Pierre Hermé

Sweet Delights

What better time to first try Pierre Hermé macarons than in 2012, which sees the introduction of le Jardin Enchanté. This means, each month for the next 12 months, Pierre will showcase a "new taste and sensory experience" (translates: uniquely flavoured macaron), starting with the combination of lime, raspberry & espelette pepper (the green and white one with red speckles). Espelette pepper is a variety of French chilli so amongst the zesty lime and tart raspberry, there is a delicately spicy warmth as you bite through. YUM.

Other macaron flavours enjoyed were mandarin with olive oil (a unique texture and flavour that softens the harshness of the citrus), passion fruit and milk chocolate (the tangy passion fruit cuts through a very rich chocolately centre), rose, lychee and raspberry (rose and lychee flavours prevail and a raspberry is hidden in the middle), salted caramel and rose with rose petal.

Now, finally having tried both Pierre Hermé and Ladurée macarons, I can provide a comparison:

• Buying Experience: In terms of buying experience, Pierre Hermé wins hands down. The staff there are patient and helpfully explain about the flavours (despite a queue) and provide service with a smile. Contrast with the staff behind the counter at Ladurée who have without fail been rude, snobby and unhelpful at every boutique I have visited. This is unfortunate. 

• Texture and Appearance: Ladurée macarons are beautifully light in texture, all the way through to the fluffy ganache centres. This makes them very moreish and easy o devour. Colours tend to predominantly be pretty pastel shades and the same throughout. Pierre Hermé macarons on the other hand are slightly more attractive, set in bright multi-colours with iridescent dusting on some and speckles on others. Texture though is heavy, particularly where the centre is chocolate - it can feel like you are biting through a slab of chocolate truffle.

• Flavour: Ladurée macarons are true to their flavours. The combinations are not particularly dynamic or unusual but they are classic, which is no bad thing as there is little chance of them becoming sickly. Pierre Hermé does explosive flavour combinations that are exquisitely rich and whilst they can sometimes sound unusual, they really work. Pierre Hermé are probably best suited for people who have an extremely sweet tooth - it would be difficult to eat more than 3 in one sitting.

Pierre Hermé, Selfridges, Ground floor, 400 Oxford Street, London, W1A 1AB

Corrigan's Mayfair

For A Wine Tasting Lunch

For a first ever* wine tasting, this was totally pimp! On our arrival, we were lead to a private room with a long dining table and seated with around 15 other guests. First things to note were the number of glasses per person, the long list of items on the menu (we assumed that these must surely just be options!?) and our "Golden Rules to Wine Matching" guide - probably best to read it before drinking anything, even better idea to take a picture of it to read on a clear day.


Once we had got settled, our sommelier introduced himself and also introduced us to what was going to be a very long and boozy lunch. We were informed that a spittoon was optional but all agreed that this would be a waste of perfectly good wine. 

So many glasses and these are all just for one person!

We began by going through the golden rules for food and wine matching, then we got started with some practical exercises, like:

• smelling "wine smells" in vials, which we had to try and label, e.g. lemon, cherry, grass, etc., using a defined list of possible wine scents;
• passing around a dark glass and trying to guess whether the wine is red or white (it was chilled and sweet-smelling like a white dessert wine but it was in fact a red);
• observing the legs of various wines to determine alcohol content;
• trying out different ways of sipping wines to taste (i.e. slurping and gurgling).

Hints and tips (don't think we'd even started at this point so the crooked picture is inexcusable - apologies)

After the practical exercises came the exciting bit...wine matching!

THE Menu

To our surprise, the first course on the table was EVERYTHING from the list of Starters...sweeeeet! 


We paired the first item on the menu with a bubbly pink number and every item after that was paired with something completely different and in the same quantity as the first. Needless to say, never mind about being "double-parked", I had reached a new low - triple-parked, which resulted in knocking it back, and which in turn resulted in a strange eyesight phenomenon.

The Starters

One of the Middle Courses

Another Middle Course and example of triple-parking

Dessert and is that...almost quadruple-parked?!

I cannot recommend Corrigan's for wine-tasting highly enough, it was fantastic! And the best part about going at lunchtime is that when you get out in the daylight, there are plenty of things to do nearby, and attempting any of them when that jolly can be very amusing. Or, if you're more sensible (not really my thing btw), you could just go home, sleep it off and still have the rest of the evening.

*Memory loss frequently occurs after copious amounts of wine so this statement may be unreliable.


Corrigan's Mayfair, 28 Upper Grosvenor Street,  London, W1K 7EH, Tel: 020 7499 9943

Black Banquet

By Bompas and Parr

Back in 2009 for the London Design Festival, the Jellymongers Sam Bompas and Harry Parr unveiled their plans to hold a Black Banquet consisting of an eight course meal of all black food. 

The banquet was held at a pop-up club inside the beautiful Georgian House of St Barnabas in Soho with its own garden and Chapel, which housed a black pyramid jelly tower.

The Chapel

On our arrival, we were served warm spiced black cocktails in teacups and were free to wander the grounds.

Then we were invited into the garden to watch a couple of the Fuel Girls play with fire in front of a palm tree made of old tyres.

Afterwards, we were summoned to the dining rooms, which were highly atmospheric with the dark balloons, purple lighting and decorations. The tables were furnished with black concrete figurines, shiny Black Jack (must've taken ages to peel the papers off all these) and liquorice towers and black matte ostrich eggs with guests' names on them in chalk. Flower arrangements were arranged of all naturally dark flowers: Black Dahlias, Black Calla Lillies and clusters of blackberries, blackcurrants and black grapes.

One of the dining rooms

Black Jack Tower

After reading that Bompas and Parr had taken inspiration for the event from black banquets of the past, I didn't know what to expect. At the first black banquet held in 1511 by The Company of the Trowel, guests entered through a huge serpent's jaws, were ushered to their seats by a "hideous devil" and served food hidden in repulsive creatures such as spiders, newts and scorpions. I had hoped we weren't going to meet a similar fate.

The Menu

In the meantime, I enjoyed a black blackberry cocktail and had a chat with some of the other guests around me at the dining table. 

Blackberry Cocktail

The food was created by New York chefs A Razor, A Shiny Knife and the menu was as follows (the penultimate course by the way was Black Pudding, Stone Fruit, Malt, Cola but I've not got a picture of this):

Blackberry, Caviar, Cream Cheese 

John Dory, Confit Lemon, Tamari Soy

Maldon Rock Oyster, Cuttlefish, Black Garlic Aioli

Egg, Fresh Tofu, Hijiki - the egg looks weird because it is "100 years old"

Halibut, Black Truffle, Trumpet Mushroom, Trenette (squid ink pasta)

Beef Tenderloin, Balsamic, Tomato, Mozzarella

Jelly Ziggurat

Drinks were of the dark variety - dark cocktails, dark red wine, dark shots...all served in dark Waterford Crystal glasses so they looked genuinely black.


The food and drinks were delicious and all that good stuff was intensified by the theatre surrounding it. A truly brilliant evening in all respects! 


As with all of these things, the people you meet tend to be pretty normal, usually interesting but I hadn't anticipated scary! The banquet was a little bit spooky with it being themed "black" but when I switched seats with the person next to me to speak to the guy who looked like he had a horn growing out of his head (apparently just an injury - yes, I did ask), he told me he studied some kind of religion at university. He later casually mentioned that he was a devil worshipper who spends his spare time in graveyards trying to evoke evil spirits...time to leave.


Needless to say, I got out of the dining room pretty quickly (thankfully I only switched seats after eating) and went and found Sam Bompas who was busy in the kitchen. I thanked him for a wonderful evening and we chatted, then he took my address so he could send me a glow in the dark lollipop. I was sceptical but as promised, one arrived the following week and it (and everything it touched) really did glow in the dark! They should sell these in night clubs!! 

Bompas & Parr http://www.jellymongers.co.uk/news

A Razor, A Shiny Knife http://www.arazorashinyknife.com/about/black-banquet/

Surrealist Dinner Party

Pop-Up Dinner Party

So we rock up at the secret located in Shoreditch and someone whispers from outside one of the flat windows that they're not yet ready so my partner-in-pop-up-crime and I gate crash an exhibition at a nearby art gallery and speak to the randoms who look like they're also only in the area because they're waiting to go to a surrealist dinner.


Now, this was one of my very first pop-up experiences so you must excuse the lack of pictures (plus I wouldn't want to spoil it for those who like a surprise). I also didn't want t be so snap-happy that the hosts would think I'm trying to copy their ideas.


Upon entering the secret location, we were met by a man and woman, who were dressed up in what looked like quirky cooks attire. There were about 3 tables in a small studio apartment (total covers: about 12) and some of the tables were things like, er, ironing boards. Needless to say, the space was intimate, especially with it being in someone's bedroom/living area.


The dinner, at £35, was a sit down fixed (three-course I think) menu with two complimentary drinks. Further drinks were available but you had to sell "artwork" in order to obtain them. This involved drawing wax crayon pictures of each other and using these as currency to "buy" wine. I assume this was to get around licensing issues (as well as being pretty amusing).


We were assured before we arrived that the food would not be played with too much to make it look odd but there would be some fun with it so when we were told we were going to have the courses in any order and we received frog spawn on lily pads with toy frogs, we weren't alarmed but our taste buds were scared. 


We were also told pre-event that if any guest wished to contribute something in terms of a performance - ala make do caberet, they could submit a proposal. I really hoped someone would make a tit out of themselves.

Frog spawn (tapioca)

After dinner and chatting with the strangers, we played a party game which involved group story-telling with helium balloons. Hilarious! There was no burlesque performance as rumoured, which I was glad of as that would have been pretty unimaginative.

Overall, food was good, company was cool (probably a bit hit and miss though) but the main thing is the experience - I loved seeing how creative people could be and in a world where I am surrounded by "The City", it's so refreshing to live in somebody else's world, however surreal, if only for a night.

Surrealist Dinner Party, Secret London location (someone's crib) - somewhere in Shoreditch

Stranger Than Paradise

Wilton's Music Hall

Back in 2009, Wilton's Music Hall played hold to Stranger Than Paradise - a gypsy inspired party featuring burlesque/cabaret/live band shows at the beautiful Wilton's Music Hall. This Victorian venue is a diamond in the rough. While perhaps a little dilapidated, it has so much vintage character and lots of space to explore.

Entrance to Wilton's Music Hall

The stage

Order of the evening

The event itself was a spectacle and for £10 each, it was another unpretentious, affordable, non-touristy activity to do in London. 

There were a number of rooms within the Music Hall to explore and during the intervals, it was easy to get to the bar, try a few cupcakes, chat to various characters in fancy dress and then settle comfortably upstairs to watch from the balcony or standing at ground level.

The acts themselves were random, colourful, arty, funny and very entertaining. This was a unique event, like nothing I'd ever seen before! 

One of the arial acts from the Sawmill Collective

The Texas Chainsaw Orchestra

The after-party was at a really cool alternative bar called The Jamobree at Cable Street Studios, where there were more live bands. It was a bit of a walk to get there from Wilton's (and there's no way I'd be able to find it again if I didn't have the address) but luckily it was a balmy September evening and in any event, I was wearing a thick Vodka Jacket. 

The Destroyers at the Jamboree Bar

The after party after party was at the Old Ship for breakfast but I after all the excitement of the evening, I left for bed at 5am.


Wilton's Music Hall, Graces Alley, Tower Hamlets, London, E1 8JB, Tel; 020 7702 2789

The Company Shed

Best Seafood Outside London


If there's one thing you must do on a sunny spring or summer weekend, it's head to The Company Shed on Mersea Island, which is surprisingly in...Essex. Eat fresh seafood to your heart's content then go for a stroll around the harbour, or more likely, pass out on Monkey Beach.

So there are two ways to get to The Company Shed from London - train and then bus or taxi or car. The first time I went I got the train but with the changes I had to make because of engineering works, it took about 4 hours. Arrrgh! On my second visit, I took the car and it was an hour and a half journey. The only disadvantage of driving is not being able to have a boozy lunch.


Anyway, when I arrived at the wooden shack just by the harbour, I was surprised at (a) how much publicity this modest little canteen had received and (b) how busy it was and (c) despite the above, the value for money!


On my first visit I was lucky enough to get a table without having to wait long. The excitement of eating was so overwhelming that I ordered a seafood platter consisting of cockles, green lip mussels, unpeeled king prawns, peeled prawns, cockles, smoked salmon, smoked mackerel, a crevette and half a crab, a side salad, jellied eels (I'd always wanted to try these but had never had the chance before) and oysters, all of which I reluctantly shared. Then we scoffed it all without even thinking to take a photo of the spectacular array. Ooops. Afterwards, to take home, we also bought some mackerel pate and smoked mackerel fillets.


It's a "spit and sawdust" kind of place but they have things like cutlery, glasses, drinking water, salt and pepper so all we needed to bring with us was:

• Bottle of white wine
• Shallot vinegar
• Mayonaise
• Butter 
• French stick

Boom!

The food counter inside the company shed

My second visit, whilst more successful journey-wise, was less successful table-wise. We arrived at 12noon and because bookings are done by way of waiting list as and when you turn up, we were looking at a 2 hour wait...So just before we left, disappointed, I thought fast and asked if we could recreate our own seafood platter to take away. Upon hearing we could, I ordered just about every item in the fridge in front of me (much to the dismay of the long line of customers behind) and it was all packed neatly into tubs and paper. I even managed to get a box of oysters, which they cut open, ready to eat. Our next stop - the beach to enjoy with wine, bread and condiments. 


So, for not much more than £20 I managed to get a tub of peeled prawns, a large bag of unpeeled prawns, a tub of smoked salmon pate, a tub of smoked mackerel pate, a couple of smoked mackerel fillets, half a lobster, a dozen oysters, some green lipped mussels and a side salad. WOW!!

Lobster 

Prawns and smoked salmon pate

Oysters

Smoked mackerel fillets

On the way to the beach

Towards the sea

OK, so a few tips for if you're planning a trip to The Company Shed:

1. Go on a sunny day in case you can't get seated and have to take away - there's a lovely beach just down the road to picnic at.
2. Call in advance to ask if they can reserve you a seafood platter as these get sold out!!
3. Bring your own drinks/bread/condiments.
4. Arrive early e.g. 10am to get a table for lunch. You can always go for a coffee at one of the pubs down the road.
5. Try anything you've been curious about before but never tried before - it's probably the cheapest place you'll get to do this near London and if you don't like it, it's not that expensive that you feel bad about throwing it away.

The Company Shed, 129 Coast Road, West Mersea, Colchester, CO5 8PA, Tel: 01206 382 700

The Modern Pantry

Brunch at The Modern Pantry


Compared to some of the other great cities of the world, when it comes to brunch London is still catching up. Fortunately, the places that do do brunch, do it well and The Modern Pantry is no exception.


The food at the Modern Pantry is fresh and very well prepared. When your food arrives, you can see and taste that each item on the plate has been lovingly and individually prepared and despite this, the service was fast - perfect when you're terribly hungover and can't wait to eat (ehem).  

Vigin Mary and le Menu

Admittedly, ever since the first time I visited the Modern Pantry, I've stayed loyal to the first dish I tried, i.e. I can't tell you about anything else on the menu except the eggs with smoked streaky bacon, slow-roasted tomatoes, buttered mushrooms and toast. I've varied the eggs on occasion and sometimes added some...Vegemite (sorry Marmite, they just don't serve you here) to my crispy buttered toast. The thing is, when you've found something you can't fault, why choose anything else and risk not enjoying it quite so much? Each item is packed full of flavour.

Two poached eggs with smoked streaky bacon, slow-roasted tomatoes, buttered mushrooms and toast

It doesn't matter how you have the eggs cooked, the dish never leaves you feeling dirty and greasy compared to say a full English at a greasy spoon.

As above but with fried eggs. Wait, is that...is that Vegemite in the background!? Traitor.

One thing to mention on hot beverages - the hot chocolate was disappointing, too much cocoa powder and not enough milk so it was extremely bitter. The waitress defended it by saying the bitterness was due to the fact that "the chocolate used is of such high quality". Errrr!!!?? Insulting! I've been making hot chocolate with cocoa powder for donkey's years and I've also experimented with quantities so I KNOW when it's not been prepared correctly. Anyway, she agreed to substitute it for tea, which was also pretty sub-optimal but it could've been worse I suppose. Could've been continental Lipton. 


The Modern Pantry, 48 St. John's Square, London, EC1V 4JJ, Tel: 020 7553 9210

Marmite and Butter...

... on Crumpets


It's the way the butter melts though the soft spongey holes and moistens it throughout while the Marmite follows. Possibly the best way to enjoy Marmite? 

Ladurée

Sweet Stuff 


Now for someone who doesn't like sweet stuff to not only like sweet stuff but to eat 8 portions of it within 20 minutes really says something. For those of you who haven't heard of Ladurée, it is renowned for its Macrons - small, round meringue-based cakes made with egg whites, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder or ground almond, crisp on the outside, with smooth soft ganache in the middle. Heavenly.

Coconut, pear and chestnut, praline, pistachio, rose petal, cinnamon,  caramel with salted butter and almond marshmallow

Established in Paris, their flagship store is on the Champs-Elysées. It's best for breakfast or afternoon tea. It doesn't come cheap but it's worth it for the Parisian tea room experience.

Flagship entrance

Macarons at Ladurée Paris

Other treats at the famous tea room

Christmas window displays

However, for those of you who do not have the luxury of being able to travel to Paris, there are Ladurée stores in London at Harrods and more recently, in Covent Garden. If you worry that you won't get the same experience as you would in Paris, have no fear - you will get the same experience, complete with rudeness. Sadly, despite my love of their Macarons, the bad attitude of the staff left a bitter taste. I think someone should tell them they they work behind a counter.


On that note, I think it might be about time to try Pierre Hermé at Selfridges.


Ladurée, 1 The Market  Covent Garden, London WC2E 8RA, Tel: 020 7240 0706