Children's Concierge at Millenium & Copthorne and Great Taste at The Cadogan

Children’s Concierge

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels has held a children’s party at the Millenium Hotel London Mayfair to celebrate the launch of the Group’s ‘Ask Alfred’ Children’s Concierge service into seven of their hotels. Children and celebrities attended the event, including boy band Blue. Children from hospitals across London attended the event, invited by Rays of Sunshine - the charity that ‘Ask Alfred’ supports. The charity grants the wishes of seriously ill children. Clive Harrington, senior vice president of operations for Europe, presented a cheque for £6,400 to the charity on behalf of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels. He said: “We are delighted to be able to support such a worthwhile charity and to donate to such a great cause. The event was a huge success and we hope to work with Rays of Sunshine more in the future, through our ‘Ask Alfred’ Children’s Concierge service.” For just £20 (excl VAT) per child, the package offers them a selection of their very own in‐room amenities, including a complimentary Hamleys teddy bear, a bathrobe and slippers for the duration of the stay.

Great Taste Showcase restaurant

The Cadogan hotel in Knightsbridge is now hosting a Great Taste Showcase restaurant to champion the best of the nation’s independent producers. Supervised by the Great Taste chairman Nigel Barden and under the direction of head chef Oliver Lesnik, award-winning ingredients will feature in set lunch and dinner menus, as well as à la carte options. The menus will feature food such as Welsh Wagu beef fat, Daylesford eggs, Kentish cobnut oil and Cartmel sticky toffee pudding. Great Taste at The Cadogan is a platform for small food producers to showcase their ingredients to a consumer audience in the capital, as much of the Great Taste Award winning produce is only sold locally. Great Taste at The Cadogan is taking lunch and dinner reservations now and the three-course menu is priced at under £35 per person. For more information visit www.cadogan.com/restaurant .

Cake and cheese

Keighley-based family brewer Timothy Taylor has joined forces with two fellow Yorkshire family businesses to serve up a slice of British tradition across its premium dining pub estate - fruit cake and cheese. Artisan cheese maker, Shepherds Purse of Thirsk will supply its cheeses and Shipley bakers and pâtissiers Just Desserts has baked a complementary Landlord's Fruit Cake made with the brewery's Championship Landlord bitter. "It's a long established British tradition to serve fruit cake with cheese, so we wanted to find likeminded businesses to work with us to create a delicious cheeseboard and cake combination," said Adrian Sykes, food development manager for Timothy Taylor. Katie Matten, managing director, Shepherds Purse Cheeses said: We are proud to be the only cheese on the Timothy Taylor cheeseboard. We love the idea of a fruit cake to complement our cheeses too and to work alongside a great baker such as Just Desserts is the icing on the cake." Kate Foxon, sales manager, Just Desserts added: We tried a number of recipes before we were happy with the quality, texture and taste combination of mixed fruit and classic, strong pale ale, but we think we're onto a winner with the Landlord's!"

The Very Hungry Caterpillar menu

Children who visit Hampton Court Palace hotel will have access to a new range of healthy food and drink options in collaboration with The Very Hungry Caterpillar book. Seasonal fruit pots, crudités and healthy snacks are all available on the new menu, along with sandwiches and a small treat selection which are made to have minimum impact on added sugar and excess fat. The menu encourages children themselves to choose from this healthy selection that they then store in Very Hungry Caterpillar branded boxes. Consultant nutritionist Amanda Ursell advised on the meal composition and said: “I can say, hand on heart, I would be happy for my little ones to tuck into a Very Hungry Caterpillar lunchbox. The selection of choices has been carefully thought through to both appeal to children’s likes and parents desire for their off spring to eat food that is good for them.”