One very tearful Hen.. !

This afternoon tea was for the lovely Katy organised as a suprise by all her friends for her forthcoming wedding - the day before the Royal wedding - but no less important of course!

With the usual consultations under way we arranged to meet to confirm everything. It is a moment I always enjoy as you get an immediate idea of who you are working with and you can put a face to the voice or more common these days the voiceless/faceless email.

I instinctively knew I would like this group, emails were easy, prompt and reliable, always a good sign. Two very pretty girls indeed arrived to meet me and after a chat I took them across to view the beautiful private gardens attached to my flat. I often use these as they are a perfect backdrop to any occasion and had suggested they could use them a possible option, weather permitting.

The menu was decided - a combination of sweet and savoury treats: -

Prosecco & strawberries..

minature pastry canapes - sour cream/salmon/chives..

cucumber/ham & mustard sandwiches...

fresh fruit cup...

blueberry and lavender cake... chocolate and guinness cake...

orange and almond cake...

meringues...

old fashioned english sweets...

Tea/ flowering & english breakfast/coffee...

The girls had rented a house for their weekend in Brighton, one of the busiest of the year and as it turned out the day dawned with a flawless blue sky and glorious sunshine. The gardens were to be used as a champagne corner before coming on to me.

They collected borrowed rugs, sugar dusted strawberries, a cutsey umbrella and a 1960s Good Housekeeping magazine that I use sometimes as a bit of light literary entertainment ! With all preparations finally done through the haze of jet lag (from arriving back from Australia just 48 hours previously) , the table looking twinkly, elegant and decidedly girly, summoning my girls was due.

With their garden fun at an end the ' hen' was told to ring my bell stating her name only. Through the entry phone I could hear an excited but very uncertain little voice making her claim admist the giggles of anticipation of her friends.

I very naughtily kept silent while a very apprenhensive little face appeared in the door way, then after a quick glance at what lay before her she promptly burst into tears, closely followed by several others! Not my usual reaction it has to be said but very cute indeed. With a cuddle in

place and an explanation, the tears continued, a clear demonstration of simply being overwhelmed at the kindness and suprise of it all.

Food and drink were all happily consumed and I tried to be attentive yet discreet, within the limitations an open kitchen will allow. They wrote cheery messages to their friend and thanks to me on the bathroom mirrror, collected up their roses from each place setting and armed with doggy bags for later, trotted off happy and chatty into the April sunshine...

Lovely to meet you all... Congratulations Katy, I hope it was all you wished for !

I am promised photos and reviews....oooo scary !

More Sex and the City than Vintage tea..!

After a long cold winter, the long awaited spring was just waking up when I was unexpectedly summoned to my family in Australia this March. My usual stint has always been in the shimmering white heat of Summer, a blessed relief from the dreary gloom of the extended British winter.

Arriving in what is Autumn, it made me smile to see the optimistic Australians still able to don summer wear with the obligatory surfboard under arm, iconic Bondi beckoning as Sydney siders and tourists alike enjoy life in this most beautiful of cities.

As a way to show gratitude to my sisters friends she requested I do an afternoon tea before my return. Invitations went out -' you are invited to an eccentric English tea party '

Searching for the same ingrediants with which to bake proved not too difficult but what appears to be the same turns out quite different. The standard of food in Australia is high and the weather means everything ripens properly so fruit and vegetables are all bigger, brighter and without doubt superior in flavour that our dulled English palates have simply forgotton. The simple joy of eating a ripe mango or perfect peach is worth 24 hours in 'cattle' alone!

With the necessary adjustments made and a few failures in working with a different oven it was actually a delight. My sisters kitchen is designed as 2 in one so 2 sinks plus bench space on both sides. Space in abundance, a joy to work in, huge windows looking out over tropical gardens, pool, magnolia trees and as night falls the iconic music of the crickets. .. no, not a rock band.. insects!

The plan was for me to do everything but my sister is not only a talented cook, but a doer by nature and as about as anal as I am with regard to presentation and perfection!

With the table laid and looking suitably glamorous my sister dressed to match, with her friends arriving, champagne flowing and the compliments and cameras at the ready, I stood back and watched, feeling a flood of tenderness as she relaxed and laughed loudly, buoyed by the warmth and restorative power that good friends and family can offer...

Tic Toc..

Brighton has it's fair share of quirky places to eat and drink but I recommend Tic Toc in the old lanes not least for the charming, naughty front of house Stephane !

Finding a consistently good cup of coffee in England is not easy which is why for many of us, we return time and again to the same places. Tic Toc understands coffee, with a real pride and interest taken in food and presentation. It is quickly evident that his knowledge and ability is vast and this extends right across the board, from actual cooking to quickly and skillfully observing customers requirements.

Unlike in England, France has held on to it's culinary culture and there is pride taken in working in the food industry of all types. We all too often undervalue it and in this case it is a Frenchman who has shown us how it can be done.

P.S They also sell my Chocolate and Guinness cake, which is rather yummy even if I do say so myself!

Come dine with me !

Two new dates for his month..

Secret Supper - Saturday 13th November
Vintage Afternoon Tea - Sunday 21st November

I haven't disclosed the menus but am happy to do so and gluten free is
always available, just let me know a couple of days beforehand.

Tell your friends and family, further details are on http://www.supperclubfangroup.ning.com and tickets can either be bought from me directly or through http://www.wegottickets/ which will be posted shortly.

I look forward to welcoming you and yours..

Happy Birthday Ursula....

This supper was a birthday celebration for fifteen 24 year olds! The birthday girl being the braver of the bunch had chosen a supper night/bespoke dinner to celebrate with her friends...it soon transpired that she seemed to be the only one who really knew what she was coming to!

With the menu being left to me and after a brief chat I decided a shared dish rather than individual plating would be more convivial so chose a seafood curry as a main with a serving of pea and ham broth served in tea cups to start.

Chocolate cake with berries to finish and handmade chocolates with popping candy as final overload.

After all the work it made me smile to watch the reaction the popping candy got, applause and cheers. The simplest of things, perhaps a memory of childhood?

They arrived in groups, sort of 'pack' like, spilling into my tiny space excited but unsure. With pleasantries exchanged and a very feeble attempt on my part to ask names which I immediately forgot, one of the 2 men steered them to their seats, it came out later that he was slightly intimidated at the supposed formality and needed a 'job to do'.

With everyone seated they began to relax and the food was hoovered up.

The 'boyfriend' had come proudly bearing a cake he had baked, a fabulous assembly resembling to my eye, the 02 arena! It was this man that noticed I was knackered and put an end to a good night, but not before clearing the table. A first, and a grateful one at that... Bravo to the man with no name, your mother has done a good job !

I had to laugh at the poor man who throughout the meal seemed rather subdued. He admitted at the end that he had no idea where he was, had never heard of a supper club and thought he was coming to one of his friend's houses only to find himself standing in my living room and being told to put his coat on in the bedroom by a strange woman in a mad black hat!

They all wrote in the visitors book, a good memory and I woke the next morning completely forgetting that I had encouraged them to write on the bathroom mirror, giving it a slightly squat like air. Great comments, some of which I needed translating !

Supperclub night..

Keep a look out as I am to host a supper night this month. Let your friends or family know. I look forward to welcoming you.

I will post a menu shortly on http://www.supperclubfangroup.ning/ and tickets are to be bought from http://www.wegottickets/

Have a look and see if it appeals..

Happy 90th...

This was afternoon tea to celebrate the coming of age, a suprise. With alot of the family
living far and wide it was to be mix of family closer by and long standing friends, amounting to 25.

Afternoon tea is such an English affair and one that appeals to many. From my point of view
it is a winner as visually it is always appealing. This being July I had the pick of fruits to work
with and as this was to be a suprise I was left to choose the menu. With such a broad age range
and palates the table groaned under a mound of small sandwiches, sausage rolls, strawberries and cream and various cakes of - Raspberry cheesecake..
Fallen chocolate souffle..
Blueberry and lavender.
Banana cake with passion fruit icing..
Meringues with sugared lavender..
Lemon..

Thankfully the sun shone and people sat in a lovely little garden, a pretty oasis hidden behind
a rose covered wall right in the centre of Brighton. It often takes a little while for people to
gravitate towards the table and they can need a nudge, as though they are a little afraid of
being the first one to actually ruin the display. Eventually most were happily sat with a plate of
something balanced on their knee and a china cup in their hand. People are always complimnetary, deserved or not comments are always welcome.

Underground farmers market

Next week, Sunday 17th September is the second showing of the underground farmers market run by the innovative Ms Marmite in London. I didn't go to the first one but apparently it was a huge success and this one seems even bigger and I am looking forward to it.

I know I will be impressed by the produce and even more so by peoples unusual ways in expressing what they enjoy. For the few of you who don't know, her blog is well worth following. Educative, informative, no nonsense and brave is this woman.
http://www.theenglishcancook/

Birthday party on the Thames... May 1st

It was only after accepting to cater for a birthday party did I actually stop to think what I had undertaken. I had said yes so confidently with a casual wave of the hand that I even convinced myself it was almost nothing. Only after waking in the early hours with rising panic day after day did I let myself face what was ahead of me. The remit was catering for 70 people, including children and all the dietary requests to be served from bespoke picnic boxes to include all food in seperate containers, drink, gift bags, chocolates cutlery, menu and napkin/toothpicks. All this was left to me to source, design, cook, assemble and deliver to a boat where the guests would be waiting. This I was doing alone. Yes alone, ah the wisdom of hindsight ! Sourcing all the required bits and pieces was the easy part and choosing 70 bespoke boxes of chocolates from Hotel Chocolat was fun ! With everything being delivered to me over several weeks my flat became simply a warehouse where I would crawl over the mountain of boxes and collapse into bed. With a stroke of luck at the last minute a friend living in Oxford offered the use of her kitchen, so with everything loaded into the van I drove into the jaws of hell ! My Oxford kitchen was 4 floors up with no lift so challenging to say the least. My daughter arrived into organised chaos, smiling the serene smile of someone who has no clue as to what is about to ensue! The next 48 hours was a blur of food mountains, wrapping, unwrapping, assembling boxes, cooking, cooking,cooking, refilling the bath with bags of ice to keep things cold, not sleeping, more cooking with every possible surface covered in food containers as we filled and filled. We both under estimated how long it takes just to fill containers. 8 per box, 70 times over. It takes friggin forever and saps your will to live ! Our delivery time was to be 12 exactly as the boat doesn't wait. The last hour went by with a speed I can only describe as purposefully cruel. I don't think either of us actually took a breath for that hour. My daughter deserves a medal for having to run up and down 4 flights of stairs with 70 boxes only able to carry 2 at a time due to their shape. She said she was seeing stars... With the van hire company letting me down at the last minute I had to take a van half the size I needed so also required a taxi van and we loaded up both. A taxi driver clearly unused to hard graft huffed and puffed his way to his tip as I sent him up and down the stairs. Unfortunately not only was I to cater for the day I was also on the guest list with my daughter. A manic, unsuccessful attempt to make myself look presentable was done in the taxi from the park and ride after we delivered. My daughter however is of the age and beauty that a simple flick of the hair turns her into a goddess. Incrediably we were only 15 mins late and arrived outwardly smiling and calm into the hands of various male guests who threw the boxes over shoulders and under arms, while I looked on in horror imagining the up turned mess once opened ! Of course the sun shone, the rain held off just long enough as we sailed up and down the Oxfordshire countryside, lots was drunk, chocolates and cakes handed out, everyone 'played' with their gifts, tears were shed by the birthday boy, a father of 5 and a good time was had by all and you and I are the only ones who really know the truth! Menu... Cajun chicken, Pork kebabs, Roasted vegetable kebabs, Pesto rice salad, Rocket and tomato salad, Vegetable quiche, Meatballs and homemade spicy tomato sauce, Mayonnaise, Mini pittas .....Fruit salad in Cointreau syrup and Chocolate cup cakes

Brighton Food Festival..

This month has seen the close of the annual Brighton Food Festival. My tiny
contribution was to host a supper night organised through the event company
Clever Events , with the usual format of people buying tickets from http://www.wegottickets/ after choosing their preferred menu/night or location.

As is often the case the need to be flexible is always there as a couple of cancellations are to be expected which meant we were a smaller group than usual, but no less enjoyable. The flowers from a gentlemen guest was given top marks, so appreciated after all the hard work . A more charming group I couldn't of wished for. Cheerful, engaging and encouraging with plenty of the right noises accompanying each course !
Being a smaller group I seated them together which seemed to work well, each with interesting careers, families and stories to tell.

It was interesting to hear the observations from one the couples about another
supper night they had attended. Each night differs in every way and this I think is part of the appeal, never knowing if you are going to get the good, bad or ugly ! This and satisfying the human capacity for curiosity, a glimpse into anothers life and their personal belongings.
They all toyed with the idea of hosting their own night, which I applaud. They slipped away at a respectable hour, warmed by lots of food, wine and good
company, leaving me to the mess, just as it should be.



p.s..... this morning the mess remains.. but I am cheered immediately by my
lovely red tulips..