Tummies Cookery School, Station Road, Cippenham, Slough, SL1 6JJ

Tummies is a bit of an institution.  An oasis of good food in a desert of urban sprawl, I've been a frequent visitor to their deli and restaurant (particular highlights of which are the sun-trap of the back patio, and the colouring pencils on every table - the many walls are plastered from ground to ceiling in the best submissions from the last 24 years).

However, this latest visit was more than just a meal.  It was an all day extravaganza!  I was taking part in the Cookery School, enjoying what was the perfect gift of watching a fantastic feast being cooked, which I knew I'd then get to eat!

The set up was excellent.  The demo kitchen is bright, professional but still homey, and our small group was looked after by co-owner Tammy, who provided endless drinks, whilst we watched Head Chef Claude Mariuax create a three course meal, imparting the knowledge (and recipe cards), for us to be able to replicate it at home.

The starter was a goat's cheese pastry, topped with seasonal asparagus which was wrapped in parma ham, and served on a bed of rocket.  It seemed pleasingly straightforward to assemble, but the rich and contrasting flavours belied the simplicity.   

 Speaking of rich, the individual ramekins of dauphinous potatoes, were made with a heavenly combination of whipping cream, butter, gruyere and garlic.  The flavour was so enticing that despite the amount we'd eaten, we had no problems finishing it, along side the main course of roasted rump of English lamb, cooked in a delicious red wine sauce! 

The richness was tempered by the colourful and sweet roasted vegetables that made up the french style ratatouille.  It certainly changed my perception of ratatouille, as it wasn't cooked in a tomato sauce, but instead cooked and cooled down quickly in a way where the veg didn't release any water and stayed firm and delicious.

 

Despite a break before dessert, I was still sure that I wouldn't be able to manage the limoncello curd cake after eating such a large meal.  I sampled the tiniest of bites, and was struck by the beautiful lightness, and the moist and zesty flavour.  I'm normally a fan of chocolatey cakes, but this lemony wonder was perhaps the very best cake I'd ever tasted!  I managed far more of it than I ever would have imagined - the creme fraiche it was served with adding to the deliciousness.

As I cycled home (slowly and not very steadily after the delicious wine), I contemplated how much I'd enjoyed the whole experience, and how it was almost more delicious because it felt like home cooking rather than restaurant food.  It certainly was the best of both worlds, and was an unforgettable treat.

Cabana Brasilian Barbeque, Westfield Stratford City, London, E20 1GL

As we anticipate (with a little sadness), the Closing Ceremony, I'm very happy to say that I did finally make it to the environs of the Olympic Park today (to pick up my Paralympics tickets and to see the lovely L).  It was brilliant to experience first-hand the atmosphere and marvel at the spectacle, although without any tickets for today, the rest of this blog post of course focuses on the food (although we did later made the most of Newham's big screens, seeing GB's final Gold in the sunshine).

Cabana, is one of Westfields' many swanky restaurants (there's one other in Covent Garden)..  From it's atmospheric outdoor terrace, we could watch athletes shopping before they head home, squaddies enjoying a drink, friendly policemen posing for photos, and of course happy looking tourists and locals. 

Specialising in Brasilian BBQ, the menu is short and simple - focusing on what they do best.   L highly recommended the meaty skewers that smelt tantalisingly good.

I started with a zesty and refreshing Amazon Ice Tea, with mint, apple juice, and something called 'wild leaf cordial'. 

L's 'Biro Biro' rice, was next to arrive. It looked exciting with it's combo of garlic, herbs and shallots, but quite frankly, nothing could compare with my deliciously hot and crispy, sweet potato fries, lightly dusted in paprika, and then dunked in Cabana's signature Malagueta sauce.

The sauce, whilst not firey, had a lot of flavour, and a definite warmth.

I'd opted for two different types of chicken on a skewer, and both were blissfully good.

The first skewer was perfectly tender and juice chicken cooked in the aforementioned Malagueta sauce with sweet red peppers.  The second had the sublime flavours of bacon and pineapple, which was a fantastic combination!

L had opted for the steak option, and we were both delighted with our choices. 

Service was generally attentive and good (a little too attentive towards the end after some initial confusion).   It was a busy lunchtime, and so we didn't linger too long over the meal, but the quality and taste were fantastic, and should you be on a visit to Westfield Stratford City, be it for the Paralympics or the shopping, I'd strongly recommend a visit!

Tea Gardens at Exmoor Owl and Hawk Centre, Nr Porlock, Somerset, TA24 8HJ

On a glorious, unexpectedly sunny day, the expanse of blue sky above West Lynch Farm (home to Exmoor Owl and Hawk Centre) in the idyllic National Trust village of Allerford, genuinely made me feel that nothing could match the beauty of an English Country Garden.

But not just a garden!  We were here for a multi-activity day.  Flying owls, walking Shetland ponies, admiring chickens, alpacas and birds of prey - plenty of excitement to keep both the adults and kids occupied for hours.

All the fresh air definitely helped build our appetites, and I was delighted by the quality of the food on offer in the tea gardens.  Both lunch and cream tea were included in the activity day fee (a bargain at £25 for an adult), the ability to eat outdoors in beautiful surroundings, made a special day even more memorable!





Little hands going in for cake, leaving giant scones for the grown ups



The Sun Inn, Mill Road, Kislingbury, Northampton NN7 4BB

A beautiful sunny but cold Saturday, I was driving up north with D. Looking for a place for lunch near the motorway, armed only with a copy of CAMRA’s 2012 Edition of The Good Beer Guide, D expertly navigated us to the picturesque village of Kislingbury near Northampton (and just a few minutes from the M1.
On a tiny narrow lane we found The Sun Inn.  Looking beautifully rustic with it's thatched roof, we found it to be warm and cosy inside and without any pretensions.  Old-fashioned and friendly with a good number of real ales on the pumps and some ciders too. 

 We experienced lovely hospitality from the landlady and once we’d ordering some substantial lunch from a small menu of big pies, we settled down in one of the three seating areas (it was nice to have it to ourselves) with the paper, and relaxed.

After assembling a wide collection of condiments, and enjoying a giant cup of tea and a pint of 'Gobblers', our food arrived.  My stilton, peppered mushroom and onion pie was ultimate comfort food, and served with delicious gravy and the homemade cottage pie was also huge, and very much enjoyed by D, who felt the cabbage was also very tasty.

A lovely discovery.    We would have happily whiled away an afternoon there.  Well worth a visit should you be near Junction 16 of the M1 and very much recommended by ourselves as well as CAMRA.

The Brunswick House Café, Vauxhall

Two minutes from Vauxhall tube station is Brunswick House;  an architectural salvage shop. A quirky building, covered in old-fashioned enamel signs (including one advertising Wethereds Ale and Stout from my home town of Marlow), stone features and a huge cast iron ‘saloon bar lounge’ sign. Amongst all these eye catching features, you can easily miss the small sandwich board advertising the café inside, but that is not really an issue, as this café is gaining a reputation, having received rave reviews from the FT and  John Lanchester in The Guardian.

Being huge Guardian fans, myself and K had decided to take advantage of Brunswick House Cafe extending its opening hours to Tuesday and Wednesday evenings (it still doesn’t open on Monday nights).

The place was not very busy with just a couple of other diners in the slightly chilly main dining room. I was intrigued by the chandelier and lights hanging from the ceiling, the ‘stage’ at the back of the room, and the assortment of pictures and signs covering the walls.

I was advised that the simple daily changing menu consisted of small tapas style plates (and helpfully I was told which were the dishes served hot! An important point on such a cold evening). The cocktail list and wine list was extensive and we opted for a very drinkable French red with an unusual name. The wine was served in tumblers rather than wine glasses which was fitting for the relaxed style of the place, but there were important and impressive touches to the service, with water and (absolutely delicious sourdough) bread being bought to the table for without us even asking.

We ordered 5 dishes between the two of us, with the intention to share everything. The menu had no elaborate descriptions but it all sounded tasty.

Our choices included ‘Sprouting Broccoli and Pumpkin Romesco’ - a simple dish of crunchy greens with tasty pumpkin sauce and ‘Chestnut, sage and pear’, which was a pleasing variety of flavours and textures and not just served as simple individual ingredients.

However the real highlight was the warm ‘Cauliflower, red onion and stichelton’ (having researched in advance, I knew it was a blue cheese but unlike ‘stilton’ it is not made with pasteurised milk. It cannot therefore legally be called ‘stilton’, so instead it is called ‘Stichelton’ - the original name of Stilton village). I was expecting something like cauliflower cheese, but this was something entirely different. The marinated crunchy cauliflower was elevated to divine levels of tastiness with the piquant cheese. It was heavenly.

The two more substantial choices were bought to the table with perfect timing – the chickpeas and chorizo had warm and comforting flavours, and the chicken and mushroom pie was again, quite different to what I was expecting. The chicken seemed like it had come straight from a very well marinated roast and so each piece was rich and highly flavoured, with strong flavour from the beautifully cooked mushrooms.

It really was perfect, and we were so full that we couldn’t even manage dessert, but instead enjoyed some tea.  Served in very cute, colourful teapots, my lapsang souchong was delicious. 

The service had been fantastic and the atmosphere nicely relaxed, although it was a shame that it was not more busy in the dining room.  The ability to try such a variety of tasty dishes in unexpected surroundings had been very pleasing, and I would recommend a visit to anyone looking for somewhere which is just that little bit different, which will be sure to delight!

Cake of the day: Soho's Secret Tea Rooms

Soho's Secret Tea Rooms was an ideal place to hold a surprise vintage afternoon tea for Sofia’s super-classy, 1940s themed hen do.  Amie had expertly organised every detail, and I was thrilled as I'd been looking for a reason to visit ever since I'd heard of the place.

The 'hidden' location, gave a fantastic surprise element, as our bride to be was definitely bemused as we walked her into the Coach and Horses Pub in Soho (not a particularly salubrious location), and slipped behind the bar and up a narrow staircase to the very top of the building.

She was met with a delightful sight! We had our own private room, very prettily decorated with thoughtful vintage touches. The atmosphere was relaxed as we were made to feel welcome by a dedicated and attentive member of staff. Bubbly, sixteen varieties of tea and ample supplies of cake, scones and dainty sandwiches, made for a most memorable start to the party.

 

Thanks to Fi for the great picture above.

 

Cake of the day: Christmas Gingerbread and Delicious Victoria Sponge

I apologise for the lack of posts in recent months.  Planning my wedding has taken up far more time than I ever imagined.

However I'm certainly marrying into the right family!  Visiting D's gran this weekend, we were treated to a sumptious afternoon tea, of Christmas Gingerbread and a divinely light and delicious home-made Victoria Sponge.

I thought I'd share this with you all to make you hungry on this Wednesday morning!