Wimbledon slices

With Wimbledon starting today its only the done thing to give you all a little bit of Summer heaven in the form of a delicious treat. I created these from a recipe for strawberry drizzle cake, but I added my own naughty little twist by filling these babies with tenderised strawberries right through the entire mixture. This creates the softest and most moist slices. They are divine and they get better the next day when all the juices have settled. Sticky, sweet and so sensational you will be rolling those eyes as you gobble them up.

P1160164 Wimbledon slices

 

You will need:

  • 600g box of strawberries
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbs vanilla essence
  • 50g Icing sugar
  • 100g Salted Dairy Butter, at room temperature
  • 200g self raising flour
  • 200g caster Sugar

Wimbledon slicesPut the caster sugar and the butter in to a bowl and mix into crumbs.
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Add 1/2 of the strawberries cut into slices.
P1160129 P1160130Then add the flour, vanilla essence and the eggs. Mix to a creamy consistency.

P1160131 P1160134Pop it in to a greased lined baking tray. Cook in a preheated oven gas mark 6 or 200c for 45-60 minutes depending on your oven. Just make sure its cooked through. P1160135 P1160138While this is cooling add the remainder of the strawberries to a dish along with 25 of icing sugar and let the juices start to come out.
P1160139 P1160142Put the other 25g of icing sugar into a bowl and strain off the juiced strawberries.P1160143 P1160147Mix this up and pour over your creation, Its best to make small holes all over the cake to let the icing drizzle down into the sponge. Then let this cool off completely before turning out, dusting with a little icing sugar and then lastly cutting into nice sized chunks. P1160164 P1160165Perfect with a Wimbledon cocktail…..Recipe for that coming soon!

Cant have you over indulging too fast can we. Its a recipe worth waiting for I assure you! P1160167 P1160180I hope you make a batch of these while watching the games as they are amazing! Let me know if you do and pop me a quick tweet @sarahbacchus. For loads more recipes head over to our lifestyle magazine www.slbstyle.com and for photographic work check out www.sarahbacchus.com

Interview with Alexander Devrient

Interviewing the talented Alexander Devrient was such fun, he’s dashing, eloquent and such a gentleman. You will recognise him for his latest role in Emmerdale Farm as the french love interest to Kerry. His rather dramatic entrance was too funny for words and if you watched it I am sure it would have had you gripped. The story line is unfolding and he is fast becoming one of my favourite actors. I am not going to spoil it for you in anyway, but you must keep your eyes on this rather beautiful chap.

He’s worked with the likes of Guy Richie on the set of Sherlock Holmes, and Jude Law was very excited to work with him, as was I the other day. I got to photograph this wonderful TV personality and create some rather cool images for the interview. We had such a great chat and he was a joy yo work with.

  Alexander Devrient

Q. What made you get into acting and was it at an early age you knew you had a calling.

A. I’ve always tremendously enjoyed acting and performing. I took drama classes as a kid, played in every school play and later, managed to see a lot of professional theatre as a teenager.

Saying that, it was only at University that I realised I wanted to make a profession out of my passion. I applied for Drama School in my 3rd year of studying Economics and International Relations. I felt I had to give it a shot and luckily I got in. A few months after finishing my degree I started acting training.

Q. Where did you grow up.

A. I grew up in Brussels, Belgium but my dad is Argentinean/German and my mum is Lebanese. My household was always a mishmash of languages. My mum spoke French to us, my dad German. When they didn’t want us to understand what they were saying they spoke Spanish.

Alexander Devrient

Q. How have your parents influenced your career

A. My parents have always been very supportive but my biggest influence has been my Lebanese granddad. He’s performed on stages in Cambridge, Paris and Beirut since 1957. He absolutely adores theatre. In February, I was playing Anglo-French production Poilu & Tommy here in London. We opened the same night as he did with his play in Beirut. He’s 80 years old now. Magic!

 

Q. What was it like to be asked to join the cast of Emmerdale

A. It was a beautiful feeling indeed. Emmerdale is a British TV institution, the first episode was aired in 1972. The longevity of this series is incredible.

 

Q. What would be the biggest achievement you could imagine

A. Leaving a lasting mark in the industry for generations to come.

 

 

Q. Working with such great actors and directors it must be hard when you are not working on a project. How do you stay focused and motivated

A. I attend workshops, go to the theatre, and watch films. It’s important to be in tune with the industry and learn from the best.

I also work as a Voice Over artist and do the occasional freelance broadcasting work.

 Alexander Devrient

Q. What role would you just love to play.

A. Gabriel Macht’s Harvey Specter in Suits.

 

Q. Who in history would you have loved to star with

A. Klaus Kinski, Rita Hayworth and Jack Nicholson would have to top that list.

 

Q. You have striking looks, do you get spotted and recognised in the street, if so how do you respond.

A. I can still roam the streets relatively freely but when I do get stopped the responses to my work are always very positive which is great.

 

Alexander Devrient

Q. What has been the most wonderful experience to come out of acting

A. I get to work with an array of talented people from all around the world and what do we do? We essentially tell stories. That’s a wonderful gift that comes with acting.

 

Q. One last cheeky question…what role do you think you could have played far better than the original and why!!

A. Give me the chance to play Lestat de Lioncourt and I’ll show you why.

We really look forward to following your career and all you lovely readers make sure you do to! Follow Alexander on Twitter @ADevrient if you want to pop me a little tweet I’m over here @sarahbacchus for any other information regarding my photography head over to sarahbacchus.com and take a look at our lifestyle blog SLBStyle.com 

This interview and shoot was held at the beautiful Mamounia Lounge in Mayfair, I want to thank them for their hospitality and for allowing me to take over an entire room for a few hours! Tweet them @MamounialLounge

Kerastase Hair Product Review

Every girl knows the importance to regular haircuts but after that we are all a little terrible when purchasing good quality products. We rush off to the pharmacy to purchase the latest hair oils and frizz fighting serums and most of them don’t cut the mustard. Well these 2 new products from Kerastase will leave you wallet a little lighter in the short term but will last for around 10 months. So price per wash and style it really is worth investing in the latest hair innovations.

hair products

The Kerastase – ELIXIR ULTIME -125 ml beautifying hair oil is one tough fighter against damaged hair. The more this is used the better the results you will see. It gives hair that perfectly fresh cut, bouncy and smooth as silk feel. I loved this so much as its created dazzling shine, Its the ultimate light and soft oil. You will only need a pea sized drop used on the mid lengths of the hair to really see a change. Over the coming few days using it your hair will get better and better as this is a leave in treatment that can be used all year round with no build up.

It can be used as a pre shampoo, or used on wet or dry hair and this is really well worth the money.

hair

I am also a gluten for beautiful packing and this looks stunning sitting on the dressing table.

P1150341 hair

The DENSIFIQUE Mousse Densimorfhose 150 ml is as you would expect just as awesome as the oil, smells divine and helps you create the most brilliant bouncy styles. Applied on damp towel dried hair at the roots is adds hold, volume and delightful style for more than the first day its used. I loved the fact it didn’t weigh the hair down one little bit. Just remember a little goes a very long way for both these products so one small pump of each should be all you need.

For more beauty and style advice head over to slbstyle.com and come ask me anything beauty related over on Twitter @sarahbacchus as I used to be an educator with some of the leading brands. Now its more about the product photography but I still love giving advice to all you lovely readers. x

Beer Butt Chicken

This has to be the best and the only way to cook incredible delicious melt in the mouth chicken. Smothered in whatever your heart desires, be it BBQ with a fiery kick or a more delicate rosemary and lemon tang. Beer Butt chicken is a novel way of cooking a bird, but once you have done it you will wonder how you will ever cook chicken any other way in the future. Shoving the beer can up the chickens bottom is somewhat hilarious and a little unglamorous but who cares when it tastes like a Roman feast at the end!

Beer Butt Chicken Beer Butt Chicken P1140874

Beer Butt Chicken

All you need to do is grab a ton of ingredients and marinate the bird about 12 hours before cooking. We chose to use 4 large scoops of brown sugar, a good glug of soya sauce, an ample helping of BBQ sauce, a few chillies chopped up for a real kick and about a tablespoon of smoked paprika. Mix it all up and smother it all over the chicken. Make sure you cut the elastic holing the legs together. Place it in the fridge until you are ready to cook. Then when you are ready just pop it onto a can of dark beer or ale. Empty out about a 1/3 of the can or drink it before hand so their is space for it to let off steam! It takes a bit of patience and its a 2 person job if you get the giggles! Make sure its sturdy and but that beast in the oven and cook as usual.

P1140846Rustle up some balsamic potato wedges and a green salad and you are in for a delicious feast. 
The juices of the bird make a perfect rich gravy by just adding some flour to thicken over the hob, in the try the bird was cooked in, then thin out the mixture by adding a pint of water and simmer until you are happy with the thickness.

P1140856 P1140862 P1140863 P1140874 P1140884 P1140891 P1140892A nice weekend treat that will send your taste buds to heaven! P1140894 P1140896 The best way to serve this is with a ton of friends and gallons of wine. A truly fantastic memorable meal thats so simple to create, tons of fun and will leave your guests laughing for weeks on end! P1140907

 

Black White Red Winchester

If you have the chance to visit Black White Red in Winchester you will be sure to want one on your very doorstep for breakfast, lunch and fantastic evenings out. We are so lucky to have this cool trendy and vibrant cafe and bar at our disposal. The coffee is exceptional and tastes like nectar. The food will send you on a trip to the moon! Out of this world is the only way to describe this brilliant, busy and fun new find.

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Food from the gods, we ate poached eggs on toast, tomato and mozzarella and avocado & onion on the best fresh bread that had been lightly toasted and drizzled with olive oil. We all dipped in and shared mouthfuls of each dish as it was too good to miss a single flavour!

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They believe Wine and Coffee are linked…even if you don’t drink them at the same time of day they are produced in very similar ways, with distinctive flavours and characteristics. Wine and coffee should live together and at Black White Red they do just that.

Try a few of your favourite wines and you will notice how the flavours between certain coffees and the wine are almost identical! The fun is trying, tasting and exploring all they have to offer. Its a totally new concept that no one has tried before and by golly it works. This place is always packed and you can just feel the happiness waft down the street. It has fast become our Sunday go to place for coffees, really delicious food and a place to just sit and watch the world go by!

 

Black….. is just for Coffee, White… is the link between the two (white coffee, white wine) Red……. is just for Wine. Simple as that but such a perfect place to take time out and create memories.

Follow, Tag, Tweet and Instagram them! Check out the menu here come say hello over at slbstyle.com or follow me on Twitter @sarahbacchus to check out my professional work take a look at sarahbacchus.com

t: @BWRWinchester
i: /BWRWinchester

 

Interview with Emrhys Cooper

I had the real pleasure of interviewing the oh so beautiful and talented English born Actor and producer Emrhys Copper a few days ago. I wanted to get to know him a little better and share with all of you some of the questions he never gets asked! We had a great chat and he was up for being asked almost anything including a few cheeky questions. He gets my vote to play James Bond or any Jude Law film ever created!
Interview with Emrhys Cooper

Emrhys was born in Devon, England and at 16 his was awarded a scholarship for the Central School of Ballet and later trained at Laine Theatre Arts, Epsom. He has toured and stared in Fame The Musical before making his West End debut at 21 in the Queen musical We Will Rock You. Emrhys has made several appearances on British television, including Coronation Street, ITV’s I’d Do Anything.

His on-screen movie debut was in the 2007 film Natasha and he is also featured in my all time favourite film Mamma Mia! (2008) How incredible is that?!!
There is no end to his talent and he decided to move to Los Angeles in 2008 to pursue his dream where he quickly started working on some of the USA’s biggest shows including the well known and down right brilliant Desperate Housewives.
Emrhys has also worked as a dancer alongside the likes of Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Pussy Cat Dolls and The Sugababes. He starred in the music video to the No1 hit Push the Button as the Geeky Guy directed by Matthew Rolston. While dancing, he appeared on TV shows such as The X Factor, America’s Got Talent, Stars in their Eyes and the MTV European Music Awards.

I was very keen to catch up with this cheeky and amazing chap and get the low-down on life in LA and what makes him tick.

Interview with Emrhys Cooper

Sarah. What made you become an actor, did you just decide one day…you know I think I will do this or has it been in your blood.
Emrhys. To be honest it happened really young, it was pretty cliched. I watched a James Bond movie and I was so captivated, I said to myself I want to be James Bond… Then it just went from there.
S. Where your parents supportive.
E. Very, my dad was also acting and my mum was involved with Dance.
S. Who are your heroes in the industry
E. I have so many. It was take all day to acknowledge them all. But I would like to say I have had my many teachers over the years that I owe my career to, and hopefully they know who they are.
S. What do you love about being in La.
E. It is the land of dreams. The weather doest hurt. You can be whoever you want to be and know one will judge you for having a dream.

S. Have you changed since living in La
E. Yes, I have grown into the person I believe I was supposed to be.
Its not been easy, but I definitely feel lucky that I am here right now and making my dreams a reality.

S. Who is the most random friend you have made in the industry.
E. Hmmm, well one of my best friends in an actress called Anne Jeffreys, we met at the Oscars and now we see each other all the time. She just turned 90 (she will hate that I said that LOL).
S. Ricky Gervais and Russell Crowe recently publicly tweeted about a night out and posted selfies. Who would you love to be buddies with it could be anyone past or present.
E. I would have like to have been friends with Fred Astaire, he is one of the biggest dance inspirations of my life – we could have a tap off. I would also have done anything to have met Michael Jackson. He is one of my idols, I would have wanted to have moon walked with MJ.

S. Being a British lad at heart, what do you miss about England living in LaLa land or is it a dream come true?
E. I miss my family most of all. But I also miss pub life, my friends, a good sunday roast. And most of all the British sense of humor.

S. What’s your elevator pitch to get a role. If I was a director and you had to convince me in 1 minute you where perfect for a role how would you go about impressing me!!

E. Jude Law is not available and I am ;)

S. If you could play any film role in History, what would it be?
E. I wouldn’t say no to James Bond.
S. What role in history do you think you could have payed better than the original?
E. I loved Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins – but his accent….
S. Lastly what is your advice to yourself if you could travel back in time and pull yourself over for a chat. What advice would you give yourself.
E. The bad times are never as bad as you think and the good times only get better.

He’s one to watch over the coming years and he’s cheeky enough to grab that role as Bond. He’s totally perfect for the role in my eyes. He is a rising star we all need to follow. If you want to pop him a little Tweet and say hi I am sure he would love it!! @EmrhysCooper come over and say hello to me @sarahbacchus visit my website www.sarahbacchus.com to see my photographic work or jump over to my blog www.slbstyle.com

Gluten Free Lemon & Strawberry Oat Bars

With various food allergies people my have its a good idea to have a few delicious ones that you can fall back on. This particular one I created by swapping and shifting about a few of the normal basic flour based ingredients. This is better than any flour fuelled muesli bar you could imagine. So easy to create and won’t last a day, so I suggest you make more than one batch as you will want not just one but maybe 3 of these bad boys in one sitting! Yes I did say 3…I am a piglet and Yes I did eat 3…NO LIE!!!

 

P1140633 P1140646 P1140647 Lemon and Strawberry bars

You will need:

For the crust

2 cups of gluten free oats
1/2 cup of Stivia or powdered sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla paste
12 tbs of cold butter
For the Filling

3/4 cup of sliced strawberries
1 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
4 eggs
3 tbs gluten free oats
1 cup of strained fresh lemon juice
zest of one of the lemons
icing sugar to dust
Lemon and Strawberry bars

Put all the crust ingredients into a food blender and pulse until you have created pea sized lumps.

P1140533 Lemon and Strawberry bars

Place in a lined tray, I used greaseproof paper. Add the mixture and pack down tightly, then pop this into the freezer for 30 minutes.

Lemon and Strawberry bars

Add the 1/4 of a cup of the granulated sugar to the strawberries as this will soak up the juice.

Lemon and Strawberry bars

Put on one side while you mix up the rest of the filling. Put the eggs, sugar, oats, lemon zest and juice into a bowl and whisk up.

bars

Place the crust into the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until it looks crispy and browned around the edges.

bars

Once its out of the oven place the strawberries dotted evenly around the base and top with the filling mixture.

bars

bars

Cook for about 30 minutes or until the centre is firm to the touch. Leave this to cool as long as you can before chopping up into equal sized bars. No one will want the smallest bar now trust me!!

 

P1140627 Lemon and Strawberry bars P1140647 P1140646 P1140633

 

Serve with a big pot of steaming hot tea and fresh strawberries on the side. Try not to deprive yourself either…go on have another one you worked hard to create these babies.

For more delicious recipes head over to my blog at www.slbstyle.com and tweet me @sarahbacchus

A Treat For Your Feet

Having spent the morning at loads of press events this was one that will send shivers down any womans spine…Shoes, clothes may well make the man but shoes are every girls best friend.

A treat for your feet

We don’t do practical very well at all and when it comes to price well…hey all desire comes into play and the heart beats a little faster, they pupils dilate that little bit wider, well for me it does, and any women thats says “NAH not me” well then I don’t trust you! This event was held by the PR company called the Jacobson Group that looks after amongst many, Ravel, Dolcis, Gola, Lotus and the amazing Frank Wright for men. Their Autumn/Winter collections looked pretty darn good and I have today I am hankering after a pair of the studded heals below.

A treat for your feet

Stunning, just stunning in every way possible but we will have to wait until september for these beauties to hit the stores. Ravel are one brand that have been around for years and the quality is unrepressed with prices that won’t leave your cute sparkly purse in shreds. All are at around £60 RRP so you can indulge in a few pairs if you so desire.

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The mens collections looked fantastic too with prices from £80. We particularly loved the Frank Wright blue and red suede shoes. They will look just dapper with a pair of jeans and a great jacket from TM Lewin.

P1140128 P1140133 P1140130 A treat for your feetGet those feet ready for some serous strutting this winter chaps! Your wardrobe won’t know whats hit it soon!

Follow me on twitter for more fashion forward information and general ramblings @sarahbacchus and visit my 2 websites full of fashion, photography and fun SLBstyle & SarahBacchus.com