A LITTLE 'SHARE THE LOVE' LUSCIOUSNESS

I know it's still a few weeks away, but I'm sure there are many people already panicking about what to do for their lovers on Valentine's Day this year. Well, I've got a suggestion for something a bit different. As Valentines falls on a Saturday this year, I've decided to do an A Little Lusciousness pop up - where we're going to share the love! Forget cosy tables for 2 and hushed restaurants as people whisper sweet nothings into their lovers ears - my pop up will be one big table, for everyone to share the love. Come on your own, with your lover or bring some mates. It's going to be a lively, fun night, full of delicious food and drink.

The menu for the night is as follows, but can always be altered if you want to come but don't like or can't eat something listed below - just mention your preferences in the comments section when booking and I will send you alternate options to choose from. As always, everything is homemade by me using seasonal, organic produce.

Sparkly blood orange and passion fruit cocktail

 

Shellfish soup, rouille and crusty bread slices 

 

Calvados pot roast Guinea Fowl, slow roast shallots, cauliflower & Jerusalem artichoke puree with horseradish, buttered cabbage 

 

Whisky chocolate tart, rhubarb semi freddo

 

Cheeseboard, homemade salted biscuits and spiced chutney

 

Coffee, fresh mint tea and homemade chocolates

 

Tickets are priced at £35 each, and include all of the above. I provide soft drinks on the night for those that prefer them, and it's bring your own booze, so you can bring a bottle (or two!) of whatever you fancy!! So come and join us in West London for a different type of Valentine's night this year :)

 

Guinea fowl from a pop up I did last year - clean plates all round afterwards!

 

 





View Post

THE APPLE TREE - PATISSERIE IN ACTON!

I live in Acton. It's not the most happening place in the world, and the little strip of shops near where I live used to be made up of a few grotty corner shops, an electrics shop, a funeral parlour (!) and not much else. In the last year however we've had a mini Sainsburys open, as well as a really good fish and chip shop, and most recently a great pizza place that does small pizzas for a very reasonable £4 each. And then a few weeks ago I noticed something else had appeared - a tiny café called The Apple Tree. We popped in for a chat with the owners and to see what they were selling, and I was thrilled to find out that they sell fresh juices and patisserie cakes! I would've never thought we could get such nice cakes right at the top of our road, but now we can. I must've been in nearly 10 times since they opened as they are now my go to for cakes to take to parties, or just for a lazy pudding to have at home on the rare occasions I really crave something sweet.

The Apple Tree is run by a lovely husband and wife team, and the wife's mother makes most of the cakes at her local bakery. They sell a wide range of biscuits, tarts, cream cakes and slices, and also do sandwiches during the week. They've got good, proper coffee, fresh juices, and my favourite, a frozen lemonade which is like a fresh lemon slushy - perfect for the hot weather.

I picked up a few cakes for a friend's baby shower yesterday and they all got eaten, so that can only be a good sign! I snapped a few photos of some of what's on offer, but just with my iPhone so excuse the quality.

Crunchy buttery biscuits - think delicious homemade jammy dodgers:

 

View Post

CHARLOTTE'S W4 - A NEW FAVOURITE

It's not often that I'm blown away by a restaurant, as in really, truly, happily shocked at the whole experience. But that's exactly what happened on Sunday evening when we decided on a very last minute trip to Charlotte's restaurant on Turnham Green terrace. I hadn't been before, but it's been on my radar for a while - I do all my food shopping along Turnham Green terrace (apart from a trip round the corner to Wyndham House butchers) and so I've seen Charlotte's a few times when I've walked past. I've followed them on Twitter for a while and always been intrigued, but have also always felt I need to go more central to find London's really good restaurants - how wrong I was!

We called Charlotte's at 8.45pm on Sunday to see if they could squeeze us in, and were told of course they could, despite normally taking last orders at 9pm, they would wait for us to get there (from Hammersmith). We arrived just after 9 and were greeted by THE friendliest, most helpful waiters and waitresses I've ever come across. They showed us to a table for 2 at the back of the restaurant, under the huge glass skylight that let in the last of the weekend's sunshine. We settled down with the menu, and ordered a "New girlfriend" cocktail for me, which was a delicious combo of Simpsmith vodka, elderflower cordial, rhubarb puree and pink grapefruit, that was actually very similar to the rhubarb and elderflower cocktail I'd served the night before at my pop up! The boy tucked in to a tangy Somerset-made wheat beer, which was really flavoursome but still had that more delicate flavour that comes from wheat beer.

View Post

MAY & JUNE A LITTLE LUSCIOUSNESS POP UPS!

I've got some more pop up dates in the diary! And tickets are still available for both.

I had a hugely successful pop up last Saturday, that my guests loved. It was such a fun evening, and I think (hope) that every went home with full tummies and smiles on their faces after a four course feast of seasonal produce (and lots of wine!). This is a little snapshot of the evening at my house:

View Post

MY NEXT POP UP - 26th APRIL

Another month, another pop up! I thought I should let you know about my next pop up restaurant, as there are still tickets available, but they do start to sell out around now.

I've got a bumper Spring menu, full of some of my favourite produce for my pop up on Saturday 26th April. The event is at our lovely house in West London, and starts at 7.30pm, and is kind of similar to a dinner party - a large table filled with guests, eating my four course menu, and having a great time. I've had guests from age 11 up to 60+ in the past, from all walks of life, and from all over the world. You can come with a group of friends, in a pair, or on your own, and it's bring your own booze, so you can bring a bottle or 2 of your favourite. I also serve either a welcome cocktail, pudding wine or port to go with the cheese, and there's homemade soft drinks for anyone who wants.

Every component of the food I serve is made from scratch, in my kitchen, with as much as possible being British, seasonal ingredients.

The menu for 26th April is:

 

Hand picked Dorset crab, homemade mayonnaise, remoulade, crusty white bread

 

Slow cooked shoulder of Spring lamb, savoy cabbage, Jersey royal new potatoes, with watercress and wild garlic salsa verde

 

Lemon posset with rhubarb compote and vanilla shortbread biscuits

 

Somerset cheeseboard, tomato chutney and herby salted crackers

 

Coffee/herbal tea served with sticky chocolate balls

If you'd like to come but can't eat or don't like something on the menu, that's fine - when you book there's a comments section where you can mention this. I don't think I've yet done a pop up where I haven't done at least 2 different main courses to cater for everyone's needs.

To find out what my previous guests have thought of the evenings you can see reviews of my last event here or a review written by another of my guests here.

Tickets for my pop up on 26th April are £30 each and can be bought via Grub Club.

And here's a couple of pics of the food my from the last event (although I always forget to take proper photos!)

Crusty white bread:

View Post

NEXT A LITTLE LUSCIOUSNESS POP UPS!

Last October I started doing a monthly pop up restaurant/supper club at our home in Acton Town and I've absolutely loved every minute of menu planning, food sourcing and all the cooking and preparation involved in putting on these events, as well as meeting all the lovely guests who've come to eat my food.  

My next pop up is on Saturday 29th March 2014, at our lovely house, in Acton Town, West London (Piccadilly line). The menu for the night is:

STARTER – Salmon three ways - beetroot cured with capers, sashimi with spring onions and pan fried with soy glaze

MAIN – Bavette steak, dauphinoise potatoes, greens and red wine sauce

PUDDING – Rhubarb hazelnut crumble, homemade stem ginger, hazelnut ice cream (this is the same pudding I served at my February pop up, but it went down so well, and rhubarb season should be made the most of, so I'm serving it again in March!)

CHEESE – Montgomery cheeseboard, spiced chutney and herby salted crackers

COFFEE and HERBAL TEAS served with sticky chocolate balls

If you'd like to come along but there's something on the menu you don't like, just let me know in the comments section of the booking form, and I can make you an alternative.


Tickets are available HERE.

You can come on your own, bring a date, grab some friends, or book out a whole table for however many of you there are! It's £30 a head for the evening, and it's bring your own booze, so feel free to bring a bottle of your favourite!

I do my public pop ups once a month, and the next one after this will be April 26th. Link to tickets and menu is HERE.

Hope to see some of you at one of my pop ups soon!!

View Post

SAT 14th - NEXT A LITTLE LUSCIOUSNESS SUPPER CLUB

Next Saturday, 14th December, I'm hosting another supper club/pop up restaurant at my house in West London, and there's still a few tickets left, available through Grub Club, if you want to come along.

The last event was such a great success that I really can't wait for this one! We had such a varied group of people come on the night, from students, to photographers, to food journalists (eek!) - from all walks and ages of life. It was a brilliant night at our house, a chance to meet new people and rekindle old friendships over a long and plentiful dinner, and I've been very fortunate to have had great reviews of the night.

My supper clubs focus on using seasonal, British and really well sourced ingredients. I have visited the farms that produce the food I'm using and have seen the cows that the meat I'm using in my main course and the cheese for the cheeseboard comes from! Everything on the night is handmade by me, at home, promising the freshest and yummiest food around.

The menu for the 14th is as follows:

To start - Cornish mussels cooked in cider with baby leeks, served with the crustiest, fluffiest homemade bread (I normally cook wholemeal fruity bread, but this wouldn't go well with the mussels, so I was perfecting the crusty white bread all of last weekend and literally could not stop eating it!)

For mains - This is the part I'm most excited about feeding everyone. I'm serving a beef and beer pie, with the most extra-ordinary meat I could find. The rare breed highland beef comes straight from Oxenpark Farm (more info here) who rear very few animals each year in order to ensure the animals are reared in the best way possible.

The cows are fed on 100% grass and clover and the taste of the meat is just incredible. This will be served with horseradish mash, star anise glazed carrots, greens and an ale gravy. Perfect winter grub! 

Something sweet - After a litte post-mains break, next up is a sweet and decadent pear and almond tart. Pears are poached in a ginger syrup and then made into this sumptuous, gluten free tart, served with a homemade butterscotch creme fraiche to take the edge off that sweetness! This is one of my personal favorties! I'm also serving a MAD pudding wine with this for everyone to enjoy.

Cheese and more - Once the pudding has been served it'll be time for cheese. I'm using the excellent Montgomery cheeses, straight from their small Somerset farm, and serving these with some of my salty, herby, wholemeal crackers and a cherry tomato chutney on the side.

To finish - Finally, and if you've still got room left, I'm serving the least British sourced part of my menu - I have special a Guatemalan and Brazilian coffee blend, or a selection of herbal teas to round off your meal with some of my ginger shortbreads.

It's £30 a head for the evening, and includes all of the above! It's going to be a really fun, food filled evening and I hope as many of you as possible can come along!

You can get your tickets here.

If you can't make this date but are interested in future events, do check back on my blog - there's a link on top right to A LITTLE LUSCIOUSNESS POP UPS and I will keep that updated with details of my events.

View Post

PRINCESS VICTORIA, UXBRIDGE RD

I must've been told about The Princess Victoria pub on Uxbridge Road by more than 10 different people over the last year, recommending that I eat there. And having booked a table about a month ago which we weren't able to make, it was high time I got myself down there to see how good it really was.

So that's where we headed for lunch on my birthday.

The Princess Victoria is halfway down Uxbridge Road, between Shepherds Bush and Ealing Common. It's an unassuming building, with frosted windows facing the road, and is somewhere you could easily walk straight past if you didn't know what was hidden inside. But don't let that put you off - once inside it really is quite impressive! Wood panelling lines the walls, and a large circular bar swoops into the first room you enter. Past the bar area is the main restaurant, full of solid wood tables with wooden chairs. A long serving table goes up one side of the restaurant room, with various homemade breads out, ready for service. 

It was Monday lunchtime when we went, and although not busy, there were a few people eating. I was surprised they were serving food at all, as most gastro pubs I know don't do Monday lunch.

We were offered a table in the main restaurant, but opted for a cosy table in the bar. The ratio of staff to diners was about 1:1, and the staff were all really friendly and welcoming.

I could've sat and tried to work my way through their entire menu, as it's really my type of food, made with responsibly sourced ingredients. But we had a lot of unpacking to do, so decided to share a starter and have a main each.

The menu at Princess Victoria is split into Charcuterie; Oysters, cured and smoked fish; Starters; Mains; and "From the ageing room....".

We went for the Tamworth pork and peppercorn pate with pickle and toast to start (I'm a sucker for a pickle, and this one was perfect!) I could've done with a little more of the crispy toast on the side, but that's probably just because I'm a little greedy! The pate had an excellent texture and just the right balance between salty and sweet.

View Post

FENG SUSHI DELIVERY

As you may know, if you read my Tresco holidays post, I've broken 2 bones in my hand. This makes cooking particularly difficult at the moment, as I can't even hold or grip anything in that hand, so I'm really struggling in the kitchen! On top of this, I've barely been home recently as after our holiday, we went straight to Boomtown festival for a week, and then on to my little brother's incredible wedding. So when we got back home to London late yesterday evening, the last thing I felt like doing was fighting vegetables with a knife and no usable left hand! So we chose delivery instead. I've ordered a few deliveries recently, due to the one-handedness, but this was the best by far. I found Feng Sushi via hungryhouse, a website that locates your local food delivery companies. I'm always a little hesitant about ordering sushi for delivery as you can't guarantee the freshness that is essential for good sushi, but I read lots of good reviews and found out that they only use line caught tuna and sustainably sourced fish, and I really wanted fresh, raw, healthy food, so decided to go for it anyway.

We ordered at about 7pm, and our food was with us by 7.50, which is no mean feat, considering that Feng Sushi is about 4 miles from our house!

As usual I went completely over the top with the amount of food I ordered for 2 of us, but it was all so yummy we managed to eat most of it anyway!

I ordered a miso soup, which was just as miso should be; the "heavenly salmon spring roll" starter, that was a cooked salmon spring roll, which was nice but a little greasy and therefore not really what I wanted; an x ray salad, made up of peppers, edamame beans, pomegranate seeds, avocado and poppy seed, that was a big bowl of healthy freshness; the deluxe mixed sashimi selection of hand dived scallops salmon, tuna, yellow tail with kimchee, mackerel and MSC ikura (roe);

View Post

THE BOLLO HOUSE, CHISWICK

I have been meaning to write a post about my taste card, but normally get so carried away with eating when I go out with my card that I totally forget to take any photos/try to remember detail! But I recently discovered our local gastro pub was on the 50% off food taste card list, and today went for lunch with a girlfriend there. It was great, and I'll definitely be going back soon.

The Bollo is found on Bollo Lane, close to Chiswick Park tube station. It is a typical converted gastro pub with solid wood interiors and it's fair share of young families (most notable was a table of 5 adults with 5 children under the age of 1). However, thanks to the good manners of all such young children, we didn't feel like we'd gatecrashed a creche!

View Post