HOT X BBQ - GOOD FRIDAY

In case you haven't already seen it splashed all over my social media, I wanted to share details of the most amazing pop up I'm doing with a very good friend of mine on Good Friday. Lucy and I have signed up to climb Kilimanjaro in August, to raise money for young adult cancer support charity Trekstock, so we thought we'd put on a huge pop up restaurant, with all proceeds going to the charity fundraising pot. 

On Friday 14th April Neil Rankin, from one of my favourite restaurants, Temper, and Hardeep Singh Kohli, one of our favourite comedians, are joining us to put on this epic Good Friday feast. We're serving up a feast of BBQ'd Indian lamb (from Daphnes Original Welsh Lamb) dishes, BBQd cauliflower curries, veggies, chutneys, homemade breads, and lots lots more. For pudding there'll be zingy lemon tarts and wonderful rhubarb stewed in cocchi rossa, followed by cheeses and chocolates made with Diplomatico rum. Tickets are tiered in price and all include drinks - there's a saintly non alcoholic option for £45, then all-in packages at different prices depending on how much and what you'd like to drink, going all the way up to a open bar ticket for £100 which includes champagne, high end wine and cocktails, and food, of course! We're doing pre and post dinner cocktails using some of favourite spirit brands, and wines with the meal include gorgeous roses from Vins de Provence. Every guest will also receive an Easter themed goody bag from our lovely friends at Farmdrop. 

Our HOT X BBQ is taking place in the gorgeous Brunswick Studios in Queen's Park, where we've got enough space to host 100 guests for dinner, with welcome drinks on their stunning outdoor terrace. 

And if all that's not enough to tempt you down, then how about our wonderful auction prizes.... Hardeep will be hosting the evening for us and auctioning off some "money can't buy (except at our HOT X BBQ pop up) prizes. We've got a pair of tickets to the London premiere of Alien Covenant with Michael Fassbender; artwork by cult artist Stedhead; film club for two at either The Soho Hotel, Charlotte Street Hotel or Covent Garden Hotel which includes a movie and either a three course dinner, brunch, lunch or afternoon tea; dinner for two at Temper, Soho; a pair of tickets to the hugely popular Literary Hour pop up restaurant; a hamper of oils and olives from Filippo Berio; a case of wine and £100 voucher from our friends at Honest Grapes; a lovely package of cured meats, cheeses and preserves, and lots more. 

Tickets are available here - we really hope you can come and join us for what is bound to be one of the best pop up restaurants in London this year!

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PICTURE, FITZROVIA

Emily and I have pretty similar food tastes so it's normally a good bet that I'll like restaurants that she does. She's been going on about Picture for some time, so when we needed an early evening feeding before the bar awards recently we hopped on to Bookatable where you can get five courses and a cocktail for £35, which is pretty decent for the quality of cooking.

We settled in to a mostly empty restaurant (that filled up throughout our meal) and enjoyed our welcome cocktail while we checked through the fixed menu to ensure there was nothing on there we didn't eat. Emily switched out a beetroot dish but other than that we were good to go. Warm bread and venison bites (which were a whole £1 each extra and worth every penny and more) kept up going til food proper started.

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A(NOTHER) WEEKEND IN PARIS

Paris - one of my favourite cities in the world. Last weekend I was back there for the third time in just over a year. This time I went with my mum, and we had the loveliest, whirlwind 36 hours (or less!) there. After an early start for one of the first Eurostar trains we headed straight to the airbnb studio I'd booked. Unfortunately our host had gone AWOL so we settled in at a local patisserie for coffees and freshly squeezed orange juice, before giving up on the airbnb host, leaving our bags with a very friendly man at his independent wine shop and setting off for a stroll around Le Marais, ducking in and out of galleries, gorgeous sun dappled squares and shops galore. I'd reserved a table at Amarante, which Lucy and I adored when we went this time last year, so meandered towards Bastille for lunch. Amarante is a tiny bistro on an otherwise residential road to the east of Bastille. But don't fooled by its random location - it's dishing up some of the best food in Paris and is 100% worth a visit. Mum and I went for the fixed lunch menu which is a steal at 19 euros for 2 courses, or 22 euros for 3. Our starters of tarama for me and liver pate for mum were perfect, followed by sublime ox cheek, greens and the jus of dreams; and fish and confit leeks for mum. I can't see myself ever visiting Paris and not eating at Amarante, and I suggest you do the same! Make sure you book though.

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PANCAKE PIZZA RECIPE

I'm fully aware that pancake day was yesterday, but this recipe's too good not to share, and I don't think pancakes should be confined to just one day of the year anyway. A quick, cheap and easy recipe to make, they're ideal for a fridge/cupboard raid supper. Sweet or savoury, they work well with a whole host of fillings and toppings. I decided to make a pizza out of mine yesterday - they're a lot lighter than a regular pizza and you can top them with whatever you fancy. Plus, having spent the weekend in France I had a fridge full of cheese that I needed to start work on!

Pancake pizzas for two:

For the pancakes (makes 4)
50g plain flour (I used spelt flour)
1 egg
150ml whole milk
Knob of butter and drizzle of oil

For the toppings
Grated cheese (comte, cheddar, emmental), or torn up soft cheese (goat's cheese, mozarella)
Cooked meat - salami, sausage, pulled pork
Any vegetables - spinach, tomatoes, artichokes etc

Whisk together the flour, egg and milk until you have a smooth, light batter. Leave in the fridge for 30 minutes before cooking. When ready, heat a pan with a small knob of butter and drizzle of oil, then wipe most of the fat away before pouring a quarter of the pancake mix in, swirling round the pan til it's evenly coated and cooking until the pancake comes away from pan. Flip the pancake and cook on the other side til golden. Repeat until you've used up all the batter.

Put each pancake on a baking tray and top with whatever you fancy. I went for spicy sausage and Comte from Paris. Slide under a hot grill and cook until the cheese has melted. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve with a salad if you want extra greens, or a second pancake pizza if you don't!

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