izzi blog

The official izzibag blog

I have found the most amazing Michelin star rated restaurant in New York called Rouge Tomate and to be honest it has become almost a second home as I am eating there so often. I am holding my lunch meetings and cocktail hour catch ups with my girlfriends there, due to the fact that their food not only tastes fantastic but is also very healthily put together. I mentioned to the manager that I have been dieting and therefore have more than the usual interest in what goes into my mouth, he asked if I would like to have lunch with  Natalia Hancock, who has an unusual professional title. She’s Rouge Tomate’s culinary nutritionist, which means she responsible for analyzing the nutritional value of Executive Chef Jeremy Bearman’s cuisine. (She makes sure that no butter or cream slips into the dishes.) Natalia told me that Rouge Tomate follows the principles of S.P.E (Sanitas Per Escam) a culinary and nutritional charter based on a genuine respect for ingredients and on the crafting of balanced dishes that naturally marry thoughtfully executed cuisine with authentic nutrition. I guess this all means that Rouge Tomate believe that a truly superior meal should not only taste better but is actually better for you.

Seasonal Toasts are so lovely

I was really interested to hear what she had to say on my chosen diet and how I could make sure that I did not avoid eating the essential nutrients. At home she told me that she’s no less of a dietary drill sergeant. “I don’t let my husband eat cold cuts—too many preservatives. ” At this point I really sat up to listen, I eat a lot of cold cuts due to the fact I am following a no-carb diet and was really taken aback when Natalia told me that there is a lot of sodium (Salt) in prepacked meats.  When I went shopping yesterday with Izzi I was looking at the packaging to check the sodium content of everything and was flawed at how high it is in some things I picked up. Natalia also pointed out to me that I should check the contents of my refrigerator before I go shopping and she very kindly sent me a picture of hers!

Natalia's refrigerator contents!

On that note I know this is a strange question to ask you, but what is in your refrigerator and moreover do you care? well I took on board all the points and hints that Natalia had given me and here is now a picture of mine!

Anne's refrigerator

I am going to make sure I always include red vegetables because they contain the nutrients that have been shown to lower blood pressure and we all know that I need to do that! Green vegetables help boost your immune system and normalize digestion time, yellow or orange vegetables encourage alkaline balance whilst working to build healthy bones. On that note Natalia, I hope you are proud of my purchases be sure I will keep everyone up to date on how my healthy living diet goes.

This week has been manic, I did my radio show on HDUK on Friday which has been real fun to do, I love reading all the newspapers in New York and reading all the funny or scary bits out on air. I hope you can find time to listen, please let me know via twitter what you think, we would love to include your thoughts and suggestions. The show airs between 7 – 9pm if you are in the UK and 2-4pm in the US. If you live in New York and would like to be a guest on the show just get in touch.

I also went to watch the Dr OZ show being taped which was immense fun with my good friend Dr Gerry Curatola who was appearing on the show, which will be aired on 11th March so please check it out as it is a fascinating story. Gerry, by the way he is giving me a makeover, but that is a story for another day so please come back to read more on that. As Dr Oz is from Turkey I managed to put my rusty Turkish to some use and we chatted for a couple of minutes at the end of the show.

Anne & Dr Oz

Another busy week ahead so come back and read further adventures of izzi bag in New York, now pass me a glass of Sancerre, shush …..

We have worked so hard this year and been away from our loved ones that Izzet and I decided that we needed a break for the Holidays, I like to say Christmas but I know that is not politically correct in the US however you get the drift right? On Saturday morning before Christmas I was all packed by 7am and sat for two hours on top of my suitcase in the hallway counting the minutes until the driver arrived to take us to JFK. Hold the thought that he was not supposed to arrive until 1pm, Izzet said I was very childlike! Oh really well I was excited. Of course when the driver phoned to say he was 5 minutes away I couldn’t decide which shoes to wear, I mean any fashionista worth her salt needs to look good when travelling. I decided it was a toss up between the Gianfranco Ferre black 6” heels and the Michael Kors (Naughty Shoes) you will remember those that I had the little accident in on Madison Avenue.

Ok, Ok I know I am harping on the shoes but I chose the Gianfranco’s and hobbled to the front door, Prada sunglasses secured firmly to my face, forgive me for the fact it was like minus 5 degrees outside. But who was the bigger fool Izzet was wearing a T-Shirt.

A little light luggage needed

We arrive at JFK with an hour to spare, only to be told that the suitcases are over weight and we will have to remove 7lbs from each! Is this broad having a laugh? Where in God’s name am I going to put 14lbs of clothing, shoes, makeup? The answer was simple in my hand baggage of course, she tells me, why didn’t I think of that ? Are they going to let me on the plane with all this hand luggage I doubted it very much, seeing as though it weighed as much as the checked in luggage.

I have to say JetBlue were amazing NOT, we left an hour late, the inflight entertainment broke down right as I started to watch the cat fight on Bravo ‘The housewives of Beverley Hills’ life was never going to be the same and all the food was all full of carbs. I should have taken all of this to be a warning sign of things to come. When we landed at San Juan airport where unfortunately Izzet and I did not speak the local lingo. I was not surprised to find that the luggage carousel was changed 3 times before there was any sign of the baggage. I was getting very anxious now, as I was standing in 80 degrees in a pair of combats and a Desigual long sleeved sweat, along with the 6” heels, which was not going to be a great look at the beach the following day I feel. Phew then my suitcase arrives yippee doo. Holiday here we come…..

I went to the Jetblue information desk, loosely termed because I think the beached whale sitting behind the counter had never given any information in years let alone moved from the chair she was firmly attached too. On enquiring if I could hire a car within the terminal or find a driver to take us to Palmas Del Mar, I was pointed to the main doors by a 3” red painted talon that I was not going to argue with but no words were ushered. I left Jabba the Hutt and went to pass this on to Izzet who was still awaiting his suitcase.

We decided that as it was now very late and we should just get a driver to take us to the hotel, wrong move, huge mistake! The driver took us around the island 3 times, took 3 hours to do a 45 minute journey, ran out of gas and tried to drop us at the wrong hotel. This is going to be an izzi bag adventure I can feel it.

We arrived at the hotel in San Juan and after a goodnights sleep decided to go to the pool for the day. Laying on a sun bed I nearly had a heart attack to open my eyes and see this little fellow sitting next to me!

iggi Iguana

As you can see he wasn’t small around 40 inches long and constantly climbed trees and then jumped into the swimming pool, I kid you not.

I have to say and I apologise before I get lots of comments on this the food left a lot to be desired, or maybe we just ate at the wrong places, but when I ordered a salad and was served it with a tomato ketchup dressing I knew it was time to move on.

Tomato Ketchup on your Salad?

The next few days seem to all roll into one as we relaxed and enjoyed our holiday. On day six I was really excited to be going on a cruise and here are some of the highlights.

Caribbean Sunshine can't be beaten

As you will probably remember from my holiday in the summer I am not that fond of St Maarten so when the first port of call was Philipsburg I was determined to stay on the ship. Well that was until I saw this from my balcony. Now if I spelt the owner’s name wrong I am not apologizing sorry I really am not, this new dingy (meow) cost in excess of $200 million.

Roman Abramovich dinky yacht

Anyway why would I be jealous? this is the ship I was on and it slept 2000, I guess the only difference is that I did not know any of my fellow guests and the ship isn’t mine. But let’s not split hairs.!

Serenade of the Seas

Antigua has to be one of the prettiest islands and Izzet and I went on a helicopter ride to the almost deserted island of Montserrat. This is due to the fact that it has an active Volcano, which has sent most of the island into an Exclusion Zone as it is so dangerous. It is amazing to see houses and churches that have been buried by Volcanic Rock and very sad to think that people had to just abandon everything they owned as the Volcano erupted. We had a real adventure that day, I will never forget the look on Izzet’s face as the pilot flew over the island, it was an absolute picture.

Off to Montserrat

Abandoned Houses in Montserrat

Smoking Volcano

We had a wonderful day in Barbados with Dr Gerry Curatola and his family. We spent the day at their villa in a Marina on the North side of the island which was where Sir Phillip Green had his yacht moored for the holiday season. We were told that Simon Cowell was also going to be arriving that day but we could not wait as we had swimming to do and rum punch to drink.

We moved on to St Lucia, which is probably my favourite island in the whole Caribbean.  St Lucia is very unspoilt and so green and pretty, we visited a Cocoa plantation and also the Sulphur drive in Volcano, which smelt like rotten eggs,  as a drive in I don’t think it will catch on sorry!

The Drive in Sulphur Volcano - St Lucia

I forgot to mention that we saw Dolphins in Dominica whilst we were whale watching. Although we didn’t actual see any Whales after searching for around 4 hours, we gave up. But I have to say that the Dolphin pods were spectacular, they jumped in and out of the water and swam underneath our boat. If you ever go to the island I highly recommend you make that trip. I did not know that baby Dolphins are black in color and only become silvery grey as they grow into adults.

Dolphins Jumping so close to the boat

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and although we were not in the UK with our family I have to say that neither or us missed the snow that London had or the blizzard that hit New York. But now we are back to reality and Izzet and I have traded in our swimming shorts for our fur lined Wellington Boots. So on that note…..

Christmas Night on Serenade of the Seas

Happy New Year……..

Happy New Year

Today in New York full of snow!

New York or Barbados? it's a hard one!

This has certainly been a week, last night I was invited by the Accessories Council of New York to attend the ACE Awards for 2010 and I was in such great company, from Tiffanys & Co to Cole Haan and Macy’s. The stars in the fashion world came out to play. I spent all day with my Glam Squad, aka Gregg Hubbard the famous New York Make up artist to stars such as Tory Burch and the Celebrity Apprentice. and my hairdresser Monique came to give me the best blow out ever.

Wearing Judith Leiber

I was totally honored to be wearing a very expensive piece of jewelry by Judith Leiber, who very kindly loaned me the necklace in the picture. The event was held at Cipriani’s on 42nd Street, believe it or not this used to be the home of a bank. It is a really stunning venue I have to say I so love going there, my only drawback is that the Internet service is limited. The food was super, I had scallops with asparagus followed by lamb cutlets which were like butter. I gave the desert a miss as I am not keen on Lemon meringue pie so I saved myself for the Godiva chocolates.

Before the awards ceremony started I was lucky enough to be photographed with a super guy, Kanye West, I have to say in all honesty that he was really a kind and gentle man, I may be a bit bias as he said I looked beautiful. When he accepted his award he spoke from the heart accepted that he was not perfect ,that he had made some mistakes but that he was just a regular guy. I would not agree, he is a very special person and deserved the award for Style.

Kanye West and Anne Agoren

I also met Maria Sharapova, who I would like to say forgot to smile in this picture, I guess that is her prerogative, so let’s just say she is very tall !

Maria Sharapova & Anne Agoren

Everybody went home with a goodie bag full of luxurious things, I was totally exhausted so when I finally managed to find my driver, I threw off my Gianfranco Ferre shoes in the car, snuggled on the warm back seat until I got home to my lovely izzi. I am hoping that the parties this week are at an end and I now look forward to a quiet evening at home in my PJ’s…. oh except tomorrow as it is my wedding anniversary…. Get Gregg on the phone…