Fortnums Invent the Adult Happy Meal!

Hmm what to do on these long hot summer days? BBQ tick, play sport tick, laze around a beer garden triple tick. I decided it was time to culture myself and visit the Serpentine Pavillion, erected each year by a different architect/designer just next to the serpentine Gallery in Hyde park. I go every year to marvel at the new feats of design and engineering that go into making an amazing out door space. So you can see I didn't even go expecting to find a good meal! Not only did I find one, but it was provided by one of London's best food purveyors, Fortnum and Mason! F&M  is one of the most underutilised food halls in London. Tourists and the old Mayfair set enjoy this gem of London's food scene but I implore you, the young and noble foodie to go and explore the 300 year old food mecca on Piccadilly.

This year the pavilion was designed by Sou Fujimoto. He has created an amazing structure using square metal poles to create see through cubes, which combined to form a giant climbing frame. There are perspex steps allowing you to climb up certain areas. Although you are definitely not allowed to climb further (I got told off). From afar it looks like a massive digital cloud, from within you feel like you are in the movie tron. There are so many ways of looking at it. People sitting down on the steps seem like they are hoovering within the "cloud." In the end, it just a great bit of fun for kids and adults a like. The pavilion opened in June and is set to close in October so I would implore you to go for a visit!

Now, I could talk about F&M's Choccolosus biscuits (incredible), their lemon curd (divine), their dazzling array of cheese, teas, cakes and chocolates (all magnificent) but that could take three posts in itself! This post focuses on the incredible and surprisingly good value for money afternoon tea being provided inside this year's pavilion.

Once you have explored the in and outs of Fujimoto's cloud the 300 year old caterers of London's elite are on hand to serve you up some delicious refreshments! You can have snacks or hot and cold drinks. But for a touch more you can have a full on Fortnum's experience! The "Hamperling" is a new invention by F&M it is essentially a cross between hamper and picnic. A hamperling can have two forms either a Hamperling Lunch for one. Which includes a choice of three dishes: Asparagus Tips, Rosary Cheese & Bulgar Wheat Salad or Rare Roast Beef with French Beans & Little Gem Salad or Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese Bagels.
Accompanied by: Fresh Strawberries with Mint and a choice of Fortnum’s Tea or Coffee. Or
The Hamperling Afternoon Tea for Two including Finger Sandwiches: Cucumber & Mint, Salted Beef & Dijon Mustard, Egg & Garden Cress, Smoked Salmon. Accompanied by: Plain and Fruited Scones with Clotted Cream and Fortnum’s Strawberry Preserve. Sachertorte Squares, Macarons and a choice of Fortnum’s Tea.These are priced at £15 for lunch or £25 for tea, now the lunch is slightly punchy but the tea is excellent value! Let me explain why...

Now my visit was at approximately 4pm therefore we opted for the tea for two! Tea is sacred at fortnum's so I knew I wasn't going to be disappointed! After paying your twenty five quid (or £12.50 each) you are presented with what can only be described as an adult and very posh happy meal box! This beautifully packaged box unfolds and reveals two layers. The top layer holds your two tea cups, sandwiches, napkins and very flash metal cutlery set.

The bottom layer holds the scones, macorons and cake. in between you have a very thoughtful paper picnic rug! To be honest I'd pay the £25 for the packaging alone! The sandwiches were delicious! salmon, salt beef, egg and cucumber (obviously). Each person gets one finger of each flavour if your sharing nicely. Moving onto the scones you get a small pot of Fortnum's jam which was exquisite and a pot of fresh clotted cream, to go on one fruit scone and one plain. Whether you do this according to Devonshire or Cornish principals, is completely up to you.
It is at this point you look around, whilst sipping your tea in one hand and your generously cream covered scone in the other you see a crowd of on lookers wishing, or rather cursing that they had your F&M happy meal tea for two  instead of the poxy limp sandwich they bought in one of the park cafes! By this point, if you have had lunch you may be slightly full, but there was still more. The Macarons left me speechless the pistachio flavour in particular was of extraordinary quality. Melt in your mouth texture subtlety flavoured greatness! Then the sachertorte, by this point the developers of this joyful meal must have thought "lets just push this hamperling thing to new levels of indulgence." The chocolate sachertorte cake is RICH! Really rich and its big! Not just a mouthful but full on pudding size! Co couldn't finish hers I only just managed mine, washing it done with the last bit of Royal blend tea (stunning tea as well btw, not your builders here!).


This was simply a wonderful meal in a fantastic location with great surroundings. The staff were nice and smiley too! I would make this a must of your 2013 summer. Take the other half for a special afternoon or arrange to meet the gang. If nothing else you can claim it was all in the pursuit of being more cultural! I for one am looking forward to tea at the pavilion in 2014 (or maybe again next week hmm)!

Pass the Salt

For the perfect Saturday lunching spot, what do you require? Personally I want comfortable seats, friendly atmosphere, great food, super cocktails all in a light and airy space. If you agree with me then your next Saturday lunch stop off, should be the John Salt in Islington.

This establishment opened its doors last September. It suffered some "chef unsettlement issues" for a few months, but has now sorted all that out producing some flavour packed dishes! The un assuming restaurant located on upper street is as much bar as dining offering a superb cocktail list and craft beers on tap. As soon as I'd entered through the doors I felt quite relaxed and calm. This place is a stripped back stainless steel and dark wood sort of place oozing with cool. There are long sharing tables with stools and benches, usually some where I wouldn't really feel at home but some how it works. the sharing tables are large enough to actually share instead of declaring elbow wars with your IMMEDIATE neighbour. The stools are at a height previously unknown to all other stool makers allowing them to actually be comfortable to the average adult human being. The staff are nice and friendly, making good suggestions and the menu is comforting but also challenging.

I had the cods cheeks to start with. Hugh Fearnly Whittingstall once said that the cheek of any animal is usually the best bit if cooked right. In my view this statement is bang on! And in this dish it is certainly true! Amazing texture and flavour is found in these little cod morsels. The same size as a scallop they hold out on their own but paired with a little Spanish ham on top they sing. Best starter I've had this year, fact!

The pork belly hash next and this is comfort food at its best! Black pudding, pork belly lardons, peas, sweetcorn, roast potatoes and a deep fried egg... Great dish very homely and filling! Coco had razor clams to start and pulled pork with kimchi and chips for mains. While the razor clams were beautiful I'm not sure they fully nailed the Kim chi pork.

For dessert we managed to squeeze in a chocolate and peanut butter tart on an Oreo crumb base .... Pretty darn good, it tasted as good as it sounds the rich chocolate topping gave way to the strong smooth peanut butter middle rounded off well with the Oreo crumb.

All in all I will definitely be back to sample more of both the cocktail and food menu! If you live in islington this should definitely be top of your local hang outs!

Coffee Revolutionairies

Are you a tea or a coffee person?Ultimately you are one or the other. Personally I like tea, but I love coffee. Since the coffee revolution kicked off, we have had some dreadful baristas in Starbucks, Nero and Costa. However there is a new revolution, artisan coffee! Proper coffee is out there! Nearly every part of London boasts a local able to serve up a proper coffee. Here I will focus on the old and the new revolutionaries.

In London bridge and Covent Garden Monmouth reigns supreme. The founding fathers of quality whole sale and filter coffee, have certain beliefs. There is only one size, only whole cane sugar and only whole milk. No grande, sweetener, soya coffees here! These beliefs truly make an extraordinary brew though! The flavour is always there, not burnt or bitter or weak. With queues pretty much throughout the day these guys certainly know what they are doing! Don't be fooled though just because your local cafe uses Monmouth beans doesn't mean they can make coffee like Monmouth!

Secondly I would like to champion the very misunderstood new coffee shop chain Harris and Hoole. Named after two coffee drinkers in Samuel Pepy's diary H+H was set up by the Tolley siblings Nick, Andrew and Laura. They also own another set of coffee shops called Taylor St, which can be found in Mayfair, Bank, Shoreditch, Liverpool St and Canary Wharf. Mad about good coffee and believing everyone deserves a better coffee they approached Tesco to fund H+H. Now this is very important Tesco are acting like a bank and so own a 40% share but they do not run the company like some people have printed. H+H are expanding fast currently they are in London bridge, Barnet and Amersham however they will be opening in canon street in the summer and more besides. They believe there is 11 steps to make an espresso! So far I haven't had a bad coffee from Harris and Hoole and service is fab too, hopefully they will knock Starbucks off the high street!

Real Smoked Salmon

Smoked salmon is a personal favourite food. Whether in bagels, on poached eggs, canapés or in mousses I'm there! The smokiness, flavour, salt and texture all work for me. However not all smoked salmon can get this omnivore salivating. Supermarkets have mass produced this once beautiful and luxurious of cured meats. With the increase in salmon farming and food prep machines, we are loosing out on the smoking and the texture. Instead we end up with wet, greasy, tasteless odds and ends of fish.

Never fear however there is a century old family company still smoking and selling salmon the right way! H. Forman and Son est 1905, use both wild and farmed Scottish salmon and cure it in Stratford on Fish Island! Smoked salmon was introduced to us by Jewish immigrants in the early 20th century. They had ben buying their salmon from Europe until they realised Scotland had its own stock, plus it tasted better! So there you have it smoked salmon is a Jewish product using a Scottish ingredient and in England anyway, originated in east London! Formans use their "London cure" to perfect their salmon. They hand fillet every fish and hand slice every side of smoked salmon. An art that is rare to find now a days, Fortnum and Mason is the only place in London I have seen it done. The main slicer at Formans holds the world record for carving smoked salmon and it is a sight to behold:http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=bGJ6o09q0fQ&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DbGJ6o09q0fQ&client=mv-vf-uk&safesearch=always

Forman's smoked salmon whether wild or farmed is full of flavour and has a dry unique texture not found any where else. Also because it is hand sliced there is no bitter edge found massed produced salmon. Forman's is currently sold in upmarket food halls like Fortnum's but also in good Waitrose and soon to hit some major Sainsburys stores! Go and try it compared to water injected mass produced muck.

Slammin Street Food!

Today I thought I would put you on the trail of two of my favourite street food vendors. Easter weekend there was a street food festival on south bank. As you would expect I was was there ready to fill up on the best. I've found when you go to these type of things it pays to look at all the stalls before making a definitive choice. In this case I went with two tried and tested vendors, "The Pizza Pilgrims" and "Bell and Brisket."

I started off with arguably the best salt beef in town. Bell and brisket was started up in 2010 by Bel Shapiro, she not only makes traditional salt beef, but also the pickles that add the tang and texture. There are a number of different types all with various pickles, with cheese or without, but The Lord Rupert is my personal favourite. You can also choose whether you have it on rye bread or in a bagel both delicious and traditional sandwiching material. The pimped out horse box they use to flog these exceptional sandwiches, can be found in various place around the capital. On Fridays they hang out with Kerb either at Kings Cross or at the Gherkin. While on Sundays they have a fixed position at Haringay market. Or if you want you could even hire them for your own party!














For my second course I went for pizza from the Pizza Pilgrim boys. These guys have had great success with a book out in May coinciding with the opening of a permanent residence in Soho. But what's so great about pizza!? I hear you cry. Well this isn't just any old crappy dominoes or pizza express. These guys make a great fresh pizza base, but what sets the pilgrims apart is the serious flavour they add on top! Try the "N'Duja" spicy pork! The owners Thom and James Elliot really did go on a pilgrimage to Napoli, gathering all the traditional techniques and flavours to allow their pizzas to stand out! Great ingredients and experience made in minutes out of their converted Piaggio Ape van/oven. The boys can be found most days at Berwick street market in Soho well worth a pilgrimage of your own!

Is Korean the food trend of 2013?

Is Korean food 2013's new trend? With "Kimchi cult" popping up at the Black heart and "Kimchee to go" opening up this week on the strand, are we seeing an obvious development of two of last year's trends? Korean food consists of BBQ and noodles, strong trends in 2012 and indeed this year. American BBQ and Japanese Ramen are still very popular in Soho and the wider London food scene. Kimchi the most famous korean dish is everywhere nowadays, but what is it? There are many different variations but most common is a combination of the following: shredded Napa cabbage, daikon radish, garlic, ginger, fish paste and sugar, along with a generous helping of chilli powder. This is left for a few days fermenting in a glass jar to give it that wonderful texture and flavour!

Kimchi Cult are doing there very own version of Asian fusion cooking by combining kimchi and western fast food. The simplicity of they're offerings is thus, the kimchi burger, a perfectly normal beef burger with kimchi added, equals heaven! Fries plus kimchi and cheese equals the best cheesy chips you've ever had! You get the idea this magical ingredient adds so much to a meal the texture, vinegar and heat it gives off can combine with most anything! However Kimchi cult's take on chicken wings doesn't need kimchi, but instead uses a Korean sauce called yangnyeom. Now I have no idea what yangnyeom is made up of, but what I do know is that when added to chicken wings, which are then twice fried and sprinkled with sesame seeds, it causes me too lose my shit! These wings are immense if I hadn't have filled up on burger, I would have ordered two more boxes instead of just the one!

Despite the fact they have chosen to set up shop in a rather dark, rocker bar in the back streets of Camden, Kimchi Cult are selling some gloriously simple and delicious fusion food. Be warned though during the week the Black Heart doesn't open till 3pm and you need cash to pay for the food, I was caught out on both points.

If Korean food is the food trend of 2013 I will be very happy, as they probably have a few more unpronounceable sauces and pickles to tantalise the taste buds. Lets just hope Kim Jung-un discovers call of duty soon, so he can play soldiers on line instead of over the 38th parallel.

You Damn Dirty... Burger?

So I would imagine that a large proportion of you would either have heard of, or been to Pizza East. Pizza East is owned by the Soho House group. After opening the first Pizza East below Shoreditch house they have opened up a second on Portobello Road and a third on Highgate road in Kentish town. However the third opening had two more establishments adjoined, both as good if not better than the Pizza joint. Chicken Shop and Dirty Burger have both become incredibly popular! Chicken shop in the basement usually has a queue for its rotisserie spiced chicken. While the burger shack out back serves up burgers from 7am-midnight and 1am at the weekends!

This three in one establishment opened last summer and has fast become many north Londoner's favourite burger, chicken and pizza joint. Modeled on a similar burger bar in NYC, dirty burger is a simple shack with a hatch to order. Your number is called out when your food is cooked and you serve yourself your drink from an old wooden fronted fridge.

 Dirty Burger is indeed DIRTY! Up until recently there was only one burger on the menu, a cheeseburger. The burger buns are fried in the burger grease like a proper American diner, to give them that extra beef buzz. Like meat liquor these burgers are greasy but outrageously good! How then can you make them even better? Add two thick cut slices of bacon and call it a Dirty Pig, oh yeah that'll work! Served up with crinkle cut fries and a vanilla shake and you have yourself a show stopping or should I say heart stopping meal! The Onion fries are amazing, they aren't your normal onion rings these have a good deal of batter around them making them almost onion donut bites, delish!


Now I haven't been for breakfast yet but until 11am you can have sausage and egg or bacon and egg for £3.50 with bottomless coffee. Beers on draught include Camden Pale Ale and Berra Moretti plus other ciders and alcohol makes this the perfect late night snack spot for a pub crawl as its open until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.

This back shed burger shack steals the show at the Kentish town Pizza East and is well worth a visit. I would suggest going for a drink at the nearby Southampton Arms (best London pub 2010) then after last orders stroll down for a dirty pig and a night cap at Dirty Burger!