Truism #1

It's a white out!

Up until now we have had a very mild winter - well, much milder than the only other winter I've spent in London - it's been comparable to a Wellington winter (or maybe that should be a Wellington summer!). But, weather always seems to balance itself out, and last night it all changed....

We did have the odd flurry of snow last winter, but nothing that settled. But this morning we woke to a thick white blanket across London, probably about 5cms of snow. It didn't last the day out (still not cold enough for that), but it made for some great pictures this morning....

Hell's Kitchen

Well, if this is Hell's Kitchen, it's pretty tasty. Anna and I treated ourselves to one of Gordon Ramsey's restaurants - at Claridge's Hotel - earlier in the month. It was certainly a great experience - the service was superb, the decor plush, and the food terrific. And watching some of the ponces in there was a bit of a laugh as well.

We had the Menu Prestige menu, which is a little like a degustation, with 6 courses. So what did we have....

1. Bouillon of smoked ham hock with autumn vegetables and 'pease' pudding tortelli.

2(Sam). Ballottine of foie gras marinated in white port, with french bean salad, truffle vinaigrette and toasted brioche.

2(Anna). Risotto blanco with pine nuts and parmesan. (She wasn't brave enough to try the foie gras)

3. Roasted sea scallop, with carrot, pine nut and caper salad.

4(Sam). Steamed line caught sea bass, with crushed potatoes, roasted salsify and vanilla jus.

4(Anna). Roasted loan of Balmoral estate venison, wrapped in parma ham, with honey glazed vegetables and cinnamon and star anise jus.

5. Granny smith apple and calvados bavarois and walnut mousse.

6. Caramalised banana parfait with a coconut tuile and passion fruit glaze. (that's Anna getting stuck into it)

Everything was superbly cooked - Anna claims the risotto is the best she has ever had - and they weren't small portions either. I think we were both pretty much full halfway through the 4th course. By the end of the night we nearly had to roll ourselves out the door. Was a very nice night, though the credit card had the last laugh, as with a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses of champagne it cost us £255! Not cheap, but a great experience.