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The Legend of Nobu

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

This February, for three consecutive evenings only, Japanese food legend, Nobu Matsuhisa will be flying into Europe to host a unique, intimate dining experience for the countries most intrepid gourmands, in the private dining room of the stunning Nobu Restaurant on Old Park Lane. Those who are unfamiliar with Matsuhisa will almost certainly be aware of his restaurant, Nobu, a celebrity favourite which is considered to be one of the best restaurants in the capital.

Sushi lovers are invited to be audience to Nobu San as he speaks in person about the tradition, design and creation of his world class cuisine, before being invited to sample delights, created by the expert hands of a world class sushi master. The lucky diners will be educated and inspired, as each carefully curated dish leads in the search of umami – the fifth taste. Each course will be expertly paired with carefully chosen Sake to subtly and authentically counterpoint the dish’s flavour.

Umami is said to be a round, savoury taste, which causes the mouth to water with satisfaction. With a menu that includes King Crab Tempura with Amazu Ponzu and Grilled Wagyu Steak with Jerusalem artichokes and a Nameko mushroom and Sansho pepper sauce, you will not be disappointed

For those who want to come away with a taste of Japan, this will be the perfect alternative to traversing the globe as you are personally entertained by the world’s most celebrated Japanese cuisineur.

Spaces are limited to just 60 seats for each evening, and reservations can be made in advance. Tickets for this unique event are priced at £260 per person.

To reserve, please contact Amir Jati, Events and Private Dining Manager at Nobu London on amirj@noburestaurants.com

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Bright Young Things

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

As the fashion world eagerly prepares for the upcoming London Fashion Week, Selfridges have dusted off the Christmas displays, stashed away the sale rails, and taken a radical new direction by giving twenty up and coming designers a unique platform to display their work.

The fashion forward department store has taken its pick of 20 young fashion ingénues who they believe will be showing at the fashion weeks of the future. Their creations receive maximum exposure in a unique window display, entitled ‘Bright Young Things’. The display features a range of creative talents, from illustrators to milliners, and the results range from achingly stylish to down right mad; Charlie Le Mindu, for instance, has created outfits made entirely from hair.

The youth of the designers chosen is striking. LiLee, whose lady-like designs incorporate a mixture of lace and rope trimming, only graduated from London College of Fashion last year. Another designer making their first foray into retail is Alex Noble, best known for having designed Lady Gaga’s infamous lace bodysuit, worn to last year’s Brit Awards.

These designers have been selected for their potential to ‘make it big’, so it will be music to the fashion lover’s ears to hear that each designer has created a piece to be sold exclusively in Selfridges pop-up and online stores.

This will prove to be a guilt free shopping experience, where the savvy stylista will come away with a unique fashion investment, hoping to have bought a piece by a ‘bright young thing’ who could just turn out to be the next-big-thing.

‘Bright Young Things’ will appear in the windows of Selfridges until 28th February. To find out more, visit Selfridges

Selfridges
400 Oxford Street
London
W1A 1AB

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The Edge of the World

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

Situated on the staggeringly beautiful Palamican Island in the Philippines, Amanpulo’s luxury is defined by its earth-given beauty. Nestled between lush forest and teeming tropical waters, Amanpulo is a haven for nature, and ready to be explored. You might meander through tropical bush paths where breathtaking birdlife suddenly appears in an overhanging tree, or marvel to yourself as baby sharks catch fish bait and green turtles come to the beach to nest.

The stay is completely tailored to your needs and can be as private or as social as you desire. Amanpulo’s private holiday villas are located just a few meters from pristine, white, sandy beaches and perfectly clear azure waters. Everything is completely, intimately private, with your own pool and dining area to go all al fresco beneath the stars; a butler and prized chef is also on hand to cater to your every whim and desire, employing Palamican Island’s indigenous ingredients in beautiful, hand-crafted dishes that amaze the palate.

Taking time away from the villa, you can enjoy a night out at Amanpulo’s stunning restaurant where the sweeping vista stretches across the bay to Manamoc Island. The enchanting wood and Manila stone finish gives the impression of dining aboard a Spanish galleon and there is also an option to catch your own dinner aboard a fishing excursion which the chef will then prepare to your tastes.

A number of tennis courts and a fully equipped gym provide land based activity but if you want to experience Amanpulo at its best, take to the water. Scuba dive into the coral and swim with turtles, and coming up for air, you will want to try out a massage and beauty therapy or two, available in a range of locations including two air conditioned ‘casitas’ or the open air garden ‘sala’ – where the natural aroma of flowering bougainvillea enhance your sense of tranquility.

And for those who wish to completely evaporate into the surrounding bliss, a villa retreat – each individually designed by your own personal island architect – promises unlimited access to this rare, untouched paradise.

The beauty of Amanpulo is accessible via a scheduled charter flight from Manila, which has links to several major international destinations. Guests are met at Manila’s international airport and taken by complimentary transfer to the Amanpulo lounge, located at a nearby hangar before flying directly to the Island in a 19-seat, twin-engine turboprop.

For further information, please visit www.amanresorts.com/amanpulo.

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A Very Big Society

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

When the man behind the success of Whisky Mist, Mahiki and the Punchbowl decides to open a nightclub, you’d be a fool not to take notice. PUBLIC is the brainchild of Guy Pelly and the club proves to be every bit as flamboyant as its owner.

Boasting fancy dress, a photo booth and funfair merry-go-round horses, PUBLIC definitely provides more than your average Chelsea club. Upon my arrival I got stuck into the action, the result being a less than flattering collection of photos of me and my friends sporting beards and Santa hats. As the night rolled on, my outfit choices got more and more bizarre and by the end there were more than a few revellers wearing head to toe fancy dress.

Set back from the street on Lots Road in an old antiques warehouse, PUBLIC brings an East London edge to the heart of Chelsea. Exposed brick walls and a stunning copper bar make it stand out from its rivals and attract a more varied clientele than the usual Sloane rangers. It also has a large smoking area, allowing social smokers to gather in the relative privacy of a courtyard, instead of on the street.

Pelly’s greatest triumph is to create a VIP section that doesn’t separate the privileged few from the party. I managed to blag my way past the bouncers as a ‘member of the press’ and found myself so comfortable that I resisted the lure of the dance floor for an unprecedented amount of time – at least five minutes. The VIP section is nicknamed ‘the sweetshop’ and is designed as thus, with tins of boiled sweets adorning the walls. Purposefully raised above the dance floor, the sweet shop provides a place where you can both see and be seen.  Table service added to my sense of smugness and I left feeling refreshed and happy, with a great collection of photos to remind me of the night.

PUBLIC is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10pm to 3am.

533 Kings Road, London SW10 www.public.uk.com

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GSK Contemporary – Aware: Art Fashion Identity

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

There seems to be a sense of snobbery about fashion that it’s always skin deep and never art in its own right. The curators of the ‘Aware’ exhibition have highlighted the interchangeability of fashion and art and have come up with what might be described as the thinking person’s wardrobe.

Critics have suggested that this forced marriage of fashion and art is a contrived attempt to trade on the fact that more people read fashion magazines than go to art galleries. This may well be true, but it didn’t stop me going down to get up close and personal with some Alexander MacQueen.

As an unashamed fashion lover I was pleased to see that I recognised the names of some of the artists as well as the designers, albeit this is probably due to their celebrity rather than their artistic credentials. Ironically it was the pieces created by artists that I deemed the most wearable. A cape adorned with eyes by famed eccentric Grayson Perry was a lot closer to ready to wear than a dress constructed from wood by Yoshi Yamamoto.

Standout pieces include a dress by Susie Macmurray, which from a distance sparkles with beguiling seduction only to reveal itself to be made from sharp needles upon closer inspection. A highlight was a chance to view a red, lace, veiled dress from Alexander McQueen’s Joan collection. His 1998 show is was a landmark in fashion history and looked completely at home being displayed as art.

Fashion fans will be delighted by the exhibition and sceptics will be pleasantly surprised. Never has art been more in fashion and the marriage of the two looks set to carry on well into the future.

‘GSK Contemporary – Aware: Art Fashion Identity’ runs until 30 January 2011 at The Royal Academy, 6 Burlington Gardens.

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Well Worth Watching

Friday, December 3rd, 2010

Herald Angel. Fringe First. Oliviers. These are just a few of the awards won by Black Watch over the past four years. Written by Gregory Burke and directed by John Tiffany, Black Watch was not expected to run for more than a week when it opened in a disused drill hall at the 2006 Edinburgh Festival. Now in its fourth year, it has established itself as one of the most significant plays of the past few years.

Black Watch tells the story of the famed Scottish regiment’s deployment to Iraq in 2004 through the eyes of six squaddies, returned from their second tour. The cast is made up entirely of native Scots (expect strong accents), with a starring turn from Jack Lownden, who is magnetic as the protagonist, Cammy. The Barbican Theatre has been transformed to accommodate the performance, with steeply banked seats flanking the stage, echoing the feeling of being at a military tattoo. The set is minimal, with the director choosing to use mime and dance to translate the story.

The story unfurls through a series of interviews, conducted by a journalist (Keith Fleming) in a Fife pub and continues to flit seamlessly back and forth from Fife to Camp Dogwood in Iraq. Innovative staging and welcome musical interjections set Black Watch apart from other verbatim accounts of terrible occurrences. The use of a pool table as both an armoured vehicle and a fox hole provides a deft link between the two scenarios.

Despite touching on the controversy surrounding the Iraq war, Black Watch is not an anti-war or political play, but about friendship. Burke cleverly avoids sentimentalising the characters’ plight with his use of black humour. The young and energetic cast, led by the clownish Fraz (Jamie Quinn) ensure that the audience never forgets that these are just a group of working-class lads, looking for some life experience. The most truthful line, “I fought for my mates” is almost the whole point of the play.

It would be impossible not to be moved by this tale of friendship and heroism. The message you come away with is good regiment, bad war. As the boys’ morale in Iraq wears thin, the effects on the men now sitting in the Fife pub become clear. They have been left emotionally scarred and with an underwhelming feeling that they don’t know what they were fighting for. Black Watch is truly must-see theatre.

Black Watch is on at the Barbican Theatre until January 22nd 2011. www.barbican.org.uk

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