SITWELL'S
SCOOP
Food critic William Sitwell dishes up his exclusive monthly food and drink newsletter
with ideas, offers and stories you won't find anywhere else
August edition
LESS ABV, NO LESS SPIRIT
If you feel that no ABV equates to zero fun then one-time MasterChef finalist Billy Wright may have the solution. His new spirit brand, DECEM, is a drink with 10 rather than 40% ABV. Which, with a mixer, dilutes a DECEM to a mere 2.5% ABV. So you get the kick of a gin and that feeling of well-being, without the head spin or the hangover. Billy's low cal drinks are distilled in Suffolk and include a London dry gin, a rum and a botanical aperitif.It's remarkably good as you can see for yourself when you order and get a stonking 50% off (inc delivery) Quote WS50 at checkout.
JOY AT NIP & CLUCK
It's absolutely not the intention of my restaurant reviews, published weekly in The Telegraph, to have chefs, and waiters and investors and friends going cluck-a-hoop at a good review. But when it happens it's a happy thing to observe. Twitter and Instagram were abuzz with summer joy after my review of Whitstable's Nip & Cluck was published this week. 'Moved beyond words, wrote chef Jim Thomlinson, 'so many years of effort paying off, in one page.' Perhaps those who get a poor review are upset to the same degree (but most, though not all, are sensible enough not to show it...).
REAL MEAT AGAIN
A few years ago the concept of British charcuterie was as valid as the idea that the UK could construct a high speed rail line on time and on budget. But Dhruv Baker is a man who has done much to change that perception. AnD after all, why not - the UK produces some of the finest meat, so why shouldn't we be able to dry or cure it. We certainly did in the pas and now Dhruv's Tempus Foods has a fabulous range of charcuterie butchered, fermented cured and aged at their site in Weybridge, Surrey. Give their ham, chorizo, coppa or salami a go. For 20% off quote SITWELL20 at checkout.
BRING BACK THE WALLET!
The leather wallet, that souvenir from a Greek holiday or rite of passage gift from a parent or godparents seems dead in the water. It's another casualty of the digital revolution. Yes it's convenient to hold every penny, mortgage and shopping basket on a mobile phone but will the millennial generation, tire of being watched by parent, partner and state wrench free of the cell phone and invest in a good, old-fashioned leather wallet. Read my musings of my love for leather and my hopes for. a vinyl-type revival.
KEEP ON BOOZING
We're well into the silly season but here come two full-frontal assaults on the British drinker; and they're both deadly serious. First there's yet another wretched survey from. a US university implorijng one that even a single drink a day will kill you. Then teetotaling PM Rishi Sunak, for whom a good time, post-Peloton squeezing, imposing a new duty on booze based on alcohol by volume. So that means moist wines and all ports are more expensive than ever. But while too much booze is obviously not good for you, what about the benefits of drinking. Read my thoughts on this. And let's make a toast to the great British drinker and the shared glory of a bitter hangover...
A PERFECT PINK
Don't give up on the pink just yet. Between the showers an occasional foray into rosé can make your brain feel like it's summer, even if Tomasz Schafernaker tells you otherwise.
On sale now in my store - William's House Wines, is a gluggable, good value pink from Arzens in the Aude in the heart of the French Languedoc region. Produced by Les Vignobles Foncalieu, a union of cooperative wineries, it's a blend of Grenache Noir and Syrah. Order it today and it could be in your fridge door in 48 hours.