Anywhere and everywhere I travel, it has to be centred or at least deeply connected to food. I have a long list of foodie dream cooking locations, from preparing rich, peppery lamb tagines in the steep valleys and crevices of the dramatic Atlas Mountains to wandering through the perfumed orange groves of Valencia, picking the fruit for my luxurious polenta, almond and orange cake. Even the Deep South with its homemade syrupy cherry and apple pies, hunks of jalapeno cornbreads and mouth-watering crispy fried chicken has its own special appeal. I would collect a special local kitchen contraption at every destination as my own personal modern art collection. I’d store away a host of memories of taste, location, the captured scents in the air and the magnificence of local fresh ingredients.
A couple of weeks ago, I had to make a trip out to a slightly less exotic location, but, my friends, this is a place that is BOOM on flavour, BOOM on energy and just big, big, big on ambience: one of my favorite foodie cities, London. Now, my London eating experience sways dramatically from Heston Blumenthal’s molecular gastronomic kingdom to the brimming, buzzing stalls of Borough market. I’m on a laser-sharp foodie tour, with only a few days in hand to fill my appetite for new taste sensations, new techniques, the latest food buzz. A melting pot of food madness compared to the relative calm of my African shores.
So, what are my favorite finds this week? I checked out the much talked-about Iberica. Yes, even in Africa, the sense of arrival of this well know Spanish restaurant will have me hunting it down in its very well-set Canary Wharf location. We start with a few drinks at the very hip terrace bar, serving an oasis of chic cocktails. Set off the edge of Cabot Square, it’s a really pretty sight. Poplar trees sigh under the weight of delicate strings of fairy lights, creating a magical twilight feel amongst the looming skyscrapers and the beautiful people mingled in the balm of a spring evening. The restaurant is set just across the road, and as you leave the towering skyscraper landscape of Great Portland Street, you are ushered into the rustic heartland of interior Spain. The state-of-the-art, heaving industrial stainless steel modern kitchen reflects the contemporary modernism of traditional Spanish fare. We order Chorizo lollipops with Pear Alioli sauce, the Trio of Ibericas (melt-in-your-mouth luxury cured ham from the much-acclaimed black pigs that are reared on acorns alone), Tosta de Asparagus with Manchego, Onion Confit and Truffle oil, fat Padron peppers with Maldon Salt. Ok, this and plenty, plenty more. To wash this all down, you won’t be disappointed with their top selection of sherries. What an evening and what a translation of Spanish cuisine!
A must on London is Heston Blumenthal’s. Although we did not manage to get a reservation at the Fat Duck where the real mind-blowing molecular wizardry happens with the likes of his world-famous Snail Porridge, his Knightsbridge restaurant, located in the Mandarin Oriental, meticulously expresses his take on 18th-century cuisine while fast-forwarding the recipes into the 21st century, using molecular cooking techniques to infuse and impart flavour. I order ‘Meat Fruit’–a Mandarin, chicken liver & foie gras parfait, disguised in an encasing that looked like a mock mandarin. Superb. For mains, I order the Black Foot Pork Chop, a traditional recipe with ham hock and spelt from the 1800’s. If you still have enough room, (which I always do, regardless!) the dessert is pure entertainment. It’s amazing; there is always something to appeal to the inner child, and I felt I was right in the middle of Willy Wonka’s golden-gated wonderland. Cliche’, I know, for Heston, but, boy, it was fun! So, this dessert: thick custard, hand churned in front of you with a brilliantly modified Kenwood and with the careful and exact addition of liquid nitrogen and–voila!–ice cream! Served with Heston-style toppings: popping candy and Indian candy-covered fennel seeds. The Wizard of Food Oz made a brief appearance, whisking us into his gastronomic fairyland. Fantastic. Give it a go next time you hit the Big Smoke.
Nopi, the second restaurant of the famous Ottolenghi duo, was the healthiest I’ve eaten in one sitting at a restaurant. This is when you can truly describe food as the beautiful exotic. Farm-fresh ingredients, combined with soft melt-in-your-mouth crumbling cheeses. Loud, daring flavours such as pomegranate molasses, thick tahinis, and smokey yogurts adding layers of taste sensation. These guys are proudly unafraid of their heritage, and they create dramatic, ‘noisy’ dishes that force you to experiment. Without a doubt, one hell of a winner and completely my kind of food and dream dinner party guests! I popped down to their open kitchen, where there is a massive private chef’s table if you want to watch all the buzz in the kitchen. I had a chance to sift through their open shelves of produce, laden with thick syrups and heady aromatic spices. Loved it, loved it, loved it.
But I must say, my foodie utopia was found in a less extravagant setting, and I felt completely at home and completely over-excited with everything I saw and tasted! Why Londoners complain about accessibility to fresh produce bewildered me as I entered the fantastic Borough Market. With produce from over 150 suppliers, this place was brimming with browsing foodies and proud vendors shouting the traditonal market calls, all competing to sell their fine cuts of seasoned hams, homemade mustards, chutneys, pates and so much more–a must for you to wander through. My best buys (taking up half my suitcase!) included truffle-flavored salami, three types of gorgeous mustards–fig and apple, cassis and a chunky wild garlic–eight different types of Mexican dried chilli, including salted caramel, fresh quince paste, hand-blended chermoula spice, porcini pate and spicy aged chorizo. Need I say more?
As much as I love sourcing authentically and constantly looking off-the-beaten-track, hidden suppliers, it’s just a delight to find such culinary finery in the middle of a sprawling commercial city. I long for such a range of beautiful artisan products in Kenya, all under one roof. The London food scene has really improved over the years, with even the new refurbishment of St Pancras station offering trattoria-style antipasto platters and great wines as thousands migrate across the country and into the rest of Europe. I loved it, and I’m absolutely sold on London as a foodie destination!
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