Sow Your Own… Strawberry Handbag!!
Rocket Gardens' Rob Cox shows you how to convert a Stella McCartney handbag into a mini strawberry patch as part of Cafédirect's 'Sow Your Own' campaign.
Chewing The Fat with Eric Avenier
Eric Avenier: head chef at the newly relaunched Corinthian
Eric Avenier is the head chef at the Corinthian restaurants and bars. Poised for a grand public re-opening tomorrow, the flagship venue of the G1 Group has just undergone an eight month, multi-million pound refit.
A club, casino and brasserie with multiple bars and a massive choice of private dining rooms, meeting rooms and conference facilities, the Corinthian aims to reposition itself as one of the most impressive entertainment venues in the country. From refurbishing the ornate plasterwork in the domed brasserie to installing a 500,000 piece floor mosaic in one of the bars, there has been no stinting on the dosh spent.
Eric, who has been with G1 since 2006, is in overall charge of all the food served at Corinthian. With the Teller Brasserie, Mash and Press Room bars, Boutique Bar, Bootleg Bar, late night piano bar and private dining rooms all in full swing, he will be a very busy man.
In the latest Chewing the Fat interview, Eric tells us about the food offer at Corinthian, growing up in Brittany and talking to his kitchen tongs.
Corinthian's 5pm offers will be live from tomorrow.
Q: Did you always want to be working in a kitchen?
EA: Yes, I always wanted to be a chef and started cooking from a very young age. My Aunty took the role of my Grandma and would teach me baking and cooking after school. I grew up in Brittany and then finished my training at the Quimper catering college. In 1990, I came to Glasgow.
Q: What was your first job here?
EA: I worked at One Devonshire Gardens. This was back in the day when Ken McCulloch still owned it. My first head chef there was Roy Brett. I was there for two years and then I worked in Grangemouth. From there, I joined up with the Hebridean Princess cruise ship for two years. After that, I went on another ship, the Seabourn Legend, which took me all over the world.
Q: Had you always wanted to travel?
EA: When I came to Glasgow, I was very much a classically trained French chef. Coming to Britain meant I had to expand my style of cooking. French cooking isn’t into different international trends whereas in Britain you have a lot of influences from India, China and so on. Working on Seabourn was a perfect way to expand my knowledge.
Q: What has changed about the UK restaurant scene since you started here twenty years ago?
EA: When I arrived in Glasgow in 1990, people needed to be more adventurous. The Brits in general were not very adventurous. For example, they weren’t into meat cooked medium rare while it is quite normal now.
Also, people in this country complain now. They didn’t use to. The French complain all the time. The Germans complain all the time but the British would never say anything was wrong. It used to be very difficult to please a British customer. They wouldn’t complain but then nor would they come back. The French will complain on the spot and then come back. People should complain. How else will you know if they are not happy?
The dome at Corinthian
Q: Tell us about the food at Corinthian?
EA: It’s more brasserie style, perhaps more modern than it was before. Last year, it was more fine dining. It’s still good but it’s not all fine dining now, it’s more relaxed and more accessible. The new menus are designed to open doors to a different range of customers. Last year, there was no burger on the menu. If you want to come here and have a burger now then you can. Of course, if you want to push the boat out then you can do that as well by, say, going for the seafood platter with lobster.
Q: What do you like to eat on a day off?
EA: I was brought up on a farm and I like traditional cooking. If I’m at home then I’m happy to eat a roast on my day off.
Q: What are you favourite ingredients to work with?
EA: Scottish game and seafood are great to work with. I was brought up in Brittany and the seafood there is similar.
Q: What can’t you or won’t you eat?
EA: Mushy peas. I’m not a fan of them and I hate Marmite.
Q: Is there a gadget that you can’t live without?
EA: My tongs. I can’t lift anything without my tongs. They laugh at me in the kitchen because I talk to my tongs sometimes.
Q: You can have anyone in the world cook you a meal. Who will it be?
EA: Alain Ducasse from the Louis XV in Monte Carlo. I worked for Ken McCulloch at the Columbus Hotel in Monte Carlo and I ate at the Louis XV twice while I was there. The whole experience is amazing. Monte Carlo is something else and the Louis XV is just sensational.
Q: Who cooks at home?
EA: My wife cooks most of the time. I cook if we have guests. She is very good at looking after people and is a great host. We make a good couple.
Q: It’s your anniversary. What are you cooking for a big romantic meal?
EA: I’d start with scallops. I love them and women seem to as well. Scottish scallops are a delicacy and I think you score lots of points with scallops. I do with my wife, anyway.
I’d probably stick with fish for a main course. Do something classic like a lobster thermidore or, if I did go for meat, perhaps a beef tournedos. You have to turn on the luxury or your evening might turn out to be a bit short. You’re not going to get very far with baked beans on toast.
I would finish on a soufflé or flambéed strawberries with ice cream. A little bit of theatre never hurts.
Q: What’s been your daftest customer complaint?
EA: I’ve had some crackers. A few years back, we had an American guest. He ordered duck and that’s what we served him but he was convinced that it was lamb. We had to point out that the skin had little holes in it from where we had plucked the duck and reassure him that lamb didn’t come with feathers.
Afternoon tea at Corinthian's Boutique Bar
J Sheekey pops up in Ondine
Roy Brett and team accepting the prize for Best Scottish Seafood Restaurant
Pop up restaurants are all the rage at the moment and Edinburgh's Ondine is getting in on the action this Sunday as it welcomes London's ever so fashionable J Sheekey restaurant to the capital.
Richard Kirkwood, the Edinburgh-born head chef at J Sheekey, will be teaming up with Ondine boss Roy Brett to cook up some of the Covent Garden restaurant's more famous dishes.
Think along the lines of oysters with wild boar sausage, plateau de fruits de mer, griddled langoustines with chilli, ginger and parsley, razor clams with chorizo, sautéed monkfish cheeks with girolles, not to mention the ever popular Scandinavian iced berries with white chocolate sauce.
Readers with long memories will recall that not only did Roy Brett scoop the Chef of the Year award at January's Scottish Restaurant Awards but Ondine won the Scottish Seafood Restaurant of the year accolade.
The voting process for the 2011 Scottish Restaurant Awards got underway recently and 5pm are sponsoring them. If you want to nominate your favourite restaurant for the awards then click here and exercise your democratic rights.
Nominations, please!
Blog readers may recall at the start of the year the excitement that was brewing at 5pm Towers over the Scottish Restaurant Awards 2010.
Restaurants were nominated and chosen for various categories including Best Newcomer Restaurant (won by the Rocpool Reserve Hotel in Inverness), Best Family Friendly Restaurant (won by Di Maggio's (West End) in Glasgow), and also the coveted 'Best Restaurant of the Year' and 'Best Chef of the Year' titles (both won by Geoffrey Smeddle of The Peat Inn in Fife - bravo, sir!).
Well folks, you'll be pleased to hear that nominations are now being taken for the Scottish Restaurant Awards 2011!
A full list of the 2010 winners can be found here in a previous post by Jonathan, and this is the perfect chance for you to let the rest of the country know about the restaurants that you think deserve some recognition - whether it's for outstanding customer service, delicious pub grub, or a rural hidden gem that you think us city-dwellers should venture out to!
There are other restaurant categories requiring your suggestions, so why not pop along to the Scottish Restaurant Awards website where you can submit your nominations? Your vote counts! 
Supercube Karaoke
Think you can sing like Beyonce?
This one is a little off the usual beaten track for the 5pm blog but it's fun so we'll file it anyway.
Just opened on George Street this month, Supercube is Scotland's first, purpose-built karaoke venue. It features seven, sound-proofed rooms and some 15000 songs for would-be warblers to choose from.
With the Glee karaoke drama poised to take over the TV schedules, it looks like an astute move on the part of Supercube's owners. The place is open until 3am so if you get a late night urge to unleash your inner Jay Z/Beyonce then you know where to go.
Supercube is right in the centre of town and if you fancy a bite to eat before singing your lungs out then click through to 5pm's Edinburgh Festival map which will show you all the nearby 5pm restaurants.
Slumdog comedy
Tom Allen: part of Slumdog's curry and comedy line up
Slumdog bar and kitchen has scored a bit of a coup for tonight's comedy show with a bill that includes the rising Fringe star Tom Allen.
In 2005, he won the So You Think You're Funny competition and has gone on to write and act for both TV and radio. His Fringe show scooped a glowing four star review from influential comedy website Chortle this year.
Allen will be laying down a comedy carpet bombing at Slumdog tonight along with Keir MacAllister and Mike Adams. Chris Broomfield comperes.
Events at 29 – The Grill At The Square
Anyone looking to stay busy over the next few weeks should sneak a peak at the upcoming events taking place at 29 - The Grill At The Square.
On Friday the 3rd of September the more patriotic among us will have an opportunity to enjoy all things Scottish with 29’s 'Big Braw Scottish Nite'. This one off event, perfect for a group night out, will include jokes, poems, sketches, songs and laughter all accompanied with traditional Scottish Fayre. Tickets for this event cost £25 per person.
Also taking place this September on Sunday the 5th is the Marie Curie Ladies Luncheon hosted by Suzie McGuire.
Starting with a champagne reception and 2 course lunch, guests will then be serenaded by Kevin Bridges performing as American crooner Michael Buble. Tickets are £45 per person and are available in tables of 10 or in individual numbers.
Buble fans should also head along to 29 - The Grill At The Square on Friday the 1st of October for their fantastic Michael Buble Tribute Dinner Dance. Tickets for this event cost £35 per person and guests can enjoy a delicious 3 course dinner before settling down for a night of musical entertainment courtesy of the fabulous Kevin Rodgers.
If a night of Buble magic doesn’t float your boat, why not try an Evening of Culinary Excellence with Willie Pike M.B.E. on Thursday the 23rd of September. For £59.95 per person, guests will enjoy Champage and Canapes followed by a luxury 5 course menu with a selection of accompanying wines.
Tickets for all these fantastic events can be purchased through 5pm.co.uk
New sommelier at One Devonshire Gardens
The Hotel du Vin and Malmaison group has just appointed Laurent Warnault as Chef Sommelier at Hotel du Vin Glasgow ’s One Devonshire Gardens.
Previously at the Mar Hall Golf & Spa in Earl of Mar Bishopton, Laurent is now responsible for One Dev’s extensive wine cellars and their 600 odd bins.
Cooking at the Homes and Interiors Scotland Exhibition
Tony Singh will be at the Homes and Interiors show
The Homes & Interiors Scotland Exhibition kicks off in the SECC this Friday and they've drafted in some lip-smacking food and drink talent to give it some yum.
Award winning chef Tony Singh, artisan chocolatier Iain Burnett and wine expert Pete Stewart will be showcasing their diverse talents in a series of masterclasses, workshops and daily demonstrations.
Tony Singh could talk the hind legs off a donkey with his patter and he'll be demonstrating why his Oloroso rooftop restaurant and 5pm member Tony's Table are so popular in Edinburgh.
Tony recently bombed out of the Great British Menu TV show but you can't keep a good man down and, if he's not back on our screens fairly sharpish, then I'll eat my socks.
For chocolate lovers, award winning artisan chocolatier Iain Burnett of the Scottish Chocolate Centre will be showcasing his passion and talents with mouth-watering chocolate tasting sessions. Known as The Highland Chocolatier, Iain has trained under master chocolatiers of the Belgian, Swiss and French schools. Iain has taken three years and made over 120 fine adjustments to be satisfied with his own truffle recipe – the now famous Velvet Truffle which has won the coveted 3 Star Gold Great Taste Award.
Wine enthusiasts can learn how to tell their ‘legs’ from their ‘noses’ in a series of wine-tastings hosted by Pete Stewart from Inverarity One to One. Visitors will have the opportunity to see, swirl, sniff, sip and savour some of the best wines from Inverarity’s range of over 500 wines from some of the most-respected names in the wine-producing world, such as Meerlust, Bollinger, Roederer and Drouhin.
Here's all the info you might possibly need to know:
Opening times: 10am until 5pm, Friday 27th to Sunday 29th August 2010. Advance tickets £7 (plus £1 booking fee) from www.ticketsoup.com or 0844 395 4000. On-the-door tickets, £10 per person.
Like chocolate? You'll love Iain Burnett
Kraftskiva! Crayfish Party at Firebird
Are you a fan of all things Swedish? If so, get along to Firebird, Glasgow this Thursday 26th of August! The traditional crayfish party offers a superb Swedish spread including Smorgisboard and ofcourse Schnapps! It is sure to be a fun filled night with lots of singing, drinking and eating. You can also join in with some tasty Rekorderlig Swedish Cider sampling throughout the night. Book through 5pm for the £12.50 offer!