Story - Story Public Relations

On the 2^nd of August, Earls Court opened its doors once again to the masses for the Great British Beer Festival. Known as the biggest pub in the world, the festival celebrates real ales, perries and ciders with countless breweries showcasing their wares all under one roof.

What a fantastic way to sample and learn about the craft behind real ale and appreciate the traditions of the great British pub. 

Some days, the fish just aren't biting. And on those days, you need some friendly local fishermen to deliver some delicious fresh lobster, scallops and fish to the pier. Some speedy chopping, a few riffs on ceviche and a Lagavulin whisky butter sauce later, lunch was served. Islay is a magical place and this was a fantastical banquet. Thanks to Mark Hix for leading the brigade, and to Dr Nick Morgan for teaching us about whisky.

After a fine on board picnic of Scrimshaw's Pork Pies and Sipsmith, the foragers gathered at Riverford's farm, hoping for good weather. And so we found ourselves standing in a dingly dell, eating a wild garlic frittata made with our pickings, and discussing how food always tastes better outdoors. Giles Coren once described his lunch at the Riverford Field Kitchen http://www.riverford.co.uk/restaurant/ as the 'lunch of his life'. To find out more of what we all ate, see here Eat Me magazine and here In pursuit of food and here Food For Think and her Essex Eating and here Elly Pear. Special thanks to Douglas for gamely taking on the challenge of driving our rickety red van.

It's important to soak up one's surroundings in every way possible when travelling.  Therefore, on a recent trip to Lagavulin distillery on Islay, we absorbed the isle's offerings in more ways than one; whisky swilled around in our mouths, oysters and crabs in our bellies, sea salt in our hair and peat in our boots.  The trip was rather scientific too.  Not only did we learn all about whisky making at Caol Ila with Billy Stitchell and at Lagavulin with Georgie Crawford, we also tested the theory that spirits and seafood don't mix by sailing the shores of Islay immediately after lunch.  All passengers disembarked the boat feeling fine. We would have felt right as rain had our charming guest, Douglas Blyde, not motored through the waves with such vigour. Many thanks to Douglas Blyde, Neil Davey, Andrew Webb, Ben McFarland & Tom Sandham for making the trip marvellous. 

Wednesday 23rd February saw our Chief Executive Officer of Taste, AKA Mrs Kamelmacher, coming along to the #VongolePopUp event. She met @Ailbhetweets @eatlikeagirl @scandilicious and the man himself @youngandfoodish. The vongole glistened and warmed with a bite of chilli and everyone had a thoroughly good night. Thank you Francesco Mazzei of L'Anima for coming to cook for us.

Last night we enjoyed a veritable treasure chest of tequilas at Wahaca Soho with some of the top drinks writers in the industry.  Thanks to the Mexican Tequila Board, we were able to taste many brands that had never been outside of North America.  Out of a selection of 11 tequilas, we chose our top three brands and feel all the rosier for it!

More tasting sessions will be held with the Wahaca online family and the plan is to keep their bars stocked with a rotating list of unrivalled tequilas to help support Mexico's smaller producers.

If you fancy doing your own taste test our 3 winning favourites were:

Anejo: Tequila Fortaleza

Reposado: Tequila Espinoza

Blanco: Tequila Tromba

Cheers!

An esteemed gathering of bloggers came to test meals by Charlie Bigham's with wines, supplied by Berry Bros & Rudd. The firecracker leader of the pack was Denise Medrano, The Winesleuth, whose most unusual pairing of the night was Charlie Bigham's Fish Pie with Berry Bros Dry Oloroso Sherry.  Bigham's up! 

Click here for a full write up.

They battled through the snow just to spend an evening with us drinking divine cocktails at 69 Colebrooke Row and singing along to Maurice's nimble piano tunes. Thank you to everyone who came to our party and made it a spectacular night.

We'd like to introduce our very first Story PR baby. Olivia Florence White was born on 22nd October at 15.22 weighing 7lbs 7oz. As you can see she is adorable, and we're looking forward to hearing her contributions to brainstorming sessions in the very near future.