It’s World Cup weekend – so grab your boots, shinnies and favourite retro England shirt (Euro 96 every time for us) and let’s all manifest that *it* finally comes home. In the meantime, here’s some art, wine and films to help you fill the time between kick offs. 

Waiter, there’s a finger in my soup
We begin this week’s round-up with a meal to die for. Sitting somewhere between Chef’s Table and Battle Royale, Mark Mylod’s new film, The Menu, is a whole lot of fun. Nicholas Hoult is at his hilarious bumbling best (see: The Favourite) as a pretentious foodie who has invited his partner Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy) along to a highly exclusive meal at a self-contained restaurant on a remote island.

The guests, including renowned food critics, movie stars and investors have all been personally invited by uber-chef Julian Slovik (Ralph Fiennes), but between the delicate drops of jus, foam and froth, there’s a macabre reason for this grandiose meal. Truly hilarious and very relatable for anyone who has had to sit through a meal with more courses than food (how is it even possible?!), The Menu is a great slice of cinematic escapism.

The Menu is out now.

Unknown Pleasures
Renowned photographer Kevin Cummins is one of the world’s most prestigious music documenters, having shot the likes of The Smiths, Manic Street Preachers and David Bowie. But his work in the late 70s photographing Salford icons Joy Division is perhaps Cummins’ most famous work.

These atmospheric, black-and-white images capture the band in their warehouse practice room and on the icy Epping Walk bridge in Hulme, Manchester, the streets carpeted in snow and the band – Stephen Morris, Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook – in their overcoats and knits. These images perfectly reflect the band’s sound: stark, monochrome, resilient, and tender.

A new exhibition at London’s Paul Stolper gallery celebrates Cummins’ archival photographs of Joy Division, showcasing over 50 images of the band alongside the launch of a new book, Archivum.

Kevin Cummins at Paul Stolper runs until 23rd December.

Playground of perceptions
There’s a new museum in town that aims to distort your sense and blur your perceptions. Twist Museum, located on Oxford Street, is a major trip, presenting multi-sensory, immersive illusions that toy with your senses and question reality. Developed in collaboration with artists, neuroscientists and philosophers, there’s one room that shrinks you down, Alice-style, a sound lab that unlocks the extrasensory power of your ears, while in another you’ll experience a world without colour.

Twist Museum is located at 248 Oxford Street.

Touch screen canvas
David Hockney’s recent iPad paintings have become almost as iconic as his swimming pools, and now he’s showcasing a bunch more for a new show at Annely Juda. Titled 20 Flowers and Some Bigger Pictures, the exhibition does what it says on the tin, presenting works that expand on Hockney’s 2020 ipad paintings completed while quarantining at his studio in Normandy. Here, flowers bloom from glass vases and vibrant landscapes transport you to dreamy countryside retreats.

Opening tonight! #DavidHockney, 20 Flowers and Some Bigger Pictures pic.twitter.com/tCM3QkoQty

— Annely Juda Fine Art (@Annely_Juda) November 3, 2022

A very Dior Christmas
As the Christmas spirit begins to entice us all, Dior are doing their bit by taking over Harrods with a very festive installation. Just follow the glowing Dior motifs on the store’s façade – the compass rose, lucy stars and exquisite flowers – and you’ll find yourself inside The Fabulous World of Dior, where you can visit pop-up stores decorated with tropes from Christmas fairytales, and an exhibition documenting the architecture of Dior’s iconic locations.

And nothing says Christmas like lots of really good food and drink: cue the Dior Café, decorated to resemble a gingerbread fairytale dreamscape, where you can enjoy twists on French and British classics, including Cornish crab with green apple, Atlantic lobster Thermidor, and a roasted chestnut velouté with winter chanterelles.

Dior’s Christmas pop-up is currently running at Harrods. 

Tres bon
It’s Beaujolais Nouveau Day celebrations this week, so we’re going French. Specifically Maison François on Duke Street, St James. More specifically down the stairs to Franks, a subterranean wine bar and dining hideout where all your Francophile dreams are met. Their annual Croûte Off happened on Thursday (soz, we publish on a Friday – but it’s something to put in the diary for next year!) however don’t despair, their menu is A*. Think, rock oysters with mignonette sauce, comté gougères and anchovies with smoked chilli, while their famous, house pâté en croûte is something to savour.

Franks is located at Maison François, 34 Duke Street.