A message from Ranald McDonald, Proprietor of Boisdale of Belgravia:

Amazingly, we still have 18 places available for The Spectator Boisdale Calcutta Cup 2008 this Saturday held at Boisdale of Belgravia. This will be an historic day for a number of reasons. The lunch will be hosted by Dean Richards (the most capped No. 8 rugby player in the world) and also attended by Andrew Neil the Editor-in-chief of The Spectator as well as my good self. After a Bollinger Champagne reception and a magnificent lunch accompanied by reserve wines from Berry Bros & Rudd, we will be immersed in this annual Scotland V England rugby game via 6” television screens. During the game we will savour Grouse 30 yr old whisky as we watch Scotland’s second most unexpected victory (the first being the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314!). There will be sufficient time during half time to enjoy a Petit Edmundo Montecristo or some such delicacy on the Cigar Terrace and plenty of time afterwards to be extravagant.

All inclusive of: The Bollinger NV Champagne Reception, a stunning lunch, unlimited delicious wines from Bery Bros & Rudd and the complex range of Grouse Malt Whiskies, tickets for Boisdale Jazz & Cigar Members are £100 and £125 for Non Members.

If you are seriously tempted please contact Zoe at Boisdale of Belgravia on 020 7730 6922 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Best wishes
Ranald

A LONG PS:
The menu itself will be a culinary contest between the finest ingredients from England and Scotland (see below). Guests will not know until after lunch whether or not Scotland was on the left or right of their plates, but voting slips will be collected before we are told. So there will be two potential victories for Scotland on the day! BBC presenter and sports commentator Nigel Barden will entertain us too and conduct an auction in support of the truly excellent charity ACTION AGAINST HUNGER (www.actionagainsthunger.org ).

THE CULINARY CALCUTTA CUP ENGLAND V SCOTLAND MENU

12pm: The Famous Ginger Grouse cocktail & Bollinger NV Champagne reception
·
Loch Ryan Native No2 Scottish oysters
V
Colchester English Native No2 Oysters

1pm: Sit down for lunch:

Dunkeld wild smoked salmon
V
Foreman’s London smoked wild salmon
·
Purebred Aberdeen Angus fillet of beef
V
Purebred Hereford fillet of beef Béarnaise sauce, fat chips, watercress & grilled tomato
·
Strathdon Blue & Tobermoray cheddar
V
Stilton & Keens cheddar

2.15pm: Nigel Barden and The Action Against Hunger auction & the results of the Culinary Calcutta Cup
The Famous Grouse 18 year old,
Coffee & chocolates
·
3.15pm: The Rugby Calcutta Cup
The Famous Grouse 30 year old

All wine included and supplied by Berry Bross & Rudd


Further information:

Boisdale of Belgravia, 15 Eccleston Street, London SW1W 9LX
Tel: 020 7730 6922 Fax: 020 7730 0548
www.boisdale.co.uk