Waitrose Kings Cross

Last week Waitrose opened their exciting new store at Kings Cross. The branch, which officially opened to the public on Thursday 24^th is part of the restoration of the Midland Goods Shed, first built in 1850 by the Great Northern Railway.

 

To celebrate this special opening, Waitrose invited journalists, analysts, key stake holders and neighbouring businesses to celebrate the restoration of the beautiful grade II listed building.

Guests were able to enjoy an evening of live music, fabulous food and to take an exclusive tour around the branch.

Kicking off the night was a performance by The Tailormade, who were crowned Gigs Champion 2014, following a five month search to find London's best busker. The second performance of the evening was by the YoYos, an acoustic covers band covering classic pop, rock, funk, disco and classy jazz tunes with a funky twist.

Guests were able to enjoy a fusion of food created by Jonathan Moore, the Waitrose executive chef and his team, and the team from the Waitrose Cookery School which included shredded beef with mac and cheese topping, butternut squash mac & cheese tartlets, sweetcorn soup with buttermilk topping, seaweed crackers with cured mackerel and for those with a sweet tooth there was an indulgent salted caramel with passion fruit and popping candy pop.

 

The new Waitrose branch includes a juice bar, soup bar, wine & tapas bar, and is the first Waitrose branch with a working beer pump, which will be supplied by Camden Brewery. The store is also home to the third Waitrose Cookery School offering classes such as Vietnamese Street Food, Thai Street Feast and a Soufflé Savvy course – to find out more or to book on to a course click here: http://www.waitrose.com/content/waitrose/en/home/inspiration/waitrose_cookery_school/about_us/kings-cross-cookery-school..html.

 

Bookmark this post with:

Follow us on

Sea by Melissa Odabash Swimwear Pamper Morning

Last week we had the pleasure of launching the new Sea by Melissa Odabash swimwear collection for JD Williams at an intimate pamper breakfast held at the Cowshed spa, Soho.

 

 

 

Melissa Odabash presented her new SS15 collection to key fashion press from Red, The Daily Mail, Look, The Daily Express, Good Housekeeping, Drapers and Stylist whilst they indulged in manicures, pedicures and massages.

 

 

 

A delicious summery breakfast of avocado toast, yogurt & granola and healthy fresh juices were served whilst Melissa talked through her inspiration behind the collection of swimsuits, bikinis and beach cover-ups in a palette of tonal browns, navy blues and this season’s must-have leopard print, all designed to flatter the mature figure.

 

 

 

Press were also treated to a personalised goody bag which included a sarong in the collection’s hero print, Cowshed products and even bikini biscuits inspired by the collection.

 

 

The full collection is now available online in sizes 12-32 at: http://www.jdwilliams.co.uk/shop/melissa-odabash/swimwear/1/_/N-1ytrb26Z1ytvwxi/products/show.action?cm_sp=JDW-Swimwear-_-Brands-_-SeabyMelissaOdabash

 

 

 

Bookmark this post with:

Follow us on

Brunch with Kirstie

Last week we had the pleasure of joining Kirstie Allsopp for a media brunch at her beautiful and eclectic home in Notting Hill, to launch the Handmade Fair’s second show to press. The brunch, which was super healthy and seriously tasty, hosted by Kirstie and her team, aimed to give a sneak peak into what this year’s second Handmade Fair will look like in September.

The brunch was filled with questions about the craft fair, which highlighted that the event brings together Britain’s best producers of crafting supplies, handmade items and artisan foods, and invites craft enthusiasts and lovers of all things homemade to come and join in the action.

Throughout the event different craft exhibitors, Kirstie and other household names such as Annie Sloan, Jane Means, Poppy Chancellor, and Fiona Cairns, will host craft workshops that last between 30 minutes and one hour, including jewellery and accessory making, paper crafting, sewing, knitting, upcycling and even how to craft the perfect handmade wedding. Further names will be announced over the coming weeks – with some very special guests in the pipeline and tickets going on sale in April, so watch this space- http://www.thehandmadefair.com/

What better way to start the day than with a glass of fizz, poached eggs, avocado, vegetarian frittata’s and kedgeree, finished off with polenta cake and wheat free brownies.

The beautiful bouquets in vintage vases used to dress the table.

Press even left with a beautiful Bonbon Balloon to brighten up their afternoon.

Bookmark this post with:

Follow us on

A cherry-picked press trip to Herefordshire

It’s not every day you get the chance to spend time with Heston Blumenthal’s team, a group of amazing distillers and the expert spirits team at Waitrose, so when the opportunity to take a journalist to visit the Chase Vodka Distillery came up, it wasn’t one we wanted to miss! On a cold crisp day at the end of November, we travelled with a journalist from the Daily Telegraph to rural Herefordshire to give them a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the new Heston from Waitrose Cherry Bakewell Vodka. We were taken round the farm and distillery by head distiller Jamie Baggott, who showed us how the humble potato is transformed through a variety of processes (one including basically making the potatoes into mash!) into the delicious Cherry Bakewell vodka. Inspired by the great British classic dessert, the vodka is made with local cherries and amaretto extract and really does taste rather nostalgic, not to mention very moreish! Throughout the day, we were accompanied by the fascinating Otto Romer, from Heston’s team at the Fat Duck, who told us all about how the relationship between Waitrose, Heston and Chase work and how Heston’s ideas become an actual product on shelf.

After our tour, we then went back to The Verzon Hotel, a gorgeous boutique hotel also owned by the Chase family. The hotel’s expert head chef created a selection of delicious Heston canapés for us to eat alongside cocktails made from the Cherry Bakewell Vodka. Expertly mixed by David Ashton-Hyde from The Crown at Bray, we were lucky enough to sample Cherry Espresso Martinis and Cherry Sours, alongside a Mulled Cider Fruit Cup and a Herbal Tea, made from Heston’s other drinks from Waitrose – his Earl Grey Gin and Mulled Cider – which are also made at Chase.

So now, when we have a go at some of the cocktail recipes this New Year’s Eve, we’ll be taking a moment to think about all the hard work, creativity and expertise that went into the making of the vodka and if that’s not a cause for celebration, I don’t know what is – cheers to that!  

Bookmark this post with:

Follow us on

All aboard the St Asthore!

It’s not every day you get to travel to Cornwall for work but a couple of weeks ago, I made the five hour journey to Newlyn, near Penzance, to join a team of Cornish fishermen who have been supplying Waitrose with sardines for 10 years. The reason? After decades in the doldrums, the popularity of Cornish sardines is on the rise, with sales rising by a fifth at Waitrose, so I was travelling with a journalist from the Independent on Sunday to give them a behind-the-scenes look at how these delicious fish are caught. 

We met Jeremy, the Waitrose fisheries and aquaculture manager, at the harbour, just as the sun was setting and were given a briefing by fisherman, Peter Bullock and then – it was time to set sail! 

Sardine fishing can take between two and seven hours so there was a certain amount of excitement met with trepidation as we set off! Peter explained that the reason we had to fish at night was because that’s when the slippery, six-inch fish congregate off the coast in vast shoals. After about an hour of being on the water, it was suddenly all actions go as Peter frantically abandoned the cockpit and, alongside his two colleagues, brought in a catch of around four tonnes, after 45 minutes of intense hauling of the net. The beautifully luminescent sardines were then taken back to shore and packed with ice. Within two days, they’d then be in Waitrose branches around the country – ethically sourced, high-quality fish that can be traced exactly to a single fishery. 

It was then back to solid ground for a meal in a local restaurant (with a main of local fish, of course) and then, back to my hotel – safe to say after all that sea air, I slept well!

Bookmark this post with:

Follow us on