The Luxe Chronicles

Gastronomy: Bistrot Bruno Loubet Deserves Its Buzz!

After hearing all the buzz, I finally got around to trying Bistrot Bruno Loubet this past weekend. Opened roughly five months ago, the restaurant is located in The Zetter, a Clerkenwell-based boutique hotel on St John's Square, a very pretty classical square in an otherwise gritty part of London. It serves what I would describe as updated classic French bistrot food and it does so rather well.

Only Those In Search of Extreme Gastronomical Thrills Need Apply

French champagne house G.H. Mumm is launching an online photography competition to select participants for its next Mumm Explorer Experience, a series of gastronomic dinners organized in "unexpected" locations (a drifting iceberg in the middle of Sermilik Fjord (Greenland), a sandbar in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef, etc.). To get a chance to win a place for the next installment in the series, G.H. Mumm is appealing to your creativity and photographic skills.

Gastronomy: The Impact of Environmental Disasters on Local Cuisine

When one hears of terrible events such as the BP oil spill off the coast of Louisiana, what immediately comes to mind is the loss of wildlife, the long term environmental consequences and the loss of employment for the inhabitants of the region. Few stop to think about the more subtle impact on local culture of which cuisine is an important part, especially in a city like New Orleans which has a long, distinguished culinary history.

Design & Gastronomy: A Marriage Made in Heaven?

I rather like the pairing of haute gastronomy and design. There is a certain natural synergy born of the common search for creativity and perfection that can yield some rather interesting results. It was on display for instance with French interior architect and designer Patrick Jouin's ergonometric champagne bucket for G.H. Mumm and it's on display again with the Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance designed tasting table for Perrier-Jouët.

Luxury: Patrick Jouin for G.H. Mumm

When it comes to gastronomy and l'art de table, my tastes tend to run towards the more conventional. So when I received a bottle of Mumm's champagne and the new champagne bucket commissioned by them from French interior architect and designer Patrick Jouin to try out, I was skeptical of its appeal. I say this with all due respect to Mr. Jouin - I've long admired his design work (most notably the Van Cleef & Arpels' flagship boutique on Paris' Place Vendome and Alain Ducasse's outpost at the Dorchester Hotel in London). And it's not that I don't appreciate cutting edge design - it's just that where champagne is concerned, I have a particular affection for a traditional silver bucket (preferably one with a few dents and a bit of wear & tear as testament to celebrations past).

Perrier-Jouët: Marketing Gastronomy in the Era of Web 2.0

It says a lot about how far luxury marketing has come in a relatively short amount of time that even historic champagne houses now feel the need to enlist a spokesmodel or muse to help sell their wares. It wasn't that long ago that most champagne brands were content with the usual sleek, airbrushed image conveying refinement and sophistication. Now champagne houses such as Moët & Chandon have Scarlett Johansson gracing their adverts and most recently, Perrier-Jouët enlisted the services of Rie Rasmussen, the Danish model/actrice/artist to help raise the profile of its products.

Luxury: Perrier-Jouet and Makiko Takehara Invite You to Play to Win

The marriage of art and luxury is still going strong in 2010 it would seem. To celebrate the release of its Belle Epoque 2002 vintage, French champagne house Perrier-Jouët has commissioned Japanese art photographer Makiko Takehara to interpret twenty Perrier-Jouët vintages from the oldest dating back to 1825 to the first of the new millennium.

Gastronomy: Come In from the Cold at the Connaught

On one of the coldest nights in recent history in London, I had the immense pleasure of dining in the company of my lovely husband at London's beautifully restored Connaught Hotel. We had hoped to get away from the cold to take in a bit of sun during the holidays but sadly, my husband's clients had other plans in store for him. Rather than mope around, we decided to bundle up and play tourist in our own city instead. We ate, drank and enjoyed the best of London which I can assure you includes both the extremely cozy Connaught Hotel and French chef Helene Darroze who has elected culinary domicile there.

Luxury: Tchin-Tchin Perrier-Jouet!

Dear Readers:

As most of you know, I tend to be rather opinionated. For better or for worst, this has made me persona non grata with some fashion and luxury brands and at least one five star hotel. So be it. I write my blog from the perspective of a consumer of luxury goods and services and I don't put forth an opinion unless I can defend it. Of course, it helps that I don't rely on advertising revenue.

Travel: A Nous Deux Paris

I've been invited to participate in a competition organized by the Paris/Ile-de-France Regional Tourism Board. The task is to describe my version of an ideal weekend in my beloved Paris. As many of my regular readers know, I once had the privilege of calling Paris my home. What you may not know however is that my connection to the city is deeply personal because it happens to be where my husband and I began our married life together. Paris for me therefore remains a city of anticipation, new beginnings and countless pleasures. If I were to describe a perfect weekend en amoureux, it would go something like this: