Blaggers Banquet, been and gone...

So, Sunday came and went.

After weeks of organising and planning, food and wine bloggers converged on the Hawksmoor to help put on the Blaggers Banquet. As a member of the advance party, we arrived to find the restaurant packed to the brim with produce and prizes, the fruits of labour after weeks of blagging by many of the blogging community. We were soon organised, assigned roles and the work could begin in earnest. Once the goodie bags had been stuffed and put to one side, the real focus of the day could begin, the food.



As part of the canape crew, we stared at the fruit and veg from Riverford Organic, a beautiful soft goats cheese from Brockhall farm and a variety of salts from Halen Mon, wondering what the the best course of action was. After a few tastings and matchings, @ginandcrumpets and I decided on our offering, a canape of soft Brockhall Farm goats cheese on Peter's Yard crispbreads, studded with pomegranate and sprinkled with vanilla salt and chives. A combination of sweet and salty with contrasting textures, I really thought this worked well and sat well alongside the gougeres and mozzarella & tomato skewers that were served alongside the rest of the banquet.



Whilst we were crafting the little buggers, the small kitchen was a hive of activity. Even with a few supplier hiccups, the kitchen continued forward in the prep for dinner. The bar staff diligently learned how to knock up a cracking martini as the sommeliers tasted the wines and matched them to each of the individual courses of the banquet. It was all slowly piecing itself together.



As the guests arrived, sparkling wine was distributed and the front of house went into overdrive. The front of house were decked in black and worked their proverbial socks off, weaving in and out of the tables carrying tray after tray of carefully prepared comestibles. Such was the passion and efficiency, I doubt you would find better service in many of the more well versed restaurants in London. Starters of monkfish ceviche came and returned empty, as did the plates of lamb hot pot, Winter stew and buffalo steaks (yes, three mains. You really got your moneys worth!).



The meal was punctuated with a raffle of blagged prizes and was rounded off with a stunning chocolate fondant cake and some jelly boobs from Bompas and Parr. And as the guests sat there full and hopefully happy, we moved onto the final section of the evening, the auction of the rest of the blagged items.

It had been a triumphant evening. We had raised a shedload of cash for Action against Hunger with more to come with the daily auctions. Keep an eye on this page for some great items and bid liberally!

So that was my truncated view of the day. There are so many people to praise and thank. The blaggers, the organisers, the suppliers, the Hawksmoor, the list really is endless but without you all, we really could not have achieved this. Special thanks go to @eatlikeagirl who crafted the day, with weeks of planning and all under very difficult circumstances, and @scandilicious who worked so hard to get the food prepped, planned and cooked with constant curveballs being thrown from every angle.

I for one was very proud to be part of this and even though I was dead on my feet by the end of it, would be happy to do it all over again.

Please keep and eye on the the Blaggers banquet twitter feed. There you will find all the latest items for auction and all the write ups from guests and bloggers.

Love it or hate it, Marmite Pop Up Shop

Marmite is just one of those things. A simple spread made from yeast extract with the ability to polarise public opinion. Personally, I think this attitude is slightly extreme. After all, why can't we just like it?



Well, now they have come mainstream. A pop up shop has appeared on the lower end of Regent Street selling all things Marmite and I popped along to the launch party to see what all the fuss was about. Stocking over 100 marmite branded products, it really is a sight to behold. Ranging from Marmite art (marm-art!) to more functional products such as plates, trays and a rather cute sandwich shaped lunchbox.



Alongside an introduction to these products, we were plied with Marmite based cocktails including an intriguing Love it or Hate it Marma-tini. A pear based martini, with a marmite foam, was a strange but a pleasing mix of sweet and savoury.



We were also served marmite based canapes. I was very pleased with the morsels of pigeon we were served. I believe that these were glazed with marmite on top of a beetroot risotto, and a good example of incorporating marmite into everyday cooking. After all, it is packed with umami, why shouldn't we be using it in cooking more?

So there it is. A reason to prove us why marmite is more than just a spread for toast. As with all pop ups, it's not going to be around forever, so head on down and check it out as soon as you can.

Marmite Pop Up Shop (website) - 82 Regent Street, Quadrant Arcade, London W1

Dicing with Oysters at Bentleys - Dine with DH

Dos Hermanos, heard of them? Grandaddies of the London food blogging scene, they have been eating their way around London for many years now, raving and ranting in (almost) equal measure. DH was one of the first blogs I ever read and was one of the things that inspired me to start my own blog, a public diary so I could remember where I've been and what I have eaten.



So, this leads me onto my next installment of this public diary, Dine with Dos Hermanos. Every two months, Simon Majumdar of DH organises a get together for followers of the DH facebook. For a reasonable price, you get a tonne of food, a chance to meet and greet fellow food lovers and the now notorious goodie bag. Previous locations have included Vinoteca, Brindisa and the Bull and Last. Today's destination was Bentleys.



Primarily a seafood restaurant, we were treated an array of creatures from the deep. Six months ago, this would have struck fear all the way through me but my recent self education in food has proven to me that all I needed to do was try. So try I did. First oysters (which I managed to keep down) and then smoked fish of all kinds (ranging from the delicious eel to the rather strange sturgeon). I even brought myself to try smoked herring roe which was doused in a remarkable herb Bearnaise.




Mains were brought to the table in large family sized casserole dishes. A rich and luxurious fish pie and slow cooked beef cheeks in stout. I had the honour of dishing this up for the table and managed to dish most of it up equally and safely. The pie was packed with generous amounts of scallops, salmon and haddock, wallowing in a luxurious bechamel sauce and topped with a fantastic mash. The cheeks were so tender, they just fell apart and were accompanied by an array of roasted root vegetables and a horseradish mash.



By the time the dessert arrived, I was spent. The mounds of food had taken its toll on me but I couldn't afford to embarrass myself in front of my foodie contemporaries. Two massive dishes filled with sticky toffee pudding arrived, with a tub of clotted cream. This really was fantastic, probably the best example of sticky toffee pudding I have tried, but struggled so badly to polish off my portion. By the end of it all, I had to sit back in my chair and loosened the belt.

It was a fantastic event, and although the food was great, the real draw is the opportunity to meet people in real life that I have conversed with "digitally". I had the pleasure of sitting next to @thirstforwine, who I am pretty sure was horrified with my attitude and opinions on wine, and @bribedwithfood, a delightful young lady with a fear of carrots and an intent on poisoning me with anchovies.

There was fun, there was laughter and there was a hell of a lot of wine. At the end of the night, head chef Brendan Fyldes and owner Richard Corrigan made an appearance to rapturous applause. It had been a really enjoyable evening and I must take this opportunity to thank @SimonMajumdar for organising the whole event.

We grabbed the legendary goodie bags filled to to the brim with all sorts of goodies and after a few more drinks in the bar upstairs, we waddled off into the night, full, satisfied and very, very happy.

Bentleys (website) - 11-15 Swallow Street, London W1B 4DG

Momofuku Ssam - New York

New York and London are alike in many ways. Both are a sprawling multi cultural metropolis, with many of these influences drifting in and out of everyday life. But one thing remains, this great mix of ethnicity tread these pavements as New Yorkers.

This ethos was also quite clear within much of the food of New York and none more so evident than in Momofuku Ssam. Part of David Chang's Momofuku "brand" of restaurants, it markets itself as selling delicious "American" food. What you find is a menu heavily influenced by Asian flavours.



Highly recommended by the masses, I needed to find out what all the fuss was about so dragged my cousin out down to 2nd avenue in search of Ssam Bar. When we got there, I was happy to see a reasonably priced set menu with a choice of three dishes for each course. Bypassing the rather unimaginative sounding pickles, we went for a portion of their famous buns and beef tendon.



I really don't know what possessed me. Not normally known for my adventurous tastes, I somehow convinced myself that I would enjoy beef tendon. And in reality, they were OK, and only OK. And in fact, that OK only lasted a few mouthfuls. The texture was soft and gelatinous but the sprinkling of rock salt just made it feel incredibly grainy. I just couldn't get to grips with the texture and it was just far too salty.



And so to the buns. When anybody mentions Momofuku, the buns are sure to follow. Slices of slow booked belly pork in a light bun with cucumbers and hoi sin sauce. Simple and delicious. As with everything that has tonnes of hype attached to it, this wasn't a life changing experience but were very nice. No ordinary buns, but hardly stellar.



So far, I wasn't really too sure what all the fuss was about. That was until my simply named "Rice Cakes with Chinese sausage" turned up. Small cylinders of rice cakes, flash fried to gain a crispy exterior, whilst being squidgy in the middle. These were smothered in a spicy szechuan style sauce, with mounds of sausage meat and crisp greens for company. Bite after bite, we just kept on coming back, a real winner.



The beef brisket was perfectly pleasant but nothing to shout about. Generous pieces of beef steeped in a tasty but simple broth. Our attention had very much been on those rice cakes.



The desserts were much more of an east-meets-west affair. A Thai green tea parfait was pleasant with lots of different textures and flavours but it was the peanut butter and jelly pie which blew me away. The grape jelly pie was more of a grape sorbet in pastry but was so fresh and sweet. Served with the pie was a smear of peanut butter and nuggets of peanut butter clusters, both together were a very enjoyable way to end an interesting meal.

So that was Momofuku. I can't help but feel slightly disappointed by it all, but I guess that's what happens when hype starts to overtake the food. On reflection, it was a perfectly good meal at a very affordable price. The P&J pie was memorable, whilst the beef tendon I would rather forget. It does come recommended, just beware of the hype, those buns are just buns.

Oh! And before I forget, make sure you pop to the bakery next door. It serves top notch sweet goods including the infamous crack pie (I am well aware of the irony of this statement) and some ace cookies. The cookies I can definitely vouch for, get many.



Momofuku Ssam (website) - 207 2nd Ave. New York 10003

A coffee shop in deepest darkest Hackney - Wiltons

It's funny where your friendships take you. This weekend, mine took me all the way to deepest darkest Hackney. Yep, you guessed it, new territory.



Located deep in East London, we were looking for somewhere by the name of Wiltons. Home of London Fields Radio, its a cafe cum radio station, a combination you could only possibly find out in ultra trendy East London.



The cafe itself is made up primarily of reclaimed materials. I particularly liked the corrugated metal used in the coffee bar and the cunningly hidden fruit crate tables, that you can use both as tables and seats. It's a small cafe but cunning uses of space (such as those tables hidden under the scaffold benching) made it feel far from cramped.



The coffee beans, fresh from nearby Climpson and Sons, were expertly crafted into a highly palatable flat white. It was smooth and slightly bitter but a very good cup of coffee. I am not a coffee connoisseur by any means, but can tell that this is head and shoulders over your average high street cup of mud.



I was really impressed by this little cafe. It had a vibrant atmosphere with a constant turnover of customers, surprising considering that it felt like it was in the middle of nowhere. It also serves food, with ingredients originating from high quality producers such as the Ginger Pig, Brindisa and Neals Yard.

I liked it. Quite a lot actually, but no cafe is going to make me travel just for a good sarnie and an excellent coffee. A lovely local hang out, come here if you happen to be in the neighbourhood.

Wiltons - 63 Wilton Way, Hackney, E8 1BG

The Old Homestead - New York

They love their meat out in New York. Their commitment to burgers is second to none and the two I tasted were a mere dip of the toe in a rather large ocean. When it comes to steaks, the passion is just as strong and unfortunately, I only had one chance to fit a steak into my busy eating schedule.

Word from the streets (also known as Twitter) said that the place to go was Lugers. It's often foolish to ignore good advice, but after a few blogs were sent my way (check out Burger Conquest and the steak club 7) the best beef to be found in New York can allegedly be found at the Old Homestead.

It claims to be New York's oldest steakhouse, having been around for over 140 years, and whereas most of London's steak houses often plaster the provenance of their cows all over their menus, I couldn't find where the cow I was about to eat grew up (either on the menu or the website). Although its interesting to know, all I really care about is the taste. After a rather monumental lunch at Momofoku Ssam (which you will be hearing about shortly), I decided to share an 18oz New York Sirloin with my cousin, accompanied by a mountain of sides.



What arrived was indeed a great steak. Cooked a perfect medium rare, it was juicy and pink, but not a single drop of blood on the plate, a surefire sign of good resting. A thin strip of fat ran down one side, adding flavour and helping it to maintain that level of moistness. On the outside, a delightful gentle char. It certainly looked the business.

The first bite was a beef explosion. Sounds disgusting, but I mean that in the best possible way. Juicy and full of flavour. It came "au naturel" with nothing more than a few leaves of watercress to keep it company, but it really didn't need anything. I felt almost guilty when I poured a dollop of the house steak sauce (somewhere between BBQ and ketchup) on the side, but it turned out to be the perfect accompaniment to the luscious steak.

As you can tell, I rather enjoyed it. And I really should give the sides a mention. The onion shavings, creamed spinach and mash were unbelievably good, good enough to distract me from tucking into the glistening hunk of meat sat in front of me.

So, in a nutshell, the steak is good. Very good actually. But if you go, be warned, bring a very healthy appetite. The steak I shared is normally a single portion. The two guys sitting next to us had the Empire cut Prime Rib and a Gotham rib steak on the bone, two absolutely monumental pieces of beef coming to a combined 52oz! They polished it off of course, but if that was for two, I shudder at how many cows they need in their aging room at any one time, just to cope with demand.

The Old Homestead (Website) - 56 9th Avenue, New York 10011

Burgers, an institution - New York

We do love our burgers over here in the UK. I mean, how else can you explain the constant expansions of new Gourmet Burger Kitchens, Ultimate Burgers and Burger Shacks across the capital. With the addition of Byron and Hache, and more recently, the highly researched Hawksmoor burger, burgers in London are constantly improving and appear to be moving in the right direction.

The thing is, London and the UK in general is very much behind the US in the burger stakes. Over in New York, burgers are a way of life. Here, where at the moment it seems to fulfill a purpose, out in New York, it often fulfills a passion.

I wanted to sample the best New York had to offer but the choice is vast. I mean, check this article out. It lists New Yorks 82 most notable burgers. All independent outlets, the choice is simply vast. I have been taken to JG Melons (not even mentioned in the former list) before, so chose the Shake Shack after Foodbymarks recommendation and the BLT Burger on my cousins.

Shake Shack



Shake Shack are famous for three things, their burgers, their custard shakes and the often monstrous queues. Originally modelled on a "roadside" shack in the middle of Madison Square park, Shake Shack now have 3 locations spread all over New York.



For some unbeknownst reason, I managed to totally miss the crowd. I turned up just before 7pm and needed to queue a mere 3 minutes. I had passed by at lunchtime and the famous queue was in action, its big and never seems to go down as more and more people stream in to get their hands on one of these revered burgers. They even have a webcam to monitor the queue situation so you can plan your attack. A minute after I ordered, the famous queue had once again begun to snake its way round the park. How jammy am I!



So, was this burger any good then? Two moist and tender patties of brisket, with chuck and short rib thrown in. Not greasy, a good yielding but firm bun (an essential component of the burger) and most importantly, a well rounded and deeply beefy flavour. A fantastic example of a burger. It almost made me begin to understand why some people would queue for over an hour for one of these (but not quite).

Special mention needs to be given to the special Salted Caramel frozen custard milkshake. Pure heaven in a plastic cup. Yes, it is as good as it sounds.

Shake Shack (website) - Madison Square Park, Madison Avenue and East 23rd Street.




BLT Burger



BLT is not named after the famous sandwich of the same acronym, but stands for Bistro Laurent Tourondel, chef and proprietor. My cousin likes it as she has a 15 month old daughter and the restaurant is extremely child friendly. It seems that this is not always the case in New York and word clearly spreads. On my visit, it was full of rowdy "Football" fans out the front, whereas the main dining room was crammed with strollers and young families.



The combo's are definitely erring on the expensive side ($17 for burger, fries and a shake). In this case, I opted for a "Rocky Road" shake. This was a chocolate shake filled with bits of brownie, almond and marshmallows. The shake itself was lovely but it was a little OTT on the added extras. It felt like a whole meal on its own.



This burger is a combination of chuck, sirloin and rib eye and is again perfectly pink. Whereas the Shake Shack aim for medium rare for every burger, you get to nominate how its cooked here. Medium requested, medium received. Again, a good bun but I was rather perturbed by the massive lettuce leaf which tried to prod me in the face every time I tried to take a bite. Here, they take extra measures to keep the burger moist. They soak them in cold water and glaze with butter before cooking, indeed keeping the burger moist and succulent, but I didn't find the flavour as good as the Shake Shack burger.

BLT Burger (website) - 470 Sixth Avenue, New York



So what's the verdict? The burgers in New York are clearly good and I really admire the dedication of the two burger joints I visited. I definitely favour Shake Shack but wasn't blown away by either. I still have great memories of JG Melon and am slightly sad I didn't revisit it on this trip, but I guess I will have to settle with the fond memories.

Whitecross Market - EC1

A quick pictorial break from my NY posts.

Prior to my WMPC swap with Food Urchin this week, I decided to pop up to town early and check out Whitecross Market.

Located on Whitecross Street between Old Street and Moorgate, Whitecross Market is thought of as one of the oldest markets in London. Predominantly a "general" market selling all sorts of bric-a-brac during the weekdays, it also becomes a food fair on Thursday and Friday when food retailers invade to provide vittles for the local work force.

It was fairly busy when I went, although I suspect much of the lunch crowd had already passed through. Here are a few of my pics:











If you fancy a few more pics, you can see them here.

Gramercy Tavern - New York

On my recent trip to New York, one of the things I wanted to experience was some fine dining, American style. I wanted to try and grab a table at Corton, highly recommended by Simon Majumdar of Dos Hermanos, but it appears my two weeks advance notice was insufficient. I needed closer to 2 months. A quick perusal of the Michelin guide showed that New York has quite a wealth of Michelin stars. Although not always a good indicator of a good feed, it certainly helps to point you in the right direction. One choice stood out, the Gramercy Tavern. Close to where I was staying and it looked like it served highly seasonal, high end American cuisine. A few clicks later and a table was booked.

The Gramercy Tavern is a truly stunning space. The Autumnal colours of soft oranges and browns of the dining room matched the changing seasons outside it's front doors. With a bar and open space bistro at the front of the restaurant, we were led past their roaring wood fired oven (where they freshly bake their own bread amongst other things) to our table towards the rear of the restaurant in the heart of their fine dining section.

We were given a menu and the waiter went through the list one by one. Most of the dishes appeared to be "amazing" in his humble opinion. And indeed the menu did appear "amazing", I wanted to eat everything, this menu was going to take some negotiating.



Calamari and Carrot Salad - A seemingly straightforward dish but it was absolutely bursting with flavour. Thin strands of perfectly cooked squid interlaced with uniform julienne carrots. There was an intense smokiness from the squid, I assume that these were flash cooked on a char grill, and the toasted pine nuts added another level. The zingy confit lemon dressing, the perfect bedfellow for these deep flavours. A highly accomplished dish illustrating what you can achieve with a simple combination of good ingredients.



Lamb Pappardelle with olives, lemon confit and swiss chard - Originally on the menu as a starter, I couldn't resist but upgrade this starter to a main. I love lamb and I love pasta, win win. Or so I thought. The potential combination of flavours really had me quite excited. In conception, the ingredients lend to an almost Mediterranean feel and I am sure that this would have been delicious had the chef not decided to lump a handful of salt into it. All the delicate flavours of the lamb, lemon and swiss chard, totally obliterated. On a good point, the pasta was well made and well cooked.



Pork Croquette with potato puree and bitter greens - This was a much more accomplished dish. The massive pork croquette was formed from slow cooked pork shoulder and just fell apart as I poked my fork into it. The unctuous meat of the shoulder, with strands of fat holding the croquette together, was well seasoned and was complemented by a smooth and buttery mash (although a teensy tiny portion).



Blueberry Corn Sundae with toffee popcorn - Before I start, I think I should let you into a bit of background. I love sweetcorn. In every format. If I had to eat only one thing for the rest of my life, it may well be sweetcorn. When I saw this, I ordered it immediately and certainly didn't regret it. Mounds of silky sweetcorn ice cream sat atop a blueberry compote studded with sweetcorn. On top, a dribble of cream and scattering of toffee popcorn. Truly scrumptious.

This was the first proper meal I had on my eating Odyssey of New York and it certainly got the trip off to a bang. It's a beautiful restaurant, one of the nicest I have been in, with plenty going for it but even the extravagant dining space can't cover up some of its failings. Poor seasoning is a cardinal sin in any restaurant, let alone a Michelin starred one. The saltiness in my main was unforgivable and on reflection, I should have sent it back, something I have never done before in a restaurant. And before I could get really annoyed, that joyous dessert turned up.

If you're in New York, give it a go. But if they serve you over salted pasta, just don't be scared to send it back.

Gramercy Tavern (website) - 42 East 20th Street, New York NY 10003