Tag: beer

One weekend in Belgium.

One weekend in Belgium.

My life, since the beginning of this year, has taken a turn completely unexpected. An excellent, marvellous, wonderful turn. After the finish of my book, I couldn’t even think about writing. I needed a hiatus. So I started to email a few people about opportunities – food styling, media work – just to fill the time when I wasn’t at the Deli.

And all of a sudden, I got whisked away on a tremendous, exciting adventure. Out of the blue, and very suddenly, I was put on a plane to Brooklyn, to go back to one of my favourite food businesses in the world – Mast Brothers Chocolate Makers. They were expanding to London, and wanted me to manage it. Me?? I’m still not sure this isn’t all a dream.

So off I went, to learn how to sort, roast, grind, temper and make chocolate in Brooklyn. And since my return, it’s been non-stop getting the location off the ground. We are up, up and away! But more on that later. The weekend before I left for Brooklyn, a mere few days after I was offered the job, we had a trip, one that had been booked for months. To Belgium. On a chocolate adventure. Serendipity.

Cobbled streets. Bed and breakfasts on the canal with cute little Belgian breakfasts. Underground beer bars and whipped cream meringue cakes. And the chocolate. Here is our weekend in Bruges and Brussels, in pictures.
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Moments in Hackney.

Moments in Hackney.

So it has been the week leading up to my first deliverable for my book. I don’t know if I have written it specifically on the blog, but I’ve been commissioned to write a book on coffee. It’s been killer fun – I’ve visited coffee labs in Amsterdam, Roasters in London – I love culinary research and learning and I am getting paid to become an expert on coffee.

But it is hard work. I’m never switched off, always thinking about the book and whatever I am doing I am thinking I should be writing. I’m writing from when I wake in the morning until when I go to bed. Every so often I try and have a switch off day, but I still feel a little guilty.

Anyway, as such, I haven’t really had any full days of fun activities to blog about for a while. I’ve done little things here and there, breaking up my work. Sarah + Theo, the owners of the Deli I work at had me over for dinner, and we somehow started talking about iPhoto’s new ‘Moments’ feature. Theo went a small rampage about how it was the most ridiculous thing ever. ‘I’ve had a moment, let me just take a photograph.’ It is ridiculous. But it stuck in my head – that’s how I am organising my life right now. Work, work, work and then a moment of fun. So to perpetuate the ridiculousness, here is a collection of my ‘moments’.

Korean BBQ + haircuts from Korean Hipsters in the Cambridge Heath converted railway arches at Hurwendecki.
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Guinness Brewery, a Pub from the 11th Century, Irish Stew + Boxty Pancakes.

Guinness Brewery, a Pub from the 11th Century, Irish Stew + Boxty Pancakes.

Today we were off the the Guinness Brewery, so a hearty breakfast was in order. We started the day walking the grey sidewalk in the rain until we hit Brother Hubbard, a little cafe inviting those cold, wet souls in from the sidewalk with baked goods, heat lamps, and a funky decor. We couldn’t decide on what to order from their Moroccan-influenced menu, so just ordered a pile of things.

We started with their Ginger scones, slathered in orange blossom butter and topped with a selection of jams: apple with a hint of clove, berry with rose and almond, and spiced marmalade.
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London Fields, Afternoon Tea + a meat restaurant in an old, bombed church.

London Fields, Afternoon Tea + a meat restaurant in an old, bombed church.

Soooo I found my new neighbourhood. London is cool, but I hadn’t found anywhere I really wanted to live. Today, I did. A guy in a coffee shop in Bloomsbury had lived in Adelaide for a while, so told us as Melbournians we would probably like London Fields. So we planned to head out Hackney way to check out LF and Victoria Park Village (which I had heard was like a little country village in the middle of London). We headed over on a sunday to check out the market, and got so caught up with the neighbourhood, completely forgot to go to the market. We stopped in at a great cafe, Coffee is my Cup of Tea, in a row of cafes in the converted Railway Arches. I had some soft-boiled eggs, mackerel and mixed salad on sourdough, and a delicious banana and cinnamon smoothie.
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Toad in the Hole, a damn fine Brunch + Tea at the Tate.

Toad in the Hole, a damn fine Brunch + Tea at the Tate.

There is a distinct chance that I will not survive to the end of this post. I am sitting here in great misery, after consuming a quantity of British food that shocked three fully grown men. My sense of pride did not allow me to stop, even when I knew that it was time. When a waiter states, ‘I’ll be really surprised if you can finish that,’ I take that as a direct challenge. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let’s rewind to this morning.
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My 25th birthday in Wisconsin, cheese curds + an official birthday restaurant.

My 25th birthday in Wisconsin, cheese curds + an official birthday restaurant.

I arrived in Madison, Wisconsin last night from New York at close to midnight. I had been travelling all day and made it in to my fancy hotel thanks to Visit Madison, and made my way up to my gorgeous big suite. It was lovely to sink into my big bed after a day of travelling.

I woke up this morning and had to go to work. It was pretty tough. It was a brunch at Sardine, a gorgeous homey wooden venue on the shore of one of the lakes here in town.
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A craft beer oasis in the Arizona desert.

A craft beer oasis in the Arizona desert.

Today I set out on a research trip to a number of Arizona’s top breweries for my next article for Taste & Travel on Phoenix’s craft brewing scene.

First up I hit local favourite Four Peaks, makers of the state’s favourite craft beer Kiltlifter, a 6% Scottish-style ale. Owner and head brewmaster Andy Ingram told me about their special strain of yeast that throws a distinct note of apricot into their brews – a guiding influence for the creation of their popular Peach Ale as those fruits complement each other perfectly.
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