We invited our readers to an extravagant 5:2 lunch at Four Seasons Park Lane. Here’s what went down…
Last week, Get The Gloss took over Four Seasons Park Lane for an intimate 5:2 lunch with some of our readers. Located on the 10th floor, guests enjoyed a stunning view across London while listening to Get The Gloss Creative Director Sarah Vine , personal trainer Steve Mellor and nutritional consultant Karen Cummings-Palmer discuss all things health, fitness and diet related.
The conversation kicked off by discussing the benefits of fasting. Steve, an advocate of fasting, claims doing it “makes you conscious” about what you’re eating, which in turn makes you “conscious about exercise”. He also explained that it inhibits insulin and, instead, increases the “skinny hormone” and youth hormones. As a result, “your mind switches from being concerned about being skinny to being strong instead”.
Karen, who also believes in fasting, added that it’s not a good sign if your food can live on the shelf, as these have been processed: “The two things to be aware of are foods that are highly processed and reducing the amount of sugar in your diet – sugar comes in all kinds of forms, even in white bread.” Her general rule of thumb? “If it’s white – don’t eat much of it.”
Though when the subject of the C word (carbs) came up, both experts stressed that not all carbs are bad for you, while some can actually be a beneficial addition to your diet. Karen suggests sweet potatoes, which are hypoallergenic and good for your skin, quinoa for its high protein (she stresses washing them first and recommends sautéing for a couple of minutes) and brown rice for its high fibre qualities. When it comes to cooking, she advises switching to coconut oil for its natural properties, Himalayan pink salt and apple cider vinegar, which “helps to transform vegetables into something delicious”.
Throughout the talk and Q&A, guests were treated to two menus – Feast and Fast. The Fast menu showcased the kind of meals that you can have on your fasting day and included delicacies such as poached prawns with pineapple and yuzu, young vegetable smoked aubergine and English asparagus and quail eggs with summer truffle. Meanwhile the Feast menu featured dishes like sea bass miso, teriyaki beef and (our Editor-in-Chief Susannah Taylor’s favourite) white asparagus and quinoa risotto with white chocolate – trust us, it was a winner.
The amazing Mario Perera, Executive Sous Chef at Four Seasons Park Lane, also presented his incredible invention, The Gloss – a savoury tomato and chilli lipstick - and guests left with a packed goody bag. These included refreshing PLENISH juices and a delicious chocolate brownie with maca ganache, made from Organic Burst’s maca powder. Organic Burst also sent samples of their powder to guests so that they can re-create the brownies at home (aided with step-by-step recipe cards).
Michelle Dickson, a guest at the event and also Deputy Editor of Sainsbury's Magazine said: “I thought it was a really interesting and informative event – and good value for the price. Feeling inspired to keep on the 5:2 plan – especially as today is a fast day…”
Want to join us at our next event? Click here to see what we have coming up next!