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The Waldorf Project: Chapter One / Muskmelon

11 Oct

In a nutshell

The Waldorf Project is an art performance by artist Sean Rogg that creates an immersive dining experience on a grand stage intended to connect the senses through food, drink, dance, sound, and environment.

It is a journey from the best that nature can create, to the higher state of perfection when combined with the artistic mind of man.

Guests will experience a new concept of dining synchronized with precious wines presented in a magical and unique way.

The idea is to connect everything with the concept. It will flow through all aspects of the performance, from sound to environment.

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Theme

Each of the collaborators has been chosen by Sean Rogg specifically for their imaginative approach to the theme – the rare Japanese muskmelon – as well as their readiness to break boundaries through the most fundamental fusion of their diverse disciplines. From gastro-scientists and food designers to choreographers and sound artists, The Waldorf Project unifies distinct arts to create a unique and fully immersive experience for their guests.

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What we thought

We attended the preview evening last night and were welcomed by a friendly chap who asked us to pick an object off the table in front of us. Items included a 5kg weight, a set of keys, a tube of fish food and a few coins. Shortly after, we were asked to enter the dining room and make our way to the main column, which was dressed with numerous test tubes and science lab paraphernalia filled with herbs and foreign fruits. It is here that we were presented with our seasonal aperitif with tea before being tasked with finding the table corresponding to our object. We had picked a petri dish filled with coal and after a couple of rounds around the tables, we settled on the one that had a diamond on it. We’re still not sure whether this was the right decision but no one else kicked us off the table so it must have been.

The surroundings

We entered a large room with black curtains covering the four walls. The tables were lined up in two long rows on each side of the room with a range of weird and wonderful props surrounding the tables. Two plinths with giant ice cubes stood in the middle of the room, each dripping away into a beaker. Surround speakers played music to match the Muskmelon theme. We were impressed with our surroundings but found it increasingly difficult to concentrate with the loud and obscure music.

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Food and drink

After guests are seated the service gets underway. Men dressed in black walking in synchronised lines across the room from one side to the other brought us glasses in wheelie trolleys while five women dressed in matching grey dresses and black pumps sashayed across the floor making bird gestures.

There are seven courses in total, each adhering to the theme and each arriving with a matching wine. Favourites were the first and second courses – wild mushrooms with sea weed, which was paired with 1999 Talinda Oaks Chardonnay (Au Bon Climat Special Project) and a beautiful dish of tender scallops, which was paired with 1994 Sanford Chardonnay (Special Project). We didn’t really understand the fourth dish and still can’t decipher what was on the plate. Well, I say plate but I mean large framed white tile. We were given a different utensil to eat with during each course, our favourite being the large set of sharp tweezers. The menu was fun, exciting and intriguing.

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Conclusion

Performance art has never really captured my imagination. Seeing women caress the props around the room sort of made me uncomfortable. But I wasn’t really there for the performance art; I was there for the food, which was certainly impressive. Each dish was stunning and individual in its own right. The music was too weird and loud for our liking. We weren’t sure whether to laugh or cry when we heard snorting pig noises when we were eating our pork course. The screeches and bleeps I’m sure had a meaning but they prevented me from being able to think about it. The décor of the room is impressive – be prepared to see herbs, spices, fruits and props that you may never had seen before.

We’re intrigued to see what The Waldorf Project has in store for Chapter Two.

Netil House, 1 Westgate Street, London. E8 3RP
10 – 14 October 2012, 7pm
Tickets £210
http://www.waldorfproject.com

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The Novel Diner at Shampers

1 May

We have been to a few supper clubs over the years, some good, some very bad. The first hurdle that is necessary to overcome at such an event is to break the ice with fellow guests. After having sat through a fair few awkward moments in the past, the anticipation of being seated next to complete strangers always makes me slightly nervous. Being in someone else’s house and having to witness their personal artefacts has also been an issue in the past – who wants to see a bottle of femfresh on the side of the bath of someone you don’t know?!

But last weekend Jack and I were introduced to a new (to us) supper club concept. The Novel Diner is the brainchild of food and arts writer Mina Holland and events organiser Claire Coutinho. Each evening is held at a different restaurant or venue around London and is themed on a well known novel. Diners are encouraged to dress up to reflect the period in which the novel is set while enjoying an extensive menu of delicious food, all cooked by Mina and Claire.

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The novel for our evening was In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust. The menu consisted of truffled asparagus velouté, chicken liver parfait, fried sole with potatoes and green salad, followed by an Époisses and Comté cheeseboard, home made chocolate truffles by ‘I Love Brigadeiros’ and mini Marcel’s Madeleines with tea or coffee to finish.

Upon arrival we were treated to live music from a cellist and violinist and an absinthe cocktail, which consisted of absinthe, water and fresh lemon. Delicious! We sipped our cocktails as we waited the arrival of diners before being seated at a long communal table.

The food was quick to arrive and conversation started to flow. As is often the way at these events, when you put 30 strangers in the same room with not much elbow space, conversation is slow off the mark. But the mood quickly changed after a misunderstanding about Zooey Deschanel’s nicely kept ‘F-ringe’ and we were off. The rest of the evening consisted of raucous laughter, numerous jokes and good food.

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The hi light of the evening was the pan fried bass with crisp, fluffy roast potatoes and a sorrel salad. The velvety smooth chicken liver parfait was rich and incredibly delicious smothered on crusty white bread. The choice of cheese on the cheese board was commended and within a few minutes the boards were empty. But somehow everyone had room for the condensed milk truffles and buttery Madeleines to finish. I enjoyed mine dipped into a pool of steaming hot tea.

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As we neared the end of our meal, the music started up again and a few of us agreed that we felt like we were sailing on the Titanic. Surreal conversation matched with period outfits and classical music all contributed to an air of nostalgia wafting through the room. We knew it was time to gather our belongings and run for the last tube when one of the guests that was sat at the opposite side of the table unbuttoned his shirt to reveal a tattoo of a naked woman, which seemed to share said guests left nipple. Incredible. The Novel Diner was exciting, new, fresh, creative and most of all, extremely fun. We can’t wait to hear what lies in store for the next evening.

The Novel Diner

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‘Proper Black’ Barbecoa braised short beef ribs

16 Feb

I’m quite pathetic when it comes to cooking meat. I just don’t have it in me. Unforutnately neither does Jack – don’t tell him I said that though. The thing is, we just don’t tend to buy it. I’ll happily order a meat dish at a restaurant because I know it’s going to be so much better than my attempts.

But when the email from Barbecoa arrived in my inbox telling me about a fantastic competition called #BBshortrib, I couldn’t resist. All I needed to do was pick five short ribs up from Barbecoa Butchers on Friday 10th February, cook them over the weekend and take them to be re heated at the restaurant on the Monday evening. It all sounded easy.

As usual, I was slightly unprepared with my recipe but I knew I wanted to do something a bit different. I had a feeling that lots of entrants would be BBQing them, or braising them in red wine. So I did something a little different – I braised them in ‘Proper Black’, a delicious dark pale ale from St Austell Brewery in Cornwall. The ale is black as stout and powerful hops dominate the restarained chocolate and coffee notes from the carefully selected roasted malt. This bottle had been sitting in my cupboard waiting to be consumed but rather than drinking, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do something a little different.

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During the cooking process, we almost burned down the kitchen, yes really. The pot that we were using cracked and hot oil seeped out onto the extremely hot hob. When we moved the pan away, huge flames exploded. Luckily we slid the pan back over the fire, which restricted the oxygen supply. My boyfriend shouted ‘throw some water over it’ and I screamed noooooooooo. I knew that fire marshal training would come in handy one day… After some googling, we found the best ways to deal with a fire in the kitchen:

1) Throw a damp towel over the flame
2) Cover the flame with baking power
3) Place a lid on top of the burning pan
4) Use a fire extinguisher (yes, I’ll just go and get that from under the stairs then…..!!!)

After we (and the fire) had calmed down, we carried on and produced something utterly delicious. Thick, syrupy and rich, the sauce was to die for. The meat was tender and I was wondering why we don’t cook meals like this very often. Unfortunately we were unable to eat much of it as we had to reserve it for the all important judging the next day but the little bit we tasted whet our appetites!

We were all set on the Monday, Jack was going to bring the ribs with him after work (he works from home) and I was going to meet him there. But disaster struck – at 5pm I still had not heard from him. When my phone went off shortly after, I knew something was wrong. Jack had been in a meeting all day away from home unexpectedly and there was not enough time to go home to pick them up and arrive at Barbecoa on time. The ribs were stranded in the fridge and we had to pull out. Disaster.

I followed the competition on Twitter and was unsurprised to see that most had cooked BBQ short ribs. I wish we could have gone, it looked like a lot of fun. At least we got to enjoy our ribs for dinner that evening and I’ve decided that I’ll be taking a trip back to Barbecoa to explore other cuts and broaden my meaty repertoire.

Proper Black braised Barbecoa short ribs (adapted from David Lebobitz)

Ingredients

5 short ribs
Salt and freshly-ground pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
350ml Proper Black pale ale
10 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons Chinese or Japanese rice vinegar
50g dark chocolate
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

For the hoisin sauce (makes what is needed for recipe)

4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp molasses or 1 tablespoon honey
2 tsp seasoned rice vinegar
1 garlic clove , finely minced
2 tsp sesame seed oil
1 tsp chinese hot sauce (to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Method

1. Rub the ribs generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large roasting pan and fry the short ribs until each side is very dark
2. Remove the ribs from the pan, then turn off the heat and deglaze the pan with the pale ale. Scrape up the browned bits stuck to the pan with a firm spatula, then stir in the garlic and ginger
3. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C
4. Add the ribs back to the pan and mix in the vinegar, chocolate, and chili powder
5. Cover and let simmer for 3 hours, turning the short ribs a few times while they’re cooking. The ribs are done when they’re fork-tender and falling off the bone.
6. Meanwhile, make the hoisin sauce by mixing all of the ingredients together and whisk until well blended
7. Once ribs have simmered, remove the lid, stir in the hoisin sauce, place in the oven, reduce the heat to 150 degrees C and cook for another 30 minutes

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Gospel Brunch at Altitude 360

17 Jan

The weather last Sunday may have been cloudy and overcast but the views from the 28th floor of the Millbank Tower were astounding. We arrived at 12pm and were shown to our table for brunch. But this was no ordinary brunch; this was Gospel at Altitude 360.

As I stared out at the London skyline, picking out recognisable buildings and areas, we were taken by surprise as three gospel singers clad in long red gowns approached our table and started singing. Not normally one for audience participation (I’d rather be invisible); I was silently panicking as I saw them approach, having just watched two tables nearby enjoying a soulful rendition of Happy Birthday. But worries of embarrassment soon diminished and I felt very welcomed by the soft and joyful tones. We were asked if we had any requests. Sister Act immediately popped into my head as I had spent a lazy evening over the Christmas period watching it and I sent them away with a request to sing a song from the film (as I’m sure had many others around me).

But back to the menu. I wouldn’t so much call it a brunch as a full on lunch. Starters consist of a huge bread basket featuring brown sugar cornbread, pumpkin bread, brioche and rosemary and raisin bread and there are a wide range of mains to choose from, including French toast, grilled aubergines and portobello mushroom with mozzarella, spatchcock chicken, all of which are followed by a choice of five puddings. We opted for the layered grilled tuna and avocado with courgette, roasted tomato and onion rings and BBQ chicken with black beans, yellow rice and Napa slaw. After we had placed our order, the BBQ ribs with chilli and rosemary parmentier potatoes were highly recommended to us. I would never normally choose ribs off any menu, partly because a huge slab of meat on a plate can make me feel slightly uneasy but as they had been highly recommended, I had to see what all the fuss was about.

The first dishes that we ordered arrived first, a mere ten minutes after we had placed the order. The tuna steak was thin and more overcooked than I would have liked – I usually pan fry mine for a matter of seconds. I have learned the hard way in the past that even when you take a tuna steak off the heat, it continues to cook for a few seconds longer. It was served with grilled tomatoes and courgette, which were wise additions. My boyfriend and I always adopt a 50/50 approach to dining out – we order different dishes and share. I usually clock fellow diners rolling their eyes as we swap plates mid way through but this is just the way we do it. And why not? We get to taste much more of the menu this way. And I was especially glad of our approach at the gospel brunch because I much preferred the BBQ Chicken dish. The chicken was tender and sticky and the creamy pot of Napa slaw was a delight. Delicious.

A few bites in, the most gigantic plate of ribs arrived at the table. The overflowing bread board had to be moved onto the table next to us to allow space for the monster. Mouth watering, I took my knife and fork and pulled the most tender meat away from the bone at ease, which was covered in a rich, sticky sauce. As I bit into it, I cursed myself for never ordering ribs. Having already devoured one main meal each, we hastily kept going back to the plate full of ribs in the middle of the table until all that remained was a pile of bones. Wow. They were seriously good.

Not deterred by the amount of food already consumed, we chose two desserts off the bottom of the menu. And for once every single one appealed to me. Was I to go for the New York Cheesecake, or the Mississippi mud pie perhaps? Or maybe it was to be the key lime pie. But no, my sweet tooth was begging me to go for the peanut butter brownie, whilst my boyfriend chose the waffle as he thought it would be the lightest option. He was probably right.

They arrived and in front of my sat a dense, fudgy, sweet, nutty square of brownie, topped with vanilla ice cream and a smoothing of chocolate sauce. In front of my boyfriend sat a large, round waffle doused in fruit puree, crushed nuts and berries, again with a dollop of ice cream on top. I would have preferred the waffle to have come without the puree or berries, or the menu to have at least mentioned the accompaniments as I would have perhaps ordered something different but I could not fault the chocolate brownie. A layer of thick, dense sweet brownie was topped by light brown layer of peanut butter and crushed peanuts. Definitely one to recreate at home!

As we ate, we enjoyed the fantastic tones of the London Community Gospel Choir who stood to the side of the room. As the singing was in full swing, diners were seen singing along, swaying in their seats and a couple even went up to participate in one particular song. We left Altitude 360 that afternoon full of comforting food, the soulful tones ringing in our ears and beaming smiles on our faces.

Gospel Brunch at Altitude 360 costs £45 per person.

Food For Think was a guest at Gospel Brunch.

Altitude 360 on Urbanspoon

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Café Direct tasting

24 Oct

Coffee. I love the stuff. Give me a creamy strong Flat White in the morning and I’m happy for the day. But although I love the taste, my knowledge is pretty limited.

So I was glad to be invited to a coffee tasting by Café Direct last week. Despite the event being held at L’Atelier des Chefs, I didn’t realise that we would be donning our aprons and showing off our baking prowess. I was half an hour late and when I arrived to a flurry of bloggers running around the kitchen, cracking eggs, melting chocolate and frantically beating butter and sugar, I was confused.

I then learned that everyone had paired off and each ‘team’ had been given one of three Café Direct coffees and been asked to create a dish using a host of ingredients provided. I was paired with the lovely Kate from What Kate Baked who had decided, after watching a recent Nigel Slater programme, to make chocolate bark using dried fruit, nuts and fair-trade dark chocolate. I was quite happy with this as I had made it before for Msmarmitelover’s underground Christmas Market last year.

We seemed to have an easier job than everyone else – all we did was melt three chocolate bars, pour it onto a baking tray and sprinkle dried fruit and chopped nuts on top before placing to cool in the fridge.

While the chocolate was cooling, we were treated to a tasting session with Thierry Akroman, Café Direct’s tasting expert. Here are a few of the useful nuggets of information I learned:

- Coffee usually grows around the equator
- Café Direct buys coffee direct from their suppliers. That way they know exactly what they’re getting and are able to pass the knowledge onto us, the consumer
- Brazil is the number one coffee producer in the world. Vietnam is the second
- Americans drink the most coffee in the world (no surprise there!)
- The difference between fragrance and aroma – the fragrance comes before you add water and aroma is generated when you add the boiling water, which releases all of the gasses

After the tasting, Thierry and a resident L’atelier chef tasted each creation and decided on a winner – the team that best matched their coffee with the ingredients available. The winners were 21st Century Housewife and Rhubarb & Rose with their spiced vanilla and honey cakes.

We were lucky enough to be given a bag of Café Direct coffee to take home with us. I’ll soon be able to enjoy the vanilla flavours of Mayan Palenque, the smoother chocolatey Machu Pichu and the citrus flavours of Kilamanjaro. What a lovely way to start the day.

Our chocolate bark recipe

Ingredients

200g Chocolate (we used Divine Dark Chocolate)
50g chopped dried apricots
50g hazelnuts, chopped
50g walnuts, chopped
25g raisins
25g sultanas

Method

1. Prepare a baking sheet by greasing and lining the sheet with parchment paper
2. Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl suspended over a gently simmering pan of water
3. Once melted, pour the chocolate onto the prepared baking sheet
4. Lightly scatter the fruit and nuts over the chocolate
5. Place the chocolate in the fridge to set

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Sipsmith – Sloe vs Damson

26 Sep

The summer has come to an end and Autumn is creeping in. And although I’m not overly happy about having endured the worst summer in two decades, I do love Autumn. The crisp sunny mornings and the beautiful leaves strewn across the floor everywhere you go put a smile on my face. I can’t think of a better way of celebrating the start of the season than by heading down to the Sipsmith distillery to try out the new seasonal spirits, Damson Vodka and Sloe Gin, which I did last week.

We were slightly confused whilst walking down a beautiful tree lined street full of the kind of Georgian houses that everyone wants to live in. ‘Maybe the distillery is in a house’ I said to my boyfriend. But then we stumbled upon it, a small room the size of a modest garage with a giant copper distillery toward the back. We had reached the Sipsmith distillery in Hammersmith, the equivalent of Charlie and the Chocolate factory for booze and the first copper distillery in London for two hundred years.

The aim of the evening was to showcase the two new and very lovingly created products. We drank cocktails and ate delicious cheese, courtesy of La Cave du Fromage. We were even treated to a huge and very impressive damson and Ginger Pig pork pie. After eating my body weight in cheese and marveling at the fascinating paraphernalia scattered around the distillery, I had to dash.

But the cocktails have stuck in my mind. And that’s because Sipsmith is the best. The first time I came across the brand was on a trip to Riverford farm. A self proclaimed ‘gin hater’, I ate my words and spent the next day wishing I hadn’t had quite so much of it. Nevertheless, the enjoyment I got out of it definitely outweighed the bad.

While the Sipsmith Vintage Damson Vodka is very limited edition and only available at Majestic, the Sloe Gin is available in Majestic and Waitrose stores nationwide. Both are priced at £23.50 for a 50cl bottle.

If you’re after something a little more simple, Sipsmith London Dry Gin (£27.49) and Barley Vodka (£26.25) is made in small batches and is available from Harvey Nichols, Waitrose, Selfridges, Hix, The Ivy, Majestic Stores or www.sipsmith.com. If you haven’t tried Sipsmith before, I urge you to and tell me what you think. I can guarantee you’ll like it.

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Maille pop up supper club

8 Aug

I have had a battle with mustard over the years. After trying that powdered English stuff that used to be popular about 20 years ago, I abstained from putting myself through the misery again. That is until someone persuaded me to try a dollop of Maille mustard with a salad a couple of years ago. I didn’t love it straight away but it was a lot more pleasurable than my first experience.

I was invited to the Maille mustard pop up in Shoreditch, which was hosted by Ms Marmite Lover a few weeks ago and couldn’t say no – partly because I wanted to try the new range, which includes honey mustard and mayonnaise with a hint of mustard and partly because I was allowed to take a guest and my boyfriend is the biggest mustard fan.

We turned up to Spitalfields market on a Friday evening and I was surprised to see a small pop up located just in front of the main entrance. It looked beautiful and featured stained wood with beautifully packaged Maille products decorating. The boutique was inspired by those of Paris and Dijon and gave us diners a real insight into the world of mustard. We were seated around the bar and offered a ‘Mustardy Mary’ to start us off. I couldn’t drink this – despite one of my favourite foods being delicious, juicy tomatoes, as soon as I put the juice version to my lips, a slightly unpleasant gag takes place. So I had to apologise and make my excuses.

We were also treated to a Gravadlax, honey mustard and red endive canape before the cooking got underway. It was totally and utterly lip smackingly beautiful – I would probably go so far as to say that it was one of the best canapes I have ever had. The honey mustard is the newest addition to Maille’s mustard range. I’d love to try it glazed on roast chicken – the thought is making my mouth water a little bit.

Next up was a whole artichoke. Now, I don’t think I was the only person that had never tried it before – there were a few confused faces around. Luckily, Marmite showed us how to eat it – slather the Dijon mustard on the bottom, place your chops around it and get the fleshy bit out with your teeth. I was in heaven – what a simple but delicious dish.

The main arrived and I was pleased to see smoked haddock with wholegrain mustard, cheese and Asian greens. Smoked haddock isn’t usually one of my favourite pieces of fish but it was tasty. The mustard and cheese worked so well together. Simply smother the fish with mustard, add a sprinkle of cheese and bake it in the oven.

I was a bit nervous about the dessert – Mostarda tutti frutti ice cream with berries, mint sugar and mustard candy floss. But all worries were diminished when I placed the spoon in my mouth. I particularly enjoyed the candy floss and just loved learning that Marmite has her very own candy floss machine. Who else?

As if dessert was not enough, we were also treated to a fantastic cheese board with Moustardier, Charollais, Langres, Comté and palmiers.

I had a great evening – the wine flowed, my fellow diners were lovely and we had a good old laugh. Maille has a large range of mustards, sauces, vinegars and mayonnaise, which you can see here.

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Vintage at Southbank Centre

12 Jul

Vintage 5

Let me set the scene. My boyfriends family are huge advocates of vintage, whether that be music, fashion, design or films. I met my boyfriend in a field at Bestival in 2007 and I remember thinking that it was cool that his dad and little brother (who was 10 at the time) came for a couple of days. We went back to Bestival for the next couple of years and as we started to see the changes, the way that it was expanding so fast, we decided to give it a miss the following year.

It was the same year that my boyfriends parents had an idea. To encompass everything that they are passionate about and hold their very own festival. A relationship with Goodwood was established and the date was set – August 13th – 15th 2010. See my post on the event last year here.

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Anyone that went last year will know how fantastic it was. A high street in a field, post war silver service in The Torch Club, the BEST club venue in the form of The Warehouse and an array of live music to knock the socks off any other live music festival. It wasn’t an event just focusing on music, the weekend played host to the biggest vintage market in the world, a cinema curated by Stephen Woolley, live catwalk shows and lots more.

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This year, they have decided to link with the Southbank Centre and the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain celebrations. Can you think a more perfect fit? From 29th – 31st July, the Royal Festival Hall will be set dressed as you have never seen it before. Its six levels will be transformed into a multi-venue playground where, over 13 hours each day (from 12pm to 1am), pass holders can learn the dances of the decades, take in over 70 live performances, boogie along to the tunes of 150 DJs, enjoy exclusive catwalk shows and decade specific make-overs, sample Vintage food and cocktails, shop at one of world’s most exciting Vintage marketplaces, and get style hunted as Vintage at Southbank Centre calls out for people to glam up.

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And I’m here to tell you about the food aspect, of course. Ticket holders can immerse themselves in the tastes of days gone by with food to fit the music and fashion, and historically linked eating opportunities, not to mention some fantastic period cocktails from the bars. Take for example the North South Divide Pub where Northerners can treat themselves to beef stew and a pint of ale, while Southerners can enjoy pea soup and a glass of Pimms before taking part in outrageous games and sing-along in the specially created boozer. Sneak a ‘Bootleg’ cocktail in the hidden Shhh! 1920s Prohibition club… Be sure not to tell anyone though! Take a break from the afternoon tea dance to sip on a Gin Martini in The Torch club, or kick back and relax with an ‘Alabama Sidecar’ amidst a soundtrack of Tiki and Exotica in the Leisure Lounge. As nightfall descends it’s to time to hit the Style Studio dance floor… But there’s always time for a ‘Cosmo’ before the disco dancing commences. In The Warehouse its paper cups and lager from the tin served from a bar made of pallets; truly authentic. There will be themed and dare we say it, nostalgic nibbles in abundance – think Cheesy Wotsits, Skips and Pork Scratchings (those were the days). For a more substantial feed, head up to the Penthouse terrace where you will find bangers, baps and plenty of ketchup at the Great British summer BBQ.

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Skylon will also be getting involved in the Vintage fun. For the Vintage weekend only, the restaurant will be serving a specially created afternoon tea with Vintage inspired cocktails such as ‘Old Fashioned’ and ‘Colony’. Diners can listen to 1920s and 1930s live music and 78s on old Gramophones while they dine at dimly lamp lit tables. I cannot wait to bask in elegance as I sip my martini and nibble on dainty cakes.

If the food offering inside isn’t enough, all 19 restaurants that surround the Royal Festival Hall will be participating. Sip a ‘Papa Dobles’ Daiquiri, which was Ernest Hemingway’s usual tipple in Cuba at Las Iguanas (ticket holders can enjoy 2 for 1 cocktails), a ‘Vintage Bombay Punch’ at the Dishoom Chowpatty Beach Café or maybe you will opt for a 70s soul BBQ at Feng Sushi on the Festival Terrace. The kids can join in too at Yo Sushi, who will be holding hour-long Mini Ninja classes to teach children how to make sushi. 1950s British diner come posh transport caff, Canteen will be serving their renowned range of classic British dishes such as sausages and mash with onion gravy, fish and chips and Scotch eggs. Also on the menu will be a range of pies with seasonal ingredients, encased in delicious buttery pastry. But don’t forget to leave room to delve into a nostalgic British dessert. Options include a decadent treacle tart with clotted cream, crumble with custard, or homemade jelly and ice cream!

I’m writing this to get the food aspect of Vintage out there. Vintage is just as much about the food experience as the music, fashion etc… and I’d LOVE to see some of you there.

Head to www.vintageatsouthbankcentre.co.uk or www.vintagebyhemingway.co.uk for further information and tickets, priced at £60 per day.

Ticket holders can book meals at Skylon by emailing skylonreservations@danddlondon.com

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London Coffee Festival

15 Apr

It seems it wasn’t just me that got totally and utterly confused by the location of the London Coffee Festival over the weekend. I was sent an email by La Cimbali, one of the main sponsors and the email mentioned that the stand would be in Hyde Park. What I didn’t realise was that this meant the Hyde Park ‘Zone’ in the Truman Brewery, East London.

It was a bloomin good job that I phoned to ask which entrance of Hyde Park I should use before I got on the tube, otherwise I wouldn’t have been going at all! I’m sure the lady on the other end of the phone had a right giggle when she got off the phone to me. Then I found out that a few of my fellow Tweeters had had the same confusion. The website didn’t exactly make it much better!

Confusion aside, we arrived on Saturday morning for the brunch session. I felt a bit cheated as we were greeted to an empty stage – despite seeing a whole host of faces shining out from us on the leaflet that we were handed outside the venue. Never mind, we didn’t go for the music, we went for the coffee.

The Truman Brewery, for anyone who hasn’t been, is a large warehouse in East London that is quite often used for events. The various stands were set out in three rooms, or ‘zones’ as they were called. The leaflet also promised food samples and as we headed to the brunch session, we expected some brunch style foods to be available. After one lap around the festival, we were sadly disappointed. Hog roast, chicken in ciabatta and cakes a plenty but nothing that we wanted to eat for breakfast.

So we decided to visit the La Ciambali stand and then go to Albion for a more substantial breakfast. When we arrived at the stand, we were greeted and treated to a demonstration of their beast of a coffee machine, the M39HD. We learned a few technicalities of the machine – how it can be programmed to change pressure throughout the brewing to create a fantastic espresso and it was really very interesting.

The machine is part of a new wave of technology that allows the barista to programme the machine to brew a more intense and flavoursome espresso. The trick is the pressure. Most machines brew the coffee for 25 seconds at 9 bar of pressure. The beast changes the pressure throughout brewing time in order to get the most flavour out of the coffee. The cycle runs like so – 1 bar for 3 seconds, 12 bar for 10 seconds, 8 bar for 7 seconds and 4 bar for 5 seconds. Sweetness falls at the middle point of the brewing time and is the hardest part (albeit most delicious) to extract, therefore needs a much higher pressure to do so. The last part of the brewing process tends to be the bitter tasting part, therefore the pressure is reduced to keep the bitterness out.

The man who was demonstrating the machine for us showed us the difference between an espresso brewed at 9 bar throughout and the changing pressures througout. The result was quite fascinating. The first was watery and pretty bitter – the second was very strong but sweet and intense, much more delicious.

The coffee that they used was from Nude Espresso across the road on Hanbury Street, a cafe that has become a hit in it’s own right from roasting their own delicious coffee beans.

We were then treated to a coffee of our choice (I went for a Flat White) and it was delicious. I was intrigued to hear how much the machine cost (just shy of £10k) but it was interesting to hear that you can get a smaller version for your home for around £2k. That might sound expensive to some but just think about having that amazing coffee whenever you want it! The coffee machine that I have at home may look good but it doesn’t make a good cup, therefore it gets neglected.

I purchased the The London Coffee Guide before leaving to enjoy my day in the warm London sunshine.

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Ping Pong Chinese New Year menu

13 Mar

Pardon me for being so late but I have a post related to Chinese New Year!

A few weeks ago I was invited to dine at Ping Pong to celebrate their special Chinese New Year menu. I had only ever been once before and I was nicely hungover so wasn’t able to appreciate the food – so when the invite came, I duly accepted. What I didn’t realise was that we were only going to be dining with a handful of others and that we would get to try almost everything on the menu, including any extras from the regular menu that we might want.

Despite Chinese New Year falling on 3rd February this year, the special menu at Ping Pong ran for the whole month of February. We dined at the original venue on Great Marlborough Street in London and I found the restaurant to be well designed and very sleek. I looked at the special menu and was excited to try everything. Chinese isn’t my favourite cuisine, which is no secret and I think various trips to dodgy Chinese restaurants when I was younger are to blame. No Chinese restaurant would be at the top of my list when i’m thinking where to dine out. Having said that, my last trip to Ping Pong wasn’t dire and I wanted to see if this trip might be able to change my mind. Read on to see if it did.

Ping Pong Soho 1 Image courtesy of Ping Pong.

To start, we were brought a pear and elderflower collins, which was a delicious and welcome start to the meal!

Pear and elderflower collins-1
Image courtesy of Ping Pong.

The dishes started flowing thick and fast but to start we had roasted wasabi nuts, spinach prawn crackers and pork scratchings. You’ll have to excuse my photography – my good camera was broken at the time so I had to use my point and shoot!



Can you tell these are my own photos?!

The main dishes just kept coming but my favourites were the Chinese five spice mushrooms and black fungus and the king prawn and fish shu mai. I tried making my own Dim Sum at Angela Malik cookery school a few months ago and the king prawn dish reminded me of those, very delicious.

King prawn & fish shu mai-1
Image courtesy of Ping Pong.

For dessert my boyfriend and I shared the chocolate brownie with blood orange sorbet and I’m glad that we did share because by this time I was incredibly full, feeling that I might pop any second! Desserts at chain restaurants are always tricky for me as I know that the majority of them aren’t made fresh on the premises. With a dessert, I just love when it looks and tastes home made. This brownie was tasty but, as I bake a lot myself, I know that I could probably make a tastier version. I didn’t like the chocolate sauce that had been piped on the top because it kind of tasted like it had come out of a bottle but the blood orange sorbet was delicious and I like the fact that they are using seasonal ingredients on the menu.

Chinese chocolate brownie-1
Image courtesy of Ping Pong.

I wouldn’t by any means say that it’s one of the better restaurants in London, nor is it one of my favourites. However, it’s one of those great places to go if you’re out in town, you haven’t had a chance to book anywhere and you are in need of some quick, honest, well priced food that is tasty.

In my opinion (and i’m sure there are many out there that will disagree with me), it’s better than any dim sum restaurant I have been to in China town and I’m sure that there will be a few trips back to Ping Pong as a result of this meal.

45 Great Marlborough Street
London
W1F 7JL
020 7851 6969

Ping Pong Soho on Urbanspoon

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