Colbert, Chelsea

There’s nothing I love more following a Cocktail Saturday than a Sunday brunch. During a recent trip to London, my friend and I went to Colbert in Chelsea for some much needed hearty food after one too many cocktails the night before. 

With its prime position on Sloane Square it is in the perfect spot. Inspired “by the great boulevard cafés of Paris”, it sits where Chelsea, Knightsbridge & Belgravia meet. Inside there’s a 1930s Parisian feel with monochrome tiles, dark wooden wall panelling and red leather banquettes.

We visited at 9.00am on a Sunday morning and it was already full. As soon as you enter you feel the buzz of the brasserie. It’s a very popular place, mostly with well-heeled Chelsea residents (I spent most of the meal admiring a beautiful Hermes Birkin sat next to me), although it still remains low-key and relaxed. 

The menu is simple and is split into breakfast, all-day dining as well as a lunch and dinner section. For breakfast, there is fruit, porridge, granola and various egg options as well as the standard French pastries. I chose poached eggs with hollandaise sauce and a pain au chocolat and my friend had an omelette as well as French toast with maple syrup and bacon. 

We also ordered a side to share of french baguette with butter although we didn’t even touch it, too full from devouring our meals. 

The food was simple but delicious and exactly what we needed to bring us back to life. My eggs were perfectly done and the pain au chocolat was buttery and flakey, washed down perfectly with a pot of tea.

I’ve read mixed reviews about the service but I have to say it was faultless when we visited. The staff were highly trained and efficient but also very friendly, which is quite unusual in London. The maître d’ spent several minutes chatting to us asking about our trip and suggesting places for us to visit. 

The food was reasonably priced, approximately £20.00 each which, considering the amount we ate, I think was great value. 

It’s the perfect place to visit if you’re wanting a relaxed Sunday brunch while reading the papers. Next time we visit London we plan to return to sit outside in the sunshine, to people watch across Sloane Square.  

Colbert Chelsea

50-52 Sloane Square, Chelsea, SW1W 8AX

Vogue 100: A Century of Style

During my recent trip to London, I visited the Vogue 100: A century of style exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.

The exhibition is a showcase of some of the amazing photos that have been commissioned ever since Vogue magazine was founded in 1916, with over 280 prints from the Conde Nast archive sourced from all around the world, including Costa Rica, Singapore, France, America and Canada.

The publication has been at the forefront of fashion photography for the past century and has earned its reputation as 'the fashion bible’. Famous pieces from some of the best photographers in the industry are on display, from Cecil Beaton, Tim Walker, Snowdon to David Bailey and Mario Testino.

The exhibition opened on 11th February following a star studded opening with guests such as Jerry Hall, Christopher Bailey, Yasmin Le Bon, Karlie Kloss and Laura Bailey all in attendance.


I visited shortly thereafter on a busy Sunday. A showreel of Cara Delevingne greets you as you walk in and a huge banner of Alexander McQueen cradling a smoking skull sits pride of place on the far wall.

The exhibition runs backwards in time, a reverse chronological journey from now to 1916, with each room showing a decade. There were copies of famous Vogue covers from every year of the magazine’s 100 year history. 

The first issue of Vogue was published in the middle of World War I. The American issues were not available for import due to paper shortages and restrictions on overseas shipping. The publisher decided to create a special edition for us Brits which was to be produced in London.

In autumn 1916 the first copy was printed for sale. It was on display at the exhibition and is a far cry from the glossy thick editions that we read today. 

Probably my favourite aspect of the exhibition was the portrait photography with iconic images of Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Naomi Campbell, Lady Diana Spencer as well as from the famous Nineties supermodel “movement”. There was a fantastic black and white Sixties feature on my favourite model, Jean Shrimpton.

Images from Corinne Day's infamous fashion shoot with Kate Moss in 1993 were shown featuring a waif like 19-year old Kate. The photographs were controversial at the time and caused outrage when they were published by Vogue, with accusations that they promoted drug use, eating disorders and child pornography. Following the uproar, Kate Moss was banned by her agent from working with Day ever again.

Although the exhibition is primarily for those interested in fashion, its main focus is on historical personalities and the photographers who documented them. In more than 2,000 issues, Vogue has acted as a cultural barometer, putting fashion in the context of the larger world in which we live. So there is something for everyone to enjoy, from film and royalty to the world of politics and sports.

All images courtesy of Vogue.

All images courtesy of Vogue.

Vogue100 runs until 22nd May 2016. Tickets are £19.00 and can be purchased via www.npg.org.uk

If you’re unable to visit, there is a stunning book to accompany the exhibition:

You might also enjoy watching this Vogue video:

National Portrait Gallery


St Martin's Place London WC2H 0HE


020 7306 0055
 

Cocktail Saturdays was a guest of The National Portrait Gallery.

Fox and Barrel, Cotebrook

Pub grub. 

Steak and ale pie. Bangers and mash. Pasties. Pickled eggs. Pork scratchings. Pie and a pint... English pubs are not famed for their fine cuisine. 

Whole swathes of the country have to make do with bland theme pubs, whose culinary offering comes delivered on trucks microwave-ready.

Tarporley, like many parts of West Cheshire, is not one such location. The area is teeming with award winning restaurants and pubs.

They don’t come much finer than The Fox and Barrel. Located in Cotebrook, just a handful of miles from Delamere Forest, this country pub has bags of character. As soon as you arrive you’re met by a herd of horses galloping around the neighbouring field and a weathered but colourful tractor sat retired next to the car park.

Inside a cosy fireplace and snug bar offer a wonderful welcome. Low ceilings and wood-panelled walls all add to the country-pub experience.

But as beautiful as the building is, it’s the food we’re here for. The food at the Fox and Barrel is excellent. A regular in The Good Food Guide, the pub won the ‘Cheshire Life Dining Pub of the Year 2013’.

I started with an Appleby’s Cheshire cheese soufflé, with pear & walnut chutney (£7.50). 

My friend had the Crispy chicken wings, with lentil dahl, spiced onions, and yoghurt (£6.95).

When reviewing an eatery I like to sample all three courses; starter, main and dessert. Half way through the starter I knew I was to be defeated - as well as being delicious, the food is hugely filling!

For my main I had the Beetroot tarte tatin, with goat’s cheese, warm chicory & apple salad, and giant cous cous (£11.45).

My friend had the Salmon fishcakes, with tomato & spring onion salad, and dill mayonnaise (£11.45).

The fresh flavours shine through. It’s obvious that time and care has gone into creating well-balanced dishes which are extremely tasty, and the portions generous.

The Fox and Barrel is a family favourite of ours. It isn’t particularly cheap, but it offers excellent value for money!

Rococo Chocolates

UPDATE: Rococo Chocolates in Chester is now permanently closed.

With Easter kicking off early this year, it's perfectly acceptable to start indulging in Easter treats. I’ve discovered the perfect little place….

Founded in 1983 by Chantal Coady, Rococo Chocolates has elevated chocolate on a par with fine wines by using rich organic cocoa beans. 

The first Rococo shop opened in 1983 on London’s Kings Road, an emporium of fine chocolates, which quickly attracted a loyal following. Soon after two more shops in Marylebone and Belgravia opened and, most recently, a beautiful little shop in Chester which is the first foray outside of London.

Rococo works closely with the Grenada Chocolate Company, a cocoa farm in Grenada to produce fairly traded, ethical chocolate. Rococo has even built a bridge in Grenada to help organic cocoa farmers get harvest from the land over a river. The Cocoa is made into chocolate on the island in a small, solar powered factory.

It is shipped to the UK with a zero carbon footprint, and then added to the Rococo House Blend of chocolate, which is used across the whole Rococo range.

“Chantal Coady is like a real life version of Joanne Harris’s Vianne from Chocolat, with a dash of Jo Malone’s facility for mixing unusual perfumes - but she started before either of them.”
— Financial Times

I recently visited the Chester store to taste some of the gorgeous chocolates and to learn more about the Rococo Easter collection. 

The store is based at the front of the Chester Grosvenor Hotel and is a warm and inviting Aladdin’s cave of chocolate. I met assistant manager, Peter Kubica, who talked me through the chocolates on offer. 

He explained that the truffles, ganaches and caramels on sale were all hand crafted in small batches in Rococo’s kitchens in London by principle chocolatier Karen Waller and her team. The chocolates are then transported to Chester in heat controlled delivery vans to protect the chocolate. Rococo suggest that the chocolates must be stored in a cool dark place at around 18°C, avoiding refrigeration if possible. 

There are all sorts of intense flavour combinations dotted around in beautiful packaging. My favourite of the chocolates was the Anglesey sea salt caramel ganache. Chantal Coady believes the Rococo team were “the first people to create salted chocolate.”

The Easter collection includes exclusive Roald Dahl eggs for children. One of which is filled with 6 milk and white chocolate green mini crocodiles. 

A cube of ‘Superior Seagull’ Fleur de Sel eggs, salted caramel ganache covered in milk chocolate.

Various packs of colourful Hunting Bunny Foiled Easter eggs. These would be perfect as an Easter Sunday treat or for egg hunt prizes! 

A cube of 5 praline quail eggs. Realistic looking with a French hazelnut praline.

‘Rococo City Farm’ - milk and white chocolate praline animals from the Rococo farm. Ideal for children, containing praline bunnies, ducks, lambs and chickens.

A ‘stroppy teenager’ Easter egg, containing 4 praline quail eggs and 4 salted caramel Superior Seagull ganache eggs. 

Half a dozen real hens eggs blown and filled with delicious fine hazelnut praline in a cute egg crate.

And my favourite, a hand-painted Easter bunny made with white chocolate and backed with fine milk and dark chocolate.

We left with bags full of goodies to try at home and promises to return for a chocolate tasting evening which the Chester store frequently hosts.

If you’re unable to visit any of the Rococo stores in person, you can buy the treats online at www.rococochocolates.com as well as Harvey Nichols and John Lewis. 

 

Chester Grosvenor Hotel, Eastgate, Chester CH1 1LT

T: 01244 895 610

Delifonseca, Liverpool

Delifonseca is something of a food institution in Liverpool. There are two venues located two miles apart, one in the city centre (now called Fonseca’s, to avoid any confusion), and 'Dockside' by the River Mersey on the Liverpool docks. 

Both are well worth a visit but the Dockside restaurant has an extra something for foodies. There is a food hall which sells an abundance of high quality local produce as well as international specialities.

Delicious cheeses, chocolates, teas and coffees, fruit and veg  are all available as well as an in-house patisserie. There is a new addition in the form of a butchers concession by Edge & Sons, who source their produce from within a 25 mile radius.

It’s in a slightly peculiar location. Surrounded predominantly by car dealerships, it is a large site which has allowed the owners to create the “food hub” that they wished for. One big positive for the site is the ample amount of parking.

Inside the restaurant has a slight uptown New York feel and certainly doesn’t reflect the bright green exterior. There’s leather seating and comfy booths combined with wooden cladded walls. Perfect for a speedy lunch or a cosy candlelit evening meal. 

The menu is varied, with a blackboard full of tempting daily specials, lots of small plates and platters as well as more substantial seasonal meals. There’s always a good selection for vegetarians. The wine list is extensive and there is a large variety of premium spirits and local beers on offer. 

I chose a fine tart of caramelised onion and goats cheese with vegetables. 

My sister in law had ribeye steak and chunky chips with a peppercorn sauce.

My mum had beer battered haddock and chunky chips with mushy peas and tartare sauce. 

The portions are plentiful and the food is all freshly prepared. The staff are friendly and have a good knowledge of the food that they serve. 

We didn’t manage a dessert on this occasion as we were full from our meals but we made sure we picked up some chocolate from the food hall to take home with us. 

If you’re in Liverpool make sure you pop along to see for yourself. Next time I visit Fonseca’s I’ll be sure to post a review of there as well. 

Delifonseca, Brunswick Dock, Liverpool L3 4BN

Tel: 0151 255 0808

www.delifonseca.co.uk