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...

I don't like baking. Don't get me wrong - I'm happy to reap the benefits, but for me, life's too short to weigh flour. I know lots of people who think this makes me deficient in some way, but frankly I'd rather have my cakes made for me *cough* . I don't do desserts either. I might spend hours lovingly preparing a meal, but if my guests want a pud they get (a) fruit, (b) some Ben and Jerry's, or (c) Ocado's finest. Unfortunately the other day, I was forced to make a pudding for John Torode and Gregg Wallace (the original Puddingface) . Like I said in the MasterChef cook-off post , I'd found a basic shortbread recipe and then monkeyed with it till I came up with a hypothetical something I could happily call my own. The first time I actually had a go making my shortcake, it tasted fine, but aesthetically left a little to be desired. In fact, my husband was nice enough to say that it reminded him of the first Ripley Clone in Alien Resurrection . No, I...

"Just one Cornetto, Give it to me, Delicious ice cream from Italy" Many moons ago, I thought the pink, white and brown of a Neapolitan block was the height of ice cream sophistication. "Gelato" was just something Homer Simpson would squeal; I had only the vaguest notion of what it was. Thankfully, these days the Gelato Revolution is in full swing, and the recent hot weather has given me excuses to indulge in offerings from both Gelato Mio and Alba Gold . The first has branches in Charing Cross and Holland Park, the second mainly supplies restaurants but also has its own little shop in Acton. GELATO MIO Here I went for Bacio (hazelnut and chocolate gelato) and Fior Di Latte (pure milk gelato) in a sugar cone. Hubby had Cioccolato (chocolate) and Caffe (coffee) in a paper cup. The Bacio was rich and deeply chocolatey with lots of whole hazelnuts embedded within. The Fior Di Latte was something I'd wanted to try for a while - pure milk ice cream - and it was as ...

Last month, I raved about Yum Yum Tree Fudge , gorgeous home-made gourmet fudge made by Lily Turner (a cousin of mine). Fab news - I just found out Lily and the Yum Yum Tree Fudge Company are going to be at Taste of London 2009 this month, so you can come try some of her delicious fudge for yourself! Of course Taste of London is the "world’s greatest restaurant festival" and so as well as buying fudge and other goodies, you can also meet super chefs like Michel Roux Jnr , Atul Kochar , Tom Aikens , Theo Randall and Richard Corrigan , and try to eat around as many Michelin star restaurants as possible. Yum Yum Tree Fudge Producers Section PR6 (on entry, turn right and then right again for all the small producers) Taste of London 18-21 June 2009 Regents Park (nearest tube stations Regent's Park and Great Portland Street)

A finger of Fudge may have satisfied kids in the Eighties , but I like my fudge to come in slabs or chunks. Yum Yum Tree is a little fudge company which specialises in the latter. Yum Yum Tree was set up in 2008 by Lily Turner , when she began making home-made gourmet fudge as Christmas gifts for friends and family in the little village of Thurston, Suffolk (where a lot of our home-grown British sugar beet is produced). Overwhelmed by their positive response, she started selling her fudge at local farmers' markets and the village post office. Now Yum Yum Tree's roster of clients has expanded to include customers as illustrious as Jimmy's Farm and Farm Shop . I was lucky enough to receive a beautifully packaged, bumper Yum Yum Tree gift box of various fudgey flavours comprising Ginger, Chocolate, Vanilla, Cranberry & White Chocolate, Strawberry, Coconut and Mint Chocolate Chip . The first thing that struck me was the intense creaminess of the fudge - it's defin...

One of the best bits in "Supersizers Go Seventies " was when Giles Coren and Sue Perkins visited a fantastic-looking old-fashioned sweet shop and found themselves face to face with glorious sweets from yesteryear - cola cubes, humbugs, peardrops, spacedust and the like. I've never been able to track down this particular establishment, but Mrs Kibble's Olde Sweet Shoppe fits the bill just as well. The windows are crammed with enormous jars stuffed with good old-fashioned jaw-breaking sweetness, but I was surprised to discover they also have three shelves of sugar-free sweets for diabetics (or the more abstemious) amongst us. Overwhelmed by choice, Hubby and I eventually plumped for a mix of 50g each of Butterscotch Gums, Sour Apples, sugar-free Lemon Sherbets, and sugar-free Strawberries and Creams . As the lovely Scottish assistant packaged up our goodies, I also noticed a chocolate counter containing luscious-looking hand-made truffles. Thus into the basket went a...