After a great night out at KFWE Tel Aviv it was time to leave the nest and fly to London. I am in touch with a few people in the London wine scene – some of them visit Israel often. Unfortunately, I rarely am in London and that’s a shame. I love it there! Downtown London is the closest thing to NYC in terms of vibrancy. Plus in terms of being able to communicate, for a boorish American like me being able to speak English just makes the whole experience more enjoyable and relaxed. The biggest plus to London though are the people! Most of my time outside of KFWE London itself was spent in or with people from Hendon. These are some of the most hospitable and sweet people you will find on the face of the earth!

As hospitable as the close-knit community of Hendon is, Rachel & Andrew Krausz take it to a different level. Each year before KFWE London, Rachel & Andrew host a food and wine evening. This has sort of grown into an event that hosts winemakers and wine-lovers who have flown in especially for KFWE as well as many of the local crew who get to eat Andrew’s food more regularly. Who is Andrew Krausz? Andrew is an aviation lawyer and an RAF Pilot (reserves). Being a pilot already makes him a cool guy in my book – but he is also the proprietor of Blue Smoke. According to it’s Facebook description, Blue Smoke is “the UK’s first and only authentic private kosher barbecue smokehouse striving to continually elevate the bar by sourcing the finest ingredients, mastering and developing the art of smoking and creating the very best produce, which showcases what kosher food can be, for the most discerning gourmands.” I had heard about Andrew’s cooking from friends and had seen his food porn on Facebook and Instagram, but this was going to be my first time experiencing his food – and an experience is exactly what it is. But before I get to that, I can’t go on without a few words about Rachel. Rachel opens her home to this chaos each year – 25 or so diners plus waiters, a kitchen taken over, etc – all with absolute grace and warmth. Having run RCC’s and wine evenings and visited others doing the same, I know it takes a special person to put up with all of this craziness. Rachel is that special person. And she does it with a smile. IN fact that is something which I noticed about the British crew – for the most part, both husband and wife are likely to take part in wine themed events. This is really unique as far as I can tell. In each other locale that I visit, there are at best one or two ladies who are mainstays. I am not sure if it is just the culture in England does not stigmatize drinking by women as much as in America or Israel within observant circles or what – but it’s nice to see!