Back in June I spent a lovely weekend attending the Oxford Food Symposium, held in St Catherine’s College, Oxford. It’s very remiss of me not to share the experience here on the blog, as I had a wonderful time attending delightfully diverse lectures, meeting fellow delegates and appreciating the excellent catering. But I made few ... Read more »
Chocolate Ecstasy Tours in London
My friend Jenn is the founder of Chocolate Ecstasy Tours, a company dedicated to helping people enjoy great chocolate. She (and a team of dedicated guides) run chocolate-themed walking tours in Mayfair and Chelsea during which they lead the (small) group between a number of carefully picked specialists. During the tour, you learn more ... Read more »
The Foundry, Camden
Camden High Street, the stretch between Camden and Mornington Crescent stations, suffers a dearth of decent places to eat. Back in the late ‘90s – early ‘00s, I worked in the beautiful “Black Cat Cigarette Building” opposite Mornington Crescent station, more formally known as Greater London House. It was once a cigarette factory owned by ... Read more »
Dingley Dell’s Flying Visit to the Leather Bottle in Earlsfield
Pork from happy pigs tastes better. It really does! That was certainly the case for the feast of Dingley Dell pork served up at the Leather Bottle, during one of their Flying Visits. The pub’s huge garden was decked out in bunting, with rows of picnic tables laid out ready for eager pork eaters to ... Read more »
ETM’s Wild Scottish Salmon Competition
Last month, I was invited to help the ETM Group judge their annual chefs competition, in which they invite all the chefs working in any of their restaurants to submit their best dish using wild Scottish salmon from Cruden Bay. Owners Tom and Ed Martin had already narrowed down the entries to 6, to be ... Read more »
Duke’s Brew & Cue, Hackney
We don’t go to Hackney often, as it’s not the easiest journey for us on public transport, but we were invited by Justina, founder of The Craft Beer Social Club to attend one of her beer and food pairing events at new brewpub, Duke’s Brew & Cue and were keen to give both the social ... Read more »
Claude Bosi @ The Cube by Electrolux
From June through to the end of September, a large sleek white structure is sat atop the Royal Festival Hall. Consisting of a spacious dining room, small kitchen and toilet facilities inside and an expansive deck area and walkways outside, this modern installation is The Cube by Electrolux. Six top chefs are taking it in ... Read more »
Bea’s Louisiana-style Crawfish Boil
Whilst Bea Vo is most strongly associated with the delicious sweet creations she sells in her Bea”s of Bloomsbury shops, she is also a talented professional chef. Born to a Vietnamese family in Washington D.C., married to an Austrian and living in London, she spent holidays visiting family in Louisiana. There are so many diverse ... Read more »