10 food and drink ideas to try this autumn
From low-calorie cocktails to authentic Spanish tapas, check out these companies offering you something different.
Enjoy traditional Spanish food in authentic UK eateries
The UK is home to a variety of Spanish restaurants cooking up delicious traditional dishes. However, if you’re on the lookout for a venue that’s certain to deliver an authentic experience, choose an option that bears the “Restaurants from Spain” quality assurance certification. Try Brindisa in South Kensington, which began in the capital’s Borough Market and is now renowned for its gambas al ajillo and chorizo de León, which is chargrilled León chorizo on toast, with piquillo peppers and rocket.
Tapas Revolution in Brighton is also worth a visit — it’s rightly popular for its generous aperitivos and codillo con piquillos — Ibérico pork shank with piquillo peppers. Or head to Cardiff for Bar 44’s Spanish take on an English roast, with options such as salt-aged picanha of beef with trimmings like chorizo Yorkshire pudding, Ibérico fat roast potatoes and truffled Manchego cauliflower cheese.
Find out more about Foods and Wines from Spain
Save with a coffee subscription
Artisan Coffee Co. is for anyone who wants to appreciate the flavour, not just the function of coffee. Developed by world-renowned chef Ashley Palmer-Watts, previously of the Fat Duck and self-confessed coffee fanatic, Artisan’s award-winning coffee is available in six unique flavour characters, including The Dreamer, its specialty decaf. Utilising its innovative “Aromax50” technology, it’s able to seal in the freshness and deliver plenty of aroma. With the Artisan Coffee Co. subscription, simply select whether you’d like pods, whole bean, ground or brew-in-cup, which flavours you’d like and how often you want them delivered and you’ll receive great-tasting coffee, straight to your door. Subscribe and enjoy 25 per cent off with the code “MYPLAN25” online (offer valid until 31 October 2022).
Find out more about Artisan Coffee Co.
Enjoy dinner with the Faulty Towers crew
Faulty Towers The Dining Experience is celebrating over 10 years in the West End and 25 years of entertaining audiences worldwide – and it’s inviting you round for tea. Step inside London’s longest-running immersive experience and be part of the action as Basil, Sybil and Manuel serve up mayhem on a plate. Fawlty Towers’ fans can celebrate the BBC’s iconic show with a West End theatre production and dining experience all rolled into one evening.
When the audience becomes diners in the Faulty Towers restaurant, anything can happen because 70 per cent of the show is improvised. This two-hour tour de force of gags and shambolic service from Basil, Sybil and Manuel also serves a 1970s-style three-course meal together with a good dollop of chaos.
Enjoy your favourite cocktail without the excess calories
Meet Skinny Mixes, the company helping you enjoy the fun and flavour of your favourite cocktails with its ready-to-enjoy, low-calorie mixes. All you need to do is add your alcoholic spirit of choice to transform it into a cocktail.
Choose from the mojito, pina colada, peach bellini and margarita mix. The company also sells syrups, such as salted caramel and vanilla, which are perfect for coffees. Skinny Mixes and syrups are produced in the USA and are gluten-free and kosher.
Get your hands on rare Scotch whisky
Try the deliciously unique Highland single-malt whisky collection from Badachro Distillery, located in the beautiful and pristine Highlands of Scotland. This small collection of premium whiskies is distilled in Badachro’s partner distillery in the Highlands with the maturation finished in the company’s dunnage warehouse.
As a small and innovative business, the team experiment with finishing peated and non-peated single malt whisky in various casks, including ex-Tuscan oak red wine casks, Madeira casks, ruby port casks and rum casks. These very limited releases — at both 46 per cent abv and at cask strength — are not only rare but each bottle is hand filled on-site and every label is handwritten with details of the finishing cask, bottle number, strength and bottle size. Shop online and discover the range of five gins, including storm strength gin, and the dancing puffin vodka, which celebrates the nature of the Highlands.
Buy now from Badachro Distillery
Elevate your tipples with flavour-infused soft drinks
Shop at Franklin and Sons for all your soft drink and alcohol mixer needs, with its extensive award-winning range of tonic waters, soft drinks and sodas. The Franklin and Sons range starts with its classic premium Indian tonic water and includes other flavours such as elderflower and cucumber; rosemary and black olive; rhubarb and hibiscus; and the light and citrusy grapefruit and bergamot tonic water.
However, if soda is your go-to soft drink, these flavours can provide both a mixer for the spirit of your choice, or an infusion of additional flavour for longer cocktails. Guava and lime soda pairs perfectly with white rum to evoke mojito flavours, while pineapple and almond soda complements the warmth of rum.
Purchase the range of sodas and tonics at Franklin and Sons
Try new cocktails infused with Chinese ingredients
Modern Chinese restaurant Tattu London sits on the rooftop of The Now Building, a stone’s throw from Denmark Street in London, offering expansive views of the city. Its newly opened phoenix bar, with an adjacent secret terrace, is attracting attention from the capital’s gastronomes thanks to its ”eastern residence pantry” menu, a collection of distinctive cocktails using ingredients from Chinese cuisine.
The two-part menu features existing Tattu classics married with the new eastern residence pantry concept, such as the Yichang rickey, a zesty gin-based highball; the Jiyang colada, a unique twist on a pinã colada; and a smooth yet refreshing fruit mountain tea.
Try traditional Spanish brandy from a native bodega
Discover Spanish craftsmanship with González Byass, one of Spain’s most well-known sherry and Jerez brandy bodegas. Passing down generational knowledge to maintain the highest quality, the González Byass Jerez brandy is one of the family-run company’s most popular products. With flavours of raisins, sultanas and smooth caramel, master distillers start by using the base wine to extract these notes.
The concoction is then taken to the González Byass Jerez cellars where it rests and develops in some of the world’s best casks. These casks are highly coveted by some of the greatest whisky distillers for the depth of flavour they impart. The final result is a harmonious, perfectly balanced final brandy.
Subscribe to enjoy delicious mocktails this sober October
Pourwell is one of the only drinks subscription boxes on the market to offer alcohol-free drinks. Passionate about offering consumers exciting non-alcoholic drinks, Pourwell is for those looking to reduce and replace alcohol consumption without compromising on great-tasting drinks, as well as those who don’t drink alcohol.
The monthly subscription box is delivered straight to your door and includes a selection of delicious non-alcoholic cocktails with an easy-to-follow recipe card. Each box includes an alcohol-free premium spirit, mixers, garnishes and sweet and savoury vegan snacks, mindfully packaged in recyclable materials. A subscription costs £34.99 monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly — and you can freeze your subscription or cancel anytime.
Discover a French-inspired range of delicious pastries and brioches
Add a little “ooh la la” to breakfast, lunch or dinner with a range of Parisian-inspired pastries and bread from French bakery St Pierre. The new brioche bagel, which is available online at Ocado or in Tesco stores, is inspired by the New York classic but with French flair — perfect for sandwiches or toasted and topped with your favourite spread.
Also included in this range are St Pierre’s brioche swirls, which combine the classic sweet bread with a swirl of velvety vanilla custard through the centre or scattered with rich chocolate chips. Available in a six-pack in Sainsbury’s from the middle of September, the brioches are individually wrapped so they can be popped into your bag for breakfast while you’re on the move. St Pierre also sells vegan croissants and pains au chocolats, which are launching in Asda stores from the end of September.
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