Burgers, Burgers, Chicken, Burgers

Now that I managed to get over this whole burger hump, theres no stopping me. My number one at the moment comes from the quite excellent Lucky Chip. Based out in Hackney, they moved from their outfit in Netil Market indoors to the pretty old school setting of the Sebright arms. Each of Lucky Chips burger creations are named after a Hollywood star. The Kelly Le Brock oozes cream cheese, the Kevin Bacon is loaded with the porky stuff and the John Belushi is heart achingly packed with foie gras, bone marrow and truffle oil. My personal favourite is the Tom Selleck, a mind boggling invention including an onion ring housing BBQ sauce, bacon and a pineapple slice.

Tudor Road Supper Club: What a chef does when he is on holiday

Professional chefs work bloody hard. Long hours, hot kitchens, churning out food day after day with little reward other than the knowledge that others might be enjoying what they have produced. Professional kitchens are nothing like the domestic kitchen. Don't get me wrong, I haven't worked in one, but knowing a few who have, it sounds like hell on earth which would totally take away the joy of cooking.

Ben Greeno is one of these chefs. Having worked in some of the worlds most established restaurants (including Restaurant Sat Bains, Noma and Momofuku), he is taking a well earned rest after returning from a short stint in New York. Well, I say rest; Ben has decided to set up his own supper club in his home for a few months before he embarks on his next adventure, so I decided to pop along with a few friends, a second best to actually heading to Noma and eating there.

Some supper club purists may have an issue with Ben's set up. After all, he is a professionally trained chef with years of experience behind him, surely this isn't fair on the multitudes of other non trained supper clubbers? Personally, I go for the experience and the food is normally a secondary concern. As long as I have a good time and don't get food poisoning, I am pretty pleased. In this case, we bundled into Bens flat, straight into his living room where the one singular long table is set up and had a glass of cider thrust into our hands, with another table filled with radishes, bread and dips were waiting us. The basil emulsion (mayonnaise) and roasted pepper dip had us constantly dipping and munching, whilst we mingled with the guests on the balcony as they arrived. Good start.

As we sat down, I seemed to have hit the jackpot when it came to dining companions. Along with the people I came with, I had Rob Martin, an American chef and also Noma alumni, sitting next to me and a group of lively food loving Singaporeans a little further down the table. The night was getting good. We started chatting and chowing down on some delicious bread spread thickly with nasturtium butter delivering little salty bursts, as our first course of "carrots" was served. Looks simple, but the combination of poached carrots, raw carrots and cherries soaked in dashi gave the dish an almost sweet and sour quality. Delicious, but the size had me concerned. If all the dishes were this dainty, how the hell was I going to be full by the end of the meal?

Next up was raw mackerel, challenging for a fish hater like me, but I dove in anyway. I needn't have worried, the mackerel was super fresh and the tart sauce made from jostaberries (a cross between the gooseberry and blackcurrant) went with the creamy mackerel well. The "scrumped" apple from a nearby garden added texture, with the bitter leaves building another level of flavour. Simple but clever.

The next dish of pork cigar, slowly caramelised onions and slow poached egg was rather grey, with purple edible flowers lifting the whole dish. The flavours though, were far from grey. Meaty rich pork cigar, the sweet sweet onions and the slow poached egg (gelatinous, having been poached at a consistent 62 degrees), textures, flavours, a symphony of sensations.

You know I was worried about the size of the dishes earlier? Yeah, I was starting to fill up and we were nowhere near the end. The "main" was probably the nearest dish we had to what most would call a conventional one, slow roast lamb belly, a berry jus (I forget which) and parsnips two ways (roasted and pureed). Simple but great flavours.

Ben (if his biopic is correct) jointly headed up the pastry section at Noma, so you can probably say he is a dab hand with desserts. What arrived was a deconstructed lemon meringue pie, with shards of rosewater meringue, blobs of lemon curd and dehydrated ginger biscuits carefully arranged on the plate. Kernels of sweetcorn and a smattering of blackberries added additional sweetness. So good, I was caught licking my plate, and you know what, I didn't care.

I was full and satisfied. Throughout every course, there was much banter and the atmosphere was just perfect. Loads of chatter, laughs and stunning food. Ben had been an excellent host and the food was all I had hoped it would be. He came and joined us with the coffees and chatted with the guests. Coffee with toffee truffles turned to wine, which turned to more wine and, well, turned into a very late night. We chatted about many things, but one included his exciting next steps in his culinary adventure. Go before he stops cooking and if/when you do go one word of advice. Don't load up on the delicious bread early like I did, you will regret it later.

Ben Greeno's Tudor Road - Somewhere in Hackney. It may be on Tudor Road...

The Hackney Wizzle Munch Tour

Hackney Wick is one of those areas people who live in London don't go to unless they actually live there. I mean, seriously, all there is there are warehouses and canals filled with shopping trolleys, surely there can be no reason to visit? At least that was my opinion until Nicola (she of Shedlikesfood fame) decided to organise a tour to prove that there was more to Hackney Wick than rats and pigeons. As the token South Londoner and a habitual hater of East London, she was taking a real chance inviting me along, but she was confident that the wares of Hackney Wick would be enough to convince me that there be good things amongst all these warehouses.

So, early start and the first stop was breakfast at The Counter Cafe

Who knew such a great little cafe existed in the middle of pretty much nowhere? Surrounded by those ever present warehouses, The Counter is an oasis amongst the urban wilderness. Upon arrival, we ordered a few coffees to perk us up from the early morning start. My order of a flat white was velvety smooth and had that slight natural sweetness synonymous with the Antipodean coffee I drank out in Melbourne. Great start.

We were then served mini portions of a few of the Counter Cafes classics. The first were masala scrambled eggs which were delicately spiced and just made me wish I had a bigger portion (that was until my brain kicked in and the realisation that eating a little at a time on a food tour was probably a sensible thing). For "dessert" we were served their signature french toast served with a sweet but slightly tart compote of berries and banana. I love french toast and I love berries and bananas. I loved this dish.

With all these complex carbs, I really needed to work off a few before we headed off towards our next destination. Luckily enough, there is a table tennis table out back to do just that and after a few rounds with Lex, we were ready to move onto our next destination, the Hackney Pearl.

Lunch at the Hackney Pearl

The short stroll along the canal to the Hackney Pearl was quite welcome, helping us further digest some more of the food we had just eaten, steeling us for the feast that the Hackney Pearl had prepared for us. It was pretty empty when we first arrived but slowly filled up throughout the time we were there until bursting point when we left a few hours later.

First drink of the day in hand (it was just about 12 at this stage), we started with a selection of starters including a veggie mezze (with some really good mushed up carrots, creamy slaw and a tzatziki of sorts) and a ball of chicken liver pate which was far too “livery” for my tastes, but seemed to go down well with the rest of the table.

The mains were the real star with a whole slow roast lamb shoulder and salsa verde. The lamb was unctuous and so tender that strands of meat were just dripping off. When presented with this grand lump of meat, we questioned how long it had been cooking, receiving the response “ A long time, I had to constantly wake up during the night to keep it moist”. A real labour of love, it was certainly appreciated.

The behemoth of an Eton Mess we had for dessert was perfectly nice, if a little heavy on the cream, not a qualm you often hear from me. A better balance of meringue and fruit would have been ideal, but even then, we all tucked in heartily. By the time we were done, it hardly looked like we had made a dent into the beast.

Upon completion, it was time for another meander. Doubling back on ourselves, we headed back over the bridge, down past the canal, straight past the Counter and onwards deep into warehouse territory. Before we knew it, we were standing outside Formans, a massive grey and salmon pink building belying it’s true nature. Famous for its smoked salmon and smoker (as well as holding the record for the worlds fastest pin-boned and carved side of smoked salmon), it also contains a restaurant and a pretty bewildering art gallery.

We made our way to the balcony which with its Astroturf and stunning view of the Olympic stadium would have been the perfect setting for the conclusion of our tour. Unfortunately, it started to spit which consequently turned into an almighty downpour and we were restricted to remaining indoors.

The selection of Formans cheeses and dessert wine were a wonderful finale, and it was an absolute miracle that I managed to get through so much cheese. I had another engagement to head to (yet more food!), but I left “The Wick” enlightened and realising that it was more than just warehouses, rats and smelly canals. It had been a brilliant day and I have only Swift to thank for sorting out. I'm sure I will be back to Wick soon!

The Counter Cafe - 4a Roach Rd, Hackney Wick, London E3 2PA

The Hackney Pearl - 11 Prince Edward Road, Hackney Wick E9 5LX

Forman and Fields - Stour Rd, Fish Island, London E3 2NT

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