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Lunch at VICO

The lovely people at Bocco Di Lupo have just opened a new venture in Cambridge Circus (already home to culinary delight Polpo at Ape and Bird) and they very kindly invited me along to try it. Welcome to VICO.

The idea is based on Italian street food, piazza style. And walking in you do feel like you’re suddenly transported away from London, the staff are smiling and chatty, the decor is cool and urban but with a Mediterranean twist.

It’s very informal so go in, grab a table and then head to the service bar where a plethora (I love that word at the moment) of food awaits. There is a pizza area, a salad/antipasti area, a fried area and a fresh fish area. The fresh fish was what impressed me the most, they had crab, huge prawns, all sorts. And one of the chefs will cook it for you right there to your requirements! Given this place is opposite a Macdonalds it really gives a different meaning to the phrase ‘fast food’ and what it could and should entail.

Everything is available to eat in or take away if you’re in a rush, yet for those who have time to kill they have prosecco on tap for £3.50 a glass-unheard of in central London. £3.50 a glass. Yes.

We both had pizza (Margarita and spicy pumpkin respectively) and my sister accompanied hers with marinated courgette ribbons and pumpkin salad with hazelnuts. I had tuna tarter with potato and herbs, and all was delicious.

The one regret we had was that we didn’t stay to try their ice cream parlour-as it was raining neither of felt like getting colder! However they do give a 50% on ice cream if it is raining so I think us Londoners will be cashing in there practically every day!

Give it a try and let me know what you think, they are open from 11am till midnight every day so perfect for a lunch or a late night munchies run after watching a show on theatre land.

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It's been a long while! My last post was in August 2013 and I am VERY ashamed to have gone so long without blogging. So I thought I'd post some pics of a few things I've done since then...I've started a new job with ENO and the best event I've done so far has been a big fundraising gala at The Savoy with Bryn Terfel which was wonderful. I've also got my skipper license and done allot of sailing, and swimming with friendly sea creatures. Art and food have, as ever been a huge part of things and I had a wonderful 2 days in Champagne, France as a guest of Veuve Clicquot which was beyond amazing. I promise to start blogging regularly again and will kick off this week with a review of VICO, a new restaurant from the masterminds behind Bocco Di Lupo. Watch this space!

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Hi Rosanna, what's the best email address to reach you on? I'd like to invite you to a jazz and swing evening at The Bloomsbury Hotel on Thursday evening, if it's not too short notice? You can reach me on the email address on my Tumblr page or DM The Bloomsbury Hotel, which is now following you on Twitter. Hope to hear from you. Best wishes, Mina.

Hi Mina,You can reach me at [email protected]

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Garden Gazpacho

I've just come back from a lovely break in Fuerteventura, where I happily lived off delicious Spanish food and drink (AKA Tapas and Sangria). One of my favourite things to have when on holiday somewhere hot is Gazpacho, which if you don't know is a chilled tomato soup, really refreshing and also very healthy and light on calories due to being made entirely of raw vegetables!

I decided to make some for myself and swung by my parents garden to pick up the necessary ingredients. The greenhouse was bursting full of goodies and in addition to making this I also now have a fridge full of a weeks worth of veggies!

So to make 2 bowls of refreshing goodness you will need:

4 big beef tomatoes

1 cucumber about 6 inches long

1 clove of garlic

1 shallot

1/2 red pepper

Fresh basil and parsley

Extra Virgin olive oil

White wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

Instructions

Put the tomatoes in a bowl of boiling water for a few minutes and then take them out and remove the skins. They should slide off very easily, if not put them back in the water a little while longer

Chop the tomatoes into chunks and remove the core and pips, keeping as much of the flesh as you can. 

Then peel the cucumber and chop this up as well 

Crush the garlic, chop the shallot and red pepper and add all to a food processor or blender with some salt and pepper. Also add a handful of basil, one tablespoon of white wine vinegar and a couple of good quality extra virgin olive oil. 

Now blend away! Keep going until the mixture is really smooth, adding a bit of water if it is not runny enough.

Put in the fridge for an hour to make sure it is really cold, alternatively stir in some crushed ice if you can't wait! And then comes the garnish...

Everyone has different ideas as to what should go on top and most people like adding croutons but I prefer not to. I use more chopped cucumber, shallot, red pepper, basil and parsley, and find this is crunchy enough. I also found some chive and borage flowers in the garden which look so pretty and are edible too! 

Pile everything into a soup bowl, add the above and drizzle with a bit more olive oil. 

ta da!

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The Windsor Castle, Clapton

A few months ago, the Windsor Castle in Clapton was renovated and re-opened. 

I was dying to check it out but had to wait a while, and finally this weekend got to go and see what all the fuss was about. 

I arrived and was immediately offered a Gin and Elderflower cocktail whilst we perused the menu, a most welcome beverage! It was delicious...deceptively un-alcoholic in taste and very refreshing. 

Also on the drinks menu was a Bourbon and Cherry slush puppy, very appealing but would have rendered me incapable of writing a review so I resisted on this occasion. The slush puppies change every day, last weekend it was a watermelon mojito which (according to reliable friends) was pretty amazing.

We were a group of 3, one veggie and two hard core carnivores. We ordered from the BBQ menu as well as some small plates to keep us going so ended up with:

Sauteed courgette with spiced almonds and marjoram

Thyme, onion and Cashel Blue Cheese tart

Scotch egg and chutney

Roydon Chicken with Rouille and Fennel Oil

Marrow and red onion brochette with cucumber and creme fraiche relish

All the food was delicious, the chicken was really moist and the accompaniments  were lovely. Fennel and dill really cut through without being too much and the beetroot was a rich texture next to the leafy salad.

However, I feel special mention should go to the scotch eggs. Crispy on the outside and still runny on the inside: this is how scotch eggs are supposed to be. Even after we had finished our meal I had to order another one! 

A pretty perfect scotch egg and I am somewhat of a connoisseur. 

The wine list was also very good, we enjoyed a lovely white Rioja and a refreshing Rose

After my double scotch egg I couldn't handle desert (although apparently the lemon posset is out of this world) but the others ordered some cheese

I had a great lunch, the pub has been re-done and looks amazing as well as having a cracking food menu and wine list. The courtyard garden out back is a welcome retreat and was busy yet relaxed on our sunday afternoon visit. Highly recommend!

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Quick chicken

Super quick recipe! This is a good one when you want something tasty, healthy and fast.

Ingredients (serves 2 people)

2 Chicken breasts (preferably free range)

50g Feta cheese

handful of baby plum tomatoes

Basil

Salt & Pepper

Olive oil

Cut a slit down the length of both chicken breasts and then stuff with the feta. You don't need alot, as the flavour is strong. Then put in a small baking tray, surround with the tomatoes, throw some basil on top, drizzle with olive oil and add some salt and pepper. Simple!

Roast in the oven at around 190 degrees for 20 minutes, et voila.

You get all the yummy juices from the tomatoes and chicken and then it's great served with salad or some vegetables.

Ta da!

enjoy

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Get London Reading campaign

This summer, amongst many other events (see all the previous blog posts!) I was working on the Get London Reading campaign with the Evening Standard. Culminating in a huge event in Trafalgar Square on July 13th, and staged with sponsorship from Nook (the E-reader from Barnes and Noble) it was a big project. All to do with improving children's literacy, we had the charity Beanstalk involved as well as the Mayor's office to hit the spot as hard as we could. It was a big undertaking, staging an event for a crowd numbering in the thousands in a public space like Trafalgar Square takes alot of meticulous planning and we had a great team helping us on all aspects. 

At 8am on 13th July...before the crowds descended! It was a scorcher...32 degrees with no shade. The fountains looked pretty tempting

We approached children's authors, TV personalities and celebrities to read from children's books in front of an audience that totalled 18,000 throughout the day. Dick and Dom were the days hosts and we also had a book signing tent, characters from West End productions entertaining the crowd, performers on stilts, face painters and all sorts wandering throughout the square. 

Joey the horse wowing the surrounding crowd. If you haven't seen War Horse I highly recommend it! Get tickets here

In the run up to the event we held press events in various schools around London. People like Stephen Fry, Boris Johnson and Harry Enfield came to read to the kids and get them excited about books. I found myself on London Tonight at one point, which made my nan rather proud!

Readers on the day of the event included Lily Cole, Rupert Everett, Hugh Grant and Warwick Davies. I had a great time helping them all choose readings from chidren's books like Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh and Horrid Henry. It was very nostalgic reminiscing over all my favourite tales from when I was little.

The crowd all loved it!

Nowadays children are more into Peppa Pig, who I got to meet-both the 'voice of Peppa, little girl Harley Bird and the real thing...

At the end of the day the only thing I needed was a crisp glass of white wine and the Vista Bar on top of the Trafalgar Square more than obliged. 

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Rambert Dance Company Summer Gala

Last week I did a fundraising gala for Rambert Dance Company. For those who don't know, Rambert are a fantastic contemporary dance company founded by Marie Rambert and have a wonderful reputation as one of the most admired and innovative dance companies in the UK.

I was working in the project for a full year so it was a really big one. We wanted to show the guests the essence of Rambert so it was essential to have a performance by the company and they wanted to perform A Linha Curva, a beautiful piece that uses the whole company and is choreographed by Itzik Galili. With it's use of light and percussive sounds it is extremely striking and was a wonderful way to show off to guests what Rambert is all about.

The first obstacle to get over was the size of the stage we had to build for the piece. We eventually settled on using Lindley Hall as our venue as it allowed us to build the correct size stage and elaborate lighting rig that was needed. We had the venue for 3 days in total, one day to build, then the day of the event, and then a day to dismantle everything. 

When all finished, the result was spectacular. We had very simple table arrangements in black and white to not distract from the performance and also hung prints of Rambert photographs on the walls.

Guests arrived for a champagne reception and promptly sat for the performance which was followed by a sumptuous dinner and an auction. 

The performance really was something else, which I have tried to show with this selection of shots but you will never get the sense of movement, the sound, the light, the full effect. Go and see them perform! It began with the dancers running through the audience onto the stage and putting on metal collars which reflected the light.

Photograph by Alex Harvey-Brown of Savannah Photographic who was our official photographer on the night. You can tell which images are his and which are mine by the fact they are miles better (and always in focus!) 

As you can see it was mesmerising. 

Photograph by Alex Harvey-Brown of Savannah Photographic

The piece was about 20 minutes long and really raised the roof, they got a standing ovation afterwards (unsurprisingly) 

As the impetuous was on raising money, we also played a few fundraising games. Jo Brand got involved and led guests in a game of Heads and Tails aided by 2 rather good looking male dancers in hot pants. She loved it!

Photograph by Alex Harvey-Brown of Savannah Photographic

Heads and Tails (or tiaras and tutus as we called it) is great fun, everyone puts £20 in an envelope and then the whole room gets to their feet. You choose if you want to be 'heads' or 'tails' and either put your hands on your head or your bum. The compere (Jo) flips a coin and if you got it right, you stay standing. Eventually you end up with 2 people left and the winner gets a prize. Here's Twiggy striking a pose...

Photograph by Alex Harvey-Brown of Savannah Photographic

And Simon Callow watching the remaining players after losing a round!

Photograph by Alex Harvey-Brown of Savannah Photographic

From dinner we moved onto the auction, conducted by Lord Poltimore of Sotheby's. We have a good relationship with the big auction houses and they are very generous with their time helping us with our events like this. 

Photograph by Alex Harvey-Brown of Savannah Photographic

We had auction items such as champagne tea at The Delauny with Romola Garai and Ben Whishaw (for fans of The Hour), walk on roles in west end productions, beautiful artwork and our star prize was a pair of Audrey Hepburn's ballet shoes. Audrey trained with Marie Rambert herself when she came to England and it was Marie who convinced her to go into acting. Rambert is therefore very close to the heart of the Hepburn family and Audrey's sons Sean and Luca were very supportive of the gala. 

A winning bidder!

Photograph by Alex Harvey-Brown of Savannah Photographic

It was a storming success and then guests could get up and mingle around. We decided to serve pudding canapes to make it easier for people to wander around and our wonderful caterers Rocket rose to the occasion with these masterpieces. You'll notice this is the only food pics I ended up with-I was so hectic running around but made time to photograph this lot! 

Needless to say they were devoured and the guests loved them.

All in all the night was a real triumph, everyone had a wonderful time and we raised valuable funds for Rambert's New Work Commissioning Fund. I was exhausted afterwards...so the following afternoon I fled to Gatwick and spent the weekend doing this:

June is always a crazy month as everyone has their fundraising galas, plus alot goes on in the art world, PLUS it is the big month for social events (Chelsea Flower Show, Cannes Film Festival, Ascot etc etc) so it really is a busy time for me. Enjoyed my break!

I have alot of exciting things going on in coming weeks, lots of exhibition openings, private views, a huge event in Trafalgar Square plus Henley and Wimbledon so expect a blogging explosion...

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Launch party for Art on the Underground '15 for 150'

On Wednesday 5 June I did the launch party for Art on the Underground's 15 for 150 project. This is a collection of 15 works commissioned by Art on the Underground by artists including Gillian Wearing, Pablo Bronstein and Idris Khan to celebrate 150 years on the London Underground. We were lucky enough to be allowed to hold it at 55 Broadway, the London Underground headquarters which is a very high security building not accessible to the public. We were even luckier in that the weather was sunny and hot so we could use the stunning roof terraces that give what is probably one of the best views in London. 

The lovely art deco building 55 Broadway

This is the view from just one of the terraces (there are 4). Spot the London landmark!

We had to display all the artworks so got top production company Perception in to build some false walls for us. Then we had to hang everything which always takes time but we were really pleased by how everything looked

Food wise we wanted to keep everything quintessentially English so served gin cocktails, fresh lemonade and Victoria sponge cake. Look what the catering team found!

The joys of icing sugar

The guests were all thrilled to be allowed into 55 Broadway and we had a great turn out (around 240 people) enjoying the art, the food and the sunshine. A really lovely evening. You can see the artworks all over the tube now and each one is available to by as a print (be quick as they'll sell out fast!) so visit the website here to have a look

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Fullcircle presents: Cinematic Visions at Victoria Miro, Friday 7 June

On Friday evening the exhibition ‘CINEMATIC VISIONS: Painting at the Edge of Reality’ was launched at Victoria Miro gallery.

Co-curated by James Franco, Isaac Julien and Glenn Scott Wright it has been more than a year in the planning and is in support of a wonderful charity I work with called Bottletop.

Bottletop are on organisation I have worked with since 2011 which was founded by Cameron Saul and Oliver Wayman. They help young people with a variety of issues in Africa and South America and you may be familiar with their amazing bags and purses they make out of disused bottletops and ringpulls. These are made in favelas and poverty stricken villages but then sold all over the world in shops like Harrods and then the money is re-invested back into creative projects that tackle delicate teenage health issues ranging from the prevention of HIV/AIDS and unplanned teenage pregnancy to drug abuse and gender equality. They are super cool and do amazing work, have a look here

“Stemming the rising tide of AIDS is one of the most urgent challenges facing the global community today. I applaud your efforts in this endeavor. What a wonderful and innovative way to stop the spread of this deadly disease.”

Bill Clinton

They are a cause that has become very important to me so not only are they a client but a foundation I really want to do well.

 So on Friday we had the launch party for this exhibition, and the artists have all amazingly agreed to donate a percentage of the sale of their work to the charity.

As you can see it's a great list of artists and the works are all incredible so go and see it if you can.

We also sold tickets to the event, had a Limited Edition print by Hernan Bas for sale and a silent auction with a work from James Franco (who’s latest exhibition has just opened at Pace in London). 

It was a very glamorous affair, held in the beautiful garden at Victoria Miro. Thankfully the weather was fine so it couldn’t have looked prettier.

  Last Supper (who are a very good caterer with very gorgeous staff) did the food, which was an informal dinner in the garden. They spent all day setting up and it looked great when all finished.

The view down into the garden from the top floor of the gallery

A hive of activity setting up before guests arrived

It was described as a ‘Grazing Supper’ so there were tables laid out with overflowing plates of food for guests to help themselves to; artisan cheeses and freshly baked breads; sliced prosciutto with truffle honey; bowls of spring vegetable risotto and lots more. For pudding we had huge bowls of berries with rainbow meringues, colourful macaroons and slices of Tarte au Citron.

 Giving the party a laid back latin feel was Heido Vogel playing some smooth bossa nova and the whoe evening had a really lovely vibe.

James Franco came, as well as Tilda Swinton and Noomi Rapace so the press were happy and all in all it was a great success!

  James and Isaac having a snap taken. sorry for blurriness!

CINEMATIC VISIONS: Painting at the Edge of Reality at the Victoria Miro gallery and is open until  3 August 2013

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Venues

When a client first comes to me with an idea for an event, the very first things we ask is format? date? venue? Once we have a format we can move further forward, and choosing a date depends on what else is happening at the time and we'd make a clash chart to see what else is happening and when! Then the venue is a huge part of how successful the event is and it is sometimes really hard to choose somewhere. You can obviously narrow it down by size (if you're having a seated dinner for 700 people your choices are limited!) and what 'feel' you're after (classical architecture/urban blank canvas etc etc) but it is still tricky as hell.  

The Dairy Art Centre in Bloomsbury

The abandoned platform at disused Aldwych Tube Station

The Great Hall at Harry Potter Studios

On this note, I thought I'd share a Pinterest board I have put together (and am adding to constantly) with venues I have worked in, want to work in or just think are cool.

For those of you who don't know, Pinterest is like an online hub where you can create boards and pin things to them, and then access it anywhere. or anywhere with the internet which is pretty much anywhere these days. For example, now if I'm in an exceptionally girly mood and want to look at hair ideas for a night out (I do make an effort sometimes) there are boards that have hundreds of photos and tutorials. My boards are (or will be when I build them up) all centred around events and the arts and my venues board should be some food for thought for anyone who is planning something. 

Pinterest are running a really cool project with bloggers called Pinitforward where bloggers post on consecutive days introducing someone else so it becomes a chain throughout the month. I am introducing Jacintha Verdegaal who has a lovely blog called Urban Pixels about the city we both live in (London) with some incredible photographs-highly recommend checking it out.

If you're not already on Pinterest you can join here (and follow meeeee at the same time)

Enjoy!

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AxME by Ellen Gallagher at Tate Modern

This morning I went to Tate Modern bright and early for breakfast and a curated tour of Ellen Gallagher's exhibition 'AxME'. 

Getting up earlier than usual may be a pain but nothing beats being able to wander around a show with only a handful of other people, and being talked through it by one of the curators really helps you understand the works and what goes into them. Little things like the fact the first room is wall papered in over 4000 individual sheets of penmanship paper, and personal comments the artist made whilst installing the show. It's a real privilege. 

Ellen has shown all over London and the UK, from Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh to South London Gallery in Camberwell. I don't want to give you an entire run down of the show as you should definitely go and see it yourself, it is beautiful and thought provoking and I highly recommend. 

Personal highlights for me were the Morphia series, works on paper that are viewable from both sides and therefore encased in freestanding glass frames so you can wander between them.

The way they are suspended gives them a very ethereal feeling and the name 'Morphia' is in reference to Morphine, and the dream like state it creates. The paper is cut and stained but due to the nature of the material the result is never controlled, the colour might reach too far, they might blend together, there is no certain outcome of the piece. The work is completely different on either side, so in making one work, Ellen inadvertently creates 2 and I loved this idea, the fact the artist is never quite in command of the medium. 

You can also peek through the cut out parts which again lends a totally different aspect to the piece depending on where you stand. I loved these they are stunning.

The projection rooms are also incredible, completely blacked out room with these gorgeous old projectors wirring away in the middle showing images on the walls. 

Ellen studied Oceanography (as well as Carpentry) before becoming an artist and her attachment to the sea is evident throughout the exhibition. The theme of Atlantis, this mythical underwater world where you can escape to comes up in various pieces and there are projections of fish calmly swimming in shoals. When slaves were brought to America from Africa many were thrown overboard and killed-Ellen visits the idea that they didn't die but instead developed the ability to survive underwater and are therefore free from their bonds in a new world. 

I really loved this show, it's truly beautiful and a real 'thinker' as in you can look into each piece and find many different meanings in it, it keeps developing. Even the title shows this, AxME is a play on the old english word 'acme' which means 'The highest stage of development'  and 'axme', which is black vernacular for 'ask me'. Go and see the show and let your brain explore it :) you can book tickets here and it runs until 1st September.

x

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Launch of ‘Talking To Strangers, The Adventures of a Life Insurance Salesman’ at Claridges

On Tuesday evening I worked on the launch of a new book by Peter Rosengard at Claridges. Peter is a maverick life insurance salesman who also founded the Comedy Club and is involved with a charity we have worked with. We came together a few years ago after Sotheby's made the introduction and there's been no going back. 

Claridges is more or less Peter’s home, he breakfasts there every single morning (he has his own table in the restaurant) and has done for the past 20 years so it made perfect sense that this is where we held the party. And frankly I think Claridges would have felt he was cheating on them if he went elsewhere!

I have always used the Ballroom before for other events I’ve done at Claridges but as this was a smaller crowd we held the party in the Drawing Room.

A beautiful space, it needed nothing more doing to it than a few candles. People always think that holding an event in a hotel will make it cost vastly more but this isn't actually the case and it is often the cheapest option-if you have a party in a ‘cool’ but dingy warehouse it might be cheap as chips to hire but then you spend tens of thousands on making it fit for guests and have to bring absolutely everything in (never assume there is electricity or toilets!). Just FYI.

The set up was simple but a winner nontheless-guests arrive, they get a signed copy of the book, a glass of Laurent Perrier and some incredible canapés, they eat they drink they be merry.

 The man himself limbering up for some signing pre event

Choosing canapés is one of my favourite things to do (besides actually eating them, obviously) and this is what we served with a few pics to make you drool. Please excuse the slightly blurred nature of some of the photos, Claridges staff are so efficient they whip past you and I sometimes couldn't bring them to a complete halt to get an in-focus shot!

Tempura Prawn, Sauce Nantaise & Parsley Oil

  Tartlet of Roast Organic Beetroot & Sour Cream

  Quail Egg, French Sorrel & Gold Leaf

  Roulade of Smoked Salmon, Lemon & Horseradish

  Bouchée of Wild Mushroom

  Warm Salmon Blinis

  Parmesan Crusted Fillet of Lamb, Red Pepper Essence

  There were others (most notably chunks of beef fillet on a stick with  Béarnaise sauce, possibly best thing I've ever eaten) but alas no photos, you'll have to throw a party there to see them yourself. 

the great thing about working with a hotel like Claridges/The Savoy/The Dorchester is that you know the food, service and overall experience will be spot on and you don’t have to worry about it. Makes my life much easier! I finished the night with a nice crisp glass of fizz and headed home. Job done. 

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The Dairy Art Centre launch party

I've been a bit silent over the past week or so due to a huge project - the launch party for the new Dairy Art Centre in Bloomsbury. Located in an old Dairy, it is a brainchild of art collectors Frank Cohen and Nicolai Frahm and is a new public art space, with the opening exhibition Quicksand by John M Armleder. 

I first became involved back in February when we were asked to organise the opening party. The change in the venue has been dramatic, alot of work had to be done as you can see from these 'before and after' photos!

Everyone in the art world needed to be invited, so gallerists, collectors, artists, and we ended up with a crowd of around 1000 people packed into the gallery and front yard. We were very lucky with the weather, it being a beautiful warm April day and it was a wonderful evening. Setting up during the day was lovely, blissful to be outside for the first time this year without freezing!

Due to the nature of the building we wanted to run this theme through the event and as such had little touches like an old milk float for a bar, and an incredible ice cream van converted from a 1970's Citroen.

John the Milk Float man!

Our bar that greeted guests as they arrived. We sourced the mini milk bottles especially and served a malted White Russian to make it look even more authentic.

This is Nina's Ice Cream Van, which caused quite a stir amongst guests.

The ice cream menu. I only sampled the salted caramel (my ultimate favourite) but was told all the flavours were super tasty. Nina is writing a cookery book due for release next year.

Nina herself in her amazing van. I'd highly recommend getting her along to any summer event this year or ordering one of her amazing cakes (she bakes too) from her website here

Frank Cohen enjoying a pot of salted caramel ice cream before guests arrived.

The rest of the food was provided by White Rabbit, a hip Dalston eaterie who have also recently opened a pop up restaurant within Birthdays live music venue. They brought a whole team of chefs and waiting staff who were all brilliant and we had special Dairy T shirts made for them to wear. My 'event manager' outfit is a great pair of dark blue leopard print silk trousers from Sea New York which I team with a pair of black stilettos and a dark top of some kind. 

They set up a long gazebo outside in the yard and served a delicious menu which was devoured by guests.

The food was taken around to guests by staff or they could get it directly from the food tent, or 'milk bar' as we called it!

Inside the gallery we had hot DJ Max Chipchase from LA spinning some tunes which created a great atmosphere and really got the party started. This is him soundchecking...

Max's vantage point before the revellers descended

As we were expecting so many guests we had alot of security as well as traffic control to make sure there was not a jam of taxis all the way around Brunswick Square! 

Before long the party was in full swing and we had a jammed front yard and hundreds of people milling around the exhibition checking out this new art space. The night was a huge success and everyone who came had a really good time, there was a great buzz around the whole thing and we were all thrilled. 

The Dairy Art Centre is at 7A Wakefield Street, WC1N 1PG and is open to the public for free Tuesday-Friday 10am-6pm and 11am-5pm on Saturdays and Sundays. 

Let me know what you think!

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London Parklife...Spring is finally here!

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Broccoli pesto

This is a really easy, versatile and healthy recipe for a pesto you can use on more or less anything. Made with broccoli, it is delicious and far less calorific than ordinary shop bought pesto. 

Ingredients

2 packs of tenderstem broccoli

1 large clove of garlic

1 packet of fresh basil

Juice of 1/2 lemon

50grams pine nuts

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

  Makes 6 servings, approx 115 calories per serving.

  Steam the broccoli until it is cooked but still has a bit of firmness to it, 5-6 minutes should do the trick. Put it in the blender with all the other ingredients, and blend until smooth. 

  You might need to add a splash of water to ease it up, but that’s it!  

Takes about 15 minutes, from start to finish so very handy if you need to knock something up quickly.

You can add chopped fresh chili if you want a bit of a kick to it, or some parmesan cheese to change it up but it’s great on its own. I use it as a dip with crudités, spread onto chicken or fish before baking in the oven or have it with wholewheat pasta. It keeps for about 4-5 days in the fridge.

  Enjoy! You can find other recipes of mine here

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Style Conversations with Erdem

The lovely Savoy Hotel invited me along to an event hosted by the Sunday Times on Friday evening, a 'Style Conversation' between hot designer Erdem and fabulous fashion writer Colin McDowell. 

Erdem Moralioğlu is half British, half Turkish, but grew up in Canada with his mother, father and twin sister. From a young age he says he was preocupied with femininity, the way women looked and dressed and by the age of 15 knew his path would lead him into the fashion industry. His mother was a huge inspiration, from the red YSL lipstick she wore to her Guerlain Shalimar Perfume, he spoke of her reverently and very fondly-gotta love a mummy's boy!

After studying in Canada Erdem came to the UK and interned at Vivienne Westwood and worked at Diane Von Furstenburg before realising he really wanted to set up his own label, and now in 2013 he is already the only designer to have dressed both the Duchess of Cambridge and Michelle Obama, pretty impressive! In 2010 Erdem won the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund prize, meaning he was awarded £200,000 which was instrumental in furthering his career. 

The Lancaster Ballroom at The Savoy where the talk took place

Colin has been a huge fan of Erdem for a long time and has been very supportive of his work. During the talk there was a lovely sense of them reminiscing over past years, Erdem's first proper show at the V&A, the time Anna Wintour smiled after seeing his collection (a rare accolade). We heard about his passions and inspirations, his muses, and his advice for young designers starting out. 

One theme that kept coming up was that of Erdem building each collection like writing a book, developing his own handwriting and starting new chapters with each season. His ideal woman exists in his sketchbook, she is his 'woman of the season' and she evolves with the narrative. I loved this idea, of writing down a story and then turning a page, moving on and writing the next part. So constantly creating something new but with a wedge of history behind you, pushing you forwards to new things. 

Before all of this however I got to enjoy champagne and canapes in the Pinafore Room, one of the private dining rooms in the hotel.

As dressed up as one can be in soaking wet weather. I balanced out my cheap as chips Primark shoes with my Chanel handbag-couldn't be seen in anything less by this crowd.

I caught up with the events team there whilst sampling some delicious morsels such as mini cones filled with salmon tarter and smoked duck slices. I certainly got some jealous glances when I strolled into the Ballroom with a full glass of Louis Roederer. The fash pack had turned out in force with a large contingent from Net A Porter but I spotted some familiar faces I've worked with from Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Hugo Boss so we had a quick catch up before kick off.

I left feeling like I had got to know a bit more about the man behind the label, and it was lovely to hear anecdotes like the time he didn't book enough models for his first show the V&A resulting in them having to dash through the gift shop to get changed in time. 

I also heard about the new restaurant opening at The Savoy-Casper's Seafood Bar & Grill which opens on 2nd May. Casper is a sculpture of a cat, and the hotel's mascot. He was brought into being to be a 14th guest at any gatherings with only 13 diners as this is considered unlucky, The Savoy are a superstitious lot! It's a charming tradition and one of the little quirks of this London landmark. I'm making my reservation imminently, review to follow!