Category Archives: Foodepedia

A potted tale of Canteen

by Qin Xie | 1 Comment

Published on Foodepedia on 16th September 2010:

Canteen is the critically acclaimed mini restaurant chain whose raison d’etre is to serve wholesome British food and this has been a major factor in its success from day one. There are four busy locations across central London playing host to a branch of Canteen: Spitalfields, Royal Festival Hall, Baker Street and Canary Wharf.

Now coming up to its fifth year of serving up simple delicious food, it’s still as busy as ever. So I took the opportunity for some sumptuous steak and chips to meet the founders and talk past, present and the recently released ‘Great British Food’.

The story began when co-founders Patrick Clayton-Malone, Cass Titcombe and Dominic Lake gathered round a table at the Real Eating Company, a restaurant that Cass was running in Brighton at the time. When it came to the subject of food, the three discovered that their different upbringings had converged on to one point, they all had a love of good quality British food, the kind grandma used to make. This is something which they felt passionate about and yet at the same time found to be uncommon on the British High Street. They craved for something that was good and wholesome but that was also affordable and accessible. So the idea for Canteen was born, a restaurant which served simple, high-quality ingredients in an unpretentious environment.

So here we have classics like devilled kidneys, fish and chips, and treacle tart to choose from on the menu. But perhaps in many respects the seed was sown many years before that when each of them were introduced to their idea of real food. For Patrick, the key influence on his ideology of food was perhaps growing up in rural Dorset and being immersed in home-grown produce and home-made food. Then of course there were the cattle markets, farmers’ stalls and village fetes which also played a key role in his experience of eating local, something which is very central to the ethos of Canteen.

Patrick’s first job was that of a kitchen porter at a Tex Mex restaurant, which although uninspiring, did propel him into the hospitality industry. He went on to a career in events organisation and promotion which later morphed into multimedia production. During this time, Patrick ate out regularly and discovered the growing discrepancy between the cheap but low quality high-street brands and fine-dining experiences. While event organising in Bath, Patrick met a young chef called Cass who later went on to work for Daphne’s, The Collection and Pasha in London.

Like Patrick, Cass also grew up with home-cooked meals in a rural surrounding. His parents were small-holders in Wales before it became cool. For Cass, memories of food were all about making elderflower champagne for the summer, preserves for the winter, raising chickens and ducks for eggs and goats for milk. Cass had felt for sometime that his heart lay with organic and seasonal food so when Patrick introduced Cass to Dominic, Canteen began to take shape. By pure chance, Patrick had also met Dominic through one of his oldest friends and discovered that he had a strong entrepreneurial streak. Despite studying at Central St Martin’s School of Art and Design to begin with, Dominic went on to become an investment executive at a boutique venture capital company before gaining an MBA from the London Business School. Dominic has always had a passion for food and in 2001 he even organised the European Motorcycle Extravaganza, combining Europe’s mountain roads with the best of Michelin starred restaurants.

The meeting with Cass moved Dominic firmly away from fashion and into the food arena. Of course, while each was passionate and committed, it wasn’t as simple as upping sticks and opening a restaurant. There were logistics to be worked out. So after many months of planning, recipe tasting and tentative site applications, the first Canteen was finally ready to be revealed. And on the 19th of October 2005, Canteen was opened to the public at Old Spitalfields Market where it was welcomed with open arms. And it seems that everyone who is anyone on the food scene has eaten there, liked it and written about it; everyone from A A Gill to Fay Maschler.

Fast forward to today, Canteen remains a firm favourite of critics and customers alike and continues to serve those traditional dishes. And by popular demand, the three founders have decided to release their first cookbook, Great British Food. A cookbook which embodies the entire ethos of Canteen, from its tweed cover and simple layout to the nostalgic collection of their favourite Canteen recipes inside. It’s clear that Canteen has worked hard to stay true to its ethos and in meeting with its founders I firmly believe that it’ll continue to do the same for years to come. And my steak and chips? It was simple and delicious..

A three course meal courtesy of Prince Charles, sort of.

by Qin Xie | Leave a comment

Published on Foodepedia on 13th September 2010:

You may remember that back in September 2009, Waitrose and Duchy Originals joined forces in a partnership deal which gave Waitrose exclusive rights to manufacture, distribute and sell Duchy Originals products. Duchy Originals was the brand set up by Prince Charles in 1990 to promote organic food and farming, and also to help protect and sustain the countryside and wildlife. A year later, Duchy Originals from Waitrose has finally hit the shelves so I got hold of a couple of products and tried to make an easy meal out of it.

As a starter, I had a beetroot soup with dill. I’m not a big fan of beetroot. It’s partly because I’ve had one too many beetroot and mustard mayonnaise sandwiches, it’s a strange combination I know but you have to spice up a boring sarny some how. But mostly it’s because beetroot seems to stain everything it touches. So when faced with this vibrant pink concoction, it was a little bit daunting. As it turns out, the soup tasted more like a tomato soup than beetroot and it was also surprisingly spicy. The kind of spice you feel on your tongue when you’ve just eaten raw garlic rather than hot peppers. With some warm garlic bread, it would have made quite a nice lunch. As it was, it didn’t quite tantalise my taste-buds.

For main I got some pork Cumberland rings and fresh beef gravy. Interestingly, the Duchy Originals from Waitrose range didn’t have any potato based products or anything that looked like it could accompany the sausages. That means no Dauphinoise potatoes, no rosties or even any sort of vegetable mash. Not that you would consider having these sausages as simple bangers and mash. These sausages are thick and wholesome, made from “prime cuts of free range pork shoulder”, British and organic of course. It’s the sort of produce where so much care has been taken to make it that you feel like you have to use it for something wildly exciting.

In the end I decided that the best way to treat these Cumberland rings was to make a sausage pie. All it took was one onion, one leek and one carrot softened in a pan with the sausage meat. Ten minutes later it was in the pie dish with half of the warmed gravy poured on top and ready rolled puff pastry pulled across for cover. Half an hour or so later, I got myself a tasty pie with some mighty meaty gravy to pour on top. And it was really good pie, if I do say so myself.

The sausage meat was nicely seasoned and not too peppery so it was perfect for the pie. The leek helped but what really made the pie was the gravy. I’ve never had gravy so meaty and flavoursome – it was like all the flavours of the meat had been distilled into this rich sauce. And unlike some gravies, it wasn’t heavily salted either which made it all the more surprising that it had such a distinct taste. This could be the gravy of choice for future pie making ventures.

I had high hopes for the monmouth pudding as a desert but perhaps I had placed the bar too high. Although the pudding tasted good, it wasn’t moreish; and it didn’t really round off the dinner, but rather, it felt like a snack on the side. Perhaps it just needed something extra like a little pouring cream.

By purchasing a pack of each product, with some cupboard ingredients thrown in, it was pretty easy to put together a three course meal for two hungry people or four light eaters. Although it wasn’t completely hassle free, mostly because of the lack of accompaniments to the Cumberland rings, it did offer a good opportunity to be creative. All in all, the meal was nice and afforded quality in terms of taste and value for money.

Bel Canto

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Published on Foodepedia on 13th September 2010:

Chorus Hotel, 1-7 Lancaster Gate, London W2 3LG www.lebelcanto.co.uk

Intense. That is probably the best way to describe the experience at Bel Canto. You see, at Bel Canto, guests are served by waiters who perform opera at regular intervals. And in the relatively small room of the restaurant, that’s quite a lot of reverberations to take in.

For anyone who has been through one too many drunken karaoke session, this probably sounds like a bit of a nightmare. But actually, all of the performances were by trained opera students and young professionals so there’s an assurance of quality. And I know that opera has got a reputation for being a bit posh and stuffy but the atmosphere at Bel Canto is so relaxed, I really didn’t feel at all out of place as an opera virgin. And neither, it seems, did anyone else given most appeared to be tourists.

In fact, between the performances, the artists were more than happy to talk to guests about their training, lifestyle and the history of opera. If anything, guests were actively encouraged to ask questions and to join in the performance. At the end of the second course, for example, we were invited to join in for the chorus of the Brindisi.

Of course, the relaxed atmosphere is not to say that the quality of the dining experience has been sacrificed for something that’s rather gimmicky. On the contrary, the atmosphere strengthens the concept behind the restaurant which, according to their brochure, is a combination of “opera and fine dining with an elegant twist”. But then again, it’s hardly a new concept. In fact, Bel Canto in London is the third of a small chain of Bel Cantos from the restaurateur Jean-Paul Maurel. He has been successfully running Bel Canto’s sister restaurants for over six years in France, where the other two Bel Cantos are located. However, back in London, it was a little disappointing to find that they didn’t have an a la carte menu. Surprising, if they want to be serious contenders in the fine dining arena. Perhaps it’s because Bel Canto is still a relatively young restaurant at only six months old.

As a starter, I had the salmon gravalax and my companion had the foie gras. Both had proved to be more than satisfactory and refreshingly light – just the perfect way to start a meal where more is demanded of the vocal chords than just conversation.

The main for me was a slightly heavier set fillet of beef, medium rare of course, with pomme Anna. It was the standard sort of offering that you might find in a French restaurant but one which appeased my taste buds. My friend had the slightly more adventurous duck breast with sweet and sour summer fruit sauce. Looking at the delightful presentation, I couldn’t help but wonder if it tasted a bit like Pimms on a plate. As the meal progressed though, it was hard not to feel that perhaps the food was secondary to the opera – all the guests were more than happy to participate and one had to consider whether it was appropriate to carry on eating through the performance.

To round off the meal I had my desert of choice, crème brulee, and my friend managed to acquire the last tiramisu with glee. It wasn’t a real crème brulee, though, as the chef had put a twist on it by adding raspberries and basil. The raspberries were a welcome distraction but the basil was very overpowering. So much so that it was almost another savoury course rather than desert. The tiramisu was certainly very popular amongst the other diners and rightly so given its pleasing combinations of cream and coffee soaked sponge, all in good proportions.

All the dishes served were cooked beautifully and perfectly presented and despite being a set menu, there was a decent selection of dishes to choose from. However, while Bel Canto is the sort of place that gets you humming opera unexpectedly the following day, it’s perhaps not what you would usually associate with fine dining.

A hop and a skip to malt at Sambrook’s

by Qin Xie | 3 Comments

Published on Foodepedia on 7th September 2010:

Sambrook’s Brewery, Battersea, is a place full of reinventions.

The brewery’s co-founder, Duncan Sambrook, was a City accountant before he threw in the towel to become a brewer in 2008. The brewery’s premises in Battersea was a television studio prior to having its double-panelled floors stripped bare, the walls resprayed with hygiene paint and 20 barrel-capacity brewing equipment installed, transforming it into a microbrewery in the heart of London. In some respects the whole operation is rather like the revival of the brewing industry, with smaller microbreweries becoming increasingly popular compared to larger industrial manufacturers.

Reinvention has certainly suited Sambrook’s. Since its first cask was tapped in November 2008, over one million pints have been served to thirsty punters across London. Junction, one of its two permanent ales has even won Beer of the Festival at this year’s Battersea Beer Festival. So on a sunny Saturday afternoon, I headed down to Sambrook’s to see what the fuss is all about.

When I arrived for the tour of the brewery I was met by Duncan Sambrook in a reception area decorated to look like a pub. On display at the bar were the pump clips of the cask ales produced by Sambrook’s – Wandle and Junction. The Wandle is named after a tributary of the Thames, from where Sambrook’s draws its water,  while the name Junction is derived from Clapham Junction, Sambrook’s nearest station. It all feels very local, which is exactly the ethos that Sambrook’s is trying to maintain – a London brewer making beer for Londoners.

We were also joined by a group of beer connoisseurs from Brighton CAMRA who were very enthusiastic about the pint of Wandle to start the tour. It was light, slightly sweet and very refreshing.

Given that my last tour of a brewery was the Guinness factory in Ireland, I had expected huge containers for the brewing and even bigger warehouses to store the hops and malt. The kind of place where you start to feel drunk just by breathing in. Sambrook’s was tiny in comparison so it was surprising to learn that by brewing four times a week, Sambrook’s actually produces around 27,000 pints. That’s a lot of thirst quenching.

Unlike most breweries, Sambrook’s likes to mill their own malt. It’s so that they get “just the right amount of sugar” to kick off the process. That much at least will be drilled into you by the end of the tour.

The milled malt goes into a vat called the mash tun where hot water is sprayed on top to create wort, the brown sugary liquid used for the beer. The wort is then pumped into the copper where it is boiled; hops are also added for flavour and preservation of the beer. The resulting liquid is allowed to cool before it is fermented for six days.

So a week later you have your tasty Wandle or Junction, depending on the mix of malt and hops used, ready to be pumped into firkins, kilderkins or barrels and delivered by Sambrook’s drivers to any of the 120 or so pubs within the M25 that serve their ales.

The tour was a real insight into the world of microbrewing and it’s quite obvious that Duncan Sambrook is as enthusiastic about his brewing now as he was on day one. This is a man who is proud to welcome visitors to his brewery, where tours with tastings are run Mondays to Thursdays plus Saturdays. And of course it wouldn’t be right if we didn’t end the tour with a pint of Sambrook’s other permanent ale; the award-winning, darker, stronger and slightly bitter, Junction.

Sambrook’s is at Unit 1&2 Yelverton Road, Battersea SW11 3QG www.sambrooksbrewery.co.uk

Home Bake by Eric Lanlard

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Published on Foodepedia on 5th September 2010:

Eric Lanlard’s new book ‘Home Bake’ looks too good. So good in fact, it’s almost obscene.

That’s the conclusion I’ve come to after some two weeks of picking it up, flipping through the pages and mulling over what I thought of it. You see, every time I thought of something to write, I got distracted by the brilliant photography. Photographs of some of the yummiest cakes, tarts and puds I’ve ever seen. Then I would get hungry and go off in search of something to curb my recently acquired insatiable appetite.

And just because it looks fanciful, doesn’t mean that it’s without authority. Master Patissier Eric Lanlard is the owner and cake making extraodinaire of the critically acclaimed Cake Boy in Battersea (www.cake-boy.co.uk). Twice the winner of Continental Patissier at the British Baking awards, Lanlard also has quite the A-list following, counting the likes of Madonna and Liz Hurley amongst his clients.

So just what is so special about this book? Well the book has recipes for everything from the standard sponge cake to meringues, cheese cakes and tarts; but not in the shape and form that you would usually expect to find them. Every recipe has an introduction by Lanlard and there is stunning photography to accompany almost all the recipes; some even have step by step images to complement the detailed instructions.

The apple tart with quince, for example, looks good enough to eat off the page. The lemon meringue cupcakes would be a real treat with a nice pot of tea. Of course then there is the bejewelled tower on the cover, a plain Genoise sponge. And how can I not be impressed with the first book that teaches me how to make marshmallows?

Its audience, as the book’s title suggests, is for the home cook and when you look through the recipes you certainly feel that you have been held by the hand. But it’s also more than that. It’s a collection of recipes that Lanlard likes to use himself at home, something that’s different from the cakes found at his Battersea emporium.

Given the wonderfully clear layout, fresh design and tips here and there, it’s certainly very appealing and an easy read. With this book in hand, home baking is set to become very glamorous indeed. Who said home baking had to be boring anyway?

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