Review: The Real Food Festival 2011, London

But sometimes, I need some real food.

Readers of our blog may have noticed that we enjoy attending food and drink events. There are several reasons why.  Firstly, there are extraordinary foods which are struggling to attract attention, which you will not find in your local supermarket. Secondly, we are firm believers in buying local produce to support local businesses and economies. Thirdly, we love how these events can stimulate your mind as well as your taste buds.  To add to all of that, there are obvious perks of meeting new people, trying new foods and learning a fact or three through cooking demonstrations.

The main downside tends to be the crowds or if the event falls into the commercial trap. The Real Food Festival was all of the pros with none of the cons.

We began our afternoon at 12:30pm by visiting “My Daddy Cooks” father and son duo Nick and Archie Coffer, who were demonstrating their Mexican lasagne and salmon and cream cheese pasta dish. Endearing Archie charmed the audience with his own take on the recipes; ripped tortilla with chocolate and salmon and cream cheese, also with chocolate.

After the demonstration, we ambulated through the aisles grazing and nibbling our way around. We stoped at various workshops one of which was a talk on parmesan and wine from the Douro region in Portugal. Christina Pickard resident wine-expert on the Good Food channel’s “Market Kitchen” was the presenter. Her engaging style and interesting subject matter had the audience enthralled. There was a light hearted competition at the end to win cheese and a recipe book.  It was probably unfair of us to have entered given we are wine and food bloggers, but all is fair in food and freebies! We stopped answering the questions eventually and allowed others to have a go.

We have to say there were some amazing independent Food producers.  Favourites, which caught are eyes were as follows:

The Cornish Crisp Company for crunchy, non-greasy crisps packed with authentic flavours. The spicy chili would be perfect laden with humus. We were also pleased that the company donate to local charities with every packet bought. Yet another reason why it was an obvious winner. 

Naturally, we visited the Bordeaux wine stall and tasted a charming Pomerol 2007 and fruity Merlot 2009. There was no pressure to buy, but an opportunity to enjoy and learn.

Not only do Original Beans produce high quality, premium chocolate, but the founder Philip Kauffman is dedicated and passionate about conservation. We can not wait to get cooking with our chocolate or indulge in a cheeky intensely rich slab or two. A 70g bar is about £4.50, so it is not cheap, but the quality more than compensates.

Street food is en vogue at the moment, and we felt Zayti is on to a winning formula with their middle east meets west sweet and savoury delights. We tried a melt in the mouth Turkish chocolate brownie, which was exquisite. Rich dark chocolate melted into the fruity Turkish delight. We wish them every success, as we will need to have a second helping of the brownie in the future.

Arancini Brothers brought fabulous, crispy coated risotto balls of fun to the festival. They were just about the best “snacks” we have tasted for a while. Move over falafel and enter stage right risotto balls served in a wrap and lathered with home made chili salsa and garlic mayonnaise.

Other than gin, which is a favourite in the Wennie household, St Germain (elderflower liqueur) is hugely popular. If you do not have a bottle for your summer barbecue Champagne aperitif cocktails, you must get one. Delicious. Refreshing. Inspiring.

Out of all the food events we have attended, this was rather good fun and we returned home with sore shoulders from carrying our spoils. We would have probably appreciated the opportunity to sit down and enjoy a glass of wine from an independent English wine company; perhaps from a sparkling wine bar. Most of the wine stalls were standing only and it would have been good to take a load off for half an hour to soak in the atmosphere.  We want to say not to go next year in order to protect one of the downsides we mention above, but then we just won’t be fulfilling our blog’s aim. If you did not make it this year, pencil in this weather-proof food event for next year. Fantastic fun!

Review: Ideal Home Show (March 11th - 27th 2011)

Oh won't you please take me home

We have been to the Ideal Homes fifteen times, which is quite a number of visits for two thirty something year olds. We started going to the Exhibition as teenagers who knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together and share a home. The exhibition follows a similar format to recent years, that is splitting the event into several aspects of your home life from food, to decorating, gardening, home improvement to name a few.  In recent years, we have noticed the show shrinking in terms of stalls, but there is still plenty there to keep you and your family busy.  Despite the fact that we are in the middle of a major renovation project ourselves, we mainly concentrated on the food aspects, although we did a complete lap of the venue.

We began our journey in the food gadget section.  The wide display of titanium pans, hot plates, electric blenders were impressive.  It never fails to surprise us that people purchase such gadgets and then proceed to cart them around for the whole day. I guess if I were mugged on the way home I would prefer to be armed with a ten inch steel pan than a mop with innovative micro fibre technology.  Nonetheless there were still the usual hoards of people brandishing mops and in charge of knives sets, which would otherwise make ordinary citizens nervous.

We had caught Paul Rankin at the Ideal Celebrity Chef Theatre. We love that man's potato cakes. They could possibly be the best invention ever brought to the breakfast table. He expertly chopped and stirred his way through a wholesome pasta dish plus starter and dessert. What a legend. A show pleaser was Master Chef 2010 Champion Dhruv Baker's session on Sunday roast. The audience love this man! He prepared an eclectic Sunday spicy rack of lamb roast with beetroot. If he had offered to feed the audience, he would have had no problems sharing his wears as they were eating out of his hands! In fact a slightly inebriated lady to the left of me (with plastic pint of lager to match) was being restrained by her husband, so that she did not rush the stage. Luckily, she was too intoxicated to notice.  

There are so many food stalls in the ideal homes. It is worth taking the opportunity to navigate yourself through the mire and seek out the best food, not just scoffing an ordinary burger and chips.  A stall which caught our eye was Aromas Catering, based in Park Royale, who have been running their catering business for two years. We tried a spicy chicken, onion, capsicum dish of medium heat served with naan bread–  Lovely authentic food, and not run of the mill.

We love good healthy foods and Munchy Seeds had quite a selection of guilt free crunchy snacks (available in Waitrose, Tesco and Lakelands).  A couple of teaspoons and you can at least pretend you made an attempt at healthy living before you turn to the macaroon stall.   

http://www.munchyseeds.co.uk/ 

There are several options to try wines, spirits and beers, so if you are a oenophile, you can have a time out from the crowds and treat yourself. 

When it is snack time, we would also recommend Med Food Ltd, who displayed a mouthwatering selection of authentic foods, including cashew chili and sea salt, an impressive array of olives, sun dried tomatoes, baklava and more.

An interesting lunch option if you favour buying British as we do often is The Bath Pig, who specialise in free trade cured meats.  Their chorizo, made from british pork, are gluten free.  Flavours range from original, spicy paprika, garlic & herb and were seriously good. Ciabatta sandwiches with chorizo, peppers, rocket were available throughout the day.  Perfect if you were nursing a hang-over. 

http://www.thebathpig.com/

Chocolate and Love were probably the friendliest of all the chocolatiers. As we nibbled on a taster, the lady demonstrating the product advised us to suck not chew (he said). We are fans of dark fair trade, organic chocolate.  Chocolate and Love also run chocolate tasting classes and have a great piece on their website on how to extract the most from your chocolate. 

http://www.chocolateandlove.com/

Lastly, no Ideal Home Show visit is complete without a pie.  Flavour of the day were the Crusty Pie based in Halifax, who were established over twenty years ago.  Their pies keep for 5 days refrigerated and are freezable. We picked a Gloucestershire Old Spock pie to go and warmed it in our oven that evening for dinner.

http://www.crustypie.co.uk/shop/

Our one moment of food unhappiness was the afternoon tea with Champagne.  We are afternoon tea enthusiasts, so we have high standards. The staging of the tea was set in the centre of the show and looked impressive from the first floor mezzanine.  I enquired with the waitress what was on offer (incidentally she looked exhausted) and she muttered something about cakes, scones and Moet.  We persevered and were advised that we had to go to a counter to order.  Yes, it was all rather bizarre.  The final straw was the dirty, plastic table cloths.  Aghast, we walked out. 

The Ideal Homes Show has so many unusual food lovers opportunities.  The aforementioned places were stalls that caught our eye, but we could not try everything. If you want to settle for a simple burger and chips that is fine, but one can also indulge in Ostrich burgers, authentic spicy curries, and flavours from around the globe.  You can bring another dimension to your home and in years gone by, we have been sourced amazing tantilising, finds; Canadian maple syrup, herbs galore and spicy nuts to name a few.  Be bold with your choices and enjoy the event.

Opening Times
10am-6pm daily
Late Night Thursdays open until 9pm

Ticket Prices
	Door	Advance
Weekday Adult	£16	£11
Weekend Adult	£18	£13
Weekday Concession (Over 60's)	£12	£10
Weekend Concession (Over 60's)	£14	£12
Children Under 15	Free	Free
Late Night Thursday Open until 9pm	£5 after 5pm	£5 after 5pm

Review: London Art Fair 2011 at the Business Design Centre, Islington (19 - 23 Jan)

Isn't nature wonderful, but is this art?

I would love it if the committee who organises this event re-named the London Art Fair as Pimp My Artist.  Would be punters cruise through a labyrinth of art adorned walls appraising, gawking, commenting at Art.  I love it.  The London Art fair at the Islington Business Design Centre is in its 23^rd year.  We had been to this exhibition many years ago but due to work pressures had not had the opportunity to attend since.  On that occasion we had merely been window shoppers.  I had felt like a child in Hamleys, knowing that I could be amongst all these toys, but having the sneaking suspicion that I stood zero chance of convincing my parents to buy me anything.  Although we had not openly discussed it this year, Keith and I were cruising for art.  

Pimping their wears are over 120 premier art galleries.  On display are not just paintings but sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs and video art.  In the Arts Projects section on the first floor mezzanine, you can find solo shows and curated groups.  Whilst Photo50 is a showcase for contemporary photos, handpicked by a distinguished panel. 

There are a few aspects that we enjoy about this exhibition:

Firstly you do not need to be an art critic to visit (as with all art!).  If you do not “get art” that's ok.  As much of the work is so contemporary you do not need to become a slave to the miniscule placard by the piece which has managed to squeeze on one hundred words.  It is simply possible to walk around, soak in the ambience and absorb yourself in the wonderful pieces being showcased.

It is also an excellent opportunity to sample some of the UKs premier contemporary artists especially in the Arts projects, where many were being showcased.  We did take a few photos of works which spoke to us.  We found Marcus Rees Roberts's Catalunya series spine tingly haunting.  His artwork drew us into a cold and empty world.  Andrew Gadd's morose, burdensome painting felt both bleak but hopeful.   Sarah Myerscough's fun, frivolous and cheeky time spanning artworks kept us hooked for quite some time as we debated and analysed.

Lastly, it is possible to pick up a bargain.  We have been looking at various avenues to source affordable art for some time.  Our favourite purveyors of fine art, Spencer Coleman (St Katherine's Docks) were not present at the Fair unfortunately.  However, being at the show was almost as if we were in the shopping mall equivalent.  There were obviously dearer pieces, which would stretch the budget.  For example, we wished we had forty-five thousand pounds spare to purchase a 3m by 2m Untitled canvas by John Monks.  In the end we settled for a beautiful bonze statue by Carol Peace, which we are very pleased with.  Isn't she beautiful? 

The London Art Fair is on at the Business Design Centre from Wednesday 19^th to Sunday 23^rd January.  Entry to the Fair is £11 in advance or £15 on the door.

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Review: Cezanne's Card Players at The Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House London

But I wandered through my playing cards

Climbing the marble stairs to the second floor where Cézanne's Card Players Exhibition temporarily resides, we were filled with excitement and anticipation.  When we entered the room I was confused.  The room was about 20m by 10m, with an estimated twenty pieces of art.  I leant into Keith and whispered “Is this it?”.  Peering at the collection in the adjacent room, which had nothing to do with Cézanne, I still did not understand.  I repeated the question to Keith in a hushed voice, not wanting to appear a philistine.  A wave of disappointment washed over me.   Having experienced the Gauguin exhibition in October, which was about 10 times larger, we felt a sense of dissatisfaction.  We paid £7 (£6 plus £1 online booking fee) each to see a tiny exhibition?  I pulled myself together.  I had to re-group.

The exhibition's subject matter is Cézanne's Card Players, an iconic set of masterpieces which he painted between 1890 and 1895.  The Courtauld Gallery has brought together several pieces of the card players works, one of which has been loaned from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and another from the Musée D'Orsay in Paris. Three of the painting's reside in the gallery itself.  Also included are various sketches in pencil and charcoal which the artist made in preparation.   The pictures captures farm labourers from Cézanne's family's estate in Aix-en Provence.  On immediate appraisal of the first sketch I felt a sense of serene.  Wouldn't it be great to be one of these card players; intent, absorbed and relaxed in the French countryside. 

The first question that popped into my head was why peasants?  Why not ballerinas á la Degas for example?  Or John William Waterhouse's pre-Raphaelite beauties?  During this era the peasant community were renowned for drunken, brazen behaviour.  At least that was the brush that they had been tainted with, if you pardon the pun.  The pictures by Cézanne re-invents the image of the peasants and elevates their status.  In fact, we feel timelessness, a sense of solidity and stoicism.  Cézanne's technique of short thick brush strokes, blocks of vibrant colour and deliberate detail further reinforce this feeling. 

Moving about the room, what becomes apparent is the sheer amount of effort that Cézanne used whilst creating his masterpieces.  The preparatory stills explore his vision.  One can see that Cézanne adapts his pictures, sometimes adding details and then on other occasions taking them away. For example we see sketches of a peasant smoking a pipe.  In the final picture the pipe has been omitted.  By witnessing the development of the final product, we can see how important the composition, light, and use of colour was to Cézanne.  We questioned whether the ritualist obsessive editing showed a lack of confidence, but having seen these works it becomes clear that Cézanne was a perfectionist.  In his imagination he had decided what he wanted us to see and with relentless tenacity he would cull and layer his works until he felt he had portrayed that.  Keith and I debated whether seeing the sketches and, to an extent, the technical aspects of these compositions, ruined the experience.  After all it felt a bit like seeing pictures of Halle Berry without any make-up on.  However, experiencing the effort made by Cézanne reinforces his genius.

An interesting model who creates a lasting impression is Pére Alexandre.  He features in a number of Cézanne's pictures.  He stands imposingly in the background of “The Card Players” 1890–1892, as if he is the boss.  Posing with a pipe, crossed arms and a scarlet scarf, his presence is felt immediately.  Cézanne also paints Pére Alexandre alone.  The painting has a feeling of gravitas and solidity.  His sky blue smock and red scarf are bolder on the larger canvas.  Incongruously a lady is seen in the background with a parasol.  The rural ruggedness and femininity of the damsel provide a hot and cold contrast, again asking us to re-consider our views of the rural community.

My favourite painting was “The peasant”, loaned by a private collector.  Here a young man sits with his eyes downcast. The patches of restrained colours; greens, greys, browns and aqua blues left me feeling uncomfortable.  There was a solemnity in the picture.  I could not get a definitive sense of his expression captured, but it borders on shame and humility.

The intensity around the subject matter and limited array of paintings is a window into the imagination of France's premier post-impressionist painter.  The slice of subject matter allows us, as visitors of this gallery to absorb ourselves in these masterpieces and capture a profound knowledge that can often be lost in large scale exhibitions.  Cézanne's powerful, iconic Card Players have left a lasting impression on us.  I hope that when we visit future art exhibitions, we can extract as much about an artist's psyche as we did today.

The Courtauld Gallery is also home to a variety of impressionist and post-impressionist gems.  Artists showcased in Bacon, Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec, Degas and a favourite of ours George Seurat. 

Cézanne's Card Payers is displayed at the Courtauld Gallery until 16^th January 2011.

Exhibition entry and general admission:

Adults: £6
Concessions: £4.50 (includes over 60s, part-time and international students)

Admission charge includes entrance to all temporary exhibitions and displays.

Free admission for the following

• Under 18s, full-time UK students, staff of UK universities, registered unwaged and Friends of The Courtauld.
• Disabled Visitors can bring in a helper for free.
• Mondays until 14.00

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Related posts:

• Review of The Gauguin Exhibition at the Tate Modern

Review of The Gauguin Exhibition at the Tate Modern

Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner and shine

Amongst the passions Keith and I share and enjoy, is our love of art.  The Tate Modern is exhibiting the works of Gauguin, so with notepad in one hand and ticket in the other we made our way to the South Bank for the second occasion this week.  The Exhibition runs until the 16^th September 2011, and spans 11 rooms covering Gauguin’s identity, drawings, travels, ideology, his posthumous reputation and writings.

His Life (1848 - 1903)

Gauguin worked at a stockbroker in Paris and his painting started as a hobby. In the early stages of his career he was married to Mette, with whom he fathered five children. He struggled to make ends meet, but spent time in Rouen, Copenhagen, Tahiti and Brittany.  Through his travels he attempted to find culture, his style and himself.  Apart from oil painting, he dabbled with sculpting and writing. He eventually parted from his wife and lived with a number of ladies in Tahiti.  In the latter years of his life he was plagued by illness and eventually died of a heart attack in 1903. 

The Style

In the era in which Gauguin began to paint, the impressionists were in vogue, but his works in that style and from that time, seem almost depressed and sombre.  The only hint of hope is seen in small splurges of vibrant colour; in a flower, cloud or pillow. As you follow Gauguin’s work through its development you see fleeting experiments with the existential.  His paintings often take on a dream like quality, which is almost a rebellion from impressionism. There’s also a sense of narcissism as in “Christ in the Garden of Olives”, where he imposed his features over Jesus’, a move which earned him criticism.  Was he being self-indulgent or was he feeling betrayed by the bourgeoisie of Paris?  Gauguin’s work was controversial.  His paintings featuring women are particularly disturbing, bordering on perverse as seen in “The loss of virginity”.  The fox in the painting is symbolic of sexuality, loss of innocence and the taboo. It is unfortunate that this reputation overshadows his work. However, this is what you get for a self-imposed exile whilst painting naked young girls.  Conversely, though, we read a mixture of shame and temptation in these paintings.

The Exhibition

We are not fans of Gauguin’s style; however, we do love his symbolism and abstract messages.  They are profound and plastered on thick and richly.  As someone who works in a bank, writing a blog as a hobby, I love that he was an ex-stockbroker who pursued a dream.  We also adored the family antiquities, heirlooms and his sculptures. 

As with all exhibitions, treat it as a glimpse or chapter into the life of a genius.  If you feel inspired to visit the exhibition, good for you, you are embracing London’s arts and culture and seeing a master’s work.

Gauguin: Maker of Myth

Showing at the Tate Modern until 16 January 2011

Ticket Prices
Adults: £13.50
Concessions: £10.00

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