Foraging in London

Check out this amazing video from The Guardian about foraging in London. I think she's at New River Walk, just round the corner. It's my secret happy place (not so secret now...)

Quirky bake sale for Red Cross Japan

This Friday, in Shoreditch, some of the city's top bakers are having a bake sale for charity. All the money is going to Red Cross Japan.



The cakes look amazing, shaped like sushi and other cute japanese-themed stuff. Top London patissiers such as Ms. Cupcake, Ed Kimber and Molly Bakes are contributing.

all photos from cakesforjapan.wordpress.com

Infos
Japan Bake Sale
Maiden, 188 Shoreditch High Street,
London, EC2.
http://cakesforjapan.wordpress.com/cakes-for-japan-london/

Breast Milk Ice Cream

Sorry, that is just creepy. I admit to having tasted my sister's, because I'm just such a foodie, innit?

But I read this story on Metro yesterday and it just did not tempt me at all. Kind of gross. What do you think?

I guess the publicity stunt has worked, because I kind of want to go check out the shop, it looks like kind of a badass ice cream thing.

I will not, however, be sampling the breast milk ice cream, thank you very much (especially not at £15 a scoop!).

Here is the link to the story, and their website

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/856408-baby-gaga-breast-milk-ice-cream-goes-on-sale

http://www.theicecreamists.com/

Shopping for special ingredients in London

Attention foodies, this is invaluable information. If you live in London, you've probably come across Borough Market, which I've blogged about extensively in the past. You will find most fresh goodies you will need there.

Game season at Borough market

But when it comes to dry goods, surprisingly, London can be a tad tricky, so I'm going to share a couple of the places I go to when I'm scavenging for special ingredients.

First and foremost. The Harrods Food Halls. Not only are they beautiful, art nouveau, historical, and really fun to visit (if you can ignore the hoards of tourists, of course), but they are massive, with halls and halls filled with the most exotic ingredients, all the cheese, charcuterie, breads you can imagine. They also have several little restaurants and traiteurs, if you really just want to stare and eat, without necessarily having to cook.






Harrods also do a spectacular "own brand" line of wines and bubblies. Really well priced, great quality wines. You can buy by the case and have it delivered to your door, I strongly recommend their Chablis, amazing value. They've just opened a beautiful new wine shop in the LG, well worth a visit.

Image courtesy of www.harrods.com

Whole Foods is also a pretty good option, particularly the larger stores, like the Kensington one.

Another surpisingly good place to try is the Harvey Nicks food hall. It's rather tiny, but really well stocked. I was recently on a mission to find semola di grano duro to make some pasta at home, and this was actually the only place I could find it.

Finally, Fortnum and Mason. You will find the usual array of jams, pickles, cheeses, and teas, but also, in the LG floor, a minimart with all sorts of goodies as well.

Infos

Harrods
87-135 Brompton Road,
http://www.harrods.com/

Borough Market
239 Borough High Street
http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/

Harvey Nichols Fifth Flor
67 Brompton Rd
http://www.harveynichols.com/

Fortnum and Mason
181 Piccadily
http://www.fortnumandmason.com/

Whole Foods
http://www.wholefoods.com/

Noma Book Signing

In case you've been living in Mars, or are just not an absolute food junkie like meself, Noma is the hot ticket restaurant of the World right now.

It's all about foraging, "extreme local" cuisine.

More infos here:

http://www.phaidon.ca/agenda/food/events/2010/october/01/rene-redzepis-worldwide-book-tour-for-noma/

Rene Redzepi will be doing a book signing next Friday, November 12th, and tickets are flying.

Yes, he's so hot you actually have to book a ticket for the signing. Can't wait to get my copy.

Cox Cupcakes

I know. Cupcakes are so last year. And they all taste kind of rubbish, with the icing all piled on top of the cake, not so good, usually.

But these are amazing! The icing is delicious and not to sweet/fatty, the cake is moist.



And most of all, the decorations are just outrageous. Especially for Halloween, really good fun, with eyeballs, skulls, the works. I'm sure the kids will flip out.


The neon, bright lights, disco power shop is owned by famed shoe designer Patrick Cox, and is, of course, in Soho, home of all things camp in London.

Cupcakes range from £2 to £4.50 each.



Cox Cookies and Cakes
13 Brewer Street
Soho
London W1F 0RH

T. +44 (0)20 7434 0242 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +44 (0)20 7434 0242 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
E. info@coxcookiesandcake.com

Fortnum & Mason, "High Tea" indeed

Fortnum & Mason is one of those “favourite place on earth” spots for me in London. Quintessentially English, yes, best place to stock up on tea, yes, beautiful preserves, yes. But I think what really does it for me is the light teal colour that decorates the facade, and peppers all the packaging and displays. It’s like a glam Willie Wonka, a confectionery high of majestic proportions. They have indeed amassed a series of Royal Warrants, starting, surprisingly, with candles.



The history of this English institution harks back to 1705, when:

“Hugh Mason had a small shop in St James’s Market and a spare room in his house. The Fortnum family had come to London from Oxford as high-class builders in the wake of the Great Fire, helping to establish the St James’s and Mayfair areas as the most fashionable in London. William climbed another rung by taking a post as footman in Queen Anne’s household - and the room at Mr Mason’s.”

Now a footman, that’s a big effin deal in Britain. Anywho, these folks went on to ride the wave of British imperialism with bravado, and set themselves up as THE place to go for unfair trade tea. But that is all in the past now, and the blue packaging is truly delightful.



The store is now a major affair, with a little gourmet supermarket on the lower ground that is well worth the detour. On the ground floor you will find a massive catalogue of teas, herbals, green, white, oolong, you name it. These folks are suppliers to the Royal Family, so you will find a Royal Blend, and a Queen Anne blend, and you can feel all regal while you sip your cuppa.


Being partial to Earl Grey blends, always, my personal favourites are the Green Earl Grey and the Smoky Earl Grey (yes, how creative). The Smoky Earl Grey is, as the name suggests, a dense, smoky take on the classic blend. It will set you back £7.75 a tin with 250g. There is also a luxurious White Yunnan (at about four times that price). White teas are the most precious and delicately flavoured infusions, made from handpicked buds, steeped for a minute or two, just so...



The preserves and jams are also wonderful, as are the chocolates and biscuits. This is a great place to get a hamper made, and they also make the most perfect picnic baskets. The store is spread out over several stories, and you can find everything from fashion accessories to stationery, as well as a couple of restaurants. But the beautiful British fare is really the star of the show here, a true gastronomic journey. Between the infinte jars of pickles and chutney, this is a place to come and understand what British elegance and tradition really mean.

My suggestion is that you go for afternoon tea, upstairs, and sample all the goodies. That way you will get to try out the tea blends, and gorge on the scones and the clotted cream (which is churned by cherubs, I’m sure).

The shop is in Piccadilly, so if you find yourself stranded in one of the most demonic parts of town (after Oxford Street), escape the chaos and have a cuppa.


All images courtesy of http://www.fortnumandmason.com/


Oh, breaking news flash! They have just started selling their blend of London honey, which they make from the beehives they placed on the roof of the building. Now that is the ultimate chic souvenir.

You can catch up with latest London food news on my new blog, www.thenoshdiaries.com


The store is still at its address in Piccadilly, where it has been for the last 300 years:

181 Piccadilly
London
W1A 1ER
United Kingdom

London Markets 4 - Borough Market

There is also Borough market, but that is definitely a place where people go specifically to shop. For food, amazing, beautiful food of all types. Stalls of exotic fruit and veg, venison pies, fish and chips, olives, wine, quiches, really, you name it. It s open thursday, friday and saturday, at different times, so best to check the website: http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/



London Bridge has been a congregation stop for traders of grain, livestock and vegetables as far back as 1014. In the 13th century traders were relocated to what is now Borough High Street and a market has existed there ever since. Nowadays, this is a gourmet affair, within a big metallic structure, with stalls offering top ingredients and an with an attachment to local produce. They also host special events, and the website is packed with good recipes as well (quite handy if you get carried away buying something really odd and then have no idea what to do with it...)


Images courtesy of wwww.boroughmarket.com

Most stalls have samples to try, so do make sure you only eat AFTER making the rounds, if you have any room left in ya...

It’s quite close to the Tate Modern, so you can go have a bite and then go see the art, and do something useful with your time, you know?