This week, I spent my blogging-time setting up a webpage listing some of the cooking books, foodie films & baking equipments that I highly recommend! So please have a look by linking to www.cocoandme.com/store. Many thanks!

(Covertiles from Studio JSPR. These are ceramic tiles that reveal the working parts, encasing the pipes & make a visual statement while at it! Comes in either black or white.)

(Picture courtesy of Shaker Museum And Library. I would love the kitchen to be in the original Shaker style, surrounded by expertly crafted wood furniture & white wall. The counter with thick marble top looks amazing.)

(36″single bowl belfast sink. I want a really big sink like this that would fit my big pots!)

(Ceramic drainer to put on top of the counter, along side the belfast sink. It’s slightly slanted for better drainage. Loving the subtle criss-cross lines.)


(Antique Japanese kitchen cabinets from www.tansu.co.uk - Traditional & functional statement furniture.)

(Zettel’z 6, 1998. Designed by Ingo Maurer. Imagine having the recipes hanging from this pendant!)

(For the lighting, I’d also want to install this Jean Prouvé’s Potence lamp. Another design classic. The single metal rod extends almost 7 feet and pivots 180 degrees, so it can light various parts of the kitchen! Available from Vitra.)

(Uten.Silo designed by Dorothee Becker, 1969. With its different-sized & shaped containers, its metal hooks and clips, Uten.Silo is a great organizer! Another design classic again from Vitra.)

.

x…x…x…x…x…x…x…x…x…x…x…x…x…x…x…x…x…x…x…x…

.

The last several months we’ve been looking ‘n looking ‘n looking for a house to either buy or to rent, as the sale of our family home is nearing it’s completion in coming September. Anyone who’d ever been house-hunting would agree that it’s a total ***** to go through - as you face the depressing reality of how little your money gets you, as you face the dissapointment of your offer not being accepted, & as you consider compromizing, ie, good location but small house VS bigger house in the sticks.

.

BUT, I am very glad to announce, after many heartaches, we’ve found ‘the one’ just last week! And our offer’s been accepted! Huurrayy! Yay! Yippee! - I know I know, there ain’t no ink on the papers yet, & some of my girlfriends would say “Oh don’t jinx it”, but I don’t believe in this ‘jinx’ business anyway. Infact I hate it when friends don’t tell you things, but goes on to tell another friend anyway, calling it a ’secret’ & wink “Don’t tell anyone yet” - pure school playground behaviour if you ask me. As for me, when I’ve got good news, I’m just too happy to keep it schtum!

.

Anyway, one of the major deciding point for wanting to buy this particular house was because of the kitchen. It’s a pretty big size room with a slightly higher ceiling than normal, I fell in love with the space right away. And as you’ve probably guessed, I spend A LOT of time in the kitchen, so size matters big time.

.
Everything’s in pristine condition, ready for me to start cooking straight away - only…, it’s not in a style I like! How can I explain it… the current one’s so bland, no identity. The colour is so not me, & the layout is odd with two round sinks (!) on the island in the middle of the room. And the oven is on the small side, under the hob, which means I’d be constantly crouching down to access it (my current one is at eye level).

.

But I’m not too worried y’know, not only would it be a good thigh exercise to reach the oven (!), I know that it’s just a matter of changing it, getting a new kitchen installed. We won’t have the funds to do it for a looong while, but one day I’d like to. Oh heck, I’ll forfeit clothes shopping & going to the hairdressers, & skimp on giving tips at eateries n’ look bad to save money quicker to do it. For with passion for baking comes passionate ideas for the ultimate kitchen. It’s like hand-in-hand. And I can tell you, I’m a girl with serious backlog of dreams & ideas for ‘my’ kitchen!

.

So for this week’s blog entry, here are some of the kitchen ideas I’ve been fantasizing (the collection of pictures above this text), although most of it is probably wishfully thinking - *sigh…* if only money was not an issue!

(Picture supplied by the happy couple, beautifully presented to me in a picture frame!)

.

This week I was given some photographs of the wedding cake I made several weeks ago, together with a very touching thank you card. So here’s one of the pic minus their faces. Notice the cute fimo figures on the top? The clever groom made it himself!! Everyone, one two three, ‘Ahhh…’! I’m so happy it travelled well all the way to Wales, & that the tiers withstood being stacked up during their wedding day. It doesn’t look like the leaning Tower of Pisa like I nightmared about atall! Yay!
.

Last Saturday at the market

… was H.O.T. And I find it’s extra hot under the plastic tarpaulin which covers our stall roofs. I was ‘baking’!

.

The line up of the things I make has changed a bit because of the weather change too. The handmade chocolates have long gone from the line-up for the mo, what with chocolate starting to melt from something like 19-20 degrees apparently, I’ll probably start making them again in mid-Autumn.

.

Others missing from the table are lemon-cream tarts, & chocolate cream/ ganache tarts, & so, to be honest, right now my stall table is looking rather ‘brown’ (except for the bright colours of the fruit tarts), just full of ‘100% baked’ goods. A ‘baking’ lady selling baked cakes… yup, that’s me for the Summer…

.

PS: by the way, have you tried the new ice cream from Magnum called ‘Equador Dark‘ yet? Next time you’re choosing ice cream at the newsagents, believe me, give it a go. I can promise you it’s rather delish. (I was looking at the Magnum website, & they also have a single origin ice cream called ‘Colombia Aroma’ - has anyone tried this? Sounds good…!)

(I was meant to photograph those sneeze guards on site today at the market - but had completely forgotten to do so…. So instead, here is a picture of my fruit tarts, which are very very popular - I manage to sell atleast 25 0f these heart shape ones alone)

.

Last week I finally got around to buying some plastic sheets to place in front of my cakes. It was recommended that I do it by the market inspector the other day. And after experiencing little kids grabbing my items from the table & deeming it unsalable, & cheeky adults reaching for the cake crumbs from my chocolate cake, it was about time I sort this out once & for all.

.

First, I searched & searched for a proper ’sneeze guard’ online, but to no avail (hey, there’s a market opportunity here someone!) - so my solution was to buy seven A5 size poster holders in see-through acylic, and line them together as per the picture above.
.

As a format it works fine, I love the fact that it’s in seven pieces as I can transport it no problem. BUT…, I must admit that it has created a different ‘air’ between me the seller, & the customer, & I don’t like it. Suddenly my cakes do not look as accessible as before, & it makes my stall look too showy behind the plastic… I have already had people mention to me that my cakes look ‘too good to eat’ (a nice way of saying ‘pretencious’ I think) & walk off. Oh well, I worry that it might bring my sales down…, but it had to be done, so I better get over it I guess.

Firstly forgive me for this short blog entry - this week I’ve been ultra ultra busy & really feeling the candle burning on both ends. I feel caved under with so many things to do & I’m cranky… I know that half of it is just about being busy in my head with so many things to think about too…

Anyway, so I’d like to take a break from this week’s blog duties, I will try to get abit more sleep in me & recover my happy self! I’ll be back with a proper entry next week tho! Til then, t xxx

(I couldn’t find an appropiate image for this post - so instead, I’ll upload a picture I took back in the good ol’ days of 2005. It’s of my attempt at making alphabet shortbread cookies with soft chocolate ganache filling!)

.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

At the market:

When a customer shows interest in a particular item, but remains indecisive, I explain to them the details of it (using delicious words such as ‘gooey’ helps), & also find a subtle way of telling them it’s handmade, & that it’s handmade by me.
.

You’d be amazed…, a whopping 9 out of 10 of them would feel assured by this, & pleasantly purchase the said item, with a smile… (which is the ‘proud’ moment of this experience for me)!
.

I believe the reason why those words lead to a successful purchase is because, in a world of big supermarkets governing our food-shopping habits, the act of buying direct from the producer had become less & less. Hence, when they do come across someone like me, who does make it themselves, it’s such an unusual experience nowadays that it grabs their imagination, with amusement! They’d then want to buy in to it - to buy the food itself, & also buy into the ‘experience’ of buying it ‘direct’ from the person who made it.

.

I mean, answer these questions:

When was the last time you bought food direct from the producer?

How often does that happen in your modern daily lives?

Unless you’re my dearest regular customers, or you frequent Farmer’s markets, I can easily predict that it’s probably not so many times. (Mind you, in writing this, I realise that this includes myself - I too rarely buy ‘direct’, & rely heavily on giant supermarkets for all food shopping needs… I should atleast support my local fish monger ‘n’ butcher more with my customs… *mental note*)
.

For me, the beauty of selling ‘direct’ is that I can give the customers a good summary (lengthy version if they wish) of what it is & what it tastes like. As the maker of the product, I would be able to tell them very precise things about it - like how much sugar went into it, any other queries about the ingredients (is it wheat-free), when it was made, how long it’ll last, etc etc. I’d like to believe that, since many of the other stalls are manned by part-timers, some doing it as a weekend job, they are less aware of what it is that they are actually selling, I’ve got the upper hand. Surely, at the end of the day, despite the fact that these part-timers can be enthusiastic & lively, they certainly don’t feel the weight of the ‘Resposibility’ to make sure that there’s best quality of service, & the pure passion towards what is being sold. It’s just not the same!
.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

This week:

A kid finger picks a raspberry from my cake. Since you never know where the kid’s fingers been, I can not sell it on. I ask the parents if they could purchase this cake, explaining that it has been rendered unsalable. - They give me a dirty look, a “we don’t want to”, & walk off. - The way they didn’t show much apology… left a bad taste in my mouth.

(Thursday 8th of February - London woke up to a blanket of deep snow)

.

For this week’s blog entry, I’ve decided to spend the time writing ‘About Me’. It’s something I ought to have done right from the beginning of the blog-life & it’s been bugging me… If you like, please follow this link, or use the link from the lefthand column to read it. Thanks!
.

And remember dearest readers, next Wednesday is Valentine’s Day!! Remember to take this opportunity to treat the special people around you to thank them… Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.
.

This Saturday’s trade:

As for me, Valentine’s Day is one of the most important events on the calendar as a Chocolatier (together with Easter & Christmas). I’ve been extra busy with making chocolate hearts, heart shaped tarts, & generally more truffles than usual. It was meant to be ‘My’ day. I looked forward to selling out quickly & with extra profit…
BUT, there were two factors working against me;

firstly, Valentine’s Day being another 5 days away, people were not buying my heart shaped tarts as gifts because it won’t last til then. As for the chocolate hearts (with assorted chocolate buttons inside), I did sell out on those, but it felt like it was a struggle too. I blame the second factor that worked against me for this; that there were heavy rain from the morning til 11ish which put people off coming to the outdoor market. - So I had a rather difficult time selling - in the end, I must have stayed on til after 5pm to sell…

(This week, I have revisited my old post about the Tarte Tatin & photographed each process. Please click this text to have a look!)

.

I own many many cookbooks. English, French & Japanese. I have formulated a very strong idea of what a cookbook should be like. I know what works, what doesn’t.

.

One of the ‘major’ features that every cookbook should have is, that it HAS TO have a picture of the finished product with ‘every’ recipe. It is a total ‘must’. Otherwise how would the reader know how it is supposed to look like at the end, or even muster the will of making it in the first place?! I tell you, so many western cookbooks are stingy with photography. Soo dissapointing. There’s even books with black & white photographs - to save on the CMY of the CMYK. It makes the food look unappetizing. What’s the point? Or worst still, the relevant cake picture is not next to the recipe page! How unfunctional! For someone like me, who takes a cookbook to bed to read, & fantasize each recipe being cooked out (how sad am I), pictures must be there to do it to me (D calls it my ‘food-porno’).
.

Now, the Japanese cooking books - they are the gems (yes, I am biased). They’d always have the picture of the product by the recipe. It’s always a perfectly fuctional shot of the whole cake too - not arty-fartied-up with blurring & cropping in an odd way to make it look trendsy. Not only that, most Japanese cooking books have ‘the process’ pictures depicting each stage of the recipe. At a glance, you’d know what is involved. It truly is my best source of ‘food porno’…
.

I realized that I’d like to do such approach to my recipes in my blog too. So this week, I have revisited my old post about the Tarte Tatin & photographed each process. Have a look. I plan to revisit my other recipes in my blog & do ‘process-images’ for them too.
.

This week:

My son is not adapting to the new arrangement of going to nursery very well - hates it infact, and gives a right old tantrum when we try to leave the house for it. I have been at the nursery with him everyday, waiting in the parent-room, & then get pulled in to the classroom when my son is distressed. - It’s tough for the kiddo y’know - he’s always been looked after by me, or if I’m working, by his grandparents - he’s maybe been looked after once or twice by his best friend’s mummy, that’s all, which is different because he knows her & has his best friend to play with. - I mean, I’d find it super-stressful if I was unknowingly thrown in to the nursery with 50 new faces! Go go my little kiddo! I know he’d shine there once he settles in…, just takes time that’s all…

.

This year I will be making a 3 tiered wedding cake. No no, it’s not for me, it’s for my market stall friend Sue’s daughter. The wedding is in May, so it is plenty of time ahead, but being of a slightly panicky character, I’ve been thinking about it rather a lot - I just had to get the test bake done to rest my mind by knowing what is involved. A wedding cake must be Perfect with a capital P, no slip ups allowed, & certainly not a sorry ‘leaning tower of Pisa’.

.

The design came about after intensively conversing with the client. The brief from the onset was to create a chocolate wedding cake. Chocolate, totally my forte! Additional specs were for it to be simple, no fancy decoration, & to fit on top of a 12 inch cake stand they wish to use. Oh, & it has to travel to Wales!

.

The result was this. A chocolate pound cake with raspberry & dark ganache layers, covered with white chocolate glacage. There are white couverture chocolate rectangles stuck all around the side. The rectangular slats are super shiny as it is hand-tempered.

The advantage of doing slats is that the cake can be neatly cut in to equal pieces when plating out to the guests. Also, I can make these slats well in advance, which would take the pressure off a great deal. I’m going to supply extra slats as reserves, just incase some snap on journey to Wales - although I really think it’ll be okay because I will be making these slats rather thick.
.

Each tier will be supplied in seperate boxes, for safer transport. They will then have to stack it up on location themselves. Each tier will be balancing on the wooden plinths poked in to the cake (as in the picture above) which is very snugly secure.

.

I’m just so happy I did the test bake. So many lessons to be learnt came to light:

- Like how on conception, I was invisaging a ribbon around each tier to keep the slats bound together - but now I know that the glacage acts really well as a ‘glue’ to hold the slats in place & it’s pretty solid. I tried a ribbon around it, & it just took away the beautiful simplicity from it all.

- Another lesson was that it was difficult to cut it in to pieces because the slats were overlapping each other & I could not run the knife down unless I brake the slats in to pieces. So I must not overlap, which is a shame, I really like it as is. I’m afraid that if it were just jutting next to each other there will be inevitable & ugly gaps appearing. I need to work on a solution for that.
.

This week I’m in a right old moany mood.
I’ve been helping a family friend sell her stuff on ebay as she is moving house. Not fun at all, answering too many questions from the potential bidders & each time having to phone her n’ ask. And she keeps digging out more stuff for me to sell for her. My heart is not in it atall, & I can’t wait to start my stall so I have an excuse to get out of this…

.

On Tuesday night, we had to take our son to the hospital emergency room. He was breathing fast, sometimes tensing his body & even holding his breath for a few seconds. Soon the shivering started & his lips went blue which got us really worried. We hurried to the accident & emergency room, & while waiting to see the doctor, his temperature went shooting up high. The nurse gave him a paracetamol, which helped calm the temperature. We waited for almost 4 hours (which really gets me - there just aren’t enough doctors around!). During which I had to hear a man groaning in agony from behind the curtain because he can’t pee, & were stuck next to a chatty self-harming woman who has probably been there too many times. When we saw a doctor I was so thankful & appreciative, like I was seeing God. After examination, the doctor told us our son has tonsillitis. We were so relieved to know it was nothing serious… But they could not give us the prescription medicine because their pharmacy is shut over night. I mean, come on, what’s that all about hey? We want to give the medicine to our child there & then thanks…

(Lemon cream & frangipane tart - white chocolate lettering)

.

How Saturday 23rd went:

I made roughly twice as much stuff than usual anticipating good sales - & yes! just as I hoped, the big cakes & the chocolates went in no time! I had stacks of pre-made chocolate boxes (twelve truffles inside) & I managed to sell-out on them by 11.30 in the morning. The ‘flourless chocolate cake’ (which I made 12 of) went by 2pm. Along with pretty much all the other big cakes & tarts. I also had the pre-orders from my regulars. Truly amazing! So happy!

.

Except my little items such as individual slices of cakes were slow on the uptake. To my annoyance I realized that I should have allocated the time making those to making more chocoates instead… (mental note for next year). So despite all that selling I had so much left, I ended up shouting; ‘End-of-day sale on cakes! Cake Discount!!’ (which, my technique is to look left & right for potential punters first, but never look at them as I say it because it’ll make them feel especially targeted & therefore make them feel uncomfortable…). I really, really hate shouting discount… (but I have to - my efforts that went on til 3am would go down the drain otherwise). It scratches at my pride & it invites petty hagglers to sneer over my produce. Like offer £1 for a tart that is priced £9, which I very politely tell ‘em to stop joking and move on.

.
The market itself was not as busy as I imagined though. Non-food stalls seemed to have a slow start. Most shoppers had a mission as it was the last few days to Christmas & was not cruising down the street like they normally do. Now that I think of it, I realize that this was the reason why my slices weren’t selling so well - the ‘cruisers’ who eat as they walk down the market weren’t around.
.

What I truly love about working at the market is that I can fully experience the spirit of the festive season. Everyone wishes ‘Merry Christmas’ to one another. And when I say ‘Merry Christmas’ to the customers, I see their faces light up several notches & seem to take pleasure in repeating it back to me. The friendly market manager went around giving cups to all the stall holders for a swig of whisky: ‘Here, have that. Drink up in one go! It’ll warm you up.’ And it did. - There were also some customers who were festively loose with their purse s trings too - telling me to keep the change! Thank you!
.

So, here we are, another Christmas. How will you be spending yours? For me, it’ll be about opening the presents that’s been patiently waiting underneath the Christmas tree in the hallway & then cooking up the celebration dinner from the morning. We’ll start the dinner from late afternoon. We’ll be feasting on the roast beef joint I bought from Richard at the market (a couple of stalls to my left), the good ol’ brussel sprouts, roast potatoes, home-made yorkshire puds… & lots of bubbly which has the power of making me deliriously happy than any other drink can do.

.

Merry Christmas 2006!

L.o.v.e, t xxx
.
“Christmas gift suggestions:
To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.”

(Quote by Oren Arnold)