Ah London! Back to the Big Smoke after nearly a year away and so much has changed. Everywhere I walk I look at life around me and have to re-orientate myself with all the changes. The most striking one being the Shard – Europe’s tallest building, at London Bridge. To me it looks like the towers of Isengard where the Eye of Sauron sat in the middle, looking over Middle Earth. Nevertheless, it is a remarkable piece of architecture and if they do decide to have a restaurant right up the top, well, it’ll be quite a sight! Not to far a walk from the Shard is quiet Bermondsey Street, lined with cafes, pubs and restaurants. Anyone having been to Borough Market would have seen or dined at Brindisa, the Spanish restaurant and, for chefs, food supplier. Jose Pizarro, of Brindisa, then decided to venture out and open two more restaurants, aptly named, Jose and Pizarro! Both of them situated a few doors down from each other as well. Being a Sunday evening, only Pizarro was open for us to dine at, so we had to forego the thought of tapas at Jose for an a la carte menu at Pizarro.
Pizarro, Bermondsey
Patagonian Feasting: El Calafate, Argentina
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Leaving the lush green, red and orange autumnal colours of Ushuaia, a short journey on the other side of the mountains revealed a Patagonian landscape completely opposite to one I’d just left behind. Here there were no tall trees or hills covered in greenery, but a barren landscape only dotted by a few shrubs and the native calafate bush, which lends its name to the town of El Calafate.
Manson, London
There’s nothing here that has anything to do with Charles or Marilyn, even though the name can be a bit misleading. A British brasserie in Fulham is what it is, with Alan Stewart, previously of Launceston Place and Chez Bruce, at its helm. Be warned, however, that if you decide to use Google maps to get there, this bit of advice will help: do not search for Manson, Fulham! You will get directed to the wrong side of Fulham Road (about 300 doors away). Instead, use the address 676 Fulham Road! Once inside, however, the atmosphere is much different to the aggressive street outside.
Plateau, Canary Wharf
The catering industry is, essentially, like the royal family – it’s all about who you know and how you know them, and there’s only about 1-2 degrees of separation as opposed to the rest of the world and their 6. Sometimes it so happens that one has a double dose of relationship issues. In my case, it was the D&D restaurant Plateau in Canary Wharf. Here’s the deal: About 7 years ago, I was asked by an ex-colleague and pastry chef of mine, after both of us left Ramsay Claridge’s, to come and do a trial for a funky new restaurant she had just started working for as pastry chef. This restaurant happened to be in Canary Wharf and went by the name of Plateau. I did my trial, got offered the position of demi chef de partie and had a sojourn lasting only a few months as a much more exciting adventure with Cinnamon Club unfurled in the forest of my career.
