High cost glamour and low cost luxury

The last few weeks have been an interesting time to take stock about the way life is heading, Changes are afoot on the work front, I have taken on two new consultancy posts in new areas that are connected with what I have been doing to date.

There is the usual pre Christmas social whirl that started even earlier this year, and where in the past, my work would have always taken priority, the joy with consultancy, is that now I can say 'yes' to everything as long as the work gets done at some time, it doesn't matter when that is.

A few weeks back, I took a smug look at my diary; dinner at Chiltern Firehouse, dinner at the River Cafe, lunch at Petersham Nurseries, drinks and an exclusive preview of a luxury Christmas Fair held by Lady Nuttall in Knightsbridge, lunch at a grand country house in the Cotswolds.  For a second I felt that I had made it into that privileged enclave populated by magazine editors, fashion designers and the wealthy W11 set.  This was the diary of someone who was 'in the know', who gets how to mix jet set and boho chic.  And how pride comes before the fall...

The Chiltern Firehouse has the vibe that you feel at 55 in St Tropez, large and buzzy, but everyone is thrilled to have their table and determined to make the best of things. I didn't take pics as it wasn't that kind of evening, everyone was more dressed up than you might expect in London, sequins and heels abounded. Never one to play it down, I rued my choice of leather trousers and tuxedo jacket (H & M £30 quid, best buy of the season!)  I am back for a Christmas party this week and shall be pushing the boat a little further even if it is on a Monday night!
The food was really good, most memorable were the nibbles that we had whilst drinking pre dinner aperitifs in the anti chamber room outside the main restaurant, there was some kind of truffle and cauliflower concoction which had a perfect balance of flavours and cost £6 quid! I have to confess the wine flowed, and after these amuse-bouches, I don't remember a huge amount.

The next day we headed to the River Cafe, I was really excited as I had heard such great things about it.  The crowd was the rich/ boho intellectual types that you might expect of New Labour's favourite haunt. Michael Cain was there, as was the scruffy one from Top Gear, this time I had gone the opposite way, wearing one of my Coast stretchy satin pencil skirts and a beaded top from Christian Dior with a Carolina Herrera coat over the top for warmth...

..which wasn't really the right look, ripped jeans and a T shirt would have been fine, or some kind of extravagantly embroidered shawl thrown over leggings.  I did bump into an old school friend who it was great to see again and who (keeping everything crossed) might be involved in one of the new projects that I am working on. But aside from that, I have to confess that I didn't really 'get' the hype. It was really, really expensive, I am talking about £30 quid for the cheapest pasta, going up to one dish that was £110 (for a plate of pasta!).  The big thing is the authenticity of the food, for example, apparently the lemons are flown over from Naples etc.  But a part of me says 'so what?', if my lemons are from Naples or Lidl, once they are squeezed on my salad, I really can't tell the difference, and with all the environmental concerns, it just seems extravagant and wasteful.
The main issue was that the food just wasn't very good, I had a forgettable salad (not sure where the leaves had come from, but I make better dressings with my garlic and ginger from the local market). Followed by an obligatory pasta which was nowhere near as good as a great Italian restaurant on the Kings Road that does tastier, bigger portions for about a quarter of the price and delivers a whole host of fun with its double height seating, review here.
The only positive was the longevity of the staff, I loved that the manager had been there for 25 years and most of the waiting staff, around 10, it must be a nice place to work, and I guess the eye-watering prices mean that they pay well and share the love a little.

A couple of days later, I headed to Petersham Nurseries for an annual lunch with a group who have all gone our separate ways, but make an effort once a year to get together.  I was really excited to go as I have never been and have read innumerable reviews in the likes of Vogue and the Sunday supplements about how great it is.

Unfortunately this was an even bigger disappointment than the River Cafe.  The place itself tips over from romantically disheveled to dump.  In Summer they might get away with it, but in Winter there is a barrenness to the landscape that means that the mud needs a bit of gravel and a bit of tidying.  It doesn't have to reach the (some might say) sterile perfection of Daylesford in Kingham, but the comparison is inevitable and with lunch at Petersham costing over £80 and lunch at Daylesford around £30, Petersham just doesn't live up to the hype.

This food wasn't just forgettable it was terrible, Skye Gyngell you are obviously sorely missed.  The starters were a range of beige 'mush' with bread, there was a choice of vegetarian or fish for main, the Scrooge in me refuses to choose veggie when I am paying 80 quid, so I went for fish.  It was cod served with another 'mush' and the textures were really horrible.  It all reminded me of the food that we used to give to my grandfather after he had had a stroke and lost the ability to chew.  They did redeem themselves with the pudding (a pear tart) I had two, apparently the patisserie chef has a better idea than the head chef.  One of the group left early, so having not eaten either the starter or the main course, I had two pear puddings.  They did bring us quite a spectacular array of cheeses on a platter, but I don't think you can judge a restaurant on its ability to present cheese nicely.  It reminded me of when I was doing my yoga training and the teacher told us 'Just master a great relaxation, even if the rest of the class is a disaster, everyone will remember the relaxation'. I wondered if Petersham take this approach with their cooking,  Bring out great cheese and the rest is forgotten.

I have been trying to re-wear some of my old classics, but I don't think it works.  I know how old they are and I am pretty sure they do look really dated.  I had a dress and jacket ensemble from Bruce Oldfield (back in the days when Diana was often in the shop trying on the same outfits) The dress is probably beyond ever seeing the light of day, but I thought I might get away with the jacket....

With Chanel boots, distressed jeans and matching (if not Hermes) bag.

What do you think? Is it really obviously over 25 years old?  Looking at these pics and I am thinking that the look is somewhere between mucking out the stables and taking part in the dressage and it doesn't work at all.
We had a lovely time catching up, if underwhelming culinary experience,and, in that typically British form, we said nothing, paid the bill, and then walked to the car park moaning about how rubbish it was.
The Knightsbridge event was another wash out, for fear of sounding like a moaning mini I will skip over it, saying 70s decor, glass of Champagne 20 quid, warm and flat.

Finally I escaped what I fear to be the style over substance living of London, back to the Cotswolds for another girlie lunch. This time at a beautiful house belonging to a friend. Again, it wasn't a picture taking type of place, but how I longed to take some snaps of the super-modern, white, bright kitchen juxtaposed against the traditional English Country house interiors of the house.

This was the village....

And then I pulled in to the driveway, not sure what to expect, it was one of those houses with perfect Georgian proportions...

The food and company were perfect, lunch lasted from midday until gone 5 o'clock and we feasted on salad with Gorgonzola and walnuts, chicken breast and polenta and chocolate pudding with cream.
Followed by unending coffees with all the boxes of sweets and chocolates that the guests had brought for the hostess.
Who needs expensive restaurants with grand reputations? You just need some good home-cooked food and interesting conversation.

We stayed at the cottage and started to feel a bit festive as we visited the first Christmas fair of the season, held at a local school, it was like something from Harry Potter....

This was the food hall where we bought sticky toffee pudding and smoked garlic...

 Lots of jewellery, bags and cashmere..

 The chap in the dressing gown was selling all things elephant related, he was a bit of an eccentric and had a thing about elephants.  We stocked up on Chutneys...

 And pretty stocking fillers...

And I bought a bee cushion for the cottage (it used to belong to the village bee-keeper)

We found some fun small toys for nieces and nephews...

And handmade chocolate and drinking chocolate...

And Ba's bears who runs a teddy bear hospital and makes traditional bears from scratch..

 There were endless corridors of individual stalls...

 We found some long haired angels to decorate the presents of the long haired angels who are visiting this Christmas...

And we read the plaques dedicated to the boys who had been at the school and died in the Second World war, some aged only 18 or 19, the sadness even more poignant as we prepare for the most indulgent time of the year.

Trying to retain the holiday mood, I came home and made a Christmas Gingerbread house.  I had seen a fruit covered one in a Harrods brochure that was £150 and was convinced I could make the same.
I bought all of the bits....

Set about building the house....

 It started quite well with the pecan roof exactly resembling the one that I had seen...

And the I realised, that that they rest of the fruit that had been stuck on to the walls should have been attached BEFORE building the house....

So it does look like it was made by a 6 year old, not quite the thing of beauty that I had envisioned.

On Sunday we went to the farmers market and bought seasonal produce....

 The pickings aren't rich this time of year, pretty much only cabbages, carrots and apples, but it is all bumpy, lumpy real food that is covered in mud. And melt in the mouth homemade bread...

And a hot meal of red cabbage, beetroot and cranberries with meat from the local farm...

We met up with some old friends for a coffee and cake on Sunday afternoon...
For the princely sum of around £5, we walked along the river enjoying these views....

 And then tucked in to home made cake and frothy coffee in the old boathouse (part of the Swan at Streatley)...

There are still a few experiences to be had in London that are an undeniable luxurious (Fortnum and Mason, Claridges, the Dorchester at Christmas, the Connaught for early evening drinks), but most of the rest is just style over substance real luxury is the home grown and home-cooked, enjoyed with friends and served with love.  The media crowd create the hype, because they know that they are trapped on the London treadmill so it is all presented it in a way that makes us feel that we are 'missing out' by not being at these places.  But if we have access to all the real stuff, I am not sure that it is us that are missing out at all.