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Yours is Beyoncé, Mine’s Nadiya:

2nd Dec 201923rd Mar 20201 Comment

All the things I wanted to say but couldn’t…

Nadiya Hussain is now often referred to as a national treasure.

Which she is.

But this adopting of her by a whole nation seems to ignore the individual stories of those who have found solace in both her story, and her food.

I watched Bake Off back in 2015, and yes, I was one of those who grew to love her. Endearingly funny without realising it, and completely oblivious to her own talent, we were all rooting for her until the end.

After bake off finished, however, I didn’t think much more of it. I liked her, but I didn’t continue to closely follow her story.

It was just after Christmas last year when I decided to buy her third cookbook, ‘Nadiya’s Family Favourites’. I’m not sure what made me do it – I didn’t own a single recipe book prior to that, and although I often cooked from scratch at home, it was never anything particularly complicated and I certainly hadn’t yet discovered the passion for food that existed somewhere within me.

In the first few months of this year, I tried following a few of her recipes, with varying degrees of success. There were however, occasions where I miraculously ended up with a dish that actually looked half decent. I’d take something out of the oven, and think, ‘I actually made that… and it wasn’t a disaster…’

Without really realising it, I was learning a lot and something was stirring inside of me.

It wasn’t until about April when things really changed. Working in a very challenging secondary school environment started to take its toll on me. I had struggled on for 8 months without saying anything, but it began to reach a point where it was obvious something was wrong, and there was nothing I could do to hide it, often finding it near impossible to drag myself out of bed to go to work without becoming hysterical.

Fast forward a few weeks and I eventually conceded that I needed time off, and began to talk about things that had been stuck in my head for as long as I can remember. This, coincidentally, was also the time at which Nadiya released her ‘Anxiety and Me’ documentary.

I didn’t watch it at the time, despite multiple people referencing it in conversation. At that point, I wasn’t prepared to be introduced to someone else’s struggles when I was working my way through a difficult time myself (I have since watched it, and am in awe of her as always).

Having a few months off work wasn’t what I had initially wanted, but I was very productive during that time. I kept active, going to the gym nearly every day, I completed a food journalism course whilst blogging and researching career options that would help to carve out a happier future for me, and I baked. I cooked and I baked and I baked and I cooked.

I remember in those first few days constantly worrying that everytime I posted on Instagram something that I’d made, people would be thinking ‘so she’s not at work but she’s ok enough to post all these photos of food and jolly captions.’

But it wasn’t like that.

As I sort of managed to tell Nadiya at her book signing on Sunday night, through blubbering, hyperventilated breaths, it was my therapy.

I realised that when I was at work in the kitchen, I literally didn’t think about anything else.

I then bought Nadiya’s second cookbook ‘Time to Eat’, and loved this one even more than the first. Her recipes incorporate everything from British comfort food (think baked beans, roast dinners, buttery English muffins and sausage and mash) to plates inspired by her Bangladeshi background (fattoush, chaat, lassi and halva) and then everything in between (enchiladas, pancakes, pizza and pastries).

Those few months were a whirlwind in the kitchen and I made some of the best food I’ve ever attempted.

Something inside me had been ignited, and I put so much of it down to the love of cooking that her recipes produced within me.

I began to write more about food, starting this blog and channelling all of my energy into what that made me happy.

After a pep talk from one of my closest friends, I made the decision to quit my job. It was a risk, as I didn’t have a plan, and for me, not having a plan is terrifying.

The funny thing is, I still don’t have one, the only difference now is that I trust that I’ll get to where I need to be regardless.

Last night (Sunday 1^st December) I went to Nadiya’s book tour for her new memoir ‘Finding My Voice’ at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre in London. She spoke openly and eloquently about the many challenges she had faced and overcome, and still is overcoming in her life. Some of them were so far from anything I had ever experienced, and others spoke to me. Some of her fears are my fears, but some of her strengths (without wanting to blow my own trumpet lol) are my strengths.

I was lucky enough to meet her afterwards, but came away feeling like a ginormous idiot, as words failed me, and for reasons I couldn’t really explain at the time I got massively emotional. I actually blame the woman in front of me in the queue who also started to cry so it was her fault for setting the precedent. So yes, this big, long essay here is everything I was trying to explain to her, which just came out in sobs via my ugly crying face.

Who knew cooking and enjoying the incredible recipes that someone else has conjured up could have such an impact on me.

And now I can’t wait to spend every minute of my work shifts reading through the chapters of her life.

Nadiya is brave and inspiring. She’s funny and warm. And I hope that one day when I have children, they have someone like her to look up to.

Fangirling is a bit cringey. But as the title suggests, if you can cry over Beyoncé, I can cry over Nadiya.

……………..

Leaving it on a more light-hearted note, I now have 3 of Nadiya’s 4 recipe books and am gradually working my way through cooking a load of her incredibly diverse food, so just to get you salivating, here are a selection of my favourite and most successful attempts.

Chocolate Caramel Tear ‘n’ Share Soda Bread

Gingerbread Melt-in-the-Middle with Cardamom Ice Cream

Chalo khai!

Meat Me Halfway: Week 3

30th Nov 2019Leave a comment

I’ve actually reached the point where vegan week no longer feels like vegan week. I’m not noticing the differences in the food I’m eating anymore, and it doesn’t feel like such a conscious effort to avoid meat/fish/dairy etc.

Despite that it’s still as exciting. I feel lucky that because I love cooking so much I’m more than happy to invest loads of time in trying new plant-based recipes rather than my vegan diet consisting of dull, flavourless frozen packets of things from that supermarket aisle (Linda McCartney chorizo sausages not included in this shade as they are DELICIOUS). But yeah, I can appreciate that for those who don’t have the time or the interest in cooking, a plant-based diet isn’t necessarily as appealing or exciting.

Anyway, there were a whole new load of things I tried in week 3, both things I made at home and places I ate out at, so let’s dive in and take a look.

I started things off by winging it. I’d bought some okra which, when cooked well, is one of my favourite vegetables. I only tried it for the first time when I was living in Brazil and fell in love with the flavour and texture. This curry however, was a bit shit. I think I should’ve had more patience and let it simmer for longer, but also I forgot that I had coconut milk so added vegan yoghurt instead and that just made it too sweet, so I will not be making a note of this recipe lol.

The only other thing I ate recipe-less was a sandwich that I took to work. I used the focaccia I’d made the week before and added some HECK Thai curry vegan sausages along with a chilli tahini and a lil bit of Bombay Mix for the crunch. I actually really enjoyed these sausages, probably a bit more than the last ones I tried which I think were Indian spiced.

The recipes that I followed throughout the week came from my usual favourites, Nadiya Hussain, Ainsley Harriott, Jamie Oliver and Rachel Ama.

One of the first was a spicy parsnip soup from Jamie’s VEG, which so far I’ve been really impressed with. The photo alongside this recipe looked so enticing but I actually found myself disappointed with the result.

Along with okra, parsnips are my other favourite vegetable (are they a vegetable?) but I lost the elements that I loved in this soup. It was less sweet and didn’t have the creamy, roasted texture that I loved. It was quite a chunky soup, whereas I think I prefer them pretty smooth.

I also tried my first recipe from Ainsley’s Caribbean Kitchen (just from looking at the recipes it’s my favourite cookbook ever…), but unfortunately I started with the wrong one.

I was trying to be reasonably healthy with his Mango, Avocado Brown Rice Salad but I actually had to throw it away. I’m not sure what I did wrong (other than following a recipe with mango and avocado which are two things I don’t really like lol) but there was this weeeeird bitter taste to it and so yep, it all went in the bin. No disrespect to this cookbook though because honestly the recipes look insane.

I brought it right back to the good stuff though with Rachel Ama’s One Pan Breakfast. Basically just tomatoes, spinach, baby potatoes and mushrooms but this was really satisfying. Simple to make and makes you feel pretty healthy, I’ll defo be eating this again.

On the side of that, I made Nadiya Hussain’s Country Beans and whilst there was lots of flavour and they tasted good, I felt that my attempt just looked a bit shit on the plate so I wasn’t massively fussed by this recipe.

A few days later though I persevered with her Turmeric Tomatoes on Avocado Toast and this was a hit. Although I mentioned I don’t really like avocado, I still occasionally cook with it because if it’s surrounded by other flavours and textures that I do like, I don’t mind it too much. The turmeric with the tomatoes was lovely, and again, this is another recipe that made me feel pretty good about what I was putting into my body.

Just a few more recipes to go, and this one’s a breakfast one. I prepped Jamie’s Ripped Smoothie Bowl the night before so I didn’t have to spend ages before work and I really enjoyed it. The vegan yoghurt didn’t taste any different to me to normal yoghurt, although I’ll admit that I much prefer Rachel Ama’s recipe for granola than Jamie’s which he includes for the smoothie bowl topping.

My vegan week came to an end last night with what I again have to admit was a not great meal. I have never tried ackee before, and the scrambled egg appearance tied in with it being described as a ‘fruit’ weirded me out slightly, but I’m open minded and will give any food a shot. The whole recipe was for Smoky Aubergine and Ackee Scramble Bagel and I had that with Nadiya’s Aubergine Pakora with Spicy Ketchup. The smoky aubergine part was okay and I mostly ended up eating this on the bagel, but the ackee didn’t do it for me and I had to bin it which rarely happens 😦

The aubergine pakora was also a fail but I’m pretty sure this must’ve been my fault somehow – the deep frying process just left me with soggy, saturated aubergine that didn’t have any flavour to it, however, I did rate the spicy ketchup.

So my home cooking was a mixed bag this week, some very decent, simple recipes and others that I just wouldn’t bother with again, but I’m still glad I”ve tried new things.

I’ll run through the desserts and sweet treat snacks that I indulged in next. Only one of these I made myself and they were the Lemon and Ginger Oat Balls. I’ve just scoured the Internet and my phone to see who I got this recipe from but I honestly can’t find the exact one. I loved these though, and after my success with Emma (Mrs) Hollingsworth’s peanut butter and chia jam oat balls last month I’ll definitely be making this kind of thing all the time because they taste amazing but are pretty healthy with no refined sugar.

Something that was slightly heavier on the sugar was Doughnut Time’s Good Pie-dings doughnut. It’s part of their Christmas range and is a vegan doughnut stuffed with mince pie filling and topped with cinnamon sugar. It might not look the most appetising but this was so tasty – both the sugary dough and the sweet filling.

As I’ve also spent a fair bit of time working at Winter Wonderland recently I’ve had loads of opportunities to try some amazing food there. I tried Badbrownie’s Salted Caramel Brownie which they have a vegan and non-vegan version of. This was very tasty, although I do prefer an eeeeven gooier brownie (not easy to achieve when it’s this cold outside).

Other Winter Wonderland highlights included the Chickpea Mushroom Curry from Makatcha. This was so full of flavour, I really rated it. Defo want to try their non-vegan options at some point.

Oh My Dog also have a couple of vegan hotdog options and so I tried the Deluxe. It comes with ketchup, mustard, crispy onions and pickles. It was pretty nice and in terms of the hotdog sausage itself I probably wouldn’t even have known that it was vegan.

My final feast at WW came from Fanny’s Kebabs and was probably my favourite. The hummus and pita were okay but nothing exciting, however, the falafel wrap was delicious. There was so much filling packed in and even the fries were impressive. The seasoning on their Persian Fries is amazing, and I love the minty kick that they have.

The only thing left now is my wonderful food from Temple of Seitan, but as I did a review of all that the other day I won’t go into much detail here (you can find it by clicking on the Reviews tab in the menu above). Long story short – get the bbq wings. Amazing.

Highs and lows complete, another plant-based week complete. Like I mentioned before, I don’t even feel like I have to try now, it’s really very easy to eat like this and there is so much that I want to experiment with.

As the weeks have gone by I feel like my vegan week diet has become more varied and is less dependent on just vegetables and beans/pulses – you just have to do a bit of research to see what’s out there and work out what the simplest substitutes are.

Meat Me Halfway: Week 4 will be coming to you a bit sooner next time, as in order to avoid it falling on Christmas (Plant-based Christmas???? I think not), I’ll be doing it a week earlier.

I have a few brunch and street food places that I’m super excited to try and bring to you next time around so you can look forward to that in a few weeks’ time.

See ya

¡Comemos!

Forman & Field: The World’s Oldest Producers of Smoked Salmon

20th Nov 20191 Comment

What could be more normal than spending the morning of your birthday in a smoked salmon factory in Hackney?

For me, nothing.

I wouldn’t prefer to be drinking, partying, watching Netflix. You name it, nothing would beat it.

It was a pretty last minute plan when I realised I wouldn’t be working, and I’d received an invite from Foodtryb whose community I’ve recently become part of, and this fantastic opportunity had been organised by them.

I wasn’t sure what to expect of a tour of a salmon factory but I turned up, intrigued and ready to learn.

Forman & Field is a family-run business that started producing smoked salmon over 100 years ago. Their factory now runs alongside a kitchen that produces delicious food ready to be shipped to you and eaten at home, a restaurant, and a newly opened deli.

As well as their renowned smoked salmon, they offer a range of other high quality foods including meat dishes, other types of fish and seafood, and even cakes.

DISCLAIMER: As part of the Foodtryb community, this tour, the tasting session and goody bag were free, however, I have not been asked to post anything, and as I have said before, I would not post about an event, business or brand that I wasn’t impressed by (lol #blackfoodfest). My enthusiasm is always genuine, and likewise my disappointment or indifference wherever that may arise!

After dressing ourselves in highly attractive hairnets, jackets and shoe covers, we headed to the factory itself where a huge team were already hard at work, and some had been since the early hours. For those who are sensitive to the intense smell of fresh fish, this would not be the place for you, but to me it was fantastic, and seeing exactly where our food comes from and how it’s prepared was incredibly enlightening.

To begin with, we were shown the salmon being prepared, ready to be salted, so heads removed, and sliced down the middle. A few large patches of skin are also removed so that granulated salt can be added, seeping into the skin, drying the flesh out and travelling right down into the tail. Our wonderful host, Darren, explained that some supermarket-bought smoked salmon can be overly slimy as instead of being dried out with salt, they are left in brine meaning that the moisture is held in. This ultimately means that the quality is much poorer, particularly when frozen and then defrosted.

The visit also emphasised how the point of smoking salmon was never to give it an intentional smoky flavour. I’d never thought much about the fact that the point of smoking the salmon when people started doing it originally was purely to seal in the freshness and flavour back when fridges weren’t available. Therefore the smoky flavour is only something that people have come to demand more recently.

There are no flames used in Forman & Field’s production process. Instead, this wooden block is rubbed against the wheel below causing friction, which in turn produces smoke. They don’t believe that the flavour should be too smoky, and so the subtlety of the flavours in their salmon make it perfect for those who don’t typically enjoy smoked products.

Darren couldn’t give us a thorough tour and demo without telling us all about his world record for the fastest time slicing salmon – he even competed against Gordon Ramsey and you can find the video on their website! The bones have to be removed, and no matter what size the salmon is, there are always 30 to pick out.

There are then a couple of different ways of slicing it – a ‘D cut’, slicing vertically which is the more modern option, and a longer, horizontal cut which was more popular in the past.

We also visited the room where the salmon is hung up – all of them being Scottish salmon – some wild, and some farmed. The farmed was slightly brighter in colour as in the image below.

We welcomed the much needed warmth in our next stop – the kitchen. There was so much going on in here, ready for orders to be shipped out to both big supermarkets and businesses, and independent orders. Some of the dishes being made before us included lobster terrine with langoustine and smoked salmon, and a meat roulade – our first insight into the non-fish dishes produced here.

By this time, we were v excited to try some samples.

I say some samples… no one had anticipated just quite how much food would appear before us, and I have to say the spread was incredible.

First up were the raw basics – simple smoked salmon. We were introduced to both fatty and lean versions so that we could make a judgement on which one we preferred. I’m still not sure, and think I need a bit more practice (!) but for now I’d probably say the fatty one was slightly preferable. We also tried the bit from the belly (centre), and then two slices of the royal salmon.

The royal salmon was beautiful. The slice on the left is plain, and on the right is flavoured with truffle. The pieces were light and buttery with a beautiful texture. I would never have thought that truffle could work so well with salmon in this way but it was delicious – for me it the perfect example of how to use truffle in a dish. Less of the raved-about truffle pasta at Gloria, which is a sickly overload of slimy, wasted truffle. Here there was enough truffle to taste, but it was subtle enough not to feel thrown in for the sake of it.

Next we tried the Swedish gravlax, which contrary to what many people think, is not smoked salmon, as it’s not actually been smoked! This one was flavoured with dill, and it was ok but nothing special.

Surprisingly, I much preferred the ginger and wasabi salmon, despite not really liking wasabi. I found this one creamy and delicate.

On to another course, and this one sounds odd. Salmon jerky. I actually quite like jerky anyway so was looking forward to trying this. It’s pretty salty and so moorish. I noticed some people taking a bite and leaving the rest on their plates but I was straight in there, bite after bite. Really unusual concept, and that’s always something that has me curious!

The first non-salmon-related dish was an onion tart, which I actually brought some of home. Not too eggy, with soft, crumbly pastry and a tasty filling. The scotch eggs also came out at this point. The first one was a smoked salmon scotch egg, and the second, a traditional pork one. Interestingly I did prefer the salmon one, and the egg yolk in the centre was that perfect combination of being cooked yet still gooey.

Writing this is just making me realise how much food there was. It really was a madness. But we’re now onto the fried goodies – croquettes and arancini. First up was the salmon and lobster croquette, then we had thai salmon (my favourite – beautiful flavours) and then smoked haddock. I can’t remember what the first arancino was to be honest, but the second interestingly was a greek salad one with feta. This one was good, and I heard lots of people saying it was their favourite.

YES WE ARE STILL GOING. AND HERE COME THE HIGHLIGHTS. I couldn’t believe it when I heard the words ‘mac ‘n’ cheese’ floating through the air. This was not what I had anticipated, especially combined with the word TRUFFLE. I realised I had to start being more sensible at this point, as who knew when it would stop, so I managed to limit myself to just half a mini portion. Mac ‘n’ cheese was fab, perfectly creamy and again, light on the truffle flavours but still enough to notice.

Alongside the Mac was a salmon lasagne, which I wanted to try but didn’t have massively high expectations of. Just goes to show how open-minded you should be when trying things because this was my favourite dish of them all. I’m not sure what made it so beautiful, but it just had a kind of butteriness to it and I’m very tempted to order more of these from the catalogue because it was fantastic, and tasted such high quality.

Last fishy dish was the smoked mackerel paté. Mackerel is the ultimate fishy kind of fish, and so I reckon is only good for genuine foodies or fish lovers. I appreciated the paté but I wasn’t hugely fussed by it.

Who would’ve thought we’d also end up being served a load of desserts at a fish factory of all places, but we were. The lemon and pistachio cake came first and was lovely and light with a sweet hint of lemon. Then came the brownie which was excellent – for me a brownie MUST be gooey, not at all hard, and more dense in a chocolately way than spongey. This one was exactly that without being tooo heavy. Finally was the banana bread which was decent but I have had better (Fox Café in Nottingham is still my number one of all time!).

And. That. Is. Everything.

And so it should be. Luckily all the portions were small tasters, but still it was a crazy amount of food. I also received some of their packaged smoked salmon to take home, which I’m going to freeze whilst I research some fantastic recipes to put it to use.

I’ve had such a wonderful morning, and after having a look at the menu for their restaurant online (they do both dinners and weekend brunch), hopefully I’ll get chance to head over there at some point.

Thank you to both Forman & Field for their fantastic hospitality and genuine passion and knowledge surrounding their products, and Foodtryb for the organisation and invite.

If you want to find out more, browse their catalogue or restaurant menus then head to www.formanandfield.com.

Let’s get fishhhhy, and…

¡Comemos!

Meat Me Halfway: Week 2

2nd Nov 2019Leave a comment

One month has flown by, and so we’re already at week 2 of my mission to reduce my meat and dairy intake.

I’m gonna go straight in there and say that I enjoyed this week a lot more. I think the meals I ate were more varied, and I focused slightly less on beans and pulses; my body ultimately thanking me for this as I felt less heavy and bloated.

I’ll kick things off with one of my absolute favourite things that I snacked on at work nearly every day.

I saw this recipe on @mrshollingsworths Instagram account and they looked amazing – peanut butter energy balls filled with raspberry chia jam. You never know if these kinds of things are going to work for you in the same way that they miraculously do on Instagram and recipe books etc, but I can confirm that these came out perfectly. Basically just a combination of oats, peanut butter and dates blended together. For the chia jam you can either buy it or make it yourself but you need to freeze it in an ice cube tray so that the little blobs are easier to work with. Once they’re frozen, you take them out and press the dough around the frozen jam in a little ball. The jam will then defrost so that when you bite into them, this happens…

Just delicious. And with the same Rachel Ama raspberry chia jam recipe that I used for her pancakes last vegan week. I’m looking forward to trying other variations of these little energy balls next time round.

Along with these snacks, I needed a more substantial main meal for my week of packed lunches and decided to take a risk, following a salad recipe. Just to emphasise, I am really not a salad person and just the word alone makes me shudder. But, being open-minded and all, I went straight to Jamie’s Veg book (which seems to be absolutely everywhere recently) and tried his Bhel Puri Salad recipe.

Biggest shock of my life. It was amazing.

First off, it was so vibrant in colour – I think perhaps the fact that it wasn’t such a green salad helped me to find it less off-putting. It’s certainly not a traditional leaf-based salad.

You’ve got red onion, radish, peanuts, pomegranate, and a whole load of crunch from the Bombay Mix and crushed poppadoms. Add all the spices and this really does form a solid meal that tastes as exciting as it looks.

A couple more Rachel Ama recipes followed, one a bit meh, one an absolute winner. I had a brunch of her Nut Butter Toast which was okay but quite basic I guess, but at least it’s something you can customise yourself in terms of toppings and flavours.

What did really impress me though was her French Toast. I’d never really thought of french toast as something that could be vegan, as I’d thought that the egg was a key component. The substitute for the beaten egg mix worked perfectly though and visually created the same yellow-brown hued appearance on the bread. The recipe also used sourdough which I was sceptical about as I thought (bare with me on this one), it might be too ‘bread-like’. As in perhaps a bit crusty etc but it turned out super soft and spongy.

Ngl I would gladly eat this in a restaurant. Credit where credit’s due.

So after this masterpiece and the PBJ balls, I felt like I was on a bit of a roll, but I did take a few steps back again with my attempted Mango Cococnut Chia Pudding breakfast topped with granola and coconut shavings. I made this the night before as Rachel suggests, thinking it would be ready to go, perfect for the following morning and giving me an extra 15 mins in bed as I didn’t have to make anything from scratch. However, this ‘pudding’ just didn’t do it for me. A question of taste I reckon. I’ve never enjoyed mango that much but I’m always determined not just to write off recipes containing it. But that, along with the coconut milk that had soaked into the chia seeds forming an almost gelatinous slime really didn’t go down well. I don’t think the recipe is bad by any means but it just didn’t work for me.

From one coconut recipe to another, her simple, straightforward recipe for Coconut Rice was a winner, and pairing this creamy, delicious side with Jamie’s Stuffed Curried Aubergine worked a treat.

Doesn’t look massively appealing here, but it was absolutely packed with flavour – I highly recommend trying this recipe.

Back to Instagram, and the vegetable I have a love-hate (like-hate is probably more accurate) relationship with, it’s @elavegan ‘s recipe for Kung Pao Cauliflower.

This didn’t end up being bad, but I think I would’ve enjoyed it more had I boiled the cauliflower beforehand to soften before pan-frying and roasting.

Then came the evening when for once I didn’t have a plan. It was my opportunity to wing something. I had some filo pastry that needed using up so decided to try a filo pastry pie. Instead of egg wash I used coconut oil which I read was a half-decent substitute, and so after lining the dish with a couple of layers of the pastry, I filled it with chopped walnuts, mushrooms, vegan pistachio pesto (featured in my last Meat Me Halfway post), and @iamnutokay ‘s vegan black truffle cheese. The end result actually turned out pretty well, and it was really tasty, despite the photo looking like an absolute mess.

I bought a couple of things from @iamnutokay at Victoria Park Market in Bethnal Green a few weeks ago. All their ‘cheeses’ are plant-based, and although the texture doesn’t particularly resemble actual cheese, it’s a great substitute that comes in a range of really tasty flavours. Along with the black truffle, I also bought a chipotle cheese, and both of them are delicious. Vegan ‘parmesan’ also seemed like an important staple so I grabbed a jar of that to keep me going for a while, to add to vegan pastas and risottos.

***

Some of you may know that yesterday was actually World Vegan Day, and the evening before, on Halloween, I got last minute tickets to the Vegan Nights Festival at the Trewman Brewery in Shoreditch, London. I am going to do a separate post about that shortly, but I tried quite a few different vegan street food style meals with mixed results! A couple of amazing finds and some to be avoided, but more to come on that soon!

Restaurant-wise, I’ll take it back to Itsu, which is really great for vegan lunches. I also find their food so refreshing and energising, and they make rice box salads that are super filling. I don’t have any photos this time, but I still adore the vegetable gyozas which I had for a second time, and also was massively surprised by the mini avocado maki rolls. Not a huge fan of avocado, but for some reason, encased in sticky rice and nori sheets it tasted great.

***

I still love the fact that two of the best biscuits out there (Oreos and Lotus biscuits) are both vegan, and so these make a great base for vegan shakes. From Ed’s Easy Diner, I got an oreo milkshake which was creamy and indulgent, and kept me going through a long night shift.

Again, not the most appetising-looking but I promise it tasted great!

Last but not least, I finally got round to trying Arancini Brothers, whose burgers I had first noticed on Instagram a while back, being astounded that they were vegan. I ordered a ‘nudie’ arancini pot along with a chorizo burger. Other than the arancini arriving cold which was disappointing, I loved everything about the food.

I didn’t get any chorizo flavour or texture from the burger to be honest, but the flavour was still beautiful. It was pretty spicy, and the whole concept of an arancini patty is amazing, especially if you’re not a fan of typical plant-based patties made from soya/beetroot/mushroom/lentils etc. The ‘cheese’ was just oozing everywhere, and so for me, this is the perfect example of how vegan food can be utterly indulgent. We’ve come a long way from immediately associating a vegan diet with greenness and health-obsessions.

So that’s pretty much everything. Like I said I found this second week a lot more exciting food-wise than the first week and there are a few meals here that I would actively choose over meat/dairy-based meals which is a good sign. It’s given me a new burst of enthusiasm for all the recipes that I’m going to try next time around at the end of November when week 3 comes calling.

Stay tuned for the Vegan Nights post coming as soon as I have the time. In the meantime why not research vegan eateries near you and set yourself the challenge of eating out at one of these plant-based spots this month. Go in with an open-mind, and…

¡Comemos!

The party you’ll never want to leave

20th Oct 201920th Oct 2019Leave a comment

When I first moved to London just over a year ago, there was one place that I was immediately desperate to try.

Feasting my eyes on London’s foodie scene via Instagram, photos of colourful, innovative, incredible looking pie slices kept appearing week after week.

Those pies were dreamt up and brought to life by Claire Connor, the founder of A Pie Party (@apieparty Instagram), London’s most exciting dessert street food stall.

Claire now runs her dessert business full-time, working hard baking around the clock and coming up with new and exciting recipes that taste amazing and look equally as impressive. As a self-taught baker, Claire has perfected her pie pastry, and so with that solid foundation in place, she can experiment with a number of different flavours and concepts, many of which you’ll find out more about below.

It actually took me quite a few months before I finally ventured to Victoria Park Market in Bethnal Green where A Pie Party has been trading every Sunday for a while back, and the first time I went I naively arrived in the afternoon about an hour before closing, when most of Claire’s creations had sold out. The only thing I could get my hands on was the apple pie, with its generous filling and sweet, cinnamon taste.

I definitely learnt my lesson though, and every time since I’ve been there just after opening at 10, ready to get my hands on the goods.

Not only can you indulge in incredible pies, but A Pie Party also offers other desserts and treats such as cookies, brownies and Rocky Road. One of my favourite is the chocolate chip walnut cookie – possibly one of the biggest you’ve ever seen, but absolutely delicious.

A Pie Party’s second cookie, the Nutella filled chocolate hazelnut one is equally as ginormous as the choc chip and walnut. Only this one goes one step further – it is filled with Nutella. If you can’t finish this yourself, you should be ashamed. It is not for sharing.

A recent variation sees the same cookie filled with Black Milk Cereal’s Kinderella hazelnut cream. I liked the cream, but it didn’t ooze out in the same way as the Nutella, and there wasn’t quite as much packed inside. Still worth trying nonetheless.

One of the regulars that can be found on the stall is the blueberry pie. If you’re not in the mood for a super-indulgent chocolate treat, this fruity option could be the one for you. The blueberry topping is sharp and tangy, and the crumble topping adds a bit of a crunch to contrast the soft berries.

Rocky Road lovers are in luck as you can get your hands on both dark and white chocolate rocky road. I tried both of these in summer, and I couldn’t get enough of them when they’d started to melt slightly and go gooey in the heat. The white one looks beautiful but I surprisingly preferred the dark chocolate one. Would be handy if I were able to dislocate my jaw in order to get this giant slab of heaven in my mouth but sadly, small nibbly bites are the only way.

The chocolate chip brownie is equally as gooey. I really don’t understand the absolute animals who content themselves with dry, hard brownies, when you could devour a fudgey, creamy one. A much more manageable slab than the Rocky Road, this is one for all brownie connoisseurs.

A hugely popular special was the Cookie Dough Cheesecake Pie. One of the things I love about A Pie Party is the combining of different desserts in one – as in, cookie dough / cheesecake / pie. Those three together already sound like a dream. This one was flavoured with vanilla and so the cheesecake filling was very sweet, but in a good way, and the cookie dough ball on top was delicious.

A surprising favourite of mine was the Peanut Blondie Pie. I have resisted peanuts for years and years, always complaining that I didn’t like them, but Claire’s desserts have a strange power over me whereby I’m desperate to try everything despite them including ingredients/foods that I supposedly dislike. And I’m so glad I did give into this one. The blondie base was delicious and the peanut flavour noticeable but not overwhelming.

Next up are two staples that have been firm favourites on the menu for a while. Firstly the Biscoff Browie Pie, definitely a crowdpleaser, considering how long it’s been around. It has a gooey, fudgey base with a Biscoff crumb on top and is utterly indulgent.

The other, is a slightly more recent addition, but one that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. The Bourbon Pecan Pie is completely different to anything else Claire has done. The base and pecans are sticky and sweet, and the whisky adds a complementary flavour that isn’t too intense (and that’s coming from someone who’s not a huge fan of alcohol-flavoured desserts).

A summer special that looked as good as it tasted was the Funfetti Birthday Cake Pie. Another dessert hybrid – birthday cake / cheesecake / pie, this one was up there with the best. The funfetti sprinkles added a prettiness to its appearance and the sponge base on top of the pastry was unique.

A Pie Party made an appearance at this year’s London Brunch Fest too, and you may have seen the exclusive pie featured on my blog post about the event. This special was a Bounty Coconut Pie, and I loved it. Sadly there are many people in this world who do not understand the true value of the Bounty, and often leave them untouched at the bottom of the Celebrations tub. But they are fools. Bountys are delicious, and what could be better than a creamy, coconutty brownie-based pie topped with one.

I’ll leave you with my all-time favourite to salivate over – the Toffee Popcorn Pie. This was one of the greatest desserts I’ve ever had; chocolate chip blondie base with toffee popcorn topping and chocolate drizzle sauce. I hope Claire brings this one back as it was incredible.

There is nothing formulaic about Claire’s desserts and that’s part of what I love. Yes, she has perfected her pie pastry, but every other element of the pies is entirely unpredictable. What will top the pastry next time? Sponge? Brownie? Blondie?

Her inventive, imaginative creations really do live up to the Instagram hype, but you know what? Social media hype isn’t enough. Yes, like the photos, react to the stories, but also get yourself down there to try for yourselves. You can get your hands on A Pie Party treats at Canopy Market, Kings Cross Friday-Sunday, Victoria Park Market every Sunday and Greenwich Market every Saturday-Sunday. If you live in the Battersea area, you’ll also find her on Deliveroo.

There is one last thing before I sign off…

Claire’s stall is wonderful, but what would be even better, is a permanent location in London where you could treat yourself to these slices of heaven everyday. A crowdfunding project is underway to raise the funds to open ‘London’s first pie bar’, serving sweet treats by day and cocktails by night. This would also allow Claire to expand her menu, offering things like ice cream sundaes which just aren’t possible on the market stalls.

This can only happen with the support of those who believe in the project. A small amount donated by lots of people could make all the difference, but time is running out. If you would love to support this small business and give it a shot at transforming London’s dessert scene, then head to: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/londons-first-pie-bar/comments#start to donate.

This campaign really needs our support, no matter how little you may be able to offer.

To see loads more of these original pies, that I haven’t been lucky enough to try yet, head to @apieparty on Instagram for droolworthy content. Follow this up with a visit to the stall and…

¡Comemos!

‘Influencing’ is not a thing: The polemical world of social media advertising

15th Oct 201915th Oct 2019Leave a comment

Freebies, followers and fame.

Three things that together, summarise a new 21^st century phenomenon.

The world of influencing is a controversial one. Less than ten years ago, the word ‘influencer’ would be defined and understood very simply, and broadly, as follows:

‘A person or thing that influences another.’ (Google definition)

But now it has taken on a whole new meaning. This new meaning stems from a marketing viewpoint, one in which an influencer is recognised as:

‘A person with the ability to influence potential buyers of a product or service by promoting or recommending the items on social media.’ (Google definition)

But here’s where I take a risk. This new term and even ‘career path’ just doesn’t sit comfortably with me. I’ll try and break it down into a few key issues that concern me.

‘Lifestyle’ Influencing

What does this even mean? I have seen numerous Instagram accounts where the person behind it purports to be a ‘lifestyle influencer’. To me, this simply implies that said person doesn’t actually have a main area of interest or passion to justify their ‘blogging’. It suggests to me less than ideal motives such as fame, and the addictive nature of follower counts and likes. ‘Lifestyle’ can encompass so many different things – from home to food, fashion to travel, and realistically no one has a specialist interest or knowledge in all of these vast areas.

2. Aspiring to be an ‘influencer’ as a full-time career

Some people are inadvertently able to influence others due to the following they have accrued through other roles involving talent, for example actors, singers, designers etc. They are able to influence others naturally, as they are well-respected and have made a name for themselves through something they are skilled at. However, aspiring to simply be an ‘influencer’ for me is really quite sad. It shouldn’t constitute a career in itself. Being sent free products or services and posting about them (often using pre-scripted captions – not even using your own words) should not be a job that merits payment. Of course I can see why marketing teams take advantage of this new form of promotion, because ultimately for them it is profitable, but for too many people they reap the rewards without actually putting in much work.

3. If you love something enough you will always be happy to pay for it

Recently I’ve seen many a post on Twitter from food traders telling cringeworthy stories of people asking for free food in return for a feature on their account. It’s quite scary how many responses these posts get from others saying they’ve received the same arrogant requests. Being sent something for free in return for promoting it to help the brand who have got in touch is one thing, but actively contacting businesses yourself to request freebies, for me, really shows no shame. If you are passionate about whatever you talk about on social media, you’ll always be happy to put money into businesses in order to gather content for your page, along with enjoying the product itself, whether that’s spending money on food, beauty products or clothing.

4. Do you even like what you’re promoting???

Of course not all of this applies to eeeeveryone, but there are ‘influencers’ who don’t even appreciate the products and services they receive. People promote for the sake of it when they’re asked to, rather than turning down freebies or payment if they’re not interested in the product. I have met people who have openly admitted that they get so many offers/invites, that it’s just not ‘special’ anymore. When it comes to food blogging, may I ask that if you’re on any kind of diet, be it low-carb, sugar-free etc (unless it’s for genuine health reasons, ie intolerance etc), don’t bother accepting an invite to an indulgent meal where photos are taken, but food is left untouched. Not only is this ridiculous but it’s also incredibly misleading to followers who trust you, when you’ve refused to eat the food. This happens and it is very frustrating.

So, where do I consider myself to be placed within all this? I’m not naïve. With just under 3000 followers on Instagram and a measly 14 on this blog, there would never be any suggestion of me being called an ‘influencer’. And I would never want to be. There are a few reasons I do what I do and I’d like to highlight what I think is the difference.

I combine my love of food and writing. I’m no food expert, nor am I the most talented writer, but I am going to be kind enough to myself to recognise that I do have some sort of skill when it comes to my writing ability, and I enjoy pairing that with my foodie ‘research’ to provide interesting and insightful content.

I started doing this for myself. And still do to a large extent. When I first started my Instagram page, I was scared to follow ‘normal people’ as opposed to business accounts because I was embarrassed, and I certainly didn’t want anyone I knew to ever come across my account as I would’ve found that utterly humiliating at the time. Fortunately now, I no longer play host to this self-conscious mentality, and in fact, when friends and acquaintances contact me to tell me they’re really enjoying my posts, I find it really uplifting. Having said this, it still all comes back to self-gratification. I am my number 1 fan! Literally my own number 1 stalker. The amount of time I spend looking over my own accounts at the foods I’ve eaten and the places I’ve visited is almost a joke. But ultimately, doing this kind of thing for yourself before anyone else means that you never lose sight of why you started.

I spend most of my wage on food. This isn’t a competition. A ‘who can eat out the most’ or who can buy the most expensive meal?’, but the fact of the matter is I don’t need freebies to feed my posts. I love supporting businesses whose food I absolutely adore and would never see this as wasted money. I think in the past year I’ve had 3 free meals, and don’t get me wrong, I’ve been so grateful for each of those. The excitement of receiving an invite will never lose its magic for me, but not in a million years will you see me actively asking for complimentary food.

Photos. I don’t want to stand around a table with 20 other people, bright lights and big cameras, positioning food delicately for half an hour, only to then consume a tiny bit of the food cold. Yes, of course I take photos to complement the written content I produce, but also as something for me to look back on. But I’ll snap a few shots on my phone over about a 30 second period, and then I’ll enjoy my meal. I don’t feel that I owe anything to the people who follow me, I am not producing content for them and so my priority is having a delicious meal with friends/family. This is also why I don’t often produce video content for Instagram stories for example. This is much more time consuming and is too much of a disruption to a relaxed sociable mealtime for me.

So to reiterate, for me, a ‘blogger’ is someone who produces original content, whether it be written, visual or both based on a specific area of interest using skills that they possess.

I’m not going to attempt to provide my own definition of ‘influencer’ to contrast my blogger definition, because I appreciate that some people would consider the two to overlap and would argue that influencing can be a really positive thing, but I think you can gather why I consider them to be very separate from the points above.

Despite my views, I’m not out to offend anyone. I just think it’s disappointing that this new craze-turned-profession is taking the beauty and excitement out of having a genuine passion for something.

Everyone’s entitled to his or her opinion, and I hope I’ve given fair justification for my thoughts. Ultimately, if you love what you do, and you do it for the right reasons, then no harm done.

But really, please don’t aspire to be an ‘influencer’. Who cares if people act based on your promotions or not? Eat because it tastes great. Wear something because it looks amazing on you. Use a skin product because it makes you glow like a goddess. By all means share your thoughts, but don’t base your entire career on convincing people to invest in a product or service just because you’ve been given an incentive to do so.

Less influencing others. More doing it for ourselves.

Ciao xo

and last but not least…

¡Comemos!

Meat Me Halfway: Week 1

29th Sep 20191 Comment

This is the first part in my new and ongoing series of blog posts, ‘Meat me halfway’. It’s basically a diary following the ups and downs, highlights and lowlights of my journey to reducing my meat and dairy intake.

I’ll willingly admit that I don’t ever have any intention of giving up meat, seafood, and dairy products entirely, however, everything I’ve seen in the media recently has made me consider what I can do to contribute positively to the environmental issues we’re facing. I’m under no illusions – I know that me eating slightly less meat/dairy isn’t going to change the world, but it’s a small step that I can take to contribute to reducing the demand. The way I’ve decided to work it is that for one week towards the end of each month, I’ll only eat plant-based food, so that equates to 3 months a year. I’m also intrigued as to whether my body will physically feel any better.

So there’s my intro – you can look forward to these diary posts once a month from now on, but for now let’s get stuck in and see what delicious (and not so delicious) meals I ate.

One of the things that actually quite concerns me about eating purely vegan food is Biscoff. Is there anything in the world that tastes as incredible as Biscoff spread? I think not. Yet it being vegan is not synonymous with it being healthy. And it is fast becoming my weakness. Firstly, Doughnut Time’s ‘David Hassel-Biscoff’ is one of the best and most indulgent doughnuts you will ever eat. But I wanted to incorporate this incredible spread into my home-cooked food. Porridge oats are delicious with some added Biscoff spread. This meal is so straightforward – oats with soy milk, (which I’ve realised doesn’t differ in taste at all to cow’s milk) add a blob or swirl of Biscoff spread, and top with a few Lotus biscuits. Super straight-forward, filling and tasty. Now I just need to stop eating it straight from the jar…

Another breakfast meal that’s really satisfying to both make and eat is granola. When I decided to embark on this journey I bought Rachel Ama’s Vegan Eats book, as it was one of the only books that stood out to me in terms of interesting, exciting-looking vegan food that I was eager to try out. Her guide to making your own granola is so simple – blitzed mixed nuts with coconut oil, oats and maple syrup, baked until golden and then add your choice of dried fruits. To make this even more delicious, I took the vegan cookie dough from Doughnut Time’s Ice Ice Bae Bae doughnut and sprinkled that on top.

Meal prep for the week came in the form of beetroot lentils with HECK sweet chilli plant-based sausages. I have to admit that this meal that I ate repetitively throughout the week didn’t really do it for me in the end. I much prefer chickpeas and beans to lentils, and although I love the flavour of beetroot, I felt like the texture of the lentils with the sausages was just too stodgy. The sausages were actually pretty tasty but the texture was definitely veggified rather than them attempting to be an actual meat substitute.

Last Sunday afternoon I headed to the Black Food Festival at the Oval Space, the focus being on innovative food aesthetics – more specifically, black tinted food. I hate to say it but I was very disappointed with the festival overall. There just weren’t enough traders or visitors to fill the large space, and to make matters worse, despite the festival ending at 9pm, by 5pm when I arrived, most of the food had sold out. I was able to get my hands on a vegan salad from a stall that I annoyingly can’t remember the name of but I’m not actually sure what that had to do with black food. It was tasty at the time, but one of those that on reflection you wouldn’t desperately want to eat again. Then I got a mushroom and black bean taco from Tacos Hermanos. It looked great with the charcoal tortilla and the contrasting bright orange chipotle sauce, and it tasted good, but I found myself admitting that I would never choose that over meat.

Before heading to work the following morning I went back to the wonderful recipes of Rachel Ama, and this time, her vegan pancakes with raspberry chia jam. They were super easy to make, including the jam (although it didn’t thicken up that much) and they tasted great too. The pancakes were quite heavy as oats had been used instead of flour, but they still had a nice texture and the sharpness of the chia jam worked really well.

I was lucky enough to receive some freebies from Itsu later that day in exchange for food from where I work and luckily the ladies had lots of vegan options. They gave me some vegetable gyozas and a tofu rice/salad box. I really enjoyed the gyozas – honestly don’t think I have a preference between the meat and veg ones, which says a lot. When it comes to tofu I have tried it many a time and sometimes I can stomach it, others I can’t. I really wasn’t a fan of this one so I left it, but I did really enjoy the salad and sushi rice, with the delicious sauce, although I still haven’t worked out exactly what it is.

My first proper vegan restaurant dining experience took place at BabaBoom in Islington. It was good that they had a few different options, although there were no vegan desserts. We had flatbread with sweet potato hummus to start and the hummus was great and really creamy. My main was a broadbean falafel flatbread, and whilst I definitely did enjoy it, I still found myself getting food envy when my parents’ chicken and mutton flatbreads were served. Falafel is a great vegan option though and I was definitely super full at the end – helped out by the really well-seasoned fries that I had on the side.

My homemade sweet treats of the week came in the form of apple crumble oat balls. I had a couple of these to snack on each day, and they grew on me throughout the week. They’re made from a blend of apple, almond butter, dates and oats and then chilled in balls so that they hold together. These are great for an energy boost and would be really easy to adjust the ingredients to create different flavours.

We’re on to Rachel Ama round 3 for one of my dinners, and I made her Caribbean Channa. This chickpea curry/stew was packed with flavour and tasted so much better than it looked, but despite all that flavour, for some reason it just didn’t satisfy me in the same way that it wouldn’t done if it’d had beef or chicken in.

I think one of the things I’ve been realising is that sweet vegan food is often much better than the savoury, and Juicebaby’s Açaí bowl reaffirmed this to me. I hadn’t had açaí since I was in Brazil and had been kind of nervous that it just wouldn’t be the same, eating it at work in rainy London as opposed to on beautiful, sunny Ipanema beach. But you know what, I loved it. It didn’t disappoint and although it was a little on the pricey side it was a decent portion size and a great breakfast. It was topped with banana, granola and coconut, but toppings can be customised.

Now, my first slip up. Up to this point, I’d found eating vegan super easy. I hadn’t been remotely tempted to break my plant-based promise. But whilst at work, I was approached by a lady who worked at the café opposite who was interested in doing a food exchange, much like the one I’d done with Itsu days before. I agreed enthusiastically, but then it turned out that eggs and bacon were the extent of the options available. My brain for some reason just froze and I couldn’t tell her that I wasn’t eating meat or eggs so found myself replying ‘Ooh a bacon sandwich would be great.’ Ten minutes later I’m sitting there with this sandwich thinking what the fuck do I do now? The smell was killing me. I literally can’t deal with food waste so there was no way I was gonna let it go to waste but it wouldn’t last until my vegan week was over. So yes, in the end I ate it. And you know what? I have no regrets, because there are no rules to my plant-based eating plans. I can eat what I like, and if during a week of around 15 vegan meals, one ends up slipping, who cares? I’ve still done really well. So I don’t plan on breaking the cycle every time I’m on vegan week, but I really didn’t need to beat myself up about it.

Okay, we’re on to our penultimate meal, and it’s a good one. I was really excited when I came across Chilango’s ‘This isn’t chicken burrito’ on Deliveroo. I was really intrigued as to how convincing it would be. This was one of the best things I ate all week. You could barely tell it wasn’t chicken, the texture was almost identical, and being the filling to a burrito, flavour didn’t really come into it, as that came from all the other elements. You had rice, black beans, salsa, jalapenos, all of which created the most flavoursome Mexican wrap which I would be happy to eat any time, even when not making a conscious effort to eat vegan. This is one that I massively recommend.

Last but not least is another home-cooked meal, but this time one that required no recipe. My parents had just got back from Italy and had brought me back some food-related goodies. One of those was a jar of vegan pistachio pesto, and along with that was some Busiate pasta from where they had been in Sicily which is not made with eggs. The pasta was oddly slimy, but not unpleasant, and when I’ve made fresh pasta myself it’s always had this texture. The pesto was really nice, but not as strong tasting as a basil-based pesto. Regardless, I will definitely be eating this again, maybe with some added sun dried tomatoes and who knows, perhaps a few bites of chicken.

So there’s what went down during my first vegan week. The highlights were definitely the Biscoff, which I have found myself craving 24/7 and also the Chilango burrito. I’m also impressed by the discovery of plant-based milk, which I’ll be using full-time from now on.

I reckon I’d been pretty naïve regarding the way I thought my body would feel following all this plant-based food. I assumed that by being so ‘healthy’ I would feel less heavy and generally better in myself, whereas in fact I felt more gross and bloated than I have done in a long time. I guess this stems from a combination of things – firstly, as previously mentioned, veganism and healthy-eating are not necessarily synonymous so I hadn’t really been that healthy. Secondly, such a drastic change in my diet is obviously going to have effects on my body, and will probably take some getting used to, not to mention the fact that beans, pulses and some veg are known for leaving you slightly bloated so I should’ve expected this. It hasn’t put me off at all though and I’m sure once my body gets used to it every month, the side effects won’t be so significant.

I definitely suggest that you check out Rachel Ama’s cookbook for further inspiration, and hopefully you’ll learn that plant-based food can be both deliciously satisfying and full of flavour. Whether you’re a full-blown meat-eater or a dedicated vegan, I hope this little diary has offered you some ideas to consider when it comes to meat-free eating habits, but remember – as long as you’re enjoying what you’re eating in a balanced way, you do you! This is well and truly a non-preaching zone.

Stay tuned for next month’s instalment, and for now…

¡Comemos!

Hello, this is London’s number 1 cheesecake expert speaking…

28th Aug 201928th Aug 2019Leave a comment

Sixteen years of my life I spent thinking I didn’t like cheesecake.

SIXTEEN YEARS.

I will never be able to retrieve those lost years, but what I can do is attempt to make up for the lack of cheesecake in my life.

According to the wonderfully useful and addictive Eaten app (see my previous blog post on how it all works), I am officially the number 1 cheesecake expert in London. You simply cannot argue with their statistics. Here’s the proof:

So what is it that makes such a good cheesecake? And what are the warning signs of a disappointing dessert of this kind?

We’ll leave the best until last so I’ll start with some of my least favourite efforts.

One of the most important aspects of the cheesecake is its base. A dodgy base = a dodgy cheesecake. A few months ago I got carried away in a whirlwind of Brazilian flavours at Temakinho in Soho, and couldn’t resist their passionfruit (or maracuja) cheesecake. The flavour itself was lovely and sharp but the base really let it down.

I need to taste the buttery crumbs with their gritty texture. A welded-together stodgy base like this just doesn’t do it for me, no matter how lovely it looks.

Another major factor is of course the creamy cheese filling. Unfortunately this one just wasn’t creamy enough and had an odd savoury cheese flavour rather than a sweet cream cheese.

Ultimately Temakinho had produced a dessert full of fruity flavour but lacking on the textural front (with that disconcerting actual real-life cheese cheesiness).

Some attempts find they have the opposite problems though. Take this banana cheesecake from Almost Famous in Leeds, for example.

An excellent biscuit base (if you can actually manage to get your spoon to the bottom of the jar), and a pleasant consistency to the cream cheese. HOWEVER… bananas. I love bananas. And I love desserts flavoured with actual banana. But the problem is, as it’s not as sweet as other fruits, once you combine it with cream cheese and/or whipped cream, the flavour is is not powerful enough to shine through. The texture of the actual banana pieces gets lost in all the creaminess and the overall flavour of the cheesecake becomes quite bland. I often find this is also the case with an average banoffee pie. Banana + cream is not enough. More sugar or an extra burst of flavour somewhere is needed to heighten the overall taste. A pretty cheesecake that felt good to eat, but didn’t quite hit the spot.

Moving up slightly, we find this dessert in a whole new form. The frozen cheesecake by Whipped in Covent Garden looks absolutely delightful. Their fantastic menu allows you to customise your flavours, and so I ended up with a Lotus Biscuit base, blueberry sauce, honeycomb and oreos. To be honest I think I panicked under the pressure of having to come up with my own flavour combinations, but this is what appeared before me…

This majestic beast was slightly overwhelming and I hadn’t expected it to be quite so tall. But not one to turn down a food-related challenge, I put in my best efforts to finish it. My thoughts on the idea of frozen cheesecake? I’m not sure if it’s a ‘thing’ . As in, is this frozen cheesecake? Or is it basically just ice cream/soft serve/whatever you want to call it with a biscuit base hidden at the bottom. I would argue the latter. That’s not to say it didn’t taste decent; the blueberry sauce with the ice cream (as I insist on calling it) tasted good, but ultimately I prefer the more traditional cheesecake-baking methods.

Ok we’re getting to the good stuff now, and a pleasant surprise up next. You may have seen this dessert already in my Chalida review from a few months ago. In it, I talked about my indifference towards mango, but also came to the conclusion that in this particular cheesecake, the flavour worked fantastically.

The base was very thin, but the creamy topping was so light that the ratio of base to topping worked really well. It was airy and non-indulgent with a lovely sweet sharpness. On top of that, you have to acknowledge the carefully thought-out presentation, producing a delicate-looking dessert, rather than dishing up a heavy, indulgent slab.

In complete contrast to Chalida’s mango cheesecake is another Whipped creation, and a super popular one at that. After the interesting and probably not recommendable combination I chose for the frozen cheesecake, I decided to play it safe with my baked option, going for their classic banoffee cheesecake.

Now, backtrack a few paragraphs and there I am going on about how banana doesn’t work in a cheesecake. Well, it can, and here’s how…

This is not a load of plain cream cheese with plain whipped cream, with a few bananas chucked in. This cheesecake has a strong banana flavour, complemented by gooey toffee, warm melted chocolate and a crunchy biscuit crumb. There are lots of elements all working together in your mouth. Contrasting textures, chilled cream cheese vs warm sauce, and extra sugar from that toffee and chocolate. Extra sugar doesn’t always sound like a positive, but when it comes to banana desserts, it really is a requirement.

The fact that the cheesecake is baked does give it a heavier feel, but really if you’re looking for a light, guilt-free dessert you shouldn’t be heading to Whipped anyway. It’s the equivalent of a vegan going for dinner at an Argentine steakhouse.

Another surefire way to success is to come up with original or less obvious flavour combinations. I love vanilla, strawberry, salted caramel… the list goes on, but sometimes the way to stand out on a menu is to be different.

This next cheesecake is apricot and white chocolate from The Tap and Run pub in Upper Broughton.

You’ll see that the ratio of base to topping in this one is slightly skewed, and ideally I’d probably have a slightly thinner base, but the stand-out for me was the apricot flavour. I’ve never seen apricot in a cheesecake before (although I’m not doubting that they exist), and that candied apricot topping was delicious. I have to say that white chocolate is quite difficult to include in desserts as it gets easily lost when combined with other more powerful flavours, i.e. the apricot in this case, but nonetheless this was a beautifully-presented dessert with a delicious take on the traditional fruity cheesecake.

Right, just a few more to go. And a really important point here is not to neglect the chain restaurant dessert. One of the nicest cheesecakes I’ve ever had was the lemon cheesecake with raspberry coulis from Zizzi.

It may not be the most delicate-looking but boy did it taste good. Lemon topping with raspberry coulis is a fantastic combination, and the portion is the perfect amount to avoid feeling like you’re going to roll out of the restaurant (although if you’ve also had a starter and a pizza like me, you may end up feeling like that anyway). But the point is, don’t turn your nose up at places like this. It’s great to support independent businesses and everyone loves a cosy, intimate setting, but personally I think the zizzi menu is pretty decent, and this certainly was satisfying.

Now to my top 2.

Heading for dinner at a fish/seafood bar, cheesecake was the last thing on my mind. Yet, the berry cheesecake at J Sheekey was stunning.

Not only is the presentation incredibly elegant, but that berry compote topping was beautiful. As much as I like chocolatey, caramelly style cheesecakes, you can’t beat the contrast of a thick creamy cheese topping with a light, sharp hit of fruit. I’ve used the word ‘sharp’ a huge number of times but there really is no other way to describe that taste and feeling when the sugary cooked fruit hits your tongue.

For me this cheesecake was second only to one. And that one remaining slice of delight is Crumbs and Doilies Apple Crumble Cheesecake.

The excitement for me was the originality. Not just a fruit cheesecake, not just an apple cheesecake, but an apple crumble cheesecake. This title led to high expectations. I didn’t want a cheesecake that just tasted of apple, I wanted to be able to sense the difference between the flavour of the fruit itself, and the flavour of the crumble dessert that we all know and love.

I was not disappointed. Texture-wise you can see just from the photo that we have a clear crumble topping, with an added sticky toffee style sauce. But it wasn’t just that. It didn’t have a generic, artificial fruit flavour, it really did taste specifically of an apple crumble. The cheesecake topping itself wasn’t the best texture I’ve had, as I prefer a very smooth creamy cheese, however, I have to give it to them for originality and flavour. I have never before seen an apple crumble cheesecake, and now I feel like I don’t need to. I’ve tried it, it was delicious, and now I’m ready to be wowed by something completely new.

This is not the end of my cheesecake marathon. It really is my go-to dessert and there’ll be plenty more for me to discover.

If you want to keep up with those future discoveries, you can check out my Instagram account: @foodtravelsldn, or my Eaten account of the same name, where you can also find my full list of cheesecakes ranked from best to worst.

Now close your laptop, put down your phone, find yourself a nice, big slice of cheesecake and shove your face in it. Immediately.

¡Comemos!