Author: Sarah Kemp

My Marrakech experience

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As I write this, I am sat on my flight back to London. I have just had a heated discussion with my boyfriend because of the way that I was writing one of my reviews. He (quite rightly) accused me of using flowery language to discuss experiences that, at the time, intimidated, scared or upset me. I have been in Marrakech for the last six days and I can hold my hand up and say that it was the most challenging holiday I have ever had. I was expecting it, I’m not totally naïve, but you can play scenarios over in your head many times and when it comes to the crunch, your feelings can be totally different. I can’t count the amount of times I rehearsed the next few sentences in my head over the last three days that I spent in the Medina, but here they are. I was brought up in England, a country that is world-renowned when it comes to politeness. We Brits will queue anywhere and say sorry at anything, …

The Novel Diner at Shampers

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We have been to a few supper clubs over the years, some good, some very bad. The first hurdle that is necessary to overcome at such an event is to break the ice with fellow guests. After having sat through a fair few awkward moments in the past, the anticipation of being seated next to complete strangers always makes me slightly nervous. Being in someone else’s house and having to witness their personal artefacts has also been an issue in the past – who wants to see a bottle of femfresh on the side of the bath of someone you don’t know?! But last weekend Jack and I were introduced to a new (to us) supper club concept. The Novel Diner is the brainchild of food and arts writer Mina Holland and events organiser Claire Coutinho. Each evening is held at a different restaurant or venue around London and is themed on a well known novel. Diners are encouraged to dress up to reflect the period in which the novel is set while enjoying an …

Tune hotel – Liverpool Street

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These days you offen hear or see the word ‘budget’ dotted around. Budget flights, budget supermarket products and more. But recently I was introduced to something I thought I’d never sign up to – budget hotels. I was invited to try the newest addition to the Tune hotels portfolio in London’s Liverpool Street. At first I was skeptical but soon realised how handy it could be. I live in Wembley, which is right on the opposite side of London. So going out in East London is not exactly very appealing when you know you’ve got a two hour journey home at the end of the night. I decided to stay at Tune on an evening that I had planned to go to see my favourite DJ, Greg Wilson, play at Hoxton Pony. We were also heading to York the next day from Kings Cross, which is a few stops from Liverpool Street. As with most budget options, there are added extras. Remember that Ryan Air ‘pay to go to the loo’ saga? Well, Tune is …

Cinnamon Kitchen

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Yesterday someone asked me if I only had the choice being able to eat one cuisine for the rest of my life, what it would be. I retorted saying that the question was completely unfair and unanswerable, despite managing to whittle it down to two. The two? Indian and Italian. You see, I have been a lifelong fan of Italian food. Simple home made pasta with a drizzle of high quality extra virgin olive oil, a splash of lemon, a crack of black pepper, sprinkle of sea salt and shaving of parmesan is one of my ultimate dishes and one that I couldn’t live without. But then there’s Indian – a wafer thin dosa filled with hot and spicy masala potato filling and a creamy dahl are just two dishes of this diverse cuisine that I would never want to say goodbye to. There are many Italian and Indian restaurants in London, some very good, but most bad. These are two cuisines that have been grabbed hold of, commercialised and in some cases ruined. I …

Sponsored post: Milk & More

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Can you remember the milk man? I can. He used to silently float down my road every morning, stopping at most houses on the street to deliver bottled milk straight to the front door. As a kid, I’d rush to the door, bring the milk bottles to the kitchen and quickly rip the top off and scoop out the cream that had gathered on the top of the bottle. In my eyes, you couldn’t beat a glass of milk and freshly baked cookie. Fast forward almost 20 years (my goodness, has it been that long) and the traditional milk man is no more. These days, supermarket shelves are stocked high with all kinds of milk so it makes sense for shoppers to pick it up while they are there. But in recent years, internet shopping has really taken off. I recently came across a company that keeps the tradition of the old fashioned milk man that delivers milk (and more) direct to your door. Appropriately titled milk&more offers a wide range of groceries online, from …