Courtesy of: The Fish Society

Seafood fans in the UK & Europe can now have a very, festive treat in store for this upcoming Christmas. The launch of The Fish Society’s ‘Caviar & Crustacean Blowout and Atomic’ seafood hampers can feed up to 30 people at a cost of £1,500 or £2,500 (~$4,000 US).

The seafood hamper contains the finest seafood sourced from the four corners of the world this is the ultimate seafood spread and will make a welcome break from turkey and ham!

The delicious hamper includes 17 kinds of seafood including 16 inch long giant Siberian crab legs, extra large crab claws from Chile, freshly cooked native UK lobster, four kinds of prawns including monstrous prawns from Madagascar weighing in at half a pound each, assorted more humble but nevertheless crucial shellfish, and as the magnificent centerpiece, 750g of Sevruga caviar.

The selection is carefully balanced between ready-peeled items and fish still in its shell (less efficient but an essential element in the excitement). 9.3kgs of edible weight (15kgs gross), so even the most gluttonous guests will be sated. “Atomic” includes double helpings of caviar and crab leg (11 kg edible weight).

The launch of the Caviar & Crustacean Atomic Seafood Hamper makes it easily the most luxurious and expensive seafood hamper on the market and a world first for The Fish Society.

Says Fish Society chairman, James Smith: “Our members often want a ‘big spread’, and they will find these packs very convenient. They’d take a long time to make this selection and would be wondering if they had the balance right. We’ve done it for them. The price… well, the price is the price. It’s not difficult to get to these price points if you are dealing in meaningful amounts of caviar. I can assure you they are good value.”.

Customers can cook the seafood themselves or alternatively ask for it to be done before dispatch. Order hotline +44 1428 687768.

For more information, Click Here

A bottle of Dom. Romane Conti 1997 can set you back about $1,540 and is considered the world’s most expensive wine.

The Dom. Romane Conti is a French red Burgundy and smells of berries, spices and leather.

It is dark in color, and teases drinkers with the taste of soy sauce, flowers and licorice.

Who doesn’t love chocolate, right? Well I’m sure there are a few of you out there. But for everybody else, a visit to Ethel M Chocolate Factory in Henderson, just south of Las Vegas is a must.

Back in 1911, Ethel and Frank Mars started making butter cream chocolates from scratch in their own Tacoma, Washington kitchen. Frank Mars went on to create the world renowned Mars Inc. Company in 1919

Forrest Sr, who was Ethel and Frank’s son of course had a taste for fine chocolate and also worked at Mars Candy Company.

After Forest Sr retired from Mars, he started Ethel M Chocolate in 1981. Forrest Sr. named his gourmet line of chocolates in honor of his beloved mother Ethel, and utilized chocolate recipes he had learned from her.

Many of Ethel’s original milk and dark chocolate recipes are combined with the finest nuts, fruits, caramels, creams and liqueurs to create the more than 50 varieties of gourmet candy sold today.

Just after they began their business, Forrest Sr. and his wife lived above the Ethel M factory.

Forrest Sr.’s wife wanted her own garden. But the challenge facing them was how to build one in the harsh Nevada desert.

Once simple option that came to mind was creating a cactus garden. So now guests can stroll through a beautiful, two-and-a-half-acre Botanical Cactus Garden that includes about 350 different species of cactus and various desert plants.

During your visit, you can enjoy free samples and an informative guided tour. Learn all about the gourmet chocolate making process by watching video monitors and placards placed outside each viewing window.

There are numerous Ethel Chocolate retail stores in Las Vegas. Check the web site below for a complete list.

Ethel M Chocolates creates specialty chocolates like nobody else, and is the official “chocolate of choice” for the Emmy’s.

Luckily for all of us chocoholics, the Mars family tradition of producing top quality chocolates lives on for all to enjoy.

Ethel M Chocolate Factory
1 Sunset Way
Henderson, Nevada
Tel: (888) 627-0990

The history of manufacturing black caviar and delicacies of sturgeon and other fishes goes far deep into centuries.

Caviar has long been associated with fine dining. Caviar, be it Beluga Caviar or Russian Caviar is generally indicative of a celebratory lunch or a romantic dinner or a luxurious celebrity party.

True caviar is the roe of any of the species of sturgeon or salmon. The roe or eggs are sieved to remove fatty tissue and membrane. It is then lightly salted with non-iodized salt.

The rise and fall of the American caviar industry, which went from boom to bust in the thirty years that ended the 19th century, was just a pre-cursor to the gradual extinction of the Sturgeon stocks through the course of the late twentieth century.

One outcome was the rise of to the two great Caviar houses of the 19th and 20th centuries, Dieckmann & Hansen and Petrossian. The challenge they endured was the lucrative, yet fateful relationship with the Soviet government.

Along with the collapse of the Soviet Union, came centrally enforced quotas on the sturgeon catch, and accelerated the extinction of these ancient fish stocks.

As Soviet industry collapsed, the Russian fishing industry battled with free enterprise as poaching became rampant and buccaneers seized on the opportunity to make money on the Wests’ unrelenting desire for the luxury fish eggs.

Through the 1990’s the United States became the single largest consumer of caviar outside of Russia, tripling the “official” amount imported between 1991 and 1997, from 32 tonnes to 95 tonnes annually.

Ironically, “as caviar became mainstream, it also became cheap… as long as the Soviet Union was around to set prices, caviar was exempt from the gravitational pull of supply and demand. But once the communists were out of the picture, the roe became just another furiously traded commodity.”

As the price fell out of the caviar market, a vicious circle evolved where poachers needed to catch more sturgeon and ship more caviar, to make the same amount of money; and as sturgeon stocks declined, the roe less abundant, the poachers began to improvise, often adding the roe of other fish, like the Paddlefish, to increase the volume of their “beluga” caviar.

The Screaming Eagle estate is owned by Tony Bowden and Jean Phillips, one of Napa Valley’s leading real estate agents. With help from Heidi Barrett and Gustav Dalla Valle, the operation’s debut vintage became the extraordinary 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon. Many people feel it’s one of the greatest young Cabernets they have ever tasted.

The 1992 Screaming Eagle Wine has an opaque purple color. The wine is followed by a tantalizing nose of jammy blackcurrants and subtle toasty oak. The cabernet is intense, rich and creamy with elegant fruity flavors that linger in the mouth.

At a charity event named Auction Napa Valley 2008, a lot of six magnums of Screaming Eagle were sold for a whopping $500,000! That’s over $80,000 for a single bottle of 1992 Screaming Eagle Wine.

In addition to the Screaming Eagle Wine, the winning lot included a dinner at the winery. The lucky purchaser was Chase Bailey, an executive at Cisco Systems, in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This new iPhone app – Wine Trail Guide – is a must have for all wine lovers.

The Wine Trail Guide is a tasting room finder for travelers, an educational tool for identifying wine regions and an event resource for tour guides and wine tour-related businesses.

The Wine Trail Guide app is priced at only $2.99, and this easily navigable app comes with well over 3,000 tasting rooms from Alaska to Florida, from New Hampshire to Hawaii. The app database links directly to the Internet for up-to-date, real-time accessibility.

Co-creator January Wiese was the daughter of award-wining JanKris winemaker, Mark Gendron, of Paso Robles, California. Her marriage to web manager Cory Wiese was the perfect team to create this amazing iPhone app. January Wiese currently works for the Texas Wine Trail association.

“America is full of wineries and interesting varietals, “ says Cory Wiese, Wine Trail Guide creator and founder. “I would be willing to bet that most wine lovers don’t know that Texas has a great wine country right here in the Hill Country outside of Austin, or that Pennsylvania has over 85 wineries.”

The GPS-based travel tool developed for Apple’s powerful iPhone, helps users locate wine regions by state and on-the-fly with its “Nearby” function. Tasters can rate wine tasting rooms and also find regional wine events.

There are over 7,000 wineries in the U.S. By using Google Maps and a “Nearby” button, the Wine Trail Guide allows travelers to search by state and then by geographical region to find the nearest wine tasting rooms, direct-dial numbers, winery websites and any special events that are happening in that specific winery region.

Not limited to the well-known wine regions, the Wine Trail Guide includes over 3,000 tasting rooms in all 50 states, making this iPhone app a true celebration of all American wine making regions.

The new Wine Trail Guider app should be available for purchase on November 1st. To purchase the coolest Apple iPhone applications for finding the nation’s tasting rooms, visit the Apple iTunes iPhone app store.

For all chocolate lovers out there, this event is a must. You can enjoy some of the best gourmet and premium chocolates & wines from all across Southern California.

On Sunday October 11, 2009 – the 3rd annual Los Angeles Luxury Chocolate Salon will be held in 16,000 Square Feet of space at the Pasadena Center, in Pasadena California.

Chocolate aficionados, addicts, fanatics, and lovers can taste and experience the finest in artisan, gourmet and premium chocolate.

Highlights of the Los Angeles Luxury Chocolate Salon will feature over 35 chocolatiers, confectioners and more.

Browse the event’s exhibits and experience chocolate tasting, demonstrations, chef & author talks, wine tasting and ongoing interviews by TasteTV’s Chocolate Television program.

For more information, go to: Los Angeles Luxury Chocolate Salon

The practice of using proper restaurant etiquette may seem like something that we all should know, however, there are many etiquette practices we can often forget or even worse … sadly ignore.

Dining out at a fine restaurant may not be typical for many people, it’s important that you brush up on your restaurant etiquette to ensure the dining experience is enjoyable for you, your guests, and the restaurant staff.

The following are a number helpful tips for proper fine dining restaurant etiquette:

Proper Manners: Maintaining good manners is essential when dining at a restaurant. For instance, when you are eating use proper eating practices. Do not put too much food in your mouth as you will end up chewing with your mouth open. Do not talk while you are eating or make annoying chewing sounds. Always use utensils and avoid picking up food with your hands.

Don’t dip bread in soups or other liquids. Don’t put your elbows on the table. When you are finished your meal, do not push the plate to the middle of the table for others to see while they are eating. Eat at the same rate as your guests. Once you have finished eating your meal, place your cutlery close together on your plate. This tells the staff that you are finished and they will remove the plate. As well, turn off your cell phone before sitting down to eat.

Dress Code: It is important to dress for the type of restaurant you will be attending. Fine dining restaurants normally have a strict dress code. If you are not sure about the type of restaurant, call ahead and ask.

Restaurant Staff: Do not treat restaurant staff like they are servants. Restaurant staff make minimum wage and they work very hard. If you are unhappy with your meal, don’t take your anger out on the staff. Be courteous and ask if they can take the meal back. Having a good relationship with the staff will make your dining experience much more pleasant. As well, it is important to leave a tip of at least 15%. Servers make most of their money from tips because their hourly wage is so low.

Communication: Courteous and clear communication is an important part of the dining experience. The restaurant staff cannot read your mind so it is important to clearly communicate your needs and any concerns. You should always be polite. Keep an eye on all of your guests to ensure that they have not been forgotten by the restaurant staff. If they are, call the server to your table. When communicating with guests, avoid sensitive topics. Engage in conversation with the guests equally.

Meal Payment: If you are expecting your guests to pay, make sure you have discreetly discussed this with them before going to the restaurant. If there is a host paying, don’t pick the most expensive meal and dont eat or drink too much. Don’t sit around for hours drinking and talking. You will just be taking the table away from paying customers which hurts the restaurant. If you are the person who is paying for the dinner, don’t tell your guests how much it cost.

Dining in a fine restaurant is a relaxing, fun, and an easy way to have a meal. It is important to remember that there are different etiquette rules to follow than when having dinner at home. A little common sense and practicing simple etiquette techniques will ensure a great dining experience.

Sushi anyone? Who would have thought that sushi and chic would be used in the same sentence? And it looks like it is here to stay.

In every major town or city we go, you can be sure that there is a sushi restaurant close by. We are seeing more sushi bars, sushi at the airport and believe it or not, college cafeteria’s. Is Sushi finally making its way into the daily diets of Americans?

Sushi comes in all different types of tastes, textures and is generally served in small bites. Sushi was developed as a way to preserve fish by Japanese ancestors. It’s is typically eaten with your fingers however, some people prefer the use of chopsticks.

California rolls landed in the 1970′s, Sushi arrived in the early 1950′s after the World War II. However, in recent times, sushi is popping up everywhere, even in the supermarkets in the form of prepackaged sushi.

The first sushi restaurants starting popping up in American cities back in the early 1950′s after World War II. But recently, Japan has seen a sharp rise in American style sushi restaurants in their country to their surprise. In the U.S. the number of sushi restaurants and bars has grown four times since the late 80′s.

There are many types of raw fish which is called sashimi, used when making sushi. The fishes are prepared in many different ways such as soaking the fish in sake, pickling, and cooked shellfish. Rice wine is also used to soak the fish in prior to preparing the dish.

Soy sauce is also served for dipping but sushi is also served with Wasabi which is a green paste and is made with Japanese style horseradish. Pickled ginger is also used to clean the palate between bites and aid in digestion.

What you may not know is that sushi is very low in fat. An average dish of sushi is between 6 and 7 pieces and contains less than 500 calories. You will receive your fatty acids, omega 3 along with the lean protein which is needed for a healthy diet.

First time sushi eaters, I recommend some type of sushi roll for starters. If you are brave enough to dive into the raw fish, then ask the chef. Fish is seasonal and a recommendation from the chef is the best way to go when making your choice.

No winery more thoroughly embodies the timeless appeal and seductive flavor of Napa Valley than Beringer Vineyards. Located in St. Helena California, it’s Napa’s benchmark producer since its establishment in 1876.

Beringer Vineyards is Napa Valley’s oldest continuously-operating winery. The winery is famous for its award winning white zinfandel wine, and currently makes many wines with grapes sourced from different regions.

In 1876, Jacob and Frederick Beringer founded Beringer Vineyards in the modern-day St. Helena AVA. This was the result of their realization that the soils in St Helena were very similar to those in the vineyards of their home- the Rhine Valley.

The Beringer Brothers financed the incredibly difficult task of carving caves in the hills behind their winery.

The winery offers several tours – from the shorter, more family-friendly tour of the winery and aging tunnels, to more extensive wine-tasting tours. In any of the offered tours, you’ll see history play out and learn about the fascinating process of making wine.

Wine-tasting is a must. Both the neophyte wine enthusiast as well as the experienced connoisseur will find a tasting suited for them. Tastings range from newer wines to reserve wines and can include food or cheese for more nuance. The taste relationship between wine and food is, after all, an important one.

Beringer Vineyards
2000 Main Street
St. Helena, CA 94574
(707) 967-4412

It took many years to finally reach they’re destination. Over eighty years to be exact.

But a collection of hundred year old bottles of champagne from the Heidsieck vineyard in Champagne are being enjoyed by wealthy guests at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Moscow.

This 1907 Heidsieck champagne is going for an eye popping $275,000 price tag.

The champagne was originally planned to ship to the Russian Imperial family in 1916. But a shipwreck off the coast of Finland resulted in the champagne being lost at sea.

In 1997, divers actually discovered over 200 bottles of the 1907 Heidsieck champagne.

So if you ever stay at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Moscow in actually enjoy a glass of champagne, remember its long journey and savoir the taste.