meemalee

Last Friday, I found out that Whole Foods Market in Kensington was running a short Summer Chef Series - a lovely initiative where the public could see free cookery demonstrations by various leading chefs from eg Salt Yard and Min Jiang, although we were encouraged to donate to the charity of their choice* . All the chefs were giving up their time for free so it would have been churlish to refuse. I bombed it down to the first session to see Tristan Welch of Launceston Place preparing three desserts, which even a pud virgin like me could handle at home. He made Raspberry and Black Pepper "Angel Delight", Banana Split with Rum and Chocolate Mousse, and Cinder Toffee aka puff candy, honeycomb toffee or hokey pokey - all super-simple and gorgeous. The recipes are all in September's Delicious Magazine , but we were given copies to take away (as well as a welcoming glass of Prosecco), so here's Tristan's recipe for Cinder Toffee . Cinder Toffee by Tristan Welch 75g h...

L'Enclume - Colleen Baby Potatoes, Oxeye Daisies, Smoked Eel and Purple Wight Garlic I eat out a lot, but not half as much as I'd like. And, despite what you might think, I've not actually been to that many "fine dining" establishments. I'm stymied not just by cost, but by geography - I live out in the sticks and so if I'm having dinner in town, I need to plan carefully or else risk missing the last train home . So Taste of London has always been a bit of a thrill for me - in fact, I went to the very first one, back in 2002, which was held in Lincoln's Inn Fields. I mean, what's not to like? It's a festival of the finest restaurants that London has to offer all in one spot at the same time at a reasonable* price. What's more, the head chefs themselves are usually there, cooking and dishing up in full view, and for a chef groupie like me ( sorry, Marina ), it's pretty damn exciting - like Glastonbury for the food-obsessed. * I say reaso...

I've been a bit spaced out lately, preoccupied with work and general malaise. So much so that I hadn't got round to organising anything for my husband's 30th birthday. He said he didn't want a fuss, but I felt like I should do something to mark the occasion (fireworks! a rocket trip!) and I pressed him until he simply said "Can we just go somewhere nice for dinner?" Me being the excellent wife that I am, I promptly forget till a few days before the big day. "Arse, no-one's going to let me book a Friday night at this short notice" I think to myself. So I decide to chance my arm and pester directly. Launceston Place is my victim; I send a Twitter message hoping they'll take pity on me. Astonishingly, they do - despite being fully-booked, they promise to squeeze us in at 6pm. Result. The next day, Launceston Place tweet about an Evening Standard piece on their Secret Chef's Table - described as the most exclusive table in town, you dine r...