London Food Detective

Beef butchery and cooking masterclass

I sometimes get invited to events during the work day that i'm unable to attend, but sometimes send my glamourous assistant i.e. my wife, along instead.  Here's her take on a recent EBLEX Beef event...

I love meat! And recently, along with much of the population, I've turned into a bit of a meat snob. I care about where my meat comes from and how well the animals were cared for. Therefore, I was delighted to be invited along to an event run by the English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX).

EBLEX exists to enhance the profitability and sustainability of the English beef and lamb sector and they invited some of us along to teach us about some of the things they have been working on. From visiting other countries and holding their own research, they have devised some new cuts of beef that aim to add millions to the value of the steak market. This is made possible through using seam butchery techniques.

We started with a presentation explaining their techniques and how they have been devised. This was then followed by a butchery demonstration and then the various cuts were cooked and we were able to taste them.

My favourite by far was the Picanha steak. This is a popular cut in South America and is full of flavour. This was closely followed by the Bistro steak and both of these cuts are taken from the rump.

  

We ended the afternoon by cooking up our favourite cut and eating them with a selection of salads. On leaving we were given some fantastic goody bags containing two packets of 'flat iron' steaks and lots of other ingredients to go with them. These have now provided two dinners for my husband and I. I must say that the flat iron steak is not a favourite of mine. Cooked plainly I find it had an irony flavour (much like onglet). However, when cooked in a sauce or marinade, it was lovely.

Butchers, supermarkets and restaurants providing meat adhering to the standards set by EBLEX are entitled to display the Quality Standard Beef mark. This guarantees the quality from source right through to supplier.

Having learnt everything, I would now actively seek out places that provide Quality Standard Beef. My one gripe is that I can't easily find out who does have the mark. I think EBLEX's website would benefit from having an up to date list of those currently providing Quality Standard Beef.

One other thing to note would be the fantastic venue. It was at L'Atelier de Chefs on Wigmore Street. I resisted the urge to browse through the fantastic cooking utensils they sell and I'm sure I'll be back soon for one of their classes.

#breakfastmyway at The Big Chill, Kings Cross

I organised a work related Tweet-up at the Big Chill House back in the summer and really enjoyed the place.  It has four or five distinct areas, including a lovely outside terrace, a decent drinks selection and it is well located near King's Cross.

So I was pleased to be invited back to try their new breakfast and weekend brunch menu and contrived to meet up for an early 'work' meeting to try it out.

 

The full English

I went for the full English minus the baked beans and it was a pretty good fry up.  A good quality, herby Lincolnshire sausage, super crisp bacon, well cooked mushrooms and fresh, if slightly underseasoned, scrambled eggs on muffins.  Not a bad effort at all.  The only change i'd make is to replace the muffins for some white toast and include some black pudding and I'd have been a very happy boy!

Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs

My colleague went for scrambled eggs with smoked salmon on muffins and was also pleased with the result.  Simple and tasty.  There's not much more to say.

All in all, breakfast at the Big Chill makes for a good start to the day.  Service was quick, efficient and friendly and included a discussion about my decision to leave off the baked beans - the staff thought this was the best bit, but hey, it was my way!

It is a decent, reasonably priced option close to Kings Cross and St Pancras and is ideal if you're looking for a quick bite to eat before a trip north or looking for a relaxed venue for an early morning meeting.

I was invited to the Big Chill House breakfast. 

There is 25% off the menu until the end of October and @BigChillHouse are giving away 3 free breakfasts each week to people who tweet what they had for breakfast using #breakfastmyway.

Bill's, Brighton and Covent Garden: Best of Brunch

Grace and I have visited Bill's five times over the summer and it's fair to say that it has become a bit of a favourite.

Originally opening in Lewes and then moving on to Brighton, the Covent Garden branch is the fourth outlet of the laid back, chilled out, grocery store/restaurant and the only hope it that it can keep the spirit and quality of the first two branches as it expands.

The first four occasions we went to Bill's was for brunch - the meal on which it has developed it's reputation.

Vegetarian Breakfast

Grace loves the vegetarian breakfast.  It's an eclectic mix of tomatoes, poached egg, mushrooms, sweet chilli sauce, guacamole and hummus.  It sounds disgusting, but everyone I know who has tried it, absolutely loves it and adores the combination of flavours.

The couple of times I've been, I've had the scrambled eggs and bacon.  In Brighton it was fab - fresh, buttery, perfectly cooked scrambled eggs and good quality crispy bacon.  However, on my visit to the Covent Garden branch, the scrambled eggs weren't nearly as good and were badly overcooked and omlette like. 

I suspect that they were cooked in a batch and left to sit on the hotplate, rather than being made fresh as in Brighton.  Hopefully this is the sort of slip Bill's can avoid as it grows, as it will soon damage it's reputation if it doesn't maintain the quality of the Lewes and Brighton branches.  Given everything I've had there has been enjoyable, then I'll hope it was a one off. 

 

Chorizo and roasted peppers

On our post noon visit, I really enjoyed the spicy chorizo in a brioche bun with soft, moreish peppers and a cooling yoghurt.  Chips were adequate, but the burger was something I'd definitely have again.

 

Strawberry meringue

Bill's also has a good line up of desserts and a wide selection of cakes.  My two favourites have been the summery meringue with strawberries, which had the right balance of crispness and chewiness and the rich, slightly decadent, gooey chocolate brownie with chocolate sauce, a flake and vanilla icecream.  Simple, but addictive and great for a chocoholic like me!

Chocolate Brownie

Overall, I'm a big fan of Bill's and it's good to have a reasonable, quick and affordable eating place close to Covent Garden.  I'll forgive them once for the dodgy scrambled eggs, given the friendly waiting staff (makes a difference from some of the surly service I've experienced nearby) and the overall vibe of the place.

 

August Round Up: Ice cream delight and a return trip to Launceston Place

I've been looking for an excuse to re-visit Launceston Place since my first visit in January 2010, so when I got some D&D vouchers for a present, there was only one place I was going to go!

We weren't disappointed on our return trip.  The lamb was excellent once again and I loved my apple tart dessert.  The staff can be slightly aloof, but apart from that it remains one of my favourite places in London.

My parents were down visiting and we took them on a quick gourmet tour to buy some ingredients for us to then cook for them.  First stop was Paul A Young's new Soho shop, where we got a selection of chocs and a jar of salted caramel, which was absolutely fantastic.  It's expensive at £7+ a jar, but it has to be one of my favourite sweet things ever.  I hid the jar from Grace so she didn't steal it all!

We then went to La Fromagerie to pick up some cheese, before popping next door for some steaks from the Ginger Pig.

In between we popped into Fortnum and Mason for a decadent ice-cream sundae.  We greedily had one each (together with the moreish melted chocolate sauce) and all completely devoured them.

Ice cream was a theme for August with trips to Haagen Dazs cafe, Gelupo and Scoop.  I'm planning a full post on all these places soon.

I had my first trip to Meson Don Felipe on the Cut near Waterloo with work colleagues and was left slightly underwhelmed after previously hearing ok things about it.  This was bog standard tapas, served in a slapdash manner and it just seemed like a place that has seen better days, which is a shame. 

The difference in quality to Camino, which I re-visited a few weeks later was huge.  The Presa Iberica (Iberico black pig shoulder blade cooked medium-rare) remained a firm favourite.

The other major disappointment in August was having to cancel a planned trip to Roganic, which seems to be picking up plenty of plaudits.  Hopefully we'll make it soon.

On the plus side, we had a return visit to the excellent Banana Leaf curry house in Croydon and enjoyed another trip for breakfast to Bill's, although it was the Brighton branch this time.