September is HONEY MONTH at The St Ermin's Hotel

Me, in my very fetching beekeepers outfit having a fantastic time with the St Ermin's Hotels 200,000 honey bees.

To make a beekeeping booking
please call
Gemma Wren
020 7222 7888

I am rather late in posting this as it is already nearly halfway through September, but as they say better late than never......

The St Ermin Hotel in St James' London has been the proud custodian of several bee hives, for a couple of years now, which are kept on their roof under the watchful eye of Camilla Goddard, who looks after hives all over London and is indeed the person whom the police call if they have been contacted about a swarm. So the St Ermin bees are in expert hands, that was until I had a go.

During the month of September The St Ermin are celebrating all things aviary from cocktails to afternoon tea and indeed they are holding beekeeping workshops. these last two hours and are held on the hotel's wildflower lawn terrace. Camilla gives you a hand on experience with the bees, you are kitted out with a suit, so no need to worry about being stung, and Camilla explains in simple laymans terms on husbandry and the making and collecting of the honey. She is even able to analize the honey to see the sources from which the bees gleaned their nectar from, truly fasanating, and amazing seeing them close up and being able to see them communicate to each other.

The workshops are held every Tuesday during September and start at 14.30

Workshop including a honey cocktail is 15 GBP per person
Workshop including a honey cream tea is 25 GBP per person
Workshop including both honey cocktail and the honey tea 35 GBP per person

They really are great fun and a great way to be introduced to beekeeping, if you are thinking of taking it up... Hurry, whilst space is still available.

Tony Kitous spills the beans

Tony Kitous

Owner of the Lebanese restaurant chain Comptoir Libanais, Levant, Shawa and Kenza

Name

Tony Kitous

Occupation
Owner of the Lebanese restaurant chain Comptoir Libanais, Levant, Shawa and Kenza

What would you like to plug ?
Lebanese food, culture, hospitality and of course my new cookbook “Comptoir Libanais”
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Comptoir-Libanais-Tony-Kitous/dp/1848093934

Name your three dessert island ingredients
Orange blossom water, pommegrate molasses and halloumi cheese

What would I find in your fridge that I might find odd?
Apple molasses (shisha tobacco)

Food stuffs that you would put in room 101
I am too greedy, I love eating anything that is put in front of me. So nothing for Room 101 from me.

What would you like to have for your last supper?
A mezze feast including fattoush salad, halloumi & Zaatar man’ousha, chicken liver in pommegrate molasses, chicken shawarma and a large fruit platter with orange blossom water.

What cook book do you use the most?
Sadly, I never cook from cookbooks. I usually try a dish and then I cook it myself.

Your favourite spice is …..
Zaatar –a blend of spices, dried ground thyme mixed with sumac (dried ground wild berries), roasted sesame seeds and salt and pepper.

Best dinner party guests and what would you cook them?
Alex Ferguson, The Queen, Zinedine Zidane and Bill Nighty
-a whole slow cooked roast lamb

What was your tea time treat as a child?
Freshly made sfinge (savoury Algerian doughnuts)

What was the first thing you learnt to cook?
Chick pea and spicy lamb kofte balls stew.

And what was the first thing you taught your children to cook?
I need to find a wife first before a I can teach my future kids how to cook.

What was your mother’s signature dish, and do you try to copy it?
Stuffed fried sardines with a sardine galette. And yes.

What dish gets you out of a tricky situation with your partner?
A good chocolate cake always works.

What would you say was your most memorable meal?
It has to be a ramadane dinner at the house of the grand parents of one of my close friends in Damascus.

And what would be your biggest disaster?
Haven’t had one yet.

What do you wish you had never eaten, but had to?
Sallied sundried fish (that had been out in the sun for over 45 days). I had to eat it as it was the signature dish of the mother of a close friend of mine.

What do you consider to be the Best of British?
Sunday roast, English breakfast and cottage pies.

What do you think are the best and worst things about London restaurants?
The best thing is that London restaurants have been increasing the variety of dishes and different cuisines they offer.

The worst thing is that due to high living costs and the increasing costs of quality products, sadly, the prices of great meals are getting higher and higher…

In your opinion what do you think will be the next big thing, food wise?
Definitely Lebanese and Middle Eastern food. It has been way too long treated as a hidden gem.

QUICK FIRE ROUND

Favourite tipple
None as I don’t drink.

Favourite restaurant
Al Falamanki (an outdoor restaurant in Beirut reminding me of my childhood)
http://alfalamanki.com/main.php?lang=EN

Nigella or Delia
Love Nigella

Museli or fry up
Museli

KFC or Burger King
Kentucky

Gin or Vodka
Shisha is my vice…

Wine or beer
If I would drink, it would definitely be red wine.

Food Hero
Supermarkets – where would we get our ingredients from if they wouldn’t be around?

Favourite pudding
Osmalya cream is so yummy! It’s the Lebanese equivalent of a mille feuille.

Favourite flavour of ice cream
Peanut butter ice cream.

And finally your top tip for cooking.
Keep the food simple and healthy.

For more information about Tony, Lebanese food and the “Comptoir Libanais” cookbook visit: 

www.TonyKitous.com
www.facebook.com/TonyKitous
www.twitter.com/TonyKitous 

21 Covent Garden

 

21 Covent Garden

London

WC2 8RD

for reservations go to www.21-coventgarden.co.uk

Covent Garden as an area has long been synonymous with the food industry. For long it was the main market in London for fruit and vegetables, brought in from all parts of the world to be distributed all over the country. Going further back, and the clue is in the name, it used to be a Convent Garden, so it is hardly surprising that to this day food is one of the main reasons for going there. The area has undergone a sea change in recent months and is now representative to the whole of London as one of the best places to go and eat. Russell Norman the restaurateur de jour has two restaurants in the area, Polpo and Mishkins and with the opening of a branch of the famed New York restaurant Balthazar; Covent Garden really is the new black as far as eating out is concerned.

There are however many restaurants that have been in the area for far longer, and it would be a great pity not to recognise them as they have been flying the flag for the area long before the new boys hit the area. the one in question is 21 Covent Garden. An Italian restaurant and bar over three floors. The top floor being the print room which is their cocktail bar with terraces over looking the Piazza, over seen by bar manager Luca Saladini who is able to produce award winning cocktails from a tiny bar manned by true professionals with waiting staff , especially Julia Bartnicka, who know every constituent part of each drink off the top of their heads, no mean feat when you see the cocktail list.  The music is loud but not so loud that you can't hear what is being said and was the sort of music everyone knows so not intrusive in any way. I really do take my hat of to them as the place was jumping (in a good way) and the staff there were brilliant. They change the list quite often so, in their back catalogue they will have any drink that you could ever imagine wanting, so just ask and I bet you buttons you will not be disappointed.

A sharing platter from the bar

The food is traditional Italian in execution with a lot of the produce coming in direct from source, so freshness and quality is assured. The kitchen is run by head chef John Nicell with Andreas Viella supporting him. I use the word support advisedly as this kitchen, which is open for all to see, has to be, considering how many customers 21 Covent Garden, one of the smallest restaurant kitchens I have ever seen. That's said they get on with it, in a truly professional way and with the place rammed to the gunnels when we sat down, there was no waiting for the food and all came just the way it had been ordered. Covent Garden being Covent Garden, 21 has prime location on the piazza for people watching. There are two pavement terraces, which are always busy, but what might not be obvious to the passers by is that they also have a fantastically cool (temperature wise) restaurant in the vaults underneath the building.

This space, which was a storage unit when the market was still in use has been transformed into a very intimate area, tables well spaced, as hard as I tried, I could not pick up one word from the neighbouring tables. The space is dark which works just as well in summer as it would in winter, I am reliably told that it traps the heat and makes for a very cosy, romantic destination. It's the sort of place that gets fully booked for Valentines day, way in advance.

A quiet corner in the restaurant

The clientele seemed to be made up from a wide cross section of people from home county ladies having a catch up to a couple of students who were obviously catching up over the escapades of the summer hols. 

There is much to be said for being constant and keeps customers happy, something the new boys on the block could learn. Queueing for a table is at best annoying, something that I didn't see happening here. Also I keep a look out for complaints being made and yet again not one to report. The chaps who own 21 have obviously made a very good choice in appointing Paul Brickel as the general manager. A stalwart of many a busy west end restaurant, he has been able to install in the staff a pride

 in their product and the way I which they work, in what must be, quite a pressured environment.  All carried off with aplomb.

So what I guess I am trying to say is, in a round about way, is. Whilst fanfare openings of new restaurants attract the press and the people who want to be seen, in my experience it is the established restaurant that time and time again offer a consistent package of reliability, maybe not the sexiest word in the world, but when booking a table it is invaluable and in the hands of all the people I have mentioned above you are assured not only of great food and drinks but also a warm welcome and a get bit of advice if you are not sure exactly what you want.

The next time I am passing and see a free table, it's mine, ok?

Bloggerview with Mr Matthew Steeples who spills the beans

Matthew Steeples

Name
Matthew Steeples

Occupation
Editor, The Steeple Times

What would you like to plug?
http://thesteepletimes.com

Name your three dessert island ingredients
Given that there would hopefully be lots of fish to be caught and exotic fruits to harvest, I’d have
to take a limitless supply of No. 3 gin, tonic water and though it’s not an ingredient an absolute
essential would be an ice machine.

What would I find in your fridge that I might find odd?
Wispa chocolate bars.

Food stuffs that you would put in room 101
Peanut butter, artichokes and tofu.

What would you like to have for your last supper?
Snipe on white toast with lots of butter.

What cook book do you use the most?
The world wide web.

Your favourite spice is …..
Naturally, given my love of gin, it has to be juniper.

Best dinner party guests and what would you cook them?
Jamie Oliver’s beetroot salad with cottage cheese, followed by a roasted shoulder of lamb with
spices and couscous, Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding and then lots of English cheeses. We’d begin
with a Negroni or three, G&Ts and a little champagne and then move to a good Chablis followed by a
fine claret.

Spice is the variety of life so if it were to be an imaginary list, I’d have a few of the following: General
Pinochet, Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill, Sara Blakely, Arthur Ransome, Kathy Lette, Steven
Berkoff, Leona Helmsley, Nigel Farage, Martha Stewart, Alan Whicker, Iris Apfel, Norman Balon,
Natalie Massenet, Sir Peter O’Sullevan, Baroness Trumpington, Claus von Bülow, Nancy Wake,
Charlie Richardson, Clare Balding, Lapo Elkann, Rebekah Brooks, Lord Lucan, Anna Wintour, Mary
Frost, Dame Judi Dench, Loyd Grossman, Dame Maggie Smith, Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Winner
and Count Robin de la Lanne-Mirrlees. With such a variety, a few sparks might fly.

What was your tea time treat as a child?
Cheap white toast which I preferred served with Captain Birdseye fish fingers and Heinz tomato
ketchup as a sandwich. Many will be horrified but this is still one of my guilty pleasures.

What was the first thing you learnt to cook?
Roast chicken.

And what was the first thing you taught your children to cook?
I don’t have any children yet but when I do, it’ll have to be roast chicken.

What was your mother’s signature dish, and do you try to copy it?
As I grew up with lots of fish and game around me, both my mum’s salmon and sea trout dishes and
such things as stewed hair were always on the menu. I’d like to say I try and copy such but mine are
never nearly as good.

What dish gets you out of a tricky situation with your partner?
I am single but a hearty lamb hotpot normally cheers up most people when there have been problems.

What would you say was your most memorable meal?
This year, so far, it’s a tie between one at a friend’s house which finished with a visit from the police
and a lunch party that started at 1pm and ended at 1am the next day. That one began at Mari Vanna
and ended in The Rib Room. Lots of horseradish infused vodka was consumed I do believe.

And what would be your biggest disaster?
Managing to spill red wine over Cecil Parkinson at a dinner when I was a teenager.

What do you wish you had never eaten, but had to?
Popcorn. I detest the smell.

What do you consider to be the Best of British?
Meat from Allens of Mount Street.

What do you think are the best and worst things about London restaurants?

The worst things:
1. The increasing prevalence of ones with “no reservation” policies.
2. Menus peppered with spelling and grammatical errors.
3. Amateurs who’ve watched TV shows and therefore think they’re restaurateurs.

The best things:
1. The huge variety of cuisines on offer.
2. The array of talented individuals who create such.
3. The vastly improved quality of ingredients used.

In your opinion what do you think will be the next big thing, food wise?
Anything but restaurants with no reservation policies please.



QUICK FIRE ROUND

Favourite tipple
Gin and tonic. Make mine a No. 3 or a Miller’s Westbourne Strength. Served in a rocks glass, lots of
ice, no lime, no lemon.

Favourite restaurant
It really depends on what mood I’m in but my dependable favourites are The Rib Room at The
Carlton Tower, Chabrot in Knightsbridge, Ziani in Chelsea and

Nigella or Delia
Given that Delia swears a little much and Nigella needs a little less throttling in her life right now, it’ll
have to be Nigella.

Museli or fry up
Fry up. The best one in London is served at Arthur’s Café in Dalston.

KFC or Burger King
I can admit I occasionally have a McDonalds burger with a glass of Chablis. I haven’t been to a KFC or
Burger King for years.

Gin or Vodka
Gin, of course.

Wine or beer
A beer is a good first drink but generally wine.

Food Villain
Food: Delia Smith jointly with Gordon Ramsay.
Drink: Sir Cliff Richard and his ghastly plonk.

Food Hero
Jack O’Shea.

Favourite sweet
I’m not really into sweets but I do enjoy Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding very much.

Favourite flavour of ice cream
Vanilla. I especially like Jude’s.

Favourite ever food advert 
Hovis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=S4tFzuFGUOI#at=17

And finally your top tip for cooking.
Everything’s in the prep.

Samantha Brick spills the French beans

Samantha Brick

Writer

Name

Samantha Brick

Occupation

Writer

What would you like to plug

My Memoir 'Head Over Heels in France: Falling in Love in the Lot' is out now.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Head-Over-Heels-France-Falling/dp/184953392X

Name your three dessert island ingredients

Garlic, butter, onions

What would I find in your fridge that I might find odd?

I store face cream in there…!

Food stuffs that you would put in room 101

Ready meals – there is just no excuse.  

What would you like to have for your last supper?

A Balti curry from one of the little Balti Indian restaurants in my home town of Birmingham.

What cook book do you use the most?

Not a cookbook as such, but in France where I live there’s a wonderfully engaging TV chef called Carinne Teyssandier. She’s not ‘French woman skinny’ either. She cooks on the morning television show and specials such as the Tour de France. She always uses seasonal produce, what she cooks appears dead easy - she’s very inspiring!

Your favourite spice is …..

Fresh chilli

Best dinner party guests and what would you cook them?

My four sisters and I’d cook them steak frites

What was your tea time treat as a child?

Crumpets – yum!

What was the first thing you learnt to cook?

Fairy cakes

And what was the first thing you taught your children to cook?

I taught my teenage stepson to make walnut and banana cake.

What was your mother’s signature dish, and do you try to copy it?

Spag Bol – I now have my own version of it.

What dish gets you out of a tricky situation with your partner?

Cottage Pie – he adores it!

What would you say was your most memorable meal?

My wedding meal in a French village. Two sheep were roasted on a specially erected spit. All of my British guests said it was the best thing they’d ever tasted. It was a wonderful mix of French and Brits diners –I think the hangovers were worth it as everyone still talks about it 5 years later!

And what would be your biggest disaster?

When I was younger there was one restaurant (very trendy, very expensive) I would go to with an ex – every time we went there we argued. I’m convinced there were bad vibes there!

What do you wish you had never eaten, but had to?

Wild boar organs at my first hunt meal. I was obliged to attend as my husband hunts, I was compelled also to eat each course. That was a night I spent heaving in the loos that I won’t forget.

What do you consider to be the Best of British?

Fish and chips! Oh how I miss them living in France…

What do you think are the best and worst things about London restaurants?

The best is the sheer variety – as a student I used to eat at Pollo Bar in Soho in Central London, it was fantastic to be able to eat out well and affordably. The worst? I’m not really into fussy, highfalutin restaurants where I can’t relax –ambience is really important.

  

In your opinion what do you think will be the next big thing, food wise?

Back-to-basics: those classic traditional dishes. There is a staggering lack of understanding about cuts of meat, seasonal vegetables, herbs and spices and what they can each be used for. There will be a retro, romanticism about it too.

QUICK FIRE ROUND

Favourite tipple

Rosé wine (from Colliure)

Favourite restaurant

Auberge de la Place, Cazals, Lot, France

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g1897504-d1897505-Reviews-Auberge_De_La_Place-Cazals_Lot_Midi_Pyrenees.html

Nigella or Delia

Delia

Museli or fry up

Can I have both? Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day.

KFC or Burger King

Neither – eurgh…

Gin or Vodka

Gin

Wine or beer

Wine

Butter or Marg

Butter every time (who on earth uses marg???)

Food Villain

Celebrity Chefs. They make things more complicated than they need to be. 

 

Food Hero

My husband. He (painstakingly) taught me to cook French cuisine –specialising in the south-west traditional dishes.

Favourite pudding

Crème Brulee

Favourite flavour of ice cream

Chocolate

And finally your top tip for cooking.

Simmer! Use the smallest amount of flame under most food to get the best flavour and result. It's the best way to cook most things - unless it's a steak of course...

 

Best breakfast in London. Roast, Borough Market

Marcus Verberne

Head Chef of Roast

The Floral Hall

Stoney Street

London SE1 1TL

for bookings

www.roast-restaurant.com

Getting me anywhere in London before midday is quite an uphill struggle, but when I was asked to go for breakfast at Roast, I somehow managed to set the alarm well before it is used to going off. Now, to be perfectly honest Roast is a place that I had never put with breakfast, what was going to be on the menu? traditional roast with all the trimmings? That I have to say is far from the reality. The place was packed, a feat which some of the more well know places, i.e. the grander hotels would give their hind teeth to have for their breakfast sitting.

To say that they cater for every taste really is for once, the truth. I wouldn't normally show the menu but in this case it does far more justice to the place than mere words. If you cant find something that you like on this menu then really don't go out for breakfast. EVER.

The day I went it was a school day so there was an abundance of suits seemingly having very high powered meetings, yet there were also a lot of tourists filling up for a days sightseeing the local area, The Tate Modern is close by as is The Shard, Souhtwark Cathedral and many many more places of interest.

I really cannot think of a better place to start the day if you are in the area. The service was faultless and they were able to judge if you were in a hurry or there for a relaxing time, something other places are none too good at, so it made the experience all the better.

I found it difficult to find fault in anything, which is unusual, but none the less a fact.

There is one thing on the menu that did stand out, and was truly amazing and that was the bubble and squeak, so good, I would go back for that, although I might ask for a fried egg to top it off.

BREAKFAST BOOSTERS

Roast Smoothie
Banana, milk, cashew nut, vanilla, Himalayan
sea salt 5.50
Pineapple O2
Pineapple, apple, aloe vera, mint5.50
Rise and Shine Bunny
Fresh carrot juice, fresh orange juice ginger
5.50
Popeye Juice
Fresh mint, sliced cucumber, elderflower
cordial and apple juice  5.50
Sweet Sexy Greens 
Cucumber, romaine, pear, celery, broccoli,
spinach, Swiss chard5.50
Wake Up Call Martini
Espresso coffee, coffee liqueur, coconut rum,
vanilla syrup11.00
Breakfast Martini
Classic cocktail with Marmalade, Bombay
sapphire gin, cointreau and fresh lemon juice 11.00
Pimm’s Royal 
Pimm’s liqueur and sparkling wine 14.00
DAILY JUICES 
Orange, apple, pink
grapefruit, tomato,
pineapple or cranberry
Carrot or pomegranate


THE BUBBLY BREAKFAST
Tea or coffee
Large eggs Benedict or Smoked Loch Etive trout with scrambled eggs
Your choice of fresh juice, Buck’s Fizz or Roast ‘Chapter Two’ 2008 Chapel Down
23.50
THE FULL BOROUGH 
Smoked streaky bacon, ‘Roast recipe’ sausages, fried bread, Ramsay of Carluke’s
black pudding, grilled tomatoes, field mushrooms, bubble ‘n’ squeak
and your choice of egg: poached, fried or scrambled 15.00
THE FULL SCOTTISH
Smoked streaky bacon, Ramsay of Carluke’s black pudding and haggis, ‘Roast recipe’
sausages , Lorne sausage,
tattie scone,grilled tomatoes, field mushroom, and your choice of egg: poached,
fried or scrambled 16.50
THE VEGGIE BOROUGH 
Veggie Borough banger, grilled tomatoes, field mushrooms, tattie scone,
wholemeal toast and your choice of egg: poached, fried or scrambled 12.50
3 EGG OMELETTES 
Smoked Scottish ham, Neal’s Yard Cheddar, field mushrooms and herbs 7.50
Smoked Loch Etive trout 9.50
Toasted cottage loaf 2.50 / with a selection of England Preserves jams 3.80
Eggs Benedict 6.50 / 12.00
Eggs royal with smoked Loch Etive trout 8.50 / 16.00
Tattie scone with smoked streaky bacon, field mushrooms and a fried egg 9.00
Cinnamon eggy bread with smoked streaky bacon and bananas roasted in golden syrup 8.85
Grilled Orkney kippers with lemon and butter 6.00 / 10.00
Wicks Manor smoked streaky bacon and fried egg butty 6.00
Mini Magoo granuesli with rhubarb compote and thick yoghurt (wheat and gluten free) 5.50
Two boiled eggs with Marmite soldiers 4.85
Scott’s porridge oats with a jug of cream 4.50
Fresh fruit salad 6.50
 SIDES
Baked tomatoes in Worcestershire sauce 2.50 / Field mushrooms 2.50
‘Roast recipe’ bubble ‘n’ squeak in Britannia beef dripping 2.50
Fresh fruit 2.50 / ‘Roast recipe’ sausage 3.00
Veggie Borough banger 2.50 / ‘Roast recipe’ beans 3.00

Bloggerview with Lindy Wildsmith where she spills the cannelini beans

Cicchetti

the new book by Lindy Wildsmith and Valentina Harris

Name Lindy Wildsmith



Occupation Cook and food writer



What would you like to plug Cicchetti, my new book co written with Valentina Harris

 http://www.amazon.com/Cicchetti-Delicious-Italian-Food-Share/dp/1937994155



Name your three dessert island ingredients shade, drinking water and fish

Food stuffs that you would put in room 101? ready meals and rice pudding

What would you like to have for your last supper? Calves liver and spinach

What cook book do you use the most? Le ricette regionali italiane Anna Gosetti della Sarda

Your favourite spice is ….. crushed coriander seeds

Best dinner party guests and what would you cook them? My grandparents, parents and children. 

Stuffed zucchini flowers; Wild salmon, broad beans, celeriac remould, new potatoes and dill sauce; 

Gooseberry frangipane and panna cotta

What was your tea time treat as a child? Freshly baked scones in summer and crumpets in winter

What was the first thing you learnt to cook? I can’t remember that far back.....

And what was the first thing you taught your children to cook? Pizza and fairy cakes

What was your mother’s signature dish, and do you try to copy it? Charlotte Russe – no but I keep meaning to.

What dish gets you out of a tricky situation with your partner? Anything with seafood – specifically seafood risotto or spaghetti con le vongole

What would you say was your most memorable meal? The time I burned the mushroom risotto – too many drinks in the garden

And what would be your biggest disaster? The above

What do you wish you had never eaten, but had to? Le palle del nonno – Grandfather’s balls – deep fried profiteroles stuffed with ricotta

What do you consider to be the Best of British? The people

What do you think are the best and worst things about London restaurants? The Variety is the best the worst has to be the bill.....


QUICK FIRE ROUND

Favourite restaurant Walnut Tree

Nigella or Delia Neither

Muesli or fry up Both

KFC or Burger King Neither

Gin or Vodka Gin

Wine or beer Wine

Food Villain Mass production

Food Hero Seasons


And finally your top tip for cooking.Taste, taste, taste as you go along.