Every once a while, we need an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. There is only so much rat-race restaurant dining one can stand. A long walk on a deserted beach, wind in your hair, fresh sea breeze in your lungs, with a nice pint in a cosy pub to finish – your 9 to 5 toils are soon a distant memory. If all this escapism culminated in a hyper-seasonal, ridiculously reasonable Michelin-starred meal, with warm welcome and good cheer to boot, you’d probably say it was too good to be true. But at Whitstable’s The Sportsman, all of this is yours.

THE IDEA

Self-taught chef Stephen Harris is at the helm of this self proclaimed ‘grotty little pub by the sea’, and from the outside, it’s hard to tell that this place is a favourite of chefs from across the globe. Upon entering, the blackboard menus, light wood furnishings and the pub’s original bar do little to suggest the culinary delight which follows.

The restaurant relies firmly on the land and sea surrounding the pub, and the bounty available here, from the Thames estuary, salt marshes and of course, the ocean, is of pristine quality and freshness. Most of the ingredients are actually visible from the pub itself. The chef even makes his own salt from evaporating the nearby North Sea’s water.

ATMOSPHERE

The atmosphere of a small pub by the sea has not been compromised, much to the Sportsman’s credit. Former regulars still frequent the bar area, and the booze prices and generous welcome are a reflection of this. Service is delivered with grace, knowledge AND a smile – nothing feels stuffy or pretentious here.

FOOD

The plates here are seafood heavy due to its location and ethos of only using hyper-local produce. Vegetables are grown nearby and lamb is reared minutes from the restaurant. The results are simple but spectacular. Why cook with anything but simplicity when the raw materials are this darn good? Food is presented elegantly and with little in the way of frills – most dishes rely on only a few ingredients that work in perfect harmony with each other. A la carte options, a 5 course tasting menu or longer version give the diner choice to suit their occasion and appetite.

MUST TRY

It’s impossible to mention only one dish. Oysters are super fresh and served raw with only a respectively thought-out dressing to complement – just the way they should be and all the more stunning for it. Fantastically just baked bread, served in a variety of options, with home churned butter and homemade salt, give a great rendition of the mindset of the place – the rosemary focaccia is glorious. Slipsole with seaweed butter has gained a cult following online and beyond and it’s easy to see why – a pristine, fresh fish, cooked on the bone with butter made with seaweed picked from the coast – its clarity is to be vaunted. Desserts should not be overlooked either, particularly their seasonal fruit souffles.

DRINK

If coming from London, prepare to be pleasantly surprised. There are a host of bottles clocking in at under 20 pounds, pints linger around 3 and the selection and variety of both is excellent.

WHY GO

Some restaurants have jumped on the ‘local and seasonal’ bandwagon whilst still serving fish from The Pacific and strawberries in winter. The Sportsman’s kitchen, however, cooks with utter integrity and respect for its ingredients, stemming from knowledge of the area and a relationship with its community that goes way beyond what is usually expected of a place. This is real ‘time and place’ cooking which provides a meal of real refinement and class. It makes you yearn for a slower pace to life and a simpler approach to cooking.

Address: Faversham Rd, Seasalter, Whitstable CT5 4BP

Website: thesportsmanseasalter.co.uk

Images thanks to Philip Harris

In celebration of British Sandwich Week (14-20 May 2017) Head Chef Gary Durrant at The Arch London has shared his top tips on how to create the perfect sandwich.

Gary Durrant is the sandwich aficionado behind The Arch London’s signature Club Sandwich, as well as the sensational sandwiches on the Royal Afternoon Tea.  These are both served with the Gary’s unique homemade crisps seasoned with salt, sage and peppercorn – delicious!

Making the same sandwiches for lunch each day can become dull. So if your cheese and pickle sandwiches are starting to go stale then these tips are guaranteed to help you improve your lunchtime routine.

Add some flavour

You can make your sandwich really stand out with just one extra ingredient. Try adding fresh herbs, a sliced hard-boiled egg or make your own quick pickles – cucumber, vinegar, oil, brown sugar, salt and pepper.

Choose your bread wisely

The bread is the most important part of the whole sandwich. If you want to add very moist fillings then it is best to go for dry and dense bread or try flour tortillas. These will keep the ingredients fresh and moisture just right.

Add some moisture

For the right amount of moisture add your spread to both sides of the bread, this will also help lock in the flavour. Spread to every edge of the slice of bread to create a seal for the fillings.  Use butter, mayo, mustard, cream cheese or experiment with pesto, jam, chutney or salsa.

Avoid a soggy sandwich

If you are adding lettuce to your sandwich, first dry it with kitchen roll to prevent the bread from getting soggy. Also place the lettuce at the top of the sandwich so that it remains crispy.  Do not put wet ingredients directly on the bread, layer them with dry items. For a basic sandwich example, add your fillings in this order – lettuce, tomato, meat (or alterative filling) then cheese.

Time for seasoning

Salt, pepper and spices can change a whole sandwich, so experiment! Add a pinch of salt to your vegetables before adding them to the sandwich for that extra flavour. Adding too much dressing to the salad in your sandwich can also make it soggy so season it lightly.

Italian dining in London has experienced an upsurge in quality recently with a number of high-end, high-quality, Michelin endorsed places opening in the last decade. In all the excitement, the humble bowl of pasta, lightly adorned with enough sauce to compliment, rather than drown it, has been somewhat left behind. Enter Padella.

These clever people saw a gap in the market for real quality, housemade pasta and did something about it. There really is nothing more emblematic of Italian cuisine than their celebration of the best and freshest ingredients, modestly done and with elegance – we love it.

Idea

It’s amazing that an idea of this clarity hasn’t been done more often, especially in a city constantly in search of a quick, cheap bite. Padella is a ‘pasta bar’, with a no reservations policy (see long queue), a whole load of bar seating and buzz. Bowls of amazing pasta are served fast and fresh, so the turnaround is quick – what looks an intimidating queue moves briskly. This hustle and bustle could overwhelm an establishment doing complicated multi-ingredient plates, but Padella is always efficient and delicious, as dishes rely on utter faith in a few well chosen ingredients. With restraint at the heart of the operation, the menu is brief and focused, with just a handful of pasta dishes and a little bread to mop up every last morsel of sauce. That’s it – no frills, in and out with speed – the perfect pitstop for the busy Londoner.

Location

Located opposite London Bridge and next to Borough Market, if you’re stepping out of the tube station you’ll see it immediately, probably because of the heaving queue snaking around the block.

Atmosphere

There is a buzz from both the clientele and the open kitchen which create a really convivial mood. You feel equally at home having a rowdy conversation and clinking glasses as you do gawping at just how much fresh pasta these chefs get through.

Food

The food, and especially the pasta itself, is the star of the show here – don’t let the simplicity fool you into thinking otherwise. Beautifully fresh, firm pasta is served in a number of styles, from pappardelle to ravioli, always with an emphasis on modest saucing or dressing to bring the best out of the pasta itself. Prices rarely go above a tenner and most linger nearer the five pound mark – which is a steal in central London so ridiculous that we are half reluctant to scream about it so enthusiastically.

Drinks

The drinks list is short, to the point and reasonable. A couple of very drinkable craft beers and ales on tap, and a choice of 6 wines by glass or bottle, suit the whole ethos of the restaurant perfectly.

Must Try

A lot of visitors here are drawn to the 8 hour braised beef shin over papperdelle, but the number one dish without question is their pici cacio and pepe. It seems to capture everything that Padella is about in one mouthful. The sauce uses quality parmesan, butter and black pepper. That’s it. The incredible pici pasta itself, wormlike in appearance, has the bite of al dente that every good pasta should, but also bounce owing to its thickness. It is more-ishness made from flour and water – this pasta doesn’t even contain eggs. The very essence of the restaurant, the clarity and honesty, is personified in one bite of this dish.

Why Go

A middle finger to London prices, a swatting away of London restaurant pretensions, Padella does the best bowls of pasta in the capital, in a room that exudes generosity and geniality, and remains very true to the soul of great Italian cooking.

Address:  Borough Market, 6 Southwark St, London SE1 1TQ

Opening Hours:  Monday to Saturday 12-4pm & 5-10pm. Sunday12-5pm

Website: www.padella.co

We’ve all been there; whether during a party or a cosy night in – the dreaded red wine stain when even a small spill can look disastrous.

However, it needn’t ruin your night as BISSELL, the experts in carpet cleaning, has shared its top tips when it comes to removing red wine. Just remember to act fast, as the longer the wine is left to set into your carpet the harder it can be to tackle.

ONE

Mix one-quarter teaspoon of washing-up liquid with four cups of lukewarm water. Work the solution into the stain with a gentle blotting motion. Then use clean water and a new cloth to remove the rest of the stain.

TWO

Products such as the BISSELL Oxy Stain Destroyer targets the source of stains working hard to shift, lift and permanently remove them from carpets in as quickly as 30 seconds.

THREE

Vinegar, the old kitchen cupboard favourite, can come in very useful too. Mix 1 tablespoon of washing-up liquid, 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar and 2 cups of warm water. Blot the stain using a cloth and the solution, then use a new rag dipped in water directly onto the stain to soak up the wine.

FOUR

FIVE

Red wines slightly lighter cousin can also come in handy when it comes to accidents. Pour a little white wine onto the stain and blot with a cloth to work it in. Applying baking soda too helps loosen-up the stain whilst the white wine works its magic.