two days great

i had two good, consistent days in the bar on friday and saturday with fabulous drinks (of course), brilliant music and great folk, some of them newcomers. 


'tis the season to be fresh and fruity and frozen, so we blended strawberries, or raspberries, or bananas, or blackberries, or pineapple, or watermelon, or pakistani mangos, as mr. ali called them and brought them and we mixed them with white rum, or vodka, or tequila, or gin and we created summer masterpieces, like, daiquiris and caipirowskas and margaritas, easy to drink, although i have to stress that ALL my cocktails contain DOUBLE shots of spirit, which is 50ml. strong good stuff and they went down very well on both nights.


we also served bellinis and kir royals, which i believe them to be exquisite summer classics for those, including myself, who like a bit of bubbly, instead of a cocktail.


and i saw friends from down under and those i have not seen for ages.


max dmc was spinning on friday a delightful concoction of disco, acid house and hip hop in twisted and unfamiliar mixes, till after midnight with hot passion and 
spike spondike filled the dancefloor with arabic and greek tunes, on saturday; a very good zorba mix put a smile on our faces and a click on our fingers, to continue with electro and 90s classic house. marvellous, music is so important and good music is fundamental!


i got a new BBQ set which christened its grills with doug's mouthwatering nut and spicy bean burgers, as well as caramelised pineapple kebabs and barbecued bananas with organic chocolate... 


the creativity, imagination and quality continues in the liquor bar... 

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imbibe 2011

imbibe is a big hospitality show happening in earl's court centre in west london.

a big umbrella encapsulating all sides of the trade; from dishwashers, to bar snacks, obscure spirits, herby gin, toffee vodka and all sorts of wine, from different counrties and regions as well as plenty of free plonk, to try and try again and finally leave the show full of ideas/ inspiration/ contacts or drunk.

i distinguished the toffee vodka and gin mare with rosemary or basil and connected with a big wine company for sales on returns.

saw some folk and met some new and left pretty tipsy, to go and meet the boys in the pouring rain for a yummy turkish, devoured happily. in stepney green.

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private parties 3

and this time it was in my bar...

i hosted a joint birthday of two friends; it was semi private, as i had invited some of my peeps, too. a selected few and with no discrimination...

it was a warm day, summer in london, at last... and let us keep quiet, not to jinx it!

it was also PRIDE day in london; perfect, sexy, celebrating equality, difference and individuality; a great reason for partying!

we bought a blender. we made strawberry daiquiris with white appleton rum and platino batidas with sagatiba cachaca and fresh bananas!

when we run out of the strawberries, we used doug's leftover pineapple chunks (he made caramelised pineapple chunks on a skewer - delicious)!

they went down very well in the jam jars with a fruit garnish, as well as the bellinis with creamy peach puree.

we had veggie bean burgers on a bun with a selection of condiments and sauces and we had exquisite music, via five djs, playing in turns with a wonderful communication, which would not let anyone sit down till the early hours of the morning...

fun. busy. quality. in a nut shell.

after two late, yer successful nights behind the bar, i slept a lot, to wake up very early on monday and begin another busy week...

good stuff. good times. and i count my blessings and thanking my support network...

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private parties 2

july began well. 

last night i hosted another birthday party in yet another beautiful home and it was hard work and continuous, but splendid fun.

the hosts have seen my work previously, the 29 april, so they invited me in.

the menu (photo above) was more demanding, but manageable; it was a beautiful day anyway and the bellinis were more popular than the classic and kir royale, but all the prosecco disappeared in due time!

a variation of sours with bourbon, amaretto, vodka and tequila were enthusiastically received and consumed and the classic daiquiris made this time with appleton gold rum were a right treat!

the boys loved the idea of the old fashioned, but when i run out of maker's mark and recommended treacles (old fashioned with rum), a lot of beautiful women were queuing up for seconds...

i made mint juleps with vodka, as they were a few not favouring whiskey and do i need to say what happened when the margaritas, either on ice, or served up, starting flying off my huge tressle table?

the music was rocking with the brother of the lady, whose party i hosted last time; most are neighbours and good friends and at some point fire lit paper lanterns decorated the dark blue sky... magic!

i left after 2am and joined another gathering, small, yet intimate with my friends... i was sipping white wine and munching a pickled beetroot, which stained my hand...

another birthday party tonight and this time, in my bar... words and pics to follow... off to have some breakfast...

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private parties 1

on friday 29 april 2011, when two young people were making their union a public affair, to increase the economy of the counrty, or perhaps and most likely to make the suffering folk (recession is bad) stray away from their troubles even for a day, by the false belief in history and tradition, or simply because they want to drink... a lot...

i was invited to host a private birthday party in a beautiful home somewhere in the east end.

i was busy. i had fun. and everyone enjoyed the small, but precise cocktail menu, which i put together along to my clients wishes and requests and only left me with a quarter of gin and some cassis well after midnight.

we started with champagne cocktails, like the classic, bellini and kir royal, which went down well, especially, with the parents and we gradually moved to sours and daiquiris; beautifully fresh and with a massive froth (sours)!

cracking the egg and pouring sexily the white in to the drink has caused some fascination...

the music was excellent, spinned merrily by the brother of the hostess and there some delicious food, full of nutrients and imagination...

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