Food and Drink
From A-Z: Britain’s Best Chocolates
Kevin Pilley keeps it local today, providing us with the ultimate British chocolate guide to celebrate National Chocolate Week!
The Swiss and Belgians aren’t the only ones making luxury hand-made chocolate! Britain now boasts some of the world’s best chocolatiers. Well-known and should be better known, I'm sharing my guide of the UK's best, high-quality confectionary in celebration of National Chocolate Week!
Running from 17th - 21st October, Chocolate Week aims to promote fine flavour chocolate, the independent artisan...
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Celebrating UK Coffee Week: The Coffee Politik
Since the 17th century, coffeehouses have been central to British cafe culture, depositing political importance due to their popularity as places of debate. Known as "penny universities", the crowds that they attracted were synonymous of scholars and students alike, and anyone with a penny could enter and sit in on a lecture or have access to books or print news. Coffeehouses boosted the popularity of print news culture and helped the growth of various financial markets including insurance, stocks, and auctions, as they became arenas for culture and politics.
Celebrating the World’s 50 Best Bars 2022
Each year, The World’s 50 Best Bars awards send waves through the drinks industry as it unveils its lineup of unmissable venues who’ve gone above and beyond in the world of hospitality. With the 2022 list now revealed, The Sybarite pays homage to the Top 5 within the Top 50 following an in-person ceremony held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, which was live streamed globally. 2022 marks the first year the Number 1 spot was awarded to a bar outside of London or New York, and 14 new entries from Europe, the Arabian Gulf, Asia, and the U.S.
Bloody Good Cocktails for the Wicked: A Halloween...
We've compiled a list of the 10 best halloween-themed cocktails using only the finest spirits for the drink connoisseurs amongst our readers. Sit back, relax, and learn how to make some bloody good cocktails for the upcoming spooky season. Legend has it that if you say bloody mary 3 times, you won't remember the evening of debauchery you will participate in this halloween... although that could be attributed to the copious amounts of vodka you will likely consume. Either way, here's The Sybarite's guide to the best halloween cocktail recipes you can recreate this October!
Featuring International Scottish Gin Day
The owners of mainland UK’s most northerly mainland distillery will be welcoming gin tourists on Scotland’s first nationwide chauffeured gin-immersive tour. Luxury Scotland represents twenty-six luxurious and exclusive Scottish properties including the country’s floating hotel, Fingal, next to the Royal Yacht Britannia. In celebration of International Scottish Gin Day, they are offering a seven-day motorized gin crawl, starting and ending in Edinburgh.
Drinks with the Earl of Yarmouth, Founder of St Maur Liqueur
Having first created St Maur to serve at their wedding, William and Kelsey Seymour turned the elderflower liqueur they poured lovingly into the glasses of guests into a multi award-winning premium, small-batch drinks business. The four international industry awards the liqueur has won in its first years of business, The Great Taste Award 2 Star rating; International Spirits Challenge Silver Award; The World Liqueur Awards ‘Best English Floral’ and, most recently, Gold at Las Vegas Global Spirits Awards, show just how well-loved the product is. “St Maur” is, in fact, the name by which the family was known in medieval times but by the time Jane Seymour married King Henry VIII, it had become “Seymour.” Leaving behind a life of aristocratic privilege to create a new legacy for his sons to be proud of, Lord Seymour spills the tea on his rich family history, mixology, and what’s next for St Maur Liqueur, which he’s used to create a bespoke cocktail especially for The Sybarite.
Featuring The Epitome of British Refinement: Exton Park Vineyard
Described as "Hampshire in a bottle," Exton Park Vineyard stands as a paragon of locally-sourced excellence, curating impeccable English sparkling wines. As an exclusive vineyard producer, their commitment to sustainable viniculture and the creation of a natural ecosystem lends them a rarefied distinction. The pivotal reverence for the distinctive chalky soil that underpins each of the nine plots finds meticulous care under the guidance of Vineyard Director Fred Langdale and his team. Employing the most natural methods, they tend to their 120,000 vines, hand-picking the ripest grapes for swift conveyance to the bespoke winery atop the vineyard. The grapes are then pressed plot by plot, capturing the nuances of flavors, and the resultant fresh juice undergoes the inaugural fermentation, contributing to Exton Park's prestigious reserve library.
Women In Whisky: A Global Revolution
The ‘workmans’ perception led to early film imagery of miners, farmers and lonesome cowboys being pictured drinking whisky. However, a typically masculine drink is being diluted with femininity by women around the world.
Review of Din Tai Fung: Michelin Starred Dumplings
Din Tai Fung has been one of those bucket-list restaurants I've always wanted to visit but not made time for due to the rumoured lengthy queues. Thankfully, with a branch in Covent Garden and Selfridges and a third one opening at Centrepoint in September, the massive cravings for high-quality dumplings should be satisfied without the need for queuing. The Selfridges branch we visited was particularly spacious with a clean, minimalist design that puts the focus all on their food. And you can see the intricate skills needed to prepare their soupy dumplings in their open kitchen. A large amount of open space is particularly helpful for their robots, Yes, some robots, help to deliver dishes to the ravenous diners.
LOVE LAMB WEEK: The Gower Salt Marsh Lamb
The eighth annual Love Lamb Week ran from the 1st - 7th of September, showcasing the sustainability of UK sheep production, whilst also reminding consumers of the exceptional taste and quality that UK lamb brings to the table. In particular, the distinctive and delicious Gower Salt Marsh lamb originating from a small farm in South Wales.
Review of Our Lifestyle Expert reviews Bancone’s new menu
That, my friends, is the masterpiece that is Bancone's signature dish. But this summer evening, I'm not there to have my umpteenth plate of the famous silk handkerchiefs. I'll admit, it isn't easy to make a trip to Bancone without ordering it, but because I've always been amazed at how the team behind the restaurant group continues to innovate, I was excited to see what their new menu had in store, especially now that they're open all day on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. "It's all about using ingredients that are in season," explains Executive Chef Ben Waugh, who is himself a new addition to the group, having spent the last decade at Gordon Ramsay's Pétrus and the Savoy Grill. "We have spent our time lightening the menu for the warmer months," he adds.
Featuring Churchill's luxury port house escape
For three days in September, Churchill's is offering tourists the opportunity to get under the skin of the local fruit and trend grapes in the company's traditional granite "Lagares", which date back to 1852. Quinta da Gricha, the company's flagship vineyard, is inviting visitors for its annual 'vindima' on 10, 11 and 25 September. The day begins with a grape picking challenge with Churchill's viticultural team, and a tasting follows the shift on the terraces.
Featuring New opening: Tatale, 2022’S most anticipated restaurant...
Partnering with iconic The Africa Centre in Southwark, London, Tatale rekindles the nostalgic classics of Pan-African cuisine with the contemporary dining energy of South London and its infectious culture. Settled into Great Suffolk Street, the menu is full of modernised delicacies, including Berbere King Oyster Mushroom with Jollof Couscous; Chichinga Buttermilk Fried Chicken Wings with Dill Emulsion; and a personal favourite of ours, the Red Stew and Palm Wine Pickled Shallot. Akwasi Brenya-Mensa’s approach to contemporary cooking is brimming with experimental flavour, which would stem from his time spent hosting supper clubs and immersive pop-ups in Belfast, Lisbon, Puerto Rico, Accra, Berlin, Amsterdam and San Juan. You’ll also note this reflected in the combination of music from the Black diaspora, matched with trendy collaborations and intimate talks frequently hosted.