/café, I wonder? “I’m in talks with a few investors, but nothing is set in stone.”

“It would be a patisserie/café and be the epitomy of home patisserie.”

A deserved sweet ending, surely.

John Whaite Bakes: Recipes for Every Day and Every Mood, published by Headline in hardback, £20.

John Whaite Bakes with John Whaite, Wednesday July 31, from 5.30pm at Vallum Farm. From 5.30-6.30pm: David Kennedy’s sweet & savoury bakes & drinks in the paddock marquee. 7pm: In conversation with John Whaite Tickets £6, including welcome drink. Food tickets £4 in advance, £5 on the night, available at Vallum shop & Tea Room and at Forum Books, Corbridge.

Vallum, Military Rd, East Wallhouses, Newcastle, NE18 0LL. Tel: 01434 672 652 www.vallumfarm.co.uk

Apricot & White Chocolate Flapjacks There is something reassuring about knowing I always have the ingredients in my cupboard to throw together a batch of these chewy creatures. If I am feeling particularly anxious and need to sink my teeth into something alongside a good cup of coffee, I make these.

Makes 16 Ingredients Dried apricots Salted butter, cubed Light brown muscovado sugar 150g Runny honey Zest of 1 lemon 2 tbsp Treacle 400g Rolled oats 200g White chocolate for topping 200g 225g 120g

Essential equipment 30 by 20cm/12 by 8-inch Swiss roll tin, greased and lined with baking paper

Method 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4.

2. Finely chop the apricots. Put the butter, sugar and honey in a saucepan over a medium heat and stir until melted and well mixed, then add the apricots, lemon zest and treacle and mix in. Tip in the oats and stir into an oaty mush.

3. Dollop into the prepared tin and even out. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until just darkened around the edges and golden brown in colour.

4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before turning out from the tin and slicing into 16 rectangles or triangles.

5. Melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water.

From here you have a couple of choices. You can dunk one end of each flapjack into the melted chocolate, or you can drizzle the melted chocolate over the flapjacks. Or maybe do half and half. Allow the chocolate to set.

HAVE A HOLLY, JOLLY HILTON. For a truly memorable occasion, celebrate the festive season at Hilton Newcastle Gateshead.

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JUL/AUG13

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We do like to feast beside the seaside This summer pack a wind-break and head for some coastal taste treats

Greedy Mother Clucker chicken grill and famous Greedy B@****d burger have achieved a festival following

A Lindisfarne banquet to host lunch; flowers, decorative glass, cutlery, crockery, I had half-filled the car before I even got to the food... The interesting bit was loading it all onto a tiny speed boat at Seahouses and speeding over to the islands. I had visions of toppling in backwards, being hauled out and hosting lunch soaking wet and embarrassed,” she admits.

The evening will include a private tour of the island; beautiful beaches, the

FQ loves: Perking up a poshie beach picnic with...

Dropswell Farm shop’s own chorizo – a fabulous feast teamed with crusty bread from Clervaux Bakery in Darlington. See www.tasteclub.co.uk

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and Lindisfarne, private tour of castle and island, telescope tours of the coastline, history and nature talks from the National Trust, food introductions from The Grazer, welcome aperitifs, three courses of fine food, wines to match, digestifs and coffee.

Book at Lindisfarne Castle on 01289 389244, or see www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lindisfarnecastle or the-grazer.blogspot.co.uk

Chorizo might be nice with a cheeky glass of Beringer’s juicy cabernet sauvignon, £10.99, at Majestic wine

food destination.”

The Greedy Bassets – who sell from their ‘shipwreck boat’, Clem, will be joined by a number of other hot food stalls ranging from African dishes to a traditional hog roast.

Saltburn Food Festival is on August 4 on Milton Street and the station portico in central Saltburn-by-the-Sea. As well as Kenny Atkinson’s demos there will be a larger-than-normal Saltburn Farmers’ Market, children’s cookery area, farmyard animals, chill out and chat zone, food experience workshops and live music.

For more information visit www.facebook. com/SaltburnFarmersMarket Meanwhile, up the coast at North Shields you’re being offered what they provocatively call the ‘Proper Food And Drink Festival’. Organised by the people behind Hot Stuff Chilli Company & The North East Chilli Fest in conjunction with North Tyneside Council, this is a brand new food and drink event taking place on August 31 in Northumberland Square and the surrounding roads.

More than 100 of the great and good of the food world will be showcasing their wares with producers from Scotland,

lighthouse and its gardens, thousands of amazing birds, gazing back at Bamburgh castle and the beautiful long white Northumbrian beaches. At dusk find yourself sitting down to dine, in the lighthouse gardens or the tiny chapel on the island, a beautiful long table, platters of fresh seafood, lobster, langoustines, samphire salads, slow-cooked local Northumberland lamb falling apart to feast on with your fellow guests, as you settle in to your remote home for the evening.

Or you could find yourself driving over the causeway to supper at Lindisfarne Castle.

Arriving on the battlements to canapés and aperitifs, looking out over the Farnes, Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh.

There are 20 places available for each of the following dates: July 20 & August 31 Lindisfarne Castle July 27 & August 3 The Farne Islands Tickets are £99 per person and can be booked through The National Trust. Prices include unique private access to the Farnes

Brad and Ange’s Minerva vineyard rose from their 1000-acre estate, Chateau Miraval in Correns, France. Beautiful pale pink colour with raspberry and wild strawberry flavours.

Summer in a glass, £22, from Harvey Nichols, Leeds www.harveynichols.com

We love our coastline and this summer there’s a grand choice of food tasting events with a hint of sea breeze to them.

First up is Saltburn’s first-ever food festival happening on August 4.

Kenny Atkinson heads up the food demo side of things and will be joined by loads of stalls, activities and general food-fuelled fun.

Newest attraction will be The Greedy Basset’s Kitchen as Emily Dallara, 23, and Dave Rawson, 26, both of Saltburn, will take their unique gourmet street food business The Greedy Basset Kitchen to the food event.

The hip street food business was formed

by Dave, a Leeds Met MA graduate, and girlfriend Emily after they were inspired by the thriving street food scene in London.

Their ‘Greedy Mother Clucker’ chicken grill and famous ‘Greedy B@****d’ burger have already achieved a following at street food festivals.

Says Emily: “We are often travelling all round the country with Greedy Bassets so it’s great to be in our home town for its first food festival. It’s wonderful that Saltburn has come on so much in the past few years and will be seen as a

Cumbria, Yorkshire and of course the North East. Its aim is to inspire an appreciation of artisan food and drink.

There will also be a drinks marquee, demos and kids entertainment to give a true festival vibe.

Further north still and food lovers will be salivating about the first-ever National Trust Supperclubs where you can feast on fabulous foraged foods with a unique view.

Food writer and chef Anna Hedworth, featured in the last edition of FQ, has teamed up with The National Trust for the bespoke gourmet dining events on location.

Four supperclubs will take place over the coming summer months on both the Farne Islands and at Lindisfarne castle.

Picture yourself on a private boat sailing over to the Farnes late in the afternoon, arriving on the white sandy beach of Inner Farne to be greeted with aperitifs.

Anna has already done a ‘dry run’. “I loaded my car with everything imaginable

JUL/AUG13

Spice feast from around the globe...

Spicy pleasures with Maunika Gowardhan In a matter of a few months I feel like I have travelled the length and breadth of the best places in the world in the name of good food. My must-visit food destination last month was the picturesque island of Mauritius. Indian food in Mauritius has a lasting influence and is prevalent in all their dishes. The spices, flavours and eastern influences all resonate with shades of Indian curries and techniques.

I was fortunate enough to spend some time at Safran, the contemporary Indian restaurant with some amazing dishes that are a modern interpretation of traditional Indian recipes.

Nestled in the stunning resort of Le Touessrok, Safran is the island’s first Indian fine-dining restaurant. With Ramesh Bundi at the helm the menu is simple and in keeping with regional flavours. Ramesh has worked with some culinary experts including Vineet Bhatia and Atul Kochhar.

My top picks from the menu include their three-cheese Uttapam using goats’ cheese, soft blue cheese and cheddar, served with mild okra sambar and mint chutney.

Also the chicken kebab with a variation in the marinade is a customer favourite.

For more information make sure to check out www.letouessrokresort.com The start of summer in June might not have met our sunny expectations on the weather front but with a few exciting goings-on has most definitely added some spice to the food agenda.

I was hugely flattered to be asked by Jamie Oliver to help launch the Indian street food class at his cook school Recipease in London. As always my cooking, menus and lessons are very much a reflection of what real Indian

cooking is all about. The menu for the classes were no different. I taught at Notting Hill, Clapham and Brighton.

The cookery event was busy, exciting and filled with Indian chaat, curries and breads that everyone got to make.

The event was followed by a meal, Indian spiced drink and refreshing cocktails. The lesson will be launching across all branches soon so make sure to visit Recipease and check out their classes online where you can book www.jamieoliver.com/recipease Yours truly was also gracing the pages of Sainsbury’s

Magazine in a glam photo shoot alongside MasterChef winner Shelina Permalloo. I also share my recipes for mint and coriander marinated paneer tikka with a pineapple chutney.

For more information about events and cookery classes coming up over the next few months or to try some of my Indian recipes make sure to check out the website www.maunikagowardhan.co.uk or follow my food chat on Twitter @cookinacurry

HOTEL, DURHAM

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JUL/AUG13

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Fab’s Food Life

Curry classroom Food-loving basketball star Fab Flournoy has an eye on a restaurant prize one day with a plan to open up a soul food eaterie. He’s as dedicated in the kitchen as he is on the court Anything, as long as it’s chicken. That’s the food deal that goes with Fab Flournoy, the Newcastle Eagles basketball star. Pity his poor girlfriend.

Well, not really. If chicken is on the menu then Fab will have shopped for it, prepared it and serves it up on a plate, job done. He’s a man as dedicated in the kitchen as he is on court.

Food and Fab go hand in hand. His upbringing in the New York Bronx gave him a passion for what we call soul food – corn bread, friend chicken, black eyed peas, ribs and mac n’ cheese.

And he sees his kitchen as something of a sanctuary where he can lose himself in the business of making good food.

Fab, now 39, is the player-coach for the Eagles and basketball commentator on BBC 5. He’s also the most successful coach ever in British Basketball.

Naturally, his days are spent playing, coaching and training but he is also a flamboyant motivational speaker.

His fitness and agility are everything – he’s into his 40th year and still playing whereas convention would have it that 33-35 are the retirement years in his sport.

Needless to say, he takes his diet seriously and is in total control of what comes out of the kitchen.

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He jokes about the daily dilemma he shares with his girlfriend – what to eat tonight?

Inevitably during the day he will have been home and prepped their supper – which will have involved chicken!

“I would say that cooking has prolonged my career, “ says the lean 6ft 4 chap.

“Everything I eat is healthy – but I have a very sweet tooth that I keep under control “I like the taste of food, rich ingredients – I buy all my food and I know what is going into my body.

“I don’t drink alcohol but I love grape juice and fruits like pineapple which are rich in natural anti-inflammatory properties.

“I am 39 and still going because of the things I have done in my diet. Eating healthily doesn’t have to be about food being unsatisfying, you just apply a different ethos.

“If I am angry about anything then I will get into the kitchen and do some baking – to give me something sweet to look forward to.

“I like the concentration of cooking and the fact that you can lose yourself in a recipe. It is relaxing and I love the attention to detail of cooking, striving to make it look and taste good for others to eat.”

Fab’s love of food and cooking is down to the warm memories of his childhood in the US. The family would all have their tasks and chores – and learning how to prepare a meal was an integral part of that.

“We had a rota of cleaning and then as you got older there was the cooking – we’d watch my mom and learn from her. Basic foods – ribs, chicken, mac and cheese, red rice with kidney beans and garlic, spaghetti. I know how to cook from watching her not from educating myself to do it.

“I am a home cook and I find cooking therapeutic for me. If I have not played as well as I would have liked, I come home and cook and because I am a perfectionist I am concentrating on the food and forgetting everything else.

“You can’t rush food. I love to take my time and cook at my own pace. “ Fab has a shellfish allergy and rarely eats red meat though he is a fan of chicken, turkey and fish. His weakness is for puddings – he loves sweet things.

One of his brothers is training to be a chef and Fab would like one day to open a restaurant; “a family business employing everyone”, he says.

“It’s a tough business though – I watch Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and you realise you have to get so much right,

A childhood food memory: Home-made cornbread, it never tastes the same anywhere else. College greens – spring greens steamed like cabbage with a teaspoon of vinegar and sugar with bits of bacon and turkey.

Fried chicken – I take the skin off now because it’s the healthiest way but the batter of egg milk and flour makes for the best crispness.

Black eyed peas with turkey.

Inspirational chef: I don’t eat out very much or watch chefs on TV – I liked the Hairy Bikers’ Deep South though. The problem I’ve got with TV chefs is that I watch them doing something then want to make it straight away but the ingredients are never in the cupboards!

Last meal you ate: Granola with skimmed milk and brown rice with chicken and guacamole.

A meal that inspired you: Cooking reminds me of home so it would be any meal that we cooked as a family – as a kid I would be in charge of peeling potatoes then you would gravitate to the meat and do the seasoning for the meat – watch it cooking, take it out, season it. I love roast chicken but with beetroot, no gravy – I hate that thing of meat swimming in gravy. At home we never had a choice we would eat whatever it was we were having tonight.

Favourite wine: Once a year I will have a drink to toast my brother who died. I don’t like the taste of alcohol and the drink thing passed me by – I got to about 25 and would think ‘this is going to be my first drink’ but I never wanted to drink and I don’t feel I am missing anything.

Favourite ingredient: Garlic, chicken, ice-cream.

Your last meal: Chocolate cakes, peanut butter cake, peach cobbler, sweet potato pie – and anything that came out of my mom’s kitchen.

the food, the location, customers you’re selling to – you have to love food but there’s much more.”

Bob Arora owns Sachins, Forth Banks, Newcastle. www.sachins.co.uk

If I am angry about something then I will head into the kitchen and do some baking.

You can lose yourself in the recipe JUL/AUG13

On the menu: Fab’s Hollywood Chicks

The family kitchen was the place where Fab learned all his skills - starting with the onion-chopping

What it’s got going for it: A more complex Indian dish which would wow at a dinner party – it’ll make you look like a kitchen pro.

What’s the trick: The clever way of poaching the chicken to keep it succulent and make the flavours stand out.

Serves 4 people The dish is prepared in three parts: the stuffing, the sauce and then the poached, stuffed chicken.

Sauce: Ingredients 2 tbsp 4 1 1 inch 1/2 tsp 1/4 tsp

Oil Onions, finely chopped Clove garlic, finely chopped Piece of ginger, finely chopped Turmeric Chilli (to taste)

1/2 tsp 100ml 3 tsp 25g 2 tbsp 1

Ground black pepper Water Fresh coriander, chopped Butter Cream Tin chopped tomatoes

Method Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onions, sweat and cook until slightly caramelised. Add all the other spice ingredients (except coriander) and cook for ten minutes. This is the basis of your masala – or sauce.

Add the tomatoes and about 50ml water. Then simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

Add small amounts of water if the sauce gets too dry. Add salt to taste and the fresh coriander.

Once cooked, the sauce is whizzed in a blender to velvety texture – add the cream and butter after the sauce is blended and keep to one side while the chicken is prepared.

The chicken: Ingredients 2 Large chicken breasts (including the supremes) 1 tsp Turmeric 1 tsp Salt 1 1/2 tsps Black pepper 2 Chunks cinnamon (5cms) 3 Star anise

5 3

Cardamom pods Bay leaves Paprika Oil Water Clingfilm

Method Half the chicken breasts lengthways and detach the supremes. Take the breasts and bash them flat and smooth to leave four thin pieces of chicken.

Take the remaining chicken supremes and put them in a blender with the turmeric, salt and black pepper. Pulse the mixture until it forms a smooth paste.

Add the other spice ingredients to a pan of cold water and bring it to the boil.

Take a large sheet of clingfilm. Lay one of the chicken breasts on it then spread a layer of the chicken paste mix on top. Place another chicken breast on top – like a sandwich.

Wrap the mixture like a sausage in the cling film, rolling tightly and tying at the ends – they must be watertight for cooking. You will have what look like two fat sausages.

In the pan of boiling water place the two ‘sausages’ and cook for about ten minutes.

Carefully remove the cling film (it will be very hot).

Mix two teaspoons of paprika with a tablespoon of oil and roll the chicken in this.

In a hot frying pan cook the chicken for a few minutes to crisp the outside and add some colour.

Place the sauce in a bowl. Slice the chicken into small discs and place on the sauce mixture.

Serve with rice and naan bread.

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Meet the chef

The people behind the region’s favourite restaurants share their kitchen secrets and culinary inspiration

Gav in Len g

Chef and proprietor of Martino’ s

in the mix A childhood food memory: My first childhood memory was the fear of live crabs being sold on the dock side in the fishing village where I live. Sadly, the crabs are no longer sold by the fishermen, and the dock is now a marina.

Favourite family dish: Roast dinner every time! Any slow cooked meat with roasted vegetables (must include honey parsnips), creamy buttered mashed potato and lashings of meaty gravy.

A meal that inspires you: Lamb Korai from my local Indian restaurant. A very complex dish that I have tried to replicate many times and failed badly. Apparently the recipe is passed down the generations and a closely guarded secret. I will keep trying!

A wine that inspires you: Merlot - the first wine I ever drank and the wine I keep returning to time and time again. With so many regional varieties of this classic grape, I find it never gets boring.

A restaurant wine list you return to time and time again: I try to match the wine to the meal I am eating, and I always test the knowledge of the waiter to recommend something suitable. Other than my favourite Merlot, I tend to try a new wine every time I dine out. Sometimes the best wine tends to be the house wine which is usually the cheapest!

An inspirational chef: Rick Stein - very successful chef and businessman. Rick puts passion into everything he cooks and is a great ambassador for the culinary arts.

The last food you ate: I had a 10oz rib-eye steak last night, topped with a fried egg, accompanied with a side of peas, shallots, spinach and pancetta in cream sauce. I prefer my steak cooked medium and matured for as long as possible.

Your last food and wine would be: Thai green curry with beef and sticky jasmine rice accompanied with a slightly sweet Riesling wine that I feel is a perfect accompaniment to the spicy curry.

Favourite food & wine city: San Francisco - such a diverse range of delicious food on offer along with some great Napa valley classic wines for a fraction of the cost in the UK. Favourite ingredients: Fennel seeds, wild mushrooms, sun-blushed tomato and truffle oil that make up my favourite pasta dish papardelli finoccio.

Tel: 0191 529 5295 www.martinosleisure.co.uk

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Rhys Faulkner-Walford

Vince Puddu

Head Chef RADISSON BLU

Chef LUCIA’S

Favourite food TV: Hugh’s Fish Fight.

Good to see someone carrying the fight for sustainability and promoting the lesser known but equally tasty breeds of fish.

Favourite cheese: Cashel Blue, a Beautiful Irish cheese. Simply Stunning.

Dish you love to cook: Poached eggs on toast perfectly cooked. They are one of the great pleasures in life.

Gavi di Gavi – The “Chablis” of Italy.

Great with seafood.

In-season Ingredient: English asparagus. By the time you are reading this the season will have finished but great with poached eggs.

Favourite food TV: I enjoy watching MasterChef: The Professionals. It is good to see other chefs at work.

Favourite cheese: Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Dish you love to cook: Seafood Linguine at Lucia’s Italian Kitchen.

Favourite wine/drink: Has to be the Sardinian wine, Cannonau.

Favourite in-season ingredient: Asparagus is a great summer ingredient, locally grown is always best.

Tel: 0191 372 7200 www.radissonblu.co.uk/durham

Tel: 01642 782 242 www.luciasitaliankitchen.co.uk

Craig Barrack Chef HOTEL INDIGO

Victoria Vassallo Chef CHAPTERS HOTEL AND RESTAURANT Favourite Food TV: Great British Menu or MasterChef: the Professionals.

Favourite cheese: Harrogate Blue cheese.

Dish you love to cook: Slow-cooked Free Range Belly Pork, Spring Cabbage & Bacon.

Favourite wine/drink: Bollinger Champagne.

In-season ingredient: At the moment...

English tomatoes.

Tel: 01642 711 888 www.chaptershotel.co.uk

Paul O’Hara Meet The Chef CLUBHOUSE HEAD CHEF, ROCKLIFFE HALL

Favourite food TV: I love the classic television chefs such as Keith Floyd and Rick Stein. Delivered in their unique style. Such a sad day for chefs when Keith died.

Favourite cheese: This would have to be Taleggio. I love the matured, yet mild flavour.

Dish you love to cook: I love cooking with different ingredients, but my current favourite would have to be Venison with Girolle mushrooms, Boulangere potatoes and a Madeira Jus. Favourite wine/drink: My personal favourite would be El Coto Rioja.

In-season ingredient of the moment: The classic English rhubarb.

Tel: 0191 300 9222 www.hotelindigonewcastle.co.uk

Lee Hardy Head Chef LOTUS LOUNGE DURHAM

Favourite food TV: Kitchen Confidential with Anthony Bourdain; as it shows all aspects of food not just Michelin restaurants.

Favourite cheese: Stinking Bishop as it reminds me of the first time I was at La Gavroche.

Dish you love to cook: Cheddar cheese and spinach soufflé – it’s a reminder of my time served working for Terry Laybourne and a dish I have produced in every kitchen I have worked in. I have done it so often the recipe is engraved in my memory.

Favourite drink: Coffee – the day can’t start without it!

In-season ingredient: Elderflower.

Favourite food TV: Hairy bikers but when you need a good laugh, Man vs Food just shows how crazy food can be.

Favourite cheese: Lowna Dairy Braffords Log. I love goat’s cheese and this is so creamy it melts in the mouth.

Always popular on our cheese board.

Dish you love to cook: Shanghai noodles with teriyaki salmon. Quick to make yet so full of flavour, the sweetness complements the sour and the fresh spices and garlic finish the dish nicely.

Favourite drink: Asahi. I find whenever I eat spicy food this Japanese lager balances the dishes perfectly. It’s not too strong and has a light sweet taste.

In-season ingredient: Tamarind this ingredient doesn’t change with the seasons.

Tel: 01325 729 999 www.rockliffehall.com

Tel: 0191 384 1999 www.lotus-lounge.co.uk

JUL/AUG13

So many bars and restaurants, so little time

dining profile

A summer of cocktails, cool eating places and gourmet menus beckons in Newcastle It really is time to say cheers to the city of Newcastle this summer with the first ever NE1 Cocktail Week. Cocktail shakers at the ready - the art of cocktail mixology will enter a new level when the city raises its glass to toast the spirited celebration from 15 to 21 July.

Summer in the city just got more interesting with a whole host of city centre bars and venues on board to celebrate NE1’s Cocktail Week. Cocktail lovers will be able to enjoy a mouth-watering array of cocktails at three different price points – £3, £5 and £7 at a number of different venues.

Like NE1’s Restaurant Week, Cocktail Week will provide cocktail lovers with the chance to sample cocktails at a fraction of their usual price and maybe try out new bars in search of the perfect libation.

Among the many venues where the cocktail waiters will be in overdrive are Fat Buddha, Babucho, Pasqualino’s, Waterline and Revolution to name but a few.

There has been a city-wide resurgence in cocktail mixology with it reaching art-form proportions in many venues. Mixologists take great pride in their work and enjoy the performance of producing lovingly created cocktails for their guests. During Cocktail Week, NE1 has lined up a series of cocktail master classes to allow enthusiasts to learn the art of creating the perfect cocktail.

After Cocktail Week, there’s not long to wait for NE1’s next gastronomic celebration in the heart of Newcastle. From 5 - 11 August, NE1’s Restaurant Week returns taking over the city’s top restaurants for the sixth time.

Newcastle’s restaurant scene has expanded almost beyond recognition over the past few years with an array of wonderful new restaurants opening across the city and there’s no better way to celebrate than with NE1’s Restaurant Week.

So many restaurants, so little time. With seven days to treat yourself to fine dining in some of the city’s top restaurants and all for a fraction of the usual price, the advice is to book early to save your place at the table.

What’s good enough for the Big Apple is good enough for Newcastle. When NE1 first launched its NE1’s Restaurant Week initiative three years ago, it took inspiration from New York, where twice a year restaurants throw open their doors to diners for set price menus encouraging restaurant goers to sample new venues as well as enjoying old-favourites. Working with a group of Newcastle’s top restaurants NE1 decided to launch its own event for north east ‘foodies’ to shine the spotlight on the industry at two of the traditionally quietest times of the year, in January post-Christmas and in August during the long summer holidays.

NE1’s Restaurant Week has been a huge success since its launch and each season more restaurants get on board with thousands of people taking advantage of the gourmet menus at a fraction of the normal price. Set price meals of £10 or £15 a head

The week-long event will welcome a range of newcomers to the fold as well as the old favourites – with 45 restaurants in total expected to take part

are offered at participating restaurants with a mouth-watering selection of menus spanning all types of cuisine.

This August, the week-long event will welcome a range of newcomers to the fold as well as the old favourites – with 45 restaurants in total expected to take part.

The event has grown in stature each time it is hosted with more of the city’s finest taking part – Blackfriars Restaurant, voted Taste of England at the North East England Tourism Awards this year, has been involved in NE1’s Restaurant Week from the outset.

Commenting on the success of NE1’s Restaurant Week, owner Andy Hook explained: “NE1 has helped to support the restaurant industry in the city with NE1’s Restaurant Week initiative and has encouraged new visitors to try Blackfriars.

A whole new group of ‘regulars’ has been spawned by previous Restaurant Week events and we hope this August will be no exception.”

Sean Bullick, chief executive of NE1 Ltd who masterminded the idea for the event explained: “Food has become one of the city’s real strengths thanks to the growing number of award-winning restaurants opening in Newcastle and for the national and international reputation of our restaurateurs. NE1’s Restaurant Week helps us celebrate all that’s great about our restaurant industry and encourages more people to take advantage of the wonderful food on offer at a fraction of the normal price.

“We’re delighted to see the likes of Carluccio’s and Jamie’s Italian Kitchen

coming to Newcastle this year, their presence is great news for the city and helps cement our place on the culinary map as the capital of the North East region.

The more choice, variety and quality we have in our restaurants the more attractive the city centre offer as a place to visit, work and live”.

Copying is the sincerest form of flattery and NE1’s Restaurant Week has been so successful that other cities across the UK are rumoured to be following suit.

For full details of all participating bars and restaurants for both NE1’s Restaurant Week and NE1’s Cocktail Week visit www.getintonewcastle.co.uk/restaurantweek or www.getintonewcastle.co.uk/cocktail-week

NE1’s cocktail week 15 – 21 July, closely followed by NE1’s restaurant week 5-11 August 2013 JUL/AUG13

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Veg patch with Karen Phillips For foodies late summer in the veg plot is like being let loose in a sweet shop: a huge variety of interesting and unusual vegetables are ripe for the picking. Shall it be supersweet peas eaten raw from the pod, or gem-like alpine strawberries by the fistful? when only the outer leaves are picked as a pose to ‘cut-and come-again’.

Jobs in the greenhouse....

Tomatillos: These pretty plants with bright yellow flowers are taking longer to set fruit than initially hoped for but with luck I’ll be able to write about home-grown salsa in the next issue. Until then watering and feeding are the order of the day.

Tomatoes: Continue to feed weekly with homemade liquid comfrey manure or a proprietary tomato food and don’t skimp on the watering. Blossom End Rot manifests itself as blackened bottoms on the tomatoes. It is caused by of a lack of

calcium to the growing tips which can be the result of erratic watering – plum tomatoes always seem the most afflicted and growing tomatoes in growbags further exacerbates the problem by creating such a restricted root run.

Peppers, chillies, aubergines – water, feed weekly and harvest regularly to prolong the supply.

Looking ahead...

Next time we’ll be picking baby pumpkins, guzzling on home-grown figs, and selecting which apple trees are suitable for the smaller garden.

Foolproof Pecorino & Spinach Soufflés Rich pickings....

Chinese Stem Broccoli (kaai laan): This easy-to-grow member of the brassica family has provided a wealth of tender flowering shoots for use in one of my favourite recipes from chef Andy Snell.

‘Papaya’: Chinese Stem Broccoli with Cloud Ear Fungus. If you fancy it check out the recipe in the magazine section of www.papaya-catering.co.uk Tomatoes: Red and yellow cherry, beefsteak and plum tomatoes are featuring in at least one meal in the household each day: roasted cherry tomatoes drizzled with a good quality olive oil on sourdough for breakfast; feta cheese, tomatoes and oregano baked in the oven until melting and served with fresh bread; or for a real glut mix all the varieties and turn into chilli jam.

Courgette flowers: By now you are hopefully a little overfaced with courgettes so the opportunity to reduce the crop may come as a relief. Take just opened flowers and stuff with seasoned ricotta cheese, dip in tempura batter then deep fry and serve immediately with a fresh tomato sauce.

Morello Cherries: Last year we had no crop at all and had to eke out 2011’s cherry brandy – a tense time when we reached our last bottle! To prevent a recurrence, extra will be made this year by steeping sour morello cherries in brandy with a

Roasted cherry tomatoes drizzled with a really good olive oil on soudough for breakfast so good 36

little sugar for 2-3 months and then straining the ruby red liqueur into sterilised bottles.

Raspberries: We grow several varieties to take us from mid-summer through to autumn and once our tummies and the freezer have been filled any excess is made into raspberry vinegar – great in salad dressings or even poured over ice cream but for me I simply love drinking it neat and never have enough to last me the year since it’s regularly snaffled by friend’s for use as a cough remedy!

Jobs outside...

Spinach is a long day plant i.e. it flowers near midsummer’s day, so a sowing now guarantees a long-lasting crop.

As soon as your garlic naturally bends over it’s time to harvest – pull up the bulbs on a dry day and leave to dry undercover, spread out over mesh/chicken wire. Only then can they be plaited for storage and use over winter. Do roast some fresh though and enjoy the juicy, sweet, caramalised cloves alongside roast chicken.

This is the last chance to get any other overwintering crops in since they need to have made a substantial plant before the cold weather sets in. Lamb’s lettuce, chervil, mustard greens, radicchio, chicory, and spring onions will all be sown. There is much debate about spring sowings versus autumn and whilst both plants may not differ much in size, when compared in spring, the root growth of the overwintered crop enables the plant to surge ahead in spring.

This year I’ve been experimenting with growing veg in pots so if space is limited I can recommend mustard greens for stir fries, dwarf peas and alpine strawberries as an edging for the pot. A mix of green and red lettuces has proved both decorative and productive particularly

An adaptation of a recipe from Mary Berry’s New Aga Cook Book – which has details for conventional ovens too. I’ve doubled the recipe because I had loads of spinach that had bolted and needed using before being relegated to the compost heap also soufflés are a bit of a faff so make double for the same effort and freeze half.

Makes 12 soufflés Ingredients Spinach/leaf beet Milk Soya milk Butter Plain flour Pecorino cheese, grated Salt and pepper 1/2 tsp Freshly grated nutmeg 200g 300ml 300ml 80g 80g 100g

6

Eggs, separated Butter for greasing

Topping for 12 soufflés – I use only half below 100g Parmesan grated 500ml Double cream (Goats’ cream adds a nice tang)

Method Wash and finely shred the spinach. Bring to the boil, stir well and remove from the heat. Make a roux with the butter, and flour and cook for one minute before gradually adding the spinach/milk mixture, stirring all the time to get rid of any lumps. Simmer until the sauce thickens then remove from the heat and beat in the salt and pepper, nutmeg, pecorino cheese and finally the egg yolks.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff and carefully fold them into the thick sauce mixture.

Generously butter 12 small ramekins and spoon the mixture in to the top. Place in a large roasting tin and pour boiling water in the tin until it comes half way up the sides of the dishes. Cook 220C for 15-20 minutes until springy to touch. Remove the soufflés from the oven and leave for 5-10 minutes for the soufflés to cool.

Butter a shallow, gratin dish, large enough to allow the soufflés not to touch and sprinkle 25g parmesan on the bottom. Using a knife remove the soufflés carefully from their ramekins and stand six in the gratin dish (wrap and freeze the other 6).

Pour 250ml double cream over the soufflés, season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the remaining 25g parmesan and pop back in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

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Broad Bean ‘Guacamole’ This is great as a dip or as a topping for bruschetta. Blanch young broad beans, then cool in cold water and drain. Derobe any larger beans of their ‘grey overcoats’. Whizz in a food processor with a clove of crushed garlic, some chopped thyme and lemon juice and enough olive oil to make a thick dip then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Chargrilled Broccoli Salad Thank you Ottolenghi for this delicious recipe of chargrilled broccoli, chilli, anchovies in olive oil and sliced garlic: lip-smacking good! It’s in the recipe book ‘Ottolenghi’ along with loads of other superb recipes – I cannot rate this book highly enough.

Placebo ‘Pimm’s’ Rhubarb & Star Anise Tarts Ingredients Pre-cooked pastry shells Mascarpone Vanilla essence Icing sugar Rhubarb Star Anise Sugar

Method Mix the mascarpone with a teaspoon of vanilla and enough icing sugar to sweeten.

Cook the rhubarb with star anise and handful of sugar in a couple of tablespoons of water – simmer very gently until tender being careful not to overcook. Remove the rhubarb to a plate and then simmer the remaining sauce with the star anise until a thick syrup has formed. Pour over the rhubarb. Fill the pastry cases with the mascarpone cream and top with rhubarb.

A recent trip to Gloucestershire to visit past neighbours whilst attending a hard landscaping course introduced me to this wonderful non-alcoholic drink. Thank you Anthea for this godsend of a recipe – it has become our favourite tipple of the summer. She described rubbing the rim of the glasses with brandy and watching people’s behaviour who presumed that they were drinking standard Pimm’s all night long!

Ingredients 1 Large jug All the fruit associated with a lovely Pimm’s cocktail: cucumber, mint, apple, strawberries, borage if you can get hold of it.

Lots of ice cubes 2 litre bottle of diet lemonade (it must be diet – I usually hate the stuff but in this instance there is no substitute) 3 tbsp Balsamic vinegar Stir and enjoy the effect!

A White Christmas... ...Guaranteed at Marco Pierre White

Whether you’re looking to add a touch of glamour to your Christmas party or just a festive evening out, enjoy festive lunch or dinner with us throughout December or celebrate Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Eve.

Christmas Lunch and Dinner Set Menu from £25 per person

Available from 28th Nov - 24th Dec

For bookings or further information, contact Kate Gill on: events@hotelindigonewcastle.com or call

JUL/AUG13

0191 300 9222

Follow us on: www.mpwsteakhousenewcastle.co.uk

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Masterclass

with Terry Laybourne The quintessential summer dessert made easy; serve with thick double cream and some additional soft fruits. Needless to say, a glass of fizz ratchets up the sunshine factor further still

English summer pudding serves 10 (makes three puddings) Summer fruits (a mixture of raspberries, redcurrants, strawberries, blackcurrants, blackberries, blueberries) hulled and picked over 9 slices Thinly sliced white bread (crusts removed) 3 leaves Gelatine (soaked in cold water and squeezed dry) 115ml Water 115ml Sugar Juice from 1 Lemon Raspberry coulis Double cream 550g

1 Place fruits into a stainless steel pan with water and sugar, bring to a simmer.

5 Repeat twice more with remaining fruit, filling the moulds to the brim and finishing with a final slice of bread.

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2 Remove from heat and stir in gelatine and lemon juice.

6 Cover with cling film and place a small plate on top, followed by a heavy weight.

Chill overnight.

3 Ladle a little of the juice into a shallow bowl and dip the slices of bread one at a time and use to line a 2pint pudding basin, overlapping the slices slightly.

7 Turn out carefully on to a chilled plate.

4 Ladle in 1/3 of the fruit with a little of their syrup, top with another slice of bread.

8 Cut into generous wedges and serve with some additional fresh fruit, a little raspberry coulis and unhealthy quantities of fresh cream.

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Culinary collision...

Science and food are in the mix later this summer when two major festivals collide in Newcastle. Laura White and Katherine Weir see what’s on the menu A tasting tour of past, present and future Geordie grub; an octopus curry and a cerebral celebration of brainfriendly food – the British Science Festival will be offering up a feast for the senses when it arrives in Newcastle in September.

Visitors to the six-day festival, which runs from September 7-12, will be able to taste, touch and smell science via a host of food-themed events which will be dished up as part of the wide and varied programme.

Hooking up with EAT! NewcastleGateshead, the annual festival of adventures in food and drink, this year’s British Science Festival sees a strand of events that will feed the mind as well as the body.

Events will take place at various locations across the city during the weekend of Saturday 7-8 September, which marks the culmination of EAT! NewcastleGateshead and the beginning of the British Science Festival.

Food-themed launch on Festival Saturday The British Science Festival kicks off its seventh visit to the city with a launch event which will consider the science of what we eat, how we eat it and why. Brought to you in collaboration with EAT! Festival, local chefs Gareth Kyle and Sam Storey will transport taste buds back in time by revealing what might have been on the menu when the British Science Festival first came to Newcastle in 1838.

Their sample dishes will reflect public taste, availability of ingredients and foodie trends that have been shaped by different points in our history, specifically those around the times when the British Science Festival has visited Newcastle. They will then look ahead to what we might be eating when the festival returns – perhaps in 2038, 200 years after the original event.

Free souvenir booklets featuring food from the tasting tour will be available to pick up by those visiting the event on Festival Saturday at Grey’s Monument, Newcastle.

Come Dissect With Me will see a freshly-landed octopus from Latimer’s dissected before being served up in a curry!

On Festival Sunday If you’ve ever wondered why we need to consume Vitamin C when our pets don’t or if it’s a coincidence that the name of the herb sage also means wisdom then DK - A Cerebral Celebration of Food and Science could be just the event you’ve been waiting for.

Professor David Kennedy, director of Brain Performance and Nutrition Research at Northumbria University, an associate partner to the Festival, joins forces with his cheffie namesake to nourish your grey matter with a spectacular five-course menu of brain-friendly foods packed with fantastic flavours, fascinating facts and a few surprises. The event is at David Kennedy’s Food Social at Shieldfield Road, Newcastle, on Festival Sunday.

Also on Festival Sunday, at the Centre for Life, foodies will come face-to-tentacle with a freshly-landed octopus; undertake a guided dissection and finish off by tucking into the Mauritian speciality of octopus curry during an event entitled Come Dissect with Me. In a scientific and culinary celebration of these fascinating creatures, Biohacker Dr Brian Deggar will lead the dissection of an octopus sourced by local fishmonger Robert Latimer of Whitburn and Farida Koheeallee, who comes from Mauritius and runs a tropical spice stall in Leeds market, will create her signature curry dish for all to enjoy.

The Save Our Wild Fish Stocks! event is a must for eco-conscious foodies who really care about the sources of their ingredients. Held at festival host Newcastle University’s new state-of-the art sensory testing facility NU Food, visitors will learn about the pros and cons of sustainable fishing before watching the preparation of some exciting fish dishes and then sampling them.

British Science Festival booking lines open in July. www.britishsciencefestival.org

Get Your Foodie Fill at EAT! Back for the seventh year running, the food festival of the year has some mouth-watering treats up its sleeve.

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Championing local food producers, restaurants, breweries and culinary talent, the EAT! Festival brings together the North East in 16 days of tasty and memorable events.

Festival director, Simon Preston, is gearing up for August 24 when the madness begins. “We have upped the ante again, coming up with several new food experiences for festival goers,” says Simon. “Most festivals are held over a weekend, but EAT! will spread across the city over 16 days, with more than 100 different events to experience and enjoy.”

This year welcomes back the Cake City event, which invites local bakers to create cakes shaped like their favourite local building to be placed on an edible map of Newcastle and Gateshead, as well as the jam-packed, city street festival Big EAT! Weekend.

“One of the new additions to this year’s line-up will be the four-day Speakeasy & Salon, which is inspired by the 18th century ‘salon’ movement, when all kinds of people gathered under one host’s roof to be amused, educated and entertained,” explains Simon.

“The EAT! Speakeasy & Salon can only be accessed by deciphering our riddle, revealing this event’s secret location. Once you have gained access, you can experience everything from cocktail classes and grouse-plucking, to advanced sugarcraft and Chinese cookery classes.”

Artisan cook, Lulu Chai, pictured, will be heading up the Chinese dumpling workshop on August 27, sharing her culinary knowledge with the festival crowds.

Lulu will also be hosting a Chinese afternoon tea party, providing a taste of Chinese culture in a soothing and relaxing world of tea and cake.

EAT! Street & The Boiler Shop Steamer, is a new four-day event marrying together tasty and interesting street food with the Chilli and Beer Festival. Lulu has already decided on her menu for this part of the EAT! Festival, offering popular dishes from her hometown of Xi’an - one of the oldest cities in the world.

“I will be making Dragon Whiskers Candy, golden crispy dumplings, Lulu’s handmade jumbo dumplings, and Xi’an Rou Jai Mo - a slow cooked pork sandwich; the most famous street food from my hometown,” she reveals.

EAT! strives to combine all the culinary delights available in the North East, with innovative events, including a showing of Tampopo at the Cycle Club on the Quayside, which is a bike-in, eat-along movie matched by food from Electric East.

And, if a sit-down banquet is more to your liking, the Naked Feasts are sure to please. Held in stripped down, outdoor events, 50 guests can enjoy course after course of delicious food, using the very best local and seasonal ingredients.

Dine on beautifully laid communal tables in striking destinations. Guests can choose from several destinations, including Vallum Farm, Fenwick Rooftop, and Rising Sun Farm with Blackfriars and Marco Pierre White Steak House. www.newcastlegateshead.com/eat-festival

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mix it

With Dom O’Sullivan

dining

Taste capital The city of Edinburgh is a go-to destination for gourmets from the North East – if you’re heading to the festival this summer, our food people tell us their haunts

Dom O’Sullivan, assistant bars manager at Hotel Indigo has a tropical thing going on with a light and luscious summery cocktail that will transport you to a palm-fringed, beach even if your passport won’t

Kick-back colada Recipe 25ml 15ml 20ml 1/2

Morgans Spiced Rum Midori liqueur Mango puree Squeezed lemon Fresh pineapple

Method Take a hurricane glass filled with ice then mix together the mango puree, Midori liquer and lemon adding in the rum and then top it all up with fresh pineapple.

James Close, The Raby Hunt: The Balmoral for its classic style and relaxing atmosphere – it’s mine and my girlfriend’s favourite place to eat together in Edinburgh. I also like L’Escargot Bleu for great cooking at a reasonable price.

Kenny Atkinson: Anything to do with Tom Kitchin, without a doubt. A true talent who really understands food and what a guest wants. From nature to plate is exactly what he brings. His restaurants are The Kitchin, newly opened Scran& Scallie and Castle Terrace.

Terry Laybourne, 21 Group: Several: Paul Kitching’s 21212, Ondine, Castle Terrace, Timberyard.

Been to all of them fairly recently.

Simon Walsh, Close House: My top three are, Ondine, Castle Terrace and Martin Wishart’s The Honours.

Simon Preston, director of EAT! Festival and Edinburgh resident: The Dogs on Hanover Street, The Outsider on George IV Bridge, Brasserie Deluxe by Galvin at The Caledonian Hotel.

www.hotelindigonewcastle.co.uk

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Martin Moore, Lotus Lounge, Durham & Yarm: I like TigerLily for its well-

designed space – different areas within one space. Good cocktails and fresh, vibrant food.

potatoes, caramelised chicory and a langoustine sauce. www.thestockbridgerestaurant.co.uk

Worth seeing:

Michael Neave Kitchen and Whisky Bar opened on Old Fishmarket Close in the heart of Edinburgh’s old town last summer.

Retro styling for a very contemporary upstairs cocktail bar.

The kitchen and whisky bar is the first acquisition by the gifted young chef. He’s committed to using Scotland’s unique products in his cooking - Perthshire Malt Whisky with roe deer for example and Islay Malts with shellfish from Islay. One of his dishes even includes a 30-year-old Glenfarclas being used (lucky dish). www.micheaelneave.co.uk

Artists from Northern Stage in Newcastle are taking up position for their summer in the Scottish city with a residency at St Stephen’s Church, Edinburgh as part of the fringe festival. They will be returning to the festival with a new showcase of work under new artistic director Lorne Campbell. It includes The Bloody Great Border Ballad Project inviting different guests each night to perform a short piece that forms part of an epic ballad, built across the 19 nights of the festival. Other highlights include work from criticallyacclaimed company The Paper Birds who present On the One Hand; a striking exploration of aging that depicts six different women at different stages of life.

Find out more at www.northernstage. co.uk/st-stephens

On the radar if you’re making a trip...

Stockbridge is the Jesmond of Edinburgh.

A cool hangout on the fringe of the city.

Recently voted the third ‘coolest’ place to live in the UK by The Times, Stockbridge has become a hot-spot for quirky boutiques and cosy coffee shops.

The Stockbridge Restaurant, a family-run eaterie which has been serving up their informal take on fine dining for the last nine years.

Head chef is Jason Gallagher who brings to the plate mouth-watering dishes such as grilled halibut with scallop and crab mousse, saffron crushed

Eating in Edinburgh we tried, we liked...

Foraged foods are a mainstay of chef Paul Wedgwood’s eponymous restaurant in Edinburgh city centre.

The understated place sits on the Royal Mile and on its menu you’ll find ingredients like sweet cicely, wood sorrel, foraged leaves and sea vegetables.

We ate there on a Saturday lunchtime for a good-deal £16 three-course menu that’s worth a punt if you’re heading to Edinburgh for festival time-out or just making the most of East Coast trains’ low-cost fares.

Wedgwood has won two ‘restaurant of the year’ accolades and much is made of that emphasis on local produce – foodstuffs gathered from a city centre is a proud boast, if a challenging one.

Paul worked under John Tovey at Miller Howe in the Lake District so his

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Left > Stockbridge restaurant Below > Martin Neave Kitchen Bottom > Wedgwood

Tasting the wild Food foraging with Chris Bax

Stockbridge is the Jesmond of Edinburgh. A cool hangout on the fringe of the city.

Recently voted the third ‘coolest’ place to live in the UK pedigree is obvious.

Starter one was duck rillette with black pudding cubes, wild sorrel leaves and a gentle sweet and sour reduction. Duck meat gently shredded and marvellously melt-in-the-mouth and a neat combination of flavours from the dense black pud and sweet sauce.

Starter two, a couple of hake fishcakes with loads of fish in them – with ginger and lime aioli and foraged leaves. Good blend of flavours and pretty presentation.

A main of sautéed foraged mushrooms with wild oregano, tagliatelle, white wine,

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cream and parmesan was terrific. All mushroom and not so much pasta makes for the right balance. A range of mushrooms in shape and size, some meaty, some soft, some dense, some sweet – lovely with the intense oregano. It sounds like an easy, basic kind of dish but this is where a bit of a forage makes its mark with such earthy flavours. Rustic with a gentle touch.

Simplicity again with a fish main course of pan-fried coley, cooked with herby crushed potatoes, chorizo and foraged sea vegetables, slithers of super-green seaweed still with a juicy bite that epitomises what ‘green’ tastes like.

For dessert, sticky toffee bread and butter pud was about as soft, buttery and moreish as it gets – nicely served with a rich Chantilly cream. Marginally more delicate, a nice taste of summer with honey and vanilla cheesecake teamed with a tart rhubarb compote.

A nice little find in a city of great food. www.wedgwoodtherestaurant.co.uk Wedgwood also organises regular foraging workshops. www.wedgwoodtherestaurant.co.uk

Last summer we were filming on the Gower peninsula and had the pleasure to meet Illtyd Dunsford of Charcutier ltd and his incredible Mangalitsa pigs. The Mangalitsa is a Hungarian pig breed closely related to our own - now extinct - Lincolnshire curly coat, bred as a fat pig to produce lard.

The bacon they produce is absolutely amazing, so, inspired by the delicious meat and finding myself cooking in sand dunes surrounded by Sea Buckthorn, I came up with a simple salad. I called it Fat Man’s salad at the time and it is definitely not slimming, but for a treat it is delicious, making the most of the Sea Buckthorn berry tartness to cut through the bacon fat.

Towards the end of summer and into autumn the bright orange berries of Sea Buckthorn can be seen on their spiky, silvery bushes along Britain’s coast.

Sea Buckthorn berries have been used for centuries both as food and for their reputed health-giving properties. It is said that Ghenghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire, relied on three treasures: well organised armies, strict discipline and Sea Buckthorn. It was believed that oil from the seeds made Ghenghis Khan’s soldiers stronger and much more agile than those of his enemies.

These super food berries fuelled the marauding hoards!

A native deciduous shrub that grows to 4m, it can form dense thickets. Sea Buckthorn leaves are narrow and pointed - approximately 5cm long. The underneath of the leaf is covered with silvery hairs making it look quite pale, the upper side has fewer but still the effect is a silvery grey/green. The berries grow in clusters along the stems which are covered in very sharp and aggressive thorns.

Though almost forgotten as a food ingredient, in recent years chefs have been experimenting with the berries again and they are having a bit of a resurgence.

The almost luminously orange berry is incredibly tart and for this reason it has been much maligned, but I think very unfairly. We use sour ingredients every day with great results and Sea Buckthorn can be used just the same. The berries are far more than just acidity though, they have flavours of citrus mixed with passion fruit and even peach which when used well can be delicious in sweet and savoury dishes.

And as we have decided to abandon all ideas of a diet why not go the whole hog and finish off with some lovely rich ice cream. The cream and sugar temper the berries’ tartness and allows the aromas of passion fruit and peach to come through. www.tastethewild.co.uk

Fat man’s salad Serves 2

Ingredients 4 2 300g

Rashers of fatty bacon, chopped About 30 Sea Buckthorn berries Slices thickly sliced bread, cut into cubes Salad leaves (I used ‘Fat hen’)

Method Fry the bacon in a medium hot pan so that you render out all the lovely fat. When the meat is crispy and you have a lot of fat in the pan, remove the bacon bits and set aside somewhere warm. Reserve half the fat in the pan and pour off the other half into a bowl to be used later in the dressing. Fry your bread cubes in the reserved fat in the pan until golden. Remove from the pan and set aside with bacon.

Return the second half of the bacon fat to the pan and heat through, when the fat is starting to sizzle add berries. The berries will pop as they cook and release their juices. After about 30 seconds add the leaves to the pan and allow to wilt for 30 seconds now add the croutons and bacon, stir well to distribute the dressing through the leaves, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

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HIGH-FLYING FASHION

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HIGH-FLYING FASHION

THE GREAT ESCAPE FABULOUS BIKING BOYS - AND GIRLS - COME OUT TO PLAY IN SERIOUS STATEMENT GEAR

Sophie: Sequinned top, £160, Malene Birger, Airport Fashion.

Black leather-panelled jeans, Maison Scotch, £133.99, Psyche. Quilted biker jacket, £108.99 French Connection, Psyche. Suede ankle boot, £225 LK Bennett, Fenwick.

Zac: Hugo Boss Black, Alexo jacket, £458.99, Lee 101, pocket T-shirt, £48.99, Armani Jeans, J21 regular fit Jeans, £108.99, Carrera Champion AC Sunglasses, £104.99, all Psyche.

JUL/AUG13

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HIGH-FLYING FASHION

Cut-out back dress, £270, Versace. Doctor’s bag, £420, See by Chloe, Eyelet detail sandal, £275, LK Bennett. Rayban Clubmaster, £125. All Fenwick.

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Sophie: Studded jeans, £270, Versace. Waxed motorcycle jacket, £550, Belstaff, Eyelet detail sandals, £275, LK Bennett. All Fenwick, Newcastle.

Zac: Jeans, £120, Paul Smith, striped T-shirt, £95, Burberry. Waxed motorcycle jacket, £550, Belstaff. Brogues, £235, Kurt Geiger. All Fenwick, Newcastle.

Sophie: Label Lab dress, £75, House of Fraser, Metrocentre. Brown leather jacket, £335, Demure, Metrocentre.

Zac: Jeans, £175, shirt, £150, trench coat, £595, all Burberry. Grenson brogues, £235, Kurt Geiger, Rayban Aviators, £125, all Fenwick, Newcastle.

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HIGH-FLYING FASHION

White quilt-detail biker jacket, ÂŁ58, TopShop, Metrocentre.

JUL/AUG13

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HIGH-FLYING FASHION

Credits Photography: Kevin Gibson www.kgphotographyco.uk Styling: Fiona McLain Hair&make-up: Victoria Forshaw www.pinspetalsandpowder.co.uk 07739024426 www.twitter.com/pinspetalspwdr Bikes: Triumph Thruxton (900cc) in Phantom Black with Gold stripe, £7199 – available at Triumph North East and all Triumph dealerships Triumph Bonneville special (900cc) in Grey Carbon and Matt Black. A one-off design conceived and constructed by Triumph North East. £7995 www.triumphnortheast.com www.triumph.co.uk

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Location: Eshott airfield, Northumberland www.purpleaviation.co.uk Purple Aviation is offering luxe readers a 20% discount on one-hour trial flights Normally £125 Now £100 (Must be bought before 30th November 2013) Gain a Private Pilot’s Licence from £3,475. Call 01670 787881 or 07717 345169 Stockists: ARG Airport Fashion, Newcastle Airport Fenwick, Northumberland St, Newcastle www.fenwick.co.uk Metrocentre www.intumetrocentre.co.uk Psyche, Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough www.psyche.co.uk

JUL/AUG13

HIGH-FLYING FASHION

TREND WATCH WITH CATHERINE NEWTON

AW13 TREND REPORT As the pre-fall collections begin to filter onto the high-street it’s time to get excited about your AW13 wardrobe. Having scoured the catwalks of London, Milan, Paris and New York and read thousands of tweets and online updates here are my top trends for the autumn.

THE DROP WAIST The silhouette to be seen in this winter is the drop waist, a trend surely sparked by The Great Gatsby. The style was revived on runways across Milan and Paris, including Moschino Cheap and Chic and Céline.

The drop-waist style is relaxed and casual, yet so figure flattering that it can be worn with flats during the day and dressed up with stiletto heels on an evening to add some edge.

THE OVERSIZED COAT This season the oversized coat finally makes its debut as the coat of choice. Moving on from the biker and the parka. AW13 will be dedicated to the boxy, cocoon and car coat silhouette. Champions of this style include Stella McCartney and Giorgio Armani. Look out for elongated hem lines, exaggerated curves and extended shoulders.

THE BOLD PRINT Autumn is going to be a print-rich season and the fashion tribes are heading in two distinct directions. Following on from SS13’s love affair with the ditsy floral print, a more subdued edition was seen on the runways of Paul Smith, Vivienne Westwood and Erdem. In contrast to this, animal print was a trend that prowled across many of the London catwalks including Moschino, Carven and Versace.

Burberry Prorsum took animal print to a whole new level.

Tweets echoed out around the world gushing over Christopher Bailey’s clashing prints, which mixed leopard print with a heart print and a giraffe print coat with a red snakeskin skirt.

Sophie: Washed jeans, £35, Warehouse, aviator jacket, £495, Demure, Metrocentre.

Zac: Barbour Dept B, Olive Commander Bond Skyfall Jacket, £398.99, Oliver Spencer, red Multo Space T-Shirt, £68.99, Polo Ralph Lauren, Blue Grove Varick jeans, £108.99, all Psyche.

Aviators, £115, Rayban, Fenwick

THE NEW HERITAGE With continued respect for traditional craftsmanship and British design, the heritage trend builds momentum and for AW13 the style has received a contemporary update. At emerging designer Christopher Raeburn’s show tartan prints adorned sporty silhouettes and Vivienne Westwood’s show revealed a modern take on the classic Sea Monster Tartan. To work this trend into your AW13 wardrobe invest in a tartan, checked or tweed jacket or trouser that you can pair down with a block colour.

THE FAUX FUR Last winter may have been about brightly coloured faux fur, but this season faux fur has more texture and even print. This was a trend that both Michael Kors and BCBG Max Azria put down the runway. However, to see the best example of the faux fur trend look to classic fashion houses like Prada, Dior and Chanel.

To keep warm in the coming months I cannot recommend anything more than a well-tailored faux fur jacket. It’s your AW13 luxury must-have!

New season arrivals are in store now in Fenwick, Newcastle and York. Please call 0191 232 5100 for more information.

Catherine Newton is Head of Womenswear at Fenwick, Newcastle

JUL/AUG13

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THE F FACTOR

BEAUTY WATCH

Meet Mrs ‘me-time’

WITH VICTORIA LEES

FABULOUS AT 50 PLUS! When they say 50 is the new 40 they’re not kidding, I’m surrounded by colleagues, siblings and friends in this category who are running rings around me! Cycling the coast to coast, trekking up giant mountains and partying into the wee hours. We are no longer it seems defined by the date on our birth certificate, nor should we be. At 50 most women are finally comfortable in their skin, they know what style suits them and are willing to invest more time and money on themselves.

Through my work I have had the pleasure to advise many women entering their fifties on how to make the most of their skincare regimes and makeup look, from one to one consultation, to workshops and seminars.

HERE ARE MY TOP TIPS TO BE FAB AT 50 PLUS… Embrace your signature style, no doubt you will have some element in your makeup that is ‘just you’ a red lip or a sweep of eyeliner that you have worn for years. I’m all for not getting stuck in a rut but no one knows better than you what suits you. Experiment with new foundation and blusher textures (creamy are more dewy and flattering) but don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. If it looks good keep doing what you are doing.

If you are not doing so already, now is the time to add skincare serums and a great eye cream to your routine. Serums tend to be the powerhouses of skincare, containing the most potent ingredients, if I had to choose between an expensive moisturiser and no serum and a fantastic serum and a cheaper moisturiser I would go with the serum every time.

One size does not fit all when it comes to skincare, there are three main types of ageing: environmental (sun and pollution), hormonal (this can start to affect skin as young as 45) and genetic ageing (how did your parents age?).

Different skin concerns need a targeted approach. Most spas, salons and department store beauty counters will happily assess your skin and offer no-obligation advice on which regime will offer the most visible results for your individual needs.

Look a little deeper into nutrition - a great skincare regime can only do so much. Real beauty comes from the inside, what you eat, the supplements you take and your emotional self-care (stress levels).

The more you look after your health the more fabulous you will be!

Victoria is based at The Spa, Rockliffe Hall.

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Fed up at fifty, sluggish at sixty or even frightened by forty?

A no-holds-barred mid-life makeover could be a life-changer.

Tanya Wheway is the woman who makes it happen In her trademark hat, sharp linen suit and with lips glossed to perfection, Tanya Wheway is a pretty good advert for what she does.

She doesn’t walk, she glides; she stands tall, has a talent for listening and gives good eye contact. She is sussed but unthreatening.

A few minutes in her company and you think, yes, I’ll have what she’s on.

As a spa consultant Tanya, now 68, has pioneered some of the most famous spas in the world, bringing the very concept of wellness treatments and pampering to this country.

Yes, you have Tanya to thank for ‘me time’. She and her late husband Allan brought their brand of spa luxe to the world with the likes of Champneys and Sanctuary in London’s Covent Garden as well as spas across the world that became a template for the growth in the industry.

Now she is channelling her expertise into a lifecoach programme aimed at fiftysomethings and beyond who want to make the most of their ‘prime time’.

She is very well qualified to be doing it and brings a refreshing attitude to the thorny business of ageing. She is channelling the best bit of ageing – the ‘don’t care what anyone thinks’ attitude.

“We’re constantly hearing 60 is the new 40 or 70 is the new 50 and so we should find ourselves embracing life and learning to focus efforts on making the most of being in our prime.

“People like Helen Mirren, Judi Dench, Joan Collins – they are inspirational - I don’t like the idea that this age should be a ‘twilight’ period,” she says.

Tanya has plenty of life experience to draw on. She was top of her game in the spa industry and travelled the world as a consultant. But she’s seen the darker side of life too. As a child she came close to a nervous breakdown at just 12 and saw a psychiatrist. When she left school she went to the states and had to literally escape from a sweatshop job.

That was when she decided to move into the hotel business – and during her career she had two children and now has five grandchildren. She was married to her business partner Allan for 42 years and for six years they lived through his diagnosis of terminal cancer.

Since his death she has raised many thousands of pounds for the hospice where he was a patient – including doing a high ropes course and skydive.

All of which as ‘life experience’ make her well equipped to offer the new Fab@50+ course which she will be bringing to Rockliffe Hall in the autumn and new year.

She has already been running them at Champneys in Hertfordshire to great effect. They offer the ultimate five-day life-coach, ‘me-time’ re-evaluation programme which looks at your life in minute detail – from health to relationships, stress, well-being and support and guidance for positive change.

One of the testimonials from a participant sums it up: “I can’t express how I have blossomed since the programme. My lovely

sons thought for a while that their mother had gone quite mad – but in reality their mother has shown signs of being someone that she should have always been, just hidden by the horrible past that engulfed her.”

Says Tanya: “This can be an exciting period of your life. There is time for you – the children might have gone, you have more time for yourself, maybe more money – it is up to you to make this time exciting and fulfilling.

“No-one on their deathbed says they wish they spent more time at work – make your time pleasurable and productive. Time is precious so don’t be forced to do things because you feel guilty – choose to do what you do rather than being pulled along.

“Nothing is forever - children leave home, jobs are lost, you lose a partner, you age. Recognise it but let it go – and spend a few

minutes being grateful for what you do have.

“Fab@50+ is all about making the most of ourselves when we’re in the prime of our lives. There’s so much to focus on - health, relationships, appearance, stress management, nutrition and weight management, fitness and general well-being.”

The programme at Rockliffe won’t have you booking in for a skydive – though Tanya says it was one of the best experiences of her life and plans to do another soon – but it will be full of practical sessions.

Days will start with a physical movement ritual that can then be followed every day – to focus and energise. Lecture and workshops will cover stress management, positive mental attitude, and a programme for change. Everyone will get a written evaluation to follow after the programme and Tanya will follow this up three and six months later.

Liz Holmes, Rockliffe Hall’s Spa Director, adds: “Tanya’s name is synonymous with pioneering developments in the spa industry and we really believe Fab@50+ is a unique opportunity for this age group - indeed my own age group - to take part in events, days and breaks designed just for them by our experts, tailored to their exact needs with likeminded people.”

The five-day spa experience also includes three spa treatments and full use of the Rockliffe Spa throughout.

It runs 23-27 September and 27-31 January. £1,145 per person.

Email enquiries@rockliffehall.com or call 01325 729999.

JUL/AUG13

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SHAPE UP

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

What a feeling...

clean, beautifully polished teeth Recent legislation means that now you don’t need to be referred to a hygienist by a dentist and you are able to access this service as easily as booking a hair appointment. Keeping your teeth for life means that they need looking after and regular visits to a hygienist will enhance any health and beauty regime.

Bleeding gums, often the first sign of gum disease, is the biggest cause of adult tooth loss: it is an inflammation of the gums which eventually affects the bone which supports your teeth. Without regular or effective brushing techniques, plaque builds up and it is the bacteria in this plaque that attacks the gum, tooth and eventually the bone supporting the tooth.

The worst case scenario is that the tooth becomes loose, falls out or has to be extracted. Gum Disease may also impact on other medical conditions such as diabetes and heart disease

THE FOLLOWING ARE OFTEN INDICATIONS OF GUM DISEASE: • Your gums are red , swollen or tender • Your gums bleed during brushing or flossing • Your teeth look longer because your gums have receded • Your gums have pulled away from your teeth creating a pocket • You have noticed changes in the way your teeth come together when you bite • You have noticed pus coming from your gums • You have continual bad breath or a nasty taste in your mouth.

A hygienist can help prevent gum disease by showing you proper brushing and flossing techniques thus preventing the build-up of any plaque.

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SMOOTHIES

Bingo wings, moobs and ‘bridesmaid’s bulge’. A new machine claims to zap them into submission.

Kathryn Armstrong tests the hype

In the flab-zap zone The old adage ‘no pain, no gain’, has always seemed to ring true. Much as we long for an instant fix for our flabby skin woes, the reality is a simple one – get thee to the gym and kick the carbs into touch.

But a new machine which claims to be able to kick-start the slimdown process by zapping fat into submission is proving a hit with the people of the North East – whether it’s chaps who want to banish the beer belly or yummy mummies who want to be rid of the muffin-top or bingo wings.

Summer means skimpy gear and it’s the time when we all look in the mirror and spy the bulges.

After four treatments with the Med Contour machine at Jesmond’s Revamp Clinic I have 11cms less waist and tum. It has meant

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being able to wear a nice pair of Zara sale-buy trousers that were one of those ‘I’ll lose weight’ bargains.

That counts as a result for me. I can’t say I have become a slim thing because, I’m not, but as guinea pigs go, this one has shrunk a few centimetres per session.

It’s not painful, invasive or unpleasant. A treatment takes around an hour and starts with a suction pad being moved around lymph gland areas on your neck and lower stomach. This apparently stimulates the glands to do their work flushing out your fat.

After that it’s a feeling of your stomach (or whatever part you’re treating) being ‘ironed’ by the ultrasound machine, not at all painful, in fact quite relaxing. Easy.

Afterwards you’re supposed to drink two litres of water to keep the ‘flushing’ going.

It really is as simple as that.

The team at Revamp say they’ve had a lot of interest from men – those wanting their six-pack a bit more defined or to get rid of moobs – man boobs – or beer bellies. There have been examples of guys losing 18cms in a two-hour session!

James Wilde, director of Revamp sees it as a ‘kick start’ to a healthy regime.

“We’re not a beauty salon – this is about credibility. You can think of it as jumpstarting a new healthy living regime. It is a third us, a third the machine and a third the patient.

“You can have the treatment, go off and eat cakes then come back and have the treatment again but it is far better to use it as a trigger to a lifestyle change.

“We have seen amazing changes in people, with their confidence boosted and a new, healthier lifestyle.”

The Med Contour machine won ‘Best Non-Surgical Body Contouring’ at the annual Aesthetic Awards in the US and is being hailed in Britain as the ‘Summer Body’ treatment, because of its quick results that can trim inches of podge in just under an hour without having to resort to the scalpel.

Ideal for bellies, back rolls, muffin-tops and “bridesmaid’s bulge” (fatty bit in the armpit). It’s a solution for men and women who don’t need a body overhaul but who want to get at the bits that bug them.

MedContour treatment uses ultrasound and cavitation technology to break down fat cells in specifically targeted problem areas.

By concentrating the ultrasound directly and only on fat cells, skilled clinicians are able to use a vacuum pump to suck in tissue and maintain its position on the unique ultrasound handpiece head, to smooth and dramatically improve the body’s contours.

Dr Ravi Jain, one of the first people to offer

Ideal for beer bellies, back rolls, muffin-tops and ‘bridesmaid’s bulge’

the treatment in the UK says: “MedContour can be performed almost anywhere on the body and helps the body excrete fat cells, and after the recommended series of 4-6 treatments the results are long-lasting. In contrast to surgical liposuction there is no recovery time.”

Med Contour works with two adjustable, low-frequency ultrasounds, inclined at an angle of 10°. The two modules thus hit only the fat cells of the target area and avoiding any damage to the tissues underneath. The effect of the ultrasound is to ‘zap’ the fat cells starting the metabolic processes which lead to the body’s natural elimination of fat waste. To aid this, a lymph-drainage massage is carried out, which assists in the elimination of liquids through the lymph nodes.

The heat produced by the ultrasound also has the immediate effect of distending the skin, promoting collagen production and making the tissues appear rejuvenated and toned.

Says James: “It might mean defining your six-pack or just saying goodbye to sit-ups!”

MedContour sessions are £100 each or six for £500. 4-6 recommended. www.revampclinics.co.uk

JUL/AUG13

AESTHETIC TREATMENTS FOR FACE & BODY

We work hard to push boundaries to keep you looking younger • Platelet Rich Rejuvenation • Med Contour Ultrasound Lipo • Wrinkle Relaxing Injections • Dermal Fillers • Agera Rx Skin Peel Newcastle Clinic 4 Towers Avenue, Jesmond NEWCASTLE TEL 0191 2812636 info@revampclinics.co.uk

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COME FLY WITH ME

SLAP IT ON >> Daily Moisture Boost from Elemis, £29, for when the sun takes its toll.

HAND BAGGAGE ONLY? >> The people at Giorgio Fedon 1919 represent a ‘quiet beauty’ in their luxurious designs. The Italian designers produce beautiful durable cowhide leather bags.

Packed with a multitude of pockets and compartments for all your bits, a keeper this one. £493.99. www.julesb.co.uk

TRAVEL EASY WITH >> B&W P3 On-Ear Headphones. Foldable design and a hard-shell carry case, these headphones are ideal for your travels. Pads are made from heat-sensitive memory foam that mould to the shape of your ears and a remote/microphone attachment allows you to answer calls from your mobile phone if you need to work while travelling. £169.95, John Lewis

BOYS ON TOUR >> IN THE BAG >> Purple seersucker swimmies, £69, Ralph Lauren. www.houseoffraser.com

<< LIE BACK Gant’s Turkish beach towel, £36, John Lewis, Newcastle

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GARDEN HIDEAWAYS in association with

www.greatlook.co.uk

Playing out Outdoor rooms can be characterful, cheery or chilledout in style with vintage finds and country collectables.

Kathryn Armstrong gets some tips on ‘gardenalia’

64

In our flat-packed world, gardenalia is the quirky stuff that makes our outdoor space something different.

It’s all about injecting some fun into your flower beds and giving your outdoor space as much personality as you would any room indoors.

It might come about by delving into garages and old sheds to unearth grandma’s ancient deckchair with its now-faded cloth or displaying an abundance of pots on a battered set of wooden steps.

Whatever the find or the inspiration, it is about reconnecting with the past, says North Yorkshire-based author Sally Coulthard.

Her book Gardenalia explores how we can make gardens extensions of our own homes, injecting them with character that is over and above plant pot, soil and bulb.

“There’s more to gardening than plants,” she insists.

“We rely on all sorts of tools, containers and furniture to bring our garden dreams to reality.

“Rows of vintage tools, stacks of worn terracotta pots or a pretty shed with flaking paint are all visual treats which add to the overall impact of a garden. Nothing is too old, too shabby or too worn.

“In a flat-pack world, gardenalia helps us to be different.

As we dig away with an old wooden trowel, we’re reconnecting with our memories. It’s pure nostalgia.”

Creating relaxing spaces • The right configuration of outdoor furniture encourages a ‘shoes off, into the garden’ feel when you get home from work. Obviously a gin & tonic in hand works well too.

• Vintage chairs and benches are the perfect accompaniment. Using vintage and well-loved pieces gives you permission not to worry about scuffs and scratches – they are part of the charm.

• Well-worn upholstered loungers or bashed Lloyd Loom chairs looked great in-situ in a garden simply because they are not supposed to be there.

• Scour vintage stores, markets or second-hand shops for school benches or industrial tables – these will make seating for large groups.

• Church pews or antique benches will look fabulous scattered with plump cushions or a well-worn rug.

• Paint a selection of old chairs in pastel colours or off-white then cover cushions in different fabrics.

• If you’re going retro then salvage office chairs for a more industrial chic look and team with sixties prints and aluminium tables.

• Rivieria comes home in the form of bentwood chairs, wirework benches and striped fabrics.

• For a pared-down, recycled look, team distressed wood with neutral fabrics like sackcloth, calico, unbleached cotton or linen.

JUL/AUG13

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Keep it contained “For the time-pressed gardener, containers are a sneaky way of ringing the changes without much effort,” says Sally.

“A pot full of seasonal bulbs or spring blossom is like a well-chosen accessory, perfect for adding extra sparkle to an otherwise plain backdrop. There’s no quicker way to transform a stark flight of steps or a dull concrete terrace.

You don’t have to be a seasoned expert to make a success of container gardening. Almost anything will grow; herbs, salad, vegetables, flowers and shrubs as long as you provide the magic four ingredients: good drainage, light, water and food.”

• Reclaimed metal containers come in many different guises. Water butts, florists’ buckets, mixing bowls, baskets, cake tins and many other metal tins create a great display. >>

JUL/AUG13

Church pews or antique benches will look fabulous scattered with plump cushions or a well-worn rug

Illuminate you showering experience with this magnificent shower head with double waterfall feature. The waterproof remote control features a chromotherapy system allowing you change between 7 colour rotations. Other stunning shower systems available starting from £425.00.

Available to buy on line at www.thebathroomstudio.co.uk

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www.thebathroomstudio.co.uk 65

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“Now that’s a Wood Idea” Based in Blaydon, A WOOD IDEA are specialist suppliers of quality joinery products to retail and trade clients. We have an extensive range of hardwood flooring, doors, staircases & garden decking. A full installation service is available on all products.

A WOOD IDEA can also supply made to measure doors and frames. So if you have A WOOD IDEA, call into the showroom and see our range.

STEPPING UP IN STYLE

Staircases I Flooring I Doors I Decking www.awoodidea.com Unit 4, Blaydon Trade Park, Toll Bridge Road, Blaydon, Tyne & Wear. NE21 5TR

T 0191 414 1300 JUL/AUG13

F 0191 414 1306

A WOOD IDEA

GREAT IDEAS IN WOOD FLOORING & DOORS 67

DESIGN LUXE in association with

www.greatlook.co.uk

Colour pop cottage

Designer details make all the difference to this stylish holiday house restored by interior designer Dorothy Wightman The moment you step from gravel drive to stone-flagged porch taking in sage-coloured rattan furniture and muddy-hued paintwork, it is clear that Aikbank is about landscape – inside and out.

Hugged by gorse-covered fells, the view from every window is dominated by the towering and far-reaching landscape that typifies the surrounding Cumbria/Yorkshire borderland.

The craggy stone ‘top of the world’ fells are harsh and dramatic yet sit alongside the pretty country garden that surrounds the chocolate-box stone cottage.

The influences of the tones, colours and textures of the landscape outside are played out inside by interior designer Dorothy Wightman who made the house a very personal project.

“I bought the house so that my family would have a base in the country – they were brought up in the country and I wanted there to be somewhere for them to come back to at some point,” she says.

“It was a very personal project – I am used to working on a brief for other people but with this house I wanted to have some fun and be a little unexpected.”

The house nestles within a huddle of stone barns and outbuildings which ache with renovation potential themselves. From the front door you can climb Farleton Fell - or take a meander to The Plough, the posh local gastropub, at Kirkby Lonsdale. Away from it all, but nicely close to a gourmet supper and a glass of good burgundy.

Inside, the house is anything but the expected. Dorothy has had low, loungey sofas manufactured to fit the dimensions of the rooms and ensure there is masses of seating space in the house – which has five bedrooms and sleeps ten people.

Dorothy’s own workshop is a just a short drive from the house itself and is filled with gorgeous fabrics and

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accessories. Once you’re in Aikbank, it is impossible not to touch and feel the thick lined curtains, throws and cushions or have a peek at the very desirable labels which pop up here and there.

Everything is high-end. In the kitchen the voile curtains at the French window have the classic Mulberry logo in a subtle imprint. All the pots are Emma Bridgewater, radios are Roberts and the sound system Bose.

In the bathrooms pat down with Ralph Lauren towels after using toiletries from local company Bath House based in nearby Kirkby Lonsdale.

Oak floors flow through the house and at every turn there is a touch of the unexpected. In the kitchen – with its contemporary steel frame rattan chairs by Vincent Shepherd and chunky oak table there is a strikingly modern light fitting and a flash of colour with a bright pink Perspex splashback behind the range cooker. All this with a backdrop of more traditional hand-painted wooden kitchen units.

“I like colour and contrasts,” says Dorothy. “People are fed up with boring beige, cream and plain fabrics.”

She takes this ethos to the max with bold contrasts in the bedrooms for example. On beds with crisp white bedding there are Missoni wool throws with colours picked out for contrasting bright cushions in shocks of cerise, mustard and turquoise, for example.

There is attention to detail in lamps, local art on the walls, sculptures and ornaments. In the main sitting room within a beautiful stone fireplace there is a log burner and Porta Romana and William Yeoward lamps create a lovely ambience complemented by fabrics from Nina Campbell, Etro, Boussac and Etamine. Funky modern egg-chairs are designed as much for comfort as they are style.

The formal dining room is situated off the conservatory and leads on to the kitchen and living room. It has oak floors, William Yeoward, Elitis and Donghia fabrics, beautiful >>

JUL/AUG13

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Unique designer furniture on display • Kitchens • Bedrooms • Interior design service www.greatlook.co.uk

0191 4913836

10th Avenue West | Team Valley | Gateshead | NE11 0HL | Opposite Retail World JUL/AUG13

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SY_06-13_Layout 1 26/06/2013 18:51 Page 1

SELLING THE REGION’S

FINEST HOMES

RUNNYMEDE ROAD Darras Hall, Ponteland A magnificent modern mansion house with superb architectural design and occupying one of the most sought aer and impressive garden sites within Darras Hall. With luxury accommodation which includes four bedroom suites and four reception rooms, the house has been designed and finished to an extremely high standard with stunning international fittings, fixtures and furniture. e stunning, well landscaped grounds run down to the river and enjoy good screening and privacy.

Price Guide: £2.95 Million

HOLE HOUSE Dipton, Hexham Hole House is a highly impressive country residence within a beautiful setting and with an interesting historical background. Believed to date back to the 17th Century this very special and unique home has been refurbished to a high standard and has five double bedrooms and four reception rooms. It enjoys tremendous privacy within its private estate of some 62 acres and benefits from lovely formal gardens, grazing paddocks, a stable block with 9 loose boxes, and sporting rights.

Price Guide: £1.2 Million

From Sanderson Young

ALL CONFIDENTIAL ENQUIRIES TO 0191 223 3500 or email: duncan.young@sandersonyoung.co.uk

SELLING THE REGION’S

FINEST HOMES

STONELEA HOUSE Whalton A magnificent detached home situated on the edge of the highly desirable village of Whalton.

Stonelea House is a unique property which has been extensively renovated, refurbished and remodelled to an extremely high standard. is stunning house benefits from four double bedrooms, a fabulous open plan garden room and cocktail bar ideal for entertaining, and a superb kitchen with a Teppanyaki dining area.

Externally there is an entertainment area with timber deck, barbecue and hot tub.

Price Guide: £899,000

LINDEN ACRES Longhorsley, Morpeth Linden Acres is a beautiful stone built detached family home situated on this exclusive development, well supported by Linden Hall Country House Hotel and golf course. is luxury property has four bedrooms, three of which are en-suite and one of which has its own balcony, three reception rooms, a professionally fitted study, and a superb kitchen and breakfasting area. e gardens are lovely with lawned areas, beautiful borders, a stone terrace and patio, a fountain and large pond.

Price Guide: 725,000

From Sanderson Young

ALL CONFIDENTIAL ENQUIRIES TO 0191 223 3500 or email: duncan.young@sandersonyoung.co.uk

Fine & Country iPhone App Download the Fine & Country iPhone App today to browse some of the finest properties worldwide. Featuring our unique lifestyle video technology, stunning imagery and a ‘near you’ search facility.

Download it now at www finean countr co

local, regional, national and international specialists in property marketing BELLE VUE HOUSE, THE TERRACE SHOTLEY BRIDGE Belle Vue House is an exceptional family home offering substantial, luxury accommodation in a beautiful location. Recently renovated, it is packed with period features and contemporary additions that complement each other to create a property that is both full of character and stylishly presented. Enjoying an elevated position overlooking the rooftops of the village and beyond, the high quality interior combined with the location, offer a wonderful lifestyle. The lounge is a spectacular space benefiting from French doors leading out to a stone patio area for outdoor dining and up steps to the private garden beyond. The kitchen has superb bespoke modern country-style units, granite worktops, double Belfast sink, fitted appliances, range cooker and tile flooring. The original features throughout the property have been maintained and enhanced. The bedrooms are spacious, three of which boast en-suites. The garden is private and perfect for pets and children as well as family entertaining.

Contact: 0191 384 2277

LAMTON MILL HOUSE IVESTON LANE, CONSETT

£500,000

THE TOWERS WITTON LE WEAR COUNTY DURHAM

• Mill House at Iveston leaves you in no doubt of its countryside credentials.

• Deceptively spacious property with plenty to appeal.

• Approached via an electric gate which gives access to a shared cobbled courtyard.

• Ample parking for numerous vehicles.

• A delightful lawned garden to the rear which commands glorious rural views.

• EER C76

• A share of history wrapped up in a glamorous ground floor apartment • The three-bedroom property is safe and secure making it ideal for an array of Purchasers • Accessed via stone gate posts and a private drive • Through a 16th century doorway with heavy arched door and an intercom system • Central to the layout is a large with contemporary kitchen.

• EER C77

Contact: 0191 384 2277

£425,000 Contact: 0191 384 2277

Newcastle 0845 459 6000

Durham 0191 384 2277

Wynyard 01740 645 444

residing@fineandcountry.com

info@durhamfineandcountry.co.uk info@wynyardfineandcountry.co.uk residing@fineandcountry.com cumbria@fineandcountry.com

Tyne Valley 0845 459 6000

£299,000 Cumbria 0845 872 5453

Sales & Lettings North East creative and intelligent marketing of individual and country property

...300 offices worldwide HAMPTON HOUSE Maynards Grove, WYNYARD

Part-exchange considered. A life of luxury and of leisure beckons in this modern, open plan property created for a 21st century family in the exclusive location of Wynyard. No opportunity has been missed to provide the very highest quality in fittings and décor throughout, while the range of desirable features includes everything on the most demanding of wish lists. In an age of open plan living, Maynard Grove sets the standard with a fabulous kitchen, living and dining space linking to the garden and outdoor dining area through a choice of three sets of French doors. Leisure is given top priority.

There is a well designed gym with French doors to throw open for cooling down. A combined cinema and games room is the perfect escape for teenagers. The deluxe master suite is like stepping into a five star hotel room. In summary, Maynard Grove is a contemporary home of outstanding quality that offers the ultimate luxury living in a highly sought after area.

Contact: 01740 645 444

PARK AVENUE WYNYARD

£735,000

SPRING BANK WOOD, WYNYARD

• Park Avenue offers a superb family home.

• A unique and very attractive property with excellent kerb appeal

• An extremely pleasant position on the outskirts of the executive Wynyard development.

• Located on a very generous plot at the heart of Wynyard village

• The spacious master bedroom boasts fabulous en-suite facilities.

• Benefits from a detached double garage and block paved parking area.

• The outdoor space is pleasant and is easily maintained.

• The property offers a real home to enjoy whatever the season

• Paved driveway and double garage.

• Close to the village amenities and within easy reach of urban centres

• EER C73

• EER D67

Contact: 01740 645 444 Lakes 01539 733 500

Northumberland 0845 459 6000

sales@fineandcountry-lakes.co.ul

info@durhamfineandcountry.co.uk

£295,000 Contact: 01740 645 444

£349,000

www.fineandcountry.com Head office: 121 Park Lane, Mayfair, London WIK 7AG.

RIVIERA RETREAT

Keith Allan traces an Edwardian tour of Europe by train from Berwick to the Italian Riviera with some gourmet stop-offs on the way – and a very special picnic on board

Our room in the Miramare Hotel in Rapallo is the sort of billet an artist would like. For a start it looks out on the Ligurian sea. It also has a view of a little piazza with a stone bandstand and most mornings the whole place is brought to life by a fruit and vegetable market.

But this hotel has another claim to fame. It belongs to the legendary Dr Natale Rusconi. Legendary because in the world of top hotel keeping Rusconi is something of an icon thanks to his time at the Cipriani in Venice. For more than thirty years he was MD there and together with his boss James Sherwood helped develop the pioneering Orient Express group of hotels.

Now retired he comes to Rapallo with his wife Connie, where they have a flat on the top floor of the hotel, which his parents bought in 1939. Back then, just before the Second World War, the Riviera was still a vibrant winter destination for the British. It was a place to escape to, to get away from chilly old Britain where the fog and damp crept into your bones and the sight of the blue Mediterranean lifted the spirits.

So in April this year, towards the end of what was known as the winter season, my wife Lynne and I stepped on a train in Berwick and set off for Rapallo and its neighbour Santa Margherita on the Italian bit of the Riviera, sadly not with the prospect of spending a month or two there but for a few days only.

Our first night is spent in Paris, just as many a winter traveller to the Riviera would have done, at the Hotel Bristol.

We go shopping on the Rue du Faubourg St Honoré before returning to our beautiful suite in the rooftops overlooking the city. We can’t wait to go down to dinner in the Epicure restaurant headed by three-star Michelin chef Eric Frechon.

He takes the time to say hello and recommends one of his specialty dishes - a Bresse chicken poached in a bladder!

After four hours of gentle cooking it’s brought to the table with great pomp and the creamy coloured breasts carved from the bone and served with green asparagus, morels and crayfish. Tender, succulent and completely delicious we can only marvel at how a chicken gets to taste like that!

At Gare du Lyon the next morning our TGV for Milan will take seven hours. To help us get through it the Bristol has packed a picnic and the setting, a couple of hours into our

Room with this view journey, could not be more perfect. As the train snakes past pink-blossomed apple orchards and the towering ice-covered Alps we unpack our boxes of goodies. Lobster club sandwiches, asparagus, plenty of cheese and bread and, rather fittingly, a strawberry mousse topped with sweet Alpine strawberries decorated with gold leaf!

It makes for a seamless journey before laying our heads to rest again, this time at the Baglioni in the heart of this fashion crazy city. The hotel has its own private door on to the Via del Spiga a cobbled street packed with every designer shop you can think of. Italy is supposed to be in meltdown but there is no sign of it here.

By now we can almost smell the Riviera but not quite. We have another two-hour train journey before we fling open the French windows of our room at the Miramare in Santa Margherita to let an artist’s light flood in. The sea is daubed with it too. We head for the sea front and walk, arm in arm, to a tiny fish market, busy with local fishermen bringing their catch of shrimps and scampi, sea bream, squid, lobster and cuttle fish straight from their boats a few yards away on the dock. No sign of fish merchants here, just local residents snapping up the freshest of fish for supper that night.

Speaking of food, in typical Rusconi style he is waiting for us on our arrival in Rapallo. He’s booked a lovely table in the restaurant overlooking the sea and steers us through a special dinner – scampi fritti, pasta with wonderful pesto, green beans and potatoes, washed down with a couple of bottles of Vermentino.

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JUL/AUG13

RIVIERA RETREAT >> Luxe room with a view > dawn from the Miramare in Santa Margherita

The next morning we go walking. Rusconi is on ski sticks to help him with a niggly back but at 86 he is otherwise fit and well and we stride out towards the end of the bay, past umbrella pines leaning out over the walled gardens of old villas and ancient purple wisteria dangling in long chains.

“I do this most mornings before stopping off in a bar for a piece of foccacia and a machiato,” he tells me.

That evening we go further along the coast to Sestri Levante to call on an old friend. Guliano Piscina was a brilliant restaurant manager at the Splendido in Portofino where the rich and famous came to dine on the beautiful terrace restaurant. Piscina knew just how to deal with them but no matter who you were he had that special way of making you feel welcome.

Even so he had a nagging desire to run his own place so three years ago he opened Balin Cuisine. It’s a one-man band with Piscina not only doing the cooking but playing front of house as well. He’s particularly pleased to see the

Dottori, his old boss (Rusconi was vice-president of Orient Express Hotels). In between the talking we sip a refreshing Pigato, the local wine, and watch him get down to business in the see-through kitchen.

Talking and cooking is an acquired art. We start with freshly-caught scampi, simply grilled with rosemary, a little olive oil and garlic. Next a pan full of prawns are sautéed with thyme and accompanied by a sauce made with fish stock and fresh ginger. All delicious. A Royal sea bream is filleted before our eyes and cuts of Tuscan white beef are waiting to go on the stove. There’s pasta too, “the same as the Pope eats,” Piscina calls out with a laugh, in a lovely nutty sauce. And to finish, a rich chocolate pudding.

“Everything okay Dottori?” chef Piscina calls out from the kitchen.

Rusconi, who has lived his entire life around hotels and restaurants, is over the moon and that’s when we realise the Riviera in winter is the place to be.

Michelin chef Eric Frechon recommends one of his specialty dishes - a Bresse chicken poached in a bladder!

JUL/AUG13

Keith and Lynne Allan run the Restoration Coffee Shop as part of the Old Dairy in Ford (opposite Ford Castle). They specialise in artisan roast coffee, freshly baked scones, cakes and Lady Waterford’s jams and marmalades.

Open Wednesday – Sunday, 11am – 5pm. Tel: 01890 820325/01289 302658. www.theolddairyinford.co.uk

FAC TS>> • Keith Allan travelled to the Riviera with East Coast trains (www.eastcoast.co.uk) and Rail Europe (www.raileurope.co.uk) Hotel Bristol, 112 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris, Tel: + 33 (0)1 53 43 43 00 www.lhw.com • The Carlton Hotel Baglioni, 5 Via Senato, 20121 Milan, Tel: +39 02 77077 www.lhw.com • Miramare Hotel, Via Milite Ignoto 30 - 16038 Santa Margherita, Ligure. Tel +39 0185 287013 www.grandhotelmiramare.it • Miramare, Lungomare Vittorio Veneto 27, 16035 Rapallo www.miramare-hotel.it • Balin Cuisine, Viale Rimembranza, 33 Sestri Levante, Liguria, Italy. Tel: +39 (0)185 44397 www.facebook.com/pages/Balin-Cuisine

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UP THE ROAD

Tourist in your own town...

Yes, you’ve seen the cathedral and done the river walk. But take a bit of time to linger in Durham and unearth a few more secrets

Lay your head > Durham’s RadissonBlu right by the river has an airy and modern feel to it. Take the lift to the top and settle yourself into one of the penthouse suites with their mighty fine views of a Durham skyline that’s so familiar we might sometimes overlook it. On Friday evenings the hotel’s Latin-themed bar is a place for a prosecco to start the weekend. Stay on and linger over tasty Italian dishes with a rustic feel – dive into Sardinian flatbreads and beef slow-cooked in red wine.

Expert risotto on the menu too.

Pamper time > Radisson hotel’s Lime House Spa and pool is something of a hidden gem in the city. The spa uses the exclusive Priori products and there are some nice spa deals that offer up a good value treat.

We like the sound of Twilight Spa 5-10pm, Tuesday to Friday. Ultimate after-work indulgence. Use the pool, have a sauna, steam or Jacuzzi. The treatment package consists of a back massage, facial and foot or scalp massage. A two-course meal in Filini restaurant is included as an indulgent finish to a relaxing evening, £75 per person. www.radissonblu.co.uk/hotel-durham Feed your need > Zen, a buzzy hang-out with outdoor space complete with rugs for an Asian food fix. Great curries and sharing plates, especially the lamb massaman. www.zendurham.co.uk Pack your picnic for the river walk at Mediterranean bakery-cafe Ciao Ciao’s where Greek foods are a speciality. Delicious little almond or honey biscuits, baklava and feta pie – known as spanakopita in Greece. Layers of filo pastry filled with spinach and feta. 3 Framwellgate Bridge www.ciao-ciao.co.uk Best bet for a cheeky mid-week lunch - Bistro 21 at Aykley Heads. Worth hunting down for a fine, seasonal French-influenced prix-fixe lunch. Fishcakes with buttered spinach and chips take some beating.

Express menu, two courses, £15.50. www.bistrotwentyone.co.uk Linger at > Medieval Crook Hall. A city centre hideaway where afternoon tea on the lawn is an elegant treat. See the Jacobean drawing room, turret and gallery, four acres of gardens, moat pool and a maze. The hall is said to be haunted by the White Lady. Ruskin and Wordsworth visited Crook Hall in the 1800s. Described as ‘a tapestry of colourful blooms’ by Alan Titchmarsh. www.crookhallgardens.co.uk

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For four nights in November the city will be spectacularly lit for the Lumiere festival, a mustvisit and memorable event

>> Dine in style at RadissonBlu Hotel’s Filini bar and restaurant or take afternoon tea at Crook Hall, left. >> Rooftop view of the city - one of the penthouse suites at RadissonBlu

Take a spectacular drive > Known locally as Stainmore Gap, the A66 climbs steadily over the high heather moorland along the southern edge of the Durham Dales. Fabulous scenery.

Truly awesome > For four nights in November Lumiere will see Durham transformed by a series of light installations and projections from leading artists. Explore a dazzling nocturnal landscape of the city. Familiar and forgotten features and spaces will be given a new life as they become the subject or background for illuminations and projections. www.lumiere-festival.com The must-see match > The eyes of the sporting world will be on Durham this summer as the Emirates Durham International Cricket Ground in Chester-leStreet hosts its first Investec Ashes Test Match England v Australia. It promises to be the most exciting five days of cricket from 9-13 August.

Durham Gospels > The Lindisfarne Gospels. Summer’s biggie - the exhibition is a contemporary interpretation of the North’s most enduring story, the tale of St Cuthbert and one of the world’s greatest books - its creation, its journey, its influence around the world and symbolism for the people of the North East. The centrepiece is a selection of Cuthbert’s treasures including his sapphire ring, jewelled cross and travelling altar. www.lindisfarnegospels.com

JUL/AUG13

HILLTOP HEAVEN

GLITZY DAYS Hip hotels with Debrah Dhugga A year in Provence would be nice but Deb settles for a cracking few days in this mountain-top hideaway

Fine wines, great food, bubbles flowing. Add an amazing location, stunning views and you’ve pretty much got Provencal perfection. This is one of the most stunning properties I have visited for a long time.

It is definitely one special place. Perfect I’d say for a declaration of love, be that a proposal, anniversary or just because you’re worth it!

CRILLON LE BRAVE, PROVENCE >> In a small hill village about 25 miles north east of Avignon in the heart of Provence you will find this magical hotel.

WHO GOES THERE? >> Crillon le Brave, the luxury hillside retreat boasts incredible views overlooking the area and is fantastic for couples, honeymooners and foodies, trying to relax in style. Guests are a nice mix of well-travelled Europeans, Americans and French. Crillon le Brave would also be lovely for a mothers and daughters weekend away or a trip for just the girls.

I plan to go back and take Lauren my daughter with me as a break from her final year studying medicine - perfect girls’ retreat!

WHAT TO DO >> The location of Crillon le Brave lends itself well to some beautiful hillside walks, hikes, cycle routes and horseback riding, local tennis courts and golf is available nearby.

The area is renowned for very serious cyclers, and Mont Ventoux is a two-hour cycle ride uphill from the hotel (depending how strong of a cyclist you are! I was not great, it’s hard work). Just get yourself a yellow jersey and head off. The hotel offers top-of-the-range mountain bicycles to all guests free of charge and a lot of guests arrive with their own road bikes.

A boules court is a fun way of getting to grips with this favourite French pastime, a more sedate sport and for those wishing to explore the local area, there are a number of lovely walking and running routes nearby the hotel. There are over 30 vineyards nearby, so wine and cheese tasting is a very popular activity for guests. There is also a very sweet (but small) mini-spa at the hotel, with signature treatments such as the Head over Heels in Provence full-body massage, using local oils.

On Saturday and Sunday there is a highly regarded local antique market in the village of L’Isle sur la Sorgue, about half an hour’s drive away, where you can buy a variety of

There are over 30 vineyards nearby, so wine and cheese tasting is a very popular activity for guests - or serious cyclists take a bike up a hill!

antique furniture, art, ceramics, jewellery, glassware and knick-knacks.

WHAT IS THE HOTEL’S USP? >> Crillon le Brave offers truffle hunting courses twice a year (March and November), which is great fun for guests. Guests will go with

THE FACTS >> Travel: By air, the main options are Avignon, Marseille and Nîmes, and further away, Nice and Lyon. Of these, Marseille has the most daily flights including Air France, British Airways, Easyjet, Ryanair, and Aer Lingus. By train, the Avignon TGV station is less than an hour away from the hotel.

Rates: Nightly rates at Crillon le Brave are less expensive than you’d think. €140pp/£119 based on two sharing in low season, including breakfast.

To book, email reservations@crillonlebrave.com, or telephone +33 (04) 90 65 61 61.

Address: Hôtel Crillon le Brave, place de L’église 84410 Crillon le Brave France Website: www.crillonlebrave.com

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a local truffle expert and a dog into the woods to find both white and black truffles, which they will then learn how to prepare in the kitchen.

The three-day truffle hunting programme includes four great events: truffle hunting with Eric Jaumard, Provence’s truffier extraordinaire, a wine visit and tasting at one of Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s nearby estates, a truffle cooking demonstration with the chef and a visit to Provence’s antique capital Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. All events are run in English with small group sizes.

Another USP is the hotel’s large aqua marine pool with stunning views overlooking the area.

WHAT’S NEW AT CRILLON LE BRAVE? >> Jérôme Blanchet is new head chef at the hotel’s gastronomic restaurant, and newly opened Bistrot 40K. Bistrot 40K, which

officially opened its doors in May, takes its name from its menu; only featuring produce sourced within 40km of the hotel. With local vineyards including wines such as Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and some of the tastiest meat, fish, vegetables and grains from some of the best small producers in the local area, under the guidance of Jérôme Blanchet, the bistrot offers high-quality, fresh produce cooked to an exceptional standard.

La Grange bar and terrace at the hotel offers guests a laid-back rural environment for breakfast, lunch and drinks. Dinner is served on the terrace at Crillon le Brave’s gastronomic restaurant, overlooking Mont Ventoux during the spring and summer months. Those dining at Bistrot 40K on a clear night will actually be able to see the twinkling lights of villages below where the food on their tables is produced.

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CUDDLE UP Luxe nappy bag >> Firenze Leather Organisation Baby Bag by Pacapod, £265 www.blossommotherandchild.com

Snuggly >> Baby Joules blanket, £30, Fenwick Newcastle

Sweet feet >> Ruby and Ed Baby sheepskin booties and sheep, £27.50, www.giftatelier.com

For very best >> George Bronze brogue baby shoes, £95, www.vevian.co.uk

Cute kit >> Marie Chantal Baby Come Home Set - £195 www.gift-library.com

Buy buy baby

The royal baby arrives any day... Imogen Nicholson goes shopping for a luxe pick-of-the-treats in store New Baby Girl Card >> A 50-50 punt, £3.50 www.madwithlovedesigns.co.uk Classic >> Chloe Childrenswear cream bloomer dress, £173.99 www.psyche.co.uk

Born with a >> Personalised silver spoon, £72, www.poshtottydesigns.com

Luxe lounging >> Bloom Coco Stylewood baby bouncer, £140 www.lulasapphire.com

Hug me >> Thomas Bear, £30, www.thewhitecompany.com

Princess perfect >> Royal babygrow, £19.95, www.joules.com

Super cool seat >> Bloom Mercury Fresco high chair, £470, www.lulasapphire.com

Hair to the throne >> The Silver Collection baby brush and comb set, £295 www.gift-library.com

A cool ride >> Bugaboo Andy Warhol pram, £948, Fenwick Newcastle

Designer babe>> Little Marc Jacobs babygrow, hat, bib and shoe set, £78.99 www.psyche.co.uk

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JUL/AUG13

SPARKLY XXXXXXXX FUN

HELLO! with Nina Robinson

The big people at luxe have decided to give us little people a space of our own

>> Molo green dragonfly Joshlyn tank top

Even the most regular readers of my column might not know this but it’s been HUGE news in our house. I am now five. I’m now old enough to have my own travel card and start Klick – a club down the street for really big little girls and boys. I’m still not quite big enough to want to go three times in a row because I miss home too much in those 90 minutes but I think mum is secretly pleased about this. My fifth birthday was a very sparkly occasion and some very special guests came to my house to help me celebrate. The Glitter Fairy and her fairy helper fluttered in to sprinkle some magic on me and my friends at my very own fairy party. There were lots of crafts and wand-making, bubble blowing, a wishing tree, candy shop, cup cakes and best of all – GLITTER TATTOOS! We all got to create our own sparkly design with the Glitter Fairy who carefully painted them onto our arms. Magic! Then we danced and bounced till every surface in the house was sparkly and my dog started sneezing glitter!

Mum said she was happy to do the Hoovering after this party because the Glitter Fairy had done everything else from entertaining to baking! The perfect house guest she said. If you need a bit of fairy magic you can find her here www.kirstenlappingdesigns.com I’m now five years-old and three weeks and two days and I’m still wearing my glitter tattoo with pride!

Here are a few pictures from my special day.

Love, little luxe x

>> Molo flying machines Jim tank top

>> Molo cherry blossom Joshlyn tank top

Nina loves Molo

>> Molo kite rider Jim tank top

The grown-ups are always saying that all things Scandinavian seem to be brilliant right now.

Crime novels, television series, furniture, fashion... Just look at what they can do with a simple tank top! I love this Danish brand Molo – their prints are so bright, bold and a bit funny All priced £19.99, from nordickids.co.uk

Nina:loves Edinburgh Zoo

Penguin parades, panda pondering and a play date with Barbie and the squirrel monkeys – what a brilliant day I had recently at Edinburgh Zoo! The animals did such funny things and my tummy ached from giggling.

The waddling penguins, the yawning pandas, the squabbling chimps and real meerkats who don’t try to sell you insurance – there were surprises around every corner. The highlight of the trip was definitely the squirrel monkey enclosure where dozens of the fluffy little fellas came scrambling to the window to see my Barbie doll through the glass!

JUL/AUG13

Nina’s: diary 7-12 SEPTEMBER >> THE BRITISH SCIENCE FESTIVAL various venues Newcastle Calling all families! Get your sleeping bags, cameras and notebooks at the ready and prepare to be amazed – the British Science Festival is on its way!

If you like your family weekends to be funpacked and fact-packed be sure to make a bee-line to Newcastle on the weekend of 7 and 8 September when Europe’s biggest celebration of science kicks off with an entire weekend dedicated to entertaining and educating families.

From science sleepovers and superheroes to freaky food of the future and even the evolutionary history of teddy bears – there will be something to intrigue all members of your clan.

In a sleepover with a difference, little people and their parents can camp overnight as part of a real night at the museum. Looking at the science behind, around and in-between bedtime and getting-up time, little luxes will find out why we need sleep, why we dream and can enjoy exploring the museum long after everyone else has left.

Hosts Newcastle University and associated partners Northumbria University will throw open their doors to give families a behindthe-scenes look at some of the science they are busy working on. There’ll be loads to get stuck into and learn about – everything from bacteria and poisons to electronics and ageing, and even why your fingers go wrinkly in the bath!

There will be activity across the city at venues including the Centre for Life, Discovery Museum, Great North Museum and City Library.

Lots of events over the six-day festival will be drop-in activities but booking will be necessary for some sessions. Book from July www.britishsciencefestival.org

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XXXXXXXX DREAM GREENS

golf:kit

Six of the most iconic tee-offs in the world…

TURNBERRY, AYRSHIRE, SCOTLAND USP > Famous for its views as much as the golf course, the magnificent Ayrshire resort – with its iconic lighthouse and the imposing sight of Ailsa Craig – is rightly regarded as one of the world’s best. The 1977 Open – nicknamed Duel in the Sun and played out over the Ailsa links – saw Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson go toe-to-toe and remains one of sport’s greatest battles.

Fear Factor > By no means as tough as some of the other Open courses, Turnberry is eminently playable for the average golfer, although the tee shot on both 9 and 10 – with rocks and crashing waves - will test your nerve.

Celeb Quota: From Bill Clinton and Jack Nicholson to Luciano Pavarotti and Prince Andrew, the glamour of Turnberry continues to attract the world’s stars.

Try for yourself: 1 night’s bed & breakfast and 2 rounds of golf (1 round Ailsa & 1 round Kintyre Course) costs from £395 per person in August, a saving of £90. Golf can be exchanged for £155 worth of spa treatments.

PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA, USA

SAADIYAT BEACH, ABU DHABI USP: One of the world’s best new courses, what Gary Player has achieved in creating a seemingly authentic links in the Persian Gulf is truly amazing.

Huge bunkers, waste areas and sweeping fairways – not to mention stunning ocean views - make a round at Saadiyat Beach a memorable one.

Fear Factor: With no fewer than five teeing options this is a course that can be enjoyed by golfers of all standards. It also has one of the finest practice grounds in the world, complete with a fairway bunker that replicates shots you’ll face on the course.

Celeb Quota: With Abu Dhabi heavily involved in global sports, stars of football, tennis, rugby and F1 are often spotted at Saadiyat. Along with the course designer, Gary Player, who regularly visits to keep an eye on one of his favourite designs.

Try for yourself: 5 nights' bed & breakfast and 3 rounds of golf (Yas Links, Saadiyat Beach Golf Course, Abu Dhabi Golf Course) costs from £399 in September or October. Price includes buggies and range balls.

VALDERRAMA, SPAIN

USP: Europe’s No.1 course for the best part of 20 years, a day at Valderrama – in upmarket Sotogrande - is one of the most indulgent golf breaks you can imagine. Venue for the 1997 Ryder Cup, the course is beautifully manicured.

Fear Factor: The legendary par-5 17th has been the scene of much drama over the years, with the water in front of the green claiming many a victim. Take it on at your peril.

Celeb Quota: North East native Michael Carrick, of Manchester United and England, has a holiday home in the area and isn’t averse to the odd round of golf.

Try for yourself: 3 nights' bed & breakfast at the Hotel Almenara, 3 rounds of golf (1 on Valderrama, 2 on Almenara) costs from £375 in September. Exclusive to Golfbreaks.com

USP: One of the world’s most jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring golf courses, Pebble Beach is America’s answer to St Andrews. A Championship venue (5 times host of the US Open) on the stunning Monterey Peninsula, it’s open for play to anybody willing to pony up the massive $500 green fee.

Fear Factor: Playing at this golfing cathedral is an emotional experience that can overwhelm golfers, not least at the spectacular clifftop holes from 6-9, a run that includes the iconic par-3 7th.

Celeb Quota: Michael Jordan famously books out several teetimes in front and behind his own at a cost of more than £10,000 – all to ensure to his round is not disturbed!

Try for yourself: 5 nights’ room only at The Inn at Spanish Bay and three rounds of golf (Pebble Beach Golf Links, The Links at Spanish Bay, Del Monte Golf Course) costs from £1779 in July or August. Includes buggies, a $50 per room per night dining credit and a free round on the Links at Spanish Bay.

MONTGOMERIE MAXX, BELEK, TURKEY USP: One of a new breed of magnificent courses to have opened in Belek, Turkey, a country that’s been one of golf’s best-kept secrets for a few years now.

Fear Factor: The Montgomerie is a very strategic course that rewards good play rather than simply raw power. Weaving its way through the forest, a venue that demands accuracy.

Celeb Quota: Visit the MAXX in early November and you’ll find Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood taking on Monty’s course in the European Tour event in Turkey.

Try for yourself: 7 nights’ all inclusive at Maxx Royal and 4 rounds of golf costs from £699, December-February.

FANCOURT, SOUTH AFRICA USP: The ultimate getaway. Set at the foot of the imposing Outeniqua Mountains, the links course only opened in 2000 but within a few years had hosted the President Cup, with the world’s leading players unanimous in their praise for a course with classic links layouts of Great Britain and Ireland.

Fear Factor: The Par-3 17th, is often compared to the infamous 12th hole at Augusta National. With water to clear and bunkers to avoid this beautiful hole can also be deadly.

Celeb Quota: Open Champion Ernie Els is closely associated with Fancourt as are Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace.

Try for yourself: 7 nights’ b&b at the Fancourt Hotel & Golf Estate and 3 rounds of golf costs from £925 in October.

Includes free additional round or a dinner voucher.

ALL PACKAGES FEATURED ARE AVAILABLE FROM GOLFBREAKS.COM 0800 279 7988 OR WWW.GOLFBREAKS.COM 86

JUL/AUG13

LUXE LIFE

CAROL MALIA Carol Malia has presented the BBC’s regional news programme, Look North, from its Newcastle studio for 16 years. Originally from Cullercoats, Carol now lives near Corbridge in Northumberland with husband, Gary and their two children, Anna and Nicholas LUXE PEOPLE >> My mum and dad and children.

LUXE PLACES >> For a weekend > The Lake District. We love the Lakes, and for us it is the perfect local getaway with big skies, exercise, fresh air and good beer.

A long holiday > Australia. I fell in love with Sydney when I was on a sabbatical at the age of 30. It’s just a great, colourful vibrant city but not so big that you feel intimidated by it. I would love to be able to travel to work by boat, too.

A treat > An evening off from the kids for us means a gym or swim session at Matfen Hall, followed by dinner at the Angel in Corbridge or our local, the Duke of Wellington in Newton. We always bump into friends and it turns into a nice relaxed social occasion.

RELAX >> Best food > I love a great big, varied salad with lots of tasty titbits such as croutons and chopped mango. I’ve recently really started to enjoy celeriac with parsley and white wine vinegar too – so tangy.

Best wine > I like a lot of different tastes and sometimes it depends on the season. But for me, even though it’s out of fashion, I still love Chardonnay. Just a straight-forward Villa Maria is all I need.

Favourite restaurant > We once found a little understated café/bar on the shores of Lake Garda which served the best tomato soup I have ever tasted in my life. I ordered two bowls and had it for three nights running. The café was moody and had a discreet view of the lake. Just perfection.

Close to home, for value, taste and great service we head for Paradiso in Newcastle.

Perfect weekend > A full day walking in the Cheviot Hills, a picnic on the top, followed by a night in Edinburgh at a spa hotel (we’ve just booked the Sheraton for a treat), with dinner at the Timberyard. Top that off with a day shopping and a glass of champagne on the train home and that’s bliss.

Downtime means > Time with the children on bike rides or dog walks. I love those weekends where nothing is planned and you can have pyjama mornings. I love strolls down the country lane to the local for coffee on its terrace, which is perfectly angled to catch the sun throughout the year. If I’m alone, having a coffee in Jesmond with a friend or a good book is akin to a spiritual experience for me.

Best telly > I really was absorbed by the recent BBC series, Ripper Street. I thought it was very stylishly lit and filmed.

The three main characters are so strong and likeable too.

Best book > A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini is heartrending and made me donate to the charity which attempts to stop oppression and violence against women at the hands of the Taliban. I found myself in tears even in my sleep after reading certain chapters of this book. If you ever feel your life is a bit crap – read this.

Best sounds – Mumford and Sons are constantly playing in my house at the moment. Even when I’m out walking I put them on and it picks up my stride. I love the raw, sawdust on the floor sound. If I am feeling nostalgic I put on Roxy Music’s Avalon, which is great for walking on a windswept beach.

LUXE SHOP >> Luxe shop > I recently bought a selection of local cheeses from the new David Kennedy shop under his restaurant at Vallum Farm, near Matfen. They were so delicious everyone

JUL/AUG13

wanted to know the detail of each one – so I was glad the woman who had served me was so well briefed. They have very delicate ranges of Scandinavian crispbreads and tea blends, it’s all very more-ish.

Retail treat > A glass of champagne at the end of a long day at work or shopping in Newcastle, at the Malmaison.

Best buy > A virtually floor-length brown tailored coat with a high cut collar and long, nipped in lines I bought from the Conservatory in Jesmond five years ago. I still adore it and you wouldn’t believe how warm it is.

LUXE PARTY >> A memorable night out > We were in the privileged position for a few years running to be able to travel to Verbier in Switzerland, thanks to the generosity of a friend, and celebrate New Year there. I couldn’t single out one of those nights as the most memorable as they were all remarkable. I do recall two paragliders flying in the pitch black above our heads into the village square, which was alight with fireworks – and thinking that would never happen in

England with our health and safety rules.

Perfect party > A friends’ recent civil ceremony in North Shields was brilliant. Their ceremony was held in a room overlooking the Tyne and reception afterwards was a fantastic blend of interesting people with intriguing backgrounds. There’s nothing better than being at a wedding when you know the couple are just meant to be together. When the wine had been flowing for a while, we slouched round a table for two hours playing a “lyrics from the 80s” competition – which got quite heated and then headed off outside to see the sunset.

Best dress > An oyster satin and black lace Karen Millen dress which just seems to fit all sorts of occasions and never dates. It’s so well cut, it’s even stayed with me post-pregnancy. I did buy matching shoes with lethal heels but I have to be feeling uber-confident to wear them.

Dinner date > I should say something very worthy here but just for aesthetics it would have to be David Tennant or Gerard Butler – he has the most amazing Irish twinkle in those blue eyes.

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STAR MOTORS

We’re stirred… not shaken

Aston Martin is synonymous with James Bond films, but another vehicle making rapid inroads as 007’s chosen mode of transport is the Range Rover.

The new Range Rover Vogue appeared earlier this year… it’s enormous… but its ‘little’ brother, the Range Rover Sport has just been unveiled. And we were there.

The outgoing model has been a massive success for Land Rover, so tinkering with it was always going to be a dangerous thing to do.

The top bods at Land Rover can breathe a sigh of relief. It’s utterly brilliant.

The word ‘Sport’ in the Range Rover name has always been a bit of an oddity. The vehicle isn’t actually very sporty. Okay, it handles well and has excellent performance, but if you are looking for a sporty sort of drive, you’ll be disappointed. The ugly Porsche Cayenne does a better job of that.

However, the vast majority of Range Rover Sport owners want a vehicle that’s imposing, comfortable, refined and good to drive. You can put a big tick next to all of those requirements.

In terms of styling, there’s a look of grown-up Evoque about the new Sport, especially the hind quarters. The interior oozes quality with neat touches scattered around the cabin.

At launch, the new Rangy Sport will have a 288bhp 3.0 litre V6 diesel and a stonking 5.0-litre V8 petrol which develops over

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Expensive but worth it - a bit like Daniel Craig. This car’s the star with its sprinkling of stardust 500bhp. Early next year an entry level, 255bhp V6 diesel will be added, closely followed by a hybrid which will appeal to those Range Rover owners who rarely venture much further than between home and the public school gates.

Prices for the current vehicles start at a whisker under £60,000. Next year’s entry level TDV6 will start at about £51,500.

I never cease to be amazed by the performance of these big cars. Go from 0-60 in the 288bhp diesel in 7.2 seconds, while the 5.0 petrol takes only 5.3 seconds, although it feels quicker. Top speed ranges from 138 - 155mph.

Economy has improved from the outgoing model mainly due to engineering tweaks and shaving a hefty chunk from the vehicle’s

weight. The biggest seller will be the TDV6; this will get close to 40mpg if you go easily.

Needless to say that the 5.0 V8 petrol will struggle to reach the 20mpg on a good day, downhill with a following wind. The ride is silky smooth and the auto box glides through the gears.

Stunning car. Expensive but worth it. Land Rover has another hit on its hands.

JUL/AUG13

LUXE LAPS

KASIM MALIK Thirty-two-year-old entrepreneur Kasim Malik is owner of North East computer retailer, COMPUTER orBIT and founder of newly-launched carflash.com – a global social networking site dedicated to cars and car enthusiasts. Kasim lives in Gosforth with his wife Tehseen.

With a life-long passion for supercars and a growing collection, the idea behind carflash.com was born.

FIRST LOVE >> My first love was my BMW M3. I saved up hard to get it and within a few years I noticed I had set the bar pretty high amongst family and friends. It is nice to have something to aspire to and when you get it, the feeling is incredible.

CHILDHOOD CAR CRUSH >> I always loved Bumblebee from Transformers, especially the current Camaro. It definitely had the ‘wow’ factor and was so different, it started my passion of admiring unique and individual cars.

CAPT SLOW OR JEREMY >> Jeremy without a doubt! My current car is reasonably powerful. If you have a car like that there is no point in being Captain Slow.

However, safety is important to me so that is a big factor on where and when I choose to see what she can do.

IN THE GARAGE NOW >> I love my cars so I am building up quite a collection. I have a yellow BMW 1M, a white Audi S3 and my wife drives a black BMW M3 convertible. My dream is to add a Lamborghini to the list but my next car will probably be something along the lines of a BMW M5 or Mercedes C63 AMG. IF YOU COULD OWN ANYTHING >> A yellow Lamborghini Aventador or Ferrari California – I have always liked yellow so my

supercar would have to be yellow.

ROAD TRIP >> I would love to do the European Gumball Rally and drive all over Europe with other car enthusiasts. You cover around 3000 miles in convoy with other people with a passion for luxury supercars.

WHO WITH >> It is not really my wife’s idea of a holiday so I would take my friend Wak who shares my passion for cars and my brother Hashim, who is a bit of a comedian so he would keep us entertained.

TRACKS OF YOUR TYRES >> I drive everywhere and anywhere as much as I can so I clock up a lot of miles. I love going for a drive and listening to Tinie Tempah or anything with a good beat. Uplifting ‘feel good’ music to enjoy on a long drive is pure escapism for me. A good sound system in any car is key so I can blast my music whilst driving – without annoying the neighbours.

HOW CLEAN IS YOUR CAR >> My car is immaculate. I hate mess and it gets valeted all of the time. I love my cars so they have to be pristine. I cannot stand anything loose in the car – everything has a place.

WHAT’S IN YOUR GLOVE BOX >> I hate clutter even in my glove box so I only have the essentials in there. I have

sunglasses and sweets, although only I am allowed to eat sweets in my car! I don’t even have CDs in the glove box – all of my music is on a small USB stick.

the fact that the car (a Rover) half belonged to my auntie made me more conscious about not getting hit as she would probably have killed me instead (laughs).

SCARY MOMENTS >> The first time that I went onto a motorway after passing my test, a tyre exploded on the truck next to me. It made such a loud bang and debris went flying all over the road. I had to swerve to miss it. I was only 18 and my brother and sisters were in the car with me so we were all quite shaken up. I think

COULD YOU BE THE STIG >> I would love to be the Stig. Who wouldn’t?

Racing cars for a living is like a dream job for me and getting to put some of those supercars through their paces would be incredible. www.carflash.com

BMW i

The Ultimate Driving Machine

THE ATMOSPHERE IS ELECTRIC. BMW i AT LLOYD NEWCASTLE.

BMW electric vehicles will soon become reality and we are delighted to announce that Lloyd Newcastle has been appointed as an official BMW i Agent. This means you will be able to buy BMW i models from us in the future and also have them serviced here.

To be one of the first to test drive* a BMW i vehicle and keep up to date on the latest news and developments, register your interest at www.lloydnewcastlebmw.co.uk. In the meantime, please call us on 0191 261 7366 with any questions you may have.

BMW i. BECOME ELECTRIC. Lloyd Newcastle

To learn more about the exciting new technology behind BMW i, why not download the BMW i App – available for both Apple and Android devices.

Fenham Barracks, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear NE2 4LE 0191 261 7366 www.lloydnewcastlebmw.co.uk *Test drive subject to applicant status and availability.

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FLYING COLOURS

New Bentley wins its spurs

Graham Courtney gets his peaked cap out to play Parker in his very grown-up Bentley Continental

Last year I played the role of Parker while my wife was Lady Penelope. I had the pleasure of a Bentley Continental Flyer Spurs Speed Six. Bit of a mouthful but, in a nutshell, it was the baby Bentley saloon. I drove; she sat in the back and waved

graciously to anyone who bothered to look.

Great car, wonderful to sit in, lovely muffled growl from the engine but, at the end of the day, it was a bit underwhelming to drive. We don’t all have chauffeurs and sit in the back reading the FT. The new model sorts that. It’s got better performance, can cope with being thrown

around and has a new engine with delivers a 13per cent improvement in economy. It now rates as Bentley’s most powerful and fastest-ever 4-door car. You get 6 litres, 8 gears and 4-wheel drive for your £140,900.

You also get 0-60 in a shade over 4 seconds; 0-100 in 9 seconds. Top speed is 200mph. These are hugely impressive

Beetling around in the sun Open-tops for sultry summer days. And this one is a cool customer even when it rains I’m keeping my fingers crossed that by the time you read this, we will be having a wonderful summer. Today, as I compile this review (July in Durham) it’s overcast, chilly and with the threat of rain.

Last Friday, the latest Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet appeared on my drive. I’d been

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looking forward to its arrival because I was driving to Edinburgh for the weekend and was relishing the chance to drop the roof, soak up some rays and get opinions of my three passengers as to what life was like in the open top Beetle.

Well, at least we managed to confirm one important detail about this soft top. It doesn’t leak. We drove there in torrential

rain. We drove back in torrential rain.

Oddly, this is the main reason why we Brits love open top cars. We buy more convertibles/cabriolets/roadsters than France, Spain, Greece and Italy put together. If you’ve ever hired a rag top in those countries, you’ll know the problem. Drop the roof on a sunny day and you fry.

Sadly / thankfully (delete whichever is

figures for such a big, heavy car. Buyers of this car won’t be too fussed about fuel economy but, for the record, you should manage around 19mpg.

Externally at the front, Bentley has decided to make the Flying Spur look different from the Continental 2-door coupé. The grille is more upright and the front spoiler is deep and purposeful.

The word ‘Continental’ has been dropped from the name.

The ride is where you really spot the difference. The outgoing model could be decidedly un-limo like, but this new version really does take Bentley back to the sort of magic carpet ride that you’d expect. The clever bit though, is that the engineers have made the handling much sharper so that you can actually hustle along in this car. It might not suit the passengers in the back, but it makes for a much more entertaining drive. Another good sign is that despite this Bentley tipping the scales at over two tonnes, it feels much smaller. There’s a reverse Tardis effect if you like.

It won’t come as any surprise to find that the interior quality is nothing short of magnificent. The options list is endless. You can even ditch the standard 3-seat bench in the back and opt for a couple of single seats similar to those in the front. I’ll resist the temptation to call them armchairs.

I like the Bentley Flying Spur. It’s distinctive and different. Something like the Mercedes S Class is an obvious competitor, but I find that the Mercedes range is all starting to look very similar. You can’t confuse the Bentley Flying Spur with anything else.

One final thought. If you’d rather shell out a bit less without sacrificing too much in terms of performance, there’s a cheaper V8 Flying Spur due later this year.

appropriate to you) that doesn’t happen over here. On most sunny days you really can drop the roof and motor all the way to the other end of the country with wind in the hair, flies in the teeth.

The new VW Beetle Cabriolet is one of those rare cars, like its predecessor, that will sell almost 100% on looks alone. Its driving manners, build quality and performance figures will be largely irrelevant. You will either love or hate the retro, outlandish styling.

For the record, those in the front have a great time. When you drop the roof, there is very little buffeting. The seats are comfy and the driving position is good. Those in the back will find things rather tight for space.

There’s also a fair amount of wind noise when you get moving at higher speeds.

The range starts at £18,405 for the entry level 1.2-litre petrol model. You can also choose from a 1.4 petrol and a pair of diesels… 1.6 and 2.0 litres. The 1.6 TDi starts at £17,345. We’d recommend the 1.4 TSi petrol model. The diesel models are fine, but the car lends itself more to the smoother, quieter petrol power.

The 1.4 gives you a 0-60 time of 8.6 seconds (same as the 2.0 TDi) and a top speed of 129mph. Fuel economy will be in the region of 41mpg. The 1.6 TDi BlueMotion models will crack the 60mpg mark. Reliability won’t be a problem because most of the mechanical bits and pieces are pure VW Golf. All versions get DAB radio and air con while if you move away from the entry-level Beetle you also have alloys, Bluetooth, USB connectivity, touch-screen facility and a multi-function steering wheel.

Okay, it’s a bit compromised in places, especially space in the back, but hey, it’s a Beetle and it’s a soft top. How cool is that?

JUL/AUG13

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Benfield Jeep

Warwick Street Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 1BB Tel: 0191 211 2200 www.drivebenfield.com Official fuel consumption figures for the Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel range in mpg (L/100km): Extra Urban 39.2 (7.2), Urban 27.4 (10.3), Combined 34.0 (8.3), CO2 Emissions: 218 g/km. *Including £295 fee.

Picture for illustration purposes only. Telephone calls may be monitored and recorded for training purposes.

SOCIAL LIFE

In association with:

North East

luxe:looks

Break out the fizz. Time to get down to some people-spotting as we bring you our social snapshot of happenings across the North East. Eyes and teeth time!

The Sandman/Fenwick Fashion Evening, Fenwick, Newcastle Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, Tim Walker Exhibition Opening

Above > Dawn Simpson, Kim Walker

Left > Ben Pickett, Kim Stevenson, Emma Tunstill, Luke Hutchings, Laoru Rose, Graeme Bulcraig

Above > Leanne Campbell, Vickie Tough

Above > Avril Potts, Tim Walker

Above > Alison Davis, Gill Maughan Above > Holly Davis, Joanne Edgar

Above > Joanne Edgar Nicola Kinloch, Clarins

Above > Frank Harrison, Pauline Harrison Above > Jemima Wilson, Jamie Collishaw

Above > Christine Burke, Denise Reay

Above > Tori Armstrong, Clare Castle

Above > Dave Heard, Vanessa Heard

Above > Joe Essex, Paul Banks

Above > Leigh Shaw, Claire Collinson

Above > Shireen Rowley, Alison Davis

Above > Kerry Hodgson, Christine Reed

Above > Simon Cowton

Above > Paula Bowron, Natalie Caush

Wine-tasting evening, BALTIC, Gateshead

Above > Herbet Piereder, Heike Piereder Above > Hamish Anderson

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Above > Samantha Chorley, Corinne Lewis, Agnes Wilkie, Brian Steven

Above > Aerian Rogers, Emma Dean

Above > Derek Watson, Aerian Rogers, David Collins, Wendy Collins, Harry James

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SOCIAL LIFE

Kate Humble book launch, Vallum Farm, Northumberland

Above > Cath Macleod, Carole Blue, Catherine Spurgeon

Above > Chantelle Kinsella, Harriet MacMillan

Above > Vicky Moffitt, Kate Humble

Fab@50 event, Rockliffe Hall, Hurworth

Above > Tanya Wheway, Liz Holmes

Above > Sarah Keating, Mike Prior, Liz Jolly

Above > Poppy Moffitt, Abi Platts, Sarah Blue, Lynne Moffitt

Above > Lindsey Wilson, Hannah Robert, Ursula Ojikutu

Teesside University Gala Dinner

Above > Sandy Anderson, Professor Graham Henderson, Alastair MacColl, Kathryn MacColl

Above > Rebecca Pedelow, Hugh McGouran Above > Sandy Anderson

Above > Marion Ferguson, Ailsa Hart and Elaine Gunn Above > Steve Lawson, Juliet Lawson, Liz Scott, Bill Scott

Above > Marie Hockaday, Pat Hockaday

Above > Catherine Barraclough, Harry Pearson

Above > Alasdair MacConachie, Joan Henderson, Val MacConachie, Professor Graham Henderson

Above > Professor Katherine Leni Oglesby

Above > Professor Eileen Martin

Above > Jill Russell, Judy Coates, Carol Denham, Victoria Lees Above > David Butler, Alison Thain Above > Liz Holmes, Barbara Clarkson, Liz Crosland, Jennifer Wilson

Above > Angela Jackson and Sarah Roberts

Above > John Hogg, Georgia Hogg

Brian Moore dinner, Amore, Sunderland

Above > Bev Watts, Brian Moore, Stephen Watts Right > Elaine Baker, Rob Baker

Above > Brian Moore, Joanne Forrest, Brian Forrest

Above > Huw Pritchard, Caroline Pritchard Above > Craig Mason, Marilyn Mason

Above > Phil Kelly Cheryl Kelly

Above > Stephen Watts, Bev Watts

In association with:

North East JUL/AUG13

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SOCIAL LIFE

Josieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dragonfly Lunch, Bouchon Bistrot, Hexham

Above > Hazel Waine, Helen Stark, Jane Dennison

Great North Air Ambulance Charity Ball, Marriott Hotel, Gosforth

Above > Helen Morris, Sarah Morris

Above > Sue Urwin, Margaret Haley, Val Urwin, Erin Urwin, Laura Haley Above > Sarah Stovell

Above > Joanne Dobbin, Claire Crabtree

Above > Diane Welker, Stacy Hucker

Above > Christopher Heston, Katherine Heston

Above > Jayne Ridsdale, Neil Ridsdale

Above > Mike Diske, Mandy Diske

Above > Jane Pikett Timperley, Ann Dowlon Above > Kevin Hodgson, Jane Peacock Above > Jackie Grore, Susan Laurie

Above > Helen Rodgers, Heather Howat

Daniel Sandler Masterclass, Rockliffe Hall, Hurworth

Above > Daniel Sandler, Liz Holmes

Above > Simon Haugh, Helen Muir

Above > Coreen Porter, Pamela Middleton

NOF Jubilee Dinner, Hilton, Gateshead

Above > Kristie Leng, Jenna Spencer, Jennifer Smith

Above > Caroline Lofthouse, Claire Weirs, Joanne Leng

Above > Paul Livingstone, Danielle McCarthy, Jason Pia

Above > Susan Carter, Beryl Morgan Above > Sharon Bell, Kath Baxter

Above > Kev Percy, Dean Ansell

Above > Elaine Maslin, Bill Cattanach, Carole Sweeney

Above > Polly Cussen, Sally Griffiths, Louise Quinn

Above > Emma McDonald, Dianna Fowler

Above > Bill Blakey, Margaret Keyworth

In association with:

North East 94

If you would like your event featured on our Luxe:Looks pages please supply images on disk with full captions and your contact details to: luxe Magazine, room501 Ltd, Spectrum 6, Spectrum Business Park, Seaham, SR7 7TT

JUL/AUG13

SOCIAL LIFE

Above > Brian Goodland, David Ward, Mick Noble, Gary Duncan

Above > Michael Ganley, Neil Davison

BQ’s gathering of the region’s golfers at Slaley Hall in aid of room501’s charity, Variety Build a Bus, added a welcome £500 to our target to build a bus for disadvantaged youngsters.

The winning team on the day was Benfield Motor Group

Above > Garry Sheriff, George Galloway, Tim Rowlins, Andrew Hoyle

Above > Keith Pullan, Andy Trafford, Ally McGilly, Jason Brand

Above > Aidan Dunstan, Steven Gray, Rob Ribchester, Allan Henderson

Above >Antony Johnson, Steve Humble Above > Mark Thompson, Tim Bell, Kevin Turnbull, John Suggate Left > Richard Binney, Bryan Hoare, Chris March, Neil Holloway

Above > Richard Clark, Andy Brown, David Summer Hayes

Above > Ken Haig, Graham Tyrrell, Antony Johnson, Steve Humble

Sponsors > Lexus Newcastle (main sponsor), Slaley Hall, Bond Dickinson, Hotel Indigo, Chromazone, Nigel Wright Recruitment, Buxton Press, MetroRadio/TFM, Roam Door to Door, BE Group, UHY Torgersens, McDonald Martin, Muckle LLP, Radisson Blu Durham.

Polam School Summer Ball, Darlington

Above > Bill Fox, Susan Fox

Above > David Peacock, Rob Coates, David Raw, Mark Bisicker

Above > Karen Coates, Rob Coates Above > Trish Pemberton, John Wilson

Above > Julie Patrick, John Patrick

Above > Adrian Green, Liane Green

Above > Sarah Peacock, Dale Peacock

Above > Sally Pelham, John Moreland, Catherine Hart

Miss Newcastle, Civic Centre, Newcastle

Above > The girls from Pink Boutique Above > Rachelle Graham Miss Newcastle 2012, Shannen Steinson Miss Newcastle 2013

Above > Richard Cudmore, Denise Dobson Cudmore

Above > Jonathan Clark, Phill Barker, Jenna Aydost, Faye Scope, Chris Morris, Tom Brodie, Damien Conway

Above > Lauren Gill, Michael Charlton, Rachelle Jaques

North East

The all new Audi A3. From only £17,905. www.northeastaudi.co.uk

Official fuel figures for the new Audi A3 range in mpg (1/100km): Urban 40.4 (7.0) – 61.4 (4.6), Extra Urban 58.9 (4.8) – 85.6 (3.3), Combined 50.4 (5.6) – 74.3 (3.8). CO2 emissions: 130 – 99g/km.

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DOING GOOD

Charity cheer A fund-raising flourish in the region...

FASHION SHOW SUCCESS >>

GRAND TOUR >> A group of intrepid cyclists has raised £40,000 for a North East charity after pedalling 380 miles across the UK and Ireland.

Thirty cyclists, of all ages and abilities, set off from the Carlton Hotel at Blanchardstown, Dublin and were joined by a further six riders on the Scottish leg and ‘Final Fifty’ to complete the journey to the Stadium of Light, Sunderland, raising money for SAFC’s official charity The Foundation of Light.

Led by Foundation of Light development director, Ken Teears and Gavin Slark, Group Chief Executive of Ireland-based DIY retailer and builder’s merchants Grafton Group plc, which was principal sponsor of the event, the group travelled 380 miles across Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England in just five days.

Proceeds from the event, which was also sponsored by Carlton Group, Cycle World (Sunderland), Dunelm Glass, Giant UK, Reds and in association with UKTI, are now expected to total £40,000 – more than double that raised in the inaugural Dublin to Sunderland Challenge (D2S) in 2012. www.foundationoflight.co.uk or call 0191 551 5191

CASH BOOST >> One of the region’s newest boutiques gave fashionistas a chance to take a peek at this summer’s styles while raising vital funds for a children’s charity.

Gordon Brown Law Firm joined forces with Durham-based Logonstyle.com to host a lunchtime fashion show and fundraising event at Babucho on Dean Street.

The event raised £2,840 for the charity which will be donated to the Sunshine Fund, which aims to improve the lives of children with disabilities in the North East. The fund provides support to individuals, groups, registered organisations, special and mainstream schools and hospitals by providing specialist equipment.

Amy Whyte, business development manager at the law firm said: “Thank you so much to everybody that joined us in raising money at our charity fashion show.

“We are delighted we could raise funds for such a worthwhile charity, while working alongside local businesses.

“As a company we are committed to supporting local organisations and look forward to continuing to support the Sunshine Fund.”

The fashion show took place in the stylish setting of New York-style Italian brasserie Babucho and kicked off with a delicious lunch.

Logonstyle director Carroll Herd said: “We are committed to helping local charities and passionate about keeping funds raised in the North East, we could not think of a better charity than the Sunshine Fund to do so.”

CATWALK TIME >> St Oswald’s Hospice Cramlington shop is hosting its second charity fashion show on Friday 9 August.

The ‘Mid-Season Fashion Extravaganza’ will take place at Concordia Leisure Centre, Cramlington, with staff and volunteers from both the St Oswald’s Shop and the Leisure Centre modeling the outfits. All clothes showcased on the catwalk have been donated to St Oswald’s shops. Dean Holliday, retail support manager at St Oswald’s says: “Last year we raised over £1000 for the hospice. We’ll be showcasing the quality clothes our supporters donate to the shops, including designer items from Karen Millen and Paul Smith. There’ll be eveningwear, menswear, autumn/winter wear, designerwear and much more.” It all starts at 7pm and tickets are available to buy from St Oswald’s shop in the Brockwell Centre in Cramlington.

For further information please call 01670 733 492 or pop into the shop. www.stoswaldsuk.org

GARDEN GROWTH >> Daisy Chain, the autism support charity will be boosted by the Hardwick Live Garden Party in September – and an eye-catching Mini Cooper will take to the roads of the North East this month to tell everyone about it.

The first-ever Hardwick Live Garden Party takes place on 14 September. Headlining the stage at Hardwick Live are Glaswegian rockers Texas as well as Jools Holland’s Rhythm and Blues Orchestra and Alison Moyet. Tickets are available to purchase now and are priced at £39 per adult, £10 for 13-16-year-olds and £5 for children aged 3-12 years. Children aged 2 and under are free.

Morpeth-based Pro-Ad has donated £1000 to Metro Radio’s Cash for Kids charity. The company collected £500 at the two big events that the company hosted earlier this year, its 30th Anniversary Dinner and its 2013 Promotional Merchandise Showcase. This amount was raised by customer donations and match-funded by the company.

THE BOYS ARE BACK >> Ant & Dec made a welcome return to their home city to help raise funds for the Cash for Kids charity with an event hosted by radio presenters Metro Radio’s Steve and Karen. Both duos are patrons of the charity.

Support from local companies gave a huge boost to the event.

Mill Volvo, Brakes Food, Newcastle Civic Centre and Shiremoor Press all backed the event with sponsorship while many others donated prizes, experiences and services to make the afternoon a roaring success.

ART START >> BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead is one of eight arts venues in the UK to be selected by The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts (Children & the Arts), to participate in its 2013/14 Start programme.

Start gives arts venues vital funding and specialist support to run long-term, high-quality arts projects with children from their local schools. It is designed to reach children from social and economically disadvantaged backgrounds who have very little experience of high-quality arts activities.

Each child will experience at least two exhibitions over a year and have the opportunity to go behind the scenes to meet artists, directors, actors, choreographers, technicians and dancers. Start also provides the chance for children to take part in creative workshops in the venue to create works that are exhibited at a high-profile finale event at the venue in front of family, friends and peers.

A LIGHT TOUCH >> Walk Ten is a twilight charity event for Marie Curie, this year being held on August 31 at Gibside near Gateshead. The 10k walk event is a chance for families, friends and colleagues alike to enjoy an evening of outdoor fun and fresh air. A spectacular fireworks display at 10pm will pay tribute to Marie Curie Nurses. 10pm being especially poignant as this is when many nurses begin their night shift - providing care and support to people with terminal illnesses and their families in their own homes. For those walking in memory of a loved one, candle bags will be available on the night to write a message of remembrance. www.mariecurie.org.uk/en-GB/events/walking/walk-ten-gibside-2013-9142

www.hardwicklive.co.uk or by email via info@hardwicklive.co.uk

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5th Aug – 11th Aug.**

Dine out for only

Enjoy great food with an extra helping of value when you dine with us at some of Newcastle’s finest restaurants for only £10 or £15 per person.

£1per 0person. or £1 5 *

hotels that dare to be different

For a full list of participating restaurants, information on booking a table and to download your voucher visit:

getintonewcastle.co.uk *£10 and £15 menus are restaurant specific. * *Selected restaurants. Terms and conditions apply.