Checkout (9th edition – May 2012)
The hot dog android was working out perfectly…
Street Feast night market, Brick Lane
A new Friday night food market at the Sclater Street Car Park, the site of a former Victorian bird market off Brick Lane, with eight of London’s best street food sellers including Big Apple Hot Dogs, The Rib Man (whom we’ve been dying to visit for some time), Home Slice and Kimchi Cult. Molly Bakes is also there for something sweet, with cocktail themed cupcakes! There is a fully licensed cocktail bar and street artists making live artwork, open from 5pm to midnight. It also features London’s first private dining room in a street market – The Car Wash Dining Room – set in an ‘in use’ car washing area complete with canopy that we’ve borrowed for the market. Waiters are on hand to pick up any chosen dishes you’d like from the traders alongside any cocktails, beer and wine from the bar whilst you can sit and relax with your friends in a partially enclosed area.
Booking in advance is essential on the website.
All enquiries and bookings must be made in advance by email: hello@streetfeastlondon.com or by calling: 07716 122 283
Follow them on Twitter
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Cocktails so strong that it’s advised to have protective eyewear!
Taste of London Restaurant Festival
Jamie Oliver will be joining a collection of world-class chefs at this summer’s Taste of London restaurant festival at London’s Regent’s Park between 21 and 24 June. Jamie said: “London is without doubt the best city in the world for people looking to taste quality cuisine from across the globe. All eyes will be on the capital this summer so of course I’m looking forward to serving up a flavour of what makes Britain great at this year’s Taste of London restaurant festival.”
Jamie will be joining internationally celebrated chefs including the likes of Nuno Mendes, David Chang and Bruno Loubet to name just a few. Jamie will be appearing at the festival on Friday 22nd June and will be showcasing his famous Great British dishes. With a total of 11 Michelin stars with a line up including Le Gavroche, Gauthier Soho, Rhodes 24, Club Gascon, Petrus, Maze, Benares and Tamarind. The Event is also proud to support The Jamie Oliver Foundation, a charity designed to educate, empower and inspire people to make better food choices.
Reserve your ticket now at www.tastefestivals.com/london.
Pre purchased Ticket Prices
Standard (entry only) £24.00
Child (entry only) £12.00
Premium (entry + £20 of Crowns) £40.00
VIP (fast track entry + VIP area, glass of champagne & £20 of Crowns) £60.00
Laurent-Perrier Masterclass (VIP benefits plus entry to one LP Masterclass) £80.00
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The family taste testing was a success, but which one did we choose?
And the winner is…
New kid on the olive oil block
Hojiblanca Extra Virgin Olive Oil is unlike blended extra virgin olive oils, which are created from a mix of different olive varieties. From Andalusia in Spain it is created using only the eponymous olive variety Hojiblanca – meaning ‘white leaf’ – so that it has a smooth, distinctive, high-quality taste and an extremely low acidity, guaranteed to be less than 0.3% (against a maximum of 0.8% for all extra virgin olive oils). Bright green in colour with a smooth ripe flavour. We were told that Cretan olive oil is the best in the world whilst we were there, so have been buying that ever since, apart from when my dad’s girlfriend’s gives us some of her amazing homemade Sicilian olive oil. We are buying more and more extra virgin olive oil, but we still tend to keep it for special occasions because of its high price tag. However, at just £3.49 for 500ml, Hojiblanca is affordable enough to be an everyday product.
Available now available in the UK in selected Tesco stores nationwide, with an RRP of £3.49 for 500ml.
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Tim always cooks with a Citroen behind him…
Hubble bubble…
Tim Anderson cooks for the Delicious by DS5 restaurant in association with FareShare and Citroen
Masterchef 2011 winner Tim (read our interview with him here) has creating a special five-course tasting menu based on the five senses which was served at a secret pop-up restaurant tucked away near Liverpool St in London open from the 16th to the 19th of May. Customers paid just £5 per head for the meal with all the proceeds going to a brilliant cause – FareShare. FareShare are about tackling food poverty by tackling food waste, they redistribute surplus goods from the food and beverage industry which has lost its commercial value, to over 35,000 people in need across the UK on a daily basis. We were delighted to go along on the opening night and were totally blown away by the technical ability of Tim’s cooking. We particularly liked ultra rare aged beef and the ‘smoking’ dessert.
Find out more here, and gawp at the galleries and videos of the food!
Food for all senses… Feel, see, taste, hear and smell
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The shipping containers look good… Not too sure on the waiting staff though?
We hope they’ll be serving their famous churros!
The Wahaca Southbank Experiment & Wahaca sauces
At the beginning of July there will be a temporary new Wahaca perched next to Southbank Centre alongside Waterloo Bridge where Dishoom’s Chowpatty Beach stood last year. The Southbank Centre have invited them to join them as part of this summer’s Festival of the World, a three month-long celebration of art installations and events. They’ve said they can stay for as long as it takes them to decide what to do with the space next, which could be 18 months, or it could be longer. Wahaca Southbank will be built from eight recycled shipping containers with a cantilevered hanging bar space. When they do move on, all they have to do is pick the shipping containers up, and set them up somewhere else. Cool huh? There will be a chance for you to try out some new dishes. Thomasina Miers has already been up to her elbows in new recipes specifically for this site following her recent trip to Mexico and LA, and she will also be joined by guest chefs, invited to help develop other new dishes for the Southbank menu.
Follow them on Twitter for updates or read their blog
Mexico in a bottle (Almost a Police song)
They have also launched their own range of sauces, co-Founder and another former BBC Masterchef Winner, Thomasina Miers, has specially created this range of chile sauces to suit all taste buds; showing that chile sauces are full of flavour and not just about their heat.
Smoky Chipotle Chile Sauce – a medium hot chile sauce with smoked paprika and cumin. This smoky salsa is perfect for stews, burgers, beans and bangers.
Fiery Habanero Chile Sauce – a hot chile sauce with honey, garlic and ginger. These sauces make an ideal marinade for meat or fish, as well as adding sparkle to tacos, tostadas and jacket potatoes.
Hot Chile de Arbol Sauce – pure heat in a bottle. This searingly hot chile sauce, with roasted garlic, allspice and cumin, is ideal for splashing liberally on tacos, pasta or cheese on toast. As well as being the perfect partner for a spicy Bloody Mary.
Wahaca Chile Sauces will be available at a selection of leading supermarkets nationwide. Priced from £1.99.
For specific stockist details, please visit www.wahaca.co.uk
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Perfect gift for a perfect Dad…
Whisky enthusiasts Father’s Day gift
The makers of Talisker whisky have created the perfect way to sample their award-winning malt… A striking special edition of the Talisker 10-year-old 20cl, which comes with a brilliant little Talisker rocking glass and a hip flask. Made on the shores of the Isle of Skye, this smokey, full-bodied whisky can be drunk anywhere, either at home, or sipped from the stylish hipflask when enjoying the great outdoors. Available from John Lewis and all major whisky specialists and at £25.00 it makes a fab Father’s day gift
Other whisky brands great for Father’s Day gifts include…
• Single Malt Whisky Flavour Map Gift Pack (Stockists: Whisky Specialists, RRP: £14.95)
• The Singleton® of Dufftown two glass gift pack (Stockists: Independent Retailers, RRP: £30.49)
• Johnnie Walker® Celebration Pack (Stockist: Waitrose, RRP: £27.99)
• Johnnie Walker® Black Label Glass Gift Pack (Stockists: Whisky Specialists, RRP: £29.95)
• Johnnie Walker® Black F1 Pack (Stockist: Sainsbury’s, RRP £26.99)
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Who’s your favourite?
(COMP CLOSED) WIN TICKETS! Gino & James at the Gloucester Quays food festival ’12
www.gloucesterquaysfoodfestival.co.uk
The Gloucester Food Festival is back for its second year at Gloucester Quays with it’s free food festival from 20-22 July featuring the usual crowd-pleasing suspects Gino & James plus live music, demos and over 60 food stalls. Although entry to the Festival is free including Phil’s cookery demonstrations For those wanting to see Gino D’Acampo and James Martin the organisers are urging people to book before the event to guarantee a seat. They cost just £7 and can be booked online at www.gloucesterquaysfoodfestival.co.uk or at the Gloucester Quays Outlet customer service desks. “I can’t wait to see everyone again – we had so much fun last year” says Gino “I’ve got some new tricks up my sleeve and some tasty new dishes to serve up this year using fresh ingredients from Gloucestershire and far-flung shores so I hope you can make it!”
To find out more, head over to their site and read our review from last year here
We have two pairs of tickets to give away, just answer the following question:
What two foods can’t Gino D’Acampo stand? Read our interview with him here for the answer. Send your answer to welovefoodcomps@btinternet.com
Competition closes on Sunday 27th May. (Transport/accommodation costs are NOT included with prize)
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Never mind the cockles…
God Save The Clam
God Save The Clam is a punk inspired British interpretation of the Clam Bake in honour of the Queen’s Jubilee weekend. Combining the culinary skills of barbecue king Tom Adam from the Pork-famous Pitt Cue Co and foraging seafood lover Carl Clarke from Rock Lobsta and the English Launderette, sand buckets of finger-licking clams, cockles, mussels, crayfish and crab claws will be dished up alongside some seriously tasty sides. Meantime beer will be the host beer at the Banshee bar alongside a selection of premium Jose Cuervo traditional tequila cocktails (the rebel spirit!) to the backdrop of a royally hot DJ line up, beach huts, sun deck, ice cream bar and one of the best views this side of Margate. “This is going to be a great event and we love a party, so we’re doing this for purely shellfish reasons” Pitt Cue Co
Anarchy will be reigned in temporarily for diners to enjoy a cocktail or beer, starter, Clam Bake and ice cream sundae all included in the ticket price. For those just grazing the Shack Snack Bar will be open to all, no booking required, serving a selection of corn dogs, Po Boy pork n shrimp sandwiches and blue lobster and crackling popcorn aka Smurf n Turf. The Banshee Bar will be keeping everything afloat with some lively fresh fruit margaritas and Glyn’s Sundae Bar plays host to the Fat Elvis, inspired by the self-starring movie The Clam Bake, a reworked PB& J with bacon alongside the Strawberry Shortcake, a twisted Screwball classic.
To wish the Queen a very happy 60’th Birthday, God Save The Clam has pulled out all the stops with a stonking DJ line-up that includes the legend that is Don Letts, Jon Kahuna, Sophie Lloyd, Johnny Dropjaw, Soul Jazz records and Gizzi Erskine. Post Clam-Bake each evening will turn into a roof top beach-style sundowner, minus the sandy drawers..
Open for business: Thursday 31st May to Sunday 3rd June (Queens’ Diamond Jubilee Weekend)
Opening times for Dining: Open for lunch from 12 – 3pm. Dinner from 6pm – 11pm
Opening times for the Snack Shack & Banshee Bar: Thurs 31st 6-11pm, 1-3rd June 12pm – 11pm
Tickets: £40 for 3 courses including welcome drink. To be bought ahead on the website
Address: Émigré Studios, 274 Richmond Road, London E8 3QW
Twitter: @GodSaveTheClam
Facebook: www.facebook.com/GodSaveTheClam
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The tables were getting a bit saucy while the bar was well cheesed off!
A Very British Menu from the Fox & Anchor, Smithfields
For proper British grub in a proper British grub, head on down to the Fox, Smithfield where the menu features delights such as “Tucker Browns” black pudding, champ & crispy poached egg £6.95, Scampi & squid in a basket, chips & lemon mayo £12.50. Or how about Bucket of ribs, apple slaw, baked cheddar potato £15.95? A bucket of ribs sounds like a dream. If you’re too full to get home, why not stay the night? We stayed a year ago and it was one of the best rooms we’ve ever had, a real gem. Read our review here.
115 Charterhouse Street, London EC1M 6AA
Email: bookingscentral@hotelduvin.com
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All we need now is for the rain to stop.
Have a Carluccio’s picnic
Yes, we know it’s not quite warm enough yet, but it will be soon… Honest. Carluccios have bought back their trusty hamper, great for if you’re feeling lazy (like us) or want to impress a date. The ‘Classic’ hamper delivers the best Italy has to offer, featuring a complete three course meal for two, from Carluccio’s Antipasti Misti (succulent olives, balsamic onions, roasted peppers and salamis from Napoli and Milano) and Insalata di sgombro affumicato (green leaf, radish, caperberry and smoked mackerel salad with lemon dressing, onto Torta Mediterranea (savoury tarts filled with aubergine, courgette and tomato). This is followed by Pollo al limone e timo (summery chicken supreme served with a refreshing combination of saffron and olive potato salad), and as a real treat, the Torta di cioccolata e lampone (individual tarts with dark chocolate ganache and raspberries) for dessert. Plus, there is even a special edition Carluccio’s chocolate bar to share! Each picnic hamper is priced at £45, serves two, and is packed full of delicious regional Italian dishes, freshly made and presented in a sleek, reusable cool-bag – the only accessory to be seen with this summer! There is even an option for kids too.
Carluccio’s picnics can be pre-ordered 24 hours in advance from your nearest Carluccio’s, or, if you choose it as a last-minute option, the ‘chef’s choice’ will be available on the day.
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One should bow to one’s Royal offering…
A right Royal burger
Gourmet Burger Kitchen who are hugely excited to be launching on May 28th their Windsor Burger – a limited edition burger made with premium beef reared in the grounds of Windsor Castle. It’s an exclusive arrangement between GBK and The Royal Farms and will be served at GBK’s nationwide, served in a toasted brioche bun with mustard mayo on the side.
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‘Tis the season for asparagus
The lovely Secretts farm shop in Surrey is selling great ‘just picked’ asparagus online! They carefully pack the succulent spears, hand tied with raffia, in a robust presentation box, and send it by first class post to the destination of your choice in mainland UK. Ours turned up today in perfect condition and I can’t wait to make this Asparagus al forno with cherry tomatoes & basil recipe I saw by Arthur Potts Dawson on Emerald Street, recipe here. Summer on a plate! Shame our tomatoes aren’t in the garden yet… Farm Fresh Asparagus 450g (min) pack (serves 3-4) £9.99.
The aftermath of the ‘Reds’ v ‘Greens’ turf war wasn’t a pretty sight…
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Look out for our June edition of Checkout
us at welovefood@btinternet.com or message us on our Facebook page
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