Learn to Cook Eat and Drink in London

It is very true that London has a plethora of museums and galleries, concert venues and stadiums, restaurants, cafes, clubs and pubs; however, what may come under the radar screen is the opportunity to learn to cook the best food, drink the best whiskies and wines with professionals. The best learn to cook and drink opportunities:

Learn to Cook

Do not leave London without taking at least one cooking class with Rosalind Rathouse and her staff. The School has been recognized repeatedly and award presentations are commonplace for this charming, personable and intelligent woman who has designed a program that helps us to become smarter in our kitchens. The school is a member of the Sustainable Restaurant Association and Sustainable Fish City and only sustainable fish is used in the classes (i.e., Pollack and mackerel). Meats are sourced from Sheepdrove Organic Farms, Yeo Valley organic milk is use in beverages, and the flour is milled at Shipton Mill. The school has also been noted as The Best City Cookery School 2013″ and runner-up for ″Most Sustainable Cookery School 2014.″

Rathouse started her career in the classroom as an elementary school teacher. Her passion for food combined with an interest in teaching led her to open the Cookery School in 2003. Located on a small street in a below-ground space near Oxford Circus, she has gained the respect of the industry and the love of her students because in a time when celebrity chefs are all about appearing in front of the TV cameras or demonstrating food techniques in front of thousands at public stadiums, Rathhouse’s focus is on the student and the food: How to select it, prepare it, cook it and ultimately – to enjoy it. While many students are never going to fill the boots of Bobby Flay or Emeril Lagasse, the School does offer a Cook’s Certificate course that runs for six weeks and is marketed to people who want to gain confidence in the kitchen and/or open their own restaurant. During my recent visit I learned how to make a biscuit (without milk), a very impressive two-layer sponge cake and Scottish eggs.

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Milestone Hotel (Red Carnation Hotel Group). Gentlemen’s Tea

At the Milestone Hotel, a Ladies Tea features tea, from an assortment of 18 different options while a Gentlemen’s Tea features a flight whiskey or ale plus an array of savories that include home-made mini-pork pies, mini-Cornish pastries and mini-toad-in-the-hole (toast with boiled egg in the middle), maple-cured bacon scones served with truffle butter plus the traditional scones with clotted cream and preserves.

Tea Time. Not Necessarily English

Drinking tea as an event started in France in the 17th century and became important thanks to the efforts of Madame de Sevigne and the Marquise de la Sabriere who is credited with initiating the fashion of adding milk to tea.

Prior to the introduction of tea into Britain, the English had two main meals, breakfast (ale, bread and beef) and dinner which, in the middle of the 18th century was served to the upper and middle classes. While dinner originally was served at noontime it gradually shifted to late evening.

One of Queen Victoria’s (1819-1901) ladies-in-waiting, Anna Maria Stanhope, known as the Duchess of Bedford (1783-1857) would get hungry at about 4 PM and did not like to wait for the next meal; therefore, the Duchess had her servants secretly bring her tea and slices of bread and butter in her private rooms to satisfy her. Slowly her story leaked and what had been a private snack morphed into a social affair with friends joining her at the Belvoir Castle for tea and conversation as well as small cakes, bread and butter sandwiches and assorted sweets.

A Gentlemanly Afternoon Tea includes:

• Auchentoshan Three Wood. A Lowland single malt matured in 3 different casks (Pedro Ximenez Sherry casks, bourbon casks and Oloroso Sherry that is triple distilled. The nose: Cooked fruit, sherry, toffee, rum and Bas Armagnac. The palate: Rich with hints of cherry liqueur in dark chocolate… think a Black Forest cherry gateaux. Finish: Dark toffee and chewy wooded notes balance with a green fruit edge.
• Glenmorangle 18 years. The whiskey is made using malted barley, germinated with water sourced from the Tarlogie Spring. The water produced from the spring, which spends nearly a century underground before it is extracted, is unusually rich in minerals. Creamy and thick 18 year old dram, matured for 15 years in ex bourbon casks; finished in Oloroso sherry casks. To the eye: Gold hue that blends to orange. The nose: marzipan and cloves; grapefruit and spices. The palate: Fruit flavors of pear and citrus mixed with honey. The finish: Smooth silky texture with big oak memories.
• Scapa 14 years. From a distillery in Orkney and currently owned by Chevas Brothers. To the nose: Spice and fruits. Think of apricots in cinnamon and hazelnuts. To the palate: Full bodied and silky. Notes of heather and cut grass plus cinnamon and cloves. Finish: Long notes of dry oak and peat.

The Milestone Hotel may be one of the most famous boutique hotels in London and occupies a magnificent 19th century building that overlooks Kensington Gardens. Today it offers 44 deluxe guest rooms, 12 luxury suites and six apartments and is pet friendly.

The property recently received the TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards voted Number 2 of the Top 25 Hotels in the UK (2015).

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Capital Hotel. Single Malt Whiskey Tasting

Drinking single malt whiskey and pairing these unique tastes with British cheese/sausage under the guidance and direction of an expert, is wonderful way to spend a cold, dark and dreary night in London. The Capital Hotel may be the only hotel bar in London that offers this participatory event in an old-world elegant bar/restaurant.

The Capital Hotel Whiskey program was designed by Head barman, Cesar da Silva, recently named a Keeper of the Quaich (a society for lovers of whiskey). I was privileged to work my way through a wide array of single malt whiskeys with Naba, da Silva’s protégé. Naba was born in Nepal and studied Tourism and Hospitality Management at South London College.

The rare and collectable single malts we sipped through included Benromach 10 year old, Dalmore 12 year old and Kilchoman special release. The absolutely memorable sausages (prepared to perfection) were Fairfax Cumberland minis from The Metro.

To start this perfect evening, Naba asked me about my single malt whiskey experiences and preferences. He then shared his vast knowledge of the whiskeys he thought would interest me and as I sipped my way through the tastings, we discussed the eye, tongue, mouth and palate appeal from each producer.

What to know about whiskey:

1. Whisky is distilled beer, which has been acquired from fermented mash grain. It is distilled below 190 proof, and then stored in containers made of oak wood and are bottled with at least 40% alcohol by volume (abv).
2. What makes whisky distinct is its maturation process in oak, which is porous. This allows it to oxidize the distillate and release flavor compounds by means of wood chemicals such as vanillin and lignin. In addition to this, when distilling at a lower abv, other flavor compounds stay in the distillate. So, when this is bottled with at least 40%, the flavor of whisky stays rich.
3. Scotch whisky simply means a whisky that has been wholly matured in oak casks in Scotland, for at least 3 years, by someone who has a license to distil.
4. Single Malt Scotch Whisky is produced from water, malted barley and yeast at a single distillery; distilled in batches (i.e., Classic Malts such as Talisker, Dalwhinnie and Lagavulin). Single Malt Whiskies are also produced in England, Wales, Ireland and Japan
5. Single Malt Whiskey is produced at just one distillery, without any blending.
6. Irish whiskey differs from Scotch whisky because it is typically distilled three times and, although Ireland is literally covered in peat, it is uncommon for peat to be used in making Irish whiskey. This is thought to make a smoother, more approachable drink than many Scotch whiskies.
7. Single Cask Malt Whiskey contains only whiskey that has matured in the same case. Maturation in the cask may vary from one cask to another. A single cask whiskey is not always a guarantee of quality.
8. A Single Malt Whiskey gets its final flavors, aromas and tastes from the barley, water, the landscape (i.e., heather, sea, mountains, and peat), the craft (i.e., the process of malting, fermentation time, and shape of the still or the distillation process), the oak cask and the previous contents of the cask, and period of maturation.

Tasting Techniques

1. Pour whiskey into a glass that tapers at the top (i.e., like a wine glass or a brandy snifter). Pour one once (shot glass) of whiskey into the glass; swirl to release volatile vapors; look as viscosity.
2. Nose (smell the whiskey). Place your nose about one inch above the rim of the glass and tilt the glass toward yourself. Draw the air into your nose. Try to pick out individual aromas or notes (butterscotch, caramel, yeast, peat, barley, vanilla, and nut flavors are very common). Invest at least a minute adjusting the position of the glass and your nose to draw out the aroma.
3. Taste. Sip a small amount – just enough to cover the surface of your tongue. Hold the whiskey in your mouth for at least 10 seconds…then taste the sweetness of the whiskey. Swirl it around in your mouth, cover all the surface of your tongue…now you can swallow it.
4. Finish. The whiskey should float down your throat in a smooth and satisfying way. Open your mouth and breathe slowly out. The flavors will remain on your tongue, gums and walls of your mouth and this is called the “finish.” It can last from a few seconds to several hours. Now breathe gently in and notice some of the volatile aromas that can be tasted on the finish.

Variations. You may want to add a bit of water to the whiskey to open it up to new flavors. Try taking a slightly larger sip of whiskey in your mouth and extend the time it stays in your mouth then tilt your head back a little and breathe very gently through your mouth. This process can illuminate more of the hard to identify flavors by aerating them.

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There is luxury and then there is old world elegance. The Stafford Hotel, tucked away on a very small street in a very upmarket and discreet part of London, is the place to stay if you are (or wish to be) the Chair of the Board, or a rock star coveting privacy. Elegant, charming, fabulously traditional and elegantly conservative, this is more than a hotel, it is a sanctuary.

8,000 Bottles of Wine on the Wall

Wine lovers will want to roam through the hotels’ 380-year-old wine cellars (built in in the 17th century by Lord Francis Godolphin) and recycled in WWII as an air raid shelter (artifacts of the war remain in the space – virtually untouched) while sheltering Canadian and American officers.

The perfect guide through the hotels’ wine collection is Gino Nardella, the Master Sommelier (there are only 197 in the world). Nardella will not only select the right wine for your dinner, but also directs wine tasting experiences for guests and their significant others. The hotel also inventories vintage cognacs, Armagnac’s, port and single malt whiskies.

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