Cambridge Cookery School

More food from me today...

Once again I realise how fortunate I am to belong to that special group of food lovers that is Cambridge Eat Up. Members of the group were invited to the Cambridge Cookery School cafe last Saturday evening  for complementary food and drink. This was a new experience for me as although I have been to the cookery school before, when I took part in the Cambridge Bake Off, (oh the memories of that spongy sponge!) I had never visited the Scandinavian style cafe which is a relatively new venture. Expecting a drink and possibly a few snacks we were instead treated to feast of wonderful food, beautifully prepared and presented. 

About twenty of us, mostly food writers and bloggers, plus partners were welcomed on arrival with a refreshing cocktail of grapefruit liqueur and prosecco along with little bowls of sweet and salty almonds flavoured with Rosemary. I couldn't help noticing the beautiful screen printed napkins too... such lovely attention to detail.

I would have been happy to sit sipping and nibbling on these all evening but there was so much more to come - in the form of four amazing sharing platters.

There was a heavily laden Mezze platter with hummus, baba ganoush, olives, feta and flatbread

A Japanese platter with tempura vegetables, pork dumplings and the most wonderful sushi. I'm not the biggest fan of sushi as I often feel it can be a bit second rate (I won't go near the supermarket stuff) but these little crab rolls were about the best I've ever tasted.

There was an Italian platter  laden with meats, cheese, marinated vegetables and focaccia presented together with a plate of wonderful homemade pasta.

And finally there was a Scandinavian platter with pickled herrings, gravad lax, Vasterbotten cheese, beetroot relish and fabulous rye bread... it transported me back to our lovely trip to Copenhagen.

And just as we were all feeling we couldn't eat another thing we were each presented with these little glasses of Eton mess with a brownie on the side. Just the perfect size to finish off the meal along with little cups of espresso with a scoop of ice cream. Food is so often about memory and these made me think of the "coke floats" of my childhood. I can't recall when I last drank cola, nor do I have any desire to ever do so again, but somehow it was still a comforting memory to recall those glasses of coke (or a personal favourite, cream soda) topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream..

This was a very generous evening from Tina and her staff at the Cambridge Cookery School but I think I should point out that everything I have written has been my own opinion and in no way was I obliged to write anything... good or bad! And I will definitely go back again. If you know Cambridge it is a little tucked away behind Hills Road College, off Purbeck Street but it is worth seeking out for brunch or lunch and if you fancy an informal Saturday night supper it is perfect!

Not only was it an evening of wonderful food but also an evening of meeting up with old friends as well as meeting new ones too so I thought you might like to meet one or two of them too as they are a really interesting bunch!

There was Naomi who is a very talented artist. Some of her pictures are up on the walls of the cafe.
Charlotte, a blogger who has written her own entertaining account of the evening.
Estafania,  a cook, who I met for the first time... I just wish I had the chance to chat to her more not to mention a chance to taste her tapas!
Jin, winner of the Cambridge Bake Off, who makes amazing cakes
Meggy who runs Bridges cafe on the centre of Cambridge
Laura, a food writer, photographer and cook
Bee a food writer... I was so pleased I had written nice things about her book back in February!

Apologies for the people I haven't mentioned but these were the ones I got to speak to at yet again, another fabulous outing with Cambridge Eat Up.

Prana

On a wet grey November day what better than getting together for a wonderful warming lunch with friends... Which is exactly what we did yesterday. It was another chance to meet up with others from the Cambridge Eat Up group and sample some excellent food with good conversation at Prana, in Mill Road Cambridge.

 

Mill Road is a lively area of Cambridge lined with some fabulous ethnic shops, restaurants and cafes and host to many events including an annual Winter Fair.

Prana, which has not long been refurbished and re-opened was warm and welcoming... especially after the horrendous drive we had into the city, which took twice as long as usual with gridlocked traffic and pouring rain. But that was soon forgotten as we tucked into a complementry pre-starter of a paneer stuffed green chilli. I'm not a great fan of anything too hot and spicy but this was perfect, full of flavour and just the right amount of heat.

Stewart and I both had a vegetable platter as a starter which was wonderful... pakora, samosa, a potato curry and some sweet chilli sauces. Again full of fresh flavour and freshly prepared ingredients.

For main course, Stewart chose a Lamb Jalfrezi (a creature of habit he will always opt for Jalfrezi in an Indian restaurant) which he thoroughly enjoyed and I had a Vegetable Makanwali, a medley of vegetables in a creamy honey flavoured coconut and almond sauce. It was delicious although the portions were so generous I found it a little too rich and sweet to be able to eat it all.

All this was served with mixed vegetables, sesame courgettes, pilau rice and lots af garlic naan. What a feast... and what a treat!

And just when we thought we couldn't eat another thing, we were each given a beautiful poached pear that had been simmered with cinnamon, cardamon and star anise. As at previous Cambridge Eat Up events, the food was wondeful and it was lovely getting to know new people and chatting to others we'd met before.

This event was organised by Pina, and special thanks must go to her for making it all so effortless for the rest of us. All we had to do was turn up and eat! I'm hoping she won't mind me pinching a couple of her photos... but she took these Facebook "Selfies" to promote the event on Social media. I think the smiles say it all really. We all had a wonderful time.

And on the way home (which was a much better journey) we got to chatting about this and that and events in the world over the past week and months. There is no doubt that there has been much upset and despair both here in the UK and in the US but it seems to me there is obviously a huge desire for change. I don't claim to understand it but maybe if you are poor and struggling the idea of change offers hope for the future. I just hope and pray that change turns out to be good. But what worries me more than anything is the racial hatred it all seems to have unleashed. I have no doubt the racists and bigots have always been around but recent events seem to have given them a legitimate voice and that scares me. Yesterday at our lunch of eleven people we were German, Canadian, English, Malaysian, Chinese, Scottish, Malawian, Portugese and more, eating Indian food... yet that was irrelevant because were just a group of people, getting together and getting along, chatting about the things we had in common and enjoying finding out about those things that were different. And I really wish that is how the world could be... a place where everyone could feel safe to be just themselves, wherever they come from, whatever they look like, whatever their beliefs. And I think every single one of us has a responsibility to make that happen whatever our political beliefs... so be kind to each other, love your neighbour, (even if they are horrible!) and celebrate the wonderful diversity of other people!

Ely Markets

The city of Ely has a lot going for it. To start with there is free parking all over the city and plenty of it. We arrived on Saturday morning at about 9.30am and had no trouble finding a parking space. Next stop was to find a loo (it's an age thing) and there are no shortage of public toilets in Ely either... and whatsmore they are really clean public toilets! So having arrived with no bother and made myself comfortable, we could have visited the magnificent cathedral or wandered down to the riverside to watch the boats and ducks (both of which I can recommend) but on Saturday we were there for another reason. Along with other members of the Cambridge Eat Up group we were being treated to a foodie tour of the Ely Markets.... would you like to join us...

We met at Silveroak Coffee, speciality coffee roasters. Stewart and I had a coffee while we waited and although I'm not really much of a coffee drinker even I kew this was seriously good coffee!

The first stall we visited was Harper's Deli, puveyors of locally produced, great quallity Deli food where we tasted some wonderful flavoured oils. I bought a bottle of the most amazing aromatic lemon oil which I intended using in cakes... until I dropped and broke the bottle in the car park. Ah well, an excuse to go back I suppose!

Next on the agenda was I Am Dumpling where we got to sample freshly cooked steamed dumplings garnished with fresh herbs, fried shallots, sesame seeds and some great spicy sauces.

 

I could have quite happily eaten a whole bowl of the dumplings but it was on to the next stop, the colourful van of Al Chile where were were treated to authentic Mexican food and I can honestly say I sampled the best burritos I've ever tasted!

and fabulous tortilla filled with fresh onions, tomatoes, chillies, beans and cheese in the colours of the Mexican flag.

But there was no time to hang around because we were then taken to hear the story of The Ely Gin Company a family run company specialising in flavoured gins and vodkas. I got to taste a refreshing pink grapefruit gin and an exceptionally fruity sloe gin with cherries... which I also dripped... dripped not dribbled I hasten to add... down my front. I was having one of those days.

I loved all the pretty bottles!

We then neatly segued over to George's Bakery where George often uses some of the Ely Gins in his fabulous home baked cakes. I sampled a brownie made with star anise flavoured gin, molasses and blackcurrants which was seriously good!

George is definitely a young entrepreneur in the making working from his Mum's kitchen turning out dozens of amazing cakes every week. I could learn a thing or two from him!

Next on the tour was Food! By Lizzi. which specialises in wholesome vegetarian and vegan food.  Much as I would love to rave about the food I tasted this wasn't really my thing. Don't get me wrong, it was tasty, but as a vegetarian I'm not a great fan of meat replacements so didn't like the soya mince that was used in the "Scotch Eggless" Scotch eggs. But that's just me, and the food certainly looked really appetizing and the fact that Lizzi sells out every week is testimony to the produce.

We also visited Simply CooKit  who supply kits of spices etc that can just be added to meat to make tasty curries etc. I didn't taste this obviously but everyone else was raving about it so I did bring home a kit to make a beetroot barley risotto which is on the menu for this evening... looking forward to dinner tonight!

I tasted several of Audrey's Vegan cakes which were very good indeed... and we also sampled cakes from Sophie's cakes, others tasted the meat and black pudding from Matt at Betty's Farm, as well as goat curry from JJEB farm and I believe there were pork pies and Scotch eggs tasted from another pork butcher.. Edis of Ely. There were plenty of good mutterings about all these too.

By now we were all feeling rather full but there was just enough space for some wonderful authentic Spanish food from Azahar I sampled the most wonderful tortilla, crunchy almonds and some fabulous olives. And I loved their van!

It was a fabulous morning, everyone was so friendly and passionate about sharing their food and I tasted some wonderful things. Thanks should also go to Alex and the team from Ely Markets who organised the morning... it was brilliant!

I can definitely recommend a trip to Ely should you be in the area and you can find the general market open on Thursday, Craft and Collectables along with the street food every Saturday, the farmers market on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month and there are Sunday and bank holiday markets as well as special events. And if you can't get to Ely then check out the links because many of these people do mail order.

For more information visit Ely Markets

Cambridge Eat Up pot luck lunch

Several years ago I worked with a young photographer, Karen, on an arts project in a school in the Fens.   We got on well and enjoyed working together but didn't really stay in touch other than an occasional email. Then last year Karen got back in touch and invited me to join an on line group of food writers, food bloggers, photographers, cooks and people who just love to eat, all based in the Cambridge area, called "Cambridge Eat Up". Aside from Karen I knew no one else, then at Christmas I joined some members for a  meal and  then last weekend I attended a pot luck lunch hosted by member Pina as part of the Eat Cambridge festival.

My contribution was a rhubarb and amaretti cake doused in an orange and rosemary syrup... if you want the recipe it is in this month's Delicious magazine.

And this is the wonderful array of food brought along by other members of the group

The table was absolutely laden with all sorts of deliciousness, sweet and savoury.

I'm bound to leave someone out if I try to mention everyone but some highlights were fabulous breads from Helen of the White Cottage Bakery, wonderfully light piragi from Alison (little filled and baked Latvian rolls), the most amazing custard tarts from Karen...

And the thing everyone raved about - these gorgeous little pandan and black sesame Hokkaido cupcakes from Jin... so incredibly light and with a gorgeous subtle flavour.... sublime!

There were also filled pastries, quiches, meatballs, falafels, amazing salads, cakes, biscuits and tarts and as you can see we were all tucking in with enthusiasm!

This is such a lovely group of people brought together by a common passion and I feel very privileged to be part of it all. Huge thanks should go to Pina and her husband Paulo who generously opened their home and were amazing hosts.

And as if that wasn't enough we all came home with fabulous goody bags... well more like over filled shopping bags there was so much wonderful stuff. So far I have sampled more Piragi (delicious), an excellent red onion marmalade from Hibiscus Lily, tasty little orange biscuits from Olive Branch and some rather moreish chocolate covered almonds from Dulcedo. And Stewart had an excellent pork pie from Romano's kitchen... and there is still loads more left to try!