Victoria Christmas Newspaper

The Christmas Issue / w inter 2015

Christmas

comes TO TOWN

It’s festive fun all round, as Downton Abbey’s Daisy Lewis joins the celebrations in Westminster Cathedral, plus the best shopping, eating and activities in SW1’s winter wonderland @createvictoria

facebook.com/CreateVictoria

WHAT ’ S HAPPENING IN VIC TORIA

NEWS & VIEWS

A N U P D AT E O N T H E E X C I T I N G M E TA M O R P H O S I S O F S W 1 , P L U S T H E L AT E S T L A U N C H E S A N D O P E N I N G S , F E S T I V E E V E N T S A N D S O C I A L- M E D I A T R E N D S

ADVENT EVENTS

CHRISTMAS IN THE CAPITAL

PAU L B ROW N/ R E X S H U T T ER S TO C K

Wrap up warmly and steep yourself in festive cheer on Wednesday 2 December, when Victoria becomes a veritable Christmas wonderland for the night.

At 7.30pm, you are invited to join the choir of Westminster Cathedral in some rousing renditions of old favourites at Land Securities’ Carol Concert.

This year, for the first time, amateur singers who live and work in the area will be swelling the chorus, adding to the feeling of community. There will also be Yuletide readings from a number of special guests, including our cover star – local resident and Downton Abbey actress Daisy Lewis.

En route to the concert, you can browse for gifts at an atmospheric, one-off, after-dark Christmas Market in Cardinal Place and the Cathedral Piazza.

Makers from the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, which promotes traditional crafts and craftspeople, will be selling their wares, and an array of tempting grab-and-go food will be on offer to enjoy as you wander.

After the concert, ticket-holders are invited to enjoy a traditional glass of sherry, courtesy of Spanish restaurant Ibérica, on the Cardinal Place roof garden, and to take advantage of late-opening stores, including Topshop, Marks & Spencer, Space.NK., Zara, L’Occitane and Accessorize, and restaurants such as Jamie’s Italian, M Victoria and the aforementioned Ibérica.

Tickets for the Carol Concert cost £12 and are available at createvictoria.com/christmas2015 .

All proceeds will go to local charities The Passage and The Cardinal Hume Centre DID YOU KNOW?

SOC IAL MEDIA

NUMBER-CRUNCHING

TRE NDING NOW ON T WIT TER, WE ASKED YOU TO NAME YOUR FAVOURITE HIDDEN GEMS IN VICTORIA. HERE ARE SOME OF YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS

Dracula author Bram Stoker lived on St George’s Square, SW1, and the area has also been home to some of London’s most notorious villains: failed Crown Jewels thief Colonel Blood, dastardly highwayman Dick Turpin and Gunpowder Plot mastermind Guy Fawkes.

‘Iris & June is great for coffee after a film at Curzon Victoria’

‘Happy-hour cocktails (and pizza) at Maverick’

‘Gustoso is a really fantastic little Italian restaurant’

@JoJo_Coles

@lifeoforeilly

@VickipediaSW1

137

MILLION PEOPLE PASS THROUGH VICTORIA STATION EACH YEAR – ALMOST TWICE AS MANY AS THROUGH HEATHROW

JUST LAUNCHED

COMING SOON

WORK IT!

GYMBOX, BILLED AS THE ANTIDOTE TO BORING GYMS, HAS ARRIVED

Open season Mango (above) has opened a new store – and its first UK kids’ concession – in The Zig Zag Building on Victoria Street, bringing cutting-edge retail therapy to SW1.

A few doors away, Ibérica is serving top-notch tapas, jamón and cheeses from its latest offshoot. Across the road, adjacent to 123 Victoria Street, a new Scribbler is now purveying witty cards and quirky gifts.

At Kings Gate, there’s a new Jamie’s Italian – its tempting, authentic fare may well undo any New Year’s resolutions, but, until then, when dishes are this delicious, perhaps a little indulgence might be permitted (especially since Gymbox Victoria is opening soon!).

”

M A RT I N W I L L I A M S , FO U N D E R , M G R O U P

WIN A MEAL FOR T WO AT M VICTORIA Two restaurants, a bar, a wine store and tasting room, plus a private members’ bar with boutique cinema – when it opens on 1 December, M Victoria looks set to change the face of SW1 forever.

To celebrate the launch of this exciting new venue, one lucky reader can win a meal for two at M Victoria, from 7 December.

Choose to dine at M Grill, which focuses on sourcing and preparing the finest steaks from across the world, including Wagyu from Australia and Kobe from Japan, and serves them with an original range of sides, sauces and toppings. Or pick M Raw, where the speciality is a healthy selection of sushi, sashimi, tartares and steamed bao buns. Your delicious experience includes a starter, main course and dessert for you and your guest, and a complimentary bottle of wine, chosen for you by the sommelier.

M Victoria is the second venue the group has launched and follows on from the success of M in the City of London, which was a runner-up in the BMW/Square Meal Restaurant of the Year Awards.

Visit createvictoria.com/mvictoria and enter your contact details for your chance to win. You’ll find terms and conditions there, too.

Find out more about M Victoria on the Food page

Founding membership options are still available – for more information, visit victoria.gymbox.com or email victoriaenquiries@gymbox.co.uk

WELCOME

Welcome to the VICTORIA newspaper – your regular update on the transformation of the district.

It speaks volumes that, in October, the London Restaurant Festival came to SW1 for the first time, to lead a culinary tour of its best eateries. The tour was part of Inside Out Victoria, the second annual series of happenings hosted by Land Securities, the company behind Victoria’s regeneration. Throughout the autumn, the area was abuzz with exciting events, including a beekeeping workshop, a rooftop art class, free Gymbox rave and rugby-inspired workouts, chocolate tasting with Hotel Chocolat, a one-off screening of Iris at Curzon Victoria and an espresso masterclass with Coffee Geek and Friends.

Now, with the nights drawing in and Christmas on the horizon, our attention turns to those little winter indulgences that make the season special. Lucky, then, that Victoria offers such an array of pampering and gift-buying opportunities to treat oneself and others, as well as cultural curiosities and intriguing entertainment to prise you from the sofa, whatever the weather.

Land Securities’ investment in SW1 is creating a place for the future, providing spectacular residential space, stellar contemporary office locations, a superb retail hub and London’s new food quarter, Nova, Victoria, which launches in September 2016.

PHOTOGRAPHY RACHELL SMITH/CAMERA PRESS LONDON

For the latest news and events, sign up to the Victoria newsletter at createvictoria.com

THE CHRISTMAS ISSUE

“

SW1 seemed a natural fit for our second M venue.

The companies migrating to this new hotspot have created a market for our offerings. I’m sure people will appreciate both the quality of our food and the hospitality for which we’re becoming known.

COMPETITION

Gymbox has been changing the way that Londoners exercise since its humble beginnings in a Holborn car park in 2003.

Eight boundary-pushing venues across the capital later, it’ll be coming to Victoria at the end of this year. Its esoteric classes include the likes of ‘Ibiza Retreat’ yoga, Brazilian ju-jitsu and rave dancing, meaning there’s always something new to tempt you to get moving, whatever your fitness level or niche interest.

As Gymbox’s brand and product director David Cooper says: ‘We’re really excited about making Victoria the home of our newest gym. Our philosophy is that working out should be as much fun as going out, and 123 Victoria Street will have the craziest classes, best equipment and most inspirational trainers. We think the addition of Gymbox will make SW1 the coolest place to sweat in London.’

Gymbox Victoria will offer 104 classes every week across its conditioning, group cycle, holistic and dance studios, offering functional, strength and performance training, and, in its gym, use of the latest and most advanced cardio kit – all to the accompaniment of live DJs. In the unlikely event that your motivation flags, its VPTs, aka Very Personal Trainers, will be on hand to help you reach your fitness goals in the most efficient and fun way possible.

R AC H EL L S M I T H/C A M ER A P R ES S LO N D O N; I T V/ S ER I ES 4 , EP I S O D E 7, D OW N TO N A B B E Y ; W EN N

Opposite, from top Daisy Lewis (far left) as the prime minister’s daughter in Churchill’s Secret ; and as Sarah Bunting in Downton Abbey

Victoria’s class act C OV E R S TO RY

A S S H E R E A D I E S H E R S E L F F O R R E A D I N G AT L A N D S E C U R I T I E S ’ C A R O L C O N C E R T, D O W N T O N A B B E Y ’ S D A I S Y L E W I S TA L K S F E S T I V E FA M I LY F U N A N D R E V E A L S W H Y S H E ’ S A FA N O F S W 1 WORDS GEORGIE L ANE-GODFREY

A

decorations until Christmas Eve, so at 3pm all the children would be frogmarched upstairs for a nap while the house was transformed into a festive wonderland,’ she recalls. ‘We’d always try to come down early, inventing ever-more imaginative escape routes every year – it was a constant game of cat-and-mouse on a James Bond scale! The stakes were pretty high, too: if you got caught, you’d be threatened with your present being sent straight to the charity shop. It was always worth the wait in the end, though — I loved coming back down later into this magical landscape filled with candles and traditional decorations.’

The family does, however, make a few concessions to Britishness at Christmas: a traditional turkey lunch and lots of great British television. One of the more recent additions for Lewis is an annual reading at an Advent event in London, which this year will be the Land Securities Carol Concert at Westminster Cathedral in Victoria.

‘Christmas is all about people coming together, whether that’s as friends, as family or as a community,’ she explains. ‘I think there’s something very special about gathering to reflect, and the concert at Westminster Cathedral is secular, so it’s a great way for Londoners to celebrate the festive period together, whatever their beliefs. I like being asked to do a reading – I love public speaking .’

Lewis had a very particular motivation for choosing to take part in the concert at cathedral:

THE CHRISTMAS ISSUE

ctress Daisy Lewis doesn’t count her infant-school nativity play among her best performances. ‘I was cast as the archangel Gabriel and remember being paralysed with fear. My performance was so terrible, the next year I was demoted to third shepherd from the left.’ But despite this rocky start in the thespian world, the 30-year-old has gone on to become a familiar face on our TV screens, thanks to her role as outspoken schoolteacher Sarah Bunting in family favourite Downton Abbey. And she’s retained her youthful enthusiasm for Christmas.

‘I love Christmas – the whole theatre of it,’ says Lewis. ‘We always spend it down at my parents’ home in Dorset, where my mother operates a “waifs and strays” policy, so the house is usually inundated with people who don’t have anywhere else to celebrate. It’s always raucous, with loads of food and games.’

Thanks to her Danish grandmother, Christmas Eve fare includes a traditional feast of roast goose, red cabbage and caramelised potatoes – a recipe that leaves her feeling ‘thoroughly spoilt and exceedingly fat’.

Afterwards, the family heads into the village for midnight mass, ‘provided everyone’s in a fit state to be seen in public!’ she laughs.

These Danish family traditions have long played an important part in shaping Lewis’s childhood memories of Christmas, when she would spend the festive period at her grandmother’s house. ‘She wouldn’t put up her

her family’s long-standing connection to SW1.

‘My grandfather first lived in Warwick Square, in Pimlico,’ she says. ‘Later, my parents moved into the area, so Victoria has been the backdrop to much of my life. I still spend a lot of time here with my family. I love that there’s a real sense of community here – it’s not soulless like other parts of central London can be. There’s a market and an array of independent local shops – it’s a real, functioning village, right in the heart of the capital.’

Today, the area may have more boutique shops and independent coffee houses than Lewis remembers from her childhood, but she feels it still retains much of its original charm.

‘It’s definitely more cosmopolitan now than it was in the era of the boarding houses of its Ealing Comedy days [a series of comedy films produced by Ealing Studios between 1947 and 1957 that included the famous Passport to Pimlico.] The variety of food on offer has definitely increased since then! I love Kazan Kitchen, on Wilton Road, and Paradise, on Denbigh Street, which serves some of the best curries I’ve ever tasted.’

This Christmas, the area will be in the spotlight once again as Lewis takes on the role of Winston Churchill’s youngest daughter, Mary, in ITV’s feature-film drama Churchill’s Secret. ‘Churchill used to live in Pimlico,’ she explains. ‘In fact, he described it as the most beautiful area of London. The film was mainly

shot at Chartwell, his house in Kent, but there’s a lot of talk about Pimlico in it.’

Tipped to shed new light on the life of Britain’s most famous prime minister, the production offered Lewis one of her most challenging roles to date. ‘I act because it frightens me,’ she reveals. ‘The fear doesn’t come from people watching me, but because of the responsibility. If you’re playing a real-life character, you have a duty to try to accurately portray a person who, often, you’ve never met, so playing Mary was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done.’

Luckily for Lewis, some of the country’s best acting talent was on hand to offer moral support. ‘The line-up for Churchill’s Secret was amazing,’ she recalls. ‘It’s an all-star British cast, with Sir Michael Gambon as Winston, Matthew Macfadyen playing his son and Romola Garai taking on the role of his nurse, so definitely worth a watch.’

Aside from this, Lewis’s festive televisionwatching schedule is looking decidedly slim.

‘The only thing I’ll be watching this Christmas is my weight!’ she laughs. ‘Well, after the caramelised potatoes anyway.’ It seems some traditions never change…

Land Securities’ Carol Concert takes place at Westminster Cathedral on Wednesday 2 December. See the News & Views pages for more details and ticket information

H E R I TA G E

MAKING HISTORY WORDS NICK SMITH

T H E Q U E E N E L I Z A B E T H S C H O L A R S H I P T RU S T P RO M OT E S E XC E L L E N C E I N T R A D I T I O N A L B R I T I S H C R A F T S S U C H A S M I L L I N E RY, M A S O N RY A N D S H O E M A K I N G . T H I S Y E A R , I T S I N VO LV E M E N T W I L L E N S U R E V I C TO R I A’ S C H R I S T M A S M A R K E T I S M O R E S P EC I A L T H A N E V E R

JAC K L AW S O N

M

any of us will be familiar with that most quintessentially British of organisations, the Royal Warrant Holders Association (RWHA). Set up 175 years ago, it rewards merit in British enterprise and commerce by allowing its members to publicly proclaim their trading relationship with the royal household. In short, if you hold a royal warrant, you can tell the world you are the best at what you do, and, as Russell Tanguay of the RWHA explains, ‘A royal warrant symbolises quality and excellence.’

In 1990, the RWHA founded a charity to help preserve and develop the traditional crafts that have been part of Britain’s heritage for centuries. Established in the Queen Mother’s name, the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) awards grants to artisans to help with the development of their skills in the likes of masonry, millinery, shoemaking and pottery.

Next year, the Queen will become its patron.

As QEST’s grants and communications officer Julia Robinson explains, applicants are already excellent and well established in their field, ‘but looking for an extra push to advance their career. And we can help them with that’.

They are funded by trusts and livery companies, and contributions from RWHA members.

Recipients of assistance from QEST are known as scholars, and most work in folk skills such as roof-thatching and charcoal-burning.

‘We’re looking at ways to make these crafts relevant in the 21st century,’ says Robinson.

‘In the digital age, skills should be evolving in ways that make them accessible.’ And that doesn’t mean preserving dying arts or ancient lore in aspic – it’s about ‘looking at new ways to take them forward’.

RWHA director of development Deborah Pocock takes up the story, explaining that, in the 25 years the charity has been in existence, ‘we have awarded more than 370 scholarships

Clockwise from above QEST scholars Deborah Carré and James Ducker, aka bespoke shoemakers Carréducker; stonemason Zoe Barnett at work; and fabric by knitted-textiles designer Gillian Murphy

to craftspeople across the whole age spectrum’.

Although it funds artisans nationwide, London scholars are well represented and include furniture conservator Tristram Bainbridge, stonemason Zoe Barnett, honey-maker James Hamill, milliner Deirdre Hawken and jewellers Jessica Poole and Emily Goodaker.

If it weren’t for mastercraftsmen and women passing on these skills to scholars, Robinson says, there’s a real danger they would be lost. As well as awarding grants, QEST has an apprenticeship scheme. Now in its second year, it connects craftspeople committed to learning with established businesses – often royal-warrant holders – ‘in order to ensure there’s a forthcoming generation of makers’.

An example of this is a young scholar from a recent intake who is ‘learning how to make wooden clogs from the last British clogmaker’.

Robinson believes the most important message coming from QEST is the idea that ‘keeping these skills alive is important for Britain’s heritage’. It’s not just a case of rescuing nostalgic crafts of yesteryear for their own sake; they are needed for the preservation of our history. Today, there are QEST scholars working on projects of national importance in the Houses of Parliament, York Minster and the universities of both Oxford and Cambridge.

The charity’s chairman, Nick Farrow, says SW1 is the perfect place from which to ‘support

Britain’s arts and crafts. We’ve been in the area since 1990 and love the buzz. The proximity to Buckingham Palace is another bonus. It’s great that good deeds emanate from Victoria’.

A number of QEST scholars will be exhibiting and selling their work on the evening of 2 December at the Victoria Christmas Market, hosted by Land Securities. qest.org.uk

WHAT’S ON

IN VIC TOR IA

FILM

ROYAL OPERA HOUSE LIVE: THE NUTCRACKER Curzon Victoria, 58 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6QW

G E T T Y I M AG ES / J OA N B L A EU

The Nutcracker is a festive family favourite – as much a part of Christmas as mince pies and mistletoe, and a treat for all ages. To the backdrop of Tchaikovsky’s enchanting score, it tells the tale of young Clara’s journey through a fantasy toy-box world populated by unforgettable characters. This December, the Royal Opera House’s classic production is being live-screened at Curzon Victoria.

16 December, 7.15pm; curzoncinemas.com

T H E AT R E

WORDS GEMMA BILLINGTON

GOING OUT

ST MORITZ WINTER TERRACE AT THE GORING

A L L T H E W O R L D M AY W E L L B E A S TA G E , B U T AT S T. J A M E S T H E AT R E , T H E S TA G E W I L L B E C O M E T H E W O R L D W H E N J U L E S V E R N E ’ S T R A N S C O N T I N E N TA L TA L E O F P H I L E A S F O G G R O L L S I N T O T O W N

The Goring, Beeston Place, London SW1W 0JW

Opening this November is the Goring Hotel’s Winter Terrace – a cosy lounge area styled as a vintage St Moritz chalet. Warming cocktails and bubbling fondues are served by waiters clad in vintage-style ski jumpers as lanterns twinkle, sheepskin rugs keep things cosy and a gramophone pours soft jazz into the night.

Open from November to February; thegoring.com

WORKSHOP

WINTER WONDERLAND COOKIES Peggy Porschen, 116 Ebur y Street, London SW1W 9QQ

When supermarket festive fare simply won’t do, those in the know turn to Victoria’s baking queen, Peggy Porschen. Inspired by Cookies, her best-selling cookbook, she will be hosting a day-long Winter Wonderland cookie-craft class to teach you how to turn humble biscuits into edible works of art. A great way to make presents for family and friends – or an indulgent early Christmas gift for yourself.

21 November, 10am–4pm, £250 per person; peggyporschenacademy.com

F

ew novels are viewed with such lifelong affection as Around the World in Eighty Days. Indeed, the classic tale of the eccentric and fabulously wealthy Englishman Phileas Fogg and his wager that he can traverse the globe in one whistlestop tour has become something of a byword for an unquenchable thirst for adventure.

Jules Verne originally conceived it as a play, but its first draft was unsuccessful, so he reworked it as a newspaper serial and it was published as a novel in 1873. A highly imaginative writer, he was fascinated by travel and scientific discovery. The idea for the plot was planted after he learnt of the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States, the linking up of the Indian railways and the opening of the Suez Canal in Egypt – innovations that meant it was possible for the world to be circumnavigated for the first time.

‘The book must have appeared wondrous to readers at the time – it would have totally opened up their perceptions,’ says director Lucy Bailey, who is at the helm of a new theatrical adaptation of Around the World in Eighty Days. Its script was written by Laura Eason, who is best known for her work on Netflix mega-hit House of Cards. Having enjoyed successful runs in the US and at Staffordshire’s New Vic and Manchester’s Royal Exchange, the play opens in November at Victoria’s St. James Theatre, which is serendipitously situated around the corner from the Reform Club in Pall Mall – the real-life location of Fogg’s life-changing wager of his life’s fortune.

Not only is this adaptation a return to the novel’s origins on the stage, it also marks Bailey’s return to her own roots. Classically trained, she started out in opera. In 1995, she co-founded the musical-theatre ensemble The Gogmagogs, but an invitation from Mark Rylance, then its artistic director, to direct the first-ever play at Shakespeare’s Globe instilled in her a love of the Bard. Now working predominantly for the RSC, she has a reputation as a no-holds-barred director, often opting to stage difficult plays – her visceral production of Titus Andronicus had critics raving and the audience fainting in the aisles.

In contrast, Around the World in Eighty Days might seem something of a whimsical departure, but Bailey disagrees, noting how much it ‘tallies’ with her earlier work. She is passionate about using sound and music to tell a story, and it has a rousing score, written by left-field jazz pianist and composer Django Bates.

Astonishingly, all of the novel’s 50-plus characters will be portrayed by a cast of just eight. What’s more, the journey of Fogg, his faithful valet Passepartout, and Aouda, the feisty Indian princess they rescue en route, takes place in locations as diverse as Calcutta, Hong Kong and San Francisco. Bailey and her team intend to be ‘quite brave’, she says, in terms of how they use St. James Theatre as a location, and she looks forward to capitalising on the intimacy of the space, one where the audience is never far from the actors. ‘I’m relishing the idea of working with an ensemble again, that sense of creating a piece together,’ she says, ‘It will have a lovely, crazy energy. However, there’s also a really sophisticated idea driving it and that’s what’s going to make it shine.’

Just as Jules Verne’s novel introduced his readers to dazzling new possibilities, so this production looks set not only to rekindle our fondness but to captivate an entirely new generation. ‘Wouldn’t it be lovely if children came to the show and it really opened up their curiosity about the world?’ muses Bailey. ‘It’s going to be funny and alive and affectionate and all those things you’d expect if you’ve read the book, but, actually, the theme is far bigger than that. It’s far from silly – it’s brave and inspiring and intensely charming.’

A feel-good Christmas show for the whole family that involves six trains, five boats, four fights, three dances, two circus acts and an elephant? What’s not to like, as they say.

Around the World in Eighty Days runs from 26 November to 17 January at St. James Theatre. We’d like to offer readers £10 off topprice tickets from Thursday 26 November to Wednesday 2 December.

Just quote ‘Victoria 10’ when booking at stjamestheatre.co.uk

THE CHRISTMAS ISSUE

FLIGHT OF FANCY

V I C T O R I A T R A I N S TAT I O N

INDULGENCE

IT ’S SUCH A PERFECT DAY WORDS RICHARD MELLOR

I L L U S T R AT I O N S A S K I A R A S I N K

T H I S I N S P I R E D I T I N E R A RY I S P R E T T Y E A S Y TO F O L LOW, B EG I N N I N G A N D E N D I N G A S I T D O E S I N V I C TO R I A . I T C OV E R S A L L YO U R F O O D, D R I N K A N D PA M P E R I N G N E E D S , W I T H S O M E C H R I S T M A S S H O P P I N G T H ROW N I N , TO O – W H AT ’ S N OT TO LOV E ?

07.00: Start your 2016 fitness regime early – join a 90-minute hot yoga class at SOHOT BIKRAM YOGA (sohotbikramyoga.co.uk), on Victoria Street. The studio’s heated to a sweltering 41ºC for greater elasticity of muscles and loosening of joints, and the session will help you not only tone and stretch, but destress and detoxify, too, burning up to 800 calories along the way. Feel smug, knowing you’ve done all that this early.

11.00: Nearby Elizabeth Street’s boutiques are great for gifts.

Pick up a fancy hat at PHILIP TREACY, unique jewellery at DE VROOMEN, the perfect pair of jeans at DONNA IDA and fine fizz in JEROBOAMS. Handmade greetings cards, meanwhile, can be found at HR STOKES. While there, drop into BLO for some express hair repair or enjoy a puff on TOMTOM CIGARS’ choicest Cohibas (elizabethstreetlondon.com).

14.45: And... relax. At THE SPA AT DOLPHIN SQUARE (dolphinsquare.co.uk), down by the Thames, awaits the ultimate in indulgence: a Moroccan-style hammam treatment. The spa’s 55-minute signature experience, this top-to-toe cleanse packs in a facial, mint-leaf foot ritual, and a rhassoul clay wrap and hair scrub, with a restorative dousing in orange-blossom and rosewater to finish. Bliss.

18.15: Ease yourself into the evening at the brand-new M VICTORIA, which is opening in The Zig-Zag Building on 1 December (mrestaurants.co.uk). Enjoy a tasting in its futuristic wine store, in which Enotechnic machines deliver world-class tipples, and take a look at the menus of its M Grill and M Raw restaurants. The members-only M Den houses a cocktail bar and boutique cinema. Tempted?

09.00: Top off that exercise by striding across Victoria to stately Eccleston Square and enjoy breakfast in its eponymous hotel’s relaxed French restaurant, BISTROT ON THE SQUARE (ecclestonsquarehotel.com).

The fare here includes a range of superb egg options, from the traditional to the intriguing. Push the boat out and accompany your full English with some bubbles or a mimosa cocktail.

12.30: By now, you’ll no doubt be in need of some lunch. Occupying a former bank, high-end Japanese joint KOUZU (kouzu.co.uk), on Grosvenor Gardens, serves creative cuisine courtesy of ex-Zuma head chef Kyoichi Kai. Begin with chilled salmon sprinkled with crunchy sesame seeds in a yuzu soy dressing, then enjoy black cod glazed with sweet miso.

For added palate pleasure, order a Yellow Bloody Mary on the side.

16.00: Now it’s time for a different kind of pampering: the Snow Queen afternoon tea at the five-star CONRAD LONDON ST. JAMES (placeshilton.com/conrad-james) includes a Mint Macaroon Snowstorm piled high with frosted blueberries atop a chocolate-and-pearl sponge. As if that weren’t heaven enough, a resident harpist caresses the strings as you diligently work your way down the cake stand.

20.00: Dinnertime! Throughout December, multi-award-winning chef Adam Handling will be serving Christmas fare at CAXTON GRILL (caxtongrill.co.uk) in St. Ermin’s Hotel, on Caxton Street. Among the enticing three-course options are a cauliflower and chestnut velouté; pork jowl with quince and (appropriately) Jerusalem artichoke; and a dark chocolate, orange, fennel and blackberry ice cream.

10.00: In need of an installation piece or two? Keen to purchase a painting that’ll be a talking point?

Drain one last espresso and amble up Eccleston Street to ELEVEN. As well as exhibiting contemporary works by global talents that are always worth perusing, this fine-art gallery also offers, by appointment, a private advisory service with its founder (elevenfineart.com).

14.00: Few Victoria stores are fancier than the Moreton Street womenswear boutique ULRICH ENGLER COUTURE (ulrichengler.com).

Book a personalised fitting for a bespoke Christmas party outfit or peruse its collection of made-to-measure coats, cocktail dresses and day suits. Note to accompanying partners: gorgeous wedding gowns are also available (nudge, nudge).

17.30: With a swanky evening in prospect, you really must get those nails in shape. Help is literally at hand. The ST. JAMES’ COURT hotel’s La Sultane de Saba wellness centre (stjamescourthotel.co.uk), on Buckingham Gate, offers a 30-minute express manicure or 15-minute polish change for those in need of a speedy reboot. Gents’ pedicures promise to soothe achy-footed men, too.

22.00: Conclude with a nightcap at the LEOPARD CHAMPAGNE & COCKTAIL BAR – the intimate new safari-style hideaway at The Rubens at the Palace hotel, on Buckingham Palace Road (rubenshotel.com). Opt for one of its excellent whiskies, cognacs or armagnacs, or sip something suitably indulgent such as Louis Roederer Cristal by the glass.

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

FOOD

‘M ’ STANDS FOR MMM...

WINE

AND TO DRINK M GROUP WINE DIRECTOR Z ACK CHARIL AOU PICK S PREMIUM W I N E S T O E N J OY W I T H A S T E A K

WORDS JANE FULCHER

O P E N I N G I N T H E Z I G Z A G B U I L D I N G AT T H E S TA R T O F D E C E M B E R I S A N E X C I T I N G N E W V E N T U R E : M V I C T O R I A , F E AT U R I N G T W O R E S TAU R A N T S , A BAR , A WINE STORE AND A MEMBERS’ CLUB WITH A BOUTIQUE CINEMA

USA

FREEMARK ABBEY CABERNET SAUVIGNON

V

around the world, including what is claimed to be the best Kobe beef in London, and M Raw, serving ceviche, tartares, sashimi and steamed bao buns. The M Wine Store will stock carefully selected bottles from the same countries that supply M Victoria with its steaks – that is, the United States, Argentina, France, South Africa, Australia and Italy – and will also host daily tastings.

M Bar, meanwhile, will offer an enticing cocktail list, created by Lance Perkins of the London Edition Hotel, with martinis a speciality, and serve a range of delicious street food. Finally, pass through a secret doorway to find the M Den members’ club – a comfortable, elegant and discreet space with its own bar, DJ booth and screening room, where you can escape the outside world and relax in style.

M Victoria, The Zig Zag Building, 70 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6SQ; mrestaurants.co.uk

ARGENTINA

COLOMÉ MALBEC Colombe’s grapes are grown in the world’s highest vineyard and create a really powerful style of wine. Malbec is very silky in texture, but full of flavour concentration and body, and goes perfectly with a sirloin. £66

THE CHRISTMAS ISSUE

ictoria is undergoing a transformation. Luxury brands and blue-chip financial firms are moving in, and the dining and entertainment scene is in the ascendant. The launch of the new M Victoria restaurant is linked to both these trends, as Martin Williams, its founder, explains: ‘SW1 seemed a natural fit for our second M venue – the companies migrating to this new hotspot have created a market for our offerings. I’m sure people will appreciate both the quality of our food and the hospitality for which we’re becoming known.’

Williams was the man behind the Gaucho restaurants and has achieved extraordinary success with his first M venue, in the City.

His new Victoria venture is the ideal new showcase for the passion, innovation and originality of the M group, and, like its predecessor, it will have many strings to its bow. First, it will have not one but two restaurants: M Grill, which will specialise in superb steaks from

Cabernet Sauvignon is a great match for big, flavoursome steaks. Because of the rich flavour and full body of this wine, a juicy ribeye is the perfect match, and the marbling smooths over any tannins. £95

FR ANCE

CHÂTEAU GRAND VILLAGE BORDEAUX This is the second wine from the esteemed Château Lafleur vineyard. It has balance, elegance and complexity, but isn’t too heavy.

A subtle style like this works best with less-fatty steaks, such as onglet. Pairing an onglet with this Bordeaux will ensure the meat’s interesting flavours don’t get lost. £49 SOUTH AFRICA

R AISE THE S TE AK S M V I C TO R I A’ S H E A D C H E F JA R A D M c C A R RO L L R E V E A L S H OW TO P R E PA R E B E E F T H AT ’ S T E N D E R A N D TA N TA L I S I N G E N O U G H TO M A K E I T O N TO H I S M E N U

When buying a steak, ask your butcher for his or her suggestions and think about paying that little bit extra, as you’ll really reap the rewards when you eat it if you do. Which cut you decide to go for, however, will come down to your own preference.

The texture will depend on the quality of the beef and its cut: fillet has the best texture but the least flavour, whereas rib-eye has more fat but also has more flavour. Marbling is a great way to tell the quality of the meat – the more marbling [specks and streaks of white fat] a steak has, the more moist it will be. It’s full of monosaturated fatty acids, which reduce cholesterol levels, and

has a low melting point, giving you that lovely, melt-in-the-mouth effect.

When it comes to the shape of a steak, you should choose one that is flat, with a decent thickness to it.

That’s actually more important than size. Too thin a steak will be easy to overcook, whereas one with an uneven shape will cook inconsistently.

One of the most important steps when cooking the perfect steak is to allow your meat to come up to room temperature first. This will shorten the cooking time, and help prevent any nasty grey rings appearing between the seared outer layer and pink inner layers.

You should also season the top of the

meat with coarse salt – rock salt or Maldon sea salt is best. The meat will absorb the salt and, when you flip it, the excess will fall off and you can then season the other side. Ideally, flip it only once, rather than repeatedly.

Cooking times will vary depending on the size of the steak, whether it was at room temperature and how hot your grill is – there are too many variables to specify a precise cooking time. The best way to cook it is over charcoal and wood, because those give the best flavour and smokiness, but a gas barbecue will also do. Once cooked to your liking, all you need do is to take a fork and a sharp knife and enjoy.

HAMILTON RUSSELL PINOT NOIR Pinot Noir is very popular at the moment, and this wine shows why. It’s light, complex and soft – like a fillet steak. The flavours of fillet are delicate and the fat content low, so you have to be careful when matching it to wine – big, bold flavours won’t work and you need something with equal subtlety. £141 AUSTR ALIA

MOUNT LANGI GHIRAN CLIFF EDGE SHIRAZ This is a juicy, spicy, fresh red that’s full of concentration and quality. With Wagyu – arguably the most flavoursome steak in the world – you want a wine that will work like salt and pepper, adding a little flavour without stealing the show. Cliff Edge fits the bill because it has enough body and power to stand up to the beef, but a velvety texture that works perfectly alongside the melt-in-the-mouth meat. £69

All of these wines will be available from M Wine Store

J E A N - P I ER R E M U L L ER / A F P / G E T T Y I M AG ES

D O T R Y T H I S AT H O M E

GIFT GUIDE

ALL I WANT FOR CHRIS TMAS...

W O R D S TA M S I N C R I M M E N S

V I C T O R I A’ S P U L L E D O U T A L L T H E S T O P S T O P L E A S E E V E N T H E M O S T D I S C E R N I N G S H O P P E R , W H E T H E R YO U ’ R E S E E K I N G S O M E T H I N G FA B U L O U S F O R A F U S S Y F R I E N D , A N I M P O S S I B L E -T O - P L E A S E PA R T N E R O R T H AT T R I C K Y S E C R E T- S A N TA S O M E O N E

MAKE MINE A MINCE PIE

IT’S A WRAP

CHEESE, PLEASE

Mince Pie Martini, £12 Marks & Spencer, Cardinal Place

Tippet, £32 Accessorize, Cardinal Place

Linea cheese-knife set, £22 House of Fraser, Victoria Street

Warm the cockles of your dad’s heart with a bottle of M&S mince-pie-flavoured Martini. Those dried fruit, citrus peel, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove flavours will bring an extra dose of cheer to the big day.

Up your gift-giving game with Accessorize’s supersoft tippet (aka, scarf). On-trend for AW15 – faux-fur, rich jewel tones and 1970s disco dominated the catwalks – it’s a great gift for the style-conscious woman in your life.

This set of four cheese knives is a great gastronomic gift for relatives who fancy themselves as the perfect host.

With the Stilton and port at the ready, these professional tools won’t remain in the box for long.

WILD CARD

OFF PISTE, ON POINT Hat, £85 Donna Ida, Elizabeth Street

WINNING SECRET

Chocolate wreath, £20 Hotel Chocolat, Victoria Street

Inject some humour into the sadly diminishing tradition of sending season’s greetings by post by treating long-lost relatives to a card from Scribbler, known for its quirky, witty – and sometimes downright outrageous – range.

Buying clothes for a girlfriend can be tricky – not to mention mortifying if you buy the wrong size. Play it safe with Donna Ida’s new off-piste cashmere beanie, which will lend a little Aspen après-ski chic to London sleet.

It’s meant to be fun, yet finding a Secret Santa gift for the likes of Mike in IT can be anything but, especially on the agreed budget. Hotel Chocolat’s decadent offering of cookies and caramel will leave the whole office smiling.

Christmas cards, from £2.99 Scribbler, Victoria Street

PAPER BOY

FESTIVE FARE

RED HOT

Document holder, £55 House of Fraser, Victoria Street

Gingerbread Cottage cake, £25 Little Waitrose, Victoria Street

Lara roll-neck, £65 Hobbs, Cardinal Place

If your father-in-law has recently retired yet still has an office full of paperwork for all his ‘projects’, he’ll appreciate this Howick Harris tweed document holder. It’s a fine piece of Scottish craftsmanship that’s as stylish as it is useful.

Grandparents and kids alike will get a kick out of Waitrose’s 3D Christmas cake. Beautifully decorated, it may look too good to eat, but they won’t be able to resist the classic sponge filled with buttercream and strawberry jam for long.

Hobbs’ festive red roll-neck ticks off two trends and makes an ideal gift for a fashion-forward yet practical mother.

Merino wool is warm but fine, meaning this is slim enough to layer. And, before she asks – yes, it is machine washable.

PERSONAL BEST

A FINE BOUQUET

FELIZ NAVIDAD

100ml fragrance, £95 Jo Loves, Elizabeth Street

The Delicious Hamper, £50 Ibérica, The Zig Zag Building

Want to be your brother’s favourite relative this Christmas?

Make a dash for a pair of these Nike Men’s Free 5.0 trainers.

Lightweight cushioning ensures natural running, and their understated design renders them cool on or off the track.

Perfumier Jo Malone began her career as a florist on Elizabeth Street and has returned to SW1 with a new store, Jo Loves. Her latest scent, White Rose & Lemon Leaves, will please those who favour a delicate, sophisticated fragrance.

The gift of one of Ibérica’s Christmas hampers crammed full of authentic Spanish produce – such as fine wines and cava, cured meats and nougat – will delight any foodie in the family. Order before 20 December.

Emma Hardie Amazing Face gift set, £10, Space.NK., Cardinal Place

A CLEAN SWEEP

Daniel Wellington Bristol watch, £179 Goldsmiths, Cardinal Place

ABOUT TIME

MUNCHIES FOR MUTTS

Emma Hardie’s Christmas bauble contains a cleansing cloth and 15ml sample of her famously effective Moringa cleansing balm, packed with essential oils. The ideal introduction to a cult favourite, and a great gift for a sister.

Do you love your partner, but not his taste in timepieces?

The clean lines of Daniel Wellington’s range of classic British watches will add style to his work and leisure wardrobe, while the price tag makes it an affordable gift for your beau.

Does a dear friend have a dog obsession? High-end pet store Mungo & Maud’s organic carrot biscuits are baked using a healthy recipe and come in a hessian drawstring bag. A sumptuous treat for pampered pooches.

COOL FOR KIDS

RAZZLE DAZZLE ’EM Nail Effects polish, £7 Boots, Cardinal Place

GREEN WITH ENVY

Silk tie, £29 Hawes & Curtis, Victoria Street

High-street favourite Mango recently opened in Victoria, and its childrenswear is spot on. Fashionable pre-teens will love the faux fur, while you can rest assured it’ll keep them warm in winter and won’t break the bank.

It wouldn’t be Christmas without a little sparkle. Boots’ No7 Nail Effects adds glitz to fingers and toes, and makes a super stocking filler for teenagers or party-loving friends of all ages who appreciate a festive manicure.

A colleague who thinks himself the snappiest dresser in the office will appreciate this silk tie in the hue that dominated the men’s AW15 catwalks. What’s more, with Hawes & Curtis’s mix & match offer, you could buy five for £100.

Faux-fur coat, £39.99 Mango Kids, The Zig Zag Building

Organic dog treats, £17.25 Mungo & Maud, Elizabeth Street

THE CHRISTMAS ISSUE

Nike Men’s Free 5.0, £99.99 Runners Need, Palace Street

A world of flavours R E S TA U R A N T S

A N I B B L E O F N O R T H A F R I C A , A TA S T E O F TA I WA N O R A P I E C E O F P E R U – I T ’ S N O W P O S S I B L E T O G R A Z E O N E ’ S WAY A C R O S S T H E G L O B E W I T H O U T E V E N L E AV I N G S W 1 W O R D S J A N E F U L C H E R I L L U S T R AT I O N A D A M H AY E S

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ictoria is becoming a hotspot for foodies. This October, for the first time, the London Restaurant Festival expanded its restaurant-hopping tours to take in SW1, and the district’s culinary pull is set to grow stronger still with the 2016 launch of the capital’s new food quarter: Nova, Victoria. From casual eateries off the beaten track to refined dining in five-star hotels, there’s fare here from every continent, to suit every taste.

London’s street-food scene is internationally renowned, and Victoria makes a big contribution to that reputation for excellence. The Cardinal Place Food Market on Thursday lunchtimes offers a diverse selection of world cuisine that sees workers and locals alike flock to browse and graze. Stalls change weekly, but include the following: hearty Peruvian stews from Panka, piquant Argentinian empanadas from Chango, spicy Jamaican patties from Rummanco, authentic Asian noodles from Fab Thai, delicious Ethiopian dishes from Red Tent Ent, moreish Japanese udon from Juzu, fragrant vegetarian Indian curries from Village Gujjus, irresistible hot dogs from Polish Deli, traditional Greek kebabs from Souvlaki Street, gourmet Gallic cheese from La Ferme, tasty Sardinian cured meats from Regina, superb Spanish sandwiches from Gourmet Chorizo, indulgent French patisserie from Comptoir Gourmand, and top-notch British pork burgers from Pigger & Better.

Just around the corner is Strutton Ground Market (open on weekdays), another very popular lunch spot. This cobbled,

pedestrianised street hosts a number of internationally inspired food stalls selling mouthwatering fare ranging from Middle Eastern falafels to Mexican burritos. Well worth queuing for.

However, if it’s a more formal sit-down experience you’re craving, Victoria has choices aplenty. Quilon, at St. James’ Court, a Taj Hotel, is London’s only Michelin-starred south Indian restaurant. Focusing on the coastal cuisine of Goa and Kerala, the menu features exquisitely spiced fish and seafood, including baked black cod, pink-pepper chilli prawns, and fish curry with coconut and mango.

Another of the area’s best-respected restaurants is Hunan, on Pimlico Road. The kind of in-the-know place the critics rave about, it serves Taiwanese- and Chinese-inflected cuisine in a delicious series of around 15 tapas-sized dishes. There’s no menu, so – dietary requirements aside – diners are served

whichever seasonal delicacies chef Peng chooses to cook that particular evening, making every meal a veritable voyage of culinary discovery.

If you’re still craving a taste of the red dragon, A Wong on Wilton Road serves a 10-course menu that traverses the 2,000-year history of Chinese cooking. Or, for an afternoon tea with an Asian flavour, try the recently opened Grand Imperial London, at The Grosvenor Hotel.

Staying in the Far East, Victoria is home to two recently launched Japanese restaurants that have been universally lauded. Uni, on Ebury Street, serves Japanese and Peruvian fusion cuisine prepared by former Nobu chef Rolando Ongcoy.

The menu majors on succulent sea-fresh sushi, flavoursome robata-grilled skewers, and piquant ceviches and tiraditos.

Order Uni’s take on Peru’s classic cocktail, the pisco sour, to complete the experience – or attend a sushi masterclass and take the skills home with you.

Kouzu, on Grosvenor Gardens, specialises in charcoalgrilled meats – don’t miss the superb Wagyu beef – and has a killer cocktail list featuring signature Asian ingredients such as yuzu, sake and shochu. Just across the road, Mango Tree, on Grosvenor Place, is a Victoria institution – an enormous, stylish space known for its award-winning Thai menu. It’s as popular with the business crowd as it is with couples, friends and families craving authentic tom yum. Just around the corner, on Hugh Street, is Sri Suwoon – the place to go for those who want

ART

THE BIGGER PICTURE M U LT I M E D I A A R T I S T S A A D Q U R E S H I I S ASKING RESIDENTS TO CONTRIBUTE TO T H E F I R S T I N A S E R I E S O F DY N A M I C A R T I N S TA L L AT I O N S AT N O VA , V I C T O R I A

“

IN VICTORIA, THERE IS FARE FROM EVERY CONTINENT TO SUIT EVERY TASTE

an extra helping of Spanish flavour to the area. The small group of restaurants is the project of Michelin-starred chef Nacho Manzano and offers the finest cured meats – especially Ibérico ham – as well as Manchego cheese, and light bites in the form of pinchos and tapas. It’s said you can judge a Spanish restaurant by its croquettes and, at Ibérica, they are unbeatable.

For reliably good cuisine from Spain, you can’t go wrong with a trip to La Tasca, in Cardinal Place, either, which is great for big groups. Dishes are marked on the menu according to the region, allowing you to graze your way across the country, from Rioja to Murcia and on to Catalonia.

After such gastronomic globetrotting, some may be hankering after a taste of home. Luckily, Victoria is also an area offering fine British fare. For traditional pub grub, The Thomas Cubitt, on Elizabeth Street, and The Orange, on Pimlico Road, are both recommended. For something a little fancier, head for The Goring Hotel, on Beeston Place, famed nationwide for its English and Scottish menu. Recently awarded its first Michelin star, it is renowned for its carefully sourced and beautifully cooked meats — try the Romney Marsh lamb with rosemary jus, Suffolk pork fillet with smoked-eel fritter, beef Wellington, or roast Scottish halibut with buttered crab – and wash it down with an exquisite glass of English sparkling wine from Nyetimber.

Nearby, Boisdale, on Eccleston Street, is Victoria’s home of Scottish cuisine, and is predictably thronged with guests on one special evening in January, when it serves a supper of haggis, neeps and tatties followed by cranachan – a kind of Eton mess with added oats and whisky – with a tot of single malt from the restaurant’s extensive collection. Burns Night aside, it’s a destination restaurant year-round for superb Scottish seafood and Aberdeenshire steaks.

Adam Handling at Caxton Grill, in St Ermin’s Hotel, is a fine-dining establishment helmed by the man who made his name via an impressive performance on MasterChef. His thrilling cooking is heavily influenced by his native Scotland, as well as his love of Asian, especially Japanese, cuisine. Opt for the seven-course tasting menu — you won’t be disappointed.

This is the kind of diversity capital dwellers have come to expect. It’s an eclectic and exciting mix, and one that SW1 embraces – and, with the launch of Nova, Victoria next autumn, there’s yet more to come. Watch this space.

What inspires your art?

Meeting interesting people and hearing their stories is a huge source of inspiration for me. I love the idea that storytelling can be a visual medium. I’m so curious about and interested in people’s experiences, and I want to reach out and ask them to share their stories with me, and to create a platform on which those stories can be shared.

And how did you become involved with Nova, Victoria?

I received a phone call from Patrick Morey-Burrows at Art Source, who has been working with Land Securities on its public-art programme. He told me he’d been following my career ever since my degree show at the Slade, and invited me to make a proposal for Nova, Victoria. The idea of conceiving a new work of public art for a district that is undergoing such a profound transformation was incredibly inspiring to me.

What is the idea behind the project and how do you hope people will feel when they view these artworks?

The idea is to look at the portability of landscapes, and the human mind as a vehicle to carry places from one location to another. I want to invite as wide a variety of people as possible to contribute to the project a memory of a landscape that is significant to them, so I can bring these many influences together and attempt to evoke a kind of universal landscape from our cumulative memories of place.

So, how can people get involved with the project?

I’m reaching out to the people of Victoria – the full cross-section of those who work and live here or just travel through the district – and inviting them to ‘donate’ a memory of a significant landscape to which they no longer have access. These collected memories will then be reimagined to form a series of universal ‘mindscapes’ to be housed in six vitrines that will be installed across the public spaces of Nova, Victoria. There are two ways to participate in the project: the first is to visit the Create Victoria website (createvictoria.com/thebiggerpicture), where you can contribute your story via a questionnaire; the second is to meet me face-to-face – I will be in residence in Victoria on dedicated days between now and mid-January. By adding their stories to the project, I hope people will feel they have contributed something to the transformation of this new London quarter.

THE CHRISTMAS ISSUE

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a more intimate but no less delicious taste of Thailand. Its softshell crab and sizzling rib-eye steaks are particularly popular.

Moving nearer Europe, there’s a fine selection of Middle Eastern restaurants in SW1, including the popular Kazan, on Wilton Road, an upmarket Turkish establishment serving köfte and ali nazik kebabs worth crossing the capital for, alongside delectable meze and baklava. If tabbouleh is what you’re craving, however, Noura, on Hobart Place, is one of the area’s best Lebanese eateries, with a selection of dishes prepared by a team that knows its labneh from its sojok. For A-class houmous and falafel, Café Nouf, on Lower Grosvenor Place, is worth the wander – an intimate space with a terrace for smoking shisha.

The fare of most European countries is well represented in SW1 – Kona, at the aforementioned St. James’ Court, serves a seasonal Mediterranean menu: lobster bisque or truffle-scented vegetable consommé might be followed by pan-roasted sea bass or seared Gresham duck breast. It also offers a six-course tasting menu for those who fancy a treat.

For dinner with a difference, consider the Vincent Rooms and Escoffier Room, where high-end cuisine is prepared and served by the students of Westminster Kingsway College, one of the country’s finest culinary schools. There is a strong European and particularly French influence to the menus, which could include steamed salmon pavé or double-baked Cashel Blue soufflé. The tasting menu at the Escoffier Room – £27.50 for seven courses, £55 with paired wines – is astonishingly good value, and might comprise the likes of game consommé, roast rump of lamb ratatouille or poached foie gras.

Lovers of food like Mamma used to make are well served in SW1 – Jamie’s Italian, which opened recently on Victoria Street, specialises in pastas and traditional meaty mains and has a great kids’ menu. For pizza, opt for the recently refurbished Zizzi in Cardinal Place, or De Scalzo on Elizabeth Street – a cosy, family-run place with heaps of charm. Justifiably popular with businesspeople and locals alike, the Olivo group of Sardinian restaurants is a tour de force. Grouped around Ecclestone and Elizabeth Streets, it includes the traditional Olivo, seafood specialist Olivomare, meat-focused Olivocarne, the Oliveto pizzeria, Olivogelo gelateria, and Olivino deli and wine shop.

Staying in the Mediterranean, Ibérica, which recently opened in The Zig Zag Building on Victoria Street, has brought

WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL’S HIDDEN GEMS CANON CHRISTOPHER T U C K W E L L’ S FAV O U R I T E S P O T S

THE VIEW FROM THE CAMPANILE BELL TOWER Not a lot of people know that you can climb to the top of the bell tower, but it’s well worth it.

It offers a fine view of the capital on a decent day and, at £6 (£3 concessions), it’s a lot less expensive than you’ll pay elsewhere!

BEHIND THE SCENES

CHRISTOPHER TUCKWELL INTERVIE W GEMMA BILLINGTON

PHOTOGR APHY TRENT McMINN

T H E C A N O N O F W E S T M I N S T E R C AT H E D R A L L O O K S F O RWA R D T O T H E FORTHCOMING FESTIVITIES AND TO WELCOMING THE COMMUNIT Y T H R O U G H T H E D O O R S O F V I C T O R I A’ S L A N D M A R K C H U R C H

What role does Westminster Cathedral play in the wider Victoria community?

On a Sunday, around 4,000 people come through our doors. There’s quite a mixture of backgrounds and cultures, but there’s a definite local community. A number of parishioners live within walking distance – for example, in the Ashley Gardens apartments and Carlisle Mansions – but there are those who live further out, work in the area and come to early mass at the cathedral every morning.

The cathedral’s choir is renowned across the world. What would you say makes them so special?

They have a characteristic tone that makes them distinct. We’re blessed in having an extremely talented master of music, who has been here for 16 years. The choir’s membership changes continuously, but the style, content and quality remains the same.

hold a pre-midnight mass, at 6pm, because many people want to come to church on that special night but are looking after young children or elderly relatives for whom midnight would be too late. The service is always full. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, celebrates the midnight mass and also the main mass on Christmas Day – that really is a liturgical highlight not to be missed.

The week before, we hold what we call our Cathedral Christmas celebration, which is a service of readings and carols, along with more traditional music and a mixture of scriptural and secular readings by invited guests. We’ve had a number of well-known readers over the years, from televisionnews presenters and actors to politicians.

Christmas is an important time for the Church – how does the cathedral prepare for the festive season?

There’s a certain amount that’s routine, such as ordering the Christmas trees, but we also host carol services for groups as diverse as Cancer Research UK and the London Fire Brigade. Those evenings are all quite different and, every year, we attract a new organisation that wants to come here, so there’s variety as well as continuity.

What kind of outreach programmes does the Cathedral operate at this time of year?

At Christmas, the choir sings for charity at various places across the capital, but we have an outreach programme all year round – for example, we work with The Passage, a local organisation for homeless people, and, in the winter, play our part as a night refuge, with our hall being used as a shelter by those with nowhere else to go. We also ensure the sick or housebound are visited, so they’re reminded they’re thought of and are a valuable part of our community. Throughout the year, we keep our doors wide open so people can see they’re always welcome.

And what are some of the other highlights at this time of year?

I think the key event of the season for me would have to be midnight mass, which represents the start of Christmas. These days, we also

The Land Securities Carol Concert takes place at 7.30pm on Wednesday 2 December. Tickets are £12. Proceeds go to The Passage and The Cardinal Hume Centre; westminstercathedral.org.uk

THE CHAPEL OF ST PATRICK AND THE SAINTS OF IRELAND There’s a tiny, narrow chapel called the Chapel of the Sacred Heart, which is a lovely quiet spot, but my favourite corner of the cathedral is probably St Patrick’s – there’s something about the beautiful marble, which was sourced from all over Ireland.

The space has a wonderful atmosphere.

THE MOSAIC OF ST MARY MAGDALENE The cathedral has so many small details that I‘m still noticing some of them for the first time. The other day, I discovered we have a mosaic depicting St Mary Magdalene, which is on the curved inside of an arch. It’s a good lesson in life not to think you know it all – there’s always something to learn.

VICTORIA TRAINING STATION COMING SOON FOUNDER MEMBER RATES AVAILABLE

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WELCOME TO THE NEW M WINE STORE At M Wine Store we give you access to exclusive and unusual premium wines, which up until now have only been available to purchase in restaurants or through ďŹ ne wine merchants.

Our shop on Victoria Street opens on 1st December 2015. Until that time, our wines are available at our website. Visit mwinestore.co.uk today and explore our fantastic selection.

MWINESTORE.CO.UK THE ZIG ZAG BUILDING, VICTORIA ST