CondimentClaire

I was recently in Los Angeles visiting family - updated city guide here - and decided to go on a little road trip during my stay. My boyfriend was visiting Southern California for the first time so it was a great excuse for a slight of scenery and to show him some of the varied scenery within a stone’s throw of Los Angeles. When researching where to go, I realized I had never shared some easy road trips, food, and hotel recs with you so here we are! PSA: You need a car in LA.

where to stay, what and where to eat, 3 day itinerary, traditional foods to try… Since Euro Summer is coming up, I’d highly recommend thinking about adding Budapest as a stopover during your time here. It’s family-friendly, easy to walk around, and you can pack it all in in 3 days! I had never been here before and now I understand what the hype is about. I booked this last minute trip to Budapest on Expedia and ended up getting the wildest deal on one of the most popular hotels in the city.

London: Tea, Marmite, and Sourdough How are we all doing after this heatwave? Hope you were all smarter than me and ordered a fan before they were all sold out across the city… After our first week’s French apéro, second week’s football-viewing spread, today we’re going full London apéro. What is apéro? Read all about it here! English Breakfast Cocktail & Marmite Butter, London Summer Has Arrived.

Football: Chips + Beer Pairings Your completely serious guide to a fancy apéro. Since the World Cup is starting in exactly 16 days (!!!), I thought it would be fun to share some fun chip, or crisp, and beer pairings for your viewing needs. When watching any sport with friends, you want to be locked IN - not be running back and forth to the kitchen to prep more food for ravenous guests whose teams may or may not be winning.

There is a game we play in France when it’s time for apéro and that is pétanque. The only thing it requires is absolutely no urgency… To start the game, you throw a small neon ball called a cochonnet, a little pig,and the aim of the game is to get your 3 metal larger balls, boules, as close to it as possible. The average team’s age is 85, there is lots of arguing about who got their boule closest, and it’s without a doubt my absolute favorite afternoon activity when I’m back here visiting family.

There is a specific time in France that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world, there is no exact hour but it happens sometime in the afternoon, when the sun is still warm but you can smell the evening arriving. Friends and family come together for a crisp drink and a few bites. Someone brings a bottle of something cold, someone else turns up with a random bag of crisps or nuts. All of a sudden, some sort of board appears?

Scroll down to read about some of my favorite bottles on the market! In 2026, I have noticed a big rise in sake in London and I am HERE FOR IT. Growing up in Los Angeles, where good Japanese food and drink are genuinely part of the culture, I was lucky enough to encounter the drink early in my life - my parents often had it in the fridge and always ordered it when going out for sushi or shabu shabu.

Oh, have I got exciting news for you today! Long story short, my favorite matcha is finally being released online in the UK this Friday, 8th May.

Hello from the mills! I’ve been here for the past week planting, enjoying time with loved ones, and eating the best this season has to offer. I wanted to bring you along with me from the comfort of your home. Here are some of my top recipes as well as ways to eat that are quintessentially French from breakfast to apéro. Stay tuned for the tomato lineup! You can check out last year’s final ranking here.

I am in shock writing this because how is it ALREADY basically May?! I guess adults are right in telling children that time starts flying the second you get older… Anyways, here were some of my favorites this month. This month features my top kitchen accessories, condiments, clothes, and travel staples. Side note - it’s picnic season! Don’t know what to bring?