La Reve at Cafe de Paris, with The Tootsie Rollers

My night at La Reve was spectacular - an evening of delicious food and even more delicious acts. This saucy celebration of cabaret and burlesque is presented every Friday at Cafe de Paris in London; I was invited to attend on 26th August, for a special array of performers including the Tootsie Rollers – vintage girl band extraordinaire.

Cafe de Paris has a lavish interior, decorated to replicate the great, doomed Titantic’s ballroom. I have visited this venue several times and on each trip the circular hall is transformed to suit the event. We were welcomed inside, led downstairs and shown to a place on one of the smartly set tables in the main club area. Our choice of wine and water was promptly brought to our table, before choosing from the three course set menu.

Already the lights were dimmed and glittery jittery girls flickered amongst the tables, all dressed up for the occasion. In a demure but well cut checked shift dress, I was one of the less adventurously attired ladies though I had nipped into Shu Uemura at lunchtime for a glam fake eyelash fix, so at least I sported a little bit of glamour... I was glad to notice my colourfully outrageous lashes turning a few heads.

From the varied selection of dishes I chose the Goats Cheese, Roast Pepper Roulade with garlic toast and beetroot vinaigrette, then the Roast Free Range Chicken Breast with lyonnaise potatoes, baby vegetables and Dijon mustard sauce for main. My companion ordered Boneless Tamworth Pork Rib with truffle mash, sweet potato confetti, and Magret Duck Breast with steamed bok choi, confit duck spring roll and hoisin jus to follow. Considering the vast room of hungry mouths all ordering at the same time, I was hugely impressed with the efficient and no fuss service. Meanwhile Laura London, an eccentric magician came round to stun us with her unique tricks.

The food was delivered quickly, piping hot and wonderfully presented. I devoured my starter: a sensational combination of flavours and textures, light and yummy. The chicken was rather an unnecessarily large portion and I noticed several girls leaving some untouched on their plates. I loved the peppery mustard sauce and the vegetables were a welcome healthy accompaniment. For dessert we shared the Braeburn Apple & Cinnamon Tarte with caramel and vanilla ice cream and the luxurious Chocolate Bavarois, Grand Marnier & orange coulis and caramelised almonds. Both were delicious and fresh tasting, neither too sweet nor too rich.

Our vivacious hostess Ivy Paige trotted down the spiral stairs and the show began, a line up of the most fabulous acts from around the world: acrobats, fire-eaters, transvestite comedians, dancers, singers, and everything in between - it was a feast for the senses, a mini Moulin Rouge. A few of my favourites were the Bees Knees, the finest flapper girls, Pippa the Ripper, a hula-hooping sensation, and Roxy Velvet, a magnificent showgirl. I absolutely adored the Tootsie Rollers, the star attraction of the night after a feature in Stylist magazine. Six of them dressed in cute matching suits, they were a bubbly bunch, introducing the enthusiastic crowd to some of their harmonious vintage tunes. I wished I was up there with them, it all looked so fun... why aren’t there more of these retro bands? They are a hoot!

After two hours of fun and a couple of Lychee Martinis, we dragged ourselves away from the excitement and stepped out onto the rowdy Leicester Square streets - I had to blink, as it felt like the night had all been a thrilling dream...

Visit La Reve website and book here.

Leslie Jordan: 'My Trip Down the Pink Carpet' and After Party at Cafe de Paris

A few nights ago I experienced my first walk down the red (well pink) carpet. I thought the press night for Leslie Jordan’s show ‘My Trip Down the Pink Carpet’ would be just like any other press night – a few notable critics milling around and if you’re lucky a complimentary glass of house white in the interval, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. We were welcomed in by furiously flashing paparazzi, of course totally uninterested in me, but desperately trying to get a shot of the soap stars and other celeb guests.

Pocket sized Leslie Jordan bounces onto the stage, wearing a tiny suit - he looks quite adorable. He is best known for his role in Will And Grace, the American sitcom. This new show comes to London after a critically acclaimed twelve week run in New York City. The show has an impressive creative team behind it, including fabulous director David Galligan. Jordan certainly gives a fluent and self assured performance, not faltering for a second despite being on stage constantly for a staggering ninety-five minutes. And he doesn’t just recite either, carefully re-enacting hilarious stories and often performing uncanny impressions. He is talking about his own life, but is professional enough to never become overwhelmed by the content, this is not to say he doesn’t get emotional. The final moments, talking frankly about his time in rehab are quite moving, and brought a tear to my eye. Joyfully camp songs are interspersed in the script and during these moments Jordan dances and prances all over the floor with no embarrassment.

The audience surrounding me was made up of mostly overexcited gay men, including Pineapple Dance joker Louie Spence. After the performance we made our way to the After Party, at Cafe de Paris. I followed a very precious Paul O’Grady, who despite complaining seemed to love the attention he was attracting. I managed to get away with my sparkly Converse shoes at the Apollo Theatre, but at the Cafe I began to feel very out of place. On entering we were handed Lychee cocktails, and led downstairs where a sultry jazz band were playing. The place was lit up with twinkling pink fairy lights, and looked quite magical. The drink flowed freely, and while we sipped, mini American style canapés were circulated (tiny hamburgers, hotdogs, and fish and chips).

I was envious to notice a cordoned off VIP section where most of the more special celebrities hung out. However the main area wasn’t without drama, TV interviews seemed to be going on all around me. Once we had seen Lesley’s entrance, and done enough celeb spotting for the night we decided to leave, receiving our goody bags on the way out (old fashioned pink sweets, and a voucher for a complimentary steak meal for two). I left with a definite skip in my step.

Never has there been a more relevant time to use comedian Miranda Hart’s mother’s phrase ‘such fun’! This glitzy event was all that and more, definitely a night to remember.

My trip Down the Pink Carpet continues until 19 February 2011, book tickets here.

The Coolest Liquer in Town

CHAMBORD: A five-star liqueur, made with 'black raspberries' and other bramble fruits, infused in aged cognac. Perfect for dressing up desserts or sweetening a cocktail.

I spent Tuesday night at The Inaugural Chambord Rendezvous, chinking glasses with only the most experienced of cocktail drinkers. The decadent party at London’s Cafe de Paris celebrated this stylish drink. I was invited along! Edith Bowman was there playing a DJ set and Claudia Winkleman was hosting. Canapes and luxurious Chambord cocktails were served throughout the night.

I had a special new frock for the occasion, a beautiful dark pink ‘hammered satin party dress’ from designer Rebecca Taylor at Harvey Nichols. And with my sparkly pink diamante eyelashes from Selfridges and face rhinestones on, I was ready to go. I realised ten minutes into the party that in fact my dress was the perfect Chambord dark raspberry colour, and quietly congratulated myself on this clever coincidence.

Chambord is used in more cocktails than you’d think, and despite the strong flavour it goes excellently with other fruity liqueurs and mixers. My favourite use for it is to colour other drinks, like making your own pink champagne! The cocktails made at this event were the winning recipes from competitions, my favourite was the fresh and fruity Belle Poire.

The cocktails were great but my favourite part of the evening was dancing the night away with my brilliant dance partner.