Dinner at Sanderson

Sanderson (without the 'the' apparently) will forever be London's coolest, most instagrammable, and stylish hotel in my mind. During the Summer months, there's no greater place to enjoy a fine meal, than in the hotel's garden courtyard, under heated lamps with a silk pashmina (provided by the restaurant) to wrap around your shoulders as the temperature drops. Serving classic-contemporary dishes in a typical English style, Sanderson is a glamorous but still very relaxed location which has passed the test of time as dining trends come and go in our foodie capital.

So on a balmy evening Charlie and I met at The Long Bar (it's 80ft!) for a cocktail or two before making our way to the restaurant. The surroundings are styled by Ian Schrager and Phillipe Strack - the fun, fabulous and always fashionable interiors of Sanderson are instantly recognisable. With inspiration drawn from Salvador Dali and Alice in Wonderland, the boutique hotel's lobby area is home to oversized lip sofas, a hanging egg chair, and other oversized and unusual artworks.

After finishing our killer cocktails, we ordered from menu which was teeming with fashionable takes on English favourite dishes; Charlie opted for a terrine of Chicken, while I enjoyed a beautifully presented goats cheese, beetroot and walnut salad. We couldn't help but try a taste of each other's starters, following the declarations of how delicious each dish was.

I opted for a slow cooked pork belly main course, served with scallops and a light salad, a dish which  was cooked wonderfully, and the flavour of the pork was like no other pork dish that I'd ever tried. We accompanied our mains with side portions of broccoli, hand cooked fries and a garden salad - perfect for breaking down what could have been quite a heavy but flavoursome main course.

With Rugby the following day, Charlie fuelled up on a perfectly marbled steak (and more fries), which judging from his squeaky clean plate in record time, I'd say he rather enjoyed! He proclaimed that the Bernaise sauce in particular was a highlight, resorting to ordering another pot of it after I couldn't resist dipping my fries in it too!

Throughout the evening the service was excellent, with our waitress offering recommendations, and leaving us the perfect amount of time before tempting us with the dessert menu. Of course, we couldn't refuse. 

A warm chocolate brownie and incredible passion fruit mousse dish later (both absolutely incredible, in fact I may return to Sanderson very shortly just to indulge in a plate of each) and Charlie and I left feeling incredibly satisfied, but not that overly full feeling that you get from a heavy meal. Our evening at Sanderson was the perfect date night; a fabulous location, delicious food and the perfect way to enjoy some time together after a hectic week.

Sanderson Hotel

50 Berners Street

London

W1T 3NG

020 7300 1400

Have you visited Sanderson? What dishes would you recommend?

Dinner with Leonard

When a life sized tweed camel named Leonard stands proudly outside the Michelin starred restaurant, you get the feeling that this evening is going to delight you in ways that you never knew would be possible. And that's exactly what happened when Charlie and I dined at Leonards restaurant within Le Grand Bellevue in Gstaad.

Helmed by Chef Urs Gschwend, who earned a Michelin star at the hotel's restaurant, the menu consists of bistro style modern and contemporary dishes, which are Swiss twists on international favourites. Easily the most sought after menu in Gstaad, possibly even in the whole of Switzerland, Charlie and I eagerly anticipated our first Michelin Star dining experience outside of the UK.

What I Wore

Dress by ASOS   |   Bag by Rebecca Minkoff   |   Shoes by Next   |   Sunglasses by Jeepers Peepers

The evening started with cocktails on the hotel's beautiful terrace area, we enjoyed the berry infused Bellevue Smash made with Tanqueray Gin, Chambard, Raspberries, Blackberries and Lime juice as well as the refreshing home made Iced Tea while soaking in the dramatic views of the surrounding Alps.

After a teaser course of melt-in-the-mouth salmon, Charlie and I tucked into our starters. Upon recommendation of Daniel, the owner, I chose the poached Gstaad Egg, on a bed on spinach, Hollandaise sauce and chives - easily the greatest egg dish I've ever tried. It was hard to imagine how essentially a fancy take on the breakfast classic could be made into a Michelin Star worthy starter, but we soon discovered that anything is possible at Le Grand Bellevue. Before I'd even asked Charlie how he was enjoying his Scottish Salmon tartare, the plate was completely clean, so I'd say he found it pretty good!

In need of some warming comfort food (after a really tough day at the spa... you know how it is) I opted for the Picada Aquerello Risotto, with chorizo and green peas. Much like Charlie's starter, it was gone far too quickly, leaving a delicious tingle from the many flavours lurking on my palette. Charlie's Tagliata of beef sirloin was cooked to absolute perfection, and unlike in many luxury eateries, there was plenty of meat within the serving to satisfy his hunger pangs.

It's only because we enjoyed the ambience of Leonards Restaurant for a leisurely two hour dinner that we even had room for deserts, and they were certainly worth making room for! I opted for the Romanoff, similar to an Eton Mess in style, it consisted of Strawberries, home-made vanilla ice cream and meringues created from Gruy�re, and lots of double cream. It's a good job it was so delicious, because Charlie's Chocolate Parfait looked like all my dreams come true in chocolate form. He informed me that it truly was as good as it looked.

Luckily we didn't have far to roll walk after our meal, and we retired to our room extremely satisfied from our scrumptious meal and incredible experience at Leonards.

My Detox Diary // Think Press 3 Day Juice Cleanse

So if you follow me on Instagram, you'll probably have guessed that I'm currently sunning myself in Corfu, and prior to the holiday, I decided to try something that I'd been itching to try for a while; a juice cleanse. I first heard about juice cleanses about three years ago when one of the girls in the Mulberry office kept telling us about how she had so much more energy, brighter and clearer skin, and had lost weight just from drinking juices for three days. I read about how drinking the freshly squeezed or pressed juices are supposed to detoxify your body and therefore give you a healthy glow and boost your immune system, and since then I'd always been intrigued to try one.

I decided to take my first delve into the world of juicing by attempting a 3-day juice cleanse from Think Press (previously The Juice Executive) who cold press fresh raw vegetables fruit and herbs for either subscriptions, or juice cleanses. The juices are pressed in the beautiful Kentish countryside, where much of the produce is grown locally. 

Throughout the cleanse there were certainly upas and downs, and I definitely do not have a strong sense of will power so it was incredibly hard resisting food (especially at blogger events when delicious looking canap�s were being wafted under my nose!) so I decided to document my experience so that I could share it with you!

Pre-Cleanse:

I wanted to prepare my body for the cleanse, after all, going from constant snacking and a carb-heavy diet to just 6 bottled juices a day was probably going to make my body go into shock! I read that it's best to eat a mostly vegan diet for three days before the cleanse, so I mostly ate salads, vegetable soups, brown rice and quinoa, and also some grilled chicken to fill me up (I could never be Vegan full time, I love meat too much!) I also started to wean myself off my morning Nespresso and opt for green tea instead.

Day 1:

I started my day by waking up at 6am and doing some blog admin while slurping on a green tea, before heading to the gym for a spin class, and then into the office where the Think Press insulated box was waiting for me! My first juice was the Ginger Glow - a delicious blend of carrot, apple and ginger which gave me such a buzz that I didn't even miss my cup of coffee!

By about 2pm my energy levels were starting to crash a bit, and I felt like I needed some nutrients in my body so I reached for the Cleanse Green juice, my third juice of the day which was a raw mix of courgettes, fennel and watercress. Not quite as delicious as the Ginger Glow, but my body certainly thanked me for all the goodness.

Craving something a little more substantial at 5pm, I almost reached for a chocolate digestive biscuit but with the thought of ruining it all at such an early stage, I settled for the Cacao Cashew juice next, a mix of cashews, filtered water, raw cacao, dates and sea salt. This helped to curb my cravings and the nutrients gave me the boost I needed for the rest of the day. I felt so proud of myself for not giving in to any cravings during the day, and at night I kept myself busy so as to steer away from any carry cravings. After doing some laundry, some late night blogging and watching homeland for a bit, I was ready for bed and drifted into a very deep sleep.

Day 2:

On day 2, I actually woke up before my alarm, and had a productive morning packing for holiday and scheduling blog posts before heading off to work. Before the cravings for Cheerios could kick in, I started the day with a Pink Roots juice, a blend of beetroot, carrot, apple and lemon. I didn't particularly stick to any timings on day 2, instead just drinking a juice as and when I felt my body needed it.

The juices all tasted even more vibrant on day 2, I actually enjoyed the taste of the vegetables when previously I'd always found it a bit of a chore to drink the healthy mixtures. By about 4pm, I was seriously craving solid food. The office had been filled with foody smells and I'd perused some food blogs on my lunch break (NOT a good idea!) and it was torture!! The euphoric feelings I'd been experiencing during the cleanse fell away and I realised I was absolutely starving. Was I going to break my fast? All of this for nothing? No way. I grabbed an Ultimate Green juice, with wheatgrass, spinach, cucumber, celery, pear, parsley and lemon, and went for a brisk walk before settling back at my desk and tackling my inbox to take my mind of the hunger pangs.

A blogger event in the evening was a true test, with coronation chicken cones and risotto aranchini balls being offered to me (two of my favourite things) I had to fill up on water to keep the urges at bay.

Day 3:

I woke up early once again and not even thinking about the hunger pangs that I'd experienced the night before. My skin looked great (although I also have my Anne Semonin beauty routine to thank for that!), my eyes looked more sparkly (I had a compliment on my eyes, from another girl, for the first time EVER! Usually they are a bit bloodshot and dry) and I felt light and lean. I was excited to grab a Pink Roots juice for breakfast, and couldn't believe I was already on the last day of my cleanse. Just 24 hours to go and then I could eat solid food again, and better still, I'd be heading to the airport!

The day went by quickly and I enjoyed all my juices, I felt so fantastic that I almost could have extended the cleanse for another 2 days (but I couldn't, as I was heading away!), My energy levels were high and I felt satisfied by the juices and didn't crave food so much on the last day. I even had a juice left over, so on the following morning I sipped on that on the way to the airport since I had come to love my juice routine so much!

Post Cleanse: 

I felt so brilliant after the cleanse that I continued to drink juices in the morning for the next week or so wherever possible, and tried to keep as close to a vegan diet as possible for the days after the cleanse. Being away made it harder, with trips to cheese producing farms and lovely tapas bars, and eventually I went back to a healthier version of my usual diet. 

Overall I feel cleaner, leaner and have a great sense of accomplishment, and will definitely be doing a Think Press juice cleanse again in the not too distant future.

Have you ever tried a juice cleanse?

Thank you to Think Press who kindly sent me the juices to try! A three day bespoke juice cleanse starts at �95 inclusive of VAT.

A Foodie Weekend in the Cotswolds

Last weekend, Charlie and I escaped the city and headed back to my old neck of the woods; Herefordshire and the Cotswolds. My brother's family and lots of old school friends still live back in Herefordshire, so our weekend away from London was the perfect opportunity to catch up with loved ones as well as enjoying the tranquility of the countryside. We also spent a couple of blissful days at Dormy House - as a result of me winning a competition at the Debenhams Press Day, and there will be a post on that tomorrow!

The first part of the weekend though was mostly spent indulging in some serious comfort food, including a seriously special Pop Up...

 Our first stop was Hereford, where we popped into The Shack Revolution - a new pop up Pizza and cocktail hang out created by Rich Manning, who happens to be an old school friend of mine, and a uni friend of Charlie's (it's a small world!). Tucked away in a yard behind the high street, the rustic pop-up still has an exclusive feel about it, and it seemed that most of the people inside had heard about the place through word of mouth.

 In comparison to the somewhat sleepy town of Hereford, the Shack Revolution was absolutely buzzing, thanks mostly to the super friendly staff, and the chilled atmosphere.

Created with Chase Vodka, which is a local Herefordshire product created from Potatoes, as well as Gin and Rum, the cocktail selection could put any London bar to shame, and Charlie and I challenged ourselves to try as many different ones as possible. My favourite being the Berry Bramble, made with Gin, cassis, lemon, sugar and soda, as well as a fresh blend of mixed berries.

From the traditional wood burning fire oven, the thin crusted Pizzas were on a whole other level. Why anyone would go to a Pizza Hut for something mass produced when you can indulge on fresh local produce I just have no idea, and at The Shack Revolution the pizza toppings change weekly depending on what is fresh at that time, but some classics remain on the menu such as Brie, Courgette and Caramelised Onion.

The whole vibe of The Shack Revolution is spot on. No frills, but seriously good food and drink, and an unbeatable atmosphere, created by the locals, and visitors alike. If you're ever close to Hereford, then this is one place that you must visit, otherwise you can sometimes catch Richard and The Shack Revolution at Food Festivals across the country.

The following day, Charlie and I spent the morning exploring Cheltenham, a beautiful spa town which has almost a Hampstead/Richmond type of feel to it with the beautiful Cotswold stone buildings, and stores including Space NK, The White Company and Joules. After browsing in the estate agent windows (no, we aren't moving out to the countryside, just marvelling about how much more you can get for your money away from the city!) we stopped for a smoothie and light breakfast at Boston Tea Party. We were joined by Millie, one of my school friends who insisted we tried the Goats Cheese and Walnut salad, but at 11am we just weren't ready for it so will have to keep that one on our list for next time!

After exploring the shops in Cheltenham, we made a leisurely drive towards the village of Broadway, where the Dormy House Hotel is located. Despite it clouding over, we couldn't resist the pink and white striped cart on the village pavement selling creamy farmhouse ice cream. The que of locals and visitors alike was a sign that we were in for a treat, and oh wow. I can hand on heart say that the Strawberry and Cream ice cream that I had was without doubt the most delicious ice cream I've ever had. And I've had a LOT of ice creams!

Next stop, Dormy House. I can't wait to tell you all about it in tomorrow's post!

Have you visited the Cotswolds?