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London Coffee Festival 2013

2013-04-29T13:23:00Z

The London Coffee Festival is a highlight in the Rochstar calendar and after a great event in 2012 our expectations were even higher this year.

We were slightly miffed to find ourselves at the back of one of the longest queues we have ever seen (considering the British love of queuing this is no mean feat), luckily it didn’t move too slowly and we got into the Old Truman Brewery within 30 minutes. We still feel this is something that needs to be sorted out for 2014 though.

On arrival we immediately saw some differences from last year’s event. For one coffee giant Starbucks was back, bigger and bolder than before and in direct competition with Costa’s photobooth idea. It also definitely felt like there were less stands this year than last. However, we immediately dived into the throng of tea, coffee and snack stands to see what was on offer this year, here are some of the highlights:

Discovering the Saigon coffee company which has just launched in the UK, reminding Rochstar Emma of the amazing coffee culture in Vietnam
Tasting the new coconut and papaya flavour from our favourite New Zealand yoghurt company The Collective Dairy
Saying hi to our old friends Lavazza at their A Modo Mio stand
Sampling the new apple and peach flavour MOMA! Breakfast pot and having a great chat with their guys on the stand
Sipping Tea Pigs Matcha Green Tea mixed with apple juice – absolutely delicious and a wonderful, healthy green colour!
Grasshopper instant meals – changed our opinion of ‘just add water’ meals, utterly scrummy and good for you!

After a few hours of wandering, eating and tasting we were ushered out by some harassed looking security guards. While not as busy as last year and with some notable companies absent, it was still a great event and we look forward to next year (minus the queues)!

Happy Freedom Day!

2013-04-27T10:04:00Z

Happy Freedom Day to all South Africans!

Freedom Day in South Africa commemorates the day of the first national election in which the vote did not depend upon race, paving the way for a racially equal South Africa.

The day celebrates freedom and the end of over 20 years of brutal apartheid. Keep your eyes peeled for the various South African celebrations taking place across London.

Freedom Day Bring and Braai

2013-04-25T12:03:18Z

If you’re a Saffa in London looking for a way to celebrate Freedom Day, or just a big fan of a good old braai (barbecue to Brits), then pop down to Wimbledon Park this Saturday (27 April) from 10am-6pm, for the Freedom Day bring and braai.

Organisers suggest bringing braai packs, picnic baskets, snacks and drinks. If you don’t have your own braai handy, fear not they sell them at the Sainsbury’s opposite.

Although the weather won’t be South African the feel of the event certainly will, so pack your braai and beer and head to Wimbledon to celebrate Saffa style!

For more info on the event visit the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/events/480054802068379/.

UK Coffee Week

2013-04-23T09:34:20Z

As die-hard coffee fans (you should see us before our morning cup!) we always look forward to UK Coffee Week. It’s great that the UK, formerly not considered to be on the ‘coffee culture map’, is now leading the way in international coffee culture.

UK Coffee Week is not only a celebration of coffee and UK coffee culture – culminating in the London Coffee Festival from the 25-28 April at the Old Brewery Brick Lane, it also unites the coffee industry to raise money for Project Waterfall.

Project Waterfall aims to transform lives by improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation in African coffee-growing countries. This project is already providing clean water to communities in the Mbulu District of Tanzania.

As sub-Saharan African countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania are some of the world’s biggest coffee producers, this week is a great way for the coffee industry to give back to the people who live in these countries.

Find about more about UK Coffee Week and how you can give back at http://www.ukcoffeeweek.com/Project-Waterfall.aspx

We’re heading to the London Coffee Festival this weekend, so check out our review next Monday.

South Africa Week

2013-04-22T13:57:38Z

We are declaring this week ‘South Africa Week’ (22 – 28 April) in honour of Freedom Day which takes place on 27 April every year, and we have a couple of very good reasons for doing so:

Freedom Day commemorates a major and positive turning point in South Africa’s history and should be remembered around the world
Scores of lovely South Africans have made London their home over the years, so to make them feel even more welcome we want to share some facts about South Africa to commemorate this special day
We love South Africa, from the stunning beaches of Cape Town and the vineyards of the Western Cape to the awe-inspiring safari at Kruger and other National Parks
Speaking of vineyards, we love South African wine, especially a good Pinotage
Our Rochstar Emma loves penguins and giraffes, so loves the fact that in South Africa you can see both!
We love working with our South African born client Nando’s and would love to work with more South African brands

Keep an eye on our New to London and Rochester PR Twitter feeds @New2_London and @RochesterPR and our company LinkedIn Group http://www.linkedin.com/company/2480079?trk=tyah for our thoughts and comments on everything South African in the coming days.

The main Event

2013-04-16T11:47:40Z

The king of Sunday glossies the Mail on Sunday launched its new offering at the weekend, something which our Rochstar’s had been hotly anticipating.

Event magazine, described as the ‘new culture and celebrity magazine’ replaced the techy and male orientated Live. As we were not massive fans of Live, the promise of this new magazine was music to our ears and we duly hot footed it down to the newsagents at 9am on Sunday (that’s dedication) to pick up a copy. What did we think? Well let’s start with the good:

We like that it is bigger, more pages and larger page size
We like the ‘what turns me on’ section, and appreciate the use of Russell Crowe as the first celeb interviewed
We imagine the ‘Going Out vs Staying In’ page, will be especially useful come the end of the month!
The ’50 Events That Rocked’, remind us, that although the Olympics and Jubilee are over, our country, still, rocks!
‘5 Fabulous Facts’ – who knew Tom Cruise was half Welsh and doesn’t like spicy curries?
‘Desert Island Pics’ – showcasing 6 shots that Keith Richards would take to a desert island is a clever take on the iconic discs, which left us wondering why no one had done this before?!

The bad:

We don’t like that the layout, font and feel still echoes that of Live magazine
The cover isn’t glossy
We don’t like the choice of the ‘Main Event’ interviewee – please MoS get proper celebs who are themselves interesting, not jut their father Michael Jackson…
The TV section is very similar to Saturday’s ‘Weekend’ magazine – that’s just plain lazy!
‘The Bestseller’ list from Live magazine has not been carried over, how will we know which books to buy now?

The ugly:

A certain ex Britain’s Got Talent judge STILL having a column, with nothing to say but brag about celeb sightings/friends

In summary, we were expecting a bit more of a change and something more radical in style. However it is still a welcome improvement on Live and a worthy accompaniment to the brilliant You magazine.

Kinder than the critics

2013-04-15T13:48:00Z

You book a table at a coveted new restaurant for a special occasion and are really looking forward to it, but then it opens and the reviews start coming out, and they’re, well, less than great. For example:

“Apparently you can't get a table for months. Well, dear chums, don't bother”, Marina O'Loughlin, The Guardian

“A pretentious name and drab food made dining here a disappointing experience”, Matthew Norman, The Telegraph

“This is complicated cooking that needs careful explaining. Any cleverness is being lost in translation”, Metro

So what do you do? Believe the critics and join the hoards who are cancelling their tables, or give it a chance?

This is exactly what happened to me regarding Ametsa with Arzac Instruction at the Halkin Hotel, but I’m pleased to say that we stuck to our guns and took our table at the ‘new Basque cuisine’ restaurant last night.

I do agree with some of the critical comments about the atmosphere, or the lack of it - before the restaurant started to fill up, I found the sound of the waiters’ shoes and liquids being poured into glasses deafening in the quiet restaurant.

The food was however, quite rightly, the highlight. The ‘pigeon with shot’ (pictured) was my favourite, as not only is it a good play on finding a metal shot in your meat, it tasted delicious too – the succulent meat being perfectly complimented by the sharp burst of balsamic vinegar from within a silver (shot-coloured) spherificated ball. The ‘monkfish with red onion’, in particular the super thin crispy onion essence parcel, was very clever, and service and presentation were impeccable throughout – I especially liked the use of flowers as decoration.

For any of you who have booked a table at Ametsa, my advice would be to defy the critics, fulfil your reservation and judge it for yourself.

Le Drunch – dining in the snow

2013-03-23T14:42:00Z

In the middle of the afternoon on Saturday I headed to Old Spitalfields Market for a free four course (Maille) mustard themed meal. I had won the tickets in a Twitter competition and was very excited by the prospect of an actual free lunch (including wine!). I had however been harbouring under a couple of illusions:

That the pop up restaurant would be in a currently unused restaurant space on the outskirts of the market and therefore be protected from the elements and reasonably warm
That Drunch was the afternoon version of brunch, as in the combination of lunch and dinner

Upon arrival I realised my first mistake; the restaurant was located in the open air of the market, right in front of the huge open entrance, which wasn’t ideal given that it was snowing! Luckily our waitress was well wrapped up (as were we) and she offered us blankets and a table by the patio heaters.

She went on to explain that there’s more to Le Drunch than simply being the new brunch. Le Drunch is the sociable dining occasion being adopted by fashionable, food-loving Parisians (it’s already been adopted by Parisian restaurants Mini Palais and Bar du Concorde La Fayette) because it’s the perfect way to spend a leisurely afternoon sharing delicious French dishes with family and friends, either in a restaurant or at home.

Maille had partnered with two Michelin-starred chef Helene Darroze to create an exclusive menu, showcasing their products for this two-week dining boutique. We started with a tomato gazpatcho with wholegrain mustard Chantilly (not ideal in the freeing conditions, but tasty none the less), followed by crab cakes with a sweet mustard sauce and then my favourite course – slow-cooked lamb pamentier with a herb salad. Pudding was scrummy caramelised apples with salted butter, cider vinegar and pepper, served with Madagascan bourbon vanilla ice cream.

We left cold, but happy, although I couldn’t help but wonder how much the activity had cost Maille and what return they would see on that investment. I dutifully Tweeted a photo, took their menu cards and pledged to re-create them at home (buying the relevant Maille products of course), and have told lots of people about it, but still…

My tip for Maille if they plan to run something similar again, is to charge £20-30 per head to recoup some of their costs – we’d certainly have paid it.

It's not the winning...

2013-03-22T13:29:00Z

We had a great evening at the Golden Hedgehog Awards ceremony last night. We were, of course, disappointed not to win New Agency of the Year, but being shortlisted was still an impressive achievement (only four agencies made the shortlist) and there was no shame in being beaten by Hope & Glory PR, who have also had a fantastic year.

It was inspiring to see the cream of London’s PR professionals out in force, and great to see that despite a testing economic climate, the PR industry continues to thrive and evolve.

We now have the ‘awards buzz’, so watch this space for more shortlist and win announcements!

Trend spotting at IFE 2013

2013-03-22T12:32:00Z

IFE, the international food and drink event that takes place in London every year proved to be a great culmination of home grown brands that I knew, international success stories and new food and drink products from across the world looking to establish themselves in the UK market.

In addition to meeting up with clients and contacts – Donatantonio’s stand for example was full of enthusiastic looking buyers every time I passed it, and samples of their new peanut free spread WowButter were very well received – I was also on the look out for new trends. Here are a few I spotted:

Popcorn is the new crisps, although there are a lot of new gourmet crisp brands launching too
The energy drink and coconut water markets that were once dominated by Red Bull and Vita Coco are becoming much more crowded with competitors, especially those promising natural energy…
Jerky! It’s now an acceptable snack for any time or place
Free-from continues to grow; from sweets free from sugar and fat to sausages free from meat – and all surprisingly tasty