The Ambassador may not always seduce passers-by with its motley facade of fading paint, lino flooring and Formica tables, but if you ignore the cliché and judge the book by its cover, you’ll soon be singing its chabby yet chic praises.

Why? Because the restaurant’s title can also be attributed to its owner Clive Greenhalgh who here proves himself to be Ambassador for British Brasseries by instilling the same Mod Brit’-style directness of ventures such as Spitalfields Canteen or St John Bread & Wine, and indeed The Brackenbury of which he was formerly maître d’.

The cover of this book juxtaposed with the content – the charming and unprentiously-trendy staff together with the well-thought out and continually revived food and wine menu - hits the quintessentially British Brasserie nail on the head and certainly seduced me.

Fine Food & Fine Wine

Browsing through a menu which appeared to offer something for all palates and price points while basking in the sun at an alfresco street table, my palate was about to be seduced by layers upon layers of complexity from food and wine alike…

• Starter: Warm Quail Egg Salad

Alongside a refined and refreshing Picpoul de Pinet, the quail eggs were beautiful, their yoke gently oozing onto the salad leaves, while scattered radishes flashed shots of colour and gave texture to each bite. Simple. Lovely.

• Main: Roast Hake with Chorizo

Perfectly pan-fried and lightly seasoned, the hake was accompanied by the salty, strong tang of Chorizo and crisp, crunchy potatoes. A delicious red pepper and coriander sauce with its heady herby scent, sweet creamy taste and bold orange hue added yet more dimensions for the senses – yet, somehow, I still wasn’t a victim of palate fatigue. A lightly chilled Vigna Grande from Puglia stood up to the strong flavours, rounding off a dish which packed a bold punch, and blew me away.

• Dessert: Baked Custard, Raspberries and Shortbread

Rich and smooth without been sickly, the custard was served lightly chilled and scattered with plump raspberries. I also sneaked a bite of their ‘Strawberries in Beaujolais‘ which was a lovely, light alternative.

Who’s it an Ambassador for?

Everyone. Its eclectic fare (wine, food & price), friendly yet professional staff and relaxed atmosphere exclude nobody. It’s the ideal British Brasserie - the epitome of modesty and inclusivity.

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Would this single-serve can be good for picnics and eating alfresco?

Do you favour glass?

Let us know!

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To stay ahead of the game, the house has now also launched a new interactive website designed by Paris-based French agency Duke, which intends to embrace innovation by involving the user with blended images, fine text and graphic packages.

The split screen function on the homepage plays on the marriage of innovation and tradition with technical detail from the Roederer winemaking family meeting its art patronage in the centre of the screen.

“With the launch of our new website we want to show our loyalty to both creativity and tradition. All forms of art require the same levels of commitment and determination to create a true masterpiece,” said Frédéric Rouzaud, president of Champagne Louis Roederer.

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A definite favourite of ours and our customers, Ch. Gruaud-Larose produces one of St. Julien’s most full-bodied and long-lived wines and we were recently fortunate enough to offer you four of its most exceptional vintages - the 1990, 1996, 2004 and 2005. Each of these wines boast a very distinctive personality yet none of them fail to seriously impress - so what is it that makes Ch. Gruaud Larose consistently produce such high-calibre wines?

For many years Gruaud-Larose was owned by the négociants Cordier, who also own Château Talbot. It was sold in 1993 to the French conglomerate, Alcastel Alstom, which in turn sold it to the Taillan Group, owners of Chasse-Spleen and Haut-Bages Libéral, in 1997. It would be fair to say that the château has seen many changes since its conception yet there has always been one constant…the talented Georges Pauli, who, throughout all these changes has remained as régisseur and winemaker.

Gruaud-Larose now boasts 84 hectares of vineyards located on a gravel-rich plateau just to the west of Château Beychevelle. The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (65%), Merlot (25%), Cabernet Franc (8%) and Petit Verdot (2%). Vinification takes place in a mixture of wooden vats and cement tanks and the wine is aged in oak barriques (30% new) for 18 months.

Becoming marvellously harmonious and developing complex and beguiling characteristics of concentrated black fruits, cedar, spices and liquorice with age, Ch. Gruaud Larose truly is the king of wines and the wine of kings.

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Who should I spend my time with?
What alcohol should I provide as a host?
Where should I host the event?
Why do I need to facilitate conversation?
When should I start to drink?

Naturally the host will be expected to personally greet and converse with as many of their guests as is possible. A good way to do this is to greet guests with a smile and a glass of champagne. It is a fantastic icebreaker and gives a budding host the opportunity to offer the first drink of the evening. Champagne rests in a nice niche where almost everyone I know enjoys a glass now and again. I am also informed that a glass of champagne has the least calories of all the alcoholic beverages.

The problem is that you can’t just provide champagne because eventually your guests may get too inebriated (from the bubbles, not over consumption!) or simply be hankering for a change. It’s nice to offer choice and in that respect a red and a white are a must. In an ideal world each guest would be allowed to choose a wine to suit their mood but realistically that is an expensive and difficult feat to accomplish. Consequently, if your choice is limited to one choice from each category it needs to be broad enough to appeal to all potential tastes, a classic Claret or a steely Chablis would be perfect in my opinion.

Location is the easiest thing to imagine but one of the hardest to decide on. Broadly speaking the ideal venue is relaxed, trendy, welcoming and generally ‘cool’. Most importantly it must appeal to the audience, if the clients are predominantly bankers you’ll need a different venue to choosing a location for musicians and artists. Although I have lived in London for some time now I have only seen a small proportion of the brilliant party venues the city has to offer so I feel unqualified to comment any further on this question.

Inviting clients to a social gathering is an important tool for strengthening relationships. However what must be borne in mind is that the host is the primary point of contact. Your clients may want to discuss some business but probably not for the entire evening. As I mentioned above it’s not considered best practice to spend all your time with one guest and because of that it’s important to introduce guests to each other with common ground. There are two ways of doing this, you can spend a lot of time researching all of your guest’s history before the evening or, you can encourage a few more drinks and use the lightened mood to get everyone talking. Loose lips may have sunk ships but they build great friendships too.

Which brings me to when you can start to drink, an obvious comment to make is, not straight away but a good rule of thumb is 90 minutes after the guests start to arrive. That gives plenty of time for you to fulfil your duties as hosts and then enjoy the night as well.

Guest blog written by:

Blair Macdonald
Davenport Lyons
Email Blair Macdonald

If you’d like to become a guest blogger, please get in contact:

Katie McCarthy
Editor - Berrys’ Fine Wine Blog
Email Katie McCarthy

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On Saturday Carolyn Hart of the Daily Telegraph recommended serving Elderflower ice-cream with our 2006 Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, Domaine de Durban in her article Beauty in the Beast.

If our beloved British summer’s cast as Beast again this year, fear not, you can always coax back those beautiful lazy days of heady floral scents and falling blossom by indulging in this marvellous Muscat, with one of my favourite ice-creams below.

The wine…

Domaine de Durban is located in the hills to the east of Beaumes-de-Venise and is owned and run by Madame Leydier and her two sons. By using 100% Muscat de Frontignan à petit grains blanc as opposed to Muscat de Frontignan à grains noir which most others producers in the village cultivate, their delicately-coloured wines are beautifully aromatic and opulent, and with delicious notes of tilleul, jasmine and white peach, their 2006 is indeed a fine match for floral ice-creams such as elderflower.

My favourite ices…

On the go…

If you’re out and about in London, stroll down to Marine Ices in Chalk Farm for the finest Italian ices made from 100% natural ingredients.

I particularly like their ‘Caribbean Coconut’.

Eating Out…

Listen to up-and-coming Jazz stars at Shanghai Blues in the grade II listed building that formerly held the St Giles library in Holborn. Unwind in the understated luxury of the gently lit room and relax with exceptional service. I love to follow their divine melt-in-your-mouth barbequed chilean sea bass rolls with homemade Jasmine Tea, Sesame or Red Bean ice-cream!

At home…

Impress your guests with home-made Elderflower ice-cream!

Elderflower Ice-cream
(Recipe by Mark Hix from the Great British Menu)

Ingredients:

• 300ml/½ pint whole milk, preferably Channel Island
• 6 medium free-range egg yolks
• 100g/4oz caster sugar
• 300ml/½ pint Jersey or clotted cream, or a mixture of the two
• 200ml/7fl oz elderflower cordial

Here’s how…

For the elderflower ice cream, bring the milk to the boil in a heavy-based saucepan, then remove from the heat. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl, pour in the milk and whisk well. Return to the pan and cook over a low heat for about five minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Do not boil. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cream and elderflower cordial. Leave to cool, then churn in an ice cream machine (according to manufacturer’s instructions) until thickened. Decant into a clean container and place in the freezer.

For those of you with a savoury tooth… 

If you’re sweet (and brave) enough, Heston Blumenthal’s Infamous Bacon & Egg Ice-cream has to be done…but it needs no accompaniment!

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On the one hand this ruling is extremely disappointing and potentially confusing for consumers. The St Emilion appellation, unlike that of the Médoc, is at least dynamic in that every 10 years there are opportunities for promotion and relegation. Properties which demonstrate marked improvement are rewarded, while those who rest on their laurels risk demotion. This can be a useful safeguard against complacency and a genuine spur to improvement in quality.

On the other hand it is imperative that the assessment of the wines must be seen to be carried out in an objective and impartial manner if the classification is to be widely respected as a true reflection of the current status of properties in the St Emilion appellation. As this appears to be the stumbling block at the moment it should not be too difficult to amend the procedure so as to overcome the Court’s misgivings.

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There has been one major change to the classification since (minor changes being the addition of Cantemerle in 1856, and the incorporation of Ch. Dubignon into Malescot St Exupery in the 1870s) when in 1973 Mouton-Rothschild was “upgraded” to first from second growth status. Those who believe that Mouton should have stayed a second would say that this upgrade was all about politics and strong lobbying from the powerful Phillippe de Rothschild; fans of the château will point to the fact that Mouton was under english ownership when the original classification was made - more than reason enough for it to miss the cut first time round…

In the world of fine wine the first growths are still very much the aristocracy; the best. Petrus & Le Pin may sell for more money, though this is largely down to a lack of supply, and Ausone may get the Parker points, but in terms of brand the first growths have it. These are the vinous Rolls Royces.

So how much are they worth? And are they worth it at seemingly ever-increasing prices?

In 1983 a case of 1982 Lafite would set you back in the region of £450; the same case today would set you back around £20,000. The best wines do seem to appreciate in value. The “is it worth it?” question is twofold and needs two answers. The first answer is a simple “yes”: a case of 82 Lafite is worth twenty thousand pounds because someone will pay twenty thousand pounds for it. The second answer is more tricky, because the question is: “is there twenty thousand pounds’ worth of pleasure in a case of 82 Lafite or, more simply, is there two thousand pounds’ worth (with the additional bit for the taxman) of pleasure in a bottle of 82 Lafite?

My answer to this again is a definite yes. It’s not just about the experience of tasting the very best, about an experience that is nigh on impossible to match or replicate, though these do play a part. For me, it’s a meeting. A meeting with Lafite, a meeting with the vineyards, a meeting with the sunshine of 1982 and a meeting with the harvesters, the grapes, the barrels, the chais and with Bordeaux. A meeting with whoever you’re sharing the bottle with and a meeting with whoever else has tasted the wine - from the winemaker as he made it to the banker drinking it at the next table . A meeting with ones maker, who is ultimately the creator of what’s in your glass.

I’ve read many discussions as to the true definition of “fine wine”. My answer is that a fine wine is a wine that will provoke thought or conversation other than a simple “that’s ok” or “yup, goes well with the lamb”. A step up is truly fine wine - the icons, and I have been lucky enough to taste and drink bottles that have not only provoked thought or conversation, they have provoked emotion. Barrel samples of both Le Musigny, Mugnier and Ch. Margaux 2005 overwhelmed me: what moved me was that an experience so beautiful could come from vines, soil, sunshine and some finishing from man. Epiphany isn’t quite the right word; I prefer theophany: a divine disclosure. Which seems like a good deal for a couple of thousand pounds.

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Are personal friendship networks the key to combating binge drinking?

Recent research published by the Advertising Association  states that it is social networks and not advertising that prove to be the key influence in binge drinking.

A poll of 18-24-year-olds found that 85 per cent of binge drinkers think that most or all of their friends binge drink, compared to just 41 per cent for non-binge drinkers. Conversely, only 3 per cent of binge drinkers have no or hardly any friends that binge drink, compared to 22 per cent of nonbinge drinkers.

The importance of the personal networks also extends to work colleagues. 65 per cent of binge drinkers think that most or all of their work colleagues binge drink, compared to just 34 per cent for non-binge drinkers. Whilst not as big a difference as with networks of friends this is still statistically a highly significant difference.

Baroness Buscombe, Advertising Association Chief Executive, said: “This research shows conclusively that the people around us are the key influences in terms of our relationship with alcohol, not alcohol advertising. Not only do the findings of this study confirm this to be the case but they also demonstrate that a new approach to tackle binge drinking is required.

“Alcohol misuse is clearly a hugely important social issue that must be taken seriously. This new and compelling research highlighting the importance of personal friendship networks shows that tackling alcohol misuse is about encouraging behavioral change so people develop a healthy relationship with alcohol.”

The advertising industry could be used as “a positive and powerful tool” in tackling the issue, she concluded.

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