thepassionatecook

Tom's Kitchen

I remember reading about Tom Aiken's new venture some 2 months back and, thinking I was the only one who read TimeOut, tried to get a table for the following weekend... no such luck. The lines have calmed down a bit since then and I managed to secure a booking in the middle of December and while everybody was going shopping mad on nearby Old Brompton and King's, Jeanne and I could finally enjoy a last, quiet brunch together before the New Year. In fact, it looked like they keep a fair amount of tables unbooked altogether in order to accommodate any hungry shoppers dropping by unannounced, so despite it being one of the spots to be at the moment, it is worth checking at the odd chance of securing a table.
Now, it's the end of another year and food critics around the globe are falling over each other trying to predict what will be hot and what not in 2007. One thing they all seem to agree on (and you really don't need a degree in astrology to spot this trend) is that we will see more gourmet food served in a casual environment, with lots of top chefs up and down the country (globe) opening eateries where you can enjoy your food without having a waft of waiting staff dancing attendance on you when you least need it.
Are top chefs getting bored with their millionnaire punters who might have a wallet that's bursting at the seams, but don't know their foie gras from their rabbit terrine? Or do they find that people who really appreciate food just find the price tags coming with it extortionate and laughable? Joel Robuchon has bid his Michelin-starred haunt adieu over a decade ago, only to re-emerge with an altogether more approachable concept, Thomas Keller was probably the first to go down the path of diversifying into a more affordable kind of eaterie with Bouchon, even Gordon Ramsay is said to open a chain of pubs serving good food next year (he is loathe to call them gastropubs, a term that has been overused in the past and is now stamped on every public drinkhouse with a license to serve food other than a packet of fried pork scratchings).
London Wunderkind Tom Aikens (and, born in 1970, he really is a child compared to his closest rivals) had found instant success when he opened his restaurant by the same name in 2003. Whether he got bored with it or just wants to make the most of the fact that his name seemingly grants instant success, I don't know, but he's only just opened his version of a casual eaterie with great food at accessible prices: Tom's Kitchen. Whether you're off to the museums (the V&A, Natural History and Science Museums being just a stone-drop from there) or looking for a quick bite before a concert at the Royal Albert Hall, Tom's Kitchen is at a manageable distance and certainly one of your best options...
A lot has been said about it in the papers and I didn't find a single review that didn't compare its interior with St. John's... I don't quite get why, to be honest, if the white tiles are your trigger, you might as well compare it to any odd bathroom in the UK and abroad. I am happy to report that the simliarities end there (I have only ever been downstairs at St. J's, but don't see the attraction of it - neither in the cold, uninviting decor, nor the non-existent wine glasses, and even less in the grub they serve - for it is no more than that, I am afraid).
Tom's Kitchen is a sleek and modern dining room accommodating maybe 100 diners at any one time, around simple bare wooden tables which can be re-arranged into any combination of seatings needed - the tiled walls are adorned with massive black & white photography on canvas and in the back of the restaurant all eyes are on an open kitchen. The clientele is the young and beautiful crowd you'd expect in this corner of the capital, but they are also surprisingly casual, friendly and certainly into their food - very much like the image Tom Aikens carries himself... cute and successful, but approachable. Staff are very friendly and attentive, knowledgable and kind. Despite the restaurant filling up at a fast pace, they had no problem waiting for our order although my "date" was 45 minutes late and it took us another 15 at least to decide. Another high point was the fact that they are happy to cater for children, room for pushchairs at the entrance, Stokke high-chairs for the little ones and never-fading smiles all around.
The brunch menu has a good mix of sweet breakfast treats ranging from the healthy (weetabix, porridge) to the indulging (French toast, pancakes, croissants), as well as an even larger selection of brunch items for those with a healthy appetite: from a variety of cooked eggs (benedict, scrambled etc) to heartier fare like fried pig's ears with tartare sauce, duck confit, foie gras and burgers, as well as an excellent selection of side dishes.
I opted for scrambled eggs with smoked salmon on a bagel, the eggs slightly undercooked and still deliciously creamy, while Jeanne had thinly-sliced Bayonne ham on celeriac salad, served with the crunchiest home-made sour-dough bread imaginable.
On the sweet side, Jeanne couldn't resist a sour cream & chocolate muffin while I just had to indulge in a French toast with maple syrup, properly made with brioche, crunchy on the outside and creamy and buttery within, but not too eggy. I asked for some rhubarb compote to go with it and this combination proved so delicious that they should really put it on the menu!
With several helpings of delicious espresso, served in cute brushed steel "shotglasses", hot chocolate and some fresh grapefruit juice to satisfy the health-conscious part in me, this was brunch how I like it... an easy-going, leisurely affair with indulging food and no rush to get out (and a bill that came to no more than £50 for the two of us).
No wonder, really, that this kind of eaterie should be the next food fad - bring it on, I say, bring it on.

Tom's Kitchen
27 Cale Street
Chelsea
London SW3 3QP
Tel 020 7349 0202
Nearest public transport: South Kensingston tube (District & Picadilly Lines)

"Waiter, there's something in my..."

Don't you love a new year?  It's like a clean slate - everything gets to start afresh, from your diary to your gym programme to your diet. So what better time to make a fresh start with a new food blogging event!
As the foodblogging community has expanded and developed, events seem to have become increasingly specialised. There is an event for sweet-tooths (SHF), an event for herb-lovers (WHB), an event for eggy literati (EoMEoTE), an event for Filipino cuisine (Lasang Pinoy), an event for adventurous chefs (Paper Chef), an event for wine-lovers (WBW) - even an event for food photographers (DMBLGiT). But nothing broad enough to include everyone, and nothing basic enough to appeal to everyone from the bachelor cooking on a two-plate stove to the professional chef. 

Well, until January 2007, that is. 
Because January 2007 will see the launch of a new event, hosted in rotation by Andrew (SpittoonExtra), Jeanne (Cooksister!) and me (thepassionatecook). The idea is to run the event for a finite period (12 months) as most events certainly do seem to have a limited lifespan, and to make the themes as broad and inclusive as possible. It will give you an opportunity to show the world what sort of personal stamp you can put on the basic theme:  what does your country regard as a classic potato dish? What do your family traditionally make at Christmas? What favourite seasonal ingredient is playing a starring role in your pies this season? With this in mind, we have come up with a list of 12 themes and each month we will be challenging you to charm us with your personal take on the theme. All entries will be included in a round-up on the host's blog.

The new event will be called "Waiter, there's something in my..." and Andrew will shortly be announcing the first theme, so do check his blog early in January for further details.

I can't wait!

Xochi's Mexican wedding cookies

It was a great Foodblogger Christmas Party at mine at the very beginning of this month which not only brought seven lovely foodies to my house (Jeanne, Xochi, Jenni, Bonnie, Bill, Laura and Sarah) but also, equally importantly I should think, more than a dozen different varieties of cookies and other Christmas baking. The amazing display of biscuits included a fair amount of American cookies (chewy chocolate, double peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate & sesame, milk chocolate & hazelnut), some traditional English mince pies, some Norwegian chocolate & ginger snaps and these lovely Mexican Wedding cookies provided by Xochitl.
And there I was thinking that with two massive containers storing the left-overs of our indulging feast I would not need to do any more baking this year... but I soon came to realise that Christmas is not about having cookies in your house to consume, it's about baking them, in your own kitchen, letting the smell infuse every single corner of your abode! So I reached out to my friend and got a recipe off her - in cup measures, to my dismay! I managed to get the conversion right, in the end, after hours of tossing and turning over how much liberty I could take with the original quantities - but they turned out lovely. Very buttery, quite brittle (but they do soften and moisten after a few days in a container) and they are very moreish and Xmassy with Xochi's twist of using cranberries and almonds instead of pistachios and cherries... definitely a keeper!

White chocolate, Baileys & coconut truffles

These little winter beauties are probably the closest I'll come to a white Christmas this year... although freezing cold, there's no snow in sight which makes it really hard for me to get into the whole spirit. I don't know how they do it in the Southern Hemisphere actually, for me, those three Holy Days have always been intrinsically linked with snow.
After trying my luck at truffles for the first time for our fantastic Sugar High Friday recently, I had to roll a few more for my husband's team at work this week... so when I thought I had Christmas sorted and could finally put my feet up, I was instead rolling up my sleeves to make another sixty-odd truffle concoctions. And while I rolled them, I realised one more thing I had forgotten to do: buy a tree. In fact, I still haven't got one. Just hope that, as they used to tell us when we were little, the Christkind (our equivalent of Father Christmas) will bring one this year - or I'll have to decorate a yukka this time!
With the White chocolate, cardamom & sesame truffles I made for SHF having proven to be quite temperamental at times, I wanted to try a new recipe and found an old note scribbled onto a used paper napkin somewhere in my recipe folders. My mother-in-law had made some confectionary one year which doesn't really qualify as truffles, but I'll let it pass - and my (almost incomprehensible) hand-written notes from back then provided the inspiration for these pseudo-truffles.
So I combined mascarpone, white chocolate, a bit of Baileys and crushed sponge fingers (the latter making the centre, although utterly soft and creamy, very rollable - always a bonus) and covered them with dessicated coconut. I have yet to hear back from the team (believe it or not, I didn't try a single one), but this flavour combination really just cannot fail, can it...

Lactose-free Christmas porridge

I don't need any figgy pudding, really, but if I can wish for something on Christmas Day, it'll be a nice, leisurely breakfast. I won't bother with a turkey this year, so we can indulge in a long brunch, but how to give it the Christmas treatment? Eggs scrambled with mincemeat? I think not! Brussel sprouts on toast? No way! I say porridge is the way to go.
Although a breakfast staple where I live now, porridge is little known where I come from. We are only forced to eat it after recovering from a bad tummy bug, but would never think of eating it for breakfast day in, day out. Here in England, however, people even eat it at work, throwing a few spoonfuls of oats in a bowl, topping it with milk and giving it a good steam in the microwave... I've never really seen the attraction. It may be healthy, yes, but there are few foods that are good for you AND make you sing for joy!
And then my parents came over to visit - and on the very first morning politely refused any offers of Eggs Benedict, Omlette layer cakes, Salmon & caviar scrambled egg tartlets and other fancy creations... apparently they not only wanted something healthy and warming, but were into "five elements cooking" now. Quite how they explained it to me, I forget, but I found this interesting article on the net which explains some of the principles behind it. You are aiming to achieve a balance of either flavour (the five elements being sour, bitter, pungent, sweet and salty) or colour (green, red, yellow, white and black). My Mum was very particular not only about what ingredients went in the porridge, but also the order in which they were added.
Now, I have a bad memory and therefore twisted the recipe quite a bit... probably bringing the whole thing completely out of kilter - but this type of porridge has stayed with me since then and it has become a welcome and heart-warming addition to our breakfast table in the winter. I had never considered making porridge before given that I am avoiding dairy where I can - this version is perfect if you're lactose-intolerant, as it uses orange juice and water only, but you'd be surprised how creamy and smooth it is... you can always stir in some cream just before serving if that's your thing.
This recipe is really versatile as you can play around with whatever dried fruit and nuts take your fancy - for my Xmas porridge, I am using pecan nuts, cranberries, prunes and coconut as well as a touch of cinnamon - the result being a fruity and light, yet utterly moreish porridge for a breakfast treat that might just become your new Christmas tradition addiction!

Foodblog Awards 2006

Terribly late to find out about this, but I'll still share in the hope you might want to have your say: nominations for this year's Food Blog Awards are being taken until midnight EST today!
This is your chance to nominate those foodbloggers who've rocked your boat in the last year, whose recipes you find inspiring, whose stories bring a smile on your face every morning, whose restaurant reviews you know you can always rely on or who simply make you drool over your keyboard with their glorious photography...
To nominate your favourites in one of the 18 categories available visit the Well Fed Network until 12am  EST today.

Menu for Hope III - fantastic prizes to win!

Let's sit back for a moment and remember those less fortunate than ourselves. I think about food every moment of my life, but my thoughts are very different from some other people's out there. While I think about what to cook with Jerusalem artichokes, taste 15 different butters to decide which one I like best, go out of my way to secure a shaving or two of white truffles or splash out on my wedding dinner at Alain Ducasse's Louis XV, there are millions of poor people out there who wish they had so much as a cup of rice to feed their family of ten.
Of course I know that it's not going to do them any good if I stop eating - but there are ways of helping. England used to have a great tradition on the 2nd day of Christmas, where those who could afford big festive dinners would put out their left-overs in boxes for the poor to collect and feed their families with. Hence the name Boxing Day. Let's get back into that spirit. Even if the days are gone where you'd neatly pack the remains of your dinner up in a box, there is a way to do your bit for those who need it more dearly than you.
Once a year, in a tradition started by Chez Pim, the foodbloggers of this world unite for a world-wide virtual raffle in which proceeds are donated to a charitable cause. Last year's event raised over $17,000 and with the number of foodblogs and their audience having at least tripled in the last year, we are hoping to raise even more this time round.
And here's how it works: participating foodbloggers donate a prize (more on what I'm donating this year to follow) which is advertised on various Menu for Hope portals around the world. From there on it's over to you, really!
Readers can buy raffle tickets for just $10 each on a secure website, specifying which prize (or prizes) they'd like to win. The more tickets they buy, the more chances of winning, obviously. Winners will be announced on Chez Pim on the 15th of January and your prize will be shipped at no cost to you. All proceeds will be donated to the United Nations' World Food Programme - no foodblogger will ever touch the money collected, it will go straight to the UN.
(Please make sure you read the small print on either the EU portal hosted by food writer David Lebovitz or the donations page)

And here's what I will be giving this year:

 L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon is one of the hottest tables in London at the moment — with sleek, modern design and an open-plan kitchen, it's gourmet cuisine in a casual, yet refined atmosphere and the talk of London...
If you dream of treating yourself (or someone else) to an array of what Joel Robuchon's world-famous kitchen excels at, this voucher for a tasting menu at the Atelier is for you. But you can also redeem it against any other selection of dishes when you visit. All you need to do is either book a table yourself or show up on the day (reservations are only taken until 7pm). Go on - spoil yourself rotten...it's for charity, after all! Voucher is for £65, only valid at Joël Robuchon in London, and must be redeemed by June 5, 2007.
To bid for this prize, visit the donation page on FirstGiving (Prize EU28)

As a joint donation from my friend the Cook Sister! and myself, we're offering our services as caterers for the day to help you throw a lavish cocktail party.
Picture the scene: A summery evening with the sun just touching the horizon; a collection of your dearest friends, all immaculately dressed; the sound of clinking champagne glasses and tinkling laughter; plate after plate of exquisite and expertly-prepared canapés being carried out of the kitchen and served to your guests. A fantasy? No - in fact, this could be your house this summer! The source of those exquisite canapés is two award-winning bloggers working away in your very own kitchen in the London area. As the lucky winner, you'll get the opportunity of having Jeanne of Cook Sister! and myself catering a canapé party for up to 20 lucky guests at yours! (To see examples of what we might be serving on the day, visit the canapé & fingerfood section on this site)
Included in the prize are our catering skills for the duration of the party, at least 12 canapés per person, and all serving equipment. You only pay for the cost of the ingredients: after a consultation on which canapés to serve, we will do the grocery shopping, prepare everything and do the washing up afterwards. All you need do is arrange a date with us: it can be any time in late June, early July 2007 or from September onwards, we'll do all we can to accommodate your needs.
Please email me on to check availability for the date of your choice PRIOR to bidding! To bid for this prize, visit the donation page on FirstGiving (Prize EU27)

But there are many more fantastic prizes waiting for you out there:
For all the prizes donated by European foodbloggers, visit David Lebovitz's site.
For more details and all the other prizes donated around the world (you can bid for those as well, as the donating blogger has agreed to ship anywhere in the world, unless specified otherwise), visit Chez Pim's round-up.
And remember: not only are you treating yourself to a great prize, you're supporting the United Nations' World Food Programme... go on, get bidding!

Edinburgh: foodie tips

I feel really bad for not writing this up earlier... even though I had the loveliest time imagineable with my friend Pille in Edinburgh! It was actually a post on The Foodie List that reminded me again, as Edinburgh has just been named the "most culinary city" outside London in the recently published Harden's Guide of UK restaurants.
As much as Pille complains about people thinking the Scottish capital is a culinary wasteland, it was certainly not the perceived lack of a foodie scene that had kept me from going earlier, it was more the prospect for spending a weekend in the miserable rain that can befall the North, and until now, we had always opted for sunnier climes when it came to choosing a destination for a weekend abroad. But foodblogging friends are enough reason to forget about the weather for once!
I have already published great memories of a dinner at the fabulous Witchery by the Castle, but there are plenty more recommendations to share with you:
From the airport, we headed straight to Elephant House - a quirky old coffee and tea house reminding me very much of my student days. It was on one of these old and beaten wooden tables apparently that JK Rowling wrote her first Harry Potter books - by now she can afford a study and heating in her own patch, so don't count on meeting her there, but do go for nicely brewed coffee, excellent teas served in massive cups, good value snacks and the buzz that comes with a coffee shop located in a university town...
It was that same evening that we hooked up with Melissa of Traveller's Lunchbox and met at Urban Angel for an "ethical" dinner - this sort of restaurant/deli, where ingredients are local, organic, free-range and a fair price is being paid to the suppliers, is so hard to find in the UK. We started off with some "tapas" to share (grilled halloumi with tomato salsa, vegetarian haggis pakora with cucumber raita and a pork belly with pear chutney, the latter unfortunately not as melt-in-the-mouth as it could have been) before proceeding to an excellent angus beef burger and tasty spinach gnocci in a gorgonzola & walnut sauce. And although they're not offering gourmet food or an elegant dining experience, it is a great spot for honest food in a casual environment - great for breakfast, lunch or a snack in between.
Breakfast the next morning was served for us at Centotre - catering for a very different crowd. The fact that it is housed in an old building which used to accommodate a bank makes not only for a wide open spaces with a large bar in the centre, but beautiful high stuccoed ceilings and enormous chandeliers. As the name suggests, it is an Italian eatery and you are even treated to a free language course when you visit their toilet facilities... But the main draw are surely their excellent smoothies (see top image: we had a cenerentola with pineapple juice and passion fruit) or big helpings of Bloody Mary as well as their fabulous breakfast offering and Italian snacks - but be aware that their breakfast menu is very limited on Sundays... I still enjoyed my bacon, tomato and fried egg ciabatta, but I was drooling over all the things I couldn't have: their fresh fruit salads, the freshly prepared porridge and fantastic breakfast bruschette. Well, there's always a next time!
And of course, there's a fair amount of shopping to be done - I recommend you save buying haggis and shortbread for the airport, instead, head to the top food shops in town: Harvey Nichols have now opened food halls, but for less commercial and more established shopping heaven visit Valvona & Crolla for all things Italian (they also have a large conservatory in the back where you can enjoy anything from breakfast through to coffee and dinner), Plaisir du Chocolat for some truly scrumptious and beautifully adorned chocolate truffles or, as mentioned on this blog before, if you are urging to buy authentic Mexican ingredients, Lupe Pinto is going to meet all your needs.
If you're after some good Scotch, plan a pit stop at the Scotch Wisky Heritage Centre - their staff are extremely knowledgeable and can advise you if you're trying to find something that can't be bought up and down the country and in every duty free... there's also a fantastic cheese shop, the name of which escapes me - maybe Pille can help out here!
These are but a few recommendations for your next trip to Scotland - there's much  more left to explore and if you have tips of your own, don't hesitate to add to the list by leaving a comment below!

Pont de la Tour

Although I don't really agree with their byline "understated, yet unmistakably luxurious", Pont de la Tour does have the most impressive views over the river and Tower Bridge, especially spectacular at night time. Sitting on the terrace on a warm summer's day must be equally charming.
We had no such luck, even though exceptionally mild for the season, it was rainy and miserable the night we went there to meet Lara (& husband) of cook & eat one evening in late November. Our table in the casual bar area of the restaurant was a bit of a nightmare for a goup of eight, the accoustics were exceptionally bad, making conversation somewhat difficult - not helped by a (very good) pianist/singer who saw us through the night with quite unusual interpretations of songs old and new. The other drawback in the bar area is the smoking - I have learnt to accept it in bars (and therefore don't go to bars anymore) but people puffing on their cigarettes while I try to enjoy my dinner is really something I cannot and won't get used to. I hope we'll soon see a ban introduced in England as well.
As is custom for a foodblogger evening out, we took ages to decide on our food - despite everybody opting for the Menu du Marché, which is excellent value at £12.50 for 2 and £14.95 for 3 courses. I do think we managed to sample almost all of the dishes. For starters, most of us chose the roast pumpkin and rocket salad with raisins and parmesan, a dish which sounded lovely and seasonal, but turned out rather bland in my opinion: thin slivers of whole-roasted pumpkin were not even at room temperature, but cold,  how lovely could this have been if it were served as chunks of warm garlic-infused squash... it also showed no signs of seasoning, the rocket leaves were barely dressed, for which the balsamico drizzle on the parmesan shavings just couldn't make up.
It is a well-known fact that I sometimes make exceptionally bad choices in restaurants - not that I would order a beef wellington in a seafood restaurant or anything like that, but I do tend to take the short straw rather too often for my liking. Just what happened with my main course. I went for the pan-fried cod with seafood sauce (sic, if I remember correctly) - with the cod a rather young specimen, thus looking more like a fillet of seabass than a chunky and juicy piece of cod, and it was definitely cooked to within an inch of its life... the sauce looked rather unappetisingly like a curry sauce and didn't really do the dish any favours. The fish was sitting on a very tasty pile of spinach, though, so thumbs up for that.
I just wish I had chosen Jeanne's perfectly rich and succulent confit de canard (although I thought the accompanying turnips were an odd choice) or Xochi's juicy and tasty chicken breast with a rather decent potato gratin!
For desserts, I was off the mark again - and I thought chocolate was a safe choice and my petit pot au chocolat, topped with a puddle of single cream and served with slightly chewy mini-madeleines, was edible, but not much more than that. Again, I should have chosen the divine gratin of fresh figs in an eau-de-vie sabayon...
All in all, though, at this price, I am not overly dissapointed, although I would have expected a better quality of my fish dish given that seafood is the focal point of their bistro offering... and there'll have to be a good reason for me to come back - glorious weather and friends to impress with fantastic views of Tower Bridge would just be the right excuse for me!

Le Pont de la Tour
The Butlers Wharf Building
36d Shad Thames
London SE1 2YE
Tel: 020 7403 8403
Public transport: Tower Hill (Circle, District) or London Bridge (Jubilee, BR)

My blog DOES look good in this...

Just a short interlude to say that the results for this month's Does My Blog Look Good In This?  food photography competition have been announced over at SpittoonExtra and I was thrilled to find one of my pictures in second place... but just have a look at all those scrumptious looking entries, I think it was a truly exceptional round!