my . Why does it
if ' .’\ raln whenever ' we walk out of the door?
PAGE 12
ltalias wi top food awards
Francesca, Mary and Philip Contini celebrate at Valvona 8. Crolla
The family behind Valvona & Crolla are double winners in The List’s Eating & Drinking Guide Awards. Words: Allan Radcliffe
dinbur‘gh‘s (‘ontini family. who own one ofthe most
famous delicatessens and two new restaurants in the
capital. were the overwhelming winners at this year‘s liating & Drinking (iuide Awards.
The event. held at (ilasgow’s (‘(‘.»\ on 'l‘uesda}. marked the launch of The I.r'.vr‘s guide to eating out in the central belt. The battle for lidinburgh‘s best newcomer award was given an added frisson of excitement b_v the fact that the shortlist included a pair of restaurants run by different
members of the celebrated (‘ontini famil_v. ()lder brother
Philip is responsible for Vin(‘affe an offshoot of the venerable Valvona & (‘rolla »— while (‘entotre is the solo venture of Victor and (‘arina (‘ontini In fact the noise and bustle of (‘entotre (pronounced '(‘hento-Tra_v‘l contrasts
neatly with the calm atmosphere and rich fittings of
VinCaffc. so while (‘entotre was the winner on the night. both venues are successfully avoiding treading on each others' toes. To crown a good night for Scotland‘s oldest delicatessen and its progeny. the (‘ontini famil_v became the
lil'sl I‘L‘L'lpleltls til~ the .llltlgcs' Special .\\\;tt'tl. which recognises outstanding culinar} achievement.
The best restaurant awards for both cities were also refreshingl} unexpected. llaving pla}ed bridesmaid to Atrium in previous _\ears. the .\lichelin-starred Restaurant Martin \Vishart at the Shore in l.eith fina|l_\ scooped the top lidinburgh award. Meanwhile. the ( 'onran Restaurant lutain. lodged in l’rinces Square. won (ilasgows best restaurant accolade. ’l‘he award \intlicates head chef (icoffrc) Smeddle's decision to swap the wind) cit} of ('llicago \Vllc‘l'c‘ llL‘ “its ill charge till the l'tttll' Sellstllls lltllk‘li\ liltitl for the rain} cit} of(ilasgow. Smeddle is thrilled at 'l'crence (‘onran's insistence that the restaurant works with h'll’t Scottish produce. bttt insists that (illicago and (ilasgow are not e.\act|_\ worlds apart in their approach to food. ‘('hicago's a big restaurant cit_\ that‘s proud of its hospitalit}.' he said. 'I worked at the l‘tllll‘ Seasons Hotel where we were using ingredients from ('alifornia. fantastic qualit} beef. shellfish. fruits and \egetables.‘
MOUND ASSEMBLY HALL TO BE
USED AS FRINGE VENUE
I John Knox must be spinning in his grave at the news that the ‘national theatre of the Fringe’ is to run the Assembly Hall on the Mound as a venue this August. Assembly Theatre, which has managed the flagship Assembly Rooms since 1981 under the directorship of William Burdett- Coutts, is to stage various shows at the venue, which has a seating capacity of 790, in conjunction with the Queen’s Hall. Burdett-Coutts has said of this latest addition to the Assembly juggernaut: ‘It is one of those places you walk into and just go “wow”. I have no doubt that it will soon become a mainstay venue at the Fringe.’ The hall plays host to the Church of Scotland’s General Assembly and more recently was the temporary home to the Scottish Parliament. (AR)
A u end
I lllt‘ latest Litltllfltéll ftt tllt- like}? ‘.'.'It~’.lmt\l era/v has New xitlrlulitatl fit. flit- Ultf l—trrrt ’Y flit- :l‘lf'W‘f‘d‘; (if itttlisllllil fllfi‘t tartan l)itj()il‘.. All )tlllfi 2:731 lill‘: ()i illt‘ lllllf' (flit! illt‘ttll ,it‘t ‘tctamrlte; Will in: (lttstrititdt-ll it) Will schools I" llft? {Stratliclvt lt} area. anti lltnll the lti‘tltElftl
‘Sav No to Stactarraliisrrr'.
I If neither of the Tweedledum and Tweedledee parties float your boat when it comes to casting your ballot on 5 May, why not check out some of the websites aimed at facilitating tactical vofing? www.3trategicvoter.co. uk has an anti-war agenda, while www.dumpblair.co.uk aims to do exactly what it says on the URL.
I llif; (5 (Litres; Mata/at. iriatrz:;ar'at<;tl l4 llffil minister Jack McConnell Ilf Fegfirxiar‘,p luff; fir, tfrr'; fortnight ‘.'.‘f’.l‘. a screen of pr'r,'r‘.otlr,~rial tf)éi(i“)li()‘.‘ S the l‘:f‘.(}ill and breadth of lift: laritf. llir: 'z'firrr project. which Lilli”, to promote Scotland", creative rl(:Sl(jri at twornr: r'l'i’l abroad. wrlf fakr: place it". 2007.
I If you’re over 18, a bit of a wag and lacking a Y-chromosome, there’s still time to enter the Scottish heats for the Babycham Funny Women Awards, which take place in Glasgow on 14th May (www.funnywomen. com). The awards are now in their third year, and judges include radio presenter Jenni Murray while Jo Caulfield will be fulfilling MCing duties.
’ THE LIST 7