Tag Archives: lunch

Hot on the Highstreet Week 215

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I look forward to lunchtime all morning, and miss it all afternoon. Working in Knightsbridge has its perks but there isn’t much choice when it comes to feeding time! The options are too pricey or located too far away, most of my office end up going to Waitrose to pick out the ingredients to make their own plates of food.

Lunchbox London solves all your working day culinary problems providing office catering and individual lunches. The delicious meals are healthy and nutritious, prepared freshly each morning. The hard-working lunchbox girls think up a new creative menu each week which gets sent to you by email after you subscribe online. Just place your order from the menu by email the day before and your lunch will be delivered to your doorstep by 12pm the following day.

Their office catering provides for larger groups or meetings with artisan sandwiches, finger bites, and buffet-style sharing salads. All from just £6 a head. This innovative company have also got afternoon snacks covered, with healthy, appetite-satisfying snacks to get your through the afternoon.

The Lunchbox team came to meet me last week for the perfect little picnic in Hyde Park. After hearing about their backgrounds in cooking and studying at renowned cooking school Leiths, I tried a range of tasty and inventive meals. I greedily managed to finish off almost my whole menu:

Sweetcorn fritters, mozzarella, avocado-lime salsa & sundried tomato salad,

Goats cheese, pomegranate and aubergine chicken rolls with roast squash, rocket and herb dressing,

Marmite popcorn,

Seeded agave bars.

The fritters were my favourite, a crunchy texture with a good bite contrasting with the peppery salad, citrusy salsa and zingy tomatoes and the soft comforting cheese. It was polished off in no time. The chicken rolls were great too, a more filling meal with exotic sweet pomegranate fruit. Marmite popcorn proved to be a hit with my girly colleagues, who loved that one portion is less than 100 calories! The agave bar looked too healthy for me, a small and dense cake-like bar I was amazed to find it had a sweet and moreish taste, I particularly noticed the flavoursome desiccated coconut inside.

I went back to the office raving about this brilliant young company. Currently they only deliver to a limited central postcode but let’s hope Lunchbox gets out to all Londoners soon, everyone needs a lunch this healthy and delicious!

Visit the Lunchbox London website here or email thegirls@lunchboxlondon.com to find out more and order.

Live Your Lunchbreak

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I have worked in the Knightsbridge and Hyde Park Corner area of London for most of my working life. When I’m stressed at work I dislike this famous and very busy borough, but when I have the chance to utilise my lunch break I fall in love with Knightsbridge and all it has to offer, returning to work brighter and lighter. This week Flexioffices are launching a campaign to encourage Londoners to make the most of their lunch break, here are some of the ideas I’m excited to have found…

Refuel on Mondays

The most obvious thing to occupy yourself with on your lunchbreak, is of course, food… a meal I crave for the first four hours of every day. Knightsbridge’s opportunities can be a bit pricey, a salad from Ottolenghi being the most extravagant option! Why not wander round the Harvey Nichols Food Hall and marvel at the range of international foodie items. For a filling and delicious lunch, order a wrap from the hot counter – the guys will grill you a hefty portion of marinated meat with onion and pepper and encase it in a pitta bread with fresh salad and sauces of your choice. It’s sure to keep you satisfied all afternoon.

Revitalise on Tuesdays

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed: when I’m feeling drab and dreary I pop over to Harvey Nichols for an eye makeover. First, a painful but perfectly shaped eyebrow thread at Blink, where the girls pluck away with cotton strands until your brows are immaculate. For extra dazzle treat yourself to a pair of lashes at Japanese beauty brand extraordinaire, Shu Uemura, where the talented make-up artists will fit your lashes of choice. Flutter proudly all the way back to work.

Relax on Wednesdays

Motcomb Street is a hidden gem in the backstreets behind touristy Knightsbridge. Here you can find boutiques selling all sorts of goodies: jewellery, perfume, macaroons, designer clothes and shoes, plus cafés. My favourite outlet is Rococo, the fragrant and beautiful chocolatier. Carefully choose one delectable bite from the counter and order a thick hot chocolate, that I guarantee is the best in London. Make your way down to the Moroccan garden to enjoy your treats while reading a book and forget all your worries for a few precious isolated moments.

Re-energise on Thursdays

I feel instantly refreshed when I see greenery, and Hyde Park is a real asset to this area. The famous London park offers horse-riding for active people and plenty of grass for picnics. Take along a camera and practise your skills, or wander to the Serpentine Gallery to see a show (usually free entry), here you will also find Zaha Hadid’s impressive new building, the home for trendy restaurant, Magazine.

Refresh on Fridays

Amidst the Knighstbridge hubbub is the heavenly hotel The Berkeley, where no luxury is spared. Their unique rooftop pool overlooks London with panoramic views of the city, the perfect place for finding perspective and a few minutes of calm. After your swim, relax on the poolside sun-loungers or in the rooftop solarium and enjoy the signature water blend with fresh lemon, mint, cucumber and fresh fruit. You will feel like you are bathing on top of the world, a far cry from the chaos of the office.

Currently only 30% of UK employees take a lunch break, despite the positive and healthy effect it has on the rest of the working day. Flexioffices are encouraging you to take the #LiveYourLunchBreak challenge!

During the next month spend one week ensuring that you take a break of at least 30 minutes every day doing something you enjoy outside of work.

When your week is up, let Flexioffices know whether taking this dedicated time out in the middle of the day means that you feel better, have more energy or feel more productive!

Share your thoughts on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ using the hashtag #LiveYourLunchBreak 

Lunch at The American Hotel, Amsterdam

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The American Hotel is a landmark in Amsterdam and deserves to be seen just for the striking Art Deco design. My grandfather recommended I visit this palatial building while visiting Holland so I was delighted to be offered lunch in the casual café.

The restaurant was buzzing when we arrived on a Saturday lunchtime, it was immediately obvious that this is a relaxed venue, no snootiness here despite the hotel’s long standing reputation. Busy locals drop in for a bite to eat before resuming their weekend activities. We were treated very well throughout our stay, the waiter confidently chose us an appropriate wine and chatted to us without intruding on our lunch.

The menu is simple and short, offering appealing International dishes. We ordered Caesar’s Salads to start followed by Steak Frites. It was an absolutely glorious day, despite the internet predicting heavy rain and we were extra smug sitting in the sunlight outside, sipping ice cold rose while watching the passers by. It felt like heaven, and I couldn’t have been more content.

When visiting the loo, I got a glimpse of the interior… inside the American has a decadent 1920s ambience but combined with convenient modern facilities. The décor is dated but sophisticated with large sunflowers adorning the grand rooms.

Feeling parched from the hot weather, the dry light rose was the perfect refreshing drink and accompanied our meal perfectly. I noted its origin, near my grandmother’s house in Provence, South of France. The salads were divine, well mixed selections of ingredients, crunchy iceberg lettuce, salty bacon lardons, chicken, olives, lightly toasted croutons and best of all, sunblush tomatoes which gave the salad a unique Mediterranean tang. My friend also had anchovies and poached egg on her salad which looked very pretty placed on top.

The steaks were very good value, 20 Euros each for a succulent fillet, very high quality and lean. The grilled meat arrived with frites and salad and was covered in a moreish salty sauce and delicious melting butter on top, I savoured every mouthful, but without the usual London rush I felt the luxury of time and this allowed me to enjoy the meal even more. Amsterdam is famous for their addictive chips and this is exactly what we experienced at the American, soft, crispy and lightly seasoned… dipped in mayonnaise, they were gone in a moment. The salad was a nice touch, complementary with the steak.

After a short interval we went with the waiter’s recommendation of Sorbet Sundae and Crème Brulee to share. Both were homemade, light and delicious, vibrantly flavoured and very refreshing. We were particularly recommended the delicious Mango Sorbet which tasted better than the fruit itself. The Crème Brulee was wonderful too, served in a very thin dish, cool inside with a crackling sugary warm layer on top… delicious with our short espresso coffees.

It was the perfect meal, on a perfect day in the perfect city. Next time I’d love to experience the bedrooms at the American Hotel, I’m sure they are magnificent.

More information here.