This last week has featured my second fave holiday, Halloween, which I can say in complete contrast to my usual over the top celebrating I pretty much ignored. Aside from obligatory pumpkin carving (mine was supposed to be day of the dead themed) and making spooky looking matcha and white chocolate cookies, I did nothing to celebrate Halloween. No spooky films, no trick or treating, and no costumes…except swimming costumes. Yep, that’s how I spent my Halloween, swimming at the local pool with my manfriend, Dan, in separate lanes because we are super cool. The cookies were seriously good though, expect a recipe for them coming in the nearish future.

‘I put cheese above everything. My boyfriend, my friends and definitely lactose intolerants’

Me, a few moons ago 

Several moons ago, on the night that I lifted my weight in cheese (see here), the lovely Megan from Got To Be Gourmet and, as importantly, Comté, invited me to a night of Comté and bubbles. The Comté was several different months old and the bubbles were sparkly. Even better than a night eating cheese and champagne, is a night spent eating cheese and champagne with some of your closest friends (aside from Megan), cue Persephone, Mike and Hannah. I should say, and it’s probably quite clear from the cheese weightlifting (honestly I look awful, see here), that I was reasonably tipsy during the event and quite drunk by the end (see cheese weightlifting as reference). It’s fair to say I had a great time, so did the rest of the gang, I can’t say the cheese enjoyed itself but I can vouch for it’s deliciousness. 

I love cheese. It’s obvious, I probably mention in almost every other post I write, even if the post has no relevance to cheese. It’s in my blood. I’m not going to go on about how Comté is my Swiss Grandmere’s favourite cheese, and how her and my mum raised me on it, and we have it in our fondue every Christmas Eve and New Year, but in short Comté is my life. So when Megan invited me to the Comté and Bubbles event I was all aboard.

For reasons I’ll most likely mention at the end of the post in my usual waffle, it’s been quite a while since I wrote a post and almost as long since this event and as such my notes which clearly made a huge amount of sense at the time I have now forgotten. Who am I kidding, I made no notes, just drunken scrawls, for example, for pairing number five I describe it as ‘fizzy’ and ‘I ate it too quickly’ so let’s all keep an open mind when it comes to this write up.

First off I was running late. This is important because it signifies that I was too late to eat dinner and also missed the canapés when I arrived which may somewhat explain my cheese lifting behaviour. The event was held at the fantastic and beautifully laid out (a true insta cheese fans dream, it has wallpaper with the print of blue cheese mouldy on it…it’s gorgeous, I want it in my house) cheesemonger Buchanans near Marble Arch. Seated with the gang, dream job idol, Patrick McGuigan, a wine and cheese critic (why is this not my job? Can I do this on the side?) talked to us about the history and production of Comté, and what makes it so special as a cheese. It’s fair to say there is a lot that makes this cheese so special, cheese knockers (aka people who knock cheese to tell when it’s ready), the particular region the cows are from, down to the grass they eat. I’d say this is a king of cheese, but the way it’s made with everyone getting involved and coming together it’s much more the people’s cheese.

The first pairing was a 5-7 month Comté with La Gioiosa Prosecco 2015, as the name suggests this is a prosecco, what it doesn’t suggest it’s one of the best proseccos I’ve ever had. Available from Waitrose for £13.49 its a bloody bargain with a crisp finish and apple notes its beautiful. Paired with the cheese, the prosecco worked a charm complimenting the creamy texture of the young Comté with its grassy flavour leaving your tastebuds fresh.

Next up was the 12-14 month Comté with my favourite wine of the evening Cremant du Jura 2012 which is sparkling wine similar to champagne available from Aldi for the drumroll price of £7.49. £7.49. I can’t get over it. It was delicious with hints of honey and sweetness. Thinking about it is just making me drool. The 12-14 month Comté was more to my taste than it’s younger sister, I like a nutty   Comté, a flavour which really comes across with an older cheese. This was probably my favourite pairing of the night.

On to pairing number three, a 19 month Comté made in the Summer with the first champagne of the night, Les Pionniers Champagne from the Co-op priced at £16.99. If I’m truly honest, I prefer prosecco to champagne, I often find the flavour of champagne too harsh. It’s like it chews up whatever you’re eating with it and spits it out again, as such you need a tougher flavour against a champagne which is why I think this pairing worked really well. The Comté was really strong, in a good way, it had a nice nutty flavour which was increased compared to the younger cheeses and it shone against the champagne.

Rosé was my first foray into wine. As a teenager the fact it was pink and it’s often overwhelmingly sweet flavour made me a big fan far too quickly, I probably haven’t touched the stuff since then. So when pairing number 4 was announced as a 21 months Comté with Ridgeview Rosé de Noirs 2013 I was initially disappointed. However the flavours of this British wine completely changed my opinion, sweet with honey notes but also nutty from the toasty flavours it paired perfectly with the more mature Comté, which was frankly a dream so nutty and almost crispy in flavour. I would definitely recommend purchasing an older Comté, the flavour completely changes, and I’d say a little goes a long way unless you’re me and then you eat it all before you have even decided what to do with it. At £40 a bottle this is definitely not the cheapest bottle, but it has definitely converted me to the pinkish hued wine variety.

The final pairing and my favourite Comté at a grand old age of 30 months was with Billecart-Salmon Sous Bois a champagne at the more expensive price of £60. This is the pairing I famously wrote is ‘fizzy’. Well that it was the champagne was very fizzy and much like champagne is quite strong and harsh but against the 30 month old Comté it was sensational. Or perhaps together they were sensational because the cheese was outstanding. Hard almost crystallised sections of cheese between meltingly strong nutty goodness. I could eat this cheese everyday for the rest of my life. It was outstanding. If you ever get the chance to try some, take it with both hands and get rid of whoever you’re with so you don’t have to share it.

Pairings over, the champagne kept flowing until finally, post cheese lifting, we were the very last people in the shop…for which I can only apologise to Megan, Patrick and the lovely owner, Rhuaridh,  and staff at Buchanans (a really magnificent cheesemonger who hold a number of their own cheese and wine evenings). I had an absolutely fantastic time, thanks to Comté and Megan for inviting me, and I would truly recommend all the pairings and Comté we tried, particular the 19 month plus cheeses!

Thank you to Megan and Comté for inviting me to their Comté and bubbles event, although I ate copious amounts of cheese and drank way more wine than is proper on a weeknight, all opinions are my own. 


Now for my ramble. Ok, this is a long one, grab your bubbles, grab your Comté (other snacks are not allowed). I’m going to do a bad bagel/terrible toastie/crap crumpet (that one doesn’t work) story, so there’s going to be some good news sandwiching a whole lot of bad stuff to explain why I have been absent. Good news, we’re buying a house. For reals, this is happening, our offers been accepted and we’re in the process of exchanging. We’re super excited about buying a real live house complete with a garden in the country, there’s also been a lot of stress involved in this as you can imagine but there you go. Bad news, one of my friends almost died, at least we were told that was what was going to happen, I’m not going to go into a lot of detail because it’s not mine to share but suffice to say we are overjoyed she didn’t die and is still here with us (this is the second bit of good news). This has been 6 weeks since it first happened and it’s only in the last 2 weeks that she’s really come through. Suffice to say I haven’t really known what to post here because it feels like posting like everything is fine would be a lie but now its better than we could have imagined. So that sums it up. If I’ve ignored your email or comment I’m sorry but I haven’t been in a happy state to reply. Hopefully more blogging to follow! 

Recently Viking, the all powerful stationary company, invited me to a craft event, aka the Viking Arty Party. If you follow me over on instagram (lookie here) you’ll see amongst the many photos of food, peonies and London, I also like to practice what some call ‘modern’ calligraphy. This basically means I can’t do pretty traditional calligraphy letters so I ad lib (see unicorn cat, Albus Severus Potter and Riding Dirty as reference). So when Viking Stationery asked if I’d like to come to their crafty event where we’d be learning some traditional calligraphy (as well as block printing and mindful origami) I was super excited.

I was not super excited when on the day of the event my main manfriend, Dan, tried to help me get my stuff together and dropped my camera on the floor to which it semi-luckily fell lens side down, smashing the lens to pieces (insert thumbs up emoji here). On the plus side my camera body was fine, on the downside the most expensive and only short lens I own was not. This leads me on to my next tangent, never have I loved my mum more. Since I left home (a wee 8 years ago), my mum never ever comes to visit without giving us something, which is really thoughtful and normally always involves cheese (you can take the Swiss out of Switzerland…) which I obviously love. However, we live in a tiny one bed flat (standard London grade 1 style) with zero to zero storage space and often I have to say thanks mum for the ‘make your own beer kit’, ‘humongus python skin’ or ‘bag full of beads and shells’ (genuine gifts my mum has tried to give me…the python skin was my Great Grandads) but no thanks. Anyway luckily for me, my mum almost always ‘forgets’ to take the stuff with her, so it ends up in the cupboard of doom (the only storage we have in the flat) which is where I found the old film canon camera my mum gave me 3 years ago which had a detachable short lens. 

I’m pretty sure the lens hadn’t been used since we left the Falklands and as such it really needs a good clean! However, for a last minute ‘Oh my God you broke my camera’ replacement lens it worked well enough, don’t you think? Anyway rushing to the Viking Arty Party, I had 0 time to eat anything before I got there but was rewarded with tea, pastries and the prettiest space ever. Like if my flat is Grade 1 London, Lumiere London is a 10. The hallway is deceptive as it’s slightly shabby entrance leads you up to a space which is opulently gorgeous (#housegoals). 

Oh so dreamy!!

Despite ‘blogging’ (rambling about everything and anything) for a while now, this was my first big (30+) bloggers event and I didn’t know anyone. Literally no one. Which is actually a lot rarer than it sounds when you’re a blogger in London. Anyhoo I’m definitely guilty of just hanging out with my besties if we’re at the same event together (sorry not sorry), so it forced me to chat (not a difficult task) and I had a really nice time! After some chatting and eating (again both mostly by me), we were sorted into three groups to get our craft on. Up first was block printing with Tea and Crafting. I’ve done some block printing a few times but the kit they gave us was super easy to use, and Tea and Crafting run some great workshops (including hen dos, wouldn’t that be the best hen do ever? Crafting followed by cocktails and caraoke [not really spelt with a c]). Viking Stationey had provided us with a magazine file (or as Dan says folder holder because it rhymes…) each to print on. I really like the idea of decorating a stationary set in this style, again when we have more space I’m sure it’ll happen. The palm print that was floating about was super cute too.

Next up, the activity I was most excited about; an introduction to modern calligraphy with  A L’aise, where we learnt traditional calligraphy techniques (but you said it was modern…I’m concussed! That’s why I speak to myself in third person). Subject to popular belief I’ve always wanted to learn traditional calligraphy but my hand technique has always been shaky (aka I can’t draw a straight line with a calligraphy pen without it looking like Harry Potter’s scar). Turns out I’m doing it too fast, not surprisingly as I’m always rushing around like a man woman (hence the broken camera; home many brackets can I get in one post…). However, I’ve been practising slower calligraphy and the lines are getting less scrawly thanks to Viking Stationery gifting us with a calligraphy letter guide, pen and nib, as well as a pot of ink, which I’ve now almost finished. I’m never going to run a letterpress but you know I’m working on my friend letting me to do their wedding invites (and cake!…cake is unrelated). 

After a break filled with several more pastries, it was time for the final act; Mindful Origami with Samuel Tsang. Think origami meets meditation meets positive quotes. I like origami, I’ve been making cranes since high school, as well as the occasional weakly folded elephant. This was more of an introduction into how you can be mindful while making origami, and then we made a crane. The examples of origami on the tables were pretty awesome, I really loved the flowers that were spread amongst us. You can tell because I took lots of photos of them…I can’t say I was the most mindful origamist(?) at the event (I’ve only got so much meditation to go around) but it was an interesting session. 

Overall it was a really fun day, meeting new bloggers, eating pastries and getting my craft on. Plus did I mention there was a goodie bag…oh yeah a goodie bag! Unfortunately this one had no cheese in but hey you can’t always get what you want, but you can always get what you need…metallic sharpies, washi tape and plain white mugs to doodle on courtesy of the lovely Viking Stationery are all very much needed. So thanks a bunch Viking for a lovely day out and for helping me get crafty!

In other news, have I spoken to you about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child yet? So the script of the play is officially out, and Dan and I saw it two weeks ago with Sophie and her manfriend. I don’t want to spoilt it but what did you think? Have you read it or are you holding off, waiting to see the play in action? I really loved the magic in the play I thought those scenes were executed AMAZINGLY, particularly in the first part (I mean like how did they do it? But seriously how?!?). The second part I thought the story became a lot weaker, I haven’t read the script so I’m purely going off how it was performed. And though the acting of the Big three (Ron, Hermey and Harry), Scorpius and Draco was really believable some of the other actors didn’t live up to it. As serious Potter fans, Soph and I left the second part disappointed but the magic certainly lives on in part one. In other news, I’m super busy right now with work moving offices so I’m really sorry if I haven’t got back to you, it’s not my intention, you know how much I love chatting! Also…four months till Christmas…just leaving that comment there…enjoy! 

Thanks to Jennie who works for Viking Stationery for inviting me to the Viking Arty Party, it was great fun and I got loads out of it (including LOTS of pastries). And special thanks to Viking Stationery! All opinions are from yours truly!

‘We make many graffiti’

In an unusual twist of blogging today, this post is going to have considerably less waffle in it. That’s not to say I’m not going to write two/three/maybe four paragraphs on Iceland graffiti, get sidetracked and tall about something else, constantly make reference to Harry Potter at every opportunity (I’M GOING TO SEE HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and use an unnecessary amount of punctuation. I’m just going to do slightly less of this than I would in my usual blog posts…because I’ll be writing less…so really my writing will not improve in any way, shape or form (this is going to be a good post, I feel it). 


If you’ve been following my blog you’ll know this is my third (but not last) post on our (my manfriend, Dan, and I) trip to Iceland. For parts one and two, see here (apartment tour and our visit to Reykjavik) and here (Icelandic food on any budget and the best hot dogs you’ll ever have). You know what parts one and two reminds me of? Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which, I may not have mentioned, I’m going to this week (!!!!HARRY!!!! [this punctuation is getting out of hand]) with my dear friend and fellow Potter fanatic, Sophie (she also bakes alot and blogs about it over here). Anyway to quote the famous anonymous Icelander, the people of Iceland make many graffiti and it is wonderful. I love graffiti, for my high school art A level (several moons ago) my projects were covered in spray paint and stencils, that is chicken stencils…my theme was against battery farming which I took very seriously…I even got a pet chicken (Kiki) who I would sketch in the garden as she attacked our dog (she ruled the roost…apologies). Anyway I digress, I’ve always loved graffiti, it’s publicly available, can speak powerful messages or just be for fun, I like how it fits into it’s environment, how it’s not permanent and most importantly it’s so diverse. Graffiti isn’t just a word sprayed on to the side of a building, it doesn’t even need to be painted, it could be made out of tiles, stickered or even knitted. Anyway graffiti can be awesome, it can also be offensive and normally always is illegal. Except in Iceland, they commission graffiti artists to create art everywhere. And I mean everywhere.  


By the time I’ve finished this post, some of the graffiti that I’ve photographed won’t be in Iceland anymore. It might have been destroyed or painted over but hey that’s part of it’s charm. This post is mostly photos of the graffiti I saw in Reykjavik but I’ll point out a few streets/area which are definitely worth visiting if you want to hunt down the many graffiti of Iceland (as the Icelander said, they make many). The Laugavegur is the main street that runs across Reykjavik, here you’ll find lots of shops and restaurants including the amazing Sandholt Bakari (those cakes!), quite a lot of the shops have commissioned graffiti on the front and side of them, my favourite was the black, white and gold valkyrie by Caratoes,who we saw painting it when we were there in October. Parallel to this street is the Hverfisgata, this street has a lot more graffiti than the Laugavegur, but you need to keep your eyes peeled for it, it’s mostly hidden round the back of buildings and car parks, the best was a series of sepia painted photos from a scrap book by Ernest Zacharevic that took up the entire side of a house, beautifully eerie, this piece really spoke to me. Down town is also an area not to be missed, there’s not so much specific streets I would recommend but just walk around and make sure you look up. Deih’s spaceman who’s cosmos is pouring out of his face into pools of galaxies was incredible. And finally there was the road our apartment and, more importantly, Reykjavik Roasters, was on; Njálsgata. If I’m deeply honest, my favourite on our little road was the feeder pillar sprouting weeds and grass up it’s front, it’s simple but I liked the idea of bringing nature into such an urban object (another A level art theme). Anyway my ramble is coming to an end (stay tuned for the final paragraph…) but wherever you go in Reykjavik you’re bound to see some beautiful and inspiring street art, see below for a snapshot of the ones we saw and fell in love with. 

Sneaky picture of Dan at the end for you there. What a handsome chap. Strangely this isn’t my most photo heavy post…I’m sure we all remember the first tale of the Iceland saga, with our apartment and city tour, and of course who can forget the Lake District diaries (parts I and II). What can I say, I like taking photos (I once took 200 photos of a cake…). Anyway I hope you enjoyed it and let me know if you have a favourite piece of graffiti, wherever it is (I’m nosy). I’m so excited for Harry Potter/HP/His Royal Wizardness! I literally cannot wait. I officially have the tickets, my Hogwarts t-shirt is ready to go and I’ve already got the glasses. I have just finished reading all of the books again (it’s my annual pilgrimage) and every time I get to the end I’m always like…but what happens next and now I’m going to find out! Did I mention I was excited? I did? WOO YEAH I DID! If you want to stay up to date on my excitedness (when I went to spell check excitedness it came up with conceitedness…I think they’re talking about someone else) and for all HP action you should probably follow me on instagram (@theycalleditthediamondblog), I also practice shaky calligraphy on there, and post lots of photos of food and peonies (always peonies). 

 ‘Burn everything and anything, and it tastes better; leeks, onions, the house [burning down the house!]’

Martyn Meid or Tom Jones…not a direct quote...

About 2 years ago now, I was invited to a blogging event that changed my life (big claim here, it’s going to get emotional guys, grab the tissues). The event was held by Miele and it was a chef’s table with Martyn Meid, the Nordic genius who burns everything (EVERYTHING) he can get his hands on. What I thought was a big blogging event turned out to be an intimate 9 course tasting menu for seven of us. It’s one of the best events I’ve ever been to, the food was amazing, the atmosphere was really great and I had such a fun night. This in itself doesn’t make the event life changing, but meeting Sophie and Frankie, definitely does. We speak to each other everyday, I hang out with Sophie more than any of my other friends and I definitely know more about both of them than I should. Anyway from meeting these two gals at the Miele event, I never thought we would be so close. 

Becoming friends with Sophie and Frankie has opened us up to meeting more bloggers that we’d never met before. We’re all grown women and we live in the digital age (urgh I sound so old, who says ‘the digital age’…I think my boyfriend’s dad does…) but meeting people through the internet can be scary and you should definitely be cautious. We play it safe by meeting new people together, so if one of us meets a blogger that they think is cool or someone approaches one of us and says hey let’s hang out (this mostly happens to Frankie…she has one of those faces), then we’ll meet them as a group rather than one on one. It just makes it feel safer for everyone, the new person knows you’re not a psycho because they’re meeting you with another blogger as well, and in the reverse if the new person is a weirdo you’re a lot safer with your friends. That being said people invest a lot of time into blogging and I think you could tell from a personal blog if a blogger isn’t who they say they are (it’s difficult to get so many pictures of the same girl eating a burger in different clothes without actually being that girl), plus you know we’ve yet to meet any weirdos. I’ve made some really great friends this way too; Persephone alongside Sophie is one of my closest friends, she’s the kindest person you’ll ever meet and us all together with our manfriends/P’s fiancé make a good little dozen for hanging out (they’re getting hitched in November, and Sophie and I are making their wedding cake [ok it’s brownies but, you know, still a cake!], which I am super excited about and cannot wait for them to tie the knot), Gianni is the not-so-crazy cat lady with a talent for penning short stories and the best laugh you’ll ever hear, Hannah is hilarious and I really can’t say anything else without being explicit, Mike is cool and I’m not just saying that because we have the same taste in music I mean he also knows where to get the best burgers in town (not exclusively London town either, I think you could tell him a city and he’d tell you where to eat), Emma is my food twin and the adventurer I wish I was (check out her latest trip to Vienna here), and then there’s Lauren, a real sweetheart with the best fashion sense. 

That was completely off topic but I just wanted to show you what could happen from spending the night enjoying the food of Martyn Meid. Since that event and probably every time Sophie and I get together we always talk about how great the food was that night, so much so that  my manfriend, Dan, asked if we could go to Martyn Meid’s restaurant, Ink, for his birthday. A night of great food and the possibility of a second life changing experience quickly settled me booking a table for two at Ink in Bethnal Green, for the 72 hour tasting menu after all it’s not everyday your young man turns 11 (first Harry Potter reference of the post…Dan’s not really 11). What’s a 72 hour tasting menu? Well you tell Martyn 72 hours before your booking that you want to try that menu and he creates a 7 course tasting menu for you (without any food you dislike at your request) for £72 per person with a glass of wine per course. This has got to be the best price I’ve ever had for a tasting menu in London with wine, I’d even go so far to say it was one of the best tasting menus we’ve ever had (definitely up there with those we tried in Reykjavik, see post here, and our London favourite, Pollen Street Social, which was ridiculously expensive but one of the best meals of my life). The first challenge of the night, was trying to find Ink, unless you know where it is it’s really quite difficult to locate, Frankie had been before and told me it was in an estate so we were prepared but we didn’t know it was actually right in the middle of the estate. If you follow the canal from Bethnal Green you’ll eventually get to some blocks of flats/offices and Ink is nestled on the end of one overlooking the canal. I really hope they get a good amount of traffic, because the food and atmosphere are excellent, but the location probably isn’t somewhere you’d look to find a restaurant. 

Anyway inside, white walls, comfortable laid back seats and dark wooden furniture simply laid with a sprig of lavender, create a clean scandi vibe, and I really like the use of large tree branches which cross the ceiling creating an interesting focal point where the rest of the restaurant is very sparse, as the day draws on their shadows are projected on to the wall providing a bleak but beautiful visual. An open kitchen dominates the right side of the restaurant as you enter, which is a great touch as you can see Martyn and his small team creating the dishes before they come out. As we’d already opted for the tasting menu with wine, we were presented two glasses of champagne on arrival and introduced to the sommelier who as well as introducing the wines to us with each course also acted as our waiter. The sommelier was the same guy I met at the Miele event, very down to earth and funny, he certainly got us settled  in for a good night. The champagne was accompanied by a canape of a round of rye bread topped with pink grapefruit, borage flowers and salmon roe. It was beautifully presented, but personally I didn’t think the grapefruit worked with the rest of the ingredients. I’m not a huge grapefruit fan, I wish I was, many a grapefruit cocktail has been ordered under the wish to have something clean and refreshing, and it be sour and just wrong (I have judged you grapefruit and found you wanting).

The next salad of peas, asparagus and onion, with a burnt onion ash and frozen yogurt was cleansing and fresh with a huge injection of sweetness from the vegetables, a world away from the confused canape. This was a very simple dish where the vegetables shone, I really enjoyed the frozen yogurt as it dissolved across your palette. 

One big juicy pan fried scallop was served on celeriac puree with geranium leaves, edible flowers, and a trusty helping of burnt leeks and leek ash, was my favourite dish of the night. The scallop was sooooo good, when I had scallops at the Miele event before they were humongous, so I had big expectations (excuse the pun) but Ink didn’t disappoint. This dish had the right level of sweet and saltiness, and although I knew you could eat geranium’s it’s not something I’ve actually done before so that was definitely a new experience and will be making it into our edible garden when we buy a house (#gardenambitions #webetternotbuyaflat). 

The next dish of a pan-fried fillet of John Dory was served with a sweet langoustine tail and langoustine foam, with courgettes and pearl barley risotto. The fish was perfectly cooked and all the flavours married well together, it was definitely a highlight of the evening. This was the first time I’d seen a pearl barley risotto and it was really earthy and nutty, and paired very well with the fish. A perfect fish course finale. 

The meat dishes were quite similar in a way as both were paired with a sauce flavoured with chocolate, which I won’t lie I did enjoy but I would have preferred to have something different for one of the courses as they were quite similar on the palette. The first main was pork belly with a chocolate sauce, slices of radish, apple, leek and, of course, a burnt leek ash. I felt the sauce was quite rich and the meat was very fatty, which you expect, from a pork belly but it felt very heavy and didn’t go together as well as the second dish where you had slices of iron rich lamb heart, watercress and a chocolate jus. This pairing was simply amazing, the chocolate sauce cut through the richness of the lamb heart and it tasted divine. I haven’t enjoyed eating beef heart in the past (give me chicken hearts anyday, hello Sushi Samba!) so if this was on an a la carte menu I never would have chosen it for myself but I’m so glad this was on the tasting menu because it was just heavenly.

To finish the meal we were presented with a plate each of strawberry granita, blue berries, chantilly cream and pain perdu, while a very dramatic berry scented dry ice smoke blew across our dish. I loved everything about this plate, it was delicious and very easy to eat. I only wished there was more pain perdu, because I could have eaten a whole loaf of it! We were both deeply relieved it wasn’t a chocolate dessert after the two previous courses!

I’ll be honest by this time the 7 large glasses of wine I’d had were taking their time and I was very, very, tipsy bordering on drunk. As a consequence I’d stopped noting down what wines we were drinking and just noted our favourite, a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc by Umbrele from Romania, sweet, crisp and refreshing it was glorious. Despite being 7 glasses of wine down, we couldn’t help but order a final glass of this to savour after we finished our meal and cheered in Dan’s birthday. As well as being one of the best meals we’ve had it was definitely one of the cheapest tasting menus we tried. Cheers to that.

Let’s end on a high with this shot of the juicy scallop from Ink. Oh scallops, I love you. Scallops I do. I’m currently on a cheese diet after coming back from France last week, what that means is that I tell everyone ‘hey I’m on a diet, cutting out cheese, bread and alcohol’ but actually all that’s getting me through this week is Sophie’s cheese and wine night on Saturday. Dan and I have a box of stinky French cheese in preparation for Sophie’s party. I’m not going to lie, it smelt so strong I had to put the cheese in a tupperware box, three cooler bags and a rubbish sack to try and drown out the smell…it didn’t work. So apologies if you were sitting in the same train carriage as me. In summary the diet is not going according to plan, but exercise I’m getting behind. I think it’s fair to say that since leaving university…last year…ok several years ago…I have done 0 exercise. It was a dramatic change from being captain of my sports team and exercising everyday to working full time and feeling like I had no free time to work out. I’ve finally realised that working full time doesn’t mean I don’t have time to exercise, it just means I have to plan it and I have to plan it. Tell no-one, but I’m now the same weight as Dan…I have no words. If anyone does have any, words that is, comforting ones not ‘run fat girl run’, feel free to drop them below. Closing out this pity post. Sayonara.

Something I haven’t mentioned on this blog before is how me and my manfriend, Dan, are currently saving to buy a house/flat/shed/whatever we can afford in London (stop the front page). We’ve been together just shy of 8 years and I really want a place that is ours. As a bit of a DIY diva, for every flat we’ve rented I’ve dreamed about how we could improve it. This normally involves tearing down false walls, ripping up carpet and painting walls. Basically if you can’t do it in a rented property, I want to do it. Unfortunately, I don’t think our landlord would be too impressed if I went all DIY SOS (daytime tv anyone) on the flat. So we’ve made do and tried to make it our own while shaking off that university home style. You know what that is. Uni style is basically when you amass an array of mismatch items that just don’t go together, pint glasses from your local appear in your cupboards (stop it guys you’re breaking the 10 commandments) and things you find when you’re drunk suddenly become wall art in your living room (aka the foam finger of this post, excuse the terrible photography, highway signs and magazine cuttings bluetacked to your wall). 

Recently we’ve been having a lot of dinner parties and having people round (if any potential future guests are thinking of bringing a gift to our next dinner party see here) so I’ve been conducting my usual spring clean, and throwing out all the old uni homeware and replacing it with a more adult, collected but still kooky (I sound like my mum) Scandinavia theme. It was about this time that Uncommon Goods, a Brooklyn based company that sells designer, handcrafted and unique homeware and gifts, contacted me and asked if I’d like to include some of their items in our flat update. Would I? That’s rhetorical, of course I would. Dan has essentially banned me from buying anything house related (to which I have not listened to at all) under the guise of what if it doesn’t go in the new house? What if we spend our whole lives saving for a house and we never get one or the new wardrobe we desperately need because our current one is falling apart, what if that happens?  Anyway back to the point, Dan said no to buying stuff but if I’m being sent it does that count? I quickly justified to myself that it was a no, and said sure thing to Tom from Uncommon Goods, keeping Dan fully in the dark till it arrived and I asked him to pick something up from the post office. 

The gig was up when he picked up the parcel covered with some cool branding for Uncommon Goods promoting their charity scheme (they’ve donated over $1 million to charities worldwide!) and saying it had travelled all the way from Brooklyn in the USA. Rumbled, I quickly unpackaged it to reveal a variety of homely items to which he replied ‘only you would ask for glasses with cats on’. I disagree, I think there’s a huge market out there for cat-themed goods and it’s not just cat ladies it’s guys do (although saying it’s not just ladies have you seen this cat lipstick by Paul and Joe???? I’m in love). Uncommon Goods  sell more than just unique and hand-crafted products, they’re selling goods that fundamentally are ecofriendly, and free from animal and human cruelty. In a world which is, unfortunately, still full of shops selling products created with pollution, slave labour and animal cruelty, I guess the question is why aren’t you buying from Uncommon Goods. Essentially it’s a way to feel good about shopping. Not only are you buying items you love, you’ve also helping to support charities that help sexual abuse survivors, provide victims of war with the means to provide for themselves and save the forests all in one purchase (how many people can say that!). 

So what did I get to help the world? Well I’m glad you asked. Let’s start in the kitchen (I feel an MTV Cribs coming on!). Uncommon Goods have a huge kitchen, bar and dining range (don’t trust me, see it here), there were so many nice items that I stalked online. Uncommon Goods actually sell internationally, which is obviously great for me as I’m a London lady, based in the UK. Unfortunately for custom reasons there are somethings they just can’t post out to the UK. So if you’re in the USA make sure you snap up this agate cheese set, this humongous tub of sprinkles (I want these sprinkles, you there, friendly US reader, send them to me please?) and these crackled glass coasters. Anyway this utensil carousel by Joseph Joseph was my distract-Dan-by-getting-something-practical-and-much-needed item (phew that’s a lot of hyphens). 

Since Dan and I both went to different uni’s then moved into a 6 person flat share in London before moving in together on our lonesomes, we have collated quite the mismatch collection of kitchen items. It actually drives me mad. Which sounds pathetic but there we go. The first thing I’m going to buy when we buy our first house, aside from you know a house and a wardrobe (see rant above), is a complete set of saucepans. Copper ones because I love the bling. When I saw Uncommon Goods stocked Joseph Joseph kitchenware I got super excited (yeah I get way too excited about kitchens and what? They produce food…and I love food…if that wasn’t clear) and saw an opportunity to rid myself of the mismatched metal/plastic/wooden utensils that haunt MY SOUL/kitchen with this bright and modern utensil carousel by Joseph Joseph. I think this utensil carousel has single handedly improved the look of our very small (it’s three cupboards, an oven and a sink small) kitchen, it’s tied it all our insanely bright kitchen accents (mostly red and neon green) in one spin of the utensil’s carousel. BIG FAN. Plus it distracted Dan from the other items in the box. Ultimate win.

I have so many gorgeous glasses, these green wine glasses from my mum were an absolute bargain at a boot fair for £5, I also have some super fancy cocktail spotty glasses my besties got me for my birthday and then there’s my new Cat Tao Glasses by Patricia Carlin from Uncommon Goods (fellow cat lovers buy them here). These are my favourite. I’m not saying that because Uncommon Goods are making me say it against my will, I’m declaring my never ending love for these cat drinking glasses independently. I was so happy when Uncommon Goods sent me these, they’re currently sitting on our open shelving unit (nobody puts cat glasses in the cupboard). Obviously the main pull for me is that the glasses have cats on. I love cats, I want to co-inhabit a home with one (reason we’re buying a house #216). And I’m not going to lie, the fact that on one side they have the good cat being all fab and friendly, and then the bad-ass crazy cat on the other side is hissing, scratching and just generally being all independent feline. When my friend Kimi came over from Germany to stay at the weekend and I, as a good host must, got her a drink from a cat glass (only the closest of friends are permitted to use them) she said ‘this might sound weird but it feels great drinking out of this glass’ (it doesn’t sound weird at all Kim, not sure why I direct quoted you on that but there you go). Kim wasn’t talking about the yin and yang she was experiencing from the cat tao glass, the glass itself is incredible quality; it’s really nicely shaped and the weight is great. Oh my God, get me into glassware anonymous pronto, I’m having a relapse!! While I’m relapsing I might as well show you these gold painted subway tumblers, these gin and tonic tall glasses, and these gorgeous petal wine glasses also from Uncommon Goods. Sorry not sorry.

The look of love is in the Octopuses eyes…or so says my new Sea of Love print by Jacqueline Schmidt from Uncommon Goods (see here). Dan and I are big DIY-ers, mostly because doing it yourself is almost always cheaper. However, there’s one thing we hugely disagree on when it comes to DIY and that is art. I’ve always been very creative and to an extent this blog has been an outlook for that compared to my everyday job (I’m a biochemist, I know, you’re all surprised but it’s true. Me, kooky Flick, read biochemistry) but before I went to uni I had a place at an Art School which I had to turn down. I don’t regret the choices I made, I’ve got a job with a great company that I really enjoy but I have missed all the painting, sketching and creating that I haven’t really made time for since going down the biochem route. However, recently I’ve started sketching again and mucking about with calligraphy (mostly writing Star Wars and Lord of the Rings quotes, see here and here). You’re wondering how Dan and I disagreeing about DIY is related to my sad-violin-art-school-that-never-was story (enough with the hyphens!). I’m going to tell you now. Basically, because me and Dan have been together since when I was famed to be the next Picasso, when I say I like a print he says ‘don’t buy it draw it yourself’. Two problems, one, my skills are no where near as good as they used to be and I think he believes I can draw better than I can, and, two, I don’t like covering the house in my sketches. The odd one or two I draw I might be like yeah I love that let’s put it up, but I like other people’s art on my walls, which makes it more expensive, and leads back to Dan’s argument.

Anyway. Moving on. Do you follow Jaime’s blog Angloyankophile? It’s basically my dream blog. Home decor meets food. If you’re not reading it yet you should. In one of Jaime’s posts (this one) there’s this trio of whale paintings. I have drooled over this trio for ages, every time I see it on her instagram I stalk pinterest for similar prints for days. When I was looking around Uncommon Gifts website, I saw this Sea of Love print and I felt the same drooly stupor coming along. Isn’t it beautiful? I love the black and white sketches of each of the marine animals. Being from the Falklands, I’ve always had a pull to the sea, I’m a little water baby. One of my earliest memories is sitting on the shore, seeing a killer whale while my mum was diving, so I’m pretty thrilled to have a print with a killer whale slap bang in the middle. I love and fear the sea in equal measure, and by fearing the sea I mean being afraid and in awe (in equal measure) of sharks so this print is perfect for me. Coincidentally I blame my shark love/fear relationship almost entirely on Shark Week and the shark attack videos they show, not cool guys, you ruined my favourite animal.The artist of Sea of Love, Jacqueline Schmidt, has got another print called Mates for Life, also on Uncommon Goods (see here), which is just the sweetest thing. I mean, who knew termites mated for life?

And now, almost four years on, our flat is finally feeling less student shabby and more eclectic chic. Let’s end on a high, queue cat glasses.

 

So I guess you US readers are
wondering what my address is so you can send me the sprinkles. I’m a bit
confused myself because I’ve been all over the place these last couple of
weeks. The week before last we went to Edinburgh to meet up with some friends from
university. It was a great week, filled with lots of food and cake (hello love
crumbs…check out love crumbs
now), and Innis and Fun (sorry Gunn, I
mean the beer). My friend Kimi then came and stayed in London for an extra few
days, I’d love to say we did touristy things but really we just sat around
watching Pitch Perfect and Star Wars. Just to jump in, how much do you love the
new Star Wars movie. I’m in love with Rey and Finn, and BB-8, I may have bought
it last weekend and watched it twice in a day..and again yesterday…that may
or may not have happened (it did). Then last weekend, I went to
Brighton with my besties, which was amazing! I’m super looking forward to
just chilling out this weekend though and taking some time to relax. I’m an
extrovert who needs to constantly see people, but I think last week pushed even
my limits. That said I’m probably going to forget all the running around of
last week and go away again at the weekend, but hey that’s what weekends are
made for, right? What are your plans? It’s going to be 25 degrees Celsius
people, make plans, get outside, eat some ice cream. Or, alternatively, stay
inside and eat ice cream. That works. In fact, I’m all for being an ice cream
introvert this weekend, care to join me?

 

Thanks to Tom who works for
Uncommon
Goods for sending me my new Joseph Joseph utensil carousel that’s
brightening my kitchen up nicely, cat tao glasses (I LOVE THEM…in case you
didn’t get that from this post) and beautiful Sea of Love framed print. And special thanks to Uncommon
Goods for the goods and, you know, saving the world! All opinions are from
yours truly!

I’m a hot house plant. I’m not one for sitting outdoors in the cold, indoors is where I thrive. Don’t get me wrong I love the winter, hosting big dinner parties eating baked cheese (like this yummy Comte fondue), drinking hot chocolate while snuggled up on the sofa in my pyjamas, thick woolly socks and hidden under blankets while watching the latest episode of something awesome (currently rewatching season two of the OC for my Summer fix), and of course if you wrap me up in multiple layers (coats, hats, the whole shebang) I’ll be the first to make (and instantly regret making) a snow angel before running inside for a glass of mulled wine. But Summer, Summer is my time. I’m not going to lie I win at Summer. I just do. It helps that all my European blood (Swiss/Italian/Excellence…I’m sorry I’ll stop soon) has made me able to withstand the hot Summer temperatures, my love of food and easy cooking has given me great BBQing skills, and I excel at ALL Summer activities (sunbathing, swimming, sunbathing etc. [you get the idea]).

So yeah it’s fair to say I’m looking forward to Summer. And I’m starting to see it coming round the corner. Rhubarb, probably my favourite and most underrated Summer fruit (or is it a vegetable? who knows…google apparently), has started appearing weekly in our local green grocers, and my mum recently gave me a huge hall from her little garden. My favourite peonies are appearing in Columbia Road Market, a sure sign Summer is almost upon us, and as such my boyfriend is overdosing on hayfever tablets. And of course there’s my ultimate favourite Summer place, beer gardens. Beer gardens are upping their game, planting flowers, getting the umbrellas out, I even went to one with a BBQ the other day; combining all my loves. Grabbing a chilled pint of cider and sitting outside is looking pretty darn tempting right about now.

I’ve always been a cider and ale gal. I grew up in the Falklands where home brewing (of a sort) was pretty common, and since we moved to England I’ve always worked in cider and ale pubs (secretly/not so secretly being a bar maid was probably one of my favourite jobs, the people, the atmosphere, it’s a good laugh). So when Aspall got in contact with me about sampling some of their new brand of cider Waddlegoose Cyder (find more information and where to purchase here), me and, to a larger extent, my mum jumped at the chance. My mum’s actually the biggest cider fiend I know, and Aspall is her FAVOURITE British cider, no jokes, she’s obsessed! She actually gets a bit snobby if a pub doesn’t sell Aspalls, which is a bit much but there we go, she’s a lady who knows what she likes.

Aspall sent me two different flavours of Waddlegoose Cyder, Three Berry (we’re talking blueberries, raspberries and, the rare Summer fave, blackcurrants [OMG blackcurrants are the best, blackcurrant jam is amazing, blackcurrant cider is incredible]) and their sparkling apple version of their cyder. To put it simply this is a really crisp refreshing cider, a lot of people don’t like the whole dry aspect of cider and this is a great alternative to those versions. Waddlegoose Cyder uses modern brands of apples that are designed to give a fresh crisp taste and you really get that in the finished cider. I like a good flavoured cider but I like mine to still ultimately taste like cider. A lot of companies go for the wild flavoured options but in truth they taste nothing like real cider which is a shame but then is grapefruit really cider material, I think not. 

Personally I can’t wait for the weather to warm up just a tad more so we can step outside, crack open a bottle of Waddlegoose Three Berry cider with some ice and wheel out the barbie (not long now!). Till then I’ll be opening a bottle of Waddlegoose Cyder at 5pm every weeknight, and maybe indulging in a slice or two (definitely two) of Cider Crumble Cake with Rhubarb. You knew it was coming, it’s in the title of the post, also it’s too delicious to keep from you. I wasn’t sure about baking with cider. I ummed and ahhhed over it. What if it made the cake to wet? What if I had to put so much flour in the cake it just tasted awful. But then you know YOLO (this is what yolo was invented for; baking indecisiveness). I’m just saying as well, Rhubarb Cider. Why’s that not in a bottle? I think I’ve had it at a cider festival once and I’ve definitely had rhubarb beer (weird but good) so someone should make it happen. Maybe that can be Waddlegoose’s third flavour (just throwing it out there). 

The rhubarb in this cake is yummy, especially with the cider and extra appley goodness. I made it a bit spiced and chucked a crumble on top because Rhubarb Crumble is amazing, and it seemed wrong to make a cake with rhubarb and no crumble topping. Do without the crumble if you must, but you’re at your own peril…Also definitely save a bit of the rhubarb stewing liquor and whip it up with a little bit of double cream for a thick rhubarby accompaniment to this cake. It’s gorgeous!
 

 

Cider Crumble Cake with Rhubarb and Waddlegoose Cyder

(makes 1 large loaf and maybe a few cupcakes…serves eight or you know 1 hungry blogger)

300g chopped rhubarb (2 cm pieces)

190g caster sugar

210g salted butter

60ml water

150ml Waddlegoose Cyder

90g dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1 medium apple (I used a Gala, which is one of the apples used to make Waddlegoose Cyder)

1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Pinch of nutmeg

325g plain flour 

1 heaped tsp baking flour

Step 1. Stew the rhubarb. How do you do that? Stick all the rhubarb, 40g butter, 100g caster sugar and 60ml water in a saucepan and cook it on a low-medium heat until the rhubarb is soft and cooked through. Strain the rhubarb, keeping the juice and leave it to cool. 

Step 2. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Peel and roughly chop the gala apple into small bite sized pieces. Put the apple in a bowl and cover with the Waddlegoose Cyder and set aside. Grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper. 

Step 3.Cream together 150g butter, 75g caster sugar and 75g dark brown sugar till light and fluffy. Then stir in two eggs, followed by 300g sieved flour, the baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger and a pinch of nutmeg. 

Step 4. Once cool add the strained rhubarb, and the apple and cider to the cake mix. Stir to combine, if it looks a little loose add a touch more flour. Mine was fine, but everyone and every kitchen is different! Pour the cake mix into the loaf tin and set aside. 

Step 5. Make the crumble topping. Rub together 20g butter with 25g plain flour, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and 15g of caster sugar and 15 of dark brown sugar till it looks like bread crumbs. Sprinkle the crumble topping liberally over the top of your cake. Then bake it in the oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes at 170 degrees Celsius on a medium shelf (you might need to put a foil hat over the crumble if it looks like it’s going to catch aka burn).

Step 6. Take the cake out the oven and leave to cool…slightly. It’s so good served warm with sweetened cream with some of the rhubarb stewing liquor (3-4 tbsps liquor to about 75ml cream). And maybe a cheeky glass of Waddlegoose Cyder…you know…to enhance the flavour of the cake.

So how are you guys, how was your weekend? I haven’t eaten so much in ages. Double dinner partying is a lot of fun but a lot of food! We’re talking veggie moussakas, pizza, enough prosecco to bath in. It was great but I could do with another lie in round about now. I’m so excited for Summer, writing this post made me realise how much. I absolutely can’t wait for Wimbledon again. I’m a huge tennis fan and haven’t heard back from the ballot so I guess we’re queuing again. This will be the third year that we’ve queued (you can read all about last year and sample my foray into Sports photography here), and I’m going to be a lot more prepared this year because last year it was absolutely freezing! I’m slightly sad though, because if you read my blog routinely you’ll know my best friend, Louie, moved to New York at the end of February and he, obviously, is not coming back for Wimbledon. Which is sad because we always watch it all together and, yeah, I don’t have any other tennis friends save my Grandmere so ermmm basically if you’re a tennis fan, mostly normal, and like strawberries and cream fancy queueing for Wimbledon together? I’m mostly normal too…sort of. Not really. I just baked cider into a cake, that’s crazy. 

If you’ve seen my previous post on Reykjavik (see here) you’ll know we stayed in a self-catered apartment through airbnb (apartment’s listed here if you’re a nosey parker) and we got hold of a lot of local produce that we cooked ourselves and ate in with a couple of Icelandic beers. However, we also went and ate out at least once a day, be it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. So I thought I’d compile a list of the places I’d recommend you visit if you want to eat out in Iceland. I’ve broken this down into food to go, casual dining and eating out like the fancy pants that you are, for ease of use. A quick note on food in Iceland; it’s not as expensive as everyone says it is. Alcohol is a different matter (think London prices if not a little more for everything bar wine which is more like three times the price) but food itself is really reasonable. We ate at two really fancy restaurants for dinner, opting for their taster menus, and I think each meal cost us £65 per person which for me is beyond reasonable for 7+ courses considering you’re looking at a minimum of £100 in the UK.

We didn’t have a bad meal in Iceland, maybe part of this is because I research everything food related in the nearest 100 miles of where we’re staying before we go away but I think a huge part is related to the quality of the food in Reykjavik.

If you’re going self-catered and would prefer to cook in your apartment there’s lots of great bakeries and a couple of butchers that you can go and grab some local produce from, which are all reasonably priced. Fruits and vegetables wise, if it has to be imported, it’s going to be more expensive. However, Iceland grow a huge array of their own vegetables and fruits now, which is pretty cool when you think it snows for a lot of the year. We got all our fruit and veg from Bónus, which is Iceland’s budget supermarket and the only one within walking distance of the apartment we were staying at. Things to try in Iceland are definitely their skyr (the thickest creamiest yogurt ever), their jams (this sounds like a weird one, but Iceland have a lot of unique berries so have a browse) and their lamb (if you’re a meatasaurus like me, it’s very reasonably priced and absolutely delicious)!

It’s worth noting, you can’t buy alcohol from general stores so either bring it with you, stock up in duty free, prepare to spend big bucks on it going out, or have a detox cleanse and go booze free. We bought about 4 bottles of wine with us and picked up a couple in duty free in Iceland, for the 8 days we were there. We didn’t drink them all but it was nice to have the option of having a drink at our apartment first before going out.

Food To Go


Just want to pick something up and take it back to your nest or looking for a snack on the go? Don’t worry I’ve got you covered.

Sandholt 


Sandholt bakery located in the centre of town is your go to for all gluteny delights. If you fancy a smorsbord, open sandwich to you and I, or a bit of a sit down they have a reasonably priced cafe next door to their bakery front. But if you just want to grab and go, you’re in luck because all the best treats are at the counter. We’re talking cinnamon buns, cheesecake slabs and every berry you can think of pastries. You’d be surprised to know Iceland have a lot of wild berries which makes their pastries absolutely delicious, their raspberry one was divine and I pretty much ate an entire cheesecake slice to myself…in 2 minutes. They also sell chocolates made on the premises, granola, jams and chutneys, and sandwiches all to go, but the real stars are Sandholt’s breads. Rye, Pumpkernickel, Sourdough, we picked up a small loaf daily and tried them all. Historically I’ve always said Germany has the best bakeries in the world but I think Sandholt could give them a run for their money.

Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur


I probably should have separated this out even further into a section on Hot Dogs. Icelanders love their American food, evidenced by the huge number of burger joints and, as a country that hasn’t really embraced American chains, they have not one but two Krispy Kreme Donut shops (I just don’t get the appeal).  However, of all the American dishes available no food do they covet more than the humble hot dog. There are restaurants, stands in the street, shacks in the wall all selling this American favourite. It sounds mad. It is a little, but in truth I had the best hot dog of my life in Iceland for the grand total of £2, and I’m not alone (see what Forbes had to say here). The best place to get a hot dog, isn’t even a debate. It’s the smallest storage container you’ve ever seen, opposite the harbour. There is always a queue, whatever the weather. But it is always delicious. It’s not going to change the world, at the crux of it it’s just a really great hot dog. Have it with everything, wet onions, crispy onions, ketchup and mustard, and you won’t be disappointed. I’m not upset to say it became almost a daily ritual to go down and grab a hot dog for lunch when we were exploring Reykjavik. It was so cold most days, and this humble dog really hit the spot.

Reykjavik Roasters


I fell in love with coffee in Iceland. Something I never thought I’d say coming back from our trip. I used to be a caffeine fiend. Early grey, green tea, good ol’ English breakfast, I couldn’t get enough of tea. It wasn’t till I started working full time and drinking 5 or 6 cups of tea a day plus a sneaky morning coffee, that I realised I was suffering with tension headaches and what felt like migraines all the time if I didn’t get my regular cuppa at work. Reality is I was a caffeine addict, after  unintentionally going cold turkey on holiday for two weeks and experiencing the worst flu like withdrawal symptoms I kicked tea out of my life, substituting it with hot lemons and caffeine free red bush. But in Iceland I couldn’t resist a sneaky Swiss Mocha. OMG the Swiss Mocha! It’s dark chocolate bitter with earthy coffee tones and a touch of sweetness, but a little sour from their whipped cream. The coffee I had in Iceland was by far the best coffee I’ve ever had. It’s the God’s truth I swear. And our favourite coffee stop, Reykjavik Roasters. Two reasons really, firstly it was on the same road as our apartment so became our go to Pitt stop and secondly it serves the best coffee in the world (not like in Elf, it really does). The guy that owns it trained as a roaster in Denmark who are famed for their  coffee roasting secrets, and you can tell he picked up the trade well. I’ve yet to go to Denmark though so who knows maybe I’ll have to revise my best coffee in the world award. Since coming back from Iceland, a cup of coffee has become my little weekend pleasure. Only one cup though, I’m not crazy, plus if I have more than one caffeinated drink per day I get the shakes now but hey no more migraines! Definitely check out Reykjavik Roasters if you’re a coffee lover heading to Iceland, it’s super cute inside, all white washed with dark wood and bright blue accents. Plus they serve cakes, did I say? I didn’t? Sorry, they serve cakes, really, really good cakes.

Casual Dining

Fancy rubbing shoulders with the locals head to one of these casual eateries for quality food, great beer and a welcoming atmosphere.

The Lebowski Bar


You’ve seen the movie, now eat in it. It’s uncanny how much it feels like you’re on the movie set. I’d read about this place before hand and thought it might be cool for a couple of drinks. A couple of drinks turned into a whole day sitting at the bar, chatting to the other stool holders,  watching the football as it poured it down outside. It was actually a really great day helped by the accompaniment of Icelandic beer, burgers and a buzzing atmosphere. Oh the burgers, they certainly won’t win any beauty pageants but I’d eat them anyday. Our Honey Boo, honey glazed bacon cheeseburger with jalapeño mayonnaise and bbq sauce was meaty, cheesy, smoky goodness with just the right amount of grease to combat the several…pints of beer we drank. It was a solid burger, eaten alongside some cheesy jalapeño bites with salsa, which although weren’t filled with spice were incredibly moreish. I washed all this down with a banana milkshake, followed by a chocolate peanut butter milkshake, realising a third milkshake was greedy I switched to some local Icelandic ales on recommendation from the staff behind the bar, who, coincidentally, were incredibly friendly. I genuinely loved this place and honestly I can’t recommend you go enough. 

Icelandic Fish and Chips


Breaking up the burgers is the Icelanders take on fish and chips. Although I saw so many fish and chip restaurants in Iceland I genuinely don’t know who invented them anymore, was it really the UK? Google can’t tell me. This one in particular, I’d heard good things about. Upon our visit it was quite late in the afternoon but still a bit early for dinner. We sat down next to another traveler and got chatting about places we’d loved in Reykjavik, her artist son and the best graffiti in town. We ordered the Ling with paprika onion rings and a mango superfood salad (they have superfood in Iceland? You bet they do Bloggerico) with two dipping sauces made with Skyr, basil and coriander. The dipping sauces with the deep fried ling and crispy tempura paprika onion rings were heavenly together. I probably ate half the bowl of onion rings before I remembered we were sharing. We savoured the mango salad having not had much fresh fruit. Overall not your average British fish and chippy, but something a lot more tasty.

Prikið (Prikid)


Prikid is the oldest cafe in Reykjavik. It’s been open for over 60 years but inside it’s the ultimate hipster hangout. Dark leather booths, wooden clad walls, hip hop pumping from the speakers, there’s a girl and a guy at the bar producing her single, this place is seriously cool. Not being the hippest gal in the world I’d be in danger of feeling really intimidated except the atmosphere is totally relaxed and the staff friendly. We grabbed two burgers one with blue cheese and jam (put jam on my burger everyday) another with béchamel sauce and bacon. Both are delicious, but I think my jam burger just beats Dan’s (GIVE ME ALL THE JAM) the fries are crispy and there’s a touch of sugary salt on the sweet potato fries an American fave that I am totally behind. We chilled out while it threatened to snow outside, opting to drink Swiss Mochas and soak up some of the Prikid’s cool vibes.

Eating Out Like The Fancy Pants That You Are



Want a banquet of tasting dishes for less than £70 per head, look no further.

Fiskmarkaðurinn (Fish Market)


The first of our two taster menus in Iceland, I’d read so much about the Fish Market before we went. The sister restaurant to the Grill Market famous for it’s meaty dishes, the Fish Market focuses on seafood (the name kinda gives it away) with some Japanese influence. As I said previously, we didn’t want to eat any endangered animals so we asked if we could swap the puffin and whale  courses on the taster menu for something else. Without any issue these dishes were changed to tempura rock shrimp with a jalapeño dressing and melon, and a dish of grilled mountain lamb with Jerusalem artichokes, confit of lamb shank, pickled beetroot and fried mushrooms. Before I tell you how much we loved our replacement dishes let’s talk cocktails…and, more importantly, whipped butter. What can I say about whipped butter (it’s life changing), it’s softer, creamier and sweeter than normal butter and four times more delicious, it’s almost like clotted cream. They bought it out at the beginning with some delicious raisin rolls and my Lord it set the meal off right. We opted for cocktails as wine is super expensive in Iceland and cocktails are yummy. Can I just say, this restaurant is beautiful, we started with a drink upstairs in the red velvet seated area with it’s tree trunk tables and golden accents, and ate downstairs in a dark almost rainforest esque urban dining room. Honestly it’s possibly one of the nicest looking restaurants I’ve ever eaten in. The spacing between the tables was perfect, definitely a very intimate venue (why are you talking about table spacing? I don’t know. You’re gushing. God I am).

The courses are all served on sharing plates and they came out often two at a time. Bread was followed by Arctic char, cooked perfectly served with an edamame purée and cauliflower, delicious bar the dried cod fluff which covered the dish like snow whose texture I found a little unpleasant. Crispy fried baby squid rings with an oaty crumb were succulent served with a refreshing chilli and lime dipping sauce, I could of eaten a whole bowl to myself. Then our replacement vivid red rock shrimp tempura with jalapeño dressing and melon arrived. This was my favourite dish of the night, the flavours were right up my street, aka fusion Japanese food, it was fresh, spicy, zingy and oh so good. Dan and I fought over the tempura shrimp to the very end. The Icelandic national dish (sorta, I mean it is served EVERYWHERE) of Langoustine soup with mussels was rich and sweet, with the most dramatic dry ice presentation. Definitely the prettiest presented soup I’ve ever eaten. Beginning to feel rather full a plate of sushi arrived, scallop sashimi was delicate and sweet while Salmon volcano rolls were decent. This was followed by Robata grilled salmon, probably my least favourite dish of the night as I’m not a fan of cooked salmon, but it was very refreshing served with a fennel and apple salad with crispy fried lotus root. Then came a dish (yeah there’s more) that changed my perception on what’s good to eat. Lightly salted cod, served with lime zest, cranberries, potato purée and celery salad had me so confused it just sounded so wrong together, but when I ate it…it all worked! It was creamy but sweet, with perfectly cooked flakey cod, absolutely delicious! Our final savoury dish was the grilled mountain lamb with lamb shank, this is probably one of the best lamb dishes I’ve ever eaten. It was so rich from the lamb and the wild woody mushrooms but this was all lifted by the pickled beetroot and accompanied by a deliciously dark almost chocolatey sauce, which was so delicious Dan and I, fully stuffed at this point, found our second stomachs to polish off this dish.
The final final final dish of the night was a dessert platter. Covered with fresh fruit, we devoured all of the fruit before even touching any of the dishes, things I’d normally shun like melon went down the hatch in my excitement to eat more fruit. Of the actual desserts, there was a delicious bowl of sweet white chocolate cheesecake with a popped rice crumb and passion fruit, pineapple and vanilla ice cream, raspberry sorbet, a chocolate fondant cake filled with gooey caramel, and a licorice and raspberry lava cake which erupted with dry ice. By far my favourite, fruit aside, was the cheesecake, it was so yummy this also went into my second stomach alongside the pineapple and rapsberry sorbets. For me the chocolate cake, although delicious in flavour, was a little heavy for the end of such a big meal. Similar feelings were held about the lava cake whose moussey texture and strong licorice flavour didn’t sit well with me at the end of what quite honestly was a banquet.

At a total of 11,400ISK (£64.50 to my British friends) per person this is one of the most reasonable priced tasting menus I’ve ever had. Especially when you think it’s for 9 very substantial courses! It may be fine dining but the food is not fine dining sized. If you like fusion food and fresh, clean Japanese flavours

Sjávargrillið (Seafood Grill)

We weren’t planning on going out for two fancy dinners in Reykjavik. But on our final night and because we’d walked past it all week we last minute decided to go for dinner at the Seafood Grill. When we got there  we decided to go for the Grill Party menu. A taster menu that promises to leave no one hungry while showcasing Iceland’s best produce. Again we asked to forgo any whale or puffin, which was no problem. My favourite thing about this night was that they mistook us for being Icelanders which pretty much made my whole trip. I felt like by mistakenly being called an Icelander they thought we were a cool hip couple, which obviously we are but hell yes to being Icelandic! Plus the staff were super friendly and they really made you feel at home.

Anyway again we ditched the wine for cocktails, I opted for a salt and pepper based gin cocktail which was definitely a new one for my tastebuds but not unenjoyable, while Dan obviously went for the most girly looking drink on the menu, served in a Devil style glass this was sweet from the berries but tasted like you’d made it in the woods with pine essence, absolutely delicious. Whipped butter, liquorice flavoured bread, and a small appetiser of raw scallop and dill (not pictured) kicked off the meal nicely. Followed by the traditional langoustine soup with mussels, although it didn’t have as dramatic presentation as at the Fish Market I did enjoy this version more it was rich, tomatoey and really smooth. Served alongside this was a dish of fatty pork belly and sweet langoustine, served with a rich and sweet langoustine sauce and topped with a delicious bechamel sauce (yeah we’re double saucing) and a flavoursome ash, it was my favourite dish of the evening. Cured actic char with horseradish skyr and microherbs was a refreshing change to the first two rich dishes. Next up was our least favourite dish, shag or cormorant as it’s commonly known was smoked and served with blueberries and a blueberry sorbet, truffle, Ísbúi cheese and crispy rye bread. On paper it sounds delicious, but cormorant is a fish eating bird and we just couldn’t get over the fishy meaty taste. We’re just not used to eating seabirds in the UK, for me this dish would have been perfect with some venison or duck. A dish of code with leek ash and leeks. with dil oil and herbs, and a saffron sauce was meaty, fragrant and some of the best cod I’ve ever had, the portion itself was huge. Next up, rump steak with potato puree, roast shallots, dill oil and a red wine reduction was tender and overall good, but maybe could lose the dill. Next to this was a grilled portion of mountain lamb served on a hot coal bbq, which had really nice flavour and made a change to all the saucy dishes.

Maybe one of the reasons why I really liked Seafood Grill was the double desserts. First up dill sorbet, white chocolate mousse with white chocolate shards, oaty crumble, raspberries and raspberry coulis was refreshing and sweet all at the same time, which was an absolute win. Followed by vanilla creme brulee, strawberry sorbet and sorrel granita, wild strawberries and cream was beautiful. I love creme brulee, I think it’s a family thing or at least it runs in the maternal side of my family tree.
 Overall at 9900ISK (£56.20) per person if you are looking for a fancy way to end your trip in Reykjavik this is definitely one for you, definitely look it up for a more relaxed fancy dinner.

I wanted an epic name for this Easter egg review, I think this fits. I debated about Game of Eggs – Easter is Coming and Lord of the Eggs – The Fellowship of the Egg, and Dan suggested Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Eggskaban, but in truth I’m so excited for Star Wars to come to DVD in May (SO EXCITED) there was only one real option. Why was an epic title needed? Because this is the battle of the Easter chocolate, an egg to egg if you will. I’d very generously been sent an Easter Egg from the chocolate Gods, Lindt,who I’ve collaborated with before to bring recipes like Blueberry Cheesecake Brownies and Dark Chocolate and Malbec No-churn Ice Cream into existence. And the lovely Bettys had also sent me a couple of Easter goodies to try.

When I found out Bettys was sending me some treats I was so excited, just to put that excitement in perspective it wasn’t that dissimilar to my feelings about Star Wars: The Force Awakens coming out. This might sound a bit over the top, but let’s take trip down memory lane to when I was 17 (yesterday…) and got my first actual paycheck working for a butchers as opposed to, you know, the dreaded cash in hand £3 an hour wage. What did I do with said first paycheck? I took my mum out for afternoon tea at Bettys Tea Room in York. It was perfect. Apart from you know my Swiss and Falkland Island roots, the dark side of my family is from Yorkshire. Last weekend my mum and her boyfriend came up to visit us and she bought up our trip to Bettys, it’s nice that some days (ok several years) on we can still talk about how good their cornflower tea is. Having sampled some of Bettya chocolate they sent me, plans are definitely in the works for making a return visit!

So as the most spoilt girl this South side of London, let’s crack on with this Egg comparison shall we (the puns run all the way through this post, I can only apologise for any emotional damage caused)?

Lindt Cookies and Cream Egg

Do you like Lindt chocolate? Yes is the only reasonable answer to this question. If you are Lindt inclined, hey there, let’s be friends. If not, you should probably scroll down to get to the other eggs in this post…or you could leave (we wouldn’t have worked out). In short what’s different about this egg to the other Lindt Eggs on the market? Not a lot if you take the egg on it’s own, but it shines best when accompanied by it’s mini cookies and cream bars. Cookies and cream chocolate is my jam. I literally can’t get enough of it, my manfriend (Dan to those in the know) had to hide the egg from me after I ate all the bars in an hour. This is not an eggsageration (huhhhhhhhhh?). Definitely one to pick up if you are a fellow Cookie Monster, plus you get a lot of chocolate for your buck (£8-12 depending on your store of choice). I can’t see this one on the website, but I’ve definitely seen it in Sainsburys and Waitrose for sale…I’d say you should buy one from there but strangely I think they’re all going to be sold out where you live; heard some crazy lady is driving round and clearing everyone out of this egg (it’s not me, I can’t drive…).

Betty’s Champagne Truffle Eggs and Milk Chocolate Hare

Where to start with these Easter treasures. I am an absolute sucker for champagne truffles and these champagne truffle mini eggs are amazing. Also look how pretty they are, those little icing flowers are adorable. These eggs are mini versions of their large Imperial BLOOMING (pun intended) gorgeous egg which is decorated with an array of spring flowers, I love the ferns that frame the whole thing. It’s so pretty and five kilos worth of chocolate…no joke…this is so huge it would last you till next Easter. My little chocolate hare probably isn’t going to last me until then, I give it 5 minutes after finishing this post. It’s so sweet and cute and I love that Bettys’ sticker acts as it’s little fluffy tail. Also can we all just aww over this badger? Aww (I feel so much better having done that).With it’s cream packaging and metallic olive ribbon this chocolate is fancy and should be kept for fancy occasions such as Thursday evenings, weekend elevenses or you know just now (you gotta treat yourself!). So be fancy and get yourself some Bettys’ chocolate, or be even fancier and visit one of their tearooms (take me with youuuuuu!).

Marks and Spencer’s Beehive Honeycomb Egg

Traditionally my family spends Easter together, with a huge brunch, eggs covering the table and, what is starting to become a trend (which scares me a tad I thought it was just my crazy family), Easter decorations. What’s an Easter decoration, we’re talking paper mache eggs, fluffy chicks, maybe a couple of nests. All the Easter decorations. I’ve started seeing some Easter wreaths on our street, is that a thing? I don’t know how I feel about it. Anyway the point of that ramble was that I’m not seeing my family this Easter. My mum has to work and my brothers are all away, which is rubbish, but my mum and her boyfriend did send me and Dan loads of Easter goodies, including two Beehive Honeycomb Eggs. They are gooooood. The chocolate, is chocolate, in all honesty it’s not as nice as Bettys and I’m not a huge honeycomb lover (Dan’s bloody wolfed his down), but the heather honey truffles it comes with are delicious and I don’t normally like caramel. It’s given me big ideas for Summer ice creams with chocolate and honey…so what this space because we all know I love a no churn ice cream! 

Montezuma’s Peanut Butter Mini Eggs

These peanut butter mini eggs are my mini Easter present for Dan. One of our favourite chocolates is the Montezuma’s peanut butter bar. I was so happy to find this because I’m obsessed with the American peanut butter m&ms and they’re so expensive to get over here, but this chocolate is even better. It’s definitely not for everyone it has real peanut butter in the centre with a chocolate shell around it. I can’t wait for Dan…yeah I mean Dan…to eat these. Or at least open them so I can eat them. Am I a bad girlfriend? Maybe. Are Montezuma’s peanut butter mini eggs amazing? Yes. So we’ve answered all the questions. And on that note I hope you enjoyed this egg to egg, I know I have. 

You didn’t think this post was over did you? I see you sneaking on to another post. Come on, this is our time. You tell me how your week’s been? My week has been excellent, why? It’s a four day week! Woooooo! Yeaaaah! 4 days!!! That should be enough for most people but I also met with some of my favourite bloggers last night, it’s so secret that me, Sophie and Frankie are close, some say too close but I say you need to hang out with me, Sophie and Frankie more. And then there’s Emma, she’s fab, currently in Vienna eating cake but made time to see us before she left. And Gianni, my foodmate, it’s like a soul mate but with food. I’ve said it before but one of my favourite side effects (for want of a better description…can you tell I was a biochemistry major?) is the friendships you make through blogging and that side step from blogging friends to real life, I’ve met your loved ones, family and your parent’s dog, friends. So yeah dinner last night was fun, if a bit loud (what is it with restaurants and club music, just stop). This weekend we’re just going to chill and take it easy, have some blogging turn real life friends over for cheese fondue (it’s the only thing I really cook now), oh and brunch…lots of brunch. So what’s your plans? TMBYL (tell me bout yo life)? Or, alternatively TMBYE (tell me bout yo Easter)?  

Thanks to Mai who works for Lindt for sending me my delicious Lindt Cookies and Cream Easter Egg and thanks to Amy from Bettys for my Easter Chocolate Hare and Champagne Truffle Eggs. And special thanks to the chocolate gods that are Lindt and Bettys! All opinions are from yours truly! And I 100% that you go, sit on the sofa and eat some Lindt Easter Egg with a side of Bettys champagne truffle eggs. Or you know just blow the bank and get Bettys Imperial Egg (#yolo).