Category Archives: London Kitchen Social

A wonderful welcome at a refurbished Roux.

Earlier in the Autumn, I was give the opportunity from Handcnews to attend the relaunch of Roux at Parliament Square after its glamorous refurbishment.

There was a warm and friendly welcome on arrival at Roux at Parliament Square, with plenty of Taittinger and a personal handshake from Michel.

The canapés came out in delicious waves leaving behind content guests and delighted faces.

They included Socca pancakes, with courgette, white onion and romesco, perfect to hand roll and devour. Mushroom crackers with stilton and kale, with their exciting textures and sublime flavours and little urchin-shaped bowls of delightful dorset crab, apple dashi and fermented chilli.

Then came the 56 day aged beef, freshly sliced, with pomme puree, and the famous veal sweetbreads, complimented by the most beautiful Chilean Bravos.

The Bearded One and I found ourselves quite comfortable in the wine corner enjoying the stunning new interiors and the company of the other guests.

In between all the outstanding food, I found time to pass on my congratulations to Steve Groves, who floated between the floors, answering questions and sharing jokes with friends old and new.

Personal desserts of Manjari chocolate, hazelnut and creme fraiche were available for those with a sweet tooth, and upstairs in the bar were cocktails and the largest cheeseboard I had ever seen. (As most of my friends know, I am a serious lover of cheese) These kept our attention until an hour after the party was supposed to end.

The hospitality was exceptional and I was even given a box of cheese to take home as I couldn’t bear to see it wasted.

Thank you to Kate and Holly for the invitation and to Michel, Steve and their team for making us feel so at home.

London Dungeon Lates. No Stiffs Allowed

Ever since I was a young girl, I have had a fear of the dark, so when I received an invitation to the London Dungeon’s late night food tour, I thought I would try and conquer my fear through my love of food.

Needless to say, I am still afraid of the dark!

Herein lays a torrid tale of The Seven Deadly Sins. A late-night journey of torture and tipples. Well, not too much torture. The food was very good.

The first stop on the tour was a tavern of sorts where we were treated to the first of the sins, Envy, a brilliant green cocktail and some witty warm- up banter from the appropriately attired hostess.

After some warm pea and mint soup and a fantastic monologue from the ghoulish jester of Henry the 8th, we were taken down pathways and tunnels, with me avoiding the dark spots and starting to feel very nervous indeed.

Next on the adventure was firey Wrath. A visit to the Torture chamber filled with heinous devices shown to us by the Torturer himself. Skewers of jerk chicken or spicy veg were nibbled on, as some not so willing volunteers found themselves in cages for our delight.

Delicious pies at Mrs Lovett’s left us feeling a little humble, as she took great Pride, (one of the seven sins) in telling us the stomach-churning story of the collaboration between her and her barber Sweeny Todd.

Next, onto to meet Sweeny Todd himself.

Much to my dismay there was an empty chair to my right, I only had a few seconds to consider this before the lights went out.

Pitch black.

The footsteps and voice of Sweeny Todd echoed around the room and my heart raced like a train.

My chair jolted back and I screamed so loudly that the woman to my left glared at me afterwards.

Did I mention that I’m scared of the dark?

Heart still racing we enjoy the story of Jack the Ripper, Lust and and aphrodisiac delight of prawns and strawberries.

Finally as my heart slowed down, I am offered a well needed shot of Goldschlager to satisfy Greed as we enter the court room.

A few people were summoned to the docks and the judge himself had a few of us giggling away.

The final instalment of our victorian vacation was a hearty plate of bangers and mash and a drink in their tavern.

I have to say, that even though I was scared out of my wits, I enjoyed it immensely. I can definitely recommend it to those who enjoy a bit of fun.

When you do visit, be sure to take a friend who is up for having a laugh and doesn’t take themselves to seriously. No stiffs allowed!

Tickets for ‘Lates with more bite’ on 16th and 30th June cost £59 and can be booked via the London Dungeon website.

Throwback Thursday To A Favourite PhotoShoot

My Blog today is photography focused. It’s about one of the first photoshoots that I ever did.

I had the pleasure of meeting Daniel Clifford at the Electrolux Cube event. Electrolux practically mounted a glass cube containing a full kitchen and a table for 16 persons, on the top of the Royal Festival Hall at Southbank in London.

It was spectacular.

I mentioned to Daniel about my passion for food photography, and very soon after, I was lucky enough to be invited to Midsummer House to perfect my camera skills on some of the most beautiful food I had ever seen.

This perhaps 5 years ago, maybe more..

This is a cod dish that went on to be featured in Handcnews.com for Image of the Month.

This is a stunning fig dessert taken from above, which is not normally my style but I was still learning about my skills and preferences.

This dish is my favourite of the collection. This image went on to be published by FOUR Magazine online, with the recipe from Daniel. It is smoked Quail. I love this action shot and when it was published by FOUR, I nearly fell out of my bed with joy.

When I look back at these images now, I recall my excitement and pride about the shoot and the results. I remember back then, I wasn’t even shooting on raw format nor making use of focal points. They definitely are not as sharp as the images that I produce today. There is still something magical about them though.

If I could give any advice to budding photographers, I would say “Practice, practice, practice and also remind yourself, that even when you make mistakes, you are still learning”

Thank You for reading,

Majella x