Racing to Racine!

Two Mondays in a row now, I have visited Racine for lunch. “What’s the rush?”, you might ask… “You’ve never been before and now twice in the space of 8 days? What’s the big deal?” Well, I’ll tell you. The first visit came on the back of the recent food debate, yes, yes, the one ... Read more »

Déjeuner a L’Oranger!

So far during our 3 month sabbatical we’ve enjoyed weekday lunches at Hawksmoor, Bob Bob Ricard, and Launceston Place. These were before our trip to the Falklands. We carried on as soon as we got back, through late February and March, though I’m a bit late posting the reviews! The L’Oranger lunch menu offers a ... Read more »

Hot Chilli & Ginger Pickle!

Hot Chilli & Ginger Pickle

The two chilli and ginger pickles I made for the stall I did at Covent Garden Real Food Market last year proved popular, so I made more for friends. This is adapted from recipes on Mamta’s Kitchen, our family recipe site. ... Read more »

The Silver Spoon Pasta Book

The Silver Spoon Pasta book by Phaidon is a monster of a cookery book! With over 50 shapes of pasta and 360 individual recipes it’s a real tome of reference for traditional Italian pasta recipes. And just like so many of our friends, we find pasta a wonderfully delicious, yet quick and simple, option for ... Read more »

Cook like a wahaca – cooking with Tommi Miers

One of the prizes donated to the Blaggers Banquet that most excited me was the one-off cookery class by Thomasina Miers, Masterchef 2005 winner and founder of Wahaca mexican street food restaurants. Tommi doesn’t normally offer small, personal cookery classes like this so I was very pleased indeed to bag one of the coveted 8 ... Read more »

Food in The Falkland Islands!

Four glorious weeks in the Falkland Islands! We went for the wildlife (particularly the penguins and albatross) but, to our delight, we also received a wonderfully warm and hospitable welcome from the kelpers – as the islanders call themselves (after the kelp seaweed that grows in abundance around the shores and washes up in huge ... Read more »

Cheese is the champion! My script from the food debate…

I recently took part in a food debate organised by an online foodie friend, James, to raise funds for the Haiti Earthquake Appeal. To my complete and utter shock, I won! Here’s the script I scribbled that afternoon, in preparation for the first round: “I’m going to completely put aside the consideration of what we need ... Read more »

Le Vacherin: French bistro cooking in Chiswick, London

Although it’s not our normal stomping ground, we popped down to Chiswick to meet friends for dinner the night before we left for our holiday in the Falklands (in late January). On a Monday night, the restaurant was nearly empty when we arrived promptly for our 7.30 booking but we were shown to a lovely ... Read more »

Tea & Kitsch at Maison Bertaux

Looking for somewhere to meet for a casual afternoon tea in central London, my twitter and blogger friends came through with the suggestion of Maison Bertaux in Soho’s Greek Street. A quick google revealed a french-style patisserie with a good reputation for delicious goodies and the location fit perfectly so I met a friend there ... Read more »

A Lot Of Lunch For Your Loot @ Launceston Place

Taking a sabbatical from working life means that Pete and I have been able to indulge in that most gratifying treat – the long, lingering lunch at somewhere a step above the normal workaday lunch stop. Last month, one of those we chose to visit was Launceston Place. Not only had I read plenty of ... Read more »