A new culinary capital?

Last month my sambo and I visited Paris. A Christmas gift, from me to him, I admit that my present was possibly more for me than for him. This became more apparent as we scoured the streets of the 1st arrondissement at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon in search of an open restaurant. As he bemoaned “It’s easier to get a bad meal in Paris than a good one,” it quickly became apparent that I should have chosen London instead.

Of course Spain has become one of the most important culinary destinations in recent years, but until recently, I would never have considered London, let alone the UK as a European culinary capital. Even I must admit, the economic crisis has done wonders for the country’s gastronomic scene. Last February we enjoyed a fantastic, long, boozy celebratory lunch for four at the two-star Atelier Joel Robuchon for an acceptable sum of 300 pounds, while a rather hurried, unremarkable, one-course dinner for two and a half bottle of wine in Paris’ famed Balzar brasserie was almost hit the 100 euro mark. During our holiday in England late last year, even in some of the tiniest towns in the South East we enjoyed surprisingly good meals that came without attitude, or denting the budget.

The opening of the new Heston Blumenthal restaurant, Dining at the Mandarin Oriental, can only further reinforce London's place as a culinary capital. Has France rested on its culinary laurels for too long? With the incredible selection of cuisines on offer, plus fantastic deals from discount restaurant booking sites, the French had better watch out.

Copenhagen Connection

Last December the ties between the Öresund region were further strengthened by the opening of Malmö’s new CityTunneln. In addition to a new addition to the city’s Central Station, the rail link that connects the city to the Danish capital, was extended. The route between Copenhagen and Malmö Central boasts two new stations; Hyllie and Triangeln.

Just a five-minute walk from Bloom in The Park, the new Triangeln station makes it even more convenient than ever to pop over from Denmark for dinner, or for visitors to enjoy an unforgettable lunch before departing for Kastrup Airport.

The journey takes roughtly 25 minutes from Kastrup Airport and 40 minutes from København H. Although the trains currently run every 20 minutes, they are expected to run every 10 minutes in the future. And I’m happy to confirm that the initial teething problems, combined with bad weather, seem to have been rectified.

Julbord… or Yule bored?

Another Christmas week has crept up on me, my cards are still not written or posted and I’m frantically trying to seek out a last-minute gift for my mum that doesn’t reveal my last-minute desperation. However, I have been relieved of one less worry this year – Christmas dinner. Living with a foodie means that the kitchen is out of bounds to me this season.

While out sharing a glass or two of Christmas spirit with an American friend, we discussed our yuletide plans. She revealed that this year she would be hosting a dinner for the season’s orphans, i.e. those that who won’t be spending the holiday with their own families. Being a Christmas orphan isn’t as sad as it seems, in fact it’s really good fun. No listening to elderly family members telling the same stories that they tell every year, just before falling asleep in front of the TV, no trudging through snow storms, only to find yourself stranded for days in a town that you can’t wait to leave and of course, the obligatory Christmas food that we are forced to eat that we wouldn’t dream of eating on any other day.

I admit that although my mother is a woman of many talents, cooking is not one of them, so I am spared the traditional yule menu. Instead, it has become a ritual to rush into the food department of Marks & Spencer (a UK institution) to pick up my favourite ready meals. My dinner of choice is usually curry. I’ve been doing it for years.

As my friend would be hosting a fellow American and a Swede, I asked which traditional menu she would be following? “None” she responded. “We decided that I would serve our favourite dishes.” Why do we subject ourselves to foods that we don’t enjoy during the most indulgent season of the year? Does the bible state that god wishes to eat turkey or roast ham? Does eating brussel sprouts signify the suffering and hardship that the Virgin Mary endured for mankind? Throughout the month Titti and Igi have been serving Christmas revellers during countless office Christmas parties. Although you can be guaranteed that a Christmas meal at Bloom is far from conventional, Titti does include some ingredients traditional to the season. As Igi explains “It's a shame to depart from tradition, but one gets fed up of Christmas after a month or so. One of the reasons may be because all the shops start peddling their Christmas stuff so early, so by the time the holiday arrives, it’s an anti climax! However, I love a roast... any kind of roast at Christmas, followed by cold ham the next day! Titti is a typical Swede, she likes Herrings, prins korv and liver paste.” Whatever meal we choose, the most important things are surely the company that we share it with and that whatever we are fortunate to be served, we should receive it with gratitude.

Check the news section for opening times during Christmas and the New Year.

Picture This

This week the creative team of Sweden’s top kitchen manufacturer, Ballingslöv, headed into Bloom’s kitchen to photograph Titti and the team at work, capturing mouth watering, atmospheric cooking shots for its forthcoming kitchen catalogue. Like six degrees of separation, there’s a link between Bloom in The Park and Ballingslöv and that is the celebrated architect and furniture designer Jonas Lindvall. Credited for designing Bloom’s highly acclaimed interior, Jonas is also the star designer behind some of Ballingslöv’s most popular kitchen collections and features in the manufacturer’s current advertising campaign. The Ballingslöv team could not have chosen a more inspiring setting.

Picking on Redzepi

Since my first visit to Bloom almost 18 months ago, and also perhaps as a reflection of the current zeitgeist for an interest in provenance, I’ve become increasingly interested in discovering new flavours. Whenever I dine at Bloom, the arrival of each dish is like receiving a well-wrapped Christmas gift. Part of the fun is guessing the ingredients in each mouthful, poking, prodding and dissecting each component for clues. Next comes the joy of discovery as Igi reveals the origin of each flavour and colour. From woodland berries, to flowers picked by the shore, it’s amazing how unaware we can be of the bounty to be found in the nature that surrounds us.

I read an article in The Daily Telegraph newspaper about René Redzepi’s recent trip to London for the launch of the new Noma book. As a PR exercise, the chef was joined by fellow chefs Ben Greeno, Valentine Warner, and author Miles Irving to go foraging on London’s Hampstead Heath. Now, chances are that you if you’ve heard of the north London heath, you’ll know that it is more familiar as a gay cruising spot, frequented by celebrities such as George Michael. So it came as quite a surprise that the celebrity chose this spot for plucking cooking ingredients fresh from the ground. Personally, I don’t fancy the idea of eating anything from an area that is constantly littered with used condoms, but hey, I guess it’s one way of getting press. However, for once, the latest scandal involving a celebrity and Hampstead Heath was not of the sexual kind. The problem was that locals expressed concern that the chef’s foraging spree would inspire profiteer’s from selling the heath’s mushroom’s onto expensive restaurants for a profit, wiping out many varieties of fungi that grow upon the heath, or that the uninformed would mistakenly pick deadly species. Maybe Mr Redzepi should stick to collecting closer to home, as it seems that the residents of Hampstead are not such fun-gis after all!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/8154563/Noma-head-chef-accused-of-illegal-mushroom-picking.html

A Recipe for Success?

Four - sometimes glorious, sometimes exasperating - years in Paris led me to the conclusion that, ironically, were it not for the pig-headed obstinacy of a bunch of wistful old bureaucrats, Paris or indeed France, would not be the spectacular, magical place that it is. I’m mainly referring to the haute couture industry. How many of us can boast the funds or the lifestyle to justify flying off to Paris for a week twice yearly, to pick out a wardrobe, consisting mainly of floor-length party frocks? And how many times can such an opulent gown be worn before it becomes tiresome? These factors may be part of the reason that France’s illustrious couture industry is, if you’ll pardon the pun, hanging by a thread, fortunately there are many that see beyond the pragmatism, including ministry officials and the country’s revered haute gastronomy industry.

For the great fashion houses, such as Christian Dior and Chanel, the couture tradition continues mainly for tradition and publicity purposes. While we may dream of sashaying around in such creations, it is the ready-to-wear collections, accessories and fragrances that end up in our possession and thus bring in the houses’ profits. Secreted away on Paris’ most fashionable shopping street, rue St Honoré is the Fédération Française de la Couture, the governing body of the French fashion industry. Determined to preserve the craftsmanship, quality and of course, the magic of haute couture, over recent years this strange bureau of fashion bureaucracy has rolled up its shirt sleeves in an effort to save this exotic creature from extinction.

Following the lead of the fine jewellery houses of the city’s finest square, Place Vêndome, who began participating in the Paris Couture Week presentations just a few years ago, Jean-Baptiste and Bérangère Langlais of Brother & Sister Events recently announced a new haute marriage, this time between couture and cuisine. Next July the sibling team will present the debut edition of HAUTE CUISINE PARIS(c). In celebration of the recent Unesco listing of French gastronomy within its heritage list and the “savoir faire” principles of both artforms, from 7th-10th July, the Gardens of the Palais Royale will pay homage to couture and cuisine.

The programme of events or participants is to be announced next March, but with the Ministry of Culture and Communication behind it, I have no doubt that it will offer further evidence of why, despite its flaws, there is nowhere in the world like France. Its respect for heritage and long-held traditions are an important lesson for us all, now more than ever.

Distilled to Perfection

I’m a sucker for nice package design. I can’t resist a pretty tin of tea that I’ll never drink and limited edition boxes of absolutely anything. It was my penchant for packaging that led me to the stand of the Chase Distillery at this year’s Ludlow Food Festival. Rows of beautiful tall bottles embellished with decorative branches led me to the discovery of England’s first potato vodka distillery and, according to San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the world’s best vodka. I confess that after one too many bad experiences with an ‘inferior’ brand during my youth, I’ve steered well clear of vodka, but I was pleasantly surprised by its clear, crisp, subtle taste. Produced in Hereford, in the south west of England, each batch is distilled three times in a handcrafted copper pot, then twice through a 70ft copper rectifying column.

For more than 20 years William Chase has farmed potatoes. Disillusioned with supplying potatoes to supermarket chains, in 2002 he founded the successful gourmet potato crisp brand, Tyrells. Two years later the entrepreneur hit upon the idea to further utilise his crop by creating his own vodka distillery. In June 2008 the first batch was ready.

Following the success of Chase vodka, the distillery has expanded into producing liqueurs and gin, produced from the farm’s own crop of organic apples. Boasting the same lovely packaging and produced in accordance with Chase’s high standards, it only a matter of time before Chase gin joins its acclaimed counterpart at the top of the drinks tables.

www.chasedistillery.co.uk