Book a dinner party at the Dalhousie Castle and Spa

Looking for something special to do for the Festive Season but you don’t want to cook? Book a Christmas dinner party at the Dalhousie Castle and Spa. They are featuring a festive dinner for 10 guests or more per party. The menu features Roast Butternut Squash Soup or Pork and Walnut Terrine, Roast Turkey and all the trimmings or Confit Sea Trout with Roast potatoes, French Fine Beans, carrots and glazed parsnips, followed by Christmas pudding or Chocolate Mousse with Sable biscuit, and Coffee. Don’t want to drive? Well, you don’t have to! Transportation is included  to and from the castle (from one central point in Edinburgh). All for just £48.50 per person.  So,  go ahead and book this amazing deal! You have till December 11th. For more details go to http://www.dalhousiecastle.co.uk/events.asp?EID=1538&Action=ShowEvent&date=04/12/2009

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Are you ready for Winter Wonderland?!

For those of you that have no idea what we are talking about, Winter Wonderland starts Saturday, November 21, 2009 and ends  Sunday, January 3, 2010.  This event features London’s largest Ice Rink, and the legendary 50m Observation Wheel, with 40 heated pods offering  breathtaking views of the city.  Winter Wonderland is an event that you don’t want to miss! This year they will be introducing even more rides, games and attractions, and the best part of it all is that entry is free of charge.  We thought you would also like to know about British Airways $50 off of your next flight. For more information go to http://reply.visitbritain.org/lz/lz.aspx?p1=052752122S3071&CC=&p=0&cID=0&cValue=1

While in London check out one of several “in town” hotels with that Country House feel.  We recommend The Dorchester , Covent Garden Hotel or The Baglioni – each with a different feel but all offering superior hospitality.

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Cuisine for a credit crunch? Packed lunches made by Michelin star chefs

Source: von Essen hotels

Its name is synonymous with fine dining the world over. From Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck at Bray; to the Le Louis XV restaurant in the millionaire playground of Monte Carlo.

Michelin star restaurants lure gastronomes from all corners of the globe and are famed for offering the crème de la crème of eating and dining experiences. TV’s latest reality show Hell’s Kitchen, features one of the most brooding exponents of the craft ever in Marco Pierre White.

But now the mouth-watering Michelin name will be on the lips of hill-walkers in the Lake District. Sharrow Bay’s busy Michelin star restaurant is showcasing limited edition packed lunches to showcase style dining during the downturn.

Sharrow Bay

The aim is to spread the word that “value for money” is as much an ingredient of the Michelin star rating as fine food, and to showcase to the masses that eating at a Michelin star restaurant is more affordable and inclusive than what we might think.

Indeed, in the introduction to this year’s Great Britain and Ireland Michelin Guide, Editor Derek Bulmer said that while 2009 would bring “challenges,” to the restaurant industry, he hoped Michelin inspectors would continue to “search out those establishments which not only maintain their standards but also offer value for money to their customers.”

This “cuisine for the credit-crunch” comes with a recession-busting retail price of £9.99 per packed lunch. It’s being served up by chefs at Sharrow Bay Country House Hotel on Lake Ullswater.

The von Essen-owned Sharrow Bay has won the Michelin star accolade 13 times in as many years.

Traditional packed lunch types be warned. You won’t find any curled ham triangles, tin foil and warm Granny Smith’s in these lunches. Each lunch groans with rich, lip-smacking delicacies and has to be specially-ordered over a day in advance and is subject to availability. Prepared by a Michelin star chef, it is then collected from the hotel’s reception.

The packed lunches will be served by Colin Akrigg who became head chef at Sharrow Bay in 1995 and achieved a Michelin star the following year – a feat that he has gone on to achieve for the last 13 consecutive years. As a sign of his dedication to make it in the world of food, he applied for a job as a kitchen porter at the Sharrow Bay as a 13-year-old…but was told he was too skinny.

Colin judges himself not on awards but rather on a busy restaurant. “For me that’s the real benchmark, it shows that we are doing something right,” he says. He always buys the best, freshest produce from the local farms in area; long before buying locally became the industry buzzwords.

Colin’s lunch includes: Evian Water, a selection of local cheeses, biscuits, homemade chutney, salad (pasta, couscous, savoury rice and potato salad), roast fillet of Beef, Homemade Quiche, Ballantine of Salmon, Terrine of Guinea Fowl, Honeybaked Local Ham and locally smoked Salmon.

For more on Sharrow Bay and other country house hotels go to our website – www.UKandIrishCountryHouseHotelsandSpas.com.

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1658 Two Night Luxury Break at Lower Slaughter Manor!

Lower Slaughter Manor

Take advantage of Lower Slaughter Manor’s great “1658” Two Night Luxury Break, celebrating the year the hotel was built.  For 1658 GBP you’ll be greeted with a bottle of Laurent Perrier Champagne in your room and enjoy two nights in one of the luxurious garden rooms which include Canadian hot tubs and private gardens. The full English breakfast is sure to impress, and you’ll have 50 GBP to allocate to the delicious a la carte menu.  This romantic getaway is the perfect way to enjoy the beauty and tranquility of Lower Slaughter and the River Eye. Looking for some extra indulgence?  You may want to try the “Pamper Me” Two Night Break instead!  See the hotel’s website for details.

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Watch Award-Winning Chefs in Action at Lewtrenchard Manor!

The Purple Carrot, Lewtrenchard Manor

The Purple Carrot dining experience at Lewtrenchard Manor presents the unique opportunity to observe your food being prepared by the three rosette winning restaurant!  A private dining room offers a birds eye view of the kitchen in action and one course is cooked in front of the guests in the room.  A personalized eight course delectable meal will feature 80% produce from Lewtrenchard Manor’s own vegetable garden!  You won’t want to miss sampling the purple carrots, one of the original colors of carrots introduced in the 15th century.

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Eat Like a King at the von Essen hotels’ Culinary Road Show this April!

Sample ambrosial delights prepared by the superb chefs of the von Essen Collection as their Culinary Tour kicks off this spring!  Where else can you sample more than one restaurant’s award-winning cuisine at the same meal?  Visiting chefs will bring two ingredients from their home restaurants to the host hotel and each chef will prepare one of three courses.  Chefs Kenny Atkinson, Colin Akrigg and Anthony Spencer will create gastronomic masterpieces during the North England portion, April 14th at Seaham Hall, Sharrow Bay on the 15th, and Callow Hall on the 16th where the menu. The South England April 20-24 tour will feature chefs Matthew Butcher of Ston Easton Park, Daniel Moon of Homewood Park and Paul Mottram of The Greenway.

For further information contact Peter da Silva at perter.dasilva@vonessen.co.uk.

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