Guest blog – Brew Lab training lab

For our anniversary the ever thoughtful Mrs Frivolitea bought a session at Brew Lab in Edinburgh on artisan coffee brewing. I’m not sure what this says about my coffee making skills but it was, nonetheless, most welcome. A nice surprise ahead of the day was a message that I was the only person booked in. Rather than cancel, we were offered free places for any friends who might care to join. Nice. So Mr and Mrs Frivolitea brewed some coffee together under the expert tutelage of the delightful Emiliya Yordanova. We were shown pour over technique (with the Kalita wave), immersion brewing (with clever dripper) and Aeropress.

In many ways we barely scratched the surface of this craft and I left with a renewed respect for the skill of someone who makes coffee with the level of attention to detail displayed at places like Brew Lab.

The class itself was a great mix of explaining concepts, such as over and under extraction, then demonstrating this and letting us taste the results. We played with how tiny variations of a recipe (changing the quantity of coffee by a few grams) dramatically affect the result of the brew and the different qualities extracted from the coffee at different points in the process.

We also tried the same coffee brewed with the different methods, again tasting the very different results. Artisan coffee is still a pretty small market, although rapidly growing, and often parodied as the domain of arrogant hipsters; attracting the man who perfects just the right bounce to his cappuccino and his beard but cares for little else.

I admit that I don’t know as much about the world of coffee as many and I was a little worried I might be looked down on, as if I might be someone who thinks Costa serve something worth drinking… None of that at Brew Lab. Emiliya was a great tutor. Clearly passionate about good coffee and wanting to share and encourage. She patiently handled our newbie questions and it was a pleasure to spend the morning with her.

My day to day, practical coffee brewing probably isn’t going to be dramatically changed as a result… In an office where Nescafé is the default option I’m already gently lampooned for my hand grinder and Aeropress. But we definitely learned some techniques and tips that will make a difference; a clever dripper is on our purchase list… And I am gaining more of a taste for the delicate flavours to be extracted from pour over brewing.

So that does sound like I’m taking away more than I suggested… Probably. The passion for all of this, demonstrated by folk at Brew Lab, is quite infectious.

Timberyard

Last night we went to one of the most interesting places we’ve eaten in for a long time. Timberyard is tucked in a side street behind Edinburgh Castle and the entrance does not fully prepare you for the wonder inside. The name I guess should give a big clue but as we walked in to the building and saw the big open space of the main dining area my sense of excitement grew. This place is different. Different in style, different in feel and different in quality from anywhere else we’ve eaten recently.

The sense of space at Timberyard is something I particularly liked. This place has stayed true to the building but also in doing so has created an ‘urban’ feel. Its history is on show, it’s not ‘prettied’ up. Timberyard is creative and it’s clever. Everywhere you look there are jars of foraged homegrown fruit, leaves, herbs, preserved in interesting ways.

We arrived a bit early and had a drink at the bar. We knew we were in for a great evening when we needed the soft drinks menu to be explained to us!

Mr Frivolitea opted for the pickled elderflower. A long drink using pickled elderflower syrup topped up with sparkling mineral water. I opted for sourdough and bramble, a short drink served over a chunk of ice. It was literally a chunk of ice and fascinating to be sitting at the bar watching the drinks being prepped and the use of a miniature axe bing used to chip ice to fit the glass. The barman described my drink as like drinking jam and toast, really good jam and toast, and I can’t think of a better description. It is nothing like anything I’ve tasted before. The pickled elderflower was also really interesting and refreshing. Never have soft drinks been so appealing. Oh and they had Nyetimber on the menu and you know we always approve of this. So after soft drinks a glass of Nyetimber each ensured an excellent evening.

We decided to opt for the daily menu rather than the tasting menu. This menu is made of bites, small, large and pudding course.

Before our food arrived we were given some malted sourdough bread with some whipped chicken liver and whipped crowdie, juniper pepper and lovage salt.

We both had bites. I had Mackerel, horseradish, buttermilk, apple. This dish was really creative. It messed with my head a bit and I’m in awe of the processes and precision they used to present the mackerel and the horseradish and buttermilk that felt like snow. It was a really light and fresh start to the meal. Mr Frivolitea had pea, curd, spelt, lovage, shoots. This was a wonderfully light dish, delicate flavour with occasional surprises of sweetness or curd flavour.

I passed on the small dish but Mr F had the mallard, cauliflower, kolhrabi, elderberry, shallot, black garlic, chard.

Another exciting and creative dish with the black garlic being a particular highlight. For large, we both opted for the venison. Well you would, wouldn’t you! The dish was titled venison, squash, onion, mushroom, beetroot, juniper, kale. The crust on the venison loin added an extra dimension to the dish and the slow cooked venison was deliciously tender.

Finally Mr F had pudding (though I did try a bit of course!) pudding was honey, nut, lemon thyme, oatmeal, milk. Every mouthful revealed something new. It was one of those puddings were if you had one of the elements on its own you might be underwhelmed but put all together it was incredible. The honeycomb was the best we’ve had and the lemon thyme really lifted the dish.

This place is exciting. It’s a place you want to return to, and we will.

Sesame

Want to be able to get creative, fresh and interesting food on the run? Well go to Sesame. Sesame sits on Garrick Street a few steps from Leicester Square tube station. The layout reminds me a little of Pret but that’s where the similarities end (for those of you who were worried!)

The interior is vibrant and exciting.

Sesame is the latest venture by Yotam Ottolenghi. I’m a huge fan of his food. I’ve got the cookbooks, I’ve eaten in his restaurants and Sesame is a great next step. Why? Because it means that people like me who don’t live in London but who pass through for work can grab some tasty food at a good price.

I decided to try a couple of skewers from the flame grill in the shop. I chose the spiced lamb and the paprika and cardomom chicken.

Not the best photo of them! I loved the flavour the flames gave the meat. Though I didn’t get much cardomom flavour off the chicken.

I then bought a salad and dip to eat on the train home.

I love cauliflower and anytime I have eaten a cauliflower dish that Ottolenghi has created it really impresses me. So I chose the cauliflower, tahini and pomegranate salad. It was really delicious.

I also chose an aivar pepper, goats cheese and nigella seeds dip. It packed a punch and was lovely and creamy.

The great thing about Sesame is that they also have a small selection of sweets and snacks you can buy too. So Mr Frivolitea hasn’t missed out as some Soffle’s chilli and garlic pitta crisps, some sesame brittle and sweets are in the bag winding their way back to York.

Spa and Dine at Cedar Court Grand

Recently I met up with a friend for a catch up. We try and do something nice together a couple of times a year and had in the past enjoyed a spa day. Unfortunately we didn’t have a day to catch up this time so I was on a mission to find something that felt like a treat and was similarly relaxing. We’d agreed York was the best place to meet, so I had a look on the Cedar Court Grand website for what they offered on an evening and was excited to see a new package called ‘Spa and Dine’. An opportunity to have a treatment, use the spa facilities and then enjoy a 3 course meal in Hudsons restaurant. Definitely my thing!

The package was fantastic value for money and we could select from the full menu. Before our starters arrived they brought a lovely selection of bread.

I chose the hand dived scallops, wakame, sunflower seeds, sea herbs, dill mayonnaise, salmon keta it was beautifully presented and had fantastic flavour.

My friend chose the poached ocean trout, hay smoked heritage beetroots, watercress cream, beetroot sourdough. What you cannot see here is the beautiful glass cloche it arrived in, that when lifted released the hay smoke.

For my main course I chose Fowlers of York’s Atlantic Stone Bass, fennel, langoustines, coastal herbs, buckwheat, bisque. Another beautifully presented dish with great flavours.

My friend chose the roasted fillet of East Coast halibut, caramelised cauliflower, brassicas, verjus and brown shrimp sauce. She commented that she partciualrly enjoyed the texture of cauliflower and how it lifted the dish.

Finally, for pudding my friend had inspiration of ‘Ferrero Rocher’ pralines, almonds, burnt white chocolate, candied pistachios. She enjoyed it but it was richer in chocolate than the description suggested and a bit too filling. Definitely one for the chocoholic.

I had lemon posset, macerated berries, basil, crispy raspberry cake. The lemon was sharp and refreshing. Just right to end the meal.

All in all, it was a great package and a fantastic opportunity to try the food at Hudson’s restaurant. I can highly recommend it.

Homeground

We stumbled across Homeground as we walked through Windermere and I am so glad we did. Homeground has been open 3 months and Windermere is definitely the richer for it. There is fantastic coffee for a start (we couldn’t visit without having 2 flat whites)..

Then there are the doughnuts… made by the Homeground team and wonderful. We had malteser cream and apple and cinnamon doughnuts.

Then there are the collection of homemade cakes.

And finally there is breakfast. Yep we went back. twice. It’s THAT good.
On our first breakfast trip Mr Frivolitea had eggs benedict – made with ham hock, a fantastically sharp and zesty hollandaise and sourdough ciabatta.

I had poached eggs, bacon and sour dough toast.

And a side of hash browns. Homemade hash browns. Go to Windermere and try them. You will not be disappointed. Go. Go now.

On our second visit, Mr Frivolitea had Huevos Racheros with smashed avocado that was beautifully garlicky.

And I had the breakfast burger: sausage pattie, bacon, mushroom and egg in sourdough ciabatta with Homeground burger sauce and hash browns. The burger was a thing of beauty and full of flavour. The sharp fruitiness of the burger sauce was a great addition.

This place is great. Truly great. Their passion for coffee and food shines through. I would encourage you all to go but then there’d be no room for me.