Catch 40 Winks and Get Carter

First he rockets to international acclaim as a gifted interior designer, highly sought after for his quirky and eclectic style of Portobello-Road-meets-French-Baroque, then he opens a boutique hotel that is raved about as the most exciting place to stay in London, yet he’s had no formal training in design and he doesn’t know a thing [...]

Ripe Tomato

I find it immensely irritating when restaurants – or any business for that matter – have no website. There is simply no excuse in this day and age and it must do one’s business more damage than one realises. For the most part I won’t even visit a restaurant unless it has a website. I [...]

The Editor, the Hotel, the Knight and His Lover

I once followed Sir Richard Branson into the ladies’ toilets. That’s not the sort of incident that one normally boasts about, except perhaps during a particularly enjoyable dinner party in the company of close friends and having digested one too many vintage cognacs for one’s own good. But, dear readers, as you are all my [...]

Kensington’s New Cook

If you saw a distressed and rain-soaked journalist running along Kensington High Street last week, barging past fur-clad ladies and gouging the eyes of innocent shoppers with the spokes of his umbrella; that was me. I was late for an interview and I detest being late for anything. It’s rude and there really is no [...]

Hotel Dracula

If Count Dracula lived in Belgium, he would reside at the Kasteel Van Niewland. In fact I’m pretty sure this is where the Addam’s family come for their European vacation and the Munster’s practically call it a second home. Built during the 19th century, this traditional Flemish manor house is now a spooky, eccentric and [...]

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