food, friends & funkin’ cocktails with the jamieoliver.com crew

How does one seduce a bunch of lovely ladies to brave the stifling depths of the Northern Line during rush hour on one of the hottest days of the year, to pay a visit to Old Street? With the promise of dinner and booze of course - particularly appropriate when the ladies* in question are all food bloggers. I think I speak for most when I say the way to our hearts is a full-throttle culinary steam train bulldozing its way to our stomachs. 

The crew at JamieOliver.com had an intimate evening planned, inviting ten to twelve of their favourite food bloggers (more than humbled to be included) to a supper featuring some of the recipes from Jamie Oliver’s website. The purpose of this event was to share with us the delights that can be achieved with ingredients people often find more difficult to cook with (based on the traffic in these areas on the Jamie Oliver website) such as game, seafood, vegetables and cheese. The idea is to get people to try cooking what may sit just outside of their comfort zone, or differ to what they may be accustomed to.

* It’s worth noting that while the main organiser of the event, Merlin Jobst, is quite the sweetheart and lady charmer, the single sex occupation was not intentional. Alas, some of the male bloggers that had been invited unfortunately could no longer make it. I believe that meant more food for us. Result.

The fabulous food bloggers invited to this event included the following - do take the time to check them out:

Rosana McPhee @Rosana_McPhee hotandchilli.com
Sally Prosser @MyCustardPie mycustardpie.com
Selina Periampillai @yummychooeats yummychooeats.com
Ren Behan @renbehan renbehan.com
Regina Sabur-Cross @gastrogeek gastrogeek.wordpress.com
Rachel Smith @The_FoodIEat thefoodieat.org
Su-yin @breadetbutter breadetbutter.wordpress.com
Tess Ward @tesstheyeschef theyeschef.com

Location and Graduates

The location of this banquet was the space above Fifteen and incidentally where most of Jamie’s cookery shows are filmed, such as 15 Minute Meals. A large, white-washed expanse straight out of the window of a Shoreditch estate agents looking for well-to-do artists to occupy, flooded with natural light from floor to ceiling sash windows and kitted out with tableware and sharing platters typical of Jamie’s cooking style. Unfortunately, the man himself was unable to make the evening but was kind enough to record a short film thanking us for our attendance and insisting we have a blast. Not to mention, accrediting Merlin entirely for the inevitable success of the evening. In the meantime, through an opening into the bare-brick walled kitchen, Merci and Tyrone, a couple of past graduates from the Fifteen Apprentice Programme, were toiling away over hot stoves rustling up our dinner. 

Head Chef Cooking Demonstration

The Head Chef of Fifteen, Jon Rotheram, was kind enough to take time out from his hectic kitchen schedule downstairs to give us a private demonstration of how to address game. He spoke at length of his first four months in the restaurant, his love of offal (particularly sweetbreads), different ways in which it can be cooked, and the benefits of choosing it over alternative and more expensive cuts. With flare and finesse, he rustled up in the blink of an eye devilled lambs kidneys served on toast. Flavoured with spices and finished with a few drops of homemade curry oil, these were served pink in the middle on a slice of crunchy sourdough, with warm flavoursome juices soaking into the bread. We were all urged to dive in. It was so moreish I went back for a second and third bite. Standard behaviour.

Supper is Served

Whilst I was entirely engrossed in Jon’s sautéing skills, I’ll admit I was more than a little distracted by a completely irresistible volume of fat and glistening king prawns piled high on a large plate, beckoning with black beady-eye come-hither glances, feelers motioning me towards them with their extension. One after another and with hypnotic repetition, I ripped off the legs, head and shell, dunked them into the accompanying Marie Rose sauce for a lick of seasoning, and popped each juicy morsel into my mouth. So simple but goodness, they were entirely glorious. I estimate my consumption of that entire platter to be approximately 37%. In addition, we were presented with mounds of herb salad with goats cheese. Generous creamy chunks of cheese mixed with rocket and fresh herbs and delivered with a wisp of heat on the tongue from finely chopped chilli. It took an enormous amount of self-control not to gorge myself on this single course alone.

Pint of prawns with Marie Rose recipe here. 
Herb salad with goats cheese recipe here.

The mains involved of a South Indian crab curry. Would you like any curry with that crab? There was so much crab. Certainly not too much crab though, it’s not possible to have too much crab. Creamy from coconut and gently spiced, it slid down with very little resistance. The vegetarian option was an equally flavoursome cauliflower Keralan curry complete with chickpeas and pineapple chunks. Both were paired with an oven dish full of zesty lemon rice - fluffy white mounds punctuated with the yellow and green from lemon rind and coriander leaves respectively.

South Indian crab curry recipe here.
Keralan veggie curry recipe here.
Lemon rice recipe here.

Dessert was made by Merlin the Magnificent (not an actual wizard) himself - a baked vanilla cheesecake with a (very boozy) cherry compote. With a smooth creamy middle and flavoursome biscuit base, it was a perfect way to round off the evening's eating. Alas, I didn't get a decent shot of it so there is none here. Lack of cheesecake photography and increase in alcohol consumption no doubt correlate quite nicely, I'm sure. 

Bloomin' easy vanilla cheesecake recipe here.

Tipples

Which leads me neatly onto the booze. Spoilt with a choice of wine and beer, glasses were never empty. 

The San Patrignano brand of wine available that evening ironically has a very sobering backstory. San Patrignano is based on the Amalfi Coast in Rimini and is one of Italy’s largest rehabilitation centres for recovering drug addicts. It welcomes all young men and women and even whole families who have serious drug abuse problems regardless of their background – and completely free of charge. Since 1978, the centre has taken in over 20,000 people, offering them a home, healthcare, legal assistance, and the opportunity to study, learn skills, change their lives, and regain their status as contributing members of society. I vividly recall an episode of Two Greedy Italians when Contaldo and Carluccio visit San Patrignano and listen to the residents talk of the institution saving them from certain destitution and even death - it was moving to say the least.

Danny McCubbin has worked with Jamie Oliver for many years in various roles and in addition, volunteers at San Patrignano. Wine making is a result of one of the 52 different skills the residents learn during their rehabilitation and these rather quaffable bottles are the result. Danny spoke passionately and with emotion about San Patrignano (whilst serving us Merlin's cheesecake) - a force of pure good if ever I heard one.



All in, the evening was a riot. The thing that really struck me were the people involved from Jamie's side - from the graduates, to the Head Chef, to the online staff, they were all wonderful individuals completely unashamed of the immense amount of passion they have for what they do. We ate until our bellies were full, engaged in raucous conversation and eventually relocated the proceedings to the Fifteen cocktail bar where we were very generously treated to pisco sours, gin from teapots, cocktails with face-busting chilli and indulged in bad jokes and inappropriate conversation.

I like to think new friends were made here and I want to give a particular shout out to the talented and gorgeous Merci @Murrrcii, the suave salt shaking Joe Gray @JoeGray_, and my new favourite person Merlin Jobst @merlinjobst. Along with my sister from another mister Selina @yummychooeats, we'll see you kids for cocktails next week to carry on where we left off.

Afiyet olsun.

sorabol, new malden - review

bibimbap

There is a rather stunning new food and culture journal I’ve been enjoying of late called The Gourmand, binding ‘inspirational words, images and ideas with the humble and universal subject of food’. It looks pretty haughty - unfamiliar typography, high-end and provocative photography, and a hefty price tag of £10 (explained by the solitary page of adverts located at the very back). 

But when you give it a chance, it’s anything but.  Articles and their topics are accessible and very well written; some are laugh out loud hilarious. Interviews are interesting and thought provoking and reflect the type of conversations I like to think I have with new people I meet. 

The magazine is also international with stockists across Europe, USA and Canada, Australia and East Asia. So when, in issue three, I came across no less than six pages dedicated to an article entitled ‘New Malden’s Delicious Secrets’, I was a little puzzled. 

It turns out this unassuming south-west London suburb, situated just a 10 minute drive from where I live, has secrets The Gourmand felt interesting enough to share with the rest of the world. New Malden has the highest population of Korean expats in the whole of Europe, around 20,000 by some counts. And that can only mean one thing - excellent Korean food to go with it. Invaluable insight that had managed to go unnoticed by me for the almost two years I have lived where I do.

I need little persuasion to venture into new culinary hotspots, and references to the many fantastic Korean eateries by an international food journal I hold in high regard is only going to get me there quicker. 

The day I read the article was the hottest day of the year so far (outdone by almost every other day since), and what better way to celebrate these warm climes than by sticking my face over a molten bowl of bibimbap. A table was reserved at Sorabol for that same evening.

dumplings

The façade of the restaurant is as uninspiring as the high street it’s situated on, and on approach it looked like it could be shut with closed full-window blinds concealing any view of the interior. But with a gentle push of the door, we were met with a wave of uplifting babble typical to a heaving restaurant packed with clientèle in the full throws of pleasure from both food and company. Every table was occupied and at an initial glance, I estimated half of them as Korean and half of them not - a promising start.

We were first greeted with an array of complimentary appetisers along with the portion of kimchi we requested. Steamed seaweed with bite and a sweet and hot sauce, cold bean sprouts, firm soya beans, and spicy kimchi leaving a pleasant recollection of heat on the tongue. These were all crunchy, fresh, light and very appealing to the palate.

kimchi

A generous portion of eight dumplings came next, filled with minced pork and spring onions, retaining their soft texture despite their fried treatment and served with a light soy. To follow was a wonderfully gratifying kimchi pancake and the stellar dish of the evening. 

The colour of burnished gold from chilli paste, it was seasoned with spring onions and the finely shredded fermented cabbage ubiquitous in Korean cuisine. It was spicy, savoury, served hot, looked great and very generous in its proportion. I suspect I could have had three to myself. In all honestly, the fiery piquant flavour of kimchi is so entirely addictive that any dish introduced to it will be elevated to new heights, be it a pancake, a plate of noodles or a roast dinner. It is just so very excellent.

kimchi pancake

For our mains both Matt and I selected a bibimbap. Literally translating to ‘mixed rice’, this signature Korean dish includes steamed rice topped with sautéed vegetables and chilli pepper paste. Ours also consisted of the additional common ingredients of a raw egg and thinly sliced raw beef, all served in a stone bowl so hot it was verging on changing physical state. The ingredients are combined at the table by the waiter with the searing heat from the vessel cooking both the egg and meat on impact. 

These dishes came with the warning that as well as the bowl, the accompanying chilli paste was very hot. Turns out I used the whole portion and barely felt any spice, whereas Matt’s was reasonably fiery. Who knows why I was after another excuse to swelter on such a stifling day - you would think the kimchi spice and the hazy view above the stone bowl was enough to get my sweat on, but apparently not. In all fairness, the air conditioning did a sterling job keeping the whole of the bustling interior cool, despite brimming with people, tabletop barbecues and many bibimpaps. 

The key ingredient missing from my bowl was kimchi. And on my return, I will definitely order the kimchi bibimbap, another option on the menu. The pleasant surprise in this dish was the flavoursome crust formed around the edges by rice continuing to cook at the table, and the bowl of cloudy miso it was served with, complete with finely sliced spring onions and small cubes of tofu.

mixed bibimbap

The service was very welcoming and I believe most if not all the members of staff were Korean - I suspect it’s a family run establishment. Korean cuisine, as I’ve mentioned before in this review, is one that has some way to go to match the popularity of its Asian neighbours. 

It’s a shame, as it’s as big a player in the flavour stakes as the rest of them, with unique offerings that would appeal to most palates. If you are yet to sample the delights of this cuisine, you can get to Sorabol’s door in under 30 minutes from Waterloo. Jump on the fast train to New Malden and visit London’s ‘Little Korea’, probably the best place in Europe to get initiated. 

Liked lots: kimchi, kimchi pancake, kimchi, the appetisers, kimchi, miso, kimchi, service, air conditioning, the kimchi, they use Dettol to clean the tables, value, kimchi
Liked less: bibimbap needed kimchi
Good for: kimchi, supporting local businesses, visiting the numerous Korean supermarkets while you’re there to stock up on kimchi

My rating: 4/5

This review can also be found on the Your Local Guardian website.

Afiyet olsun.

falafels with salsa

Considering Turkey’s close proximity to the Middle East alongside my love for chickpeas, you’d think I would have rustled up a batch of falafels in my time. But I haven’t. My permanent pyramid of chickpea cans in the cupboard, by default, gets used on houmous at least once a week and old habits die hard.

The thought of frying them in inches of oil also puts me off a bit. Contrary to what my dining habits may suggest, I do like to keep at least one lazy eye on my saturated fat intake. So I’ve been looking for a recipe that ticked my boxes and the ever reliable Jamie Oliver has come up with the obvious solution of squashing them into thin patties rather than balls, requiring much less oil to cook them in.  I also particularly like the inclusion of harissa in the mix which adds welcome heat. Not to mention I coincidentally had exactly a tablespoon left in a jar that’s been waiting to get used and taking up valuable shelf space in the fridge - I get a lot of satisfaction from finishing jars.






The original recipe can be found here under the 'vegetable recipes' section of Jamie's website and includes the falafels alongside a salsa and some sides

In this instance, I just made the falafels and salsa and devoured them with leftover houmous from the weekend’s BBQ (chickpeas with a side of chickpeas - I told you I like chickpeas) rather than the tortilla wraps. Either way, they're really tasty bites. You almost forget you're handling pulses and not mince. They're a great meat pattie substitute; it's good to abstain from the flesh once in a while.

Falafels with salsa

Serves 4

For the falafel
1 x 400 g tin of mixed beans
1 x 400 g tin of chickpeas
1 lemon
1 tablespoon harissa
1 heaped teaspoon allspice
1 heaped tablespoon plain flour
bunch fresh coriander
olive oil

Alteration: instead of mixed beans, I used a can of kala chana which are brown chickpeas. Also instead of allspice, I combined a little ground clove, nutmeg and cinnamon as a replacement.

For the salsa
1 big handful mixed-colour ripe tomatoes
½ –1 fresh red chilli
½ clove of garlic
1 lime

Drain the chickpeas and put them into a food processor. Finely grate in the lemon zest, then add a pinch of salt and pepper, the harissa, allspice, flour and coriander stalks (reserving the leaves). Blitz until smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor if needed. Scrape out the mixture and use clean, wet hands to divide and shape it into patties about 1.5cm thick. Put 1 tablespoon of oil into the frying pan and add the falafels, turning when golden and crisp.

To make the salsa, put the tomatoes, chilli and half the coriander leaves into the processor. Squash in the unpeeled garlic through a garlic crusher (or grate it), squeeze in the lime juice, whiz until fine, then season to taste and pour into a serving dish.

Afiyet olsun.

makiyaki, south wimbledon - review

sushi and sashimi

As I’ve harped on several times before (of which you are all duly sick of), I have a regular weekly column on the website of my local newspaper, Food Bites with yours truly for Your Local Guardian. The other week I submitted my entry as usual to a lady who works there. She takes my articles, portions them up into more digestible parts (long paragraphs are not aesthetically pleasing in narrow columns) and publishes them on the site. She of course also reads through the whole thing to, I assume, check I haven’t misspelt, cursed or offended any powerful figures. The submission that particular week was ‘the 10 most hated foods of the nation’ and her response to entry number six reflected my own, ‘How on earth did sushi get on this list? People are mad.’ Yes, yes they are. Another individual after my own heart - rejoice.

She went on to elaborate, ‘Being long-term sushi fans, my husband and I visited Japan a few years ago in search of (supposedly) the best sushi fresh from Tsukiji Fish Market. But we actually discovered the best sushi we’ve ever had is from Makiyaki in South Wimbledon! I defy anyone to try the ‘Ocean’, ‘Lion King’ or ‘Crispy’ rolls and not become addicted’.

A quick fumble on the keyboard and it turns out Makiyaki is just a 20 minute stroll from my house. Hard to resist a meander culminating in sushi on a balmy evening after an acclaim like that, especially with a menu item named after the best Disney movie ever made.

gyoza dumplings

Makiyaki is situated on a busy Merton Road a mere five minute walk from South Wimbledon station on the Northern Line, positioned next to a set of billboards. Step inside and you’ll be greeted with pleasant interiors, smiling staff and a sushi chef dressed in traditional Japanese garments behind the counter; no doubt to delight the clientèle hoping to experience something close to an authentic Japanese experience, whatever that may be. I like to think in restaurants in Japan, belted samurai swords are whipped from holders at the call of an order and in a blur of metal and kimono silk, fresh fish is portioned up with exacting precision. That would be so cool..

We started with chicken yakitori skewers that are boiled and coated in a sweetened and thickened soy sauce ready for the grill. These were chewy and tasty and perfect to whet our appetites. Gyoza dumplings were served as six and crunchy from the deep fried treatment, containing a filling of minced pork and chives. The salmon and avocado salad was quite simple in its content - cubes of raw salmon, iceberg lettuce, avocado and topped with a creamy dressing with a hint of wasabi heat. It wasn’t particularly sensational and on my next visit I’ll likely skip this for an extra sushi roll instead.

chicken yakitori

salmon and avocado salad

And onto the maki (sushi rolls). There’s a long list available to choose from, with such creative names as ‘scallop volcano’, ‘spider’, ‘rock ‘n roll’ and ‘999’, the latter an incarnation with the word ‘spicy’ present twice in its short menu description and so its name perhaps an indication of the dialling action required after consumption. We of course selected Lion King, a ‘California roll with salmon, wrapped and baked’. What we were presented with on an unfurled piece of tin foil was hot cooked salmon, wrapped in soft rice that had absorbed the ambrosial slightly sweet and spicy sauce it was doused in, topped with roe and something else we couldn’t quite decipher (or at least bring ourselves to accept our initial analysis of).

‘It’s cheese’ said Matt. ‘It’s been topped with cheese that's melted during baking’. I was quite adamant there was no way this topping could be one of cheese. It did look a lot like cheese, I’ll grant him that. But cheese and fish is considered by some a culinary cardinal sin, surely and especially when it comes to Japanese cuisine (noted for their lack of dairy) and sushi? I had to enquire and guess what, it was cheese. And it was all the more excellent for it. Luscious and savoury and a joy to eat - the recommendation was spot on.

the exceptional 'Lion King'

We moved onto a sushi and sashimi platter, the colour from the bright and firm flesh rendering the plate a picture to look at. Spanking fresh fish is what it is, and the salmon, tuna and mackerel were all a pleasure to devour, particularly their textures; they were so firm they were heading towards crunchy. Accompanied by shredded daikon radish for additional texture and with the ubiquitous eye-watering hit of wasabi and seasoned with soy, it was a fantastic plate of food.

sashimi

Great service was fully exercised with a beautiful young Japanese girl tending to our needs, pouring and topping up our green tea. Is it the best sushi I’ve ever tasted? It’s certainly very good. Although I am yet to try sushi within Japan itself (I’m fortunate enough to have a trip booked in next year which will soon see to that). The huge variety of maki rolls on offer and the pleasure derived from the first and only one we have so far sampled is enough to entice us back repeatedly to work our way through the list, as I’m sure is the case with other customers. It also offers something unique to the restaurant, helping it to stand out from other quality sushi establishments. And considering it’s so close to my home, it’s now down as a solid entry on my ‘local favourites’. Without a doubt worth a jaunt down the Northern Line.

Liked lots - maki rolls, chef attire, service, value
Liked less - salad
Good for - casual dining, regulars, fresh fish, regular visits to work through the huge maki offering, venturing to Wimbledon for something other than tennis

This review can also be found on the Your Local Guardian website.

Afiyet olsun.

elBulli: ferran adrià and the art of food - exhibition review

a giant meringue bulli (French bulldog)
made for the final day restaurant celebrations

'Head chef and Catalan-born Ferran Adrià is universally accepted as the world’s greatest chef ever to have been. He has contributed to the art of gastronomy, dining and haute cuisine the equivalent of what the ancient Romans, Greeks and Egyptians have contributed to our daily existence, put together. Elevating cooking beyond the familiar boundaries and experiences of eating and the pleasure derived from it, according to the frequent diner and late artist Richard Hamilton, Adrià has in fact created an entirely new language of food, along with the grammar and syntax to structure it. Eating his food, for Richard, was an experience comparable to reading the works of Shakespeare.'

You can find my full review of the exhibition written for Your Local Guardian here:

Somerset House
Runs until 29 September 2013

£10 ticket (£8 concessions)

photographs of some of the 1846 dishes created at elBulli

turkish spring lamb with green beans

I’ve been doing a lot of writing recently. Which is great, because I don’t half love it. Sharing my dining experiences at restaurants I think the world and his wife should eat at, writing up my weekly Food Bites column for the website of my local paper (on which it seems I am yet to offend; that, or no one is reading it), informing the nation they’re mad for not liking sushi, and so forth. But it’s time intensive. Each piece is a process and a labour of love and to be frank, a pain in the arse in the firm grip of self-doubt. I can imagine it’s akin to the doting parent wanting their child to succeed academically, once they are able to exert the authority to stop said child running about with their pants down and a crayon up their nose. Each piece presents a certain amount of stress that needs to be managed and contended with. My personal process for a piece of food writing, with no applied science or order, goes something like this: find an interesting and relevant topic, conduct necessary research, think of an introduction angle, spew my thoughts into the glaring abyss of a blank white screen, realise I haven’t actually made a point, make a point, panic at required deadlines, apply a filter to discard the crap, find better ways to phrase sentences, get rid of more words, find better ways to say ‘delicious’, attempt and fail at humour, mutter inaudibly ‘this is really shit’, insert hyperlinks, edit photographs, contend with the wretched personality of Blogger’s formatting, proofread, remove more words and finally a good few hours later, I’ll submit. And I’ll do so with a sense of achievement, despite the aforementioned tribulations. Chaotic creativity at best. Ignored online fodder at worst.

These increased hours spent at the laptop of late have inevitably resulted in less time spent in the kitchen. I’ll often find myself writing about food, with self-inflicted hunger pangs due to the nature of the content, only to find I’m surrounded by a food void, a culinary abyss. I have coined this predicament The Food Writing Paradox - writing about food when the presence of anything decent to eat is absent in my immediate surroundings. Like shopping for food on an empty stomach, it is not advised. 

But I made a point this weekend to busy the fingers with a different activity and one that would result in stomach satiety. And here it is, a Turkish regular on the weekend dinner table when I lived with my parents. A one pot wonder perfect for when the hankering is for a light but hearty meal on a summers evening.

Turkish spring lamb with green beans

Makes 4 portions

600g lean diced lamb

500g potatoes, cut into bite-sized chunks

350g green beans

1 onion, diced

3 tbsp concentrated tomato purée

Meat stock (lamb or chicken), enough to just cover the contents

Olive oil

Juice from two lemons to serve

Top and tail the beans and then carefully split each one lengthways with a knife.

In a large saucepan or casserole dish, fry the lamb in a little olive oil until browned. Add the potato chunks, the halved green beans and the tomato purée and coat in the meaty juices for a couple of minutes.

Pour in your stock until the contents of the pan is only just covered. Season with salt and pepper and leave to blip away on a low heat until the lamb is tender and the potatoes and beans are cooked.

Serve in warmed bowls and with a tablespoon or so of lemon juice over each portion. Accompany with crusty bread to mop up the juice and a simple side salad of flat leaf parsley, cucumber and mint if you fancy it.

Afiyet olsun.

food blogger connect event #FBC5

outstanding cheeses from La Fromagerie

From 5^th – 7^th July, Battersea Arts Centre will be home to the annual Food Blogger Connect event – the world’s leading international food blogger conference. Food bloggers, food stylists, food writers, industry specialists, media contacts, suppliers, caterers and a whole host more all gather to connect, share, learn and of course eat. The programme over the three days sees an array of talks, interactive workshops and question panels with some of the most tenured names in the industry, using the opportunity of a gathering of like-minded food enthusiasts to share their experiences and advice with all. Sessions range from how to get published in magazines and writing memorable recipes that work, to how to launch a product line and direct blog monetisation, not to mention almost everything in between (and needless to say punctuated with a lot of eating and drinking).

David Lebovitz and
Bethany Khedy

Founded in 2009 by Bethany Khedy (@Bethanykd) and celebrating it’s 5^th successful year, the event has seen incredible growth in its popularity with humble beginnings of just a handful of food bloggers meeting in a pub to revel in their common interest of food. 

The mission statement of Food Blogger Connect is ‘to connect food bloggers and food industry folks, helping to create a community that inspires and nurtures creativity, innovation and professionalism’. With attendees having travelled from countries such as Italy, the Netherlands, USA, Canada, and in my case the far-flung land of ‘around the corner’ from where I work in Clapham, the event seems to achieve just that.

I had a pass for the Friday and with Moleskine in hand, scrawled down the most useful insight I took away from the talks and workshops, some of which I have shared below:

What does successful blogging mean anyway?

Panel with David Lebovitz (@davidlebovitz), Niamh Shields of Eat Like a Girl (@eatlikeagirl), Emma Gardener of Poires au Chocolat (@poireschocolat)

• People like to read about flaws in others and overcoming them, people with problems and challenges DL
• People like tension in photography (e.g. a plate teetering on a table edge) DL
• Think about any monetisation from your blog once a few years have passed DL
• Regarding photos, the messier it gets, the better it will be. The flaws in photos are the most interesting part. ‘Perfect’ pictures whilst pretty, can be less evocative DL
• Some people will like what you do, some won’t. But it doesn’t matter. The good thing about getting older is you don’t care anymore – do it all for yourself DL
• ‘Blog for yourself and other people will come’ NS
• Edit, edit edit – take out anything superfluous including words and photography DL
  

David Lebovitz

How to get published in magazines

Panel with Ren Behan of Fabulicious Food (@RenBehan) and Karen Burns-Booths of Lavender and Lovage (@KarenBurnsBooth)

• Have a particular angle or niche – find something unique you have to offer that will make you stand out
• Don’t blog all your recipes, keep some back to give to Editors who show interest as they will want exclusive content
• Be sure to ask for Editorial Frameworks
• The key feature of a good piece is quality – ‘quality speaks for itself quietly, mediocrity has to be shouted about and is often ignored’
• Think a few months ahead and try to identify trends that are coming up – submitting content around these will get you noticed

Nichely Does It

Aoife Cox of The Daily Spud (@DailySpud)

• Ways to carve a niche can be subject matter, writing style, type of post, breadth of focus

The important stuff

It is of course neither possible nor wise to bring a bunch of food enthusiasts together in a single building and not feed them regularly with decent fare - the force of a hungry baying throng should never be underestimated, particularly if 97% are female (a fair reflection of the gender representation at FBC). 

Not only were we not disappointed, we were thoroughly thrilled at the sight of upcoming food and drink stands lined up outside, attracting the attention of passers-by, sun drenched and serving up freshly cooked delights to fill our bellies with as much as we could muster as the sustenance was included in the price of our tickets. A collective declaration of 'result!', was detectable when us first-timers realised it was all at no extra cost. A reason to return in itself. With SLR laden necks and lenses pointing at every bit of activity taking place, once we had achieved our desirable shots there was no stopping us. 

The folks at Pig a Chic (@pigachic) had some of the best tasting stuff there with meandering queues of attendees eager to sample the spicy Bangkok street food stall. There was marinated pork and chicken available, smoky from the grill and served with a papaya salad and your choice of chilli sauce - quite delicious.

La Fromagerie (@lafromagerieuk) are based in Marylebone and presented us with a table laden with quite simply some of the finest cheeses I have sampled, sweating and gooey from the midday heat, only adding to the glorious flavours on offer. Particular favourites included the Beaufort and truffle infused Brie - does it get any more unashamedly decadent?

From Asia via Dorset, the lovely folk at Dorshi (@eatdorshi) rustled up fried pork dumplings and hand-rolled-on-demand pearl barley sushi with crab and fresh horseradish. Moreish bites indeed.

Things took a sweet turn at afternoon tea, with Bev's Cookies (@BevsCookies) serving up dessert flavoured rounds of delight - think tiramisu, apple crumble, red velvet, strawberry cheesecake and lemon meringue flavours hiding behind the façade of a cookie. To help wash it down were large glass jars of homemade milkshakes decanted into little shot portions.

Mauritian supperclub extraordinaire Selina Periampilli from Yummy Choo Eats (@yummychooeats) along with her mamma served up the usual high standard of typical street food from the island, including gateux piment, aubergine fritters, pineapple with chilli and homemade chutneys. Check out my review of one of Selina's pop-ups here - they come highly recommended.

The very friendly folk representing Appleton Estate (@appletonestate) plying me with far too much delicious Jamaican rum punch.

It's worth mentioning these were just a few of the consumable delights on offer that I had the patience to photograph before my overriding hunger pangs took the wheel - there were many more. Not to mention other stalls for the remainder of the weekend event.

And check out the goody bad bounty (minus two bottles of beer I shared with a friend somewhere between the end of the event and getting home).

I'll fully admit I walked through the doors of the Battersea Arts Centre a little apprehensive - I didn't know anyone and I've never been to an event like this before. But any qualms I had were soon dismissed once I realised how friendly everyone was, and that most of us were in exactly the same situation. 

Friday was great and I'm more than a little gutted I'm missing out on two more days of new friends, new food and learning new things. I can't even say I'll be back next year (I'll be out of the country) which is a real shame. However there's a lot I've taken away which I'll put to good use, and hopefully I've acquired a few more people to meet and squeal over food with.

A special 'hi!' to the lovely ladies @yummychooeats @FoodEatLove @NoisetteBakes @aalavoie - we need to meet for some wine..

Afiyet olsun.