November 22nd, 2010

Waitrose Cookery School

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A couple of weeks ago I was invited to attend a preview do for Waitrose’s new cookery school. It was on Thursday evening, which was not exactly great as it’s my chocolate making day but I wanted to go so much, I decided I’d make a little less to make up for the time-loss.

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Now, I’m a sort of person who h.a.t.e.s going to places alone. I get uncomfortable, be it waiting for a friend to turn up at the bar, or going to cinemas on my own. So I asked my friend A to accompany me. She also has great interest in food & teaches Japanese home-style cooking here in London, so a perfect companion for the night I think!

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Soon as we got our coats checked-in, we were handed a glass of champagne. Champagne is my favourite alcoholic beverage (next to Japanese plum wine) that magics delirious happiness in me. Hmm… - And then came very tasty canapés. Ah! We’re getting treated finely tonight aren’t we! (champers fueled giggles with A.)

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(Another one? ~ oh go on then, bend my rubber arm why don’t you.)

(Behind the scenes, making our nibbles.)

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Drink in one hand & camera dangling on neck, we nosed around. Gosh, it’s such a dream place. If I was to ever open a school it’ll be like this. A spacious open plan set-up of cooking workshop area, eating area & impressive bar. There’s also an auditorium for demonstrations in the next room equipped with hi-tech live-camera above the front work-top so that seated students can see what the chef is doing in detail on a mounted telly. Not bad.

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Equipment freaks that we are, we looked in draws in the workshop. I instantly fell in love with the following two; a ‘Lékué Decopen’ for piping,

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& this, oh God I want it so bad, a titanium ‘Kenwood KM070 cooking chef major mixer‘, WITH induction cooking technology!!! I’ve never heard of such a thing! Apparently you can make béchamel sauce in it, & even risotto. Well, with just under £1000 to buy just one of these, it better do. I have never ever been interested in food mixers before, even the lovely KitchenAid, but this… God, I want one. (did I just say this twice?)

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Anyway, back to writing about the evening.

There were only around 17 bloggers that attended & from Waitrose’s side there were around 7 chefs, aswell as more bods from management & PR. (Pamper-ometer, tick!) After champagne, we watched head pastry chef James Campbell (formerly Gary Rhodes’ group head pastry chef ) make italian-meringue based macaroons in orange marmalade flavour. And then it was our turn to do the same. The ingredients were already measured out set neatly by our work table, & ofcourse we don’t do the washing up later.

(Clean & stylish)

(Macs. Italian meringue based are easier to make (compared to french meringue version) as there’s no drying period, but I think the result-texture is harder & chewier… – although it is less so as you leave it for a couple of days.)

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We then had a cocktail master-class. Orange & vodka mix poured in to  sugar-rimmed  glass, & then another cocktail which was coffee flavoured.

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(My friend A making cocktail.)

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We also sampled two more flavours of macs. Eggnog one which had chantilly cream filling which was delicious, & mulled wine one with edible glitter on its surface. Everyone seemed to love the glitter on it, but I personally don’t, although I do understand the attraction of its prettiness. The reason why I don’t like them is simply because I don’t want to eat it. It’s the same feeling I have to edible gold leafs.

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Anyway, all in all I was very impressed with the place & the chefs who were all friendly. I thought that the price for classes (all-day classes are £175) are reasonable if you think that there are three chefs to 24 pupils which is good going.

September 13th, 2008

I’ll be back next week!!!

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Hello!

I’m going to restart trading at the market from next Saturday! (20th) Yay! It’s enough with the maternity break. Time to venture out of the coochi-coochi-koo-land & get active, pull my sleeves up, earn some dough. I tell ya, I’m sooo excited & sooo happy about restarting that I’ve got that wonderful “nervous but also giddy” feeling that is similar to when I started the market the first time round.

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I’m revved up & I’ll be armed with lots of chocolates & cakes. There’ll be the “usual suspects” (like the Flourless chocolate cake) & also one or two new products for the line-up that I am “hoping” to make (like the Caramelized dried fruits & nuts tart which I’m pondering on calling it “Winter fruit tart”, & the lemon drizzle cake that will be sold as slices).
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So if you’re around in London next Saturday, fancy popping over??

Love t xx

September 1st, 2007

Quick message

Hi… Just a quickie to say that I won’t be doing the market this week & the next because of the house-move.

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Also, I won’t be posting much on this blog & reply to your comments/ emails for a wee while, atleast until the internet connection gets sorted at the new house. But then again…, I can imagine myself going to those WiFi cafés to fuel my ‘blog-fix’, so guys, don’t be too surprised to see another blog-entry here in a much nearer future actually…!

July 16th, 2007

Would Voldemort prefer rich tea or custard creams?

harry.jpg(Am I wrong or are these book covers pretty bad??)

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(Note: this post would only interest Harry Potter fans.)

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A bit of light-entertainment this week:

In the run up to the highly anticipated last-ever Harry Potter novel coming out, there sure is a H.Potter fever in the air. I’m getting my copy sent to me via amazon – so come the morning of July 21st (release date), no doubt I’ll be waking up early to run downstairs, in my PJ’s, to see if the parcel has arrived, maybe a bit like a little kid on Xmas day. Oh! Can’t wait!

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I found a hilarious online discussion on the UK amazon site, titled ‘Would Voldemort prefer rich tea or custard creams?‘. The very idea of Voldy relaxing with milky tea & biscuits (is he a dunker?) had me in stitches. Anyway, the discussion goes on for 11 pages, so I just copy & paste the first page of it, to give you a taster. Get ya self tea & several biccies & enjoy reading!
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x .. x .. x .. x .. x .. x .. x .. x .. x .. x .. x .. x .. x .. x .. x .. x .. x

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Mr. Derri P. H. Stephens says:
I think Voldemort would be the kind of gut who eats custard creams, and he is deffinately a dunker.
And believe there is some evidence in CoS that proves he would rather a Maryland cookie to a Jammy dodger.
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John Goddard says:Rich Tea biscuits are a creation of pure evil. They hold out the expectation of a biscuit, but deliver a dry and shrivelled result. Surely Voldermort would therefore keep the custard creams for himself and provide Rich Tea biscuits for the death eaters…
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Daniel Roach says:

Voldemort is the personification of pure evil. It would therefore lead us to believe that although custard creams do have all the qualities of a biscuit a dark lord would indeed be suited to, they do not hold a candle to thier darker cousins…… the bourbon cream. Rich and pure in flavour, yet with a vile after-taste and disapointing air of being a factory staff room biscuit, the bourbon cream by name gives itself an air of elegance which would be apt as Voldemort hails from pure blood, tho is by muggle born. The bitter aftertaste can also pay dues to Voldemorts bitter and twisted persona, whilst the bourbon cream also holds rank as the darkest of the biscuit family.
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Anna Leeming says:
I agree with this. Rich Tea are not the kind of biscuit a Dark Lord would eat – after all, they are very bad for dipping (see Peter Kay at the MEN) – and he would be more likely to provide them for the less worthy of his followers while indulging in something which involves far more chocolate.

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Mary -Ann says:
You`re all way out. It`s got to be a Jacobs cracker, a nice piece of stilton , & a glass of unicorns blood !!!

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Harry C. Young says:
I would think he liked ginger newts because he disasscociates himself with anything muggle.

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D. Halliwell says:That is so funny John… i have had to pick myself off the floor i was laughing so much…nice one

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Alice says:
This is a really crummy thread, it takes the biscuit in my opinion!
Maybe Voldy would like cockroach clusters!
Hmmmm, we never see Voldy eat, except snake venom from Nagini milked by the fair hand of Wormtail!

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Weasley Fan says:
I don’t think Voldemort would like any biscuit with a soft centre! He seems more of a Hobnob guy to me. I can just see him sitting there with a steaming mug of Unicorn’s blood, wearing his fluffy Dementor slippers! :o )

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P. M. Fernandez says:
Nobody in their right mind could possibly prefer Rich Tea to anything!
Voldemort is not in his right mind.
Therefore he prefers Rich Tea.

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Amber R. Wahidi says:
What if he doesn’t see the point in eating. Senses all not in tack. Taste not being there.

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Ms. V. Lovatt says:
Voldemort seems like a luxury biscuit nibbler to me. The sort of twisted evil person that dunks ‘n’ munches his way through an entire packet of Cadburys Double Chocolate Cookies without offering you a single one, leaving you to lick your fingers and hoover up the crumbs when he’s not looking. I should imagine the biscuits are accompanied by a lovely cup of milky Camp coffee to dunk the biccies in. He probably has Pettigrew go fetch him some from the local Happy Shopper, lest he intergrate with the lowly Muggles. “Wanna biccie, wanna wanna wanna biccie NOW!!!!” (oh, hold on, thats Terry Pratchett)

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Mevance says:
lol @ biscuits I like a wee rich tea biscuit does this make me a death eater/slytherin?

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Emily says:
Oh Mr Derri P.H. Stephens..how you mock me! I stated I believe Voldermort would prefer rich teas to custard creams because:
1. I believe he is a ‘man’ (if indeed a man can be a man with a broken soul) with traditional tastes.
2. He does not have a lot of time to eat (his days are full of killing people, cursing people, planning evil things, etc) and anything other than a rich tea is likely to stick in his teeth and cause him to have to use a large amount of energy picking bits out of his teeth (the oats from hobnobs, the jam from the dodgers).
3. He is a man who ‘the whole’ is very important too (other than with regards to his soul)and a custard cream has a tendency to break in two.
4. He has long straggely fingers with very long nails that I feel would find it difficult to pick up and handle a custard cream – a rich tea is a easier biscuit to pick up for those with floppy fingers.
5. There are many varieties of custard cream (e.g. tesco, tesco value, asda, sainsbury’s, morrisons, happy shopper, etc) and so you never know quite what you’re going to get… whereas a rich tea is just a rich tea…Voldermort would hate to not know what was coming and what to expect…he is a man who likes to be ready…he likes to always be one step ahead.
6. Voldermort would sound like a pansy if he asked for a ‘custard cream’ whereas a ‘Rich tea’ is quite a masculine choice I feel.
And finally….
7. Voldermort has a new body now which he needs to take care of…as far as I’m aware custard creams are not sold in 25% less fat versions whereas Rich teas are…Voldermort needs to remember his new figure when he is making his biscuit choices. It would be no good if in the middle of the final duel with Harry, he died just because he couldn’t run away fast enough due to the consumption of two too many full fat custard creams!!So there we have it…Voldermort would prefer a rich tea to a custard cream.

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Googleplex says:
No….He’ll find all those special, vintage or relegiously special buiscuit, then eat them quickly, not favouring the taste by purpose- in front of whoever they are most important to…

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Emily says:
Yes but other biscuits have a tendency to ‘crumb’ whereas the grain of a rich tea is as such that it only causes a light powdering when first bitten in to….Voldermort would not look so ‘frightening’ and intimidating with a big bit of hobnob oat, digestive crumb, smudged custard, etc, on his lip!!.

Mevance says:
In reply to J. Vaidya I agree it would be a religious biscuit for voldermort. The only thing however I can think of is a bun a hot cross one.

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Ms. V. Lovatt says:
What about a Cow biscuit? Not too bad on the crumb front, just that weird biscuit sludge you get at the bottom of your cup of tea. But he could vanish that with a flick of his wand, I’m sure. They are also pretty old skool, a way for Voldemort to sit and relax, reminiscing about zee good old days. Although the cup of milky tea could spoil his image. (but the mug could have an evil slogan printed on it- something like “I enjoy killing people” or “This mug belongs to a violent wizard with psychotic tendencies” that sort of thing to balance it out.)

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Mevance says:
A cow biscuit..? I don’t remember them…I hav however consumed a fair few NICE biscuits in my time… mmmmm coconutty. I think Voldy would have a mug with ‘muggle free zone’ written on it

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Emily says:

Interesting suggestion…on a wizard version of a cow biscuit, would the cow move around the biscuit, often leaving the frame of the biscuit?

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Googleplex says:
he probably has some sort of weak side, so he might like those soft gingerbread biscuits you get in m&s with the thick icing- but he would change it so it looked like his sign- so that he can explain it away if any death eater (or JKR) walks in…

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Emily says:
And perhaps whilst sat by the light of his wand and the flickering of the fire in the hearth, with his mug of tea and evening biscuit, his ‘slippered’ feet would be those big gorilla feet slippers or perhaps Homer Simpson slippers?

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Emily says:
And perhaps he would appear to be reading ’101 ways to kill someone with your eyes closed’ but inside the book he would have the latest copy of the Daily ‘Wizard’ Star hidden…checking out the hot witches on page 3 or ‘Woman’s Weekly’ which he has a subscription to for the knitting patterns???

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(Wanna read more? Read the rest at this link!) Credit to all these witty comment writers!!

March 25th, 2007

The road to Lewes & the groundhog roundabout

street.jpg

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This week, I decided to take a break from my hectic schedule. I really needed a break from everyday life, which I do love & enjoy, but also grinds me in to a heap of tired state.

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So I took this Saturday off. There were no pre-orders for big cakes, & the Easter chocolate fever is yet to come. – We planned to do a day trip to a county town called Lewes (East Sussex. It’s near Brighton), where friends of ours live who had left London last Autumn for a better life there (good thinking!).

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Leaving the house 10am, & thinking that our car journey would be around 2 hours, we left high spirited. It’s so unusual to have a day off on a Saturday, it felt good to make a proper day out of it. We had our car-nav device which would guide us there no problem.

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BUT… somehow, we managed to spend almost 3 hours on just getting to Streatham! Still, we drove despite being hit by bad traffic everywhere, I mean in a seriously bad way (which was a test of composure indurance). THEN…, our bad luck got nailed down, as we hit a road closure on our exit on a roundabout. We follow the diversion signs – which brings us back to the same roundabout! Jeez, it did not make sense. The diversion signs were just not good enough – pointing this way, that way. D kept his cool throughout & try another route, but again we were at the same roundabout… We program the car-nav to come up with alternate route. but try as it might, it would try to take us back to this god-damn roundabout a number of times…

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At this point, we were already driving 4 hours. The thought of another 1 hour drive to get to their house, spend a measly 2 hours with our friends & then face another long long time getting home (with an active toddler strapped in to his car seat), in time for his bedtime…, it would be just plain madness. We U-turned home…

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