Food and Beer Pairing Masterclass at Belgo

Another season, another food festival at Belgo restaurants. In June I reviewed the great value Lobster Fest at Belgo Centraal (here), and this month I went back for their "Wednesday Night Pilgrimage" - a beer and food pairing masterclass in celebration of Oktoberfest.

Hosted by a "Master of Beer", every Wednesday at 7pm during the month of October, the sessions are a communal affair, with seats allocated on long tables - a great opportunity to meet other beer and food lovers. "Pilgrimages" cost £33 which include a 3 course menu, with each course paired to specially selected beer from Belgo's cellar of Trappist brews, Abbey and Lambic beers.

This excellent value menu has three choices of starters, main courses and desserts. I was fortunate to be able to sample most of the dishes on the "Pilgrimage" menu during my visit. Starters include "Parsnip and Ginger Soup", paired with Jupiler Pilsner, which I found deliciously spicy and well seasoned, and "Moules Mariniere" - mussels steamed with cream, white wine, garlic, celery and onion and matched with Belgo Witbier which was my favourite.

The "Champagne, Duck and Truffle Terrine", served with onion and plum chutney and paired with De Kloninck Blonde, was also good but in my opinion was the weakest of the three choices.

I adore mussels and unsurprisingly, my favourite main course was the "Moules Portugaises" which was paired with Bruges Zot Blonde. This was a delicious dish of mussels and roast chorizo in a tomato, garlic, olive oil and paprika sauce with new potatoes and basil. I loved the combination of meat and seafood, so characteristic of Portuguese cuisine (Pork and Clams from Alentejo being one of my favourite Portuguese dishes).

Another excellent main course was the "Beef Carbonnade" perfectly matched with the heavily yeasty Witcap Stimulo. The beef had been slowly braised in Faro beer, nutmeg and brown sugar, and was richly flavoured and tender.

The vegetarian choice for main course was "Mushroom Bouchee", a dish made of puff pastry case filled with wild mushrooms in an Orval Beer and truffle cream sauce with asparagus spears and button onions. The combination of pastry, mushroom and cream was heavenly and went well with the pairing of Palm Amber beer. This was my favourite beer of the evening with a lovely toasty malt aroma and hints of bitter orange on the palate.

Desserts include "Poached Pear" in raspberry beer served with lemon sorbet and matched with Floris Apple beer, "Belgium Chocolate Pudding", paired with Westmalle Double (rich and complex with a fresh bitter finish), and "Belgium Waffle" served with chocolate sauce and Mort Subite Gueuze as the beer of choice.

In my opinion, the waffle was the most interesting of the three desserts - it was deliciously light but with an intense vanilla flavour which went well with the chocolate ice cream and the unfiltered lambic beer.

If you would like to book a place in this beer and food pairing masterclass, quote "Wednesday Night Pilgrimage" when booking.

In addition, all Belgo restaurants will be offering two buckets of Belgian beer throughout Oktoberfest, each comprising four bottles served on ice for £15:

Bucket 1: Floris Apple, Mongozo Banana, Floris Krierk (cherry), Floris Mango

Bucket 2: Delirium Nocturnum (9%), Delirium Tremens (9%), Floris Framboise, Floris Wit Blanche.

Cost: £33 for a three course meal including 3 beers matched to the food, this is very good value.

Likes: good value meal, excellent range of Belgian beers, moules frites.

Dislikes: I was not hugely impressed with the dessert choices, and the restaurant can get very noisy with West End drinkers in part because of the low ceilings and arches.

Verdict: I thought this was another excellent value deal by Belgo, and a great way to experiment with "Cuisine a la Biere" (food marinated, cooked or flavoured with beer) and the pairing of beer and food.

 

Brazilian TV Interview - A Gastronomia de Londres

TV Record - "Passaporte Hoje em Dia"

I was interviewed by Cris Flores, presenter of "Passaporte Hoje em Dia" of the Brazilian channel "TV Record" in London, and had the pleasure of introducing her to one of my favourite London Supper Clubs - Fernandez and Leluu.

The feature was called "A Gastronomia de Londres" and was organised by Mitsi Goulias, the PR manager for Visit Britain in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Despite being incredibly nervous, it was a lot of fun meeting Cris - we filmed for about 6 hours for a 9-minute feature, and I was amazed to see how natural and engaging Cris was even when we had to repeat the same scene 3 or 4 times.

The programme was aired in Brazil in October 10 and you can watch it below in Portuguese.

Many thanks to Mitsi of Visit Britain, Cris and her fun crew, and to Uyen and Simon for the wonderful food, and for being the perfect hosts as always.

WSET Advanced Certicate Course – Week One – “Course Induction and Tasting Techniques”

I have always been interested in wine and used to go to the Dulwich Wine Society for many years whilst living in South London.  Lately, I felt it was time to learn a little more about it and in a more structured way, and so decided to join the Advanced Certificate Course of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET).

To be eligible for this course, an online exam containing 50 multiple choice questions (based on the intermediate course) must be taken in 45 minutes and a score of 65% achieved. The test is not particularly difficult for anyone who has an interest in wine and wine regions, and I was lucky enough to pass it without taking the beginners or intermediate classes.

The course will run for 15 weeks every Tuesday. Our first class was on 5th October 10, at the WSET on Bermondsey Street and was led by the course organizer Michael Buriak. Michael was knowledgeable and rather entertaining in his explanations of the course syllabus and the WSET 'Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine'. 

This is an internationally recognised method for describing wines, with comments on the appearance of the wine, the nose, the palate, and conclusions including the quality, price category (inexpensive=£5.99 or less, mid price=£6.00-£9.99, high price=£10 to £14.99, premium=£15 or more), and readiness for drinking. 

These were discussed at some length as shown by our first four wines below. These tasting notes mean little to anyone unfamiliar with these wines but they help to illustrate the systematic approach used by WSET for tasting wines.

1.  Muscadet sur Lie

Appearance: clear, pale, lemon coloured

Nose: was clean, youthful, with green apple and lemon characteristics

Palate:  dry, high in acidity, with citrus and floral characteristics

Conclusions: Good quality, mid-priced, and ready to drink now.

2.  Tokay 5 Puttonyos 2000 Vintage

Appearance: clear, deep amber

Nose: clean, pronounced, fully developed, apricot, fig, honey, marmalade

Palate: sweet, high acidity, no tannin, high alcohol, full bodied, pronounced flavour intensity, apricot, tangerine and honey flavours, long finish

Conclusion: Outstanding quality, premium price, ready to drink now, but can improve with ageing.

3.  Beaujolais

Appearance: clear, medium intensity, purple

Nose: clean, youthful, raspberry, red plum and red cherry

Palate: dry, high acidity, low tannin, medium alcohol, red fruit flavours, medium length

Conclusion: good quality, mid-price, ready to drink now, and will not improve with ageing.

4. Rioja Gran Reserva 1999

Appearance:  Clear, medium intensity, garnet

Nose: clean, medium intensity, fully developed black cherry fruit,with spice, oak and cedar notes

Palate: dry, medium acidity, tannin and alcohol, black fruit, spice and cedar, medium to long finish

Conclusion: very good quality, premium price, ready to drink now and will not improve

These four contrasting wine styles were intended to introduce us to the range of descriptors conveyed by the standard WSET vocabulary.  Over the coming weeks, we look forward to using them with increasing rigour and to describe wines in a fairly objective, unfussy and unpretentious language, and sharing the wines we taste whenever we are told their provenance (we were not on this first tasting). 

Week 2: Wine Making!

Little Dudley House in Dorking, Surrey

Distance is not an obstacle when it comes to finding some top nosh, and to that end, I am more than happy to venture beyond the reaches of my Oyster card. The historic town of Dorking, twenty five miles away from London, recently proved to be one of these newly found foodie destinations. A 50-minute train journey from London's Waterloo (quicker than it takes me to get to some parts of West London from my home in Islington), Dorking is a small and prosperous Surrey town, but most importantly it is also home to "Little Dudley House".

(Picture Courtesy of Little Dudley House)

Built in 1733, the building has been sympathetically refurbished, its interior showing an elegant contrast of modern and traditional styles, with exposed beams and brickwork in the bar and dining areas, and a stunning glass conservatory towards the back of the building which opens up to an outside space.

I was invited to Little Dudley House alongside Eduardo Sant'Anna owner of Start Space by Tony Austin, the restaurant's general manager, for their Autumn 2010 Food and Wine Showcase.

This included eight dishes from the new seasonal menu accompanied by a selection of wines from the re-launched wine list, specially chosen by The Vineyard in Dorking. The event was open to the public and was priced at £55 for eight courses including wine, which I believe to be outstanding value.

The restaurant's a la carte menu is predominantly British, with seasonal ingredients and reassuringly short. Most main dishes are reasonably well priced at between £12 and £18 and include "Beer battered fish, chips, minted peas and tartare sauce" @ £12, "Whole grilled lemon sole, herb butter, samphire and new potatoes" @ £18, or a "Whole baked lobster, hand cut chips and garlic butter" @ £28. The selection of steaks, all served with thriced cooked chips, is also noteworthy particularly for the 42 day aged 12 oz Cote de Boeuf Steak priced @ £20.

On the evening I visited, we were presented with 3 different "flights" or 8 tasting courses in total. "Flight One" included some of the new starters on the menu such as "Curried cauliflower soup with apricot puree" @ £6 (paired with Estrella Damm Inedit beer from Spain) and "Rope-grown Scottish mussels with leeks, bacon and a cider cream sauce" @ £8 (matched with a South African Chenin Blanc from Jordan) which were both excellent.

The best starter in my opinion was the "Venison Carpaccio with horseradish creme fraiche and bramble jelly" @ £9, served with a fruity Chilean Pinot Noir from Nostros. I enjoyed the delicate game flavour of the paper thin slices of venison against the spiced crème fraiche and felt that @ £9, this was also excellent value.

"Flight Two" presented three new main courses including "Lemon sole fillet and lobster Mousseline with parsley sauce" (paired with an outstanding Spanish Albarino from Martin Codax Rias Baixas), "Duck breast with roasted foie gras, fresh blackberry and Cassis sauce" and " Rump steak with a black pepper corn sauce". Despite being a real steak fanatic (and Little Dudley House's was tip top) I felt that the duck had the most interesting flavours in this flight.

"Fight Three" was a delicious medley of warm desserts including "Rice pudding with mulled wine and poached damsons (served with a delightful South African muscatel from Graham Beck Rhona) and "Chocolate fondant served with Horlicks ice-cream. The chocolate and ice cream combination worked very well together and were the perfect match to the black muscat "Quady Elysium" (a sweet red wine) from the USA.

The event drew in a mix of influential people from the food and wine industry including Karen Barnes, editor of Delicious Magazine, Lucy Taylor, Head of Restaurant Relations for Toptable, Ralph Hochar of Chateau Musar (maker of some of my favourite wines) and Adrian White, owner of Denbies, the largest vineyard in the UK on the outskirts of Dorking.

Despite my total lack of celebrity awareness, I was thrilled to see some familiar faces from TV like celebrity chef Valentina Harris, the BBC News reader Jan Leeming and Aggie MacKenzie of How Clean is your House? Valentina was very friendly and approachable, but I spent most of the evening talking to Jan Leeming, a fascinating woman with many stories to tell and who also turned out to be a great dancer.

(Picture Courtesy of Surrey Times)

After dinner, Lucy, Jan, Eduardo and I danced the night away at Little Dudley House before making our way back to London. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit, the food and wine pairings were excellent and I look forward to returning sometime soon.

Cost: The London Foodie was a guest of Little Dudley House. I estimate that a three course meal at this restaurant will cost around £30 excluding drinks.

Likes: The "Light Meals" section of the menu includes choices such as their home-made burger with thriced cooked chips @ £9, as well as other options priced between £6 and £18 and are excellent value. The wine list is impressive, particularly for their eclectic choice of sparkling wines, including Millesime 2006 from Miolo, my favourite Brazilian winemaker from Vale dos Vinhedos.

Dislikes: None.

Verdict: Little Dudley House is a British restaurant serving good quality, reasonably priced food and drinks in very elegant surroundings. My place of choice whenever in Surrey. Highly recommended.

Win a 3-course lunch meal for two worth up to £200 at Arbutus this Sunday 10-10-10!

The good people from American Express have offered me a 3-course lunch for two worth up to £200 at Arbutus on 10th October 2010 to give away as prizes. Arbutus' head chef Anthony Demetre has teamed up with Tom Kerridge from The Hand and Flowers in Marlow for their stunning London Restaurant Festival menu which you can now win and try for yourself!

Arbutus, opened in 2006, was the creation of Anthony Demetre and Will Smith who have worked together since 1998 at the L'Odeon in Piccadilly and then at the Putney Bridge Restaurant where Anthony achieved a Michelin Star.

The Hand and Flowers gained one Michelin Star, 3 AA Rosettes and one Egon Ronay Star in the first year after opening in 2005. Tom was previously head chef at Adlards in Norwich (one Michelin star), and senior sous chef at Monsieur Max in Hampton (which also had one Michelin star). Before then, Tom cooked at London restaurants including Odette's, Rhodes in the Square, Stephen Bull and The Capital.

All you need to do to enter the competition for this fantastic prize is to answer this simple question:

Name one of the chefs that is participating in American Express 10-10-10.

1. Leave a comment on this blog post by midday on Friday 8th October 2010 with an answer to the above question.

PLEASE ENSURE YOUR COMMENT HAS BEEN PUBLISHED IN THE BLOG POST BELOW BEFORE E-MAILING ME AS AN E-MAIL WITH YOUR ANSWER AND DETAILS ONLY WILL NOT BE ENOUGH FOR ENTERING THIS COMPETITION.

2. In addition to leaving a comment on this blog post, you also need to contact me via The London Foodie's Contacts Page to give me your email address. Should you win, Amex will contact you directly with final confirmation and details (But still leave a comment on this blog post with your answer.).

The lucky winner will be chosen at random and will be announced after noon on Friday 8th October 2010 on this blog, so keep your eyes peeled!

THE LUCKY WINNER WAS RANDOMLY SELECTED BY RANDOM.ORG AND WAS NUMBER 31 "JOHN T". CONGRATULATIONS JOHN T, AMERICAN EXPRESS WILL CONTACT YOU TODAY WITH YOUR CONFIRMATION AND FINAL DETAILS OF YOUR PRIZE.

Further details from Amex can be found below.

Win a meal for two at this years most exclusive London food event, thanks to American Express®

American Express 10-10-10 is a landmark culinary event that’s been created in celebration of the partnership between the London Restaurant Festival and American Express.

Taking place on 10 October 2010, American Express 10-10-10 will see ten celebrated chefs from outside London joining forces with ten of their equally renowned London peers to offer a unique collaborative menu for Sunday lunch.

Pairings include Michelin Two Star chef Claude Bisi at Hibiscus with Alain Roux at The Waterside Inn in Berkshire and Michelin One Star chef Anthony Demetre at Wild Honey with Tom Kerridge at The Hand and Flowers in Marlow. American Express Cardmembers can book by calling one of the ten participant restaurants, mentioning American Express 10-10-10 and that they are a Cardmember.

The London Foodie has teamed up with American Express to offer you the chance to win a three course lunch for two at the participating restaurant Artubus with head chef Anthony Demetre and Tom Kerridge from The Hand and Flowers in Marlow teaming up on Sunday 10th October.

London Restaurant Festival is a citywide celebration of eating out, designed to showcase London's extraordinarily diverse and exciting range of restaurants. From 4-18 October 2010 food lovers can explore some of the capital’s finest cooking, from its high-profile Michelin-starred restaurants to coveted neighbourhood bistros.

The event forms part of American Express’ Access Programme, which provides Cardmembers with exclusive offers to a host of cultural events and beyond helping you to create some truly memorable moments.

To find out more, go to londonrestaurantfestival.com .

Terms and Conditions:
 • The prize includes a lunch for two at Artubus on the 10th October
 • Cost of meal is capped at £200 for two people inclusive of drinks
 • Accommodation and travel are NOT included
 • The prize is non refundable and non-transferable. There is no cash   alternative.
 • Standard publication Terms and Conditions apply

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!