Attend : Woburn Coffee House

Woburn Coffee House, 21 Market Place, Woburn.

 Bank holiday weekend calls for a day out in the countryside : we visited historic Woburn, a perfect Georgian village. We were visiting to take afternoon tea at Woburn Coffee House.

 Situated in a 400 year old house on Market Place, Karen and her team have created a beautifully fresh boutique coffee house: a modern traditional interior, combining mix match crockery, and a beautiful walled garden to sip Pimms in the summer months.

 We were presented with an amazing 5 tier platter of finger sandwiches, scones, slices of cake, brandy snaps, Mille-Feuille and beautifully crafted cream profiteroles in the shape of swans.
 Whatever you can't manage can be taken home in a goody box...

Woburn Coffee Shop features a tranquil walled garden, opened up in Summer months for afternoon tea and Pimms.

 Woburn itself is a quintessentially British village - dating back to Saxon times. It's even been listed in The Sunday Times as one of the 'best places to live in Britain'
 The village has lots of cool antique shops, restaurants, gift shops, a farmers market and great scenery - all this, and only an hour from central London...

Woburn Coffee House
21 Market Place,
Woburn,
Bedfordshire.

Reservations : 01525 290050
Web : Woburn Coffee House 
Web : Woburn Village 

Instagram : The last month

Photo Update

April - A busy month again, well I did run The London Marathon this month!
I did manage to get some other stuff in other than running and training. This is what I've been up to:

L-R: Driving over Tower Bridge, the next time I would cross this would be during the Marathon; Sweetie Darling, It's Patsy and Eddie's house, my training helped me rediscover my local neighbourhood; Registration Time, the big day finally came!

 L-R: Stylish times, spring finally came and I still found time to dress up; Cut Throat Shave, you need to look good to run, treating myself to some pampering time; Bob Bob Ricard, you also need to eat lots to run - BBR was amazing.

 L-R: Buddha Bar Prague, time to relax post Marathon; Neon Chandelier in the Buddha Bar restaurant - my first night out drinking in 4 months; Reservé, Our party table!

 Follow me on Instagram : @opulentscrawls
 http://instagram.com/opulentscrawls

Art Deco Breakfast

Breakfast : England Preserves

  'England Preseves' condiments are the perfect accompaniment to a stylish Art Deco breakfast. 

 The artisan jams that 'England Preseves' make are locally sourced and hand made in Bermondsey. The company began in 2001, and the jams have made their way from the local farmers market to gourmet menus. I love the Art Deco design labels.

 They help make a quintessentially English and luxurious jam on toast -perfect for a quick Sunday breakfast.

England Preserves : Website
Toast knives : India Jane
Vintage Art Deco plates
Vintage Art Deco toast stand

Attend : Milestone Hotel

Champagne Afternoon Tea : The Milestone Hotel, Kensington

 I can't think of a better way to spend a post Christmas afternoon than taking a relaxing festive afternoon tea.
 Whilst everyone else was out battling to the sales to do yet more shopping, I took in the quintessentially English interiors of 'The Park Lounge' at The Milestone Hotel on Kensington Court.

 The Grade II listed building dates back to circa 1880, and the hotel today is named after the original cast iron milestone that still stands in it's original position beside the establishment.

 
The festive champagne afternoon tea menu kept all the important tradition of finger sandwiches but served with a festive twist;

 Mini squares of Christmas cake, and miniature mince pies were served alongside freshly baked scones, only bought to your table at request to ensure they were freshly baked, served with clotted cream and homemade jam.
   Finger sandwiches included a new take on a classic; round cut chicken sandwich rolled in chopped almonds.

 I loved the wooden paneled interiors of this hotel, the beautiful vintage caricatures adorning the walls. The restaurant, Chenestons, looked amazing and I'd love to go back and dine in the adjoining oratory area.

 The Milestone is like finding a hidden gem of tradition amongst all the ultra slick modern hotels in London. Located opposite Kensington Palace it feels stepped in history and definitely opulently English.

 The Milestone Hotel : Website
 1 Kensington Court
 London
 W8 5DL

Attend : Hotel Chocolat Rabot Estate

The Hotel Chocolat Rabot Estate : Soufière, St Lucia

 Hotel Chocolat are the only UK company to own a cocoa estate. The 140 acre Rabot Estate is located near Soufière in St Lucia. The location is in the unique 'Cocoa belt' that spans the earth between 20 degrees north and 20 degrees south of the equator.

 The estate is home to a boutique hotel, and a restaurant 'Boucan', set amongst the rainforest and sun-dappled cocoa groves. Both have awe-inspiring views across to the world famous Pitons.

 The Boucan restaurant and bar feature a menu inspired by the cocoa growing around. They call it 'Cacao Cuisine'. Toasted bread comes with chocolate dipping sauce & cacao tip butter.
 Main courses include 'The Boucaneer Fish & Chips'; local fish in Piton beer and cacao tempura with potato fries. The 'Tomato, Chilli & Cacao Ravioli' is homemade pasta pockets spiced with local chilli and Rabot Estate cacao nibs.

 The estate also put on a 'From Tree to Bar' tour - here an agricultural worker walks you round the working estate, explaining their work with Reading university to genetically profile the trees at Rabot estate. There's a chance to graft your own Cacao tree which is then planted in your name, 18 months later this very tree will be used in the production of Hotel Chocolat's chocolate.

 Fascinatingly you also make your own bar of Hotel Chocolat chocolate. Starting out with just dried Cacao nibs and a Pestle & Mortar, this is turned into a chocolaty liquid just by continued grinding and grinding. Cacao butter and powdered sugar are then added and ground more, before pouring the mix into a mould.

 Boucan restaurant also has a gift shop; I purchased Cacao nibs and a nib grinder, for seasoning salads and other dishes, along with some pure cocoa sticks which will be used to make hot chocolate.
 You are also then presented with your freshly made Hotel Chocolat 65% dark chocolate bar. Believe me, it tastes amazing!

The Hotel Chocolat - Rabot estate website
Hotel Chocolat - Shop website

Chase and Wonder : Shopping

Chase and Wonder : Fine design with British Personality 

 A while back I discovered the brand 'Chase and Wonder' at Pulse, London. (see previous post here)

 Recently, I spotted a street scene on a TV trailer for the 'London 2012 Paralympics', it was old London style with a beautiful green wood 'Paul Smith' store on it. I searched it's location down to be Park Street in South London, near to Borough Market.

 This Paul Smith store is a kind of concept store, quite unique in it's design and the goods it sells. To my surprise I found a 'Chase and Wonder' pencil case - the first time I had seen their goods for sale out of the trade show.

 I quickly snapped it up, starting up a conversation with the store manager about the brand - it had been selling well, and after our bigging the brand up, she said she'd be straight on the phone to the buyer to secure more stock!

 Park Street is a wonderful slice of old London town, with fresh produce shops, restaurants, wine bars and a couple of trendy shops.
 Immediately adjacent to Borough Market, and overlooked by the ultra modern 'Shard' building - it's a great cross section of London life.

 Pencil Case : Chase and Wonder
 Stockists : Paul Smith

Chase : Elderflower Liqueur / Rhubarb Liqueur

Chase : The finest Liqueurs

 A while back I discovered Chase Vodka (see previous post here) 

 Since then, I've been on the look out for other unique spirits in Chase's range. I've now added two of their finest liqueurs to my collection:

 Chase & Elderflower - The finest Elderflower Liqueur

 Chase & Rhubarb - The finest Rhubarb Liqueur

 Both are made using Chase Vodka - the finest potato vodka in the world, with the addition of the true rich flavours that come from Chase's beautifully ripened and carefully selected fresh fruit. There are no artificial flavours nor heat methods. They are the perfect compliment to champagne or cocktails.

 I came across these new additions to my liqueur cabinet whilst over discovering Borough Market and the surrounding area. Laithwaite's Wine is a cavernous wine cellar stocked full of interesting wines, champagnes and spirits. 

The spirit section at the back quickly drew my attention, mainly due to the vast amounts of interesting spirits piled high on tall wooden shelves...

 I'll be back at Laithewaite's Wine soon to stock up on some more interesting spirits, and make some inspiring cocktails too.

 Laithewaite's Wine : Stockists

 Chase Distillery : Home of 'The World's Best Vodka'

Stay : Hotel Reviews

New review : Cotswolds88, Painswick.

A great Bank Holiday hotel situated in the picturesque village of Painswick in The Cotswolds. This boutique design hotel is unique: opulent yet relaxing and British with Italian flair.

 For full review and pictures go to the 'Stay : Hotel Reviews' button on the right hand side.
 Or, click here for 'Stay : Hotel Reviews - Cotswolds88, Painswick.'

Japanese Garden : Afternoon Tea at Blakes, South Kensington

Afternoon Tea : Blakes Hotel, South Kensington

  Blakes hotel has a much quoted USP: that it is 'The World's First Luxury Boutique Hotel',

 Created in 1978 by the renowned designer Anouska Hempel and occupying a group of Victorian house, Blakes is hidden behind an imposing, painted black facade, on the corner of Roland Gardens in London's South Kensington.

 The lobby throws light on the design principles of the hotel : a seductive journey through distant lands, with inspiration taken from India, China, Indonesia, Egypt and London.

 Afternoon tea is served in the Chinese Room or in the calm, outdoor Japanese Garden.

 Finger sandwiches, homemade scones with strawberries & cream and indulgent cakes are served alongside a selection of teas and a glass of champagne.

 A very modern and stylish cocktail list is shown in the Chinese Room's bar. A dark, opulent base for a modern take on a classic cocktail: 'Chinese Mojito', 'Shiso Cosmopolitan' and 'Gimlet Royale' to name a few...

 (Sadly, as the cocktail list was newly prepared, the cocktails weren't up to scratch to photograph. However, this has given me a new task of recreating these cocktails on this blog - coming soon)

 Blakes Hotel
 33 Roland Gardens, London, SW7 3PF
 Web: Blakes Hotel

Pulse : London 2012

 Pulse at Earls Court, London showcases new design product in Home, Gift, Fashion, Accessories & Wellbeing. They also have a 'Launchpad' area for new and upcoming product designers.
 Two brands that caught my eye:

Tori Murphy

Woven & Made in England 

 

 Tori uses 100% Merino wool to create woven fabric based on her fine art designs. The fabric is woven in Lancashire, washed & finished in the Yorkshire Dales, and finally made into product in Nottingham.
 I particularly love the throws - in giant hand drawn linear checks, they are absolute British luxury. The touch of these hand finished throws is sublime, the quality of hand finishing and age old British craftsmanship is apparent throughout.

 Tori Murphy
 www.torimurphy.com
 info@torimurphy.com

 Chase and Wonder

 Fine design with British personality

 

 I was drawn to the Chase and Wonder stand by a fine art print stating: 'A man who lives within his means lacks imagination' - a great Oscar Wilde quote.

 Chase and Wonder's mission is to bring fine design with British personality back into peoples homes - they do this by producing high quality hand pulled screen prints, cushions and other home accessories alongside a range of stationary - all made in Britain. 

  

  

Chase and Wonder's new A/W 2012 collection features beautifully handcrafted stationary:

My two standout pieces are:

 Hand Letter Pressed 'A Gentleman's Writing Set' : Absolutely luxurious hand pressed writing paper and envelopes in a hand crafted wooden box. True Gent's British sophistication.

 'Sophisticated Animals Card Set' Boxed Assortment of 6 hand screen printed cards " Featuring lovingly illustrated whimsical animal portraits on greetings cards, all presented in a hand crafted wooden box.

All proudly made in Britain...

Chase and Wonder

www.chaseandwonder.com