Latest news with #LeithsSchoolofFoodandWine
West Australian
3 days ago
- West Australian
Culinary retreat in Perthshire
Like Gordon Ramsay, Chris Rowley is a fair-haired Scottish-born chef. But in contrast to Ramsay — especially a peak Kitchen Nightmares-era Ramsay — he's an amiable, chilled-out character when dealing with amateurs in the kitchen. It's this temperament that makes his cooking class more a pleasure than a pain in the neck. We're at Ballintaggart, a rustic-chic farm retreat that Chris runs in partnership with his brother Andrew. Nestled above the River Tay in the hills of Perthshire, close to the whisky distillery town of Aberfeldy, Ballintaggart welcomes both day and overnight guests. A converted stone farmhouse here can sleep up to 14 guests — 10 adults and four children — while the Rowleys manage other spruced-up cottages on site as well as accommodation, food shops and dining spots in the local area. This includes the riverside Grandtully Hotel, a five-minute drive from here, and the village store in Kenmore, by the shores of Loch Tay, 30 minutes away by car. We've come to Ballintaggart for the food. After a caffeine boost with a slice of light, lovely lemon drizzle cake by the log burner in a wood-beamed, high-ceilinged converted barn, we're invited into the adjacent sleek kitchen for our cooking master class. It's led by Chris, who was born in Edinburgh, where he retrained as a chef at the Leiths School of Food and Wine, having previously worked in financial services in London. He was, he says, attracted to Perthshire because he remembered happy family holidays here as a child and when the chance arose to start a culinary-driven retreat at Ballintaggart, where he could move with his wife and children, it was impossible to resist. Whether it's hosting weddings or other private events, 'Slow Sunday' lunches or 'Feast Nights', seasonal ingredients play a key role at Ballintaggart with carnivores, pescatarians, vegetarians and vegans all catered for. Herbs, fruits and vegetables grow at the farm's meadows, gardens and orchards and produce is sourced from the surrounding area, which is blessed with plentiful fish and game from its lochs, rivers and moors. Being equidistant from both east and west Scottish coasts means seafood is also fairly easy to procure. 'We get a lot of people coming here who are keen to go away for a food escape,' says Chris. 'They will either book a cooking class or one of our chefs will go and cook for them at the farmhouse one night and they'll maybe do self-catering for the rest of their stay.' Following Chris' instructions, we prepare monkfish ceviche, marinating it with chopped chilli, citrus and pickled gooseberry. Then we season slabs of venison and new potatoes doused in a Highland rapeseed oil. We also conjure a salsa verde with sage, tarragon and chives from the Ballintaggart herb garden. As the ceviche settles, we bring the venison out to Chris, who's firing up the barbecue on the terrace. There are rousing views of the Tay Valley in the background and the cooking aromas and sizzles soon have our appetites raging. Fortunately, it's not long before we're back inside, seated at the dining table in the barn, enjoying these flavoursome and filling dishes. We compliment ourselves on our graft, but we know most credit goes to the produce, farmers, fishermen and chefs of bonnie Scotland. + Another local overnight alternative is Townhouse Aberfeldy, which has nightly B&B rates from around $200. See + To help plan a trip to Scotland and Britain, see and + Steve McKenna was a guest of Visit Scotland and Visit Britain. They have not influenced this story, or read it before publication.
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Saturday Kitchen's Matt Tebbutt says 'there was blood' after suffering terrifying ordeal
Saturday Kitchen star Matt Tebbutt has revealed he was recently mugged in London — a scary incident that left him bleeding and more cautious when out and about Saturday Kitchen star Matt Tebbutt has revealed he was recently mugged in London in a frightening encounter that left him shaken — and slightly bloodied. The popular chef and TV presenter, 50, shared the unexpected ordeal during a candid interview with Fabulous magazine, admitting the experience has left him more wary when out in the capital. 'I got mugged in London recently and there was blood — well, a trickle anyway — so I'm a bit more wary since then,' he said. Although he didn't share further details about the incident, it's clear the moment had an impact. Tebbutt, who has fronted the BBC 's flagship weekend cookery show since 2016, is more used to dealing with kitchen chaos than street crime. The classically trained chef studied at Leiths School of Food and Wine after earning a degree in Geography and Anthropology at Oxford Brookes. Before moving into TV, he ran the award-winning Foxhunter restaurant in Wales for over a decade. These days, he's best known for cooking up a storm with celebrity guests and food experts every Saturday morning — and for his on-screen bromance with wine expert Olly Smith. In fact, when asked to name his secret celebrity crush, Tebbutt admitted: 'Olly Smith. Well, it's not so secret, really. Our on-screen bromance spills over into real life, and we are great mates.' Despite his confident presence on camera, Tebbutt admitted he's still haunted by stage fright when it comes to speaking off-screen. 'I've always struggled with public speaking, so a podium and an audience are pretty scary too,' he confessed. Asked who would play him in a movie of his life, Tebbutt said: 'In my head I am Paul Rudd, but more realistically, it would probably be the rugged Jason Isaacs — I love them both, and Jason would make a great Bond.' He also shared a few light-hearted insights into his personality, including a guilty pleasure: eating supermarket crab sticks. 'Are they even proper food? I made the mistake of looking at the ingredients the other day. If you like them too, I'd suggest not doing that.' Off-screen, Tebbutt lives in Monmouthshire with his wife Lisa and their two children. He once trained with the RAF University Air Squadron and described learning to fly as one of his proudest achievements — something his son is now following in his footsteps to pursue. Despite his growing profile, he insists his essentials are simple: 'Some great food, simply cooked, decent wine and good company — and a cracking playlist.' And when it comes to a dream dinner party, his guest list is as bold and brilliant as his cooking: ' Sean Lock, David Niven and Dudley Moore. I wish I'd had the chance to meet Sean — what a naturally funny and all-round great bloke. I love David Niven's hilarious memoirs. And Dudley? Well, he's Dudley Moore!'
Daily Mail
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Baronet's daughter who shocked guests when she stripped down to her lingerie at wedding reception has the smart set talking with rather eccentric choice of baby names...
Baronet's daughter Clemmie Dugdale shocked guests at her wedding when she stripped down to her lingerie at the reception. Now, the actress has left some of them bewildered with the names of her newly born child. Clemmie, the 33-year-old daughter of Sir William Dugdale, and her husband, the American film-maker Orson Oblowitz, have called their baby Pluto Rose. The couple decline to give more details but Pluto Rose appears to be a boy, as Clemmie uses the pronoun 'his' in a message to friends online. The actress, who starred in her husband's film Showdown At The Grand and appeared in Richard Curtis 's romantic comedy About Time, is the granddaughter of the late jockey and racing driver Sir William Dugdale, 2nd Baronet. Lorraine chucks in cooking She was once one of the Princess of Wales 's favourite television chefs, but Lorraine Pascale reveals she's now hung up her apron for good – and won't even cook at home. 'I don't cook at all any more. And it's so freeing,' says the former model, 52. Lorraine trained at Leiths School of Food and Wine and catered for the Prince's Trust Ball in 2013 when she worked with Princess Catherine to develop dishes for the menu. 'When I was doing it, I loved it,' she says of her chef days. 'Things change, we change.' She adds: 'I'm studying for a doctorate in psychology and psychotherapy. I'm in my third year. 'I'm remarried, I'm a stepmum, I've got my daughter and two step-children – that's what I've been busy with.' Let's talk about sex, says Saltburn star and former Bond girl Rosamund... Back on the British stage this summer, for the first time in 15 years, Saltburn star Rosamund Pike fears that sex is going out of fashion. Oxford graduate Rosamund, pictured wearing a floor-length Simone Rocha dress featuring a chunky dark metal chain and padlock at a screening of Hallow Road, a thriller, at the Curzon in Soho, London, is to make her National Theatre debut in Suzie Miller's new play, Inter Alia, in July. 'I'm interested in the depiction of sex and sexuality on-screen,' says the former Bond girl, 46, who has two children with businessman boyfriend Robie Uniacke, 64. 'I think it's very interesting, the debate where it's taking us these days... are we entering an age of prudery? I'm interested in the way that wellness is taking over our lives and yet sex seems to be taking a backseat.' Diana Rigg's girl: 'I was scared of Mum, really Don't dare call Rachael Stirling a 'nepo baby'. The actress says her mother Dame Diana Rigg, who died in 2020 aged 82, tried to prevent her following in her footsteps into showbusiness. 'I was s***-scared of her really,' says Rachael, 47, who has starred in Doctor Who, Tipping The Velvet and The Bletchley Circle. 'She was disapproving and kind of dismissive of my work . . . it wasn't great.' Rachael implies there might have been an element of jealousy and 'competition' from former Bond girl Dame Diana. 'I looked exactly like her, which was annoying when she was ageing,' her daughter says on the Rosebud podcast. 'She was quite white-knuckled about holding on to the reins and not letting me do it [acting]. 'She sort of ring-fenced her profession. And I was absolutely not allowed to go to drama school, although she did.' The King's dancer friend King Charles was said to have been unamused when Princess Diana danced on stage with Wayne Sleep for him at the Royal Opera House, to the strains of Billy Joel's Uptown Girl. Clearly, His Majesty does not, however, hold it against the former ballet dancer. For Sleep, who became a friend of Diana, has been invited to speak at the King's Ayrshire stately home, Dumfries House, next weekend, as part of the Boswell Book Festival. Childhood pal of late Queen passes away Queen Elizabeth II's childhood playmate Mary, Dowager Countess of Strathmore & Kinghorne, has died aged 92. Mary, like her aunt, the Queen Mother, grew up at the family seat, Glamis Castle. Speaking about our late monarch, Lady Strathmore recalled: 'One of her lovely memories that she told me was riding before breakfast on a cold frosty morning and galloping down that drive, which is a mile long, and coming back ravenous for porridge for breakfast. 'I can just imagine that.' Mary, who died this week at her home in the Scottish borders, is survived by her two daughters, Lady Diana Godfrey-Faussett and Lady Elizabeth Leeming, who was once a Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen. 'Funny' Mick gave Jerry satisfaction Sir Mick Jagger's supermodel ex Jerry Hall admits she stayed with the 'womaniser' rock star for two decades because she found him amusing. 'I've always liked men who were funny, who made me laugh,' she explains. 'Mick used to make me laugh so much, he was the funniest man.' The Texan blonde bombshell, 68, says: 'We were together 22 years, had four children and there's a lot of memories. I used to get cross with him, because he was quite the womaniser, but he would manage to make me laugh and, you know, get around me.' Jerry met the Rolling Stones singer in 1977 when he was still married to Bianca Jagger. They began dating shortly after, but their relationship was marred by his numerous infidelities. Mary Berry quietens crowd The raucous crowd at this week's Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards were forced to turn it down a notch at the request of Dame Mary Berry. While accepting a special prize on stage at the Royal Exchange in the City, the former Bake-Off judge, 90, urged the audience to 'keep it down'. She pleaded: 'Please do keep it very, very quiet. It's such an important occasion, and you must hear every single person that comes up here. 'I'm deaf and there are maybe one or two others that also find it difficult to hear everything.' (Very) modern manners Novelist Kathy Lette says she's attended three ' divorce parties ' already this year. 'All my divorced girlfriends have had rock-solid reasons for unknotting their nuptials,' says the author, 66, who separated from celebrated barrister Geoffrey Robertson KC in 2017. During one particularly cathartic party, 'a match flared – and then voom! Up went a pile of wedding photos, in flames. A moment later my girlfriends and I were stabbing a huge, tiered cake to death in a shower of crumbs. Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive was blaring from the speakers.'
The Independent
31-01-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Prue Leith's Great British Bake Off replacement has been revealed
Prue Leith 's replacement on the forthcoming special of Great British Bake Off has been revealed. The restaurateur, 84, has been a part of the much-loved baking programme since its move from the BBC to Channel 4 in 2017, replacing the expert role formerly held by Mary Berry. Last year, Leith said she realised Bake Off ' s filming schedule had become too intense when she was forced to sacrifice time off and seeing her family in order to keep up with the show's demands. Her longtime friend, Caroline Waldegrave OBE, will step in for her. Waldegrave is the former managing director and co-owner of Leiths School of Food and Wine. She will join co-hosts Noel Fielding, Alison Hammond, and Paul Hollywood for the show's special edition, Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer. Although Leith was adamant she has not quit the show for good in an interview on This Morning last year, she said she found it difficult to keep up with its challenging schedule. 'These things are filmed back-to-back all the way through summer from April to August so you don't get any time off,' she said. 'I'm getting quite old and there's places I want to see. So I'm not doing this year's.' She shut down rumours she was quitting, saying: 'It's absolutely not true at all!. What I'm not doing this year is the celebrity one.' Twenty famous faces will take part in the contest including Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway, property presenter Sarah Beeny, Loose Women panelist Gloria Hunniford, radio host Roman Kemp, and Dinnerladies star Maxine Peake. Last year, Leith confessed she didn't actually watch the show she presented. 'I just think, 'Oh my God, why do they always have me eating?' Which is a very ugly thing to be doing. And never Paul [Hollywood, her fellow judge]. 'I may be imagining this. I think, 'Oh my God, I wish the cameraman wasn't going round the back and taking photographs of my fat places. And my profile is awful.'
