London Life October 2013: Food & Drink by Luiz Hara

Find out more about this year's London Restaurant Festival, try one of the fantastic Korean restaurants in Little Seoul or if French cuisine and wines are more like your thing, why not head to Terroirs or one of its sister restaurants in London. These are some of my foodie recommendations for Heathrow Express readers this month, to read more visit their website here.

Bibimbap at Hurwundeki

My Nirvana at the London Cheese and Wine Festival, Southbank, 11th to 13th October 2013

Words & Photography by Greg Klerkx

I adore cheese, whether it’s the most eye-watering Pont l’Eveque or a disc of snowy, virginal goat so fresh that one is certain the churn itself must still be nearby. Perhaps more than any other food, cheese is my nirvana. And if by some cosmic quirk we have the option of choosing the setting for our afterlife, mine might look very much like Paxton & Whitfield. 

Founded in 1797, Paxton & Whitfield was apparently Winston Churchill’s favourite fromager: the shop proudly quotes the great man as having once said, “a gentleman only buys his cheese at Paxton & Whitfield.” The rest of us will also find plenty to love amidst the artfully arranged discs, pyramids, wedges, and rounds, of which roughly two-thirds is typically of British provenance. For further evidence, if needed, that UK cheese is now of world-beating status, Paxton & Whitfield proudly notes that it exports a goodly amount of our nation’s finest to – wait for it – France.

What a perfect spot, then, for the launch of the London Cheese & Wine Festival, which will take place at the Southbank Centre over the weekend of 11-13 October 2013. The Festival exists to celebrate all things cheese: there’ll be cooking demonstrations, food pairings, tastings, and even a daily quiz for those truly in the cheesy know.

The Festival launch event at P&W was co-sponsored by D Vine Cellars and The Flour Station, who will also be front-and-centre at the Festival. The Flour Station is a happy spin-off of Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen experiment/empire. Like many of its artisanal peers, The Flour Station prides itself on traditional baking methods, with a particular focus on long dough proving and sourdough recipes that are guarded more closely than Trident nuclear codes. The result is evident in a slew of festival awards and supply deals with top London restaurants and hotels.

D Vine Cellars is the creation of former IT manager Gregory Andrews, whose business card title - ‘Wine Enthusiast’ – absolutely reflects his passion for sourcing unusual offerings. The D Vine Cellars shop near Clapham North tube station features tasting machines stocked with wines from vintners who prioritise sustainable farming methods and ethical winemaking processes. A nice touch is that, for a small corkage fee, shop visitors can enjoy a bottle in the shop along with specially selected cheese and charcuterie.

On offer at the Festival launch event were five cheese-bread-wine pairings offering a sense of the delights in store at the Festival itself. Each vendor had its standout offerings. Flour Station’s walnut levain managed somehow to be feather-light yet hearty and deep, with just a hint of sourdough tang to lift the milky Aldwych goat it was paired with. The company’s bestseller, the Tortano Crown, similarly managed to practically float on the palate despite being made with whole baked potatoes – a few semi-crisped skins were studded throughout the toroidal loaf – which gave it an almost meaty savouriness.

The story behind D Vine’s star of the evening, a 2004 Lemaire-Fournier Les Morandiers, was slightly sad. The 2004 was Lemaire-Fournier’s last vintage owing to the death of the vintner, whose widow subsequently sold the organically farmed vineyards. Thus is the world left with only a small amount of this luscious, honeyed, beautifully shaped Vouvray: an absolute steal at £15.50 per bottle and still available from D Vine (though you’ll have to get there before I do).

Ah, yes…the cheese. The Brie de Melun (“the little brother of Brie de Mieux,” according to P&W) was a nice example of the type; made from unpasteurised cow’s milk, smaller and gentler than its ‘older sibling’ but with a salty, earthy snap to each mouthful. A Spanish offering, Picos Blue, was milder than many of its bluish cousins but matched nicely with the Tortano Crown and a Beaujolais-like 2011 Famile Perrin Ventoux. 

But the big winner for me was a marvellous Westcombe cheddar – chewy, almost caramel-y, and tangy yet lacking in the astringency that some unpasteurised cheddars can tend to carry. Fortunately, the event organisers saw fit to send me home with a healthy wedge of this lovely stuff. Is this step one in assembling my cheesy nirvana? Stay tuned.

For more information about the London Cheese and Wine Festival, visit their website here.

The Blackout Banquet at the Thames Festival (6th and 15th September 2013)

Words & Photography by Felicity Spector

Name: The Blackout Banquet (Thames Festival - 6^th and 15^th September 2013)

Where: Shad Thames - along the riverside terrace outside Le Pont de La Tour, Cantina del Ponte, Blueprint Café and Butler’s Wharf

Cost: £35 per head for three courses, including a drink to start, and coffee after the meal.

About: The Blackout Banquet is a huge, 140 seat dining table stretching more than 100 feet along the riverside terrace outside Le Pont de La Tour, Cantina del Ponte, Blueprint Café and Butler’s Wharf, which will be serving a rotating menu from the four restaurants every night during the Thames Festival between 6^th and 15^th September 2013. It offers a special fixed price menu, at £35 per head for three courses, including a drink to start, and coffee after the meal.

The event has been designed to highlight the experience of darkness beside the river, replacing artificial light pollution with the subtlety of candles. It echoes the festival’s aim of celebrating the history and beauty of the Thames, whose surrounding landscape has been transformed by some of London’s most challenging modern architecture.

The long banqueting table was beautifully decorated with all sorts of different candles which cast a flickering light over the food, while the gently lapping water sparkled darkly outside. It was almost like being at someone’s wedding - really rather special indeed.

What we ate: I wasn’t able to get away from work in time for the mushroom consomme starter but my friend very kindly saved me the Amuse, which hailed from the Blueprint Cafe - a delicious bowl of black lentils with a tamarind-spiked sour cream which along with some beautifully soft, dark bread, was my favourite dish of the meal.

The main menu had offered a Le Pont de la Tour terrine of skate wing to start, with purple potato and dots of squid ink dressing, which looked very dramatic on the plate.

My vegetarian main, from Butler’s Wharf Chop House, was a wild mushroom scotch egg, which came with a delicious mix of fried wild mushrooms and cubes of Jerusalem artichoke, topped by a couple of slices of English black truffle. Meat eaters were offered roast wood pigeon sourced from the Thames Valley, with some gently spiced braised beetroot and turnips spiked with cubes of soft, gutsy black pudding.

Dessert was a very creamy, just-set panna cotta with a tart compote of berries on the side, made by Cantina del Ponte.

What we liked: The setting was absolutely beautiful: a lot of care had been taken to create this dramatic, long table, and it was a rare opportunity to dine by candlelight in such a gorgeous location, which must offer some of the best views in the city. The service for such a large group was run like clockwork, and we applaud the way the food was sourced locally to showcase some of London’s best seasonal produce.

What we didn’t like: I wasn’t sorry I had missed the vegetarian starter - it had identical ingredients to the main course, which lacked some imagination.

Verdict: We really enjoyed our culinary, candle-lit taste of the Thames Festival: London is at its best when celebrating its natural assets, and it was a real privilege to be part of such a one off experience. If you can’t get a seat at the special banquet table, the restaurants involved are all offering their own set menus throughout the festival, with other events to tie-in, from blindfold cocktail tastings to something riskily described as a fire menu.

　

Meals at the ‘Blackout Banquet’ banqueting table run every evening throughout the Thames Festival and lunchtimes at weekends. Reservations can be made via 0207 940 1833 or visit http://thamesfestival.org/events/info/butlers-wharf-blackout-and-blackout-banquet for more information.

Polpo Venetian Banquet at Wilderness Festival

Words & Photography by Simeen Kadi

Name: Wilderness Festival - http://www.wildernessfestival.com/

Where: Cornbury Park, Charlbury, Oxfordshire.

When: 8th to 11th of August 2013. Polpo banquet Lunch and Dinner on Saturday the 10th August 2013.

About: In a summer awash (often literally) with festivals up and down the country, Wilderness stands out for its combination of jaw dropping setting and the way it joyously celebrates all of our senses. Gorgeous, eye-popping acts, great music and some of the best food in the country all come together for a glorious weekend in the Cotswolds.

During the day you can swim in the lakes, sip champagne in the lakeside spa, go horse riding or even attend a talk on astrophysics or visit the Museum of Charles Dickens.

And, after all that exertion of body and mind, sit back and luxuriate in a Venetian banquet by Russell Norman and his talented gang at Polpo. A now legendary Soho restaurant serving authentic dishes from the Veneto in a laid back environment with killer cocktails, Polpo brought a new edgy, urban take on Italian food with its gritty styling and casual cichetti menu when it opened in London a few years ago. At Wilderness, Norman and his executive chef, Tom Oldroyd, will be bringing their popular cuisine to a decadent Venetian setting for both lunch and dinner. Complete with wine and Venetian masks for the highlight of the festival – the Midnight Masked Ball.

What we ate: I enjoyed a taster of Polpo’s Venetian banquet recently and so, if you want the experience to be a culinary surprise, look away now. Over a lazy afternoon punctuated with Aperol Spritz, we were treated to a feast of Venetian cooking.

We started with a brace of Crostini - Creamed Salt Cod and Rocket and Walnut Pesto. Both were creamy and bursting with flavour. Grissini wrapped with Fennel Salami and grilled Radicchio were the best way to eat dried bread sticks that anyone has ever come up with.

The Arancini that followed were golf ball-sized and perfectly crispy with just the right amount of gooey, melted mozzarella binding the risotto. The Fennel and Endive Salad was crunchy and packed a citrus punch – a real palate stunner.

I loved the Mackerel Tartare, lively and bright mackerel combined with a zesty dressing and served with paper thin Carta di Musica with which to scoop it up.

And then came the Venetian speciality – Risi e Bisi, served up by Russell Norman himself.

Risi e Bisi is a traditional feast served when the first of the fresh peas are out and Polpo will be making good use of fresh, local peas at the Wilderness banquet. Not to be confused with its cousin risotto, this rice dish is creamy and more soupy, flavoured with a good stock, parmesan and the peas.

The Lamb & Salsa Verde which followed was perfectly cooked with a tinglingly fresh and herby sauce.

Dishes were well balanced, with light and healthy mackerel cancelling out the carb-heavy rice – well, in my book, anyway. We finished with the lightest, airiest Tiramisu which did, indeed, pick us up.

The Polpo banquet is a very good reason to attend the Wilderness Festival but tickets are almost sold out, so hurry.

The Wilderness Festival is all about pleasing and indulging the senses so you can expect excellent cuisine from top chefs and brilliant new cooks as well as great drinks at every turn. And, of course, all the excitement of midnight circus acts, great bands, ballet, Shakespeare and even talks by Bonnie Greer and Damian Barr. I think it’s the best festival in the country, but I won’t be shouting too loudly about it.

Taste of London 2012 - A Sneaky Preview of Some of this Year's Best Dishes & a Competition to **WIN** a Pair of Tickets to the Show

This year, Taste of London is celebrating what is arguably its best restaurant line-up to date, totalling an impressive eleven Michelin stars.  Chefs from over 40 restaurants will be serving special menus of starter sized tasting plates, including signature dishes specially created for the festival to reflect their philosophy and use of seasonal and premium ingredients.

Over 50,000 visitors are expected in London’s Regent’s Park between the 21st and 24th June 2012  attending what is known today as one of the most respected international food and drinks event spanning 12 cities around the world. In London for the first time, the festival will also feature some renowned international chefs including David Chang of Momofuku fame. So if you ever fancied trying David's legendary noodles but never quite made it to New York City, this is your chance, right here in London!

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to a Taste of London food safari to try some of the dishes that will be on offer at the festival. We kicked off at The River Restaurant in the sumptuous Savoy Hotel, where we had a starter of "Slow Cooked Pork Belly, Prawn Carpaccio with Citrus" which was delicious, and beautifully presented. I enjoyed the different layers of textures and colours in this dish. The pork belly was meltingly tender and contrasted well with the seared, crunchy cucumber.

All wines for this food safari were expertly selected by Neil Phillips, The Wine Tipster. Neil is the Wine Ambassador for Taste of London and Taste of Christmas shows, where he will also be organising the Best in Taste Wine Awards for the Regents Park event. In 2012, Neil is once again Master of Ceremonies at the VIP Party, presenting at Taste of London and, for the first time, presenting at Taste of Edinburgh. I have known Neil for a few years now, and have learnt a great deal about wine from his tutored tastings and wine writing, see the link to his website in my "Wine & Drink Sites I Love".

To match The River Restaurant's pork belly dish, Neil chose a 2010 Alsatian Pinot Gris by Henri Martischang (£13  from www.griiffinwell.com). This gold medal winning wine from the often ignored Alsace region had good richness, balance and crisp acidity to match with slow cooked pork belly. Definitely a style of wine for food matching.

We were then taken to our next stop - Maze - for our main course. Maze is Gordon Ramsay’s stylish and relaxed small-plate take on fine dining, allowing diners to sample a wide variety of dishes. I have been to Maze on a couple of occasions and enjoyed immensely my meals there. This time we were seated by the restaurant's enormous kitchen and could marvel at the army of chefs in action which was fun.

The " Braised Beef Featherblade, Smoked Onion Puree, Shimeji Mushrooms and Togarashi" served to us at Maze was excellent with a melt-in-the-mouth and well seasoned beef accompanied by some familiar Asian ingredients such as meaty shimeji mushrooms and togarashi pepper. A stunning dish, I just wished I could have had seconds!

To partner the braised beef, Neil picked an Uruguayan Tannat - a grape varietal originally from the South West of France but which has become Uruguay's most prominent grape. The Tannat Libero 2010, De Lucca, (£12 from www.winesofuruguay.co.uk) was a well structured wine packed with spice (liquorice), dark fruits (plums) and soft tannins and a hint of chocolate.  A great match with well seasoned, braised beef.

Dessert, a lovely " Soft Chocolate Cake with Crema di Mascarpone" was presented to us at Theo Randall at The Intercontinental. I enjoyed this cake, it was indeed soft with an intense and bitterly sweet flavour from good quality chocolate. The presentation in my opinion was a tad lacking - a dusting of icing sugar and/or a couple of berries would have done wonders to the look of this dish.

The dessert wine, a  2009  Muffato della Sala from Umbria, Italy was beautifully balanced with intense flavours of barley sugar and honey and with delicate acidity. Made from Sauvignon Blanc, Traminer and Riesling, it was an excellent match to Theo's rich chocolate cake.

If my experience at this food safari is anything to go by, I would thoroughly recommend visiting Taste of London this year, and trying all the dishes I have experienced. You can learn more about Taste of London as well buy tickets for this event by visiting the website here. 

Alternatively, for a chance to WIN a pair of tickets to Taste of London and a bottle of premium Kentucky Bourbon, kindly sponsored by the good people of Maker's Mark, please try your luck by entering the competition below.

HOW TO ENTER THIS COMPETITION

To enter the Maker's Mark Competition for a pair of tickets for Friday, 22nd June 2012, for Taste of London and a bottle of Maker's Mark, simply leave a comment in this post stating your NAME and E-MAIL address as MrBloggs(at)gmail(dot)com by midday on Wednesday, the 20th June 2012. The lucky winner will be randomly selected using random.org and his/her name will be announced via Twitter (follow @thelondonfoodie) at 1pm on that same day. 

To increase your chances of winning (every tweet/retweet will count as an additional entry - up to 3 tweets per follower), follow and tweet me on @thelondonfoodie for @makersmark and @tasteoflondon competition by midday on Wednesday.

If you do not use Twitter, I will also be publishing the winner's name here on Thursday, the 21st June 2012.


The winner of this competition, randomly selected by random.org, was Kirsty W (@wooki481) - Kirsty won via her 2nd Twitter entry (doubled her chances of winning). Thank you Kirsty for your tweet and for entering this competition. Makers Mark will be contacting you to arrange delivery of your tickets and your bottle of Maker's Mark.

PLEASE NOTE - you must be over 18 years old to enter this competition.

WIN TICKETS TO TASTE OF LONDON 2011!

S.Pellegrino, Taste's official water partner, will be holding a series of Trilogy Masterclasses (Food, Wine and Water Matching) at Taste of London 2011. These exciting trilogy sessions will be headed by Neil Philips, the S. Pellegrino UK Ambassador, who will reveal how to make the most of food, wine and water matching whether you are putting a menu together at home or selecting them in a restaurant.

René Redzepi, head chef of Noma (the World’s Best Restaurant), will be joining Neil Philips in one of these sessions on Thursday, 16th June 2011 for a Wine and Water matching master class with focus on French wines followed by a special Q&A session.

S. Pellegrino has kindly donated two evening tickets for readers of The London Foodie for Thursday, 16th June 2010 (please note these will give you access to the Taste of London show, but not for the S. Pellegrino Masterclass). For a chance to win a pair of these tickets, all you need to do is leave a comment with your name and e-mail address (johnAThotmailDOTcom) in this post. The lucky winner will be randomly selected on Sunday, 12th June 2011 at midday and his/her name will be published here.


Of the 39 eligible entries, the winner of this competition who was randomly selected via random.org, was entry 29 - Kate Sinclair. Well done Kate, thank you for entering the competition, I will be contacting you to let you know how you should collect your tickets. 

***Win One of Two Pairs of Tickets to Real Food Festival ***

Good Food Would Choose Bordeaux is an advertising campaign launched by the Bordeaux Wine Council in 2010. Specifically developed for the UK market the campaign aims to demonstrate the relationship between Bordeaux wines and food, be it Haute Cuisine, or a simple home cooked meal.

Bordeaux Wines will be at the Real Food Festival in London's Earls Court between the 5th and 8th May 2011, and will be linked with a number of food events at the Festival. These include talks on food and wine matching after each demonstration at the Chef Demo Theatre, as well as sponsorship of a pop-up restaurant at the VIP Marquee.

To assist in this worthy campaign, The London Foodie was offered two pairs of tickets for the Real Food Festival to give away for readers by Bordeaux Wines.


The winners of this competition are entrants number 7 and 20, Lina and Madelene. The PR Agency for Bordeaux Wines will contact you to arrange delivery of your tickets (one pair each).For a chance to win a pair of tickets for Friday, Saturday or Sunday (6th - 8th May), all you need to do is leave a comment with your NAME and E-MAIL address in this post (luizharaAThotmailDOTcom) with your choice of date. The winners will be randomly selected  on the 3rd May at midday and his/her name will be published here.

***Win One of 5 Pairs of Tickets to Taste of Christmas***

Another day, another give away at The London Foodie. It's really starting to feel like Christmas now! Today, I have 5 pairs of tickets to give away for the Taste of Christmas taking place at the Excel Centre this weekend from Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th December 2010.

Twelve top London restaurants will be at the show serving some of their 2010 signature dishes including Modern Pantry, The Cinnamon Club and Benares. There will be a Taste Theatre with cookery demonstrations by some top chefs, as well as the opportunity to taste or purchase gourmet food and drink for your Christmas table.

For a chance to win a pair of tickets worth £38, all you need to do is leave a comment with your NAME and E-MAIL address in this post. The lucky winner will be randomly selected tomorrow, Thursday, the 2nd December 2010 at 3pm and his/her name will be published here.

The five lucky winners were randomly selected by random.org - out of 15 entries these are:

Carla, Anna, Jolene, Rob and Montserrat.

Congratulations! Have a lovely time at the festival, and do let me know what you think! Thanks for entering the competition, your tickets will be available at the entrance.

The tickets will be available at the door for collection and are valid for either Friday, Saturday or Sunday. For more information about Taste of Christmas, opening times, exhibitors and much more, visit the website here.

Merry Christmas!

Win One of 10 Pairs of Tickets to MasterChef Live and The Wine Show – A Must Visit for Lovers of Food and Wine

To celebrate MasterChef Live’s return to Olympia for its second year, The London Foodie has TEN pairs of tickets to give away worth £41 per pair – and this year it includes entry to The Wine Show too!

Many MasterChef celebrities are taking part including John Torode, Gregg Wallace, Dhruv Baker and this year’s Celebrity MasterChef winner Lisa Faulkner. Rick Stein and James Martin will be cooking live at the show in the Chefs’ Theatre. MasterChef Live will also host a speciality market with over 120 producers from all over the UK. Slow Food, Great Taste and Foodloversbritain.com will all have a collection of the best producers of artisan food and drink.

New this year, MasterChef Live runs alongside The Wine Show where you can learn how to choose wines in tasting sessions at the Drinks Tasting Theatre with experts including Oz Clarke and Tim Atkin.

For more information about MasterChef Live and The Wine Show click here.

How to enter the competition - leave a comment in this post with your full name and e-mail if I haven't already got it, and stating your preferred date: 12th November (Friday) or 14th November (Sunday).

The 10 lucky winners will be randomly selected using random.org and their names will be announced on Monday, 8th November at midday, so keep your eyes peeled!

The winners of this competition were randomly selected using random.org and are as follows:

Susan Haddleton @LondonFoodFinds
Roisin (roisin.hanratty@gmail.com)
Jo (jokruczynska@hotmail.com)
charliepoww@aol.com
Matt Heath (Manchild815@hotmail.com)
Ute@HungryinLondon
paul.burrows@clearcast.co.uk
Rick Reiley (rydidian@yahoo.com)
Cooking the Books - becky@thorn.me.uk
jenn-m-w@hotmail.co.uk

PLEASE ENSURE YOUR COMMENT HAS BEEN PUBLISHED IN THE BLOG POST BELOW TO ENTER THIS COMPETITION.

Terms and Conditions: Tickets are general admission only excluding Saturday, Non transferable, non exchangeable for cash. Entries for competition to close by November 8th.

Live Cookery Demonstrations in Covent Garden & a Recipe for The Ivy's Moroccan Spiced Lamb with Fattouche and Houmous

I was invited to a sneaky preview at Le Caprice of what some of London's most celebrated chefs will be rustling up at a series of live cooking demonstrations in Covent Garden Market between 30 September and 16 December 2010.

Top chefs including Gary Lee of The Ivy and Steve Tonkin of Dean Street Townhouse will be showing the tricks of their trade through a series of weekly demonstrations as part of a collaboration between the Caprice Holdings Restaurant Group (of The Ivy and Le Caprice fame) and Covent Garden London.

The live demonstrations will be free of charge and will take place in the North Hall of Covent Garden’s Market building every Thursday at 5:30pm and 6:30pm for thirty minutes.

Some of the dishes being demonstrated will include “Baked Razor Clams with Chorizo and Broad Beans” by Richard Kirkwood of J Sheekey & J Sheekey Oyster Bar on 7^th October, and “Champagne Risotto with Alba Truffles” by Lee Bull of Le Caprice on 11^th November. For a full list of dates, chefs and respective dishes, please see here.

On the evening I visited, Gary Lee (Senior Head Chef of The Ivy) and Iain Graham (Executive Chef of Urban Caprice) showed us how to prepare “Le Caprice’s Spiced Crab with Shrimp and Pea Shoot Salad” and “The Ivy’s Moroccan Spiced Rump of Lamb with Fattouche and Houmous”.

Both dishes were equally delicious but I felt Gary’s lamb was particularly fine, had some great flavours and was easy to prepare. I was given the recipe which I share with you below. Enjoy!

For more information, please visit the Covent Garden London site here.

The Ivy’s Moroccan Spiced Rump of Lamb with Fattouche and Houmous (Serves 2)

Ingredients:

2 rumps of lamb, approximately 200g each, fully trimmed

2 tsp harissa

For the “Houmous”:

100g chickpeas, soaked overnight in cold water

2 cloves garlic, crushed with 1 tsp salt

Juice of 1 lemon

60ml tahini paste, stir well

Salt and pepper

For the “Dukkah” – a blend of spices and nuts:

8 tbsp sesame seeds

4 tbsp coriander seeds

2 tbsp cumin seeds

40g hazelnuts

1 tsp salt

¼ freshly ground pepper

For the “Fattouche” – a rustic salad:

2 tsp sumac (available from Middle Eastern food stores)

¼ tsp allspice

¼ tsp pepper

1 onion, sliced

4 cos leaves, washed and dried

4 radishes, thickly cut

2 large ripe tomatoes, diced

1 large cucumber, largely diced

150g mixed herbs (mint, coriander, parsley), chopped

60ml olive oil

40ml extra virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

½ tbsp balsamic vinegar

Method:

1. To make the “Houmous”: take the soaked chickpeas, and whilst still in the water rub them with your fingers to loosen the skins. These will float to the surface and can be discarded. Place the chickpeas in fresh water and cook for 40 to 60 minutes on the hob until they are tender. Strain them, being careful to retain the cooking liquid. Place the drained chickpeas into a food processor with the crushed garlic, lemon juice, tahini and 2 tbsp of the cooking liquid. Blend until the mixture is smooth, adding more cooking liquid if required, and season. Leave to one side.

2. To make the “Dukkah”: roast or dry fry all the ingredients separately on a baking sheet or frying pan, except for the salt and pepper. If the hazelnuts have skins on them these can be removed after roasting by rubbing with a cloth. Pound the roasted seeds in a pestle and mortar or gently blend them in a food processor, being careful not to over blend them, so that they form an oily paste. Combine the nuts, seeds and salt and pepper, and keep in an air-tight container until ready to serve.

3. In a preheated frying pan, season the rumps of lamb and seal for at least 3 to 4 minutes to ensure all the flavours are locked in and then place in a hot oven. Once cooked (to taste), remove the lamb from the oven, saving the jus to one side. Whilst the lamb is resting, mix together all the ingredients for the “fattouche” salad, ensuring that the herbs are squeezed and covered with the liquid and place in a bowl to be served separately.

4. When ready to serve, place a small amount of harissa onto each plate and a large spoonful of houmous adjacent to it, finish with a drizzle of olive oil. Slice the warm lamb rumps and arrange onto the plate. Sprinkle the lamb with the “dukkah” and finish with a little jus from the meat. Serve with the “fattouche” salad.

5. Enjoy!

Bath Food Festival, Afternoon Tea at the Bath Priory and Italian Lardo!

Bath is a 90 minute train journey from London's Paddington Station, but is to me, a completely different world. A quintessentially English town, Bath has beautifully tended gardens, imposing Georgian houses and impressive crescents. It feels like the perfect setting for one of Jane Austen's many novels, one of Bath's most illustrious residents (Nicolas Cage being another!).

This summer, I was pleased to return to this lovely town to visit its food festival (Bath Food Festival) and to meet "Sam Moody", head chef of The Bath Priory Hotel, who was also doing a cookery demonstration at the festival.

 

Food festivals and markets of this kind are among the most enjoyable ways I find of spending my time (apart from eating of course). I had a great time tasting and purchasing some of the fine merchandise on offer and chatting to a variety of local producers specialising in foodstuffs from cheese to extra virgin rapeseed oil, chutneys and conserves.

Among these producers were Christian and Rebecca, a delightful couple and founders of Bread Tree, a company specialising in the importing niche and relatively unknown products made by Italian artisans.

I bought a large piece of spicy "LARDO" from them - a type of Italian "salume" (charcuterie), lardo is pork fat cured with rosemary and other herbs and spices, and is normally very thinly sliced and served as topping on grilled "bruschetta" bread. It is similar to Sarlo (the Russian equivalent), and it is a real delicacy.

It was great to meet Sam Moody (The Bath Priory's head chef) and see him in action during his cookery demonstration. Sam cooked a delicious risotto made of different types of fish and seafood, herbs including chervil, tarragon and dill and with plenty of mascarpone and parmesan cheese for extra creaminess and flavour. The risotto was beautifully dressed with Richard Vine's seasonal micro herbs and tasted divine.

The star of the show however was his Hinton Estate beef, purchased from Bartlett & Sons butchers in Bath, and cooked at a constant temperature of 48℃ in Sam's sous vide bath (talk about kitchen envy...).

The meat was then carefully browned and served with a medley of pan-fried wild mushrooms including morel and girolle.

I also attended a wine seminar by Neil Phillips (writer of the The Wine Tipster) who was doing a tasting of "Wines of Rioja". Neil is a great speaker and introduced us to a range of different Riojas including a white (2007 Cosme Palacio) and a most sensational 1995 Gran Reserva called Campillo Tinto which is 100% tempranillo.

Our final stop was at The Bath Priory for afternoon tea at one of the town's most elegant hotels and spas. Sue Williams (our host and the hotel's general manager) gave us a little tour of this luxury, boutique hotel before showing us into the sitting room.

Winner of a Gold Award as the Best Small Hotel in 2009/10, The Bath Priory is a haven of tranquillity and good taste. It is a privately owned and relatively small hotel which feels more like a stately home than a hotel.

The dainty sandwiches, cakes and scones were freshly baked on the premises and tasted delicious @ £17.50 including a tea of choice.

We were also served a lovely sausage roll, and as an extra dessert, panna cotta topped with jam and berries.

I thoroughly enjoyed my day in Bath, and look forward to returning in 2011 for more Bath Food Festival, afternoon tea at The Bath Priory Hotel and Italian lardo! Many thanks to Syamala of Sauce Communications and to Sue Williams of The Bath Priory for being the perfect hosts.