No, I am not going to go on about losing those un-wanted pounds you have put on over the festive season by over indulging!! That is your own fault…You can sort it out, whichever way you feel fit to.

No, instead I am going to give you some ideas of how to pile on the pounds even more!!
BREAKFAST

The word breakfast means to “break the fast” the first meal, be it of the day or a life- time. When you get married the lunch is often know as the “Wedding Breakfast”.

As everyone knows it is the most important meal of the day, and its true. If you do want to loose weight the worst thing you can do is miss out on breakfast. So to celebrate National Farmhouse breakfast week from the 25th-31st January 2009 you can make it your New Years resolution to have breakfast every morning. It does not need be such a drag and you may find that you really enjoy it. All be it a bowl of cereal like cornflakes (I always forget how good they taste) or a slice of toast and marmite (love it, hate it), but there is a more interesting side, a more fun side and a more sexy side to having breakfast. Those demanding teenagers of yours deserve a little more of an interesting breakfast. I call it “TO GO”, always getting out of bed at the very last minute and then off, quick as a flash. I am thinking freshly squeezed carrot and apple juice, healthy bran muffins and granola bars.

For the kids I am thinking more fun, and trick them in to having something more healthy, carrot and walnut muffins, porridge with apple compote, Weetabix with banana split……

As for Sexy……..YES, I’m talking breakfast in bed, When was the last time you surprised your partner with breakfast in bed? Do not wait until you have messed up after the next office party. Be spontaneous. Bucks Fizz, boiled egg and soldiers, pancakes with maple syrup, oh yes, we can see where this is going….Then off down the club for a round of golf!

One tip for breakfast in bed is not to have croissants, you get crumbs all over the bed and they find themselves everywhere…

Here are some more ideas to tickle your taste buds

• American style pancakes with maple syrup and crispy bacon
• Belgium waffles with fruit compote and clotted cream
• Kedgeree
• Smoked Haddock with poached egg and chive butter sauce
• Smoked salmon scrambled eggs on toasted English muffins with lashings of melted butter
• Brioche eggy bread flavoured with cinnamon and orange maple syrup
• Porridge with white chocolate and apple compote
• Boiled egg with crispy breaded asparagus spear soldiers
• Kippers with creamy scrambled eggs and parsley
• Smoked salmon on toasted English muffins with poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce
• Apple compote with vanilla crumble
• Yoghurt and Honey oat stack
• Hash potatoes with fried ham and eggs

Here are some recipes to get you started, enjoy your breakfast and have a nice day. Jamie

PANCAKES AMERICAN STYLE

Ingredients
600g  Self-raising All-Purpose flour
1 tsp  Salt
1 tsp  Bicarbonate of soda
50g   Sugar
750ml  Buttermilk
250 ml  Milk
115g  Butter
4ea  Eggs
1 tbsp  Vanilla extract

Method

• Sift the dry ingredients together
• Combine the wet ingredients and add to the dry
• Mixture should be slightly lumpy
• Pour into hot frying pan, slightly oiled, 4” in diameter and cook until golden brown on both sides.

WAFFLE BATTER

Ingredients
500g  Soft flour
50g  Sugar
6ea  Whole eggs
750g  Milk
180g  Melted butter
180g  Egg whites
Pinch of salt

Method

• Combine flour, sugar, whole eggs, milk and butter
• Whip together the whites and the salt, and fold into the mixture
• Pour into hot waffle machine.

KEDGEREE

Ingredients
50g  Butter
3ea  Spring onions, chopped
2tsp  Curry powder
150g  Rice
125g  Smoked Trout, cut into cubes
100ml  Cream
150ml  Chicken stock
2ea  Eggs, hard boiled
Handful fresh parsley, chopped
Handful fresh chives, chopped

Method

• Melt butter in large saucepan and add spring onions, frying until soft
• Add curry powder and rice and stir well
• Add chicken stock and bring rice to boil. Cook for 5 minutes
• Before taking rice off the boil, add the haddock, cream and parsley
• Serve in a bowl, topped with sliced boiled egg and chopped chives.

PANNETONE WITH ORANGE SYRUP

This is a great way to use up the left over panettone from Christmas.
Serves 4 people.

4 large pieces Pannetone
200ml   Milk
3 Eggs
40g   Sugar
Pinch of cinnamon powder
Zest of 2 oranges

1. In a bowl whisk together eggs, sugar, cinnamon and orange zest. Step by step add the milk. Place in the fridge
2. Cut 3 large pieces of Pannetone and plunge them into the mixture. Toast them from both sides in a hot non-stick frying pan with a little vegetable oil until golden brown.

Orange Syrup

• 50ml   Maple syrup
• Segments and juice of 2 oranges

Bring to boil the maple syrup until reduced by half. Add the segments and the juice, return to boil and pour over the Pannetone and serve warm dusted with icing sugar.

By Jamie Jones
enquiries@yalburycottage.com
www.yalburycottage.com

The economic outlook for 2009 versus our unquenchable desire for an incredible winter break. Diametrically opposed, some might say? Well, not quite. It appears that holidays –particularly snowy ones – are one of the last pleasures we are willing to forego. This year it’s all about being a little more discerning in our choices – no longer are we content to simply hit the slopes by day; generic après ski by night. People are seeking out a new level of authenticity, packed with money can’t buy “extras” to guarantee a totally out of this world experience – whether that means spying on polar bears and fishing for salmon on the Alaska-Russia border, enjoying a hot spring bath with snow monkeys on a remote snowy mountain in Japan, or kite-surfing across the White Continent.

After much deliberation we have chosen the top 5 trips to experience ‘winter with a twist’:

Alaska snowmobile safari

Escape to the deep powder of Valdez for the ultimate in icy hibernation. Venturing out of your snugly old hunters’ lodge, you can spend your days carving virgin tracks through hundreds of miles of majestic scenery. Surrounded by a world of white broken only by the bluest skies and emerald green pines, the Final Frontier state is about as isolated as it gets. ‘What will I do?’ you ask somewhat nervously. With snow this deep, just imagine the exhilaration you’ll feel gunning across it on a revving snow-mobile. Just keep one eye out for the odd roaming moose, wolverine or caribou. You can also sled across the crushing ice with a team of mushing dogs, meet with the endangered Polar Bears of the Chukchi Population, fish for Winter King Salmon at breathtaking fjords, or for a truly wild Alaskan experience, we can even arrange a stay in an igloo for a night or two. And with any luck, come evening you’ll be treated to spectacular kaleidoscope of Northern Lights. Phenomenal.

Float down a Finnish river

A quirky alternative to drinking vodka and hunting Elk, river floating is an unusual way to spend a wintery Finnish afternoon. Fully equipped with water-tight floating suits, you’ll bob down a tree-lined river watching stunning scenery from a totally unique point of view. Don’t worry about the cold, you will be bundled up within your drysuit and the adventure will be finished off with a hot toddy and buffet lunch. Vuokatti, in Finland’s stunning area of Wild Taiga on the Finnish/Russian border is the perfect spot for a week’s winter activities. Try some husky sledding and a spot of ice fishing too before snuggling up in front a crackling fire in a cosy wooden lodge.

Snow Monkeys in Japan

Alpine views, deep powder and fabulous mountain scenery - welcome to Japan.  Slice through crisp, white snow, fortify yourself with sushi and wind down with a relaxing soak in hot springs in an area still relatively undiscovered by the western market. The village of Happo One in the Hakuba Valley not only puts you ahead of the crowd, but provides the perfect base from which to try snow rafting and trekking, or even hot air ballooning. One of our favourite ‘must sees’ is the native snow monkey population. There are some lovely hot springs in Jigokudani, just a couple of hours away, but be warned: you’ll wrestle for the best viewing spot with these cheeky monkeys who also enjoy a hotspring soak.

Moonlit mountains in Chamonix

Black Tomato will help you decamp to a secret Art Deco bolt-hold in the Alpine refuge of Chamonix where the ambience is sexy but snugly, and the “scene” comes to you. But it’s not all about lux lounges and sophisticated après ski – there are some wonderfully rustic delights too. In the evenings do après-ski the Black Tomato way: nip over to Italy to skidoo up a remote snowy slope and enjoy a hearty meal at a rustic mountain restaurant. Then, to top it off, we’ll send you off on a moonlit descent, complete with return lift back at to the lodge for a cocktail by the fire. During the day, adventure comes in the form of snow shoeing across forgotten forests and glaciers, ice-climbing up frozen waterfalls, or dog-sledging with the help of an eager team of huskies.

Channel the explorers of old in Antarctica

For an ice extravaganza that is well and truly out of this world, we have one word: Antarctica. Explore the desolate beauty of this white continent by rock-climbing up unchartered mountains, abseiling down huge ice cliffs and kite-surfing across windy climes. Channel the great polar explorers of times gone by at the “Scott Camp” which is an exact replica of the pyramid tents used by the man himself.

By Black Tomato
www.blacktomato.co.uk

If you have a fine wine collection in the UK, here are ten simple pointers for spoiling the value of your wines.

1. Pay the duty and VAT. Yes, if you pay the duty on your wine (and thereby you pay the VAT on the wine and the duty as well), you will have transferred the status of the wine from In Bond (IB) to Duty Paid (DP), and that makes it far less interesting to a collector or to the trade, who prefer their wines to be IB. Why? Because IB gives a sense of reassurance that the wine has been kept in a proper temperature-controlled bonded warehouse, away from light, movement, vibration or noise, away from intra-day temperature fluctuations. Typically, a DP fine wine will command a lower price, as much as 25%, than its IB equivalent.

2. Store it at home in your cellar. OK, you’ve paid the duty, now it’s time to store your wine in your own cellar. Is the cellar free of fresh air? Is the central heating boiler down there? Is the cellar bone dry? Or is there water running down the walls? All of these have the potential to reduce the value of your wine investment. Wine needs fresh air circulating around it, at a steady temperature. While it benefits from some humidity, the labels may become “foxed”, and that reduces the value. And if you store your cases on the cellar floor, or touching the walls, you are inviting the foxing process to take immediate effect (try storing the cases on a wooden palate, away from the walls, instead).

3. Store it at home, indoors. The kitchen is most effective at spoiling your wines, as is the attic, especially if it relatively unlagged. Imagine the wild intra-day temperature variations, almost guaranteed to spoil the wine. Under the stairs in total darkness is a bit better, but it’s still prone, albeit indirectly, to too much heat, from the weather in summer, from central heating in winter.

4. Break open the case. Just breaking the case open reduces the value of your fine wine (other than carefully lifting the lid for inspection purposes, and then replacing it exactly as it was). This is because collectors prefer to buy their wine “owc”, in its original wooden case. To buy 12 bottles owc commands a healthy premium over those same 12 bottles repacked in a cardboard case.

5. Don’t check the provenance (defined as “proof of authenticity or of past ownership; used of art works and antiques”), and you could easily end up buying wine that has been improperly kept - this can mean something as simple as wine stacked in a dockyard in the blazing heat of an Asian port for a few weeks. And auction houses, in spite of their apparently reassuring “Lying in Hampshire” or wherever, are frankly not that good at checking the provenance of wines, and when one is faced with their “caveat emptor” response to your complaint, one probably deserves better from their 15% - 20% commission.

6. Don’t check the label. I was recently given a candle in the shape of a wine bottle, complete with a fake Château Pétrus label, and I have had huge enjoyment watching my guests trying not to salivate having spotted the “bottle” on the sideboard before dinner. My point here is: there are fakes, better ones than my candle-bottle label (which at least has the decency to declare itself “Made in China”). The quickest way to lose the value of a wine investment is to buy carelessly.

7. Ignore the experts. Robert Parker, the doyen of wine critics, moves prices. Other wine critics can be influential too. If they re- rate a wine, up or down, prices quickly follow to reflect the new rating. Only the proud or the foolhardy ignore these experts.

8. Ignore portfolio risk. If you don’t watch the risk associated with your wine collection, you will probably see a deterioration in value. Mahesh Kumar, in his brilliant tome “Wine Investment for Portfolio Diversification” (published 2005 by The Wine Appreciation Guild) reminds us that the variance of portfolio returns can be written as being equal to (b2 pi * s2 i) + s2e p, and I think we disregard that simple truth at our peril.

9. Overpay. There are several boiler-house firms that sell fine wine at vastly inflated prices, relying on the relative opacity of the fine wine market to obscure the true price level. If you are in doubt as to whether your merchant is a charlatan, go to Jim Budd’s website at www.investdrinks.org . Jim is a journalist and campaigner against these sharp practices. Another way to avoid overpaying is to join www.liv-ex.com as a CellarWatch member: Liv-ex focuses light on this dark market, allowing the collector to make an informed decision.

10. Overtrade. While it’s true that fine wines have been going up in value, almost relentlessly, there is evidence that they are not immune to “these difficult times”; indeed, the Liv-ex 100 Index, the wine industry’s equivalent of the FT-SE 100, appears to have hit its high in June this year and may now be on the way down (or is it?). So buying now for investment could be a timely way to reduce the value of your portfolio. And don’t forget trading costs; unlike the tiny commissions charged by stockbrokers on share trading, the normal commission one has to pay for buying and selling fine wine is 12% and more. And don’t believe the “no commission” brokers - they take their reward by changing the price. So, to buy and sell a case of wine can involve expenses of around 25%, making a quick round-trip prohibitively expensive.

A happy ending. If you have read this far, you must be pretty determined to spoil the value of your wine collection. But don’t be gloomy: where there is despair, there is opportunity! And the opportunity here is for you to drink some of your reduced-value wines. Yes, drink them, savour them, enjoy them!

Nigel Johnson-Hill is chairman of Liv-ex, the fine wine exchange.

When it comes to hidden holiday gems, everyone around the dinner party table has one to offer – whether they hollowed out their own canoe and proceeded to float down the Zambezi in it or indulged in a weekend at a secret ‘absolutely no food’ retreat in Indonesia. But we’re almost into Autumn here and for those of us here at Black Tomato, there’s no better time to do luxury. Summer is over, winter is knocking on the door and it’s all about finding a gorgeous hideaway to escape to. With this in mind, we’ve used our cutting-edge travel expertise and dived under the skin of some of our new favourite places to bring you the hottest of the hot spots for Autumn 2008.

Damascus

Spicy, exotic and alluring: just how we like our lesser-visited Middle-Eastern cities. Damascus is reliably warm, tantalizingly mysterious and utterly hypnotic. In short – this is a place to go and get lost before the English chill sets in.

But lost in the good sense of the word. The labyrinthine cobbled streets of Damascus’ old town are alive at all hours of the day and night. Make your way past fortune tellers and brightly-clad performers, through bright foliage and ornately carved arches in search of delicious treats cooking on open charcoal fires, before wandering off in search of some of the world’s most impressive architecture. Wind down our way – with a bottle of wine, a roof terrace and the scent of spices floating in from the souks.

Northern Brazil

Now we love a bit of Rio as much as the next globetrotter and we’ve developed a strong liking for the laid back culture of Sao Paulo too – but Brazil is a big place, and for us, it’s all about undiscovered colonial towns, indigenous cuisine and gorgeous local beaches. The place to get it all? Salvador de Bahia.

The country’s first colonial capital, this is where the laid back pace of holidaying revolves around small chic guesthouses called pousadas and moves to the rhythm of capoeira. Top of the to-do list should be lazy seafood meals, a good bit of exploration, followed if possible by a real wind-down on the laid back island of Boipeba with a nice cool caipirinha in your hand.

Namibia

The autumn long weekend is all about inspiration – a brilliant and intense injection of it that you can remember on those darker mornings in November and make all your colleagues jealous with. Well, there’s only one place for it – the Skeleton Coast.

The extreme North-west of Namibia is one of the most unspoilt and untamed locations on earth, so much so that there’s not a hotel in sight. You’ll be staying in one of our luxury camps – think gorgeous tents, and a spectacular view with your morning cup of Earl Grey (the vast plains, towering sand dunes and endless salt pans are a sight to behold). Jump in a jeep with your guide at the wheel and head out in search of ghostly shipwrecks and big game. The weekend just got a whole lot better.

Transylvania

So you like unique? You want somewhere so totally astonishing and different that your friends will think you’re joking (or lying) when you tell them where you’ve spent the past week? Then Transylvania is right up your street.

Not just anywhere in Transylvania you understand. The Machine House, on a private estate at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains is really something special. Peaceful, rustic (in the very best sense of the word) and ambient, this gorgeous guesthouse will take you away from every possible reminder of city life. With its lake and mountain scenery, natural caves and castles, and some serious wilderness on the menu, our Transylvania is the best kept secret in travel.

Bhutan

If the countdown to the huge family Christmas has sent your teetering stress levels over the edge you’ve got two choices: you could curse the department stores for bringing woe upon you earlier every year or you could choose Bhutan. This magical kingdom is as remote and mystical as it gets – short of packing it all in and becoming a monk.

So don your walking togs and put some Himalayan air in your lungs. Trek through lush valleys, past sacred monasteries and museums, and through indigenous villages in search of some serenity. And if you don’t find it there, be sure to look in the spa of your stylish Aman hotel. Your new-found zen will last all the way through Christmas.

Mozambique

The feeling that you’ve discovered a new part of the world – you just can’t beat it. That’s why you need to go to Mozambique, and quick. That’s right, Mozambique is back and it’s hovering just below the travel radar. Believe us, you’ve never seen anything like it.

So rugged, so remote and so beautiful in fact, that we really are in awe. With stunning lodges popping up on eden-like islands in the north of the country and ancient cultures to explore on others, the options are endless. Kayak, dive, swim, take a wildlife safari or kick back on a private dhow or a deserted beach with your nearest and dearest. Some places really do have it all.

Tuscany

If ever there was a classic escape, Tuscany is it. And we’ll never give it up, because we know the perfect place, the little piece of Italian heaven that simply can’t be beat – Borgo Santo Pietro. Stylish and sophisticated with a Provençal aura and a twist of English country house charm, this is a place to do what you jolly well like.

Float in the infinity pool, sip a cocktail or challenge your lover (for this is lovers’ territory) to a laidback game of boules in the cherry meadow. Sound nice? Not as nice as dinner on the private balcony of your palatial, antique-filled suite overlooking the stunning Tuscan hills. A true gem.

Black Tomato is delighted to offer all Asquith clients an exclusive £200 discount on your next trip with Black Tomato.*

By Black Tomato
www.blacktomato.co.uk

* Terms & Conditions:
1. Clients must quote ‘Asquith 2008’ at time of initial enquiry.
2. Offer must be redeemed by 31st December 2008.
3. Minimum spend £2000.

Remember those hot summer days when you were a kid, going to the local fields with your family and picking (as well as eating) those wonderful strawberries, and your parents buying what seemed like thousands of them………Remember the wonderful taste of that berry as you picked it straight from the plant popping it in your mouth and tasting that amazing fresh yet slightly warm juice as it exploded in your mouth (yes my mouth is watering as well)……WELL WHY ON EARTH DO YOU NOT GIVE THAT  EXPERIENCE TO YOUR OWN CHILDREN!! The fields are still there; the strawberries are still as scrumptious as ever, or is it that it has all become to easy to pick them up from the shelves of a local supermarket?? Or is it that you just don’t have the time?? Well all I can say is make time because you are missing out on one of the best products this county produces and at the same time creating memories and passion for food for your kids!! There I said it…..I feel a whole lot better for getting that off my chest.

And if you do manage to get any of them home!!! Here are some ideas of what you can do with them.

• Strawberry jam
• Strawberry crumble
• Strawberry milk shake with vanilla ice cream
• Strawberries and thick clotted cream
• Strawberry flan
• Pop them into Pimms
• Serve them as a canapé with a nice cold glass of white wine, or Champagne, you can top them with a light cream cheese and crushed black pepper.
• Serve them in a salad with a little grated bitter chocolate.
• Slightly chill them and then pour hot white chocolate sauce over them
• Marinade them in sugar and a good splash of Amaretto
• When they get old make a puree out of them and freeze it.
• Freeze them and then make strawberry juice out of them
• Pick some elderflower and soak with the strawberries in a little sugar syrup.
• Have them for breakfast on your cereal.
• Crush them and mix them in your yoghurt
• Put some in your children’s lunch boxes.
• Glaze them with a Madeira sabayon for dessert
• Mix them with broken meringue and make Eton Mess
• IN FACT, HAVE THEM FOR BREAKFAST LUNCH AND DINNER AND ENJOY THEM WHILE THEY ARE IN SEASON, AND THEN START LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT YEAR AND DREAM OF WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO CREATE WITH THEM.

If you are at a loss and need a recipe then feel free to email at enquiries@yalburycottage.com

Best of British in season this month!!!
Here’s “What to buy and not to buy” in June.
.
If you want great seasonal produce then buy your vegetables, fruit, meat, fish and dairy from a local farmers’ market, then you know it is fresh and in season! Yes, it may cost a few pennies more, but trust me; the end result is worth every pound.

Vegetables and fruit
Jersey Royals, asparagus, broad beans, peas, green beans, fennel, sorrel, salad leaves are coming good.

As for fruit, well you really are spoilt for choice…….Of course Strawberries, gooseberries, cherries, as well as all the other summer berries towards the end of the month depending on the good old blighty weather.

Meat
The spring lambs will be coming good this month, ask your butcher and order some.

Fish
Haddock, Dory as well as crab and lobster should start to come down in price fantastic if you are doing a posh nosh BBQ.

Dairy
Clotted cream is a must………
HAPPY JUNE!!!!

JAMIE

Ingredients: Serves 4

4 x  Rump of Lamb

8 x  pieces of garlic
50g  Broad beans podded, blanched and skinned
50g  Tomato, blanched, peeled seeded and fine diced
20g  Fine diced shallot

500g  Jerusalem artichoke
20ml  Double cream
1 tablespn Butter
1 pinch  Chopped tarragon
1 pinch  Chopped mint

20ml  Rapeseed oil
50ml  Lamb red wine sauce

 Method:

• Place the pieces of garlic unpeeled into a small pan, cover with rapeseed oil and roast in the oven  for 15 minutes  175degree F. Leave to cool and then gently peel. Add to a little red wine sauce and leave to infuse.
• Wash and peel the artichokes and cut into small pieces. Add the artichokes into a saucepan and cover with water and bring to boil with a pinch of salt. Once boiling, turn down the heat and simmer for a further 10 minutes or until cooked and soft to the touch. Once cooked remove from heat and add cream and butter and blitz with a hand blender for a few seconds until smooth. Correct the seasoning
• Heat a none stick frying pan, add 2 table spoons of rapeseed oil and heat. Season the rumps of lamb and add with fat side down into the hot rapeseed oil and cook for 2 minutes until golden colour. Turn the lamb and seal the other side for a further 2 minutes. Place the rump of lamb on an oven tray and cook in a hot oven 200degree F. for 6 minutes. Remove from oven and leave in a warm place to rest for 4 minutes
• Heat a small pan and ad two tablespoons of rapeseed oil, when hot add the fine diced shallots and cook for a few seconds without colour. Add a tea spoon of butter and add the blanch and podded broad beans and cook a few seconds more. The tomato dice is added at the last minute, with a pinch of tarragon and mint.
• Heat the red wine sauce with the roasted garlic.
• Heat the artichoke puree and place a large spoon of the puree in the center of the plate.  
• Spoon the broad beans ad tomatoes around the outside of the artichoke puree.
• Slice the rumps of lamb into about four slices and place on top of the artichoke puree.
• Spoon around a little of the red wine sauce and give two pieces of garlic per person.

You can serve boiled new potatoes family style in the center of the table with a big knob of fresh Dorset butter and sprinkle with chopped mint.

For the sauce, ask your local restaurant that you use often if they will sell you a little cup of red wine sauce each time you visit.

Last month’s art auction results made headlines around the world. Francis Bacon’s ‘Triptych’ (pictured) achieved the highest ever price for a work by the artist, with Lucien Freud’s ‘Benefits Supervisor Sleeping’ breaking the record for a living artist.

The press has made much of the art market’s resilience to the credit crunch; a number of recent sales in the wine market have also seen records tumble and similar conclusions drawn.  As the Evening Standard reported last month, there is an increasing number of investors who have ‘gone liquid’ and are now looking to put their money in new areas: ‘This group of entrepreneurs, hedge fund operators, private equity players and the occasional celebrity are driving up prices in alternative asset classes. So traditional investments such as equities and property stall or wilt altogether but values in other areas such as art, jewellery and wine keep on climbing.’ And that’s not to mention the number of billionaires who simply want the best art on their walls and the finest wines on their table (it has been suggested that the buyer of the Bacon and Freud was none other than Roman Abramovich).

However, a number of respected titles – such as The Economist and the International Herald Tribune – have suggested that beneath the headlines the art market is showing some significant signs of weakness, particularly at the lower levels of the market. James Suckling of the Wine Spectator has also commented on the matter on his blog.

So where art goes, does wine follow? Despite a gentle slowdown since last summer we are yet to see this move into a recognisable reverse and prices on the Liv-ex fine wine exchange have remained strong at all price levels. There is also no evidence that the art market is closely correlated with that of fine wine.

What this does highlight, however, is that those wishing to invest in wine should stick to the basics – which is to buy the better wines from the better vintages – if they wish to reduce their risks. That means wines with a strong track record of aging potential and an active secondary market - basically limiting you to the better wines of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne and perhaps Italy (although that still gives you a lot of wines to choose from). 

Beyond the broader outlook there is one other connection between the recent art auction results and the fine wine market. Bacon’s ‘Triptych’ was sold by the Moueix Family, owners of Bordeaux’s Château Petrus and California’s Dominus as well as a host of other vinous jewels. It is unclear if Abramovich buys wine from them as well …

Nigel Johnson-Hill is chairman of Liv-ex.com, the fine wine exchange. He is also chairman of The Vintry Wine Co Ltd. He is an avid wine collector with a broad but “imperfectly balanced” range of wines. Details of the Liv-ex Fantasy Cellar are available on www.liv-ex.com

Later this month, I am jetting off to Shanghai to speak at The Asian Luxury Travel Market. It’s one of three annual international events, bringing together the movers & shakers from the industry.

Travel is being hit hard by the current financial crisis. In the past few months, all the UK-based business-class only airlines – Eos, Maxjet and Silverjet have gone to the wall as has the budget Hong Kong carrier Oasis. High fuel prices have had a huge impact on these airlines but also lack of aircraft and the use of regional airports have not helped the cause. There are rumours that one of the above will be back in our skies soon but for how long is anyone’s guess. British Airways has recently announced a London City Airport to New York route – business class only. A smart move!

The private jet sector (excuse the pun) is soaring. More and more City firms and indeed individuals are chartering jets for business and leisure. The cost of hiring your own private aircraft is falling – despite the fuel prices – as competition in that sector has hotted up. The major airlines make their money from selling business & first class seats and they are starting to suffer. Their inability to understand the basics of service has also tipped the scales against them.

It’s been a tumultuous year so far in Asia. Putting the financial woes aside, the huge cyclone in Myanmar, the major earthquake in China, two earthquakes in Sumatra which rocked Indonesia and Malaysia and finally a strong typhoon which destroyed many towns in north Philippines has devastated vast areas of land and killed many, many people.

Cynics have questioned why Shanghai is actually hosting an event celebrating travel and worse luxury. “Travel” is the world’s biggest employer … if people stopped travelling, then millions, if not billions of ordinary people would suffer.
Only 5% of people travel in luxury (business class flights and above, 5-Star hotels & resorts) but it generates over 20% of the revenue for the whole industry.

So with a very strong Euro, weaker Pound, very weak US dollar and a malaise in the world’s financial markets, what are the travelling trends for 2008?
The US is not enjoying an influx of UK visitors … the UK is not enjoying an influx of European
… or any foreign visitors (something to do with a football tournament & the Olympics) and Europe … well, is getting no-one!

The reality is that this year, people are staying at home … where their expenditure is controlled and the perception to their bosses is that they cannot afford outrageous foreign holidays!
Anyone reading this in the UK will know that holidaying in any of the home countries is actually SO much more expensive than travelling abroad!

Last week I was invited by Turnberry Resort in Scotland to a golf day at Stoke Park Club in Buckinghamshire. The host of the day was Colin Montgomerie who puts his name to the Links Course Academy at Turnberry. While the day was brilliant, I played some shocking golf … but amazingly and unexpectedly did beat the Pro (Colin!) on the 7th Par-3 hole.

Turnberry will host the 2009 British Open and features a Starwood-managed luxury hotel, lodges, cottages and of course golf courses (www.turnberry.co.uk/).

Last year, I filmed on the Old Course at St Andrews. After landing at Dundee Airport (an easy 90 minute flight from London City Airport) I was shuttled to the legendary Old Course Hotel St Andrews (www.oldcoursehotel.kohler.com) - just a 15-minute journey by road. 

The Old Course Hotel is the only place to stay in the historic Scottish seaside town.  It was built in 1968 and was totally refurbished by Kohler Corporation in 2004 and now features 144 rooms including 135 suites. The suites are designed by famed Jacques Garcia – he of Hotel Costes in Paris.

There are several restaurants including the Road Hole Grill and Sands. But the jigger built over 150 years ago is a favourite for tourists and hotel guests alike.  The Kohler spa is one of the best spas I have seen in Europe with crystal steam rooms and light therapy saunas, indoor heated swimming pool and an icy plunge pool.

Here in England there are a couple of places to “stay and play” – Stoke Park Club  - where parts of Goldfinger & Layer Cake were filmed (www.stokeparkclub.com) and The Grove in Hertfordshire.
The Grove Golf Resort Hotel is just a 40 minute drive North West of Central London. It nestles in 300 acres of rolling countryside. The estate is dominated by the mansion which once housed the Earls of Clarendon and which houses the most spacious and unique guestrooms in the resort. In total there are a total of 227 rooms & suites.

The Grove (www.thegrove.co.uk)  opened in 2003 and is commonly known as Groovy Grand. The resort houses a particularly impressive art collection throughout including works by Volker Kühn .

The Sequoia Spa is superb … and has an adult only indoor swimming pool … a peaceful escape from what is a family-friendly resort. The golf course is magnificent and has played host to the American Express WGC … good enough for Tiger … good enough for me!

“Inside Luxury Travel with Varun Sharma” and “Inside Luxury Travel: The Finest Collection” airs every day on The Travel Channel and on Saturday on CNBC Europe.

Sister company Inside Luxury Travel Clubs looks after your travel needs – business & leisure. Contact Emma on 020 7976 6010 or emma@insideluxurytravel.com

Yes, love it or hate it, it is rhubarb season or should I say rhubarb crumble season!!!

Rhubarb is actually from the vegetable family and not fruit. It goes wonderfully with pork and can be eaten raw with salad. It also marries very well with fish and foie gras!!

So, if like me, you love rhubarb, on Sunday afternoon, do yourself a favour and make one of these recipes, open a nice bottle of cold Klippenkop Chenin Blanc or a good Riesling which goes amazing with any of these dishes, and indulge in Rhubarb………I promise you will feel all the better for it.

View Rhubard Recipes…

Best of British in season this month!!!
Here’s “What to buy and not to buy” in April.

This really is a wonderful month as we are seeing “out with the old and in with the new”. For us seasonal chefs it is a real exciting change as we can completely change our menus and get rid of that cold feeling of winter.

If you want great seasonal produce then buy your vegetables, fruit, meat, fish and dairy from a local farmers market, then you know it is fresh and in season! Yes, it may cost a few pennies more, but trust me; the end result is worth every pound.

Vegetables
Spring greens, carrots, leeks, purple sprouting, spring onions, cauliflower, spinach (Early), Swiss chard, and we should see the first New Jersey Royal potatoes.
Winter root vegetables are looking sorry this month and not the best quality, so don’t buy them as you have plenty of choice.

As I have said above, we hit the height of the rhubarb season.

Fish
Mackerel, Halibut, and bass are still good value. Wild Salmon and sea trout as well as salmon trout are great.

First crabs, lobster and shrimps will be around though maybe a little pricey…

Stay away from all flat fish this month as they are still spawning and you will be paying for a lot of weight with roes.

Dairy
Goat cheese is at it’s best this month and should be on all your tables at some time this month.

Wine of the month
2006 Grüner Veltliner Kamptal, Weingut Jurtschitsch, Austria
Purity of fruit is the order of the day in this stylish, clean and peppery, mineral tinged white that is quite unlike anything you may have tried before.  This is our ‘food wine of choice’ for the spring menu.
HAPPY APRIL!!!!

JAMIE
Contact us Jamie and Ariane Jones
Tel: 01305 262 382
enquiries@yalburycottage.com
www.yalburycottage.com
Five AA Stars for Guest Accommodation
Two AA Rosettes for Culinary Excellence
AA Dining Award
Hampshire’s Farmer Market Chef of the Year 2007
Recommended by The Good Hotel Guide 2008
‘Rural Idyll of the Year’ (2008 Good Hotel Guide César Awards)

When you buy a bottle of wine, are you aware of exactly what you are paying for? Apart from all the ancillary costs, how much actual wine do you get for your money? The answer may come as something of a surprise.

If you are buying, say, a French wine in the UK, in addition to the wine and its container, you are also paying for it to get from France to this country, where, on arrival, it is burdened with government duty and VAT, and, of course, the merchant’s profit margin has to be added on.

So, how much do you have to pay for a bottle of wine before the price paid reflects more wine than all the other charges? Prepare for another shock!

The chart illustrates the cost structure of some bottles of wine from different price brackets. Let’s start with a bottle of wine retailing at £4.95: it has only 50p of wine in the price. The other £4.45 is made up as follows:

42p is the cost of the bottle, its cork and capsule (the bit that covers the cork), and the label. 25p is the freight charge for getting the wine over from France to the UK, plus insurance. Delivery costs within Britain are the bane of many businesses (they have doubled in the last four years) and our estimate of 20p is conservative. The merchants (there are often more than one in the chain) take a typical ex-VAT total mark-up of 33%. Before you hyperventilate, remember that that translates into a margin of 25% (the wine world is littered with the graves of merchants who confused mark-up with margin).

Then comes the big Godzilla grab: the Treasury, through Revenue & Customs, takes a massive flat-rate £1.46 per bottle in excise duty (it’s 41p more for sparkling wine – where’s the logic for that?!), and a further VAT charge of 17.5% on all of the above. So a £4.95 bottle of wine contains only 10% of its retail price in actual wine. The rest is costs, profits and tax.

Now move upscale and you see that an £8 bottle of wine nets you 25% of wine. An £11 bottle of wine contains 33% in wine by value, while you can assume that a bottle costing £16 is rewarding you with 40% in wine. The tipping point comes at a hefty retail price of £41. Pay more than that and the chances are that you are beating the odds: you are getting more wine for your money than all the other costs and charges put together.

The reason for this curious value curve is that while merchants’ charges and VAT are calculated ad-valorem (as a percentage of value), the other costs are flat-rate. Excise duty is the same on a £1,000 bottle of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild as it is on a £3.99 bottle of Domaine de Plonk.

You don’t have to pay the full UK price: a booze-cruise to Calais will save you about 20% on UK prices, taking into account the costs of travel and hiring a van (it’s hardly worth the bother just for a car-boot’s worth!). Otherwise take comfort in the fact that the more you pay for your wine in the UK, proportionately the more wine, and the less in taxes and costs, you are getting for your money.

Nigel Johnson-Hill
The Vintry Wine Co Ltd
Park Farm
Milland
Liphook
Hampshire
GU30 7JT

Tel 01428 741165
Email nigel@vintry.co.uk
www.vintry.co.uk