Thame Food Festival

Here at The Amazing Blog, we have found a fantastic foodie’s day out! The eighth annual Thames Food Festival takes place in a beautiful historic market town in Oxfordshire on the 26th September, bringing you a host of celebrity chefs and of course superb food and drink. There is even the chance to show off your baking skills in The Big Thame Bake competition that will be judged by a few celebrity bakers. These are certainly ingredients for a brilliant day out.

Raymond Blanc OBE will be making the short journey from Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons to cook live for us in the cookery theatre. Watching him is a joy as his talent and passion for cooking could inspire anyone to get in the kitchen. He will be joined by Sophie Grigson, for those of you who are unfamiliar; she has opened Sophie’s Kitchen at the Story Museum in Oxford. Here, she offers various homemade food dishes for all to enjoy, as well as offering a children’s class to educate and inspire a love of cooking from a young age. I’m sure many of us would’ve appreciated this knowledge when learning to cook for ourselves. Sophie will also incorporate some of her favourite dishes from the café in her session.

The festival isn’t for adult enjoyment only, they have organised the first ever cooking demo catering specifically for children, taught by MasterChef winner Natalie Coleman. Children will have the opportunity to learn the basics on how to cook and try new exciting foods, a perfect way to keep the kids proactive in the kitchen. Adults will be able to see an interview with Natalie and purchase signed copies of her new book Winning Recipes for Every Day.

If baking is more your forte, Richard Bertinet will share the secrets behind his sell-out bread making classes. This is a fantastic way to learn a few tips and tricks if you missed out on the classes available at The Bertinet Cookery School. The baker will even be signing copies of his many baking books in the pop-up book shop. Be sure to clear some space on the kitchen shelves, this book shop is a space in which visitors will have the chance to meet an array of celebrity chefs and build up their cookery book collection.

Arguably, the most exciting part of the day is the festival’s very own baking competition. The Big Thame Bake gives visitors the opportunity to rise to the occasion and show off their own baked goods. The winners will be awarded their prizes by none other than Frances Quinn, the Great British Bake Off Winner in 2013. Along with other Bake Off contestants, Luis Troyano, Miranda Browne, and Howard Middleton, Frances will then be interviewed by Lotte Duncan.

Give you and your family a fun, food-filled day out by checking it out here. The Thame Food Festival takes place from 9am to 5pm on Saturday 26th September 2015 in the heart of Thame town centre. If you are interested in participating in the Big Thame Bake, sign up here for only £5, of which is donated to a local cause. 

Audrey Hepburn: Portraits Of An Icon - The National Portrait Gallery

We here at The Amazing Blog, think that it’s pretty obvious that we love any and all beauty related things. When we heard about the Audrey Hepburn Portrait exhibit at The National Portrait Gallery, we knew instantly that this was something that we had to share. The aptly named “Portraits of an Icon” exhibit sees the portraits displayed for the first time in the UK with the help of the Audrey Hepburn estate. Wrapping up on the 18th October, there’s still plenty of time for you to go and drink in these iconic images.

Audrey Hepburn photographed wearing Givenchy by Norman Parkinson, 1955 © Norman Parkinson Ltd/Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive. Used with permission from The National Portrait Gallery.

She has widely been regarded as one of the first international celebrities, her films are so timeless. We certainly still find ourselves fascinated by her work. The event will not only document her most famous roles, including How to Steal a Million, Two for the Road and, of course, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, it will also explore her lesser known beginnings. Starting from her roots in Belgium, through to her West End chorus line and dancer days, up until her big silver screen roles and beyond, this is a great way to get a glimpse into the starlet’s life.

Audrey Hepburn on location in Africa for The Nun’s Story by Leo Fuchs, 1958 ©Leo Fuchs. Used with permission from The National Portrait Gallery. 

Though it is a photography exhibit, it really is so much more than that. Ms. Hepburn got her proper start in the business here in London and we know that she would be happy to be back, and to be honoured in such a way.

Audrey Hepburn by Philippe Halsman for LIFE magazine, 1954 ©Philipe Halsman/Magnum Photos. Used with permission from The National Portrait Gallery. 

Tickets can be booked online in advance at the National Portrait Gallery website here or in person at the Gallery every day starting at 10 a.m. Ticket costs are including voluntary donation: Adult £10 / Concessions £8.50 or standard price: Adult: £9 / Concessions £7.50.

Afternoon Tea Week 10th - 16th August 2015

Here at The Amazing Blog we love a good cuppa and a slice of cake, and therefore can’t wait for all the festivities of Afternoon Tea Week 2015 to begin.

From the 10th - 16th August the biggest celebration of tea time treats in the world is happening all over the country, although many of the biggest and best events are right here in London.

Among the events is a Historical Afternoon Tea at Dennis Severs’ House with Kerstin Rodgers aka Ms Marmite Lover, one of the country’s most successful bloggers. On Friday 14th August Kerstin will be creating a historical, Georgian themed Afternoon Tea and baking from historic recipes. The event begins at 3pm and you can’t buy your tickets here.

If you’re more into the baking side of creating a great afternoon tea, definitely check out The Bakewell Baking Festival, which takes place from 14-16th August at the Bakewell Showground. The festival boasts an amazing line-up of culinary talent including Stacie Stewart, Edd Kimber, TV’s Fabulous Baker brother Tom Herbert, baked-Alaska-gate Bake off star Iain Watters andBake-off star Howard Middleton. Tickets start from £7 and can be purchased here.

For a truly immersive afternoon tea experience the InterContinental London Park Lane are offering the opportunity to enjoy the limited edition Scents of Summer Afternoon Tea in the company of Executive Chef Ashley Wells and Bespoke Perfumer Nicola Pozzani of Floris London. Here you'll experience how the evocative notes from Floris fragrances; such as freshly cut grass, jasmine, bergamot, citrus, and rose, are skilfully crafted into the sandwiches, scones and cakes, including bite-sized Jasmine tea cakes garnished with edible flowers, bergamot and blackcurrant flower macaroons, Peach Melba mousse, and a grapefruit and almond tart with violet cream. This limited edition afternoon tea costs £45 per person and available until the 27th September 2015. Book your table here.

If chocolate is more of your thing renowned artisan chocolatier paul.a.young fine chocolates has created an Afternoon Tea Week Collection.  The delicious afternoon tea favourites that we all love have been reimagined into truffles including scone, jam and clotted cream, treacle tart and Pimms! To get your hands on some of these moreish treats head on down to your nearest paul.a.young shop.

This is just a selection of all the events being held. For more information and exclusive offers please visit Afternoon Tea Week’s website.

Kew the Music at Kew Gardens

Summer is in full swing and with it a plethora of music concerts and festivals. Here at The Amazing Blog we can’t wait to head down to one of our favourites, Kew the Music at Kew Gardens, this weekend.

Kew the Music, a series of festival style concerts, returns for its sixth year with a truly fantastic line up of artists.

Tonight Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra hit the stage, promising another crowd pleasing show. Jools has been touring with his veritable musical army, the Rhythm & Blues Orchestra for more than 20 years and once again he will be joined by regular guest vocalists Ruby Turner, Louise Marshall and Mabel Ray.

Saturday UB40 featuring Ali, Astro & Mickey take to the stage. UB40 are undoubtedly Britain’s most popular reggae artists and have clocked up more than 70 million record sales worldwide with songs like Kingston Town, Red Red Wine, I Got You Babe (recorded with Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders), Rat In The Kitchen and Can’t Help Falling In Love. The bands initial line up lasted 30 years from the bands formation in 1978 until front-man Ali Campbell’s departure in 2008. Two other founding members of UB40 also left the band and have since formed UB40 featuring Ali, Astro and Mickey - back together at last.

Finally, legendary band The Specials close the 2015 Kew the Music festival on Sunday. Known for their unique up beat blend of two-tone and ska, they are guaranteed to have the Kew the Music audience on their feet and singing along to songs such as Too Much Too Young and Ghost Town.

Guests are welcome to bring their own food and drink, or to sample from the line-up of artisan bars and food stalls on site. For the very first time these concerts are a collaboration between Kew Gardens, Kilimanjaro Live Ltd and Raymond Gubbay Ltd. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew have been presenting summer concerts for 33 years.

Tickets start from £41.50 and can be purchased from the 24 hour ticket hotline: 0844 871 8803 or online.

Pop Brixton

Stuck for something to do this weekend? Here at The Amazing Blog we think you should check out Pop Brixton, a new unique space focusing on supporting local enterprise. Pop Brixton plays host to some of the community’s most exciting independent start-ups across food & drink, retail, creative industries and the arts.

With Brixton already established as a go-to foodie destination in London, Pop Brixton is set to build on this success, creating London’s hottest new destination in the heart of Brixton. There is plenty to choose from, including the renowned Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen taking up her first permanent residency offering authentic Ghanaian dishes, through to Miss P’s BBQ bringing their juicy beef ribs and Baba G’s serving up an Indian and British food fusion. As well as over 20 mouth-watering food and drink vendors, Pop Brixton boasts a diverse selection of independent retail outlets. From vintage clothing sellers Make Do and Mend through to Japanese tea house, Kyonocha, Pop Brixton provides a unique shopping destination full of hidden gems.

Other initiatives range from Pop Farm – a garden and greenhouse area planted by the local community – to local artist exhibitions, workshops and an event space with a programme orchestrated by tenants. The 200 capacity event space will offer a chance to enjoy a wide range of events, including TEDx Brixton talks, gigs and cinema screenings.

To find out more please check out their website and Twitter page.