Emily Gibson

There’s no gift foodies like more than a classic Christmas hamper, but for some those ready-made ones from Fortnum & Mason et al can be a little predictable. Instead, why not spend a little time and effort putting together your own? It’s a lot more thoughtful and you’ll be supporting local businesses too. Local markets are a good place to start – check out our picks here – but we’ve also pulled together some top places to go for festive fodder.   For cheese Let’s start with savoury, because, as we all know, cheese is the cornerstone of any hamper worth having. London has oodles of brilliant cheese shops, including La Fromagerie, Neal’s Yard Dairy and Pistachio & Pickle, which all supply supplementary cheesy paraphernalia too, such as crackers and pickles. If you’re really being strict on the London theme, there’s a bloke who makes his own artisan cheese in Tottenham – you can pick it up from the dairy (calling ahead recommended), online, or at a small number of London stockists.   A photo posted by La Fromagerie (@lafromagerieuk) on Dec 2, 2016 at 4:52am PST    For meats and delicacies Premium cured meats, pâtés and chutneys can be picked up at The Ginger Pig’s Marylebone butcher’s shop. (Pro tip: grab yourself one of their dreamy sausage rolls while you’re there. Hamper shopping is tiring work.)    A photo posted by Louis (@tuckandvine) on Feb 10, 2016 at 5:03am PST   And, although they’re not actually made in London, Jimini’s insect treats are a fun novelty ite

It's officially bloody cold out, so what better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than gorging yourself senseless on that most wonderful of British traditions, a Sunday roast? As we know, the star of any roast isn't tender beef or juicy chicken. It isn't even crispy potatoes roasted in bubbling goose fat, or the lashings of gravy, and it sure as hell isn't the broccoli. It's the humble Yorkshire pudding – light and crispy up the sides with a thick, ultra-absorbent bottom. And, whatever anyone tells you, size does matter. Here are six places where you can get a big Yorkie in London.   Joanna's, Crystal Palace   A photo posted by Holly Hope Harper (@hollyhopeharper) on Sep 20, 2015 at 10:27am PDT How big are the puds at the legendary Joanna's in Crystal Palace? HUGE.    The Bull & Last, Dartmouth Park Also known for its epic homemade Scotch Eggs, The Bull & Last's Yorkshire puddings are the size of a baby. And more delicious.   A photo posted by KaY🐰 (@itsmeiamkay) on May 3, 2015 at 10:13am PDT   Mr Fogg's Tavern, Covent Garden Where better to enjoy the quintessentially British Yorkshire pud than at whimsical Victorian hideout Mr Fogg's Tavern? The beasts here are served with beef dripping potatoes, roasted veg and your choice of chicken, pork belly or rib of beef.      A photo posted by Kate (@katielb31) on Nov 6, 2016 at 5:08am PST Hawksmoor  Hawksmoor’s famous roasts come with Yorkies big enough to double as an adorable little nest for golden goose fat ro

I’m sure by now you’ve heard the news that we’re getting a new crisp ‘restaurant’ in Soho. Riding the same wave as the much-maligned Cereal Killer Cafe, where you can buy a bowl of Frosties for £3.60, HipChips promises to ‘treat the humble potato crisp with the same care and attention reserved for fine dining’. This involves a Yo! Sushi-style conveyor belt and a menu consisting solely of heritage potatoes (naturally) plus sweet and savoury dips, including baba ganoush, katsu curry and salted caramel. A medium-sized box of crisps with three dips is reportedly going to cost £6.75. It’s a bloody stupid idea, but you can bet your bottom dollar that Londoners will flock there in their thousands. That’s because, as a demographic, we are powerless to resist a luxury gimmick – and it has to stop. The situation is already way out of hand: that’s why you can buy £18 cocktails with bits of gold leaf floating in them, and why there’s a shop in Boxpark selling high-end adult rompers for £150. Gratuitous poshness is everywhere in this city, but it’s especially prevalent on the restaurant scene. Foods that were traditionally the preserve of the hungry and down-at-heel have been reimagined into spendy concepts with Instagram in mind: burgers in brioche buns, hot dogs with champagne, artisanal wood-fired pizza with sourdough crusts rolled between the thighs of a virgin and sauce from a rare breed of heirloom tomato grown only on a single Italian mountain. Restaurateurs under pressure to widen

Now that the autumn chill is in the air, game season is well underway and the London restaurant scene is throwing up some real corkers. Here are the places to go for the wildest dishes in town. Bring your game face. The Cinnamon Club Get your fix out of the way early at The Cinnamon Club, which is celebrating the first shot of the season with a unique Shikaar breakfast of curried grouse and venison mince, a fried egg and Bombay spiced veggies. The Old Westminster Library, 30-32 Great Smith St, SW1P 3BU.   A photo posted by GUNPOWDER (@gunpowder_london) on Sep 6, 2016 at 1:29am PDT   Gunpowder Spitalfields Exclusively for game season, Gunpowder Spitalfields has added a special dish to their small plates menu of Kerala Pepper Fried Quail with Crispy Raw Dosa. Its best-selling spicy venison doughnut is also avaialble all year round. Gunpowder, 11 White's Row, E1 7NF.     A photo posted by The Jugged Hare (@thejuggedhare) on Aug 30, 2016 at 9:26am PDT The Jugged Hare Living up to its name, The Jugged Hare is serving up a whole hare in a traditional tall jug. Not for the squeamish, the slow-braised hare meat is finished off with a sauce of its own blood. The Jugged Hare, 49 Chiswell St, EC1Y 4SA.   A photo posted by Calum Franklin (@chefcalum) on Aug 17, 2016 at 12:53pm PDT Holborn Dining Rooms  The Holborn Dining Room has a strong Instagram game with Head Chef Calum Franklin’s grouse pithivier. What’s a pithivier, you ask? Glad you asked. This one is two grouse

So many restaurants, so little time. And, er, so little cash. Although London has some of the world's most fabulous places to eat, they certainly don't come cheap. Or at least they don't if you go in the evening. So, instead of breaking your balls working through your bucket list, why not treat yourself to a Michelin-star lunch? They're a fraction of the price of a dinner, and we’ve done all the hard work for you and rounded up some top places in town. Bon appetit!   Gymkhana A posh curry at contemporary Indian restaurant Gymkhana can set you back a pretty penny after hours, but on weekdays you can bag a two-course lunch for £25, or a three-course for £30. 42 Albemarle St, W1S 4JH. Sketch Famous for its eclectic décor and photogenic lavs, Sketch's two-Michelin-star Lecture Room & Library restaurant serves up its Gourmet Rapide lunch menu Tuesday to Friday at the fraction of the cost of a dinner. The menu itself changes every week, but the price is always the same: £35 for two courses or £40 for three. 9 Conduit St, W1S 2XG. Social Eating House Jason Atherton's wildly successful Soho restaurant serves its limited but exquisitely considered lunchtime menu Monday–Saturday between noon and 2.30pm and again between 6pm and 7pm. Enjoy two courses for just £21, or three for £25, and don’t forget to pop upstairs to The Blind Pig first for a cocktail. 58-59 Poland St, W1F 7NR. Pollen Street Social Another deal from Mr Atherton's gastronomic empire. In the evening main courses alon

Magic is in the air! London is brimming with spell-binding performances this summer from some of the world’s most acclaimed illusionists.  Impossible Impossible, a magical multi-discipline spectacular, includes grand illusion, death-defying stunts, mind-reading and sleight-of-hand. Noël Coward Theatre, until August 28. The London Festival of Close Up Magic If you prefer your illusions up-close and personal, the London Festival of Close Up Magic kicks off this Friday in the labyrinth of atmospheric tunnels beneath Waterloo station. The launch night offers up an exclusive magic-themed cocktail menu and an hour of world-class conjuring from just £16.50. Subsequent shows on July 28-30 showcase more sensational sleight-of-hand from Fringe favourites Dominick Zwolinski, Chris Dugdale and Kockov. The Vaults, July 22, 28-30.    The Magic Hour Strictly limited to just 45 seats per performance, The Magic Hour is an intimate close-up magic show in the old world grandeur of the Grand Royale Hyde Park, inspired by the opulence and showmanship of the old Victorian masters of magic. Perfect for date night, a £25 ticket gets you a seat and a pre-show cocktail.   Piff the Magic Dragon at the Just for Laughs Festival Alternatively, Piff the Magic Dragon is a conjurer and comedian who performs in a dragon costume, aided in his magical endeavours by Mr Piffles the chihuahua. They’re performing together pre-Edinburgh Fringe as part of the Just For Laughs Festival, and there are still a few tic

Most restaurants treat dessert as an afterthought, but with so many sweet treats to be found on the streets of Soho, it's worth looking beyond the pudding menu. So, the next time you're in the mood for a post-dinner pud or desperately need an emergency sugar fix in between pubs, check out these late night locations.      A photo posted by 🍦chewie (@chewiefoods) on May 7, 2016 at 2:44am PDT    Yauatcha When you think about it, patisserie is just one small step from dim sum: beautiful, brightly coloured and fiddly as hell to make. It comes as no surprise, then, that Yauatcha, undisputed doyen of dim sum, has a patisserie counter. And yeah, it’s awesome. For the ultimate indulgence, get the Chocolate Pebble, a smooth round of velvety chocolate with a fudgey brownie centre. 15-17 Broadwick St, W1F 0DL, takeaway available until 11pm.     A photo posted by Date Night LDN (@_datenight_ldn) on Mar 17, 2016 at 11:41am PDT Basement Sate Earn some brownie points on date night with a post-dinner trip to Basement Sate, a hidden underground bar serving decadent desserts and matching cocktails. 8 Broadwick St, W1F 8HN. Open until 11pm Sunday and Monday, and 1.30am Tue-Sat.     A photo posted by Carly G (@carly1276) on May 8, 2016 at 12:39pm PDT   The Café at Hotel Café Royal Make pudding a formal affair at The Café at Hotel Café Royal, whose multi-course after-dinner menus include a selection of wildly creative tasting experiences from executive pastry chef Sarah Barber. 68 R

I’ve never been to the Chelsea Flower Show – too much pollen, and I’ve always mistrusted people who do weeding for fun – but I do love all the hoopla that surrounds it. It’s one of those quintessentially English things that must really cement foreigners’ opinion of us: ie. completely bonkers, but in a charming, eccentric way. Like 'Fawlty Towers'. If you too love flowers but not all the hard work that goes into producing them, show your appreciation with one of these fun floral fringe events.   A photo posted by Emily Gibson (@curiouslyemily) on May 13, 2016 at 3:20am PDT  Tuck into a Chelsea Flower Afternoon Tea at The Landmark London Five-star hotel The Landmark London is reinventing its afternoon menu just for Chelsea Flower Show with a selection of delicious (and highly photogenic) floral pastries, such as elderflower custard choux and chocolate and orange blossom macarons. Sip chilled champagne and indulge in bottomless finger sandwiches in the Winter Garden, a vast atrium with soaring glass ceilings and petrified palm trees, from £55 per person. Booking advised.   A photo posted by Flowers From Above™ (@flowersfromabove) on May 16, 2016 at 7:51am PDT   Pick peonies with Bloom & Wild Everybody loves peonies. There are millions of the things on Instagram, making them social media’s most beloved flower, but, alas, these voluminous blooms are only in season for a month or so in the UK. You can catch them in all their glory at Bloom & Wild’s pick 'n' mix peony bar, w

  Brunch is taking over the world. What began as the preserve of the fabulous and hungover has become a city-wide phenomenon with almost universal appeal. I mean, it’s effectively breakfast, except you get a lie-in and nobody judges you for drinking within an hour of rolling out of bed. That said, eggs benedict can get a little boring if you have it every weekend, so why not try these internationally inspired brunches instead?    A photo posted by Asia de Cuba London (@asiadecubauk) on Feb 24, 2016 at 2:37pm PST   Asia de Cuba Asia de Cuba’s Covent Garden restaurant sets the standard for fusion cuisine with its unique menu of chino-latino grub, and its brunch menu is something very special indeed. Order a la carte, or choose the decadent Cocktail Brunch, £48, which includes a galaxy of small plates, a main of your choice, unlimited Mexican doughnuts and bottomless bellinis, mimosas, mojitos or bloody marys. For extra special occasions, upgrade to bottomless Perrier-Jouet Brut NV champagne for £70 per person. Weekends, noon–4pm.   A photo posted by Hannah Cannell (@swimbikebake) on Mar 15, 2016 at 2:54am PDT Dishoom Just around the corner is Dishoom, famous for its Indian street food and mile-long queues. It also has branches in Shoreditch, King’s Cross and Carnaby Street, but wait times can still reach up to three hours at dinner time. Skip the lines and treat your tastebuds instead to an Indian-style brunch instead; dishes include the famous bacon naan roll – a ba

Pay no attention to this week’s forecast of non-stop drizzle; ancient farming traditions have robbed us of an hour’s sleep and the daffodils are coming up lovely, so British springtime is officially here. Cast aside your snuggies, Londoners, it’s time to switch out of hibernation mode and start doing things again. Here's six ideas to get you going:  Go on a booze cruise With the promise of warmish weather on the way, a flood of exciting outdoorsy opportunities come via the city’s waterways. Specifically, I’m talking about the Alfred LeRoy, Hackney’s answer to the booze cruise via the brewsters at Crate iBrewery. They’ve renovated an old barge and turned it into a seaworthy venue crammed with their own beers and ciders, wine and scwanky Neal’s Yard Dairy sharing platters. If that doesn’t float your boat, I don’t know what will.      Catch a film at Backyard Cinema What could be more spring-like than young love? Everyone’s favourite nomadic movie theatre Backyard Cinema, is bringing back its special showings of Baz Luhrmann’s 'Romeo + Juliet', which take place in a real church WITH A LIVE CHOIR. Just imagine the feels. Tickets are going fast, but there are still some left for a couple of summer performances.  Piggies at Stepney City Farm Meet cute farm animals... You know what else is great about spring? Baby animals! The best place to get your fill of little fluffy things is at one of London’s city farms, which also means you don’t need to venture outside of Zone 2.  ...O

Ah, Valentine’s Day. Presumably everyone in a relationship has by now had the usual song-and-dance of trying to work if their partner actually thinks Valentine’s Day is a load of old tosh or not. Either way, there’s no way to be sure until the weekend rolls round. If you suspect your beloved will spend all of Sunday in a sulk because you took their apparent disdain for V-Day at face value, it’s not too late. Here's a list of last-minute things to do this weekend: Fall into a love story One Aldwych’s luxurious 30-person cinema is screening 'Doctor Zhivago', an Oscar-winning historical romance set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution. Tickets cost £55 each and include a three-course dinner and a glass of champagne. Alternatively, is there anything more fun than listening to other people’s romantic misfortunes? Kit Lovelace’s Romantic Misadventures is a free comedy night where lovelorn speakers share their most heart-wrenching (and hilarious) tales of lost love and misplaced lust. It’s happening tonight at the Manhattan’s Project at POND Dalston. Arrive early to make sure you get a seat, especially if you’re wearing heels. Nothing kills the mood like sore feet.   Emily Gibson Say it with flowers Pop down to Columbia Road Flower Market on Sunday morning and treat your beau to a bunch of their favourite flowers without all the bells and whistles. Flowers as pure and raw and your unadulterated love. And, obviously, a lot cheaper. Of course, it’d be rude to get someone

Sod the Man in the Moon and his stupid telescope. Give Londoners what they actually want for Christmas. 'What do you want for Christmas?' my boyfriend asked me yesterday for the seventh time. I don't want to sound ungrateful, but I'm sick of the question. The real answer - 'some winter tyres for my bike and a really good lint roller, please' - has so far fallen on deaf ears. Apparently extra-grippy wheels, which may save me from being crushed by a big red bus, are just not Christmassy. We're nearly at that time of year when London's entire population completely lose their shit in a panic over what to buy their loved ones. The perfect gift, we're told, is useful, creative, well-designed and/or delicious, luxurious but not frivolous, thoughtful but not overgenerous. As we hit the West End, hastily scrawled lists in hand ('Dad? Hammer???') we're already labouring under a massive gifting inferiority complex thanks to department store Christmas ads. A handcrafted telescope for the Man in the Moon? How delightful! Except the poor old sod would probably have preferred a ticket to Earth or, at the very least, a bottle of decent whisky. Even a 'good book', the most classic gift of them all, would have been better. A telescope? I can hear my mother now: 'He'll play with it once and then up on the shelf it'll go.' And she's right. It's time to take a stand against crap presents. Nobody in my life, or yours, needs a fried-egg-shaped handbag or a model reindeer-poo candy-dispenser. Let's