1.    The Fat Duck

Heston Blumenthal’s three Michelin starred restaurant provides diners with a innovative and show stopping dining experience.  With dishes like ‘The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party’ and ‘snail porridge’ on the menu, it is sure to be a dining experience you will never forget. Located in Bray in West Berkshire, it has previously been named the best restaurant in the world. Heston has been described as a ‘culinary alchemist’  and has received numerous awards for his original approach and research into food gastronomy.

2. The Ledbury

Received a much coveted second Michelin star for its memorable original flavours, it has also been mentioned as one of the top fifty restaurants in the world. Head chef Brett Graham received various awards and accolades before becoming head chef at The Ledbury. Located in Notting Hill London, it provides high quality food within a relaxed atmosphere.

3.    Hibiscus

Owner Claude Bosi was trained under some of the greatest chefs in France, and in 2000 Hibiscus was born. Located in central London, it has retained its two Michelin stars, and Bosi’s bold yet elegant culinary style has received numerous accolades and complimentary reviews.

4. Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons.

Located in the idyllic Oxfordshire countryside it has been described as one of Britain’s finest gastronomic experiences. A luxury hotel and restaurant, it obtained two Michelin stars in 1985, just a year after opening, and has held on to them ever since. The grounds showcase vegetable and herb gardens, and the acclaimed cookery school, where fresh produce is grown and harvested for the restaurant. The restaurant offers modern French cuisine, and head chef Raymond Blanc stresses the focus on quality, freshness and purity of ingredients. The Manoir also boasts a wine cellar, which is home to around 1000 different wines.

5. L’Enclume

Founded in 2003 by head chef Simon Rogan, L’Enclume offers a relaxed and cosy environment located in the historic village of Cartmel in Cumbria. A dominating focus on fresh and seasonal ingredients means that they do not offer a set menu, and are dictated to by what ingredients are freshest at the time. Set in beautiful countryside, it has two Michelin stars and has been given a perfect score of ten in the good food guide.

6. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

Gordon Ramsay’s 3 Michelin Starred restaurant headed by Chef Patron Clare Smyth, who creates modern French style dishes, using the freshest seasonal ingredients. An intimate dining experience, with a maximum capacity of just 45,  requiring a smart dress code. Located in Chelsea, London.

7. Restaurant Sat Bains

Located in Nottingham, Restaurant Sat Bains offers modern British cusine in contemporary surroundings. With multiple dining options and menus to suit all tastes and palettes. From set menus in the restaurant to watching your dinner be prepared in front of you at the Chef’s Table, or even selecting the ingredients you would like and having a menu created specifically for you. Head chef Sat Bains has achieved two Michelin stars and was the first restaurant in Nottingham to obtain a star.

8. Restaurant Nathan Outlaw

A small intimate venue, located within the St Enodoc Hotel, Cornwall, Restaurant Nathan Outlaw has obtained and retained two Michelin Stars. Offering local seafood and seasonal Cornish ingredients, head chef Chris Simpson showcases sustainable seafood, caught off the Cornish Coast by day boats.

9. Pollen Street Social.

Head chef Jason Atheron has attracted rave reviews for his contemporary bistro, including a Michelin Star. Located in central London, it is described as an urban meeting point offering deformalised fine dining. It consists of three different Distinct Spaces; the Social Room, the Restaurant and the Dessert Bar.

10. The Square.

Chef and co-owner Philip Howard, supported by head chef Robert Weston, focuses on seasonal ingredients and impeccable cooking, producing a wide variety of dishes on offer. Located in central London, The Square has received  two Michelin Stars, amongst many other accolades.

Iron Gets Flattened After Fans Fail to Save the Classic Token

The next MONOPOLY game token to ‘Pass GO!’ and collect £200 will be…the cat!

After a month of voting on Facebook, and an overwhelming response from fans from 185 countries around the world, the cat has been chosen and will become the newest addition to the classic game from Hasbro. The cat was able to scratch past the toy robot, guitar, helicopter, and diamond ring in the MONOPOLY “Save Your Token” campaign by receiving 31 percent of the total vote.

In the vote to decide which classic tokens would be ‘saved’ by fans, the Scottie dog was a clear early favourite, eventually securing 29 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, supporters of the iron, wheelbarrow and boot campaigned vigorously to save their favorite token from a lifetime in jail and ensure it would remain in the game. After a very close race, fans weren’t hot for the iron. With only 8 percent of the vote, the iconic token fell behind the wheelbarrow and the boot and will be pressed out of service from the MONOPOLY game for good. Despite being an integral part of life when the token was added to the game in the 1930s, the iron has fallen out of favour with today’s fans and will be retired from the game.

Hasbro will begin to replace the iron with the new cat token on the MONOPOLY production lines immediately, so those who want to continue to play with the iron and the seven other classic tokens have a limited time to pick up the existing version of the game. The new MONOPOLY game featuring the cat token will arrive on store shelves in mid to late 2013.

“We know that cat lovers around the world will be happy to welcome the new cat token into the MONOPOLY game,” said Eric Nyman, senior vice president and global brand leader for Hasbro Gaming. “While we’re a bit sad to see the iron go, the cat token is a fantastic choice by the fans and we have no doubt it will become just as iconic as the original tokens.”

Hasbro held the MONOPOLY “Save Your Token” campaign on Facebook from 9 January until 5 February 2013. Fans can visit Facebook.com/Monopoly to bid farewell to the iron and view additional MONOPOLY “Save Your Token” campaign content.

To celebrate the MONOPOLY Save Your Token campaign, Hasbro will issue a special Classic MONOPOLY Golden Token Edition game that will include gold coloured versions of all eight classic tokens and the five new tokens included in the vote. This special edition will be available at major toy stockists nationwide, RRP £16.99.

Visit facebook.com/Monopoly for further details or join the @monopoly #tokenvote conversation on Twitter

New Zealand is a very trendy place at the moment. With the spectacular scenery of South Island forming a backdrop to many scenes in The Hobbit and previously The Lord of the Rings.

However, it is the wine that makes this area ….

Cooler and more temperate than most of the Australian wine growing areas, New Zealand makes some wonderful wines, particularly Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Interestingly, no proper industry existed in the islands before the early 20^th century – the only wine production came from Lebanese settlers who produced wines for their own consumption. Indeed, until 1961 it was actually illegal to drink wines in restaurants!

Much of the early wine was grown in the North Island around Auckland but by the 1970s the vine moved into South Island and by the mid-80s New Zealand was producing some fine Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, and Sauvignon Blanc, and the cooler climate favoured reds, particularly Pinot Noir.

Possibly the best known region for New Zealand wines is the north eastern tip of South Island, around the town of Blenheim, called Marlborough. The region boasts many great wineries, including the legendary Cloudy Bay. Founded in 1985 by David Hohner, an Australian wine maker, it’s stony soil produces world class Sauvignon Blancs. Every vintage sells out within weeks of release and commands very high prices.

One of Sancerre’s top producers developed a vineyard at Blenheim in 2003 and produces excellent reds and whites.

On North Island, the very northern areas are rainy and humid – ill suited to grape growing, although it hasn’t stopped people trying! A much better area is Hawkes bay; a mixture of sunshine and unique soils, clay, silt and shingle has enormous potential for both red and white grapes. And is one of their few areas where Bordeaux varieties flourish.

One hopes that Gandalf and the Hobbits and Dwarves don’t develop too much of a taste for the local vintages or they may never rescue the gold from Smaug!

Many of the new world regions are flourishing at the expense of the old -South America, especially Chile and Argentina, of course and Australia but New Zealand can certainly hold their own with these giants of wine making and production continues to flourish.

The May Fair Hotel, renowned for being a glamorous playhouse brimming with stylish and inspiring experiences, will be romancing its guests this Valentine’s Day, with the launch of Aphro-tea-siac Afternoon Tea.

Utterly indulgent, this miscellany of morishness will be sure to set hearts fluttering and pulses racing with a menu of natural aphrodisiac cocktails and canapés.

Wet your appetite with a hot and spicy Salted Aniseed Sour or Aphrodite’s choice; a Pomegranate and Vanilla Shot. Be enticed by a taste-bud tingling Siberian Ginseng, Lemongrass and Ginger Cooler partnered with a mouth-watering Cardamom, Cinnamon and Honey Mule. Finish by gorging on irresistible morsels of white truffle glazed pork, crimson Sumac crusted Langoustine, velvety avocado Hummus and oysters Rockefeller.

The May Fair’s Aphro-tea-siac will be available from February 8^th 2013 until February 17^th 2013 in Quince at the May Fair and the May Fair Bar. Prices start from £25 per person for a Mild Aphro-Tea-Siac which includes a choice of two cocktails, or an Intense Aphro-Tea-Siac  (£50) which comes with a choice of four cocktails.

The May Fair will also be offering a Valentine’s Aphro-Tea-Siac overnight package which includes one-night’s accommodation, Champagne breakfast and a Mild Aphro-Tea-Siac for two. Rates start from £340 for a double room* and up to £1100 for one of the May Fair’s stunning Signature Suites.

The May Fair Aphro-Tea-Siac Menu

Cocktail Selection:

• Siberian Ginseng, Lemongrass and Ginger Cooler
• Cardamom, Cinammon and Honey Mule
• Chocolate and Chilli Martini
• Pomegranate and Vanilla Shot
• Salted Aniseed Sour
• Basil and Limoncello Shot
• Strawberry Cheesecake Shot
• Watermelon Martini

Canapé Selection:

• White truffle and honey glazed pork
• Crimson Sumac crusted Langoustine
• Avocado Hummus
• “Quince” oysters Rockefeller
• The Finale – the ultimate chocolate elixir

To most of us Brits, Barcelona is THE Spanish city. The whacky cathedral by Gaudi that isn’t finished all but 90 years after he died, “Barca” the only football team in the world that leads a debate on regional independence, the Ramblas, F1, the list goes on and on. Yet to the Spanish, Madrid is their Capital, not just in name but in style, fashion, culture and, yes, football.

 It’s a magnificent city, Madrid. Three of the best museums of the world are here, the Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen Bornemisza. The latter is perhaps the most accessible with fantastic, knowledgeable guides who start off by asking how long you have. If it’s just an hour, fine, you get the greatest hits. To do justice to the Prada, however, you’d need most of a day.

Madrid also has maybe the world’s most amazing “park.” A few years ago the city fathers decided that the 6 mile long motorway that bisected the city was a disaster for anyone living nearby. So they buried it! And covered it with Madrid Rio (river) a 10 kilometre park containing the river, now clean and vibrant where before it was stagnant, riverside walks, cycle and roller skate routes, cafes and bars. There are restored bridges and magnificent new ones. Instead of being bisected the city is now homogeneous. It is a triumph of daring urban planning and has transformed the city.

Of course, Spain has its problems. Don’t mention Frau Merkel in a Madrid bar and expect a cordial response. But those problems, ironically, mean that for us non-Eurozone inhabitants, Madrid is also something of a bargain. One of the best places to be based is in a Presidential Suite at the Hotel Hesperia on Castellano – thoughtfully the road from the airport to the city centre. For most of the year the combination of jacuzzi, relaxing and dining areas outside plus separate dining and sleeping rooms indoors is a blissful retreat from the heat of the city.

The hotel is home to the two-star Michelin restaurant Sant Celoni. We know what this means. The waiter will be rude, the food perfect but old-fashioned, the wine ludicrously expensive. Go for the tasting menu with wine expertly chosen to match each course by Sommelier David Robledo and extra-ordinary food from chef Oscar Velasco.  You will have a stylish, relaxed and unforgettable evening that will be remembered long after the hit on your credit card is forgotten.

Of course the hotel has other restaurants – including a sushi bar and La Manzana from “tipped to be the city’s next Michelin-starred chef” Estaban Gonzales and his inventive take on tapas.

So, what to do when in Madrid? I’d start by going to the old post office. Yes, I know, what could be more boring? And yet, confronted by the Palacio de Communicationes is to be reminded of a world when the delivery of mail was the lifeblood of commerce and social life, romance and despair. It now houses a pretty unforgettable “art space” but the building itself – particularly the huge former open loading area for the postal vans now covered in thousands of unique interlocking glass tiles.

Madrid’s Royal Palace is extraordinary. According to our guide, when King Phillip the fifth, the first Bourbon (French) King of Spain, arrived at his new home he was a little disappointed by its scope. Amazingly on his first Christmas in residence – while he was at a party elsewhere and when all the precious contents and everyone living there had been removed – it caught fire and was completely destroyed. Overcoming his disappointment Philip instituted a programme of building that latest 26 years and produced what may be the largest palace in the world. The final rooms were decorated 100 years after construction started. The official tour takes 65 minutes yet accounts for just 5% of the total area.

What else? Well Placa Mejor is special. An early King’s mistress was a bit of a diva and wanted to appear in front of the crowds during fetes, bullfights, hangings and other crowd-pleasers. His wife, however, wasn’t so keen and demanded that she was kept out of sight.  So, as you cast your eye around the giant square notice that there is only one recess – it was here that the mistress held court unseen by the Queen on the opposite side.

Not that Spanish Queens were particularly virtuous. The Botin restaurant has two major clams to fame. Firstly it is the world’s oldest continually-operating restaurant – entertaining bon-viveurs since 1725 – and it was also where another Queen entertained her lovers. And it’s recommended by Frederick Forsyth if that catches your fancy.

Nearby is San Miguel market. Its cast iron structure covers a stunning market where you can buy anything from seasonal wild mushrooms, over 100 varieties of cheese or fresh oysters – to a coffee and a (very) sticky bun.

Madrid, then, is a surprise. I’d not go there for a fortnight; but for a four-day long break it is, perhaps, the least known of Europe’s great capitals and rewards the adventurous. It is small, so walking around is possible. Spanish cuisine is now recognised as among the world’s finest – be it tapas, San Celoni or the wonderful Baroque magnificence of  Paco Roncero’s two star Michelin Terraza Restaurant at the Casino. Sitting in the Jacuzzi outside my suite at the Hotel Hesperia with a life-affirming glass of Cava is a lasting memory.

FACTBOX

http://www.hesperia.com/nh/en/hotels/spain/madrid/hesperia-madrid.html

www.aireuropa.com

With the Christmas ever so close, it is time to plan your Christmas day dining, and for such a special meal, I would suggest choosing the wonderfully unique cafe restaurant, INN THE PARK, London!

On your Christmas morning, imagine treading through the snow and the tranquillity of St. James Park up to this exceptional café restaurant, nestled among the plants and ponds of the park. Treat your taste buds to a piping hot Christmas meal prepared by Oliver Peyton’s superb team at Inn The Park, against the backdrop of London’s historical architecture, the London Eye and the adjacent, shimmering lake. With a pinch of this beautiful setting, a splash of traditional British food and a dollop of Christmas festivity, you can get yourself a perfect Christmas dining experience at ‘Inn The Park’ for just £25.00 this year!

Anyone who wants to celebrate Christmas in a slightly novel manner should head to Brighton on December 21, for the annual community event BURNING THE CLOCKS!

Celebrated on the shortest day of the year, Burning the Clocks is an event that literally brings everyone in Brighton together. Essentially, the event is a family solstice lantern parade, inviting participation from the local people who create their own paper and willow lanterns. After carrying them through the lantern parade, they add them to the fire on the Brighton beach to mark the close of the year. A massive fire sculptor is ignited in the fire show that follows, and fireworks light up the whole sky. This unique Christmas celebration in Brighton is an outpour of passion, fun and fireworks!

Nothing screams ‘Christmas’ more than a classic Christmas carol service. And since we are on the subject of celebrating Christmas ‘right’, there is no carol service more impressive than the one by candlelight at the Royal Albert Hall! The Mozart Festival Orchestra, garbed entirely in 18th century costume, will perform this exquisite concert of a range of carols and seasonal classics, between 16^th and 24^th December. Very popular for igniting the Christmas magic, this event will have you counting down days till Christmas!