Chef Gizzi Erskine’s spirited World Gin Day dinner

A glorious Tanqueray gin dinner party and a cocktail masterclass make for a heady evening of high spirits at The Bloomsbury Hotel

London’s Bloomsbury has seen a flurry of activity at its fashionable hotel addresses of late, most recently the opening of the Oscar Wilde-inspired hotel L’Oscar and the refit of the historic The Principle. Both follow last year’s glamorous revitalisation of The Bloomsbury Hotel – the 1928 Sir Edwin Lutyens, Grade-II listed building on Great Russell Street – said to have put the swing back into the neighbourhood. And it’s here, at the hotel’s al fresco Dalloway Terrace, that one can savour the local ambience on World Gin Day (June 12) with a four-course Tanqueray dinner (£55) created by chef Gizzi Erskine

Tanqueray cocktails will be served with chef Gizzi Erskine’s four-course menu

As one might expect on such an occasion, gin will be central to the evening’s celebrations, and Giovanni Spezziga, general manager of the Dalloway Terrace and the Coral Room bar, will host the evening. A selection of Tanqueray No. TEN cocktails will also accompany the meal – kicking off with a gin and tonic served with an amuse-bouche of seared scallops, cauliflower purée and martini-soaked raisins and apple.

Erskine’s grapefruit meringue pie makes for a mouth-watering end to the meal

The Gizzi cocktail is a refreshing blend of Tanqueray No. TEN, elderflower, basil, kaffir lime, fresh lime juice and lemonade

Erskine’s starter of Iberico pork fillet, grilled peaches, asparagus, rosemary and juniper jus finds its match in the Royal martini, which also works well with pan-fried cod, burnt corn, piquillo peppers, leeks and a gin harissa dressing.  For non-carnivores, vegan and vegetarian alternatives will be available.

Last but not least, Erskine’s grapefruit meringue pie makes for a mouth-watering end to the meal, which will be accompanied by a refreshing The Gizzi cocktail – a blend of gin, elderflower, basil, kaffir lime, fresh lime juice and lemonade. “I like to celebrate different ingredients and flavours when I cook and I took inspiration from the citrus notes in the gin to create my signature grapefruit dessert,” she says.