Well,
The Fullers speed dating event was the best marketing opportunity never attended! I was entirely hoarse on the day and did not attend. However, samples were duly despatched and within 24 hours I had orders for thousands of biscuits...suffice to say, the ovens have not stopped. Lest you think that I am about to retire, I suppose I should say that the thousands are small 5gm biscuits...
That's all for now folks but more coming soon!
Nisi
PS New product coming soon...Limonetti (very delicious!)
Monday, 31 May 2010
Sunday, 16 May 2010
Whitley Ridge, John Dory and spring greens
Well, it really is almost a month since I've written in this blog. It's been an incredibly busy month involving ash (stranded in!), lots of baking, a trip to Dublin and the very rare spot of sunshine. Wish there was more of the latter!
This morning we, kind of by-chance, visited the new 'Simply at Whitley Ridge'. The latter is part of the Limewood Group, the consortium largely owned by Jim Ratcliffe and Robin Hutson (other co-founder of Hotel du Vin), which was responsible for the £30 million restoration and opening of 'Limewood'. Whitley Ridge was the seat of Michelin starred chef, Alex Aitken, but which has now been re-done in a very cool way. Food is 'simple', based on local, seasonal produce. We popped in today for a cup of tea and coffee. The whole atmosphere was very relaxed, informal, but beautifully done. Hotel du Vin (in the good old days, pre-Malmaison) meets Babington. We made ourselves very comfortable in the sofas with the papers and various magazines that we can never justify buying, but love!
Tea (real leaf) and cappuccino were perfect. Despite being told breakfast was finished, I was undeterred and persuaded, rather easily, another waitress to bring me some of the best yoghurt I've ever had. She obviously overcame the 'system' by keying it in as a service charge of £1. A billy bargain! We paid our bill and booked a table for 'Simply Thursday', an evening featuring local musicians, cool cocktails and tapas. I expect I'll give you the low-down on my next blog.
Having almost bought Turbot (but it was over £20 for 1 fish so we ditched that), we bought some John Dory yesterday with the intention of cooking it last night. Neither of us could quite face cooking fish, so we ended up having a lovely kind of tapas supper. Chorizo griddled in olive oil, courgettes pan-fried with thyme and oregano, and a pea and broad bean 'smash' with garlic, mint and olive oil. Salad accompanied the whole lot. It was delicious. A great medley of mediterranean flavours, finished off with a cheese-board and some homemade walnut bread. And, a drop of red wine!
Finally, we tasted some Godminster cheddar in the deli yesterday. Worth buying if you can get some properly of this properly matured cheese.
More later skaters, and food lovers!
PS Tomorrow morning will find me 'speed dating' (on behalf of Nisi's) with 26 of Fuller's head chefs. I have three minutes to pitch the range to the chefs of local pubs and hotels, who have been given a purse full of cash to buy local produce for the duration of the Hampshire Food Festival in July. It is not really my market, but I am hoping it might yield some rewards. At the very least, I'll have a little try at speed dating!
This morning we, kind of by-chance, visited the new 'Simply at Whitley Ridge'. The latter is part of the Limewood Group, the consortium largely owned by Jim Ratcliffe and Robin Hutson (other co-founder of Hotel du Vin), which was responsible for the £30 million restoration and opening of 'Limewood'. Whitley Ridge was the seat of Michelin starred chef, Alex Aitken, but which has now been re-done in a very cool way. Food is 'simple', based on local, seasonal produce. We popped in today for a cup of tea and coffee. The whole atmosphere was very relaxed, informal, but beautifully done. Hotel du Vin (in the good old days, pre-Malmaison) meets Babington. We made ourselves very comfortable in the sofas with the papers and various magazines that we can never justify buying, but love!
Tea (real leaf) and cappuccino were perfect. Despite being told breakfast was finished, I was undeterred and persuaded, rather easily, another waitress to bring me some of the best yoghurt I've ever had. She obviously overcame the 'system' by keying it in as a service charge of £1. A billy bargain! We paid our bill and booked a table for 'Simply Thursday', an evening featuring local musicians, cool cocktails and tapas. I expect I'll give you the low-down on my next blog.
Having almost bought Turbot (but it was over £20 for 1 fish so we ditched that), we bought some John Dory yesterday with the intention of cooking it last night. Neither of us could quite face cooking fish, so we ended up having a lovely kind of tapas supper. Chorizo griddled in olive oil, courgettes pan-fried with thyme and oregano, and a pea and broad bean 'smash' with garlic, mint and olive oil. Salad accompanied the whole lot. It was delicious. A great medley of mediterranean flavours, finished off with a cheese-board and some homemade walnut bread. And, a drop of red wine!
Finally, we tasted some Godminster cheddar in the deli yesterday. Worth buying if you can get some properly of this properly matured cheese.
More later skaters, and food lovers!
PS Tomorrow morning will find me 'speed dating' (on behalf of Nisi's) with 26 of Fuller's head chefs. I have three minutes to pitch the range to the chefs of local pubs and hotels, who have been given a purse full of cash to buy local produce for the duration of the Hampshire Food Festival in July. It is not really my market, but I am hoping it might yield some rewards. At the very least, I'll have a little try at speed dating!
Monday, 19 April 2010
Amsterdam
Amsterdam was great! We had a long weekend with family, stayed on David's dad's barge in the centre of the city and mooched around. Once again, we were charmed by the city's beautiful, individual architecture and inspired by the lack of health and safety! Highlights included a little parade of foodie shops (corner of utrechtsestraat and prinsengracht), Rijksmuseum (go early and avoid the queues, or buy tickets online / at the tourist office and join the 'fast entry' queue), having a drink here and there around the city and watching the Dutch world go by.
We moved the barge out of the city to Kudelstat (near Aalsmeer) where it is normally moored; this involved the usual adventure (!) but we arrived safely in time for our meal at 'The Old Boot'. The latter is a tiny, homely restaurant serving great food at reasonable prices and without any english translations on the menu - refreshingly not catering to the otherwise ubiquitous english tourists. All very welcome! We ate and drank our fill (dishes included beef stew with Guinness, Lamb satay, a trio of mushrooms) and walked back to our barge. Hector slept soundly throughout!
On Monday morning, we left the rest of the party and went into Aalsmeer (most famous as the home to the Dutch flower auction) to have a coffee and to catch the bus to the airport. Having bought some delicious cheese (1 year old goat's cheese and another local aged cow's milk gouda) in de Osdorper cheese shop (Zijdstraat), we headed for ab Muller bakery. Quite the spot to while away a bit of time, admire the Dutch pastries (almond cakes require more than admiration!) and wait for the bus. 198 and 188 take you directly to Schipol and go four times an hour.
The Dutch were unerringly kind, helpful and good-humoured!
PS We have identified a suitable bike carrier for Hector - a 'bobike mini+' - it dominates the streets of Amsterdam and not a cycle helmet in sight!
PPS Supper tonight was an old staple, roast peppers stuffed with lamb (serves 2):
halve two peppers (red, yellow or orange best but green will do), remove the seeds and pop them in a 200 degree oven for 15 minutes whilst you make the lamb stuffing. Fry a red onion with a clove or two of garlic depending on your predilection for garlic. When the onion is cooked add 250gms lamb mince, 1 tin of tomatoes, a glug of tomato ketchup, a few drops of soya sauce and about the same amount of Worcestershire sauce. If you have some red wine open, I'd add a couple of glugs of that. Let all that bubble away on a reasonably high heat until all the liquid has been absorbed by the lamb and it has caramelised (should take about 15 minutes). Stuff the peppers with the lamb and bake in the oven for another 15 minutes at 175 degrees until the lamb is crispy and the peppers really soft and sweet. Eat with a big green salad and a hunk of bread. The minced lamb can be used in all sorts of ways: tomatoey shepherd's pie, sauce for pasta, stuffing for lasagne / canneloni, on its own as a kind of mince-stew (!) and the list could go on!
We moved the barge out of the city to Kudelstat (near Aalsmeer) where it is normally moored; this involved the usual adventure (!) but we arrived safely in time for our meal at 'The Old Boot'. The latter is a tiny, homely restaurant serving great food at reasonable prices and without any english translations on the menu - refreshingly not catering to the otherwise ubiquitous english tourists. All very welcome! We ate and drank our fill (dishes included beef stew with Guinness, Lamb satay, a trio of mushrooms) and walked back to our barge. Hector slept soundly throughout!
On Monday morning, we left the rest of the party and went into Aalsmeer (most famous as the home to the Dutch flower auction) to have a coffee and to catch the bus to the airport. Having bought some delicious cheese (1 year old goat's cheese and another local aged cow's milk gouda) in de Osdorper cheese shop (Zijdstraat), we headed for ab Muller bakery. Quite the spot to while away a bit of time, admire the Dutch pastries (almond cakes require more than admiration!) and wait for the bus. 198 and 188 take you directly to Schipol and go four times an hour.
The Dutch were unerringly kind, helpful and good-humoured!
PS We have identified a suitable bike carrier for Hector - a 'bobike mini+' - it dominates the streets of Amsterdam and not a cycle helmet in sight!
PPS Supper tonight was an old staple, roast peppers stuffed with lamb (serves 2):
halve two peppers (red, yellow or orange best but green will do), remove the seeds and pop them in a 200 degree oven for 15 minutes whilst you make the lamb stuffing. Fry a red onion with a clove or two of garlic depending on your predilection for garlic. When the onion is cooked add 250gms lamb mince, 1 tin of tomatoes, a glug of tomato ketchup, a few drops of soya sauce and about the same amount of Worcestershire sauce. If you have some red wine open, I'd add a couple of glugs of that. Let all that bubble away on a reasonably high heat until all the liquid has been absorbed by the lamb and it has caramelised (should take about 15 minutes). Stuff the peppers with the lamb and bake in the oven for another 15 minutes at 175 degrees until the lamb is crispy and the peppers really soft and sweet. Eat with a big green salad and a hunk of bread. The minced lamb can be used in all sorts of ways: tomatoey shepherd's pie, sauce for pasta, stuffing for lasagne / canneloni, on its own as a kind of mince-stew (!) and the list could go on!
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
Ode to fish
Greetings!
It has been a while, but we have been busy...
First things first, we had a really great meal at Verveine in Milford on Sea, Hampshire (also a fishmongers up until 9pm, the restaurant is tucked away behind the fish shop). The chef, David, is very talented. From start to finish the food was innovative, generous and bursting with flavour. So often a dish sounds mouthwatering on the menu, but the reality leaves you slightly disappointed. Au contraire at Verveine. From beautiful 'clam' like amuse-bouches of two homemade chips clamped around mackerel pate, to the mini milk bottle of bailey's and chocolate served with the coffees, the taste buds were tickled. The menu centres around a blackboard menu of fresh fish priced by the kilo and a choice of four types of sauces / accompaniments. You pick the fish and the sauce according to what you fancy. The desserts are listed as flavour combinations, each of which has an 'element of surprise'. I was sceptical at the lack of definition of what we were going to have, but I was bowled over by our communal choice, and I am not a big pudding fan. It was clever, delicious food served by informed, fun staff in a simple restaurant with great atmosphere. And all at a reasonable price! When can I go back??!
We have also been cooking fish at Eden Villa! Inspired by Sophie Dahl (I did not think a lot of her new programme), Halibut has been flash fried skin side down in olive oil for 2 minutes, before being flipped over and roasted in the oven (200 degrees) for 10 minutes. Serve it on a bed of portabello mushrooms, which have been fried in olive oil and then tossed in a blast of lemon juice. But the secret weapon is quite simply watercress and spinach mixed with some creme fraiche and half a lemon's worth of lemon zest. Very yummy!
The other recent discovery is a caramelised garlic and sherry vinegar sauce (an adapted Moro recipe), which can accompany any fish really although we had it with hake steaks. Thinly slice three or four cloves of garlic horizontally, and then vertically to form matchsticks. Fry this gently in olive oil until it is brown making very sure you don't burn it! Once it has a bronzed hue, add about three or four tablespoons of good sherry vinegar, and turn up the heat! At this point, I threw in a couple of generous glugs of sherry (this was my addition and I think the alcohol gives a bit of depth and sweetness to the sauce - marsala or even wine would do). Reduce the sauce until you arrive at your desired consistency - probably a good five minutes - add some salt and pepper and drizzle it over your fish! Add some simply boiled new potatoes drizzled with butter (or a good olive oil), a green salad and you have yourself a pretty perfect meal.
Off to Amsterdam tomorrow for four days...more later!
Have fun with the fish and eat at Verveine!
It has been a while, but we have been busy...
First things first, we had a really great meal at Verveine in Milford on Sea, Hampshire (also a fishmongers up until 9pm, the restaurant is tucked away behind the fish shop). The chef, David, is very talented. From start to finish the food was innovative, generous and bursting with flavour. So often a dish sounds mouthwatering on the menu, but the reality leaves you slightly disappointed. Au contraire at Verveine. From beautiful 'clam' like amuse-bouches of two homemade chips clamped around mackerel pate, to the mini milk bottle of bailey's and chocolate served with the coffees, the taste buds were tickled. The menu centres around a blackboard menu of fresh fish priced by the kilo and a choice of four types of sauces / accompaniments. You pick the fish and the sauce according to what you fancy. The desserts are listed as flavour combinations, each of which has an 'element of surprise'. I was sceptical at the lack of definition of what we were going to have, but I was bowled over by our communal choice, and I am not a big pudding fan. It was clever, delicious food served by informed, fun staff in a simple restaurant with great atmosphere. And all at a reasonable price! When can I go back??!
We have also been cooking fish at Eden Villa! Inspired by Sophie Dahl (I did not think a lot of her new programme), Halibut has been flash fried skin side down in olive oil for 2 minutes, before being flipped over and roasted in the oven (200 degrees) for 10 minutes. Serve it on a bed of portabello mushrooms, which have been fried in olive oil and then tossed in a blast of lemon juice. But the secret weapon is quite simply watercress and spinach mixed with some creme fraiche and half a lemon's worth of lemon zest. Very yummy!
The other recent discovery is a caramelised garlic and sherry vinegar sauce (an adapted Moro recipe), which can accompany any fish really although we had it with hake steaks. Thinly slice three or four cloves of garlic horizontally, and then vertically to form matchsticks. Fry this gently in olive oil until it is brown making very sure you don't burn it! Once it has a bronzed hue, add about three or four tablespoons of good sherry vinegar, and turn up the heat! At this point, I threw in a couple of generous glugs of sherry (this was my addition and I think the alcohol gives a bit of depth and sweetness to the sauce - marsala or even wine would do). Reduce the sauce until you arrive at your desired consistency - probably a good five minutes - add some salt and pepper and drizzle it over your fish! Add some simply boiled new potatoes drizzled with butter (or a good olive oil), a green salad and you have yourself a pretty perfect meal.
Off to Amsterdam tomorrow for four days...more later!
Have fun with the fish and eat at Verveine!
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Success?
Well, the Amaretti sold out in 36 hours so baked a repeat order today. I am secretly rather pleased! The ongoing marketing assault is going reasonably well - biscotti now being sold in delis from Lymington (of course) to Cardiff and on up to Harrogate. Not a bad spread. We are entering the Great Taste Awards, which will give me a really objective view on the quality of the products. Meanwhile I continue to seek more customers (if any of you are thinking of starting a food producing business selling to delis, January to March seems to be EXTREMELY quiet in the deli world - encouraging owners to stock new products is like trying to prevent chocolate melting on the Equator). Does that stop me??? Does it heck.
Adios amigos.
PS Will someone please post a comment??
Adios amigos.
PS Will someone please post a comment??
Thursday, 18 March 2010
Dangerously good Amaretti coming to shelves near you!
Beautiful packets of Amaretti (the chewy type) are soon to be seen on the shelves of fine food shops near you! Well, that is slightly aspirational, but the first packets of Nisi's Amaretti are being sold in Maison Cuisine from today...I think they look gorgeous and taste just about perfect, so I am rather hopeful that they will do well.
I'll let you know!
I'll let you know!
Thursday, 11 March 2010
London
Tuesday almost saw me not make it to London...but strong wills and a very cooperative mother came to my rescue. And so, my trusty bicycle (newly cleaned the day before in honour of this expedition) and I sallied forth on the 10.11am train to London. It was my first solo trip to London since Hector was born and had been planned for weeks in advance!
I felt totally liberated arriving in London on my own and headed for the first of my favourite hot spots - the old faithful Monmouth Coffee Company on Monmouth Street. Despite lack of sunshine I sat outside on a bench and rejoiced in the marvels of being in the big smoke. For those who don't know, the Monmouth Coffee Company is a beacon burning brightly in the world of global coffee chains serving perfectly adequate coffee. Monmouth serves sublime coffee. It is a small little place filled with like minded people seeking out independent spots who pride themselves on their quality and total commitment to the best. The counter is filled with cakes and tarts that might tempt you and then there are a series of communal wooden booths at the back. Their Borough Market shop is recogniseable by the long queue of people patiently waiting for their weekly fix before braving the frenzy of a Saturday morning at Borough Market. What I love most about this shop is the long communal table dominating the room that is home to a huge plate with hunks of baguette, ginormous jars of Bonne Maman and a slab of beautiful fresh butter. Help yourself for £2.50. It would be terribly rude to resist...
And from there I headed up through Soho to Marylebone High Street. Now, this really is one of my most beloved streets. The atmosphere is kind of villagey (I used 'kind of' deliberately) and on, or just off this, thoroughfare lie a cornucopia of shops that I would have on my Desert Island list of favourite places. La fromagerie on Moxon Street, Daunt books, The Providores, deli / cafe part of the Orrery, The Conran Shop, Cox & power, Skandium and the list goes on. If you haven't been, just go and make sure you have enough time to browse, eat and drink. My sole purchase here was a book obscurely named 'The Elegance of the Hedgehog', which was recommended to me by the lovely Naomi.
After an appointment at 2.30, I headed to Islington and walked through Camden Passage and along Upper Street. I kind of wanted a cup of tea but somehow didn't find the perfect spot and so just browsed. At 6pm my bicycle was bedecked with light, and I with fluorescent additions, and I hit Exmouth Market. This is a little pedestrian street just off Farringdon Road. It is occupied by a number of quirky, independent retailers of all things - cool bags and jewellery made by a Milanese man (Bagman Robin), high end unusual jewellery (ECone), Chorizo and the very best of Spanish foods (Brindisi) although this seemed to have closed down and I think that I read about its closure. There is a food market here providing all kinds of nourishment at lunchtime. But, the real reason for my visit was Moro. If I had to worship someone I think it would be a wacky medley of all kinds of people, but Sam and Sam Clark would be there.
A husband and wife team, who met at River Cafe (I only found out about Rose Gray's very sad death at the weekend), run the most wonderful of Spanish / North African influenced restaurants. I am sure if they put their mind to it they could have Michelin stars coming out of every silver dome, but they aspire to the antithesis of silver domes. The restaurant, and the food, is inspired by a tapas kind of bar and the zinc covered table running the length of it is one of the nicest places for a plate or two of tapas and a glass of fino (a secret lunch I occasionally treat myself to!) that I know of. The best bit is that there are a couple of mirrors opposite the bar from where you can watch the chefs in the kitchen doing their thing. But enough about the room (although the floor tiles on the way to the toilet and in the toilet are fabulous), the point is without doubt the food. I'll be back - have to go out for an hour so going to save this most hallowed of blogs!!!
I felt totally liberated arriving in London on my own and headed for the first of my favourite hot spots - the old faithful Monmouth Coffee Company on Monmouth Street. Despite lack of sunshine I sat outside on a bench and rejoiced in the marvels of being in the big smoke. For those who don't know, the Monmouth Coffee Company is a beacon burning brightly in the world of global coffee chains serving perfectly adequate coffee. Monmouth serves sublime coffee. It is a small little place filled with like minded people seeking out independent spots who pride themselves on their quality and total commitment to the best. The counter is filled with cakes and tarts that might tempt you and then there are a series of communal wooden booths at the back. Their Borough Market shop is recogniseable by the long queue of people patiently waiting for their weekly fix before braving the frenzy of a Saturday morning at Borough Market. What I love most about this shop is the long communal table dominating the room that is home to a huge plate with hunks of baguette, ginormous jars of Bonne Maman and a slab of beautiful fresh butter. Help yourself for £2.50. It would be terribly rude to resist...
And from there I headed up through Soho to Marylebone High Street. Now, this really is one of my most beloved streets. The atmosphere is kind of villagey (I used 'kind of' deliberately) and on, or just off this, thoroughfare lie a cornucopia of shops that I would have on my Desert Island list of favourite places. La fromagerie on Moxon Street, Daunt books, The Providores, deli / cafe part of the Orrery, The Conran Shop, Cox & power, Skandium and the list goes on. If you haven't been, just go and make sure you have enough time to browse, eat and drink. My sole purchase here was a book obscurely named 'The Elegance of the Hedgehog', which was recommended to me by the lovely Naomi.
After an appointment at 2.30, I headed to Islington and walked through Camden Passage and along Upper Street. I kind of wanted a cup of tea but somehow didn't find the perfect spot and so just browsed. At 6pm my bicycle was bedecked with light, and I with fluorescent additions, and I hit Exmouth Market. This is a little pedestrian street just off Farringdon Road. It is occupied by a number of quirky, independent retailers of all things - cool bags and jewellery made by a Milanese man (Bagman Robin), high end unusual jewellery (ECone), Chorizo and the very best of Spanish foods (Brindisi) although this seemed to have closed down and I think that I read about its closure. There is a food market here providing all kinds of nourishment at lunchtime. But, the real reason for my visit was Moro. If I had to worship someone I think it would be a wacky medley of all kinds of people, but Sam and Sam Clark would be there.
A husband and wife team, who met at River Cafe (I only found out about Rose Gray's very sad death at the weekend), run the most wonderful of Spanish / North African influenced restaurants. I am sure if they put their mind to it they could have Michelin stars coming out of every silver dome, but they aspire to the antithesis of silver domes. The restaurant, and the food, is inspired by a tapas kind of bar and the zinc covered table running the length of it is one of the nicest places for a plate or two of tapas and a glass of fino (a secret lunch I occasionally treat myself to!) that I know of. The best bit is that there are a couple of mirrors opposite the bar from where you can watch the chefs in the kitchen doing their thing. But enough about the room (although the floor tiles on the way to the toilet and in the toilet are fabulous), the point is without doubt the food. I'll be back - have to go out for an hour so going to save this most hallowed of blogs!!!
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