I backed Cheese Posties – billed as the World’s First Grilled Cheese Sandwich Subscription – on Kickstarter a few months ago. Billed as a gourmet toastie, delivered through your door each week, I couldn’t not. More on that here.
Today, we got toasting.
I hadn’t had the chance to try out my first delivery from last week, so ended up with two boxes to test out. You can pick which part of the week they arrive (beginning, middle or end) – and I just miscalculated my available toasting time for the first order.
Actually, this turned out to be pretty useful, seeing as the Cheese Posties guys suggest two ways of toasting; one in the toasting bag provided, which you pop in a regular toaster, or just simply using a pan.
Attempt one; French Onion Soup. Sourdough bread, Gruyere, Caramelised Onion & French Mustard.
The bread needs a bit of forcing into its little toasty bag; and for this particular sandwich, there was a worrying overhang that I thought might cause problems, plus a big hole that may leave the bread vulnerable to burn.
Turns out, we had bigger issues. Sadly, even though we went for the minimum 3 minutes (of 3-5 suggested toasting time), our toaster got the better of our bread.
CHARCOAL-TASTIC.
However. The filling was mega tasty, and had we grilled this using the pan method, I feel it may have been perfection.
On to attempt 2; Italian Ravioli. Goats Cheese & Basil Pesto.MUCH BETTER!
I only used half of the pesto and cheese provided in the second sandwich, since it just would have been far too much, but the result was lovely.
This is the first batch of deliveries; so I’ve really taken that in to consideration when reviewing this. The bottom line is that I love the idea; and things like a weak box and tricky to get in to packaging can be fixed, but I bought in to this for the ingredients – and that’s the glaring hole in these early stage boxes.
I want to know exactly what I’m eating, where it came from, and why it was picked. I like the fun branding and quirky collectors cards, but if we’re going for ‘gourmet’, there’s need to be a greater focus on that. After all, if they’re going to the trouble of hand selecting producers, they should show that off to those ordering – like Flavourly does so well.
Richard Turner is the busiest and most unassuming chef in Britain. His list of projects is dizzying; from Hawksmoor to Foxlow and Pitt Cue and beyond, he’s also one half of butcher Turner & George, plus he’s the man who brought Meatopia to the UK, Spain – and the list of countries keeps growing. Oh, and he released his latest book, ‘Hog’ in April, plus there’s a follow up on the way. I could go on. But besides all that, he’s also one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.
I went to a BBQ masterclass at the Electric a while back, in which Richard gave us some golden rules to follow if we wanted to grill like heroes. All the trade secrets aside, the crux of it really is the BBQ itself and the fuel. Butane-powered, electric, gas, etc – none of this count as actual BBQing, and to get the best flavour, you must cook over logs or charcoal. We also got a primer on brining, rubs as an alternative to seasoning, plus a quick guide on where to buy the best meat. He also shared his jerk chicken seasoning recipe, which is FIRETASTIC, and so good it made several of the men in the room weep with joy. View it in full here.
As you’d expect from someone who supplies and sources some of the best meat in the country, when we got to the ‘buying your meat’ bit, he spoke with honest passion that really stuck. I sat down with him yesterday to talk about this in more detail, over bacon naan at Dishoom.
We started with Hawksmoor/Turner & George, and the selection process there. “We visit farms and suppliers and do repeated tastings, usually we hear about people via the press but we are also judges on the YBF panel. I’ll start the process perhaps but ultimately it will be a group decision.”
This year Richard again judged the Meat category at The Young British Foodie Awards, and has already snapped up Billy Franks beef ham, which he won the 2015 prize for and is yet to go to market – proving that awards such as these are one of the best ways to surface fresh young talent. He also applauded runners up Emily & Lucy McVeigh from Kenton Hall Estate, who have done such great work on their rare English Longhorn Beef herd, particularly around welfare. More in the video below.
I think the thing most people want to ask those in the know is where they get their own meat from. I asked Richard who his favourite producer was, and he pointed to a small herd of Shorthorns in devon that he says is the best beef he’s ever tasted; “I won’t divulge who is farming them as it really is a very small herd indeed and I want themâ€. Such a tease.
The issue of quantity is a significant one though. With six sites for Hawksmoor in the UK now, Richard says that having enough meat to bring real consistency from restaurant to restaurant is a problem. “I don’t think it matters if you sit down and one macaroni cheese is browned more than the other, but when it comes to the quality of your steak – that’s a must. Even if you can’t buy the same cut everywhere at the same time, the standard has to be the sameâ€.
Meatopia, which took place for the third time in the UK just last week, was started ten years ago by the late Josh Ozersky in New York. Created as a ‘call to arms for judicious lovers of meat’ and ‘a clarion toot to the perfectionists amongst you who demand the best in taste and provenance’, the chefs and butchers taking part deliver a ‘real fire’ promise, with the best ethically-sourced meat, nose to tail treats, artisan beverages and live entertainment.
“In 2012 it came to our attention and we set about putting the event on in London for the first time in 2013. What was intended as a great BBQ for friends and industry people with live music, DJ’s and drinks turned into an event with 4,000 people turning up and us running out of beer and food. In 2014 we set about making it a more professional event and managed to feed, water and entertain 5,000 people successfully.â€
This year the event sold out over a month early, with 6,000 people coming over two days to eat meat cooked by 40 different chefs from around the world.
In terms of practical magic; the bottom line must be about how to recapture this at home. So where does Richard Turner buy from? “I get my meat delivered from my own butchers, Turner & George, I buy my vegetables from Tesco and everything else from Waitrose.â€
Boom. As simple as that. I have to put a second vote in for Tesco here; their veggies really are the best of all the supermarkets. Just not the tomatoes; we had a long discussion about tomatoes and the book ‘The Dorito Effect‘, lamenting the loss of real flavour due to the fact that palates have been raised to expect modified versions of fruit & vegetable. More on that another time.
Turner & George deliver to the whole of the UK, but in place of that, Richard’s advice on buying meat at home is “definitely not a supermarketâ€. He says we should visit local butchers and ask questions about the meat; where it’s from, what breed, how it was reared. “If those questions are answered satisfactorily then that’s where I would buy my meatâ€.
A final word on purchasing. I asked which three bits of advice he would give to people when selecting their meat. “Buy from people that can talk about the meat, ask questions and learn where it’s from and why that’s important, buy less meat but better quality. In fact, eat less but higher quality meat.â€
There’s LOADS more exciting stuff from Richard in the pipeline, but for now, you’ll just have to wait and see 🙂
It started then with the simple mission of shining a spotlight over the new wave of talented producers that was starting to hit the British food scene. Now, firmly established in its role, as each year goes by, the winners roster gets ever stronger.
I was lucky to have worked with Amy on a panel submission for SXSW 2016 that – if we get in – will cover how online communities help British chefs thrive, featuring YBF co-founder Lily Vanilli, Kitty Fisher’s Tomos Parry (YBF Chef of the Year for 2014) and Michael Zee, co-creator of SymmetryBreakfast. So, I was excited to go and show my support for this wonderful event. More on SXSW after the programming announcement on Oct 23rd; fingers crossed.
Now in its fourth year, the YBFs is an annual event that seeks out and celebrates new, visionary talent in food & drink across the UK. This year’s awards, thanks to the support of Tate Food, again took place at Tate Britain.
A whole spectrum of entrants, shortlisters and winners from past and present came together to produce this phenomenal menu for the event; which was nothing short of a feast.
I was particularly taken with the Lust for Life cocktail below, made with 2013 Alcohol shortlister Kamm & Sons (a bittersweet botanical spirit distilled with ginseng, fresh grapefruit peels and manuka honey), the potatoes gnocchi with ham hock & truffle oil cream from Quinto/Quarto and most of all, the award-winning scotch eggs from 2015 honorary category winner, The Cornwall Project. I’d urge you to look in the latter; which was set up to connect Cornish producers with restaurants and has invigorated the food trade in the area to great success.
In room two was the Tate Food Emporium; a wonderful show case of Tate Food’s producers and suppliers.The YBFs have partnered with Tate Food for the second year running, founded on what they call a ‘mutual passion for unearthing new talent and new tastes’. I have to admit, I wasn’t that aware of the Tate’s commitment to sourcing and sustainable British food & drink; so this was a wonderful opportunity to find out more.
While I was there, I was fortunate to chat to John and Lee, founders of Farmison & Co, who specialise in Heritage British Rare & Native Meat. They lured me in with the delicious pork pies you see above, and the dazzling array of meat on display. Based in Ripon, North Yorkshire, they take great pride in the small quantities they received exclusively from many of their farmers and spoke with *such* passion. They provide meat to Tate Food, but you can also get in on the action with their Butchers Boxes here. At the same table, we tasted the best salmon I’ve ever had in my life, from Marrfish, a family business with a history of over 100 years in the fishing trade.
All of the shortlisted entrants can be found here. I was *so* impressed with the standards for 2015; last year I discovered one of the most exciting foodie companies on the past few years in the Robin Collective, who won the Experiential category, and I’m sure that this year it will be the same.
I had a bit of a moment when tasting Lucie Bennet’s dark chocolate cake (featured image above, and below), layered with Toscano 70% dark chocolate ganache and topped with vanilla & chocolate crème diplomat served with sea salt caramel sauce – so at the moment, she’s my top tip to seek out.
Held at the same time as harvest festival, British Food Fortnight is the biggest annual, national celebration of British food and drink. It’s been running since 2002, and aims to give the many, many foodie events being held at this time one ‘umbrella’ to bring them to the public’s attention.
There’s a full list of events here (thought it’s not hugely up to date, so if you spot something you’re keen on – do a bit of digging on Google afterwards). I did just that, and the most exciting discovery for me is that one of the events being held is Urban Food Fortnight; London’s celebration of the ultra-local produce being grown on our doorstep.
Running between Friday 12 and Sunday 28 September, Urban Food Fortnight is organised by London Food Link – an independent network of people, businesses and organisations that promote and campaign for good food in the city. The event has run annually since 2012 and this year is funded through Urban Food Routes and supported by The Mayor of London. It’s a true celebration of London’s gastronomic talent giving everyone the opportunity to try local food; from Tottenham made cheese and Stratford sourced fish to Enfield reared lamb and Hackney grown salad.
The postcode search here allows you to find out what’s being held locally, and there’s loads of great stuff on. There’s a few of my top picks below.
Bumpkin, just round the corner from me, has created a special menu for the whole two weeks, featuring some of the best ultra-local food available including Cobble Lane charcuterie, bread from a South Kensington artisan bakery and vegetables grown at Watts Farms.
RBKC is hosting a free two hour walking tour of Golborne Road and Portobello Road markets on Sept 18th at 10am.
Whole Foods Market is hosting a Schools to Market Day on Sept 23rd, when schools can sell their home-made jams, sauces and chutneys to raise money for food education projects.
Hawksmoor‘s bartenders have created a special cocktail for Urban Food Fortnight using locally sourced ingredients, and Foxlow Stoke Newington and Clerkenwell will be serving a Bermondsey Frier Sandwich using cheese from Kappacasein Dairy in Bermondsey, London bread and a seasonal slaw made using veg sourced within the M25. Sidenote; Kappacasein Dairy has been producing cheese in Bermondsey using milk from Commonwork Organic Farm in Kent since 2008, and you can buy it from from Borough Market! Check out Borough Market’s serving suggestion for their ultimate Urban Food Fortnight toastie here.
And finally, on Saturday 19 September over 45 edible gardens throughout London will open their gates to celebrate the harvest season. Edible Gardens Open Day is an annual event for Londoners to explore secret gardens, embark on an edible walking tour, or venture further afield to discover people growing in novel places. Click here for an interactive map of all the locations in London, Birmingham and Manchester.
There are LOTS more events on, and it’s a great opportunity to explore what’s available just around the corner – from places you can walk to. More information here, or search for #urbanfoodfestival on Twitter