An evening fit for a foodie! L’atelier des Chefs launch Mobile Kitchen

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Kesh

One of the best things you’ll find about being a writer is the occasions when you get to review a restaurant or get invited to an event which involved food and drink but unlike the usual, L’atelier des Chefs wanted us to cook our own dinners and what a treat it was!

L’atelier des Chefs are the guys that want you eat well but learn while you’re doing all the eating. Their service have two static Kitchens located in the West End of London where they offer events a public cooking classes. ‘Mobile Kitchen’ is now L’atelier des Chef’s latest offer with a chance for you to bring your kitchen to a venue of your choice be it a hotel, outdoor space or your workplace making it an ideal team building or party opportunity. With no limit to how many guests you can have, this is also perfect for a super special date too. The highly trained chefs well then teach you to make a variety of dishes and cocktails too! All abilities welcome, you can get as interactive as you want and with the chefs providing everything you need, this takes the stress out of possibly having to cater your own dinner party! Your guests will be blown away and very very jealous.

We checked out the launch which was hosted at the iconic Oxo building. With St Pauls in the background as the sun was setting, It was such a perfect and unique ocation for a cooking event and not so daunting for those who would feel a cold sweat at the thought of being in a professional kitchen. On the menu was something with everything from Sushi to Seabass Ceviche, there was even a mixologist who taught you to make your own cocktails which was followed by a desert menu which featured, Crêpes, Chocolate Truffles and Mille Feuille to name a few. A personal highlight was actually getting to make the Sushi and finding out all the tricks from the pros something I will definitely be trying out at home and that’s exactly what made the experience so versatile and great value, you get to utilise those skills back in your own kitchen and you might surprise yourself and find that you could be the next Gordon Ramsay… well not quite but by the end of the night, you will definitely feel like a pro.

What was all the more special and brilliant about this event like was that it was such a social and interactive experience giving us a chance to fully revel in our good efforts! I found myself quite the Sushi making master but equally having a laugh at a failed Mille Feiulle after a few cocktails was definitely a good talking point. So swap the sadly catered food at the Christmas Party for a Mobile Kitchen event and who knows who you’ll bond over a burger with… one that you’ve made yourself!

All of the recipes we made can be found at http://www.atelierdeschefs.co.uk/en/recipes.php as well as details on their other cooking classes at the cookery school with prices starting from £15

And if you’re running to your phone to book a Mobile Kitchen event contact Veronica Suess on 020 7659 9961

Happy Cooking!

Wellness afternoon at London City Island with Personal Trainer Scott Ashley

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Kesh

With fitness craze after craze, it’s hard to know what class is right for you nowadays. Do you prefer a spinning class? Yoga? or are you brave enough for some Insanity?? Well this week, Frost tried out Scott Ashley’s revolutionary fitness class HOLIXIR right on the exclusive, still to be finished London City Island by Ballymore.

I must admit i’m an absolute fiend for trying out new classes and anything to do with working out but straight away this was going to be a workout like no other as we were not working in a simple gym studio in a soul-less gym but the setting was on the site of the new London City Island development. We were driven to the site which is currently being dubbed, ‘mini manhattan’ and after passing through the dust and the builders, were greeted by the gorgeous Scott Ashley in a stunning showroom.

Scott Ashley the Celebrity Personal Trainer has worked with everyone from Duncan James to Valentino and coming from such an athletic, hardworking background it’s no surprise that he has such a host of loyal clients. As well as working with celebs, Scott explained he had lots of experience working with people with eating disorders to Type A personalities creating a bespoke approach to each individual. As well as having his own pool of clientele, Scott is also resident trainer at Café Royal on Regent Street.

Living in fast-paced and constantly evolving times, what I was most intrigued to know about was the question of how to keep motivated and stay on form when you’re on the road. Scott explains that staying diligent as to what your consuming is the most important thing. With a lot of his clients on tour all the time he explained that the hardest thing is to stay away from the allure of a fast-food restaurant or rest station goodies. If you can’t find any healthy options then it is worth carrying healthy snacks with you. In terms of diet, I wanted to know what Scott absolutely stayed away from, refined sugar and wheat were at the top of the list. With wheat increasing bloating and triggering huge spikes in insulin it’s no wonder someone who’s looking to improve tone and fitness would curb the wheat intake. Before we took Holixir for a spin, we were also interested to know what it was all about, described as a holistic body weight workout Scott went on to explain that this is a multi disciplined workout which will stretch you and go on to improve posture, strength, flexibility and give you a better metabolism. With that, we were lead to an open roofed terrace on a lovely sunny day to try it out.

So the class begins with a Yoga flow sequence designed to stretch out and warm up your muscles followed by core strength group exercises, Tabata training, Pilates and double stretching. Let’s not be deceived by the name which suggests it to be a gentle, holistic class, this class will really get you working up a sweat and setting your core on fire within 5 minutes. Some of the moves I found were similar to Insanity especially during the Tabata section, which is basically a High Intensity interval workout, but it didn’t make you shudder with dread at the thought of there being four more rounds of the same to go! The Pilates roll down exercises and double stretching to finish will save your sanity and this is a great way to end a workout if you’re working with a partner. The whole class was very social and also allowed you to motivate each other and everyone was left with a great sense of achievement after!

If you’re interested in giving the class a go, details on Scott Ashley and HOLIXIR can be found here;

http://www.scottashley.com/holixir/

London City Island by Ballymore, will be a new neighbourhood in London located a stone’s throw from Canary Wharf, the development will have 1700 homes as well as a host of restaurants, bars and private members club. More details can be found here;

http://www.londoncityisland.com

Mother-of-Three Proudly Displays Her Stretch Marks in Viral Picture

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Catherine Balavage

In an empowering move, lifestyle blogger Rachel Hollis posted a picture of herself wearing a bikini in an uplifting photo post on her Facebook page.. She was tired of worrying about the stretchmarks left on her body after three pregnancies with ‘huge’ babies. The picture soon went viral.

Looking amazing and with a wide, beautiful, smile the photo of Hollis has been liked over 465,000 times and shared over 62,000 times. Many other mothers are posting pictures of their own mummy tummies below. The photo, along with the inspiring statement has gathered a lot of support from other women. This is what Hollis said:

“I wear a bikini because I’m proud of this body and every mark on it…It’s never ever going to be like a Victoria’s Secret model, but I think I look good and my husband wants to make out with me, so I’m doing something right.”

I have stretch marks and I wear a bikini. I have a belly that’s permanently flabby from carrying three giant babies and…

Posted by The Chic Site on Saturday, 21 March 2015

I have stretch marks and I wear a bikini. I have a belly that’s permanently flabby from carrying three giant babies and I wear a bikini. My belly button is saggy… (which is something I didn’t even know was possible before!!) and I wear a bikini. I wear a bikini because I’m proud of this body and every mark on it. Those marks prove that I was blessed enough to carry my babies and that flabby tummy means I worked hard to lose what weight I could. I wear a bikini because the only man who’s opinion matters knows what I went through to look this way. That same man says he’s never seen anything sexier than my body, marks and all. They aren’t scars ladies, they’re stripes and you’ve earned them. Flaunt that body with pride! ‪#‎HollisHoliday‬

What do you think?

The Bass Connect Speaker | Tech

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Frostie

We thought this was super cool at Frost. In fact, this beauty gives five hours of wireless sound at full volume. Enjoy a crystal clear treble and amazingly deep bass with this pocket-sized cuboid, compact speaker. Easily connected to bluetooth, the portable speaker has powerful and high quality sound that uses a new breed of circuit board to amplify, equalize and filter the sound waves through the speaker.

Using a new breed of circuit board to amplify, equalise and filter the sound waves through the speaker, the next-generation sound technology renders the compact size of the speaker irrelevant.

The speaker is ideal for parties, in the garden and at home. With a battery that lasts up to 5 hours and Bluetooth 3.0 that works within a range of 10m , this speaker is sure to be of envy to all your friends.

The Bass Connect Speaker Costs £29.99 from thehut.com

Chuffing brilliant! The Railway Children Theatre Producer Tristan Baker Talks

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Vicky Edwards

The Railway Children on stage at Kings Cross, London

Theatre producer Tristan Baker talks about the show where the West End’s heaviest leading lady is not only delighting audiences of all ages, but is also inspiring marriage proposals …

Take one of the best loved books and films of all time. Add a vintage steam engine, a superb cast and mix well. While the ingredients are blending, crack on and build a theatre from scratch, including a railway track, against the clock. Add a dash of blind panic and garnish with lashings of Edwardian style. Serve to critical acclaim and enchanted audiences of all ages.

That’s the simplified version of how The Railway Children came to life at its new home in London’s Kings Cross. The unabridged version involves so many technical challenges that you could travel from London to York on old rolling stock in the time it would take to tell. Certainly one of the show’s producers reckons that the team who made it happen deserve their share of the five- star reviews.

“I am very proud of the team,” says Tristan Baker, with feeling. “In five weeks they built a one-thousand seat, purpose-built, theatre from the ground up, including laying a train track. It meant working around the clock to get the show on – they were sometimes laying track in the rain at 2am – but they did it.”

And when he says it’s a purpose-built theatre Tristan isn’t exaggerating. Walking around the venue on King’s Boulevard with him, the detail is extraordinary; from the state of the art heating system (to ensure maximum audience comfort), to the unique railway platform stage. Located behind King’s Cross Station, the site has been loaned by Google and will one day be Google HQ. But for now it is home to The Railway Children – “a steam engine rather than a search engine,” laughs Tristan, explaining that the objective was to create not just a show, but an experience.

“It is very site specific. From the moment you arrive and pick up your tickets you are in Edwardian England.” Bang on cue a group of costumed front of house staff surge forwards to greet members of tonight’s audience, directing them to the foyer, which is a perfect replica of an Edwardian station waiting room.

“Our front of house team are all carefully selected and trained to give the audience a really wonderful and authentic experience,” says Tristan, navigating a path through an excited party of teenagers and a group of middle-aged ladies who have come up from Cambridge for a day of shopping, lunch and theatre.

Undoubtedly it is a show with universal appeal. An average audience comprises dating couples, families (from toddlers to great grandparents and all the generations in between), tourists, students, WI ladies, book clubs, Guides and Scouts – people of all ages.

“They are all transfixed,” says Tristan, adding: “I think adults experience it on a different level. Maybe they remember the film from when they were children, or perhaps reading the book, but as adults they realise the political and emotional aspects of the story.” Leaping nimbly up the steps of the bridge that separates the two platforms (the audience sit either side of the track) he stops and looks fondly up at the hefty leading lady, her paintwork gleaming under the lights. “And who can fail to be excited by a three-hundred ton steam train arriving on stage?”

He’s got a point. The magnificent engine is breath-taking. Dating back to 1896, complete with a vintage carriage, this grand old lady is, quite literally, the West End’s biggest diva. Transported from the National Railway Museum in York on a low loader, even her arrival was the kind reserved for superstars as, like the most illustrious celebrities, she arrived with a police escort.

Adapted by Mike Kenny, The Railway Children was first produced by York Theatre Royal at the National Railway Museum, York in 2008. Two sell-out seasons were followed by a transfer to Waterloo Station, where it opened in the former Eurostar terminal and again enjoyed smash-hit success, bagging the 2011 Olivier Award for Best Entertainment along the way. And steaming into Toronto in 2011, Canadian audiences also fell in love with this stage version of Edith Nesbit’s classic story.

Telling of three children whose lives change dramatically when their father is mysteriously taken away and they are forced to relocate from London to a cottage in rural Yorkshire with their mother, the book was first published in 1906. Exciting, with plenty of adventure and drama at its heart (“what happens to the children is quite awful but they are resilient and make the best of their situation”), heading the current cast is Caroline Harker as Mother and comedian and actor Sean Hughes as Mr Perks.

“Sean has just joined us and he brings a joyous warmth to the role,” says Tristan, agreeing that ‘joyous warmth’ pretty well sums up the feeling that audiences go away with.

And it seems that The Railway Children also inspires romance. “We do get a lot of couples coming to the show on date nights and we have recently received a request for permission to make a marriage proposal from the train,” smiles Tristan, as we take our seats.

Long before we reach the end of the last act, with the heart-rending ‘Daddy, oh my daddy!’ line, the reasons for the production’s success are abundantly clear. With ‘wow!’ factors at every turn, this much-loved classic story has been transformed into chuffing brilliant theatrical experience. Whether you’re eight or eighty, it’s one that should not be missed.

Come on now! All aboard!

Vicky Edwards

THE RAILWAY CHILDREN

King’s Cross Theatre, Goods Way, King’s Cross, London N1C 4UR

Currently booking until 6 September 2015

Box Office 0844 871 7604

Website www.railwaychildrenlondon.com

Facebook www.facebook.com/railwaychildrenlondon

Twitter @TRCKingsCross

Google+ plus.google.com/+RailwayChildrenLondon

Fufanu Debut Single Circus Life | Music News

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Frostie

FUFANU: ‘Circus Life’ [b/w] ‘Goodbye’
Debut Single, 6th April One Little Indian

Formerly operating as techno duo, Captain Fufanu, with the addition of live instrumentation – and the band name shortened to a more economical Fufanu (“the Captain was left behind at a rave in Cologne”) – the Icelandic group began working up a dark, metronomic take on 70s and 80s European music.

The rolling, hypnotic, seven minute ‘Circus Life’ – uploaded to YouTube in October – primed early adopters at Rolling Stone (‘Disclosure attending Bela Lugosi’s funeral’), Line of Best Fit (‘…like a mythical Ouroboros’) and JaJaJa (‘mesmerising’) – and is formally released as Fufanu’s debut single on the 6th April, backed with shuddering and drolly-titled live opener, ‘Goodbye’.

In the space of one week last November Fufanu became the most talked about new band of Iceland Airwaves, made their UK live debut at JaJaJa Festival and supported Damon Albarn at the Albert Hall – winning the approval of Brian Eno into the bargain.

They repeated the trick in January with crushing sets at Eurosonic and are back in the UK supporting *Bo Ningen in early April as below:

Wednesday 1st April London, Hoxton Bar & Kitchen*
Thursday 2nd April London, Sebright Arms

Fufanu is: Kaktus Einarsson (vocals)/ Gulli Halldór (guitar/programming).

At the Foot of the Cross by Angela Taplin

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Margaret Graham

An evening of music, prayer and meditations for Good Friday from Radio 2

Radio 2 recently recorded an evening of music, prayer and readings for Good Friday. Tickets were free through a ballot so on a damp evening in February a friend and I went along to Methodist Central Hall, hard by the Houses of Parliament. Arriving about 5.30, we found most people heading home so we had a chance to walk round the outside of this famous landmark without benefit of surging tourists and selfie sticks. It’s such a fine building and in the twilight gap between showers it looked beautiful.

We made our way through ancient courtyards to Methodist Central Hall, another impressive and imposing building. It was the first time I’d been to a radio recording for many years (the last time was a pop quiz in the 70s, I think). The music was provided by the BBC Concert Orchestra with a chorus drawn from a number of London choirs, with three soloists – Jermaine Jackman, winner of The Voice 2014, Louise Marshall and 12 year old Helena Paish, one of the BBC Radio 2 Young Choristers of the Year.

Readings were given by Patrick Robinson, star of Casualty and Strictly whilst prayer was led by The Revd Michaela Youngson. The evening was presented by Diane Louise Jordan, well known for her appearances in Songs of Praise. We assembled in the auditorium which was dominated by the beautiful cupola and where the acoustics were perfect.

The music programme was varied: traditional English, gospel, well-known hymns, with an underlying thread of connections to the Great War. Butterworth’s The Banks of Green Willow, a pastoral piece inspired by English folk songs, was rendered particularly poignant by the knowledge that he died in 1915 during the first battle of the Somme. The second half consisted of Sir John Rutter’s Requiem in which the pure tones of Helena Paish shone clear in the Pie Jesu. It was a thoughtful and moving evening.

At the end of it all, my friend and I felt happy to have been part of it and will look forward to hearing it all again when it is broadcast at 8pm on April 3^rd, Good Friday, on Radio 2.

Boux Avenue Summer Launch Pool Party In The Heart Of Mayfair … A Night Of Blinis And Bikinis

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Corinne Tuddenham-Finn

Lingerie, swimwear and nightwear brand Boux Avenue and business owner Theo Paphitis, celebrated their Summer Launch in style last week at the Haymarket Hotel in Mayfair.
Celebrities including Vogue Williams, Ola Jordan, Rebecca Ferguson and many more enjoyed ‘Boux on the Beach’ cocktails by the beautiful candle lit pool, whilst listening to summer beats by DJs Charlotte De Carle and Becca Dudley.
The brand’s gorgeous summer collection was showcased at the party, which included their beautiful swimwear collection featuring key trends for the season including neon tones, cutesy florals and beach-ready tropical prints plus cover ups to match.
Guests were also treated to an exclusive preview of the brands new Summer TV ad, which is set to be aired this April.

Celebrity guests included Chloe Lewis, Lauren Goodger, ex Big Brother’s Bit On Side presenter AJ Odudu, Lilah Parsons, Ashley James, Rebecca Ferguson and Brian McFadden’s wife, Vogue Williams,

Made In Chelsea’s Ollie Locke arrived with girlfriend Catherine Louise Radford.

Charlotte de Carle, Lizzie Cundy, Hatty Keane and Scottish R&B singer Tallia Storm looked thrilled with their Boux Avenue gift bags.

SMC_3759

So, what can we expect from Boux Avenue this spring and summer?

From flattering tankinis to stylish kaftans, head off
to your dream destination with the latest styles from
the Boux Avenue swimwear collection. Their bikinis are holiday
must-haves, from halter necks and multiways to
bandeaus in prints that sizzle, you’re sure to be spoilt
for choice. Their cup-sized bikinis in 32A-40G (B cups
start with 28 underbands), and many DD+ swimwear
styles will have you dreaming of the beach in no time.

About Boux Avenue…

Boux Avenue is a sparkling new lingerie brand that you can find online and at 24 stores across the country.

Born out of a love for lingerie, nightwear, swimwear and all things romantic, with a desire to bring traditional service, superior fit and outstanding quality to a modern and beautiful setting, Boux Avenue is a luxurious shopping haven.

With an unrivalled eye for detail, passion for gorgeousness and design flair that will bring romance, seduction and a little slice of style to your boudoir, Boux Avenue aims to make love happen with an aspirational blend of nostalgic and contemporary design.

Boux Avenue is inclusive and for everybody, no matter what your age, size or style, creating irresistible lingerie and nightwear that will compel the desire to look, touch, feel and of course, wear.

www.bouxavenue.com

@BouxAvenue

About the Haymarket Hotel, Mayfair…

Housed in a smart Regency building, this ritzy boutique hotel puts you in the heart of London’s theatre-land. It’s a 5-minute walk to Charing Cross or Piccadilly Circus, giving you a choice of Tube lines. The flagship stores along Regent Street are all within a mile.
Art on your doorstep
You’ll be just a few blocks from the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square, and a 15-minute stroll from both the Royal Academy and the Courtauld Gallery. Need a rest? Rent a deck chair at nearby St James’s Park.
Making an impression
Guests at Haymarket Hotel rave about pretty much everything, from the staff and impeccable 24-hour room service to the chic fabrics and furniture. You can enjoy a drink by the glamorous pool, from the library’s honor bar, or in trendy Brumus Bar & Restaurant.
Comfy beds and linens
Rooms and suites are stylish, spacious, and quiet (windows are double glazed). Guests love the comfy beds, Frette linens, and bespoke Miller Harris toiletries. On the entertainment front, you’ll have free WiFi, a flat-screen LCD TV, an iPod dock, and a DVD/CD player.

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