Gone are the days when the food and gastronomy of Great Britain elicited guffaws so visceral they could be heard in Provence, (as they hungrily tucked into foie gras piled in rippled folds upon buttery brioche, no doubt.) It was always an odd stereotype, given the natural bounty of this sceptred isle, our fondness for affording foods protected status and our mercantile history that means that well, what you might consider to be ‘British’ cuisine very likely is nothing of the sort.

With a spirit and vim for the pleasures of living that would do any bacchanal proud, Relais & Chateaux have become a name synonymous with fine dining. And with the third outing of their Diner des Grands Chefs brought to the ancient market site that is Old Billingsgate last Monday evening in a bucolic haze of verdant green Englishness, they could be said to be presiding over and sealing the new-found reverence for all things foodie in Britain. Gillian Anderson, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and husband Richard Jones, French Ambassador to the UK Bernard Emie, David Heath, Lucia Van der Post and Salvatore Ferragamo mingled with the 600 guests catered for by a dreamy team of 46 Grands Chefs who created 15 unique five course menus in an extraordinary piece of live food theatre. Working in tripartites, the chefs plucked from some of the Relais & Chateaux group’s starriest enclaves including Raymond Blanc, Andrew Fairlie, Helene Darroze, Margot Janse, Michael Caines and Claude Bosi imagined dishes that married seasonal, local ingredients with their individual fortes in their own architectural pod kitchens, all washed down with lashings of delicious Champagne from the distinguished Champagne house Pommery. Enjoying a feast of dishes such as Tandoori spiced Blue Lobster, created by Helene Darroze, Devonshire Crab and Celery Salad laced with pink grapefruit and buckler sorrel from Raymond Blanc and Gary Jones, through to earthily sweet Chicken from the Rhug estate muddled with morels and pickled Kale by Lanshu Chen, it’s a rare thing to witness a room of so many silenced by food alone – but silent in dining raptures these guests were.

I have to admit; we at Quintessentially Events aren’t H2O-philes. Perpetual cups of coffee is probably the closest we come to our daily advised intake of 2 litres of the natural bounty of springs, wells and reservoirs. Which is a start, right?

But you can trust Richard Branson to make us sit up and take note of not just the importance of water to our daily lives; but to reflect upon the fact that such a simple, humble thing as our lifeblood, water – crystal clear, untainted by waterborne disease, safe, freely running from a tap seemingly never less than a few yards away – remains a luxury for some 1 billion people around the world. Starring in a sage short film, the enigmatic wonderpreneur introduces a revolutionary new initiative, Whole World Water, which unites the hospitality, travel and tourism industries to overturn this statistic via a 3-step scheme that makes it easy to ditch the plastic bottle culture, becoming far more environmentally and economically friendly in the process and donating 10% of the proceeds to this essential cause.Those already signed up and ambassadors include David de Rothschild, our own Ben Elliot, Edward Norton, the Six Senses group, Virgin, Banyan Tree and several Ritz Carlton luxury hotels. It’s a cause that we’re passionate about, and without getting all weepy eyed about, could save millions of lives lost each year through want of something so basic a human right.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

Read more at wholeworldwater.co

Tweet @Richardbranson @WHOLEWORLDwater using hashtag #waterwednesday and share the video. Every (link) drop counts!

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Set against the ritual catwalk whirligig of the New York,London, Milan and Paris shows, music is synonymous with the intoxicating magic of it all, going together a little like Peanut Butter and jelly, the queen and pastel two pieces, Kanye and Kim. So, with a nod to the brilliance of that Tom Odell reveal moment at the Burberry show (goosebumps all round for the QEventettes) and the thundering reverberations of the likes of Mimi Xu and Scarlett Etienne, this week’s mixtape has gone a little Bowie…

I have a confession to make.

(Gulps)

Every year, we endlessly pore over the triumphs and caustic failures of awards season style – because, let’s face it, there is no such thing as middle ground success when it comes to event dressing. No-one recalls what Gwyneth Paltrow wore (just those tears) until she gave that startling caped Tom Ford gown a whirl: a star was born. And at no awards ceremony does this ring more true than the fateful Oscars aptly blood-red carpet.

But my confession is this: whilst we revel in the fantastical moments when risk takers such as Michelle Williams and Amanda Seyfried experiment with lush hues and exquisite silhouettes, and equally, when iconoclasts – namely Rihanna – defy expectation with this sultry red frock with its Delphic goddess allusions by Azzedine Alaia, or Sienna Miller does a latter-day Grace Kelly (with a little offbeat playfulness) in an pretty Erdem shift dress: I have already furtively planned what I would wear if I were them. A sort of grown-up version of playing with Barbies, but infinitely better as now I toy with couture, dahlinks. This year, the award of creating my dream Oscars dress goes to Georgia Hardinge which I would team with some softly spoken yet distinctive David Morris jewels, these Charlotte Olympia heels (what else?) and Ryan Gosling on my arm. I did caveat this with ‘dream’, after all.

Gird your loins, for the Burberry Prorsum live-streaming is about to begin…

Redolent of changes afoot in the fashion world, (and also, we suspect, something to do with us mere workaday mortals need to be seemingly working when we’re ogling LFW fashion bounty) Burberry pioneered the live-streamed catwalk show with their A/W 2011 women’s collection aired on giant screens in Piccadilly Circus and doubtless on computer monitors worldwide. The eponymous London heritage brand’s shows are often highlights of the LFW calendar, with a spectre and influence that looms large over young designers and sets a standard for brand engagement. Small wonder, then, that the London shows thus far have been increasingly peppered with live-streaming and cunning social media campaigns that help to transcend the confines of Somerset House.

Such streaming and sharing isn’t so much an exercise in fashion democratisation though – the price points for the ready-to-order live from the catwalk remain the same, the bodies and beauty of Cara Delvingne, model of the moment, are still by and large preternaturally awesome – but it is a tangible chance for all to become front-row voyeurs regardless of where we are in the world or the size of our purses, stepping into the luxury-fashion world Burberry inhabits if but for twenty minutes. One small note of caution: the newly added made-to-order and personalised straight from the catwalk function (stepped up from their previous shop-from-the-runway offering) makes it dangerously easy to live out these live-streamed dreams at the click of a button. And moreover, emblazon your purchased item with a name plaque or embroidered label on outerwear garments and bags. We can envisage the letters now: “Dear Bank Manager, I’m sorry there was an unusually large purchase made on Monday 18th at 4.11pm. Blame Christopher Bailey…”

WATCH THE LIVE STREAM SHOW HERE

Yes. Heads are sore. Feet are aching in that way only a woman who has bust moves until the small hours in Charlotte Olympia heels can understand. And ‘Bangkok’ will never sound so innocent again post Kate Hudson’s turn on the mic. But last night’s ELLE Style Awards is already being (whisper it) talked about as unequivocally the best yet, with a firmament of stars turning out to celebrate fashion’s finest – and of course, to drink and dance at the fast becoming legendary after party. The annual bash took place at London landmark The Savoy Hotel, with the monochrome trend in full decor force in the ballroom lit up by the likes of Stella McCartney, Juno Temple, Rosamund Pike, Chloe Moretz, Arizona Muse, Barbara Casasola, Andrea Riseborough, Livia Firth, Kirsten McMenamy – and lest we forget man of the moment Bradley Cooper – to name but a few all gathered to applaud the winners who scooped the much coveted awards. Winners are listed in full below, but a special mention to the wonderfully witty Nick Grimshaw for his maverick turn as host, and of course, to ELLE for a fourth happy year together.

EDITOR’S CHOICE AWARD – Alicia Vikander

BEST INTERNATIONAL DESIGNER – Stella McCartney

CONTEMPORARY BRAND OF THE YEAR – McQ

BEST ACTRESS – Juno Temple

BEST ACTOR – Bradley Cooper

BEST BRITISH DESIGNER OF THE YEAR – Christopher Kane

BEST ACCESSORY DESIGNER OF THE YEAR – Nicholas Kirkwood

BEST JEWELERY DESIGNER OF THE YEAR – Gaia Repossi

RED CARPET FASHION AWARD – Roksanda Ilincic

NEXT FUTURE ICON AWARD – Chloe Moretz

MODEL OF THE YEAR – Anja Rubik

BEST TV SHOW – Game of Thrones

NEXT NEW DESIGNER AWARD – Simone Rocha

BEST MUSIC ACT – Emeli Sande

BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE – Samantha Barks

This week’s playlist takes its lead from the awards season – because in the midst of all those achingly beautiful (and some not so, not naming names) frocks, beards, accolades, tears, witticisms and triumphant speeches – behind every great film lurks an equally great soundtrack. Many a film score, after all, transcends its cinematic medium to polka-dot punctuate moments in our lives whereby we hear one song and it automatically takes us back to that moment – curled on the couch or eyes wide in the cinema – when we first heard the track. Or even better, it takes on such a personal resonance it feels part of the soundtrack of our own life’s reel. A lovingly put together soundtrack has the power make the hairs on your arms stand on end in much the same way as the film scenes they accompany. So plug in, close your eyes and play that Bond girl, Tarantino character or hero you always wanted to be with our Monday Mixtape special.

Yes, sometimes fashion types do eat. And as this little film shows from a recent intimate dinner for Studiofibre at Net-a-Porter, when they do, they do it in statement chic style. Armfuls of white blooms, an artisanal supper and elegant understatement came together for an intimate atmosphere conducive to good conversation and the best table manners we’ve seen in a long time.

Net-a-Porter Dinner

With the revival of London gin distilleries following Sipsmith’s lead, you can now even attend ‘gin school’ at Charlotte’s Bistro in Chiswick, blend your own bottle at City of London Distillery just off Fleet Street, or simply serve peppy gin infused long drinks for a taste that has summer written all over it (even if this year pans out much like last, although the good news is one of the Q Eventettes father’s is a doctor of geography, and claims that due to all sorts of clever factors from El Nineo to jet streams, this year is set to be a sunshine filled stunner).

Once the preserve of bearded nimble fingered folk and the sort of reclusive geniuses who would quite happily render themselves blind in the pursuit of crafting the finest laces and jewellery, the renaissance of the artisan is making us smile here at Q Events towers. This reawakening of the sleepy traditions of skill and localised talent; from food to fashion, furnishings to statement décor; is much more than a juxtaposition to techier trends, all seamless integrated avatars and 3D projections. Nor is it just some sort of luddite streak, but a trend that alludes to a new mood that wants the beauty and simple pleasure of lovely handmade things made with heart.

The likes of Chanel purchasing the eponymous British Barrie woollen mill to add to its stable of Metiers d’Art and the great Harris tweed revival (and not just for Downtonphiles) says something about the value and artistry of these goods and the aesthetic movement towards the artisan. Then there’s the popularity of a certain snow and bear-bound enclave of northernmost Sweden’s Fäviken Magasinet restaurant that seats just 12 and feeds them on bark cake, but under the helm of Magnus Nihlsson seems to have sated a hunger we didn’t know we had. We’re becoming less concerned about the perfect when it comes to luxury, and more about the artistry. So this year, you’ll see a lot more of Alex James’ little Wallops and a ‘real food’ approach and hyper refined modern spaces offset with characterful conversation-sparking décor. And the best bit? You’ll be able to taste it. Feel it. Be moved and surprised by it. And this will keep it alive.