All posts tagged: france

My Food Heaven at Champagne + Fromage

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I’m a little bit worried you’re all going to get bored of me rabbiting on about cheese, but hey ho, here’s another cheese-tastic blog post! This time I’m writing about Champagne + Fromage. I first came across the restaurant on Twitter a few weeks ago, as they’ve opened a new branch in Greenwich, not too far from where I live.  But on Saturday I planned to meet my friend Laura for lunch, and we ended up at Brixton market. After sitting at a table at a tapas restaurant for about 15 minutes being completely ignored, then told there was basically nothing on the menu, we decided to try elsewhere. And low and behold, we stumbled across Champagne + Fromage, right in the heart of the market (it was like a cheesy, dreamy mirage!) I’d completely forgotten they had a place there.     I couldn’t grab a table quick enough after glancing at the menu board outside, and we were promptly served by a very friendly, helpful gentleman.  My heart honestly skipped a beat when I …

A French Dinner at Blanchette Soho

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French cuisine is one of my favourites in the world – it’s usually meaty, creamy, cheesy and decadent! But the techniques involved in French cooking are normally quite traditional. I’ve previously written about our visit to The Waterside Inn, one of the only UK establishments to maintain three Michelin stars. And while the food is absolutely superb, it’s very ‘old school’ in style. You can tell that Alain Roux has been cooking like this for a long time and it clearly works very well. So when I met Yannis and Maxime at a recent Teisseire event, I was intrigued to learn that at their French restaurant in Soho, Blanchette, they serve French cuisine ‘with a twist.’  I finally got round to visiting Blanchette last week with Ceri. It’s located to the North of Soho, a few minutes away from Oxford Circus tube station. I left it quite last minute to book and there was only room left to sit at the bar. I took this to be a good sign, as the restaurant was clearly …

The Canelé Revolution! Yvonne & Guite Review and Interview

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In case you don’t know by now, I’m a bit of a Francophile, especially when it comes to food. Although I’m usually more of a fan of savoury French food than sweet. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll happily tuck into a macaron or a croissant any day, but given the opportunity to snack on something at home, I would usually opt for something savoury. When I was approached by a new London-based baking business called Yvonne & Guite, asking if I’d ever tried canelés, I shamefully had to say no. But when I did a bit of research, I realised I had tried them, I was just unaware of the name. They’re very unusually shaped and as my experience goes to show, the name hasn’t quite caught on in the UK yet, but I truly believe they’re going to go down a storm in the British confectionery scene very soon! Yvonne & Guite is owned by Caroline Coutand-Gavriloiu, who has loved to bake ever since she was a child in her parents’ kitchen. Her grandmothers, Yvonne …

A Taste Of French Flair With Teisseire

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As I’m sure you’ll know by now if you’ve been reading my blog since I started it a few months ago, I love everything French. French food. French culture. French everything! Every time I go to St Pancras station (which is fairly often, as I live and work near it), the temptation to just jump on the Eurostar to Paris is huge! “But you’d need your passport,” I hear you cry! Well seeing as I can’t drive (that’s a whole other story) I’ve normally got my passport on me to use as ID. So it’s an actual possibility! When I was invited to an event hosted by French sirop brand Teisseire at Searceys Champagne Bar at St Pancras station last week, I had to lock the passport away! And I brought the lovely Ceri along with me. Teisseire might not be a recognised name in the UK yet, but it’s a well established brand across the Channel. It all began hundreds of years ago, in 1720 to be exact, when Matthieu Teisseire, a liquoriste and …

Pétanque Players Assemble! Dinner at Angelus Restaurant

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Dubbed the new ‘hipster sport’, Pétanque is becoming increasingly popular in the UK. I used to play it on holiday as a child and surprisingly (unlike most sports!) I was fairly good at it. I even beat Tim once, but of course, he’ll never admit to that ;). For those of you who don’t know, Pétanque is a form of boules where the goal is to throw metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet (literally “piglet”) or jack, while standing inside a starting circle with both feet on the ground. This June (5th-7th), The Londonaise are hosting an International Pétanque festival at Barnard Park in Islington. And to celebrate, French restaurant Angelus is introducing a unique boules inspired main dish into their set menu, which I was lucky enough to preview this week. Angelus restaurant was formerly a pub and covert meeting place for political figures such as Winston Churchill, tucked away in a beautiful mews alongside Hyde Park, a couple of minutes walk from Lancaster Gate station. Upon …

Dinner at Les Gourmets des Ternes, Maida Vale

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One of my favourite restaurants in the world has to be Les Gourmets des Ternes in Paris – the French team at 2K were lovely enough to take me there on a couple of occasions when we were hosting press events in Paris. Rather inconspicuous from the outside, the restaurant is in fact very popular and usually needs a reservation. I was always glad to have the French team there with me – even though I studied French at University, the experience at this restaurant can be quite overwhelming. The menu is all handwritten in French and the attitude is very much ‘go with the flow’ – on the occasions I’ve been there, big portions of terrines and pates have been passed around the restaurant and you just help yourself! The owner, Jean-Francois Marie, is a great character and attracts lots of celebrities – the tablecloths are printed with messages from famous people, from politicians to film stars!     So when I learned that Les Gourmets was going to open in London last week, I …

Le Tea en Rose: Afternoon Tea at Sofitel St James Hotel

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I adore afternoon tea, having been to a number in the past few years, which I’ve been meaning to blog about for some time in one of my Throwback Thursday posts. I mean, what’s not to love about Afternoon Tea? Lots of sandwiches with different fillings to try, fluffy scones with various toppings, and cakes galore! With the widest range of tea you could possibly ask for! So I was very excited when I was invited to an exclusive preview of ‘Le Tea en Rose’ Afternoon Tea at the Sofitel St James Hotel, marking the arrival of Spring and the Chelsea Flower Show. The hotel, located at Waterloo Place, is beautifully decorated by French interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, and The Rose Lounge is a tea lover’s dream! As some of you will know, I’m a bit of a Francophile and studied Renaissance France at university, so I was certainly in my happy place!     We were introduced to the Afternoon Tea by Julie from Dammann Frères. The business was established in France in 1925 but has been …

Paris Hen – Brunch at Angelina

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During my recent hen do in Paris, my lovely hens arranged for us to go for breakfast at Angelina. Averting our eyes from the overwhelming delicatessen/patisserie counter, packed with brightly coloured macarons and cakes, we headed into the tea room. Originally founded in 1903, Angelina (as it says on its own website), has built a reputation as a place of sophistication and indulgence. It didn’t disappoint! I chose the traditional Angelina breakfast – at 30 Euros, it’s not a cheap breakfast, but it was so delicious that it was worth every penny! You’re given the choice of tea, coffee or hot chocolate (I opted for the latter, and it was so incredible that I can still taste it, weeks later!), fruit juices, mini viennoiseries, bread with butter, Angelina honey, jam and chestnut cream, a fresh fruit salad, and eggs cooked however you would like them. I stupidly looked into whether you could buy Angelina hot chocolate in the UK, and it’s available online for just over £5.00 a bottle! Must suppress those cravings, for the sake …