Tuesday 28 May 2013

Celebrity restaurants around the UK


If you're bored of cooking pasta or beans on toast for the fourth time this week and feel in the mood to treat yourself why not visit one of the UK's restaurants run by celebrity chefs? You might even be lucky enough to see them in the kitchen that evening. Why not take a trip around the UK and visit some of these famous restaurants?

The Fat Duck - London

The Fat Duck is owned by Heston Blumenthal. It has 3 Michelin stars and was named the best restaurant in the world. His scientific approach to food means that you'll find quite a few peculiar pairings on the menu such as lamb with cucumber and mustard ice cream. The 17-course taster menu will set you back £195 per person and if you fancy a bottle of wine to wash it down the cost varies from a modest £32 to a whopping £8,500!

Restaurant Gordon Ramsey - London

This restaurant, which opened in 1998, is also the proud owner of 3 Michelin stars (since 2001) and offers modern French-inspired food by its top chef, Clare Smyth. You can expect mouth-watering delights such as Isle of Gigha halibut with Atlantic King crab or poached Scottish lobster tail with lardo di colonnata. Three courses come to £95 or alternatively you can order the Prestige Menu for £135. If you want to find out how to recreate the masterpieces you can also take a master class to learn how.

Fifteen – London and Cornwall

The 'baby' of Jamie Oliver opened its doors in 2002. The idea was to give young people, who'd maybe not had the best start in life, a chance to become talented chefs. All the profit goes to the charity, The Better Food Foundation. The produce is all British and on offer you'll find dishes such as grilled cuttlefish with courgette & herb vinaigrette, and braised lamb, sea beet & new season garlic. Prices range from £4 to £35.

Rhodes Twenty Four – London

Gary Rhodes' restaurant is on the 24th floor of London's tallest building, Tower 42. In 2005 the British cuisine restaurant won a Michelin star. An example of one of their tasty main courses is roasted monkfish in black olive emulsion or there's also the roasted cod fillet with lobster & sauternes curry. Go all out and try the Rhodes Twenty Four signature pudding plate for dessert.

The Sea Food Restaurant – Cornwall

Rick Stein has many restaurants, but this is his flagship one, which was established in 1975. The seafood is caught on their doorstep by local fishermen so you can rest assured that it'll be as fresh as possible. Sample their Indonesian seafood curry with monkfish, cuttlefish and prawns or the 30-day aged Cornish rib-eye steak. The mains range from £18 to £48.50.

But if you do happen to be hungry right now and don't want to want to travel to one of these celebrity restaurants just yet why not order pizza online or any other food that takes your fancy?

Bio:
This has been a guest post by Rachel who also writes for hungryhouse, one of the UK's leading online fast food delivery platforms so if you're peckish right now give them a try!

Monday 6 May 2013

Keeping up with The Royals


It’s official, the studio where Harry Potter and friends spent 10 years of their life making the iconic movies is now open for tours! In fact Will, Kate and Harry (no not Potter, try Prince Harry) officially opened the tour at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, Hertfordshire at the end of April.

Unless you’ve been living under a stone for the last decade, we’re assuming you’re familiar with Harry, Hermione and Ron and their amazing adventures at Hogwarts. If not this is the perfect opportunity to take the tour, especially if you’re staying in a fabulous cottage nearby.

What is there to see?
Well fans can get a look at the props, costumes and animatronics featured in the movies. Such as Harry’s Nimbus 2000 in the Wand Room, Hagrid’s motorcycle and his oversized costume. You’ll also learn how the animatronics, life-sized models and green screen effects brought the film’s creatures to life.

Walk in Harry Potter’s shoes
Not literally, but the behind the scenes tour will provide a real eye opener into the secrets of the movies and certain aspects that were never revealed by the camera. You’ll be able to explore the iconic venues of Hogwart’s Great Hall, Professor Dumbledore’s office, Hagrid’s Hut, the Gryffindor common room, Professor Umbridge’s office at the Ministry of Magic, Potions classroom and the boys’ dormitory. We hope there won’t be any smelly socks lying around.

But that’s not all
You can even wander the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley. Unfortunately you won’t be able to enter the shops, but you will be able to see the fronts of Ollivanders wand shop, Eeylops Owl Emporium, Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, Gringotts Wizarding Bank and Flourish and Blotts.

Even more magic
You can even get a good look at the model of Hogwarts Castle that was built for the very first movie, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. It has been modified several times in line with the seven movies that followed. The model was digitally scanned for the CGI scenes and plays a starring role. On the tour you can see its 2,500 fibre optic lights on a day-to-night cycle.

When can we go?
You can visit pretty much any day of the year except Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The tours run throughout the day, with the first starting between 9am and 10am and the last tour between 4pm and 6pm.