You may not have heard of Will Lander by name, but you will most certainly know of his brilliant must-visit London restaurants. Together with Daniel Morgenthau, Will owns and runs Woodhead Restaurant Group, made up of renowned restaurants Clipstone, Portland, The Quality Chop House, and most recently, Emilia, which opened its doors in June this year.
Each of the restaurants represent a true success in their own right: Portland boasts a Michelin Star from 2015, Clipstone won GQ's Restaurant of the Year in 2017 and The Quality Chop House is about to release its long-anticipated cookbook (you can find this here - definitely featuring on our Christmas list this year!).
We can only expect the same accolades to come Emilia's way in the future. We can't wait for you to try it out for yourselves!
But in the meantime, over to Will...
At home my favourite treat is a bottle of Malt Coast Ale
What's the one ingredient you couldn't possibly live without?Chocolate
Where is London's Best Kept Secret?Bodega Rita's in Coal Drop Yard
Where would we find you outside of London?Pompette in Oxford, please
You've just woken up: tea or coffee?Ginger Tea
Where do you start your Christmas shopping?Argos Liberty
What's the best gift you've ever received?A ginger mincer (see above!)
Stemmed or Stemless?Stemmed. Old school is the best school.
Richard loves sourcing antique saucers - what do you collect?Copies of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and Manchester United magazines from the 1990s
What's your favourite Richard Brendon Collection?I think I have to say the JR glass! (side note: Jancis is his mother, so probably not that unlikely!) but I also really like the Reflect Collection
Portland The tasting menu with drinks pairing, obviously!
Clipstone Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes, Cornish Cod and the Blackcurrant Tart
The Quality Chop House Any of the seasonal game
Emilia Aubergine Fritti and Scallops, followed by the Spinach Ravioli. To be accompanied by the "Auction List" of wine.
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Do you need a different glass for different wines? Can you drink red wine with fish or white with meat? Is it true that only red wine needs decanting? What is the proper way to taste wine in a restaurant?
Who better to ask these questions to than world-renowned wine critic and our good friend, Jancis Robinson. During Jancis' World Atlas of Wine tour in the US earlier this year, she and Richard popped into Food52 to bust some of the biggest wine myths around.
With Christmas now less than a month away, we can't help but start to think about what is going to feature on our Christmas cheese board this year. Better yet, which wines are we going to match them with?
We could think of anyone better than Wine Expert, Writer and Presenter of the Wine Show Joe Fattorini to recommend his cheese and wine pairings for a foolproof Christmas lunch. Like Joe, we will of course be using the "One Glass for Every Wine" Jancis Robinson wine glass, which comes in handy in such situations as we'll be tasting whites, reds and sweet wines!