Leaks off menu as new stars to be born in world of food
Foodies across the UK will be waiting with baited breath today (and more than a few chefs may be biting their nails) as the unveils which restaurants have been awarded one or more of its coveted stars.
The guide, which will be published on Thursday, will be the subject of a special event in London today, with the big reveal happening at about 11.30am. Organisers will be hoping the names are not leaked beforehand, as they were in 2015.
Last year, Yorkshire boasted more Michelin stars than any other county, including two in the Leeds postcode area.
According to Leeds Independent Food and Drink Academy, the city has had the biggest increase (12.8 per cent) in independent restaurants in the last three years of any other UK city, so it would be great to see an increase in the number of Michelin Stars.
If you haven’t already noticed, the Tory Party Conference began yesterday in Manchester and will run until Wednesday, which means journalists will not be short of inspiration until at least Thursday. Speculation over Theresa May’s premiership and her increasingly beleaguered position will likely dominate, but expect a few surprise policy announcement (leaks) as well.
Today will also see the unveiling of the Great Community Mural at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. The 10m by 3m mural is made up of more than 250 separate pieces of artwork from churches around the country, which encapsulates the roles that places of worship play in communities. The pieces were submitted as part of a competition by Ecclesiastical, the UK’s leading church insurer. The mural will tour a number of cathedrals around the UK in the coming months.
India will once again be in the spotlight tomorrow, thanks to the media preview of the Science Museum’s exhibitions. At its heart are two major exhibitions: and The event comes in the 70th anniversary year of the Indian Independence Act 1947.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the Prince of Wales will visit Malta to mark the 75th anniversary of the country being awarded the George Cross. King George VI awarded the medal to the Mediterranean island in 1942 in recognition of the bravery, heroism and devotion its people displayed during the siege of Malta in the Second World War, at a time when Germany and the Axis Powers held a strategic advantage.
The George Cross is still present on the Maltese national flag. Only two of the extreme bravery awards have been made collectively – the other was by Queen Elizabeth II to the Royal Ulster Constabulary in 1999.
Schoolchildren will row the Queen’s Royal barge along the Thames on Wednesday. Five schools from across the capital will be taking part in this year’s Achievers’ Day. Pupils will be given rowing lessons in the morning before taking the barge up the Thames to Albert Dock at 3.30pm.
Cheltenham Literary Festival, the UK’s biggest and oldest, will begin on Friday. More than 1,000 of the biggest names in literature including Salman Rushdie, Michael Portillo, Andy McNab, Simon Schama and Alison Weir will form part of the 10-day festival. One innovative event includes a “lit crawl”, for people to “get drunk on words”.