As a tribute to Italian magnificence, the new design of the S. Pellegrino bottle fronts the sparkles famous of the Italian jeweler.

Sourced and bottled at a thermal source in the Italian pre-Alps, it is instantly recognisable by its fine bubbles and subtle mineral aromas.  Following my water pairing experience last year, I can say it really is perfectly paired with structured foods and wines, rich in flavours and aromas, which is why it is found on the tables of top restaurants around the globe.

S. Pellegrino is my favourite bottled water, and hey pretty bottles like this, just make it even more special!

Priya Shaheed, S. Pellegrino Brand Manager UK says “When S. Pellegrino met Bulgari, the idea came out naturally: it brings together the most prestigious brands which set the standard for Italian standard all over the world. Our brand is an international symbol of the Italian art of living and partnering with Bulgari adds power to our efforts to export the finest side of Italy”.

The special edition of S. Pellegrino was launched exclusively in Harrods but is now available elsewhere.

-The Reserva de la Familia Limited Edition

Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia tequila is celebrating the subculture of tattoo art this Christmas, teaming up with Mexican artist Jerónimo López Ramírez to create a funky gift pack. The handcrafted wooden box celebrates the notorious style of the artist known as ‘Dr. Lakra’, a legend in Mexican tattoo artistry. His work has been shown across the world, bringing his unique style, influenced by comics, flamenco dancing and music covers, to several different art forms and audiences.

Reserva de la Familia is no ordinary tequila. Every March Fancisco Hajnal, Cuervo’s Master Blender, mixes a unique blend from the Cuervo tequila reserves, producing a limited number of special bottles; hand-poured, wax-sealed, numbered and labelled ‘Reserva de la Familia’. Since 1995, to honour the extraordinary tequila, the Cuervo family has teamed up with the Mexican artist of the moment to design a one-off gift box, creating collectible limited editions.

A tequila to be appreciated and sipped, served best over ice.  The Reserva de la Familia collectible box is available from Selfridges for £84.68 RRP.

SALUT! THE WORLD’S BEST TASTING SILVER TEQUILA

This Christmas, why not treat someone to a bottle of award winning tequila Jose Cuervo, Platino. The silver tequila comes in a striking blue wooden box, making it an ideal gift for those who appreciate the fine Mexican spirit.

Made from 100% blue agave, Platino boasts an exquisite flavour thanks to the Cuervo family’s secret recipe and unique handcrafted production process that has developed over 200 years at Casa Cuervo. Its light herbaceous aromas give way to hints of vanilla and this smooth tequila is best served in luxurious cocktails.

An ideal gift for foodies, and all discerning drinkers, the Cuervo Platino gift box is available from Selfridges for £55.44 RRP.

THE IDEAL STOCKING FILLER FOR THE WHISKY ENTHUSIAST: The Talisker® Single Malt Scotch Whisky Flask and Glass Pack

 The makers of Talisker whisky this year has created the perfect solution to honour the award winning malt; a striking special edition of the Talisker 10 year old 20cl that comes together with a unique Talisker rocking glass and a hip flask. The perfect stocking filler, savour the whisky at home or in the hipflask whilst enjoying the great outdoors on your Boxing Day walk.

At a recommended price of £19.99 and available from whisky specialists.

FOR JOHNNIE WALKER® LOVERS: The Johnnie Walker Black Label Gift Pack

The Johnnie Walker Black Label gift pack includes a bottle of the smooth Scotch whisky, along with two elegant tumbler glasses, all enclosed in a stylish black case. Aged for 12 years, Johnnie Walker Black Label is a unique blend with a smooth, deep and complex character.

Available to buy from selected whisky specialist stores, the Johnnie Walker Black Label gift pack has an RRP of £29.99.

The Johnnie Walker Red Label Gift Pack

To ensure you’re spoilt for choice when deciding what to buy the whisky enthusiast in your life, the makers of Johnnie Walker have also created two Johnnie Walker Red Label gift packs.  The first pack contains two complimentary bespoke tumblers embossed with the famous Johnnie Walker striding man, along with a bottle of the world renowned whisky, famous for its bold and characterful taste. In contrast to Johnnie Walker Black Label, Red Label has been created to drink long. Just adding water will unleash the robust, sweet and smoky blend to its full potential.

The Johnnie Walker Red Label Glass Pack is available from selected supermarkets throughout the UK, priced at £21.99.

GRAND MARNIER® ADDS A CHRISTMAS TWIST TO ITS CLASSIC BOTTLE

Grand Marnier has created The Red Ribbon Limited Edition Bottle to shake up your drinks cabinet during the party months.

Renowned for its distinctive flavour and character, Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge is a delicate blend of fine cognacs and distilled essence of tropical oranges. Slowly aged in French oak casks, Grand Marnier has an incomparable roundness and subtlety, making it a fantastic ingredient for Christmas drinks.

The Red Ribbon Edition is available to buy from October in Harvey Nichols and Selfridges, with an RRP of£29.99.

THE ULTIMATE GIFT FOR COCKTAIL AFICIONADOS: Tanqueray® gin limited edition

Tanqueray gin has created Tonight’s Edition.  The bottle of Tanqueray gin, honoured with a Royal Warrant in 1925, is enclosed in a high quality, premium silver shrink sleeve and embossed with the iconic Tanqueray seal; a must have for any cocktail enthusiast.

The gift pack comes with the seal of approval from Erik Lorincz the head barman at the world famous American Bar in the London Savoy.  It also includes a recipe to create the perfect Tanqueray & Tonic so you can recreate the glamour of the cocktail bar in the comfort of your own home.

Tanqueray gin’s complex combination of refreshing juniper, peppery coriander and aromatic angelica give it an elegant taste that sets it apart from the rest and has helped make it one of the world’s most awarded gin.

The Tanqueray Tonight’s Edition is available at all major supermarkets this Christmas, with an RRP of £22.99.

A GIFT FOR THOSE WHO LIKE THE FINER THINGS IN LIFE: The Ron Zacapa® 23 Gift Box

Zacapa 23 Solera is regarded as one of the finest rums in the world. The ultra-premium RonZacapa 23 gift box comes complete with two bespoke tasting glasses.  It is the result of a unique combination of soil climate and ultra-high-grade cane sugar and is produced using only the first pressing of the sugar cane, the virgin cane honey.

This is skillfully distilled and then transported to the aging facility, known as ‘the house above the clouds’ sitting as it does at 2300m above sea level. Not only is the location unique, but the cool air serves a practical purpose of slowing the ageing process to craft rums of impeccable quality.

The Zacapa 23 gift box includes a 70cl bottle with two elegant bespoke Zacapa sipping glasses, and is available exclusively from Selfridges RRSP from £65.

If you are trying to work out what colour scheme to go for on your christmas tree, or whether to have tinsel or baubles, or both – then how about hanging a selection of dried chillies on your tree, don’t they look amazing?!

There’s a wide variety available in all different colours, shapes and sizes at the South Devon Chilli Farm (buy online at www.sdcf.co.uk).

The iconic Harvey Nichols Fifth Floor Café has undergone a complete refurbishment – its first in twenty years, and has re-opened this month as a bigger and brighter, open plan space, with a new interior that includes the expanded Espresso bar and a new kitchen with a brand new food and drink menu.

Overlooking the Knightsbridge rooftops, the Café has always been a famous breakfast meeting spot and the new menu is simply delicious, featuring everything from irresistible Belgian Waffles with winter berries, lavender cream and berry compote, a super healthy breakfast pot with granola, greek yoghurt and Bramley apple to smoked salmon with potato cake and poached egg, a full English, continental breakfasts and a healthy selection of smoothies and fresh juices.

Clearly the full English was unavoidable, so the two of us shared that alongside the smoked salmon with poached egg and potato cake, oh and not forgetting the scrumptious extra portion of hash browns I ordered on the side.. sorry i couldn’t resist!

While the food was almost faultless – I prefer my egg to be a tiny bit softer, and the potato cake a little less charred around the edges – I have to say the salmon, black pudding and hash browns were to die for and the juices and smoothies were delicious and healthy, especially the ginger, carrot and orange, and the apple, cucumber and elderflower.  YUM.

As we near Christmas, don’t forget to stop in the food halls, amazing place for present shopping!

… and on that note, oooh will you look at the time, it’s four o’clock and Friday afternoon humn…?

According to new research by Kenwood, only four out of the average household’s 21 meals a week are cooked from scratch, whilst consumption of ready meals or takeaways has significantly increased.

The study also showed that kitchen nerves are more prevalent in men than women, and in particular amongst the under 35s, who find cooking more stressful than older generations.

This could be down to the fact that ready meals are so good these days that people don’t see the need to cook at home; or perhaps they no longer have as much time to cook, trying to fit food around busy social lives; or it could simply be attributed to the fact that we now have a generation who didn’t see their parents cook much, so therefore were not exposed to necessary home cooking skills – which I think is really sad!

Mark Swift, Director of Marketing at Kenwood, comments, “It’s a great shame to discover the extent to which cooking from scratch is on the decline, and the impact that this is having on our cookery confidence and ability in the UK. Cooking from scratch is a great way to de-stress and it’s also an important way to teach children about correct nutrition, and pass on cooking knowledge so they know their way around the kitchen.

What hope does Britain have of our ensuring our food revival continues, if we aren’t able to pass valuable cookery skills onto the next generation?

The menu is British through and through, striking a fine balance between fresh, seasonal produce, classic English dishes and a level of cuisine you would only expect to find in Michelin stared establishments. The brasserie style restaurant has a wonderfully welcoming and warm country pub feel to it, yet somehow it still manages to maintain the urban and fresh atmosphere of a top London restaurant.

The menus, created by Alan to reflect the best of local and seasonal produce, reveal his field to fork philosophy through the use of Manson’s own allotments, the foraging of British ingredients and sourcing of meat from small Cumbrian farms.  The food was utterly fantastic, beautifully presented and probably the best meal I have had in a long time!

We had a selection of dishes from the menu, which were perfectly paired by Launceston Place’s sommelier Mickey Narea from Manson’s well-selected wine list.  To start with we were presented with the most stunning plate of tartar of highland venison, rich in flavour, yet still light on the taste buds, adorned with meaty pickled girolles and cobnuts and a rather glamorous swirl of celeriac.  What a fantastic way to start a meal!

The venison was paired with a Little Yerring Pinot Noir from Australia, and while I am usually a huge fan of Pinot Noir, I think that out of all the wine we sampled that evening, this was perhaps the least exciting.

Thinking that we had already had the best course of the evening, the next course arrived, a red leg of partridge, with quince, honey and oats.  Utterly delicious, a perfect combination of sweetness from the honey coupled with the gamey flavours from the partridge.   Alongside, this we sipped on a syrupy and rather smokey white, a Marques de Riscal Limousin Reserva. While punchier than the Pinot Noir, this really was so well paired with the flavours of the dish, I’ll be hard pushed to want to drink anything else with partridge in the future.

Next as if it couldn’t get any better, we were fortunate enough to dine on roast grouse – my absolute favourite – and even more so now after having tasted it with damsons and savoy cabbage.  This we drank with a superb Riferno Rossa Riserva, Camillo De Lellis, Molise, Italy.

And last but not least, a plate of cheeses and a sumptuous apple tart with clove ice cream, alongside a soupcon of Coteaux du Layon, from the Loire Valley. 

The cheeses were full of flavour and a great selection, and the tart really was to die for, so much so I forgot to take a picture before I dived on in!  If I am being critical, I’m not entirely sure what benefit the clove ice cream gave to the dish, I think I might have been happier with double or even clotted cream, but 99% ain’t bad… fruitiness from the apples, rich creamy caramel yumminess balanced out by the crispy and buttery pastry. YUM

Overall a fabulous array of flavours, and while it’s hard to say what my favourite dish was because it was all simply divine, if pushed I might say the grouse and damsons, coupled with the Italian Riferno, narrowly surpassed the tartare of venison as the dish extraordinaire of the evening.

Other highlights from the menu include: wood pigeon, spelt, berries, currants and chervil (£7.50); Devon brown crab, chilled tomato soup with pickled cucumber (£8.50); roast coley, leek, fennel and surf clams (£14.00); mutton suet pie, roast loin, baby onions and bacon (£18.00); Cumbrian suckling pig with glazed apple and cobnuts (£19.50); damson parfait, candied rose petals, blackcurrants and brown bread crunch (£6.00) and London honey and almond loaf with plum ripple ice-cream (£6.00).  There is also an extensive wine list with a number of English wines, featuring over 60 bins, with 15 available by the glass from £4.50, and bottles starting from £17.90.

Mark Dyer, Eamonn Manson, and David Minchin, who also set up sister pub The Sands End together in 2007, opened Manson in 2010. 

A resounding success!  I look forward to coming again soon… 

Reservations can be made on 020 7384 9559 or http://www.mansonrestaurant.co.uk/ 676 Fulham Road, London, SW6 5SA

Manson on Urbanspoon

The two oyster dishes combine traditional Thai cuisine with seasonal produce from Maldon Oysters and are presented in two ways – raw and cooked, in the following styles:

• Oysters with mint, coriander, lemongrass, Thai vinaigrette, lemon and crisp shallots.

• Oysters deep-fried in soda batter served in its shell with bean-sprout and chilli sauce.

The dishes are set at three: £5.50; or six: £9.50, which seems like a pretty fair price.

They are also offering Champagne by the bottle to enjoy with the oysters, which include Moutard Brut Reserve (£35.80); Laurent Perrier Brut (£56.20); Veuve Cliquot Rosé (£66.40); and Moet et Chandon (£148.10).

For August and September, Patara joined forces with luxury resorts and spa group Six Senses to create a special menu with a focus on health and flavour.

Highlights from the menu included Miang pla Salmon – salmon and herb Thai salad with chilli lime dressing; Goong yai op – Roasted king prawns, lime and chilli marinate, spiced mango and passion fruit foam served with tender steamed bok-choi; and Goong Pow, grilled tiger prawns with kaffir lime dressing served on brown rice infused with green curry paste.

I went to sample the six senses menu in the Greek Street restaurant and had a great evening.

While the salad appeared to have been sitting in its dressing for a while before it made it to the table, the fresh spring rolls were light and delicious, the king prawns were cooked to perfection, the green curry sauce was not watery, but creamy and full of flavour, and the service was way more attentive than I have witnessed in the past, so I am sure that the oyster dishes will go down a treat.

I just hope I manage to make it along before December to sample them!

Top tips from Omar Allibhoy on making the most of Spanish Olives: www.olivesfromspain.co.uk

• Olives can be enjoyed at any time of the day

• Use them to complement a glass of Sherry, a Dry Martini or any other dry cocktail

• Have as a pre-dinner snack or an entrée

• Olives are equally impressive served as part of a main meal in any hot dish – turkey, chicken, duck, rice, veal – as well as many other gastronomic specialities which are popular all around the world

• Olives are a common salad ingredient because of their freshness and natural characteristics. They go especially well in Mediterranean-style salads with other flavoursome ingredients like tuna, onions, anchovies and capsicums

• Cold meat selections are a favourite across the globe and olives are a great accompaniment because they bring out the flavour of the meats

• Roasts / casseroles / tagines: These kinds of slow-cooked dishes are internationally popular and olives are frequently added to give them a touch of the Mediterranean!

• Of course there are many other things that olives can be served with too, so why don’t you open a jar and experiment today!

Lubina a la sarten con aceitunas, piquillos y fino. (Pan fried sea bass with Spanish olives, piquillo peppers and dry Sherry wine)

4 pieces of seabass of 150g each.

1 tin of pitted purple Spanish olives

1 tin of piquillo pepers

1 handfull of Spanish Caperberries

100 ml of Spanish olive oil

4 garlic cloves

1 small glass of dry Fino wine

Some cracked black pepper

A pinch of salt

2 sprigs of flat parsley

Wash and pat dry your seabass fillets and put to one side to pan fry later. Open the tin of piquillo peppers, half them and remove any seeds. Drain the caperberries and olives put aside also.

Peel and thinly slice the garlic cloves, fry over a medium heat until golden with half of the olive oil. Add the piquillo peppers and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the purple Spanish olives and caperberries and sauté again. Season with salt and pepper and add a splash of Fino wine. Let the alcohol burn and sprinkle a bit of finely chopped parsley. Taste the seasoning and alter if needed.

Preheat a non stick pan over a high heat and pour a bit of Spanish olive oil. Pan fry the seabass fillets skin side down until ¾ done, turn over, season the skin with some salt flakes and cook for one more minute.

Serve a bed of the Spanish olives accompaniment and place the seabass on the top, drizzle a bit of olive oil to finish off.

Follow Spanish Olives on Twitter for all the latest news and ideas on how to incorporate them into your cooking @Taste_of_Spain or find them on Facebook facebook.com/Taste-of-Spain.com.

The new concoction is a shot of Costa expresso, which is then mixed with skimmed milk and finally frothed together to make Costa light… sounds good to me!

One thing that surprised me about this video is that Costa sells a whopping 520 million cups of coffee each day worldwide – That sure is a hell of a lot of coffee!

www.youtube.com