Chris D’Sylva
“What I love most about November is that it’s kicked off by Halloween and the imported ritual of trick or treating with my family and friends. Walking the streets of Notting Hill and marvelling at all the decorated houses is such a laugh. This is then quickly followed by a week of Guy Fawkes festivities and the trigger happy fireworks fans light up the sparkling skies with big bangs. I love the revelry of it all. This period to me marks the run up to Christmas and so begins the chance to catch up with everyone I love with warm drinks and bonfires and cosy clothing.
When I can I love to escape down the motorway to my in-laws in Hampshire to watch the changing of the colours of the leaves from green to auburn before they all fall down. November is the last uninterrupted month before the end of the year and before we enter the pressure cooker that is December. It’s bookended by the very festive custom of Thanksgiving and kicks off the start of things in the fish shop in terms of people buying feasts.
Tonight also excitingly marks the launch of our second chapter of Urchin- a cooked Japanese concept that we are bringing to market next year in a new restaurant in Holland Park. But for the fall and winter months it starts its London residency now and every night in the Supermarket of Dreams.”
Chris D’Slyva
Food & Drink: Bottarga
Credit: Instagram
Chicama in Chelsea sadly closed recently but the space has been retained by the owners (Pachamama Group) and is now being reborn as Bottarga - a more casual version of sister restaurant Zephyr in Notting Hill, but with a Mediterranean influence. This is reflected in the name - Bottarga is salted, cured fish roe pouch and the best-known version is produced around the Mediterranean. Perfect! Adam Rawson is returning as head chef and has worked on the menu with Greek Executive Chef, Tzoulio Loulai whose father will be producing the olive oil in Greece, that will be used in the restaurant- a delicious family affair. Dishes are inspired by childhood memories and familiar flavours, bursting with Aegean warmth, and include Mushroom Pastichio topped with shavings of thyme Graviera cheese and black truffle, Whole burnt butter potatoes with roasted garlic aioli and burnt original beans piura porcelana chocolate cheesecake with salted caramel chocolate sauce. And then there will, of course, be bottarga on the menu in the form of golden bottarga orzo. “The menu at Bottarga emphasises shared plates and bold profiles. We encourage you to linger a moment longer, people watch, dine al fresco and treat dessert as a non-negotiable.” In terms of the interior, the bones of the restaurant is staying as it was with Chicama but with a fresh lick of paint and all-new decor. There is also a brand new terrace that can be used all year round.
Drinks: Winter Gin Garden
Credit: Instagram
The festive season isn’t all about mulled wine and eggnog, thankfully! If you head to the Ham Yard Hotel, you can indulge in their annual winter rooftop pop up in collaboration with Sipsmith gin. The Winter Gin Garden: Sipping History, invites you to drink and dine on their usually private roof terrace, hidden within the central London skyline. Sip your way through the centuries, as you discover four hundred years of cocktails. Maybe one to plan for when you can have a lie in the next day! To stay warm you can grab a hot water bottle and blanket, and tuck into both steaming and chilled cocktails alongside a selection of fire-cooked food. Drinks include The Hot Chocolata (17th Century) – A warm and rich chocolate and zesty orange cocktail, inspired by physician Henry Stubbe’s creation of the hot chocolate we know today or the Toddy – (18th Century) – A fiery ginger twist on the classic winter warmer, served straight from a hip flask. Food wise you can indulge in dishes such as Cacio e pepe and black truffle flatbread (YUM) as well as Kombu and soy glazed mushroom skewer, smoked over juniper, bay and rosemary, Jacob’s Ladder ribs with mole negro and chimichurri sauce and toasted s'mores, toffee apple and cinnamon crackers. The Winter Gin garden opens on the 6th November.
Musical: Poetry and Afrobeat Jazz Music
On Tuesday 12th November, how would you like to spend an evening taking in conversations, poetry, and Afro-beat jazz music to celebrate the release of Theresa Lola’s second poetry collection Ceremony for the Nameless published by Penguin Poetry, at the Institute of Contemporary Arts? You’d love to? We thought so. Teresa is a British Nigerian poet and writer and was appointed the Young People’s Laureate for London in the year 2019-2. Her book broaches the question, what is really in a name? It explores how names and the act of naming shape our identities, our aspirations, what we carry and how we belong. Theresa is joined by British-Ghanaian writer Caleb Azumah Nelson for a thoughtful discussion about the themes and writing of the book. Ceremony for the Nameless begins with a traditional Yoruba naming ceremony, a key event in the culture to formally introduce a child, celebrated with joyful songs. In keeping with the musical and rhythmic backdrop, Theresa will be accompanied by Afrobeat and jazz instrumentalists throughout the evening, including Deanna Wilhelm, KK Brown, and Faye Thompson. Copies of the book will be available for purchase, and Theresa Lola will be signing books briefly after the event.
Event: You Me Bum Bum Train
We know what you're about to say - You Me Bum Bum Train, the inimitable, boundary-pushing show, is sold out you silly billy’s. And we know it is but we have an opportunity for you to still get to enjoy the experience but from a volunteering point of view. No theatre experience needed and everyone is welcome, from 18 years old to 100! This is the only way to find out more about this surreal, exhilarating, euphoric and mind-bending participatory experience and volunteers can give as little or as much time as possible and get involved in set design, set build, logistics, admin, costume, props, stage management, graphic design, acting, and much more. There are plenty of free training opportunities and the networking with other volunteers is off the charts! Anyone up for volunteering needs to sign the agreement online and attend a BIG MEET in the top secret central London location to find out more.
Art: Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael
At the turn of the 16th century, three titans of the Italian Renaissance – Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael – briefly crossed paths, competing for the attention of the most powerful patrons in Republican Florence. Then on 25 January 1504, Florence’s most prominent artists met to advise on an appropriate location for Michelangelo’s nearly finished David. Among them was Leonardo da Vinci, who – like Michelangelo – had only recently returned to his native Florence. Starting with Michelangelo’s celebrated Taddei Tondo, this brand new exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts opens on the 9th November and explores the rivalry between Michelangelo and Leonardo and the influence both had on the young Raphael. This is our chance to see some of the finest examples of Italian Renaissance drawing, including Leonardo’s Burlington House Cartoon and the studies by Leonardo and Michelangelo for their murals commissioned by the Florentine government for the newly constructed council hall in the Palazzo Vecchio. This exhibition has been organised in partnership with Royal Collection Trust and the National Gallery and is open to the public until February next year.
Theatre: Ballet Shoes
In a crumbling house full of dinosaur bones and fossils, three adopted sisters – Pauline, Petrova and Posy – are learning who they are and what they want to be. Under the watchful eyes and guidance of their guardian Sylvia, Nana, and some unlikely lodgers, they fight to pursue their individual passions. But in a world that wasn’t built for women with big ambitions, can they forge a future, keep their family together, and even learn a dance or two along the way? Katy Rudd (The Ocean at the End of the Lane) returns to the National Theatre to direct this spectacular re-imagining of Noel Streatfeild’s beloved novel Ballet Shoes, in a new version by Kendall Feaver. Tickets are available from as little as £5 for this production that runs from the 23rd November until the 22nd February 2025.
Art: Boys Boys Boys
Ghislain Pascal and Tamara Beckwith Veroni of The Little Black Gallery have opened their first BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! Gallery Café in Fitzrovia. The BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! Gallery Café is a new cultural hub to promote queer and gay fine art photography - as part of their wider BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! Programme. The launch exhibition includes artworks by AdeY, Yves de Brabander, Mathias Chaillot, Alexander Courtman, Alessandro Pollio, Michael Søndergaard and Tyler Udall. "Galleries have become such boring, alien, elitist, and unfriendly white boxes that nobody wants to visit any more. We're trying to create a friendly, welcoming environment where people can enjoy visiting, get a cup of coffee or glass of wine, whilst picking up a copy of our latest BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! magazine, book, zine or artwork, whilst chatting to our friendly front of house team", said Ghislain Pascal. The gallery has been designed by Alison Henry Design, with walnut panelled walls, pink onyx marble bar and table-tops, Italian marble mosaic floor, and a neon window sign designed by Cig Harvey. The playlist for the gallery has been curated by Virgin Radio DJ and podcaster Graeme Smith. Head on over to this must-see new queer London location to visit, shop and just hang out.
Experience: The Great Christmas Feast
Let’s start by saying this has sold out for the last 5 years in a row so if you’re interested then get over to the website and book tickets NOW! Once again the Lost Estate in West Kensington has been transformed into Charles Dickens’ home; just as it would have been on the night before Christmas in 1843. We are invited to journey to Victorian London and bear witness to an incredible, cinematic production of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’, amidst a magical set created by acclaimed designers, Darling & Edge. With live music from long-time collaborator Steffan Rees, a star-studded cast, and a three-course feast fashioned by Executive Chef Ashley Clarke (from the Gordon Ramsay Group and Temper Soho). All around you the characters come to life as you tuck into dishes inspired by Victorian delicacies, each chosen to complement the story. Starting with a delightful serving of corn-fed chicken with pickled beetroot and samphire relish before moving onto the confit Gressingham duck breast with all the trimmings you could want. Finish on a decadent Twelfth Night Cake with Christmas pudding ice cream. Yes you read that right! There are also plenty of options for veggies and vegans too of course. The legendary Great Christmas Feast is famed for the incredible and utterly immersive Christmas vibes it’s been bringing to London since 2018. Running until January 12th, with dates available from Tuesday to Sunday from now and then seven days a week from November 25-onwards. Grab your tickets here.
Charity of the Month: Men’s Minds Matter
Men’s Minds Matter is a fantastic not for profit Community Interest Company dedicated to the prevention of suicide through building psychological resilience and emotional strength. Set up in 2009, originally as a platform for psychological research, Men’s Minds Matter has gone on to become a leading voice in suicide prevention, male suicide and male psychology. They focus on psychological science and a commitment to evidence based practices. MMM have been busy developing a psychological intervention for people at risk of suicide and their aim is to use this model to provide support to individuals at risk of suicide and to the people and communities around them. Aside from the usual manners of supporting including fundraising, they are so keen to have volunteers around the country. There are many ways to do this including helping to raise awareness of the issues faced by men and boys through their online material and social media campaigning or to help develop digital self-help material, specifically designed for men. These guides will be based on psychological theory and practice, which has significant research supporting its proven effectiveness in reducing psychological symptoms of distress. To learn more please do check out their website.