My Favourite Places…

I have lived in Chelsea and Fulham since the late 1980s:  the standard of restaurants and choice for eating out seems to improve year after year and is certainly one of the main advantages of living here! I have always loved the Chelsea Farmers’ Market located just off the fashionable King’s Road. I remember many happy times here at ‘El Gaucho’ which serves great Argentinian steak and where we recently paid a visit. It is still great, but not so cheap! For a relaxed brunch celebrating 60 years this year, ‘Le Troubadour’ on Old Brompton Road, is one of the last remaining restaurants with music from the 1950s . This  is  one of my favourite places from teenage times! Nowadays our favourite cafe ‘Local Hero’, at 640 Fulham Road, has fantastic custard tarts, freshly prepared juice and imaginative salads.

For delicious Spanish cuisine I recommend ‘Cambio de Tercio’ in Old Brompton Road, South Kensington; 

Nepalese food

their Ham & Sherry Bar,  ‘Capote y Toros’,  and a Gin & Tonic bar, ‘C Tonic’,  are owned by the same group;   ‘Tendido Cuatro’ on New Kings Road is wonderful for tapas and my nearest! ‘Casa Brindisa’ at South Kensington
has tapas galore... great for a girls night out!
Our family favourite – the Chinese  restaurant ‘Jla’ in South Kensington - has the most delicious dim sum I have tasted:   it is good value even if the service can be a bit frosty! Near home we have ‘Monty’s’, a Nepalese restaurant serving great food and at wonderful value. This is no trendy restaurant and it is very popular for take-away food; many of the new Fulham residents go elsewhere to smarter venues, however, I think they are missing something!

'The Hotel Bar at the Dorchester'

Some favourite cocktail venues include the Hotel Bar at ‘The Dorchester’, Park Lane, with an opulent interior and curved bar with cocktails galore. In the garden of the ‘Phene Arms’ in Chelsea, there is nothing nicer than sipping a gorgeous cocktail in the summer! I actually took my daughter there  for our first evening outing as a newborn!  I also recommend ‘Eight over Eight‘ which in addition to inventive Pan Asian Food has delicious cocktails.

My best food experience is at ‘ The Savoy Hotel ‘, the River Restaurant where my husband proposed to me in true British style (now the Hotel is celebrating 125 years!).  Sadly the River Restaurant has gone and the premier Savoy restaurant is now the Savoy Grill, which is part of the Gordon Ramsay empire;   in my view it is not quite the same experience as the

The 'Phene Arms'

River Restaurant...

One of the best French restaurants for a special event is ‘Le Gavroche’ where bookings need to be made three months in advance! For respite from shopping, ‘Le Relais de Venise’ in Marylebone High Street  serves French steak, a walnut salad to start and an always reliably good house wine. On a higher level, Helene Darroze at ‘The Connaught Hotel’ has two Michelin stars for true gourmets;   the hotel also serves traditional English afternoon tea.

Where to buy international food in London: 
Selfridges Food hall, Fortnum & Mason, Harrods Food hall for something special & unusual Borough Market in Southwark Street, London SE1: for exceptional British and international products.


*Top tip*:
Look at www.opentable.co.uk for great value deals at top restaurants & www.timeout.com keeping you up to date with the latest events and evenings out in London!

Written by Gemma Darlington FGA, Gemmologist & Jewellery Specialist, owner of www.gemsfinejewels.co.uk

For more information about FOCUS visit:  www.focus-info.org

Classified BBC Filming

For all members dying to hear what happened at the BBC Filming, here is how it went down.

FOCUS members self-nominated themselves as extras for a BBC production at an undisclosed location on Thursday, 15th May. We got a zen email list of ten participants and contact numbers. The curiosity was killing me so I went after FOCUS Director of Events & Seminars, Nancy Dickinson, and asked: “What exactly is BBC filming?”

It turned out that Nancy was not the snitch I was hoping for. She resisted right until the day of filming when we found out that the production would take place in the Wine Cellar of the Stafford Hotel. We were to meet at 16:30 for a one-hour pitch of a coach tour. We had to commit to go on the tour the following day. So, I committed once, then twice for good measure. Then I took the tube to the Stafford.

Stafford Wine Cellar

I was the first to arrive at 16:30. I met the hotel manager who took me down to the wine cellar to meet the independent Events Manager, Selma. Moments later, I was joined by distinguished FOCUS members: an Australian Fashion Designer, Kate, Pediatric Dental Therapist, Brooke, then charming French Fashion Magnate, Catherine. The bankers, Dinish and Matthew, showed up fashionably late.

It was nearly 17:00 when Nancy Dickinson arrived. There was still no sign of the BBC television crew. At 17:30 we had an answer: the crew was delayed. Traffic. Really? Where most of us outlanders are from, even in places as far away as the Land of Oz, in adult speak, Traffic is akin to The dog ate my homework.

Still. The hotel manager looked puzzled. ‘Change of location’, he said with gusto. We moved to the lounge upstairs. As we left the ambient atmosphere of the cellar, it dawned on us that the vintage wine bottles were not for us.

Stiff upper lip, we reasoned that alcohol consumption distorted acumen. FOCUS extras had to remain sharp on a BBC production, especially if it was for that programme we had all guessed it was—had to be: The A-p-p-r-e-n-t-i-c-e.

Then at 17:45 the unthinkable happened. After an hour and a quarter of waiting, the hotel manager arrived, this time looking a little red-faced. He said he had good and bad news. Bad news first, right? Always. The filming was off.

Off?  As ‘cancelled’?  None of us actually  uttered these words. But our intercultural skills were on overdrive and we could read each other’s faces.  Our wait-and-see-what-happens stamina was waning, and by the time we heard the good news about tea and biscuits, our disappointment had turned audible.

At 18:00 we soldiered across to another lounge for our consolation prize. Sipping lovely tea and enjoying tasty biscuits, we talked about British weather and the green grasses of Wimbledon, an English conversational proficiency quite remarkable considering some newbies had barely been here a month. Half an hour later, we left the harpist of the Stafford, diplomatic smile still intact.

There is probably a moral in here somewhere, something to do with the dangers of chasing  ten seconds of  fame. As for me, my first mint tea at the Stafford was a memorable one. I would recommend the chocolate shortbread biscuits, too.

Written by Haru Yamada Mathieu.  Haru is a Freelance Content Writer and lives in London.

For more information about FOCUS visit:  www.focus-info.org

Danish lunch served in London

If you are Scandinavian or love Nordic cuisine, you can buy everything for a Danish lunch in London. Luckily most of the ingredients can be found in local supermarkets, but a few things need to be bought in Scandinavian speciality shops.

Lunch is served cold and often consists of open rye sandwiches. The real fresh rye bread – often called “full corn rye bread” can be bought several places in London. If you prefer to ad butter on your bread, you should buy the Danish Lurpak of course.

The lunch starts with fish. This could be smoked salmon, fish fillet or herring. Put the fish on top of the bread (and butter). On top of the smoked salmon add “fox sauce”*, a slice of lemon and a little fresh dill or make a different version with mayonnaise, white asparagus, sliced cucumber and slices of lemon. 

On top of the fish fillet use remoulade, sliced lemons, sliced cucumber and on top of the herring use sliced onions and fresh dill. Use lettuce as garnish.  

A special curry mayonnaise salad can also be added on top of the herring.

Then the meats are served. Add a generous serving of cold cuts such as ham, salami or roast beef to the bread. Top up the ham sandwich with mayonnaise and sliced cucumber and bean sprouts, the salami with remoulade, fried onions and pickled gherkins and the roast beef with shredded horse radish, gherkins, fried onion and slices of tomato. The trick is to make everything look beautiful and colourful.

Drink Danish beer like Carlsberg and Tuborg and snaps or aquavit in small glasses. Remember that you cannot “sip” the snaps, but you will have to swallow the whole glass in one go. 
Dessert is normally cheese served with fruits and cheese crackers.
Bon appetit!






From the local supermarket:
Lurpak butter, smoked salmon, ham, salami, roast beef, onion, dill, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, mayonnaise, fried onions, pickled gherkins, horse radish, cheeses, fruit, crackers and beer.
Rye bread: Local bakery, Kamps, Scandinavian Kitchen, Nordic Bakery or Bäkehaus.

In speciality shops like Scandinavian Kitchen, Nordic Bakery, Totally Swedish or Danish Food Direct online store you will find: herring, remoulade, curry salad for the herring and the snaps.

*Fox sauce:
3 tsp. white vine vinegar
3 tsp. sugar
5 tsp. mustard
1/2 dl. vegetable oil
1 dl. finely chopped dill

Mix all the ingredients together.

Written by Marianne Sloth, who is  FOCUS Director of Marketing. Marianne is Danish and has lived in London for 4 years.



For more information about FOCUS visit:  www.focus-info.org

Japanese Tea Ceremony and Kimono Show at The Army and Navy Club 'The RAG'

 I attended this event organised by The Women’s Council on Tuesday 25th March, 2014. Everyone was excited on arrival as this was the first time many of us experienced such a special ceremony. A Japanese member of  The Council, Kimoko, was hosting the event. She introduced us to her helpers for the day, some students and first-time arrivals to the UK, who were going to help her with the art of Japanese Tea ceremony in the adjoining room, whilst she was demonstrating the art of wearing the Kimono. The guests were asked to select which they would like to attend first, either the Japanese Tea ceremony or the Kimono show, and separated into the different rooms.

The guests for the Kimono display were lead to a scrumptious display of pastries and sandwiches for
our afternoon English tea. As Kimoko suggested having the English tea first, as the Japanese tea is strong and may upset delicate tummies if we were to have it first.  While Kimoko unveiled the different pieces of the Kimono, I was approached and asked to be the model, but first had to wash my hands and undress. Kimoko took me away and after undressing, she tied a white petticoat to my waist and asked me to wear a pure white kimono, the traditional underwear. I was then lead out back where she first tied a string rope to my waist, then she put the actual ‘Komon kimono’ (ie single pattern
throughout) on me. More cumberbands, a strong piece of ‘cardboard’ and an exquisite piece of embroidered silk, ‘obi’, she deftly tied into place whilst I stood still. I was asked by the spectators whether it ‘was not too tight’ and ‘could I breathe?’. Yes ! I was really comfortable, posing as guests’cameras flashed continuously. Kimoko then put plain white socks on my feet and I was surprised to see that there were clasps on the side above the ankles to ensure a tight fit on the legs. Upon wearing the slippers, I had truly turned Japanese!!! I was then asked to parade and show the other guests the whole regalia connected with wearing a kimono.

After I put my usual clothes back on, I was invited to the Japanese Tea ceremony, which was demonstrated with elegance and precision. The many different movements in preparing a tiny cup of Japanese tea is a tradition of past ages, not to be shortcut:

- the boiling of the water to a certain temperature; the delicate spooning of powdered tea into the cup; the whisking until the tea is frothy, which also cools it slightly; then the facing of the design of the cup to the recipient, bowing to offer the tea; the recipient accepting it with both hands, bowing thanks in return; turning the cup before sipping, wiping the cup with the fingers and wiping it on the tissue which is on the inside lapel of the kimono, before returning the cup to the brewer.

Learning about the Japanese traditions was a most enlightening time for all who attended this fabulous Japanese Tea Ceremony and Kimono Dressing Demonstrations. It is something I will never forget!

Written by Irene Kuan. Irene is Director of Finance at FOCUS.

For more information about FOCUS visit:  www.focus-info.org

Private chef to the rescue!

Over the Easter weekend my wife, toddler and I were  travelling  to Bordeaux. We were to fly back on Monday afternoon, and our friends Mark and Sherry and their twin girls were coming in from Scotland to stay the night with us before flying back to the US. Just before we left, my boss’s boss (who had hired me into my current role, moving my family and I from the US to London) asked me if she and her family could come over as well, as it would be her last chance to see Mark and Sherry. Having the boss over meant the culinary pressure was well and truly on!

My wife and I love to cook but were overwhelmed about the prospect of cooking for 11 when we would have just gotten back into town that afternoon. We decided to seize the opportunity to “life hack” and we turned to SimpleeHost which a friend had recommended - the site is the Airbnb of the private chef world in London. I browsed a list of private chefs and searched by cuisine type and our budget. Three-course menus start at £18/head, so we found plenty of options for our very moderate budget. Chef Daniel had great customer reviews and his menus sounded very nice so I booked him to come to our rescue! He works part-time at the too-cool-for-me-now-that-I-have-a-kid White Rabbit in Dalston so I was looking forward to trying his food without having to actually go to Dalston. The booking process took less than 5 minutes, his menus were all listed online so we just had to select our favourite.

On the day of the dinner he arrived an hour before our guests were due in order to prepare everything. He was very down  to earth, and was happy to answer my (extensive) questions about his cooking. He had baked some lovely sourdough bread for us to nibble on and then we had a seabass ceviche to start. The seabass was peppered with herbs and was brilliantly fresh and tangy. For our main we had a beautifully roasted rump of lamb with creamy "garlicy" potato dauphinoise  (perfect for Easter) and to finish we had a lovely hot chocolate cake with raspberry cream.

Our guests were quite impressed and I think converted to the whole private-chef concept! And  the best thing? Daniel did all of the washing up! 

Written by Jeff Nelson. Jeff works in HR Technology for Aviva plc and lives in Belsize Park with his wife Elisabeth, and son Beckett. They moved to London from New York in July 2012. 

For more information about FOCUS visit: www.focus-info.org