Table Talk
The very model of a modern Montague hotel
Red Carnation Hotels' philosophy of "no request too large, no detail too small" may find it has just been thrown a challenge too far.
One guest who recently stayed at the Montague on the Gardens in London, when completing a guest questionnaire, said that the only way the service could be improved would be if they "provided Claudia Schiffer for one night".
Free honeymoon for any lucky leap-year lady
Marriott is offering any lady brave enough to propose to her man, over the leap year weekend, the chance to win a honeymoon at the five-star Marriott Denia La Sella Golf Resort & Spa in Spain - including flights.
The offer applies to proposals made at a Marriott hotel in the UK over the weekend of 27-29 February. The couple must announce their engagement in person to the general manager.
How romantic!
And the winners must produce a valid wedding certificate to claim their prize.
Libert‚! Fraternit‚! But no ‚galit‚ in the kitchen
The best food in France is available only to its government ministers, according to a new book, Dans les cuisines des ministeres.
Foods and wines that would cost as much as £150 per head and get three Michelin stars are regularly served up to the likes of foreign minister Dominique de Villepin and his guests.
According to author Anne Vega, an official helicopter is used to bring a poulet de Bresse from speciality shops as far away as 400km south of Paris.
Vespa, 125cc, one owner, runs on olive oil; £offers
Wheels of fortune. Jamie Oliver will be hoping his famous scooter can do for trainee chefs what it once did for him, as he prepares to auction the two-wheeler for charity.
The Vespa, central to the jaunty image that sent Oliver and his earnings stratospheric during the Naked Chef TV series, will be sold to raise funds for his restaurant Fifteen's charity.
The auction will take place at Babington House, Somerset, on 3 March.
Bubble tea? Sucking balls? That's the last straw
Want to be ahead of the crowd? If the latte and frappuccino boom took you by surprise, don't get left behind by the "bubble tea" craze about to sweep the UK.
Known in its basic form as boba, or pearl tea, it originated in Taiwan in the 1980s and is cold tea sweetened, flavoured and shaken until frothy.
But what really makes the drink special these days is the little balls of starch, brown sugar and caramel known as tapioca balls added to the drink, which you suck up through a straw.
The bubble tea craze spread to the USA and has now found its way to Chinatown in London, where young expatriate Chinese are enjoying iced mango or papaya-flavoured teas.
If you do open a bubble tea caf‚, remember to buy wide straws so your customers can suck up those tapioca balls.
