Heston Blumenthal has received £200,000 compensation following a food-poisoning outbreak at his three-Michelin-starred Fat Duck restaurant. Blumenthal closed the iconic restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, for two weeks in February and March last year after more than 500 diners were struck down by norovirus, or winter vomiting bug. Insurers made the payout as compensation for lost…
Read MoreMichelin Releases Guide to Main Cities of Europe
Michelin have released a 20 page press release on 16 Mar 10 on the main cities of Europe (so unfortunately Bray doesn’t figure). Judging by stars in main cities (see page 4) France dominates with 85 Michelin Starred properties, Germany 49, UK 48 – beaten by them again! However the UK does have 2 with three Michelin…
Read MoreFashion designer Diane von Furstenberg to revamp rooms at Claridge’s
Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, is to undertake her first interior design project with her refurbishment of a series of rooms and suites at five-star Claridge’s hotel, London. She will provide a new look to around 20 out of the hotel’s 203 bedrooms and suites. “Our collaboration with the talented Diane von Furstenberg is the latest…
Read MoreClaire interviews the Notting Hill diner, Sanjeev Bhaskar, who upset Julia Roberts
Sanjeev Bhaskar OBE, aka The Kumars at No 42, tells our Claire (Business Development Manager) about his many film roles including the obnoxious businessman diner in Notting Hill, for a local fundraiser. Claire was interviewing in Parky style on Saturday. Sanjeev, known for Goodness Gracious Me, Spamalot, Anita and Me, The Guru and his work…
Read MoreThe gradual decline of the dress code
Fine dining isn’t what it used to be. For the most part it is better – the quality of produce, ingenuity of tastes and flavours, modern methods producing different textures and techniques, wine lists getting broader and varied. Service has stepped up a gear, and decor tends to be simple, understated and welcoming. All to…
Read MoreChocolate Nemesis – revered recipe from the River Cafe
The Chocolate Nemesis is the River Cafe’s most popular dessert – famously devine, famously difficult. In tribute to the late Rose Gray, here is the recipe, good luck and enjoy. The River Café’s chocolate nemesis (serves 10-12) 675g dark chocolate 70%, broken into small pieces 450g unsalted butter, softened 10 whole eggs 675g caster sugar…
Read MoreRose Gray, chef and co-founder of River Café, dies aged 71
Rose Gray, who gave Londoners a “little piece of Italy on the Thames” and became one of Britain’s best-known chefs, has died from cancer. She was 71. She will be remembered, mainly, as co-chef and patron of the River Café, a Michelin-starred restaurant, in Hammersmith, west London, with Ruth Rogers. Her passion for Italian food,…
Read MoreComplimentary champagne for cardholders at The Grove
Celebrate Spring in Style at The Grove – club members are offered a complimentary glass of Louis Roederer Champagne throughout March when dining in Colette’s. The Grove is a very special luxury hotel resort, on the outskirts of London. Colette’s, the hotel’s superlative fine dining restaurant, was recently awarded 3 AA Rosettes: it is the…
Read MoreTake to the skies with a fantastic flying break
Loop the loop with the Aviator Hotel, Farnborough One of our club properties the Aviator Hotel offers one of the most exciting packages we’ve seen for a long time, for a fantastic price, and we just had to tell everyone about it. We’ll be queuing up to book for this, will you be? The stunning…
Read MoreChildren Are Welcome at (Most) Top London Restaurants
“Listen to that,” Daniel Boulud said over dinner at the Ledbury in London last month. The sound was of a baby crying. “That’s something you don’t hear often enough in restaurants,” said the French-born chef, who plans to open a Bar Boulud at London’s Mandarin Oriental in May, expanding a dining empire that stretches from…
Read MoreGordon Ramsay’s Pétrus reopens in March
On 29th March, the renowned Pétrus will re-open under Head Chef Sean Burbidge, who will be offering a modern European menu. The new location at 1 Kinnerton Street in Knightsbridge will display a stunning open cellar in the centre of the dining room bringing to view over two thousand bottles of wine. Within the wine…
Read MoreThe Top 20 restaurant wine lists
The Good Food Guide recommends 20 restaurants across the UK for notable wine lists, with the overall winner awarded to Fraiche in Oxted, Merseyside. The mark of a good wine list, according to the guide, is a conscientious eye to the best growers, comprehensive presentation (with or without tasting notes) and most importantly of all,…
Read MoreMichel and Alain Roux to create menu for Royal Ascot
Michel Roux, the three-Michelin-starred chef and owner of the Waterside Inn in Berkshire, and his chef patron son Alain Roux, are to create the menu for the Panoramic restaurant at Royal Ascot 2010, it has been announced. The father and son team will serve guests of “The Waterside Inn at the Panoramic” a menu of…
Read MoreTripadvisor reveals Europe’s Sexiest Hotels
We thought our readers would appreciate Tripadvisor’s list of Europe’s sexiest hotels… which includes DR club property the Hempel in London… Amsterdam’s Black Tulip Hotel Tops List of Provocative Properties LONDON, UK. – February 11, 2010 – TripAdvisor®, the world’s largest and most popular travel community, today announced the top 10 sexiest hotels in Europe,…
Read MoreMust Haves for 2010
Can you fathom that we are already midway through February? Perhaps it was the January snow or winter hibernation, but 2010 seems to have hardly started. The dark nights mean catching up on reading, and here’s a great article from the Economist’s “Must Have for 2010” by Beppe Severgini. What caught our eye for gourmet…
Read MoreThe full list of 2010 Michelin star restaurants in the UK
See full list for 2012 See full list for 2011 Highlighted restaurants are detailed on Design Restaurants with many providing exclusive club member privileges. See www.designrestaurants.com for details or download the complete guide to luxury fine dining in the UK on your or FREE today. To become a Club Member, view www.designrestaurants.com or call +44 (0) 1276 850581. The full…
Read MoreDesign Restaurants supports Meat Free Monday
Design Restaurants is proud to support Meat Free Monday, the new campaign from Paul, Stella and Mary McCartney. Our MD Tessa Shreeve has been veggie for over 15 years, and fine dining restaurants are making the vegetarian option increasingly respectable these days. Meat Free Monday is an environmental campaign to raise awareness of the climate-changing…
Read MoreWhat makes a good restaurant?
Eating out should be a treat every time, it’s something you are willing to spend your hard earned money on and you should enjoy every minute of it. It’s easier to spot a bad restaurant, as a good one should offer a discreet, professional and seamless dining experience. It should have an unhurried convivial social…
Read MoreDesign Restaurants HQ moves office…upstairs
After much hard work, lugging of files, untangling of computer wires and a few minor teething problems, Design Restaurants have now moved office! We haven’t moved far, just upstairs to a larger office for our expanding team, with lots of bright windows and open spaces. Everyone worked hard running up and down the stairs between…
Read MoreHaiti Emergency Programmes Launched, Ensuring Access to Drinking Water for 35,000 People
Port-au-Prince –Over the weekend, water and sanitation experts from Action Against Hunger | ACF International started distributing drinking water to 35,000 quake survivors. The organisation’s technical experts identified priority zones for water distributions: the Canape Vert district, where some 9,000 people have gathered, and the Champ de Mars district where between 20,000 and 25,000 displaced…
Read More
