The Vintage Tea Party Book: Review

Angel Adorre first appeared on our screens a few years ago when she took her business 'The Vintage Patisserie' (http://www.vintagepatisserie.co.uk/#/home) onto Dragon's Den - she managed to  walk out with a dragon on each arm and since then her business has grown. And now she hass published her first book, cum cookbook, cum 'how to be a vintage goddess' and it is utterly fabulous. Each page is beautifully illustrated with beautiful watercolours by the friend and artist Adele Mildred.

The book, is as much a cookbook, than it is a step-by-step guide into hosting your own vintage tea party as recipes are intertwined with style and decor ideas, to create the perfect setting. Readers can learn how to make hand made bunting and commemorative flags, how to style their own hair and make-up, and what parlour games to play when guests arrive.

The book is full of recipes to help you create a bespoke tea party from a bygone era,  from earl grey truffles, too chocolate and hazelnut toasted brioche, too coddled eggs, too green tea and pear cocktails, it has every aspect of a frivolous tea party covered.

The Wheatsheaf Inn

The Wheatsheaf Inn, is a wonderful Gastropub/restaurant nestled in between the Cotswold hills, in a historic mill town Northleach. Northleach used to be my home town but luckily enough for me it still remains so for my father. Visits to him,  usually entail a little trip down to the Wheatsheaf, and I must say, after about 6 years of eating there, it has never failed to disappoint. It's owners, decoration and interior may have changed over the years, but it has constantly produced delicious, seasonal menus, which are frequently rotated and changed to accommodate for new, fresh local ingredients. Now, having recently been bought by the owner of the clothing brand Superdry (yes, I know, slightly weird), it has undergone  huge renovations; a new Bistro is opening in the garden this summer which I look forward to, rooms have been ripped out, and walls knocked through. The whole restaurant has been refurbished and expanded, however the food has not suffered due to the internal works and has continued to please and excite my taste buds, and bring in a huge hungry country crowd from miles away. 

For starters I has snails and mushrooms on toast (pictured below). It was delicious, the creamy sauce which I assumed was a kind of garlic, herb and cream sauce was light but flavoursome. The snails melted in my mouth and were complemented extremely well by the crunchy toast.

My father has a similar starter, but instead of snails and mushrooms, it was ham hock, peas and a poached egg. The ham was so tender and sweet and the egg, perfectly poached, oozed a bright yellow yolk all over the ham. It was delicious. I secretly preferred his, but I kept my plate envy to a minimum today and enjoyed my snails and mushrooms.

 I decided to have a Fillet of Loch Duart Salmon with Wild Mushrooms, Pancetta & Spinach for my main course. I have suddenly realised that I have a mushroom theme running through these courses. Oh well. Anyway, the salmon was tender, not overcooked and the spinach with little bits of pancetta hidden amidst it was nice. The only criticism, was there was a little too much oil, which suddenly made me feel very full. But other than that is was a perfectly cooked and presented fish dish.

The meal was lovely, as usual, my father and his wife had Rump of Lamb with Fine Beans, Tapenade & Dauphinoise Potatoes, which again was perfect. The lamb was pink and coated in a rich, dark sauce, whilst the potato was creamy in between layers and crisp on the outside, just as Potato Dauphinoise should be. Both the mains made the most out of simple, traditional ingredients, but were executed without fuss, and with no compromises to flavour.

Friend of a Farmer

Friend of a Farmer, is just one of the many trendy places to be seen tucking into brunch on a Saturday morning in NYC. Having heard about its popularity we were surprised to get two seats at the bar almost immediately after arriving, thinking we were going to have to join the queue of hungry New Yorkers that was beginning to snake around the cafe.

Once inside it was if we had been transported to countryside inn, rather than a busy metropolitan eatery. The walls were decorated with floral wall papers, and from the exposed wooden rafters, low hung lamps sat over each table. There were vases full of flowers and baskets full of fruit. The smell of pastries and freshly baked bread delightfully floated through the cafe, whilst we sat gloating at the fact we had managed to somehow sneak into one of the most popular breakfast spots around.

At the bar we were greeted by a friendly barman who quickly provided a large cafetiere of coffee whilst we patiently made our way through the extensive brunch menu; pumpkin or blueberry pancakes, home-made granola, and Belgian waffles were but a few of the sweet offerings. Eggs came in a dozen of varieties from smoked salmon scrambled eggs, Eggs Benedict and omelette's to Tortillas filled with scrambled eggs, guacamole, salsa & sour cream and crabcakes topped with poached eggs & hollandaise sauce. We were in a perfect vantage point, close to the kitchen entrance which meant I could try and peak at the dishes flying out, to help try and aid my decision. It didn't work. I ordered a french classic, eggs Benedict, of which I have ordered before, and my friend ordered a Cobb Salad, hmmmm, we were not as adventurous as we thought. 
However, the Cobb salad was fresh and full of sweet tomatoes, avocado and smoked pancetta topped with a perfectly hard-boiled egg (perfect as in yolk still runny). Whilst the eggs Benedict, well they were eggs Benedict. The salmon was served hot and the eggs were softly poached. The hollandaise sauce however, often considered to be the fundamental part of the dish was served sparingly which was a little disappointing. 
Whilst being a sought after brunch hot spot the food was not fanciful, it was light, fresh and comforting and the atmosphere was charmingly bucolic. I recommend it. 

Stein's Fish and Chip's

  

A Review: After waiting in a queue, outside of Rick Stein’s Fish and Chip Shop, in the rain for 15 minutes to get a seat, things unfortunately didn't improve when we were finally let inside. We were hurried towards the back of the restaurant, and plonked down on to the end of an already half full table by a pushy waitress who slammed down in front of our faces, three laminated menus. However, once seated and coats were casually shoved under the table we finally looked at the laminated menus, and we couldn't complain anymore. The menu was like nothing I had seen before in a fish and chip shop (apart from the ones in Edinburgh which offer you an infinite amount of anything deep fried) as there was so much on offer; Cod, Hake, Haddock, Plaice, Sea Bream, Lemon Sole, Skate, Monkfish, Salmon and Mackerel, all caught locally and cooked in a variety of ways battered, fried and grilled. Chips were served with all portions and there ware a choice of sides; mushy peas, tartar sauce, curry sauce, bread and butter, salad an actual chip butty, tiger prawns and oysters shucked or battered if you so wished.

I had the battered Lemon Sole. The fish was good. The batter may not have been to everyone's taste as it was made from beef dripping rather than traditional beer or vegetable oil batter, but it was surprisingly light and flavoursome, and it did not over power the light fillets of fish. I was served three pieces of fish, which was generous, so the portions were not meagre. But there were too many chips, which to be honest were not great; they were soggy, not crisp and fluffy like they should be. The homemade tartar sauce was delicious but the mushy peas were I hate to say it, too mushy and salty which was disappointing. And to top if off, the prices were not great either. The Lemon sole was £9.95 without the additional tartar sauce and mushy peas and that was not the most expensive thing on the menu, battered squid i.e. calamari was £12.95. 

I wouldn't go there again, unfortunately. It was an experience; the fish was good but everything else was rather standard and for the price that we paid, I, along with everyone else crammed into the tiny room, I think, expected a little more. 

To Padstow for Lunch

Yesterday we drove to Padstow, another harbour town. We went to one of Rick Stein’s restaurants for lunch. He has 5 in total (in Padstow alone): a Seafood Restaurant, a Bistro, a Café, a Fish and Chip shop, and a Patisserie, oh and a Deli, a Cookery School and Gift Shop. I can see why the town has been nicknamed ‘Padstein’ - the man is everywhere. We have wanted to go to his Café for a while, having been to his Bistro and Seafood Restaurant before, we’ve always wanted to check it out – however, you can’t book and as you can imagine in the summer, when we usually visit, the place is heaving. But the fact it is Christmas and 20 degrees colder it was empty and only a handful of tables were taken.

I ordered a feta, red onion, roasted tomato and basil tart which was delicious. The tart base, instead of being a short crust pastry tart was a Filo pastry disc. It was an interesting alternative as it was really light and less stodgy. The pastry didn’t take over the dish.

My sister, ordered Chicken with a Satay sauce and noodle salad.

Whilst my mum ordered a lamb and spinach curry. Seasonal hey??

Despite none of us eating seasonally or locally (i.e. fish) the food was lovely and it was a treat to go there.