Heather’s Food & Drink Hot List
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THE CAMPAIGN:
Auld Hag
Auld Hag is one of my favourite social media discoveries – for Burns Night back in January, I made founder Gregg’s Irn-Bru negronis, haggis bon bons and shortbread with raspberries, which all went down a storm with my Scottish friends. Now the team is looking to open London’s first Scottish deli. The Shoap in Angel will sell filled Glasgow morning rolls, scotch pies, shortbread, Dundee cake and coffee made with beans from the Isle of Skye’s Caora Dhubh Coffee Company. I’ve always found it hard to find scotch pies in London, so have donated to the team’s Kickstarter. If you’d also like to donate, the crowdfunder wraps up at the end of the day.
Visit AuldHag.co.uk
THE BOTTLE:
The Sundown Spritz
This new ready-to-drink spritz from These Days is made with real fruit and organic white wine. Inspired by the aperitivi of northern Italy, the mix contains plenty of blood orange juice and a bittersweet cola kick from chinotto. With a low ABV – it’s just 6% – The Sundown is the sensible sister to an Aperol or Campari spritz, and is just the thing to crack open on a sunny afternoon with friends. Pour straight from the bottle into tumblers filled with ice and serve with a bowl of Perello Gordal olives for a true Italian experience at home.
Visit TheseDaysDrinks.com
THE BAR:
Swans Bar at Maison Assouline
One of my favourite secret haunts in London is the striking Swans Bar inside Maison Assouline’s bookshop on Piccadilly. Fresh for summer, it’s created a martini list, using premium gins such as X Muse, Seventy One and Beefeater Crown Jewel. Dreamt up by Gabor Onufer (formerly of The Fumoir in Claridge’s), the new menu uses in-house syrups and ingredients like Atlantic rainwater madeira and sherry water-switched Dolin Dry. Other cocktails take inspiration from some of the publisher’s popular coffee-table books – think Havana Blues (Eminente Reserva, St Germain, cinnamon leaf, honey and citrus) and a Californian Margarita (Avion Silver, Falernum, Dry Curaçao and lime). It’s just the place to pop into after an afternoon at the RA over the road.
Visit MaisonAssouline.com
THE RESTAURANT:
Lasdun
The team behind the critically acclaimed Marksman in east London has launched a beautiful brasserie inside the concrete splendour of the National Theatre. In partnership with street-food innovators Kerb, Lasdun has created a menu full of must-orders: imagine smoked eel with pressed potato and cured ham; Cornish crab served with a soft saffron bun; and a pie of the day designed for two. On the pudding front, the Marksman’s much-loved brown butter tart is here and it’s a must (don’t make the mistake I did and decide to share one). It’s also a great spot for a nightcap along the Thames – the atmospheric marble bar serves cocktails and wine, alongside shellfish and excellent small plates such as devilled eggs with caviar and homemade crisps with sour cream. I enjoyed my experience so much, I finally caved and made my first TikTok.
Visit LasdunRestaurant.com
THE PARTY STARTER:
Emile Boxed Wines
The latest release from the all-female team at Emile Wines is its first boxed wine. Its bag-in-a-box debut is a light-bodied pinot noir made by a top-notch Burgundy producer. Convenient if you’re someone who likes a glass at home every now and again, the box stays fresh for six weeks once open, and offers a vibrant, fruity and refreshing red. As with Emile’s bottles, the box comes with a lovely looking label by artist Frances Costelloe, making it a great object to take centre stage at any gathering you might be hosting – whether that’s at home or in the local park.
Visit EmileWines.co.uk
@charliemckay
THE DISH:
Fries at The Blue Bar at The Berkeley
The Berkeley hotel’s beautiful Blue Bar has had a refresh – and alongside a new cocktail list (presented on a menu that resembles a vinyl record) there’s a fun signature touch. At 11pm each night, the bar team will circulate a sizable stack of french fries on ornate silver trays (complete with ketchup and mayo), to be distributed with silver tongs. The ultimate elegant late-night snack – and the perfect excuse to stay and have just one more cocktail.
Visit The-Berkeley.co.uk
THE HEALTH BOOST:
Momo Kombucha
Momo Kombucha creates organic kombucha using natural methods at its Vauxhall brewery. It’s one of the nicest I’ve tried. This season, the team has launched a flavour in collaboration with Caravan Coffee Roasters. The Gesha Coffee Kombucha combines Momo’s unfiltered organic kombucha blends with Caravan's cold-brew Gesha coffee, resulting in a complex blend with an entirely new flavour profile that is unexpected but delicious – think rich caramel, ripe strawberry and red apple, finished off with a tart kombucha hit. If you’ve ever tried cold brew and tonic (another recent favourite of mine), it has a similar combination of zesty and rich.
Visit Momo-Kombucha.com
THE COCKTAIL:
Tiny Tee's Dirty Vodka Martini
Whitebox has created what it’s calling the world’s first single-serve dirty vodka martini. Packaged up in a fun can, the small ready-to-serve Tiny Tee’s cocktail is designed to be popped straight into the freezer, ready to be enjoyed ice-cold in a glass at home. The mix stands up to the quality you’d expect in a great bar. A word of warning – this is a very dirty mix, so it’s possibly not one for martini purists.
Visit WhiteboxCocktails.com
THE DELIVERY:
Rockfish
For BBQ season, the sustainable seafood experts at Rockfish have relaunched their summer box. Available for nationwide delivery, the kit is a celebration of British seafood – think eight butterflied Cornish sardines or herring, six sustainable diver scallops and six large prawns, along with a jar of Rockfish’s homemade garlic butter to melt and pour over your grilled fish. The fish arrives frozen, ready to be defrosted and cooked over coals. I used mine to make an excellent sardines on toast recipe from Jeremy Lee’s Cooking, and saved the rest for an easy Friday night dinner.
Visit TheRockfish.co.uk
THE POP-UP:
The Ice Cream Project
Nail bar, garden centre, hairdresser… Anya Hindmarch’s Village Hall in Belgravia has been many things since it popped up in 2020. For summer, the space has become The Ice Cream Project, serving up a collection of unexpectedly delicious ice-creams and sorbets in celebration of Anya’s favourite cult food brands – the ones you’ve seen on her iconic sequinned bags over the years. This year’s line-up of flavours includes Branston pickle, Kellogg’s Rice Crispies, Ribena, Birds Eye peas and Tiptree lemon curd, all of which have all been handmade in Devon. I know it sounds wrong, but I’m planning a visit next week to try the Warburtons crumpets flavour – followed up by a more appealing scoop of McVitie’s Digestives.
Visit AnyaHindmarch.com
THE COOKBOOK:
Recipes From Rome by Katie & Giancarlo Caldesi
I’ve had a slight obsession with the Italian capital ever since I went for a long weekend a couple of years back and this new book from husband-and-wife Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi has only stoked my desire to go back. Filled with restaurant recommendations and recipes from some of the city’s most respected neighbourhood trattorias, there are also the pair’s interpretations of classic dishes like Katie's spicy cheese and pepper pasta, alongside family favourites such as sea bass with parma ham and sage. Next on my cookbook list? The forthcoming follow-up, Recipes From Venice.
Visit Amazon.co.uk
THE HOMEWARE ADDITION:
Maison Balzac
Maison Balzac is one of the coolest Aussie homeware brands out there. Stocked in Liberty over here, there’s one particular glass that has caught my eye – this fun prawn cocktail coupe, which has a permanently present glass prawn perched on the side. I’ve only bought the one, so when I’m not serving up a solo starter or scoop of ice-cream, I’ll be using it as a next-level nut bowl.
Visit Farfetch.com
For more food, drink and restaurant ideas, follow Heather at @SteeleHeatherrr
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