WINE & DINE WITH ANGELA LANSBURY

De Rada Brasserie restaurant in Mill Hill. Outdoor seating. Photo by Angela Lansbury. I have family in Mill Hill who know all the restaurants in Mill Hill. The family had enjoyed lunch here previously and suggested this place for a family dinner so I checked it out online.. The restaurant serves Italian favourites, Prosecco, Pizza and pasta. Not cheap - is anywhere nowadays, mybe some pubs at lunch time. De Rada is open all day until 10 pm for breakfast, lunch (sandwiches) and a la carte for dinner. First I looked at the drinks. Two kinds of Prosecco by the glass. One is extra brut which is extra dry so I made a note that I wanted the other. Both the same price. 7.25 (pounds sterling). My husband is a wine educator and was not over excited by the red wines, but conceded he might give one a try. However, I also liked the green reviver smoothie at five pounds. Maybe the smoothie as a starter. Their appetizers include olives with ham, and chicken liver parfait.  Olives. Photo by Angel...

A wine lunch at the Cavalry & Guards Club. Photo by Trevor Sharot.   If you want to hold a lunch or dinner or event in elegant surroundings in a private room you can choose a restaurant  - or one of the world's many clubs. There are American clubs, journalists' clubs, clubs for all kinds of professional groups, for government employees, the military and trade associations. Sports clubs include golf clubs, cricket clubs, fitness clubs and sailing clubs. I have been to several clubs in Singapore and London as well as a journlists' club in Hong Kong. London's many clubs for profession and trades, such as the RAF, The Cavalry & Guards,, The Civil Service and many more . One centrally located and historic club is the Cavalry and Guards. You might recognize pictures of the late H M Queen Elizabeth, as well as the current queen Camilla. Up and down the rand staircase and in all the rooms are portraits of famous people. Some are on horseback as the name cavalry might le...

 Tukdin restaurant. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. The Tukdin restaurant is easu tp fomd. a short walk along the main road from Paddington Mainline and underground stations which are adjoining.  We were given two menus. One for savoury starters and main courses. Another for sweet desserts and soft drinks. (No alcohol. Halal.) Drink - top marks for aroma and flavour I started with a rose aroma drink. Wonderful Aromatic. Tasty. Pink. Syrup - but not cloying. Chicken Dish - Top Marks For Coconut Rice My main course was coconut flvour rice with chicken. The coocnut flavour in the rice was more-ish.  The chicken was battered, not greasy but dry. I have never had chicken like that before. Normally, rice is just an accompaniment to the chicken. But here the rice was the star of the show. The rice was okay, a filling protein ballast, as an accompaniment to the tasty rice.  The adidition of a bioled egg, cut in half, and a few peanuts, and slices of cucumber, made this ...

The London Wine Fair dates for 2004 - May 20 22 2024. -Not only wine companies from the UK. Also the Ukraine, France, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Japan, the USA and all over the world.  Who is there? Sommeliers. Wine educators. Wines whose businesses seek distribution in the UK. Major distributors such as wine shops. Promoters of wines, spirits, sakes, soft drinks, low and no alchohol, magazines on wines and the drinks trade, trade associations. I met port wine makers and chocolate makers.  PRACTICAL DETAILS Dates for 2025 are May 19-21.  The location is Olympia, just next to Olympia station.  Other stations on the line include Willesden Junction. See Londonwinefair.com

 Wales has wonderful food, the familiar Welsh lamb from the green valleys, watered by the Westerlies, the winds coming in from the sea. I used to drive every year from London to Wales along the M4 which took about four and a half hours.  I have also been on the train from Paddington station many times. It is exciting to get on a train and see the signs in English and Welsh (which I have been learning on Duolingo). On the way home I buy Welsh cakes on the train. They look like squashed scones. If only I could keep them until I get home and heat them up. Swansea Seaweed But Wales also offers the unusual, seaweed from Swansea, which as the city's name suggests, is on the coast.  Welsh Wine and Alcohol Dylan Thomas was well known for enjoying a drink or two or more at Welsh pubs (short for public houses). You can buy a mug for your tea, bearing his picture. Wales has a magnificent building named in his honour and an annual festival. Driving Drive to Wales from London along th...

  Suruchi Indian restaurant, entrance. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.   Suruchi elegant decor with white tableclothes. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Trevor Sharot, of Grapedeal, checking the label of a wine bottle. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. Suruchi Indian Restaurant has a good deal on wine and food on Tuesdays. Bring your own wine, no corkage, is available every day. Tuesdays you have the added bonus of their meal deal for just under twenty pounds sterling per person you can choose a starter, main course, side dish of vegetables, and rice or Indian bread. I chose a Peshwari naan, a flat bread with a filling.  Our Wines Three of us had brought a bottle of wine each, picked to match Indian food. One person provided a cheet for tasting notes (as used at the Central London Wine Society.  My husband Trevor had chosen a wine for Indian food. He said,"An off-dry white wine such as Riesling and/or a Spatlese or AAuslese, to clear the mouth of spice and oil with ...

  Wine labels tell you about the style of wine, its colour, white, black, red, pink, orange. Sometimes the grape, the proportion of grapes in a blend, the flavour (such as a fruit or nut). The country, or specified place of origin, the district, or the vineyard. In some countries the division is within the owner's land, the owner, the maker, or co-operative, the importer.  You learn whether it is dry or sweet, the sugar content. You may also learn whether it is vegan (without using egg white to clarify or cling to impurities such as the sediment of bits of wine skin or stalk or debris), Kosher may be mentioned, or kosher for Passover (around Easter time in the Jewish religion). Alsace - region of North Eastern France, at one time German, so a mixture of French and German names and words on bottles botas - cases in Spanish clos was originally a walled vineyard, closed, and enclosure, but the walls have often disappeared and the name is not regulated so anybody can call their pa...

  The street sign with listing of event dates. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. Angela Lansbury beside the murals of vine leaves and wine bottles at London Cru. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Copyright. London Cru Italian wine tasting event. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. The big sign advertising the entrance to the winery is on a wall facing you as you walk along the pavement. The entrance is at the end of the side alley with stunning murals.  The winery is secluded from traffic noise, behind the shops, but conveniently just near a railway station.  The winery equipment is all around the main room. It looks historic but it is all functional. Barrels and winery equipment in London Cru's main room. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. Winery activity is seasonal. All busy around harvest time. Much of the rest of the year the staff are busy organizing events, seasonal events, wine promotions, and private entertainment.  I was a guest of a member of the Association o...

What do you need to be aware of? Local authority licensing. Change of use to business. Any restircitions in your lease about running a business from home.  Health and Safety and Storage Food storage - such as vegetables not left uncovered on the floor overnight or even in open top containers where birds and insects and rats and ice can eat and urinate on the food. Yup.  Finance Most businesses make a loss in the first year. You need finance to cover debts fro money you pay out, wages, cost of materials, and buyers who don't pay you on time or ever.  Delivery cost. advertising and marketing. Free gifts, pencils, tee shirt, business cards, websites. Plus security and theft. Investment in larger machinery and storage. \ Lastly, tax. Are you making a profit? Will you? Or are you a charity or raising money for charity? What are charity rules? You may be restricted from using the name of the charity as if they endorse you when they do not, yet. Babysitting - elsehwere Babysitti...

New wines and food from Italy  . Opportunity for distributors in the UK. Restaurants and hotels. Find something unique which nobody yet has to offer the customer. My favourite item was a green xmas tree from a cones of  white chocolate with a green pistacchio flavour coating.  Unfotunately I was not able to take a photo. But here's one I found on the web. White chocolate covered with pistacchios. From Turin which has been a centre of chocolate making for centuries. This is not available now, in May, but something to look out for at Christmas time. But it's good to plan buying or stocking a shop or restaurant. The big supermarkets order specialities up to a year ahead. I saw a giant solid wheel of yellow cheese, with the centre carved out into small chunks by keen eaters. Great eye-catching idea for serving at a party, a wedding or on a restaurant trolley. Items I saw included giant green olives. Bottles of yellow or white, viscous olive oil. Favourite Food From Italy choc...

  A-Z of of Names of Grapes To Eat and Drink Here's a handy alphabetical checklist of wine grapes and their meanings.  Auxerrois - from Alsace (the old name for Alsace) Champagne - from the Champagne region of France, north, river Loire region, near Paris Colombard - white from colombe, French for dove (white birds) Fer - French for wild (grape) like feral Glera - the new name for Prosecco grapes to distinguish them from the style of wine more widespread Madeira - strong alcohol, Portuguese island in the Atlantic, whose wine was transformed in long hot journeys stored for ages by ship in the olden days, storage conditions to enhance flavour and other qualities, now imitated on the island without the sea journey Mavro - Greek for black (name used in Cyprus) Merlot - from French for blackbird. Grapes used in France for wine and eating Monastrell - Spanish wine which came from the monastery (Latin monasteriu for monastery) Mourv è dre - French  from the Latin monasteriu mean...