Salcombe Gin School

I first heard of Salcombe Gin when a small group of ‘press’ were invited to Lympstone Manor. Here, we tried their limited edition, specially crafted, Arabella Gin created with chef and owner of Lympstone, Michael Caines. We had a lunch of crab raviolo, guinea fowl with Summer vegetables and lemon polenta cake (that place now has a Michelin star, it’s gorgeous FYI) while doing a … Continue reading Salcombe Gin School

The Hoxton Paris

Soon set for world domination The Hoxton is globally going from strength to strength. They have hotels in Hoxton, then Holborn, then Amsterdam. Soon there’ll be Brooklyn, Portland, Chicago and Southwark in London. Arguably their most beautiful property yet is in Paris. Based in the Rue du Sentier, if it’s art you’re into, you can get to most of the good stuff on foot: Louvre … Continue reading The Hoxton Paris

Sardinia with Vallebona

Sardinia. I’ve never been. And I know very little about it either. “It’s in Italy right?” Well no, not quite, it’s a separate island, the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and before Cyprus) and an autonomous region of Italy. (Thanks Wikipedia). You probably knew this but I never listened in Geography lessons. Our trip here is for a few days, courtesy … Continue reading Sardinia with Vallebona

The crayeres at Charles Heidsieck, Reims

Being totally honest I’d never heard of Charles Heidsieck before I was invited along to Champagne to see the creyeres where they age all their bottles. And being even more honest, I wasn’t entirely sure what the hell a crayeres even was. After a train to Lille in France, it’s a couple of hours drive to Reims, the home of Champagne. There you’ll find Domaine … Continue reading The crayeres at Charles Heidsieck, Reims