A review of Comptoir Libanais in South Kensington
Tony Kitous is a rising star in the restaurant world. He began with three restaurants named Levant, Pasha and Kenza and more recently set up Comptoir Libanais....
As Jack Monroe speaks at a fringe meeting at the Conservative Party conference, she continues to rant and again makes an utter fool of herself
Is there anything that “food-and-politics-gob” Jack Monroe can do gracefully?...
As ‘Downton Abbey’ returns tonight, we raise a glass to its official unofficial drinking game
Downton Abbey, a show that many have mixed views about, returns tonight. The nation will no doubt be gripped and...
Tesco place a “Back to School” banner above an alcohol display in Swansea
Shoppers at Tesco in Fforestfach, Wales were controversially confronted by a display of gin, vodka and whisky complete with a “Back to...
A review of L’Art du Fromage: paradise for cheese lovers
With the autumn upon us and winter drawing ever closer, many have started to think about the mountains and skiing. On Facebook this week, I...
An image of John Kerry dining with Bashar al-Assad in February 2009 surfaces
John Kerry is a man who should be more careful about who he gets snapped with. As Chamberlain learnt to his peril...
Creating a meal for 30p whilst helping to eliminate food waste
On the blog that preceded ‘The Steeple Times’, Matthew Steeples wrote this article in December 2011. We republish it here given the response we’ve...
Chef Jamie Oliver thanks The Steeple Times copying in his 3 million Twitter followers
After the firestorm of comments today about this morning’s feature on Jamie Oliver’s remarks about food poverty and an article by...
Jamie Oliver is right in his comments about the food choices of the poor
Jamie Oliver made some comments about food poverty in recent days. Naturally, the left wing sorts jumped on his being worth...
20 questions with Xero Vodka founder William Seth-Smith
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
I try never to turn down adventure for the sake of easy apathy.
“Don't get even, get medieval”...
Despite “Dragons’ Den” deal between Peter Jones and “Texas Joe” Walters falling apart, Texas Joe’s still does deal with Sainsbury’s
Last week on the BBC series Dragons’ Den, an unusual thing happened: a self-styled ‘dragon’...
Matthew Steeples suggests TripAdvisor needs to reform its ways
I’ve written about the ‘Trippies’ (those who write reviews on TripAdvisor) before and just like the ‘Groupies’ (voucher loving Groupon users), I’ve had direct experience of...
Has booze baron Vijay Mallya met his match?
The Indian tycoon and self-proclaimed “King of Good Times” Vijay Mallya has long been lauded as a mammoth success story but finally, as he faces potential prosecution...
Steffen Timm takes a tour of Stockholm’s best haunts for cigar lovers
Stockholm is regarded as one of the most beautiful capitals in the world. In fact, there is something magical about it, in particularly...
Diners flock to ‘The Throttler’s Table’ at Scott’s
Last week The Sun revealed that Scott’s in Mayfair has been “inundated with requests” for the table where Charles Saatchi (allegedly) throttled Nigella Lawson.
A source told the...
20 questions with Marcus Schelbert, food and beverage duty manager of Belgraves - A Thompson Hotel
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
My friends, my family and my passion for my...
Jessica Naylor reviews eShisha’s range of sisha sticks
‘Shisha Pens’ are taking London by storm. With no nicotine, tar or tobacco, these 100% water vapour based ‘shisha sticks’ have fast become this summer’s most sought...
20 questions with businessman, restaurateur and philanthropist Derek Taylor
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
Never give up on your dreams.
“Don't get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a...
A review of Covent Garden’s Loch Fyne Restaurant
In May 2004, the car park of the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar at Clachan in Argyll, Scotland became famous after Gordon Brown and John Prescott met there...
20 questions with chocolatier Amelia Rope
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
Drive and determination.
“Don't get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
Keep it simple,...
Matthew Steeples answers food writer Jamie Cotter-Craig’s questions
I’m used to asking questions. So far, I’ve done over a hundred “What’s on your mantelpiece?” interviews with people ranging from champion jockey Frankie Dettori to hedge...
The brass of Chelsea
Though the characters of Chelsea are changing, the murky world beneath its privileged surface will never disappear.
This morning I met with a friend in what I thought was a perfectly respectable...
Charles Saatchi returns to the scene of the ‘throttling’
Charles Saatchi has been dining out a lot lately. With his ‘domestic goddess’ wife holed up in her sister’s flat in Mayfair, the art mogul put...
A review of the Co-operative’s own brand Valpolicella 2011 wine by history student Fred Sculthorp
To purchase a wine is to engage in the very drama of winemaking. It is to queue in anticipation, to...
A review of Gilpin’s Gin and a call to save juniper
This week it was reported that there’s a crisis in the world of gin. Juniper, the plant that provides the botanical essential to create...
A review of Rosa’s Thai Café in Dean Street, Soho
Soho isn’t my natural haunt. I frankly find it gritty and grimy and at night it’s impossible to get a cab back to my homeland,...
Another cocktail for Julian Assange
Yesterday, we suggested five of the best things that could be sent to cheer up Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who “celebrates” a year of costing the taxpayer some £4 million...
A floral afternoon tea at the InterContinental London Westminster
“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me” the novelist C. S. Lewis is reported as...
Matthew Steeples of ‘The Steeple Times’ joins the judging panel of the No. 3 London Dry Gin 2013 competition
Last week, I was invited to sit on a panel that many of my friends would...
The Steeple Times asks Matthew Gilpin, the creator of Gilpin’s Gin: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
Creativity: The only thing that endures.
“Don't get even, get medieval”...
The Steeple Times asks The Palm’s barman Fillipe Ricchi: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
“Happiness and success”.
“Don't get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion,...
London restaurants where diners got more than they bargained for
In the first in a series, we tell the stories of five restaurants in Central London where diners sadly got a little more than dinner....
