Londoner’s Diary
The Roundhouse in Camden was transformed on Tuesday for Every Note Counts, an opulent “musical tasting” evening hosted by champagne maker Krug. It was the culmination of a two-year project which saw Oscar nominated composer Max Richter create three pieces of music to accompany three 2008 Krug cuvées. The compositions were performed live by an orchestra, with Richter on the piano. In between each one, rows of champagne-bearing waiters would noiselessly file in and fill up everyone’s next glass in perfect synchronicity. It felt a little like being part of a highly elite Dionysiac cult. Richter described it as a “beautiful and strange project” which saw him spending hours in the Krug vineyards, getting to know the grapes. Richer is no stranger to a brand collaboration: last year he designed a fragrance for Comme des Garçons which professes to smell like a symphony, with notes of violin bow rosin and piano wood.
After the concert, guests compared notes over a four-course dinner by chef Adam Handling, which featured lobster, caviar, and yet more champagne. “There was something quite French about the second movement. It was completely français,” mused actor and sometime Parisienne Dame Kristin Scott Thomas. Is she much of a champagne drinker? “Not really, but I mean, when it’s like this, you have to. You probably wont get an array of things like this for a very long time,” she said. Meanwhile, Pierce Brosnan professed to be in heaven: not only is he a Max Richter superfan, but a great enjoyer of fizz. “I love champagne, yes, I’ve got to bring some home for my wife!” he said. Indeed, he departed at midnight with three goodie bags in hand. Other guests included actor Lily James, who grinned from ear to ear throughout, Daisy Edgar-Jones, and Sheila Atim.
The Standard’s long lunch
Is the long, boozy lunch back? It certainly seemed that way last week, as the Standard’s chief content officer Anna van Praagh hosted a cocktail-filled, three-course feast. The menu was from Dante,the award-winning pop-up at Claridge’s Restaurant. Guests included model Erin O’Connor, designer Sir Ozwald Boateng and his girlfriend Hanna Hultberg, actor Nabhaan Rizwan, restaurateur Jackson Boxer and CEO of the British Fashion Council, Laura Weir. Each was dispatched home with a Diptyque candle — perfect for a post-lunch bath.
