Hawksmoor, Spitalfields

I went to Hawksmoor in Spittalfields as part of my birthday celebration. I was really interested in trying this restaurant after hearing my foodie friends at Action Against Hunger speak really highly of it. I was even more interested after I found out they had won several awards for sustainability and ethical animal husbandry. The whole ethos of the restaurant, aside from being a cool hotspot, is to provide only the finest quality ingredients to the diners, and that is exactly what they do.

 For those of you that live in a cave and haven’t heard of Hawksmoor, they were founded by the marvellous Will and Huw, and have expanded their empire to four London locations: Air Street, Sevendials, Spitalfields and Guildhall. We were dining at the Spitalfields restaurant on Commercial Street. From the outside, it doesn’t look like anything special, but as you come through the door you feel as though you have entered into a cool modern day gentlemen’s club.

 Our waitress was incredibly helpful and took us through the different types of steak they had available on the day. The beef is sourced from a farm in North Yorkshire where the cattle graze on open fields and live until they are at least 30 months old. Normally, cattle are slaughtered before 18 months as this is the most profitable practice for the producer. But Hawksmoor don’t have profits as their main focus – they want cattle-rearing to be sustainable, for the environment and the producers, whilst having animal welfare at the forefront of their sourcing. It is also believed that allowing the animal to mature to 30 months helps the meat to have a better flavour and texture.

 As a table, we chose two very large cuts, one Porterhouse and one Chateaubriand. A Porterhouse is part fillet and part sirloin, separated by a T-bone (from the cow’s back basically), whereas a Chateaubriand is the thick part of the fillet muscle and has a very soft texture. Both were served medium-rare and had a strong flavour which I loved, better than any steak I have ever had. Maybe the 30 month maturity thing really makes a difference, who knows. Diners have the option to have their steak with their preferred sauce, but it is recommended to have the steak as it comes in order to experience the full flavour. The waitress also helped us to pair our meal with the correct wine and side dishes. We chose Mac n Cheese, Creamed Spinach, Sprout Tops and Chips. Yes it was my birthday and I insisted on the Mac n Cheese, I’m very glad I did because it was an excellent addition to the meal!  Many other items on the menu are sourced from small producers, from Scottish Salmons to local wines. They even let us take the left-overs home for Archie to enjoy.

 

 Something that also caught my attention was the ‘corkage fee’ - on Mondays customers can bring their own wine for a corkage fee of £5. I think that’s a really lovely touch if you have a special bottle tucked away somewhere. (And a bargain too…).

Although I was very full from the main course, I wasn’t leaving without a pudding. I had the honey comb cheese cake which like the steak, didn’t disappoint. I’m not really a pudding person but let’s just say I didn’t have any difficulty polishing it off. It was less of a cake a more of a giant ball of cream with a swirl of honey comb and biscuit running through it. Very tasty.  I had a great evening and I can’t wait to go back and sample the rest of the menu, especially the highly acclaimed breakfast.

 

Scores for Hawksmoor:

Food: 10/10 !

Ambience: 8/10

Value for money: 8/10 It is expensive but worth it. Take a rich friend… or your dad.

Would I go again: Yes

 

Hawksmoor’s awards:

·         Three star Sunday Times Best Companies 2013 Award, 5th best company in the UK to work for.

·         Maximum 3* rating from the Sustainable Restaurant Association. The Sustainable Restaurant Association (www.thesra.org), a not-for-profit organisation committed to promoting sustainability across the UK’s restaurant industry. Both Hawksmoor and the SRA are committed to
sourcing food ethically, working to improve our environmental impact, treating employees and suppliers well and helping local and national charities wherever possible.

 The SRA said, “Hawksmoor has very strong sourcing practices, ranging from the use of high welfare meat to supporting local breweries and sourcing only the most sustainable seafood. Staff and suppliers are all very positive about the company, its sustainability practices and excellent staff benefits.”

Supper Clubs

On Saturday evening I decided to try something different. I attended a supper club. The concept is simple; a person (who ideally likes cooking), turns their house into a private dining venue for as many people as they can squeeze round the table. Diners purchase tickets online and then are sent the invitation and menu. The supper club scene has been around for a while, but it has become much more popular and well known in the last few years as people can advertise and engage on social media.

I attended the supper club with my friend Lindsay. She knew the chef from her chalet-girl days so we thought it was a sensible choice for our first experience as we knew it wasn’t secretly a drug den or something. We arrived at our destination, just off Bermondsey Street, feeling a bit nervous as we didn’t know quite what to expect. Chris, our chef for the evening, greeted us at the door and we immediately felt more relaxed as he was so welcoming. Chris trained as a chef in Birmingham after leaving school and gained recognition competing in technical cookery competitions. He further perfected his skills in various ski resorts across Europe, cooking for wealthy clients. The theme for the evening was ‘Alpine’; inspired by his time in the mountains. Chris usually cooks with his friend Alex, and together they call themselves ‘The Pickled Fork’.

After the initial introductions with the other diners, we were served our Rye soup with a baked Cox Apple centre and Wood Sorrel seasoning, fresh from a woodland in Wales. There was also a baked camembert, which made an excellent side dish. The flavour was very unusual but delicate and tasty, everyone had a clean plate.

The main course consisted of Garlic infused potato waffle on a bed of caramelised onions, with a pork loin and a Reblochon cheese fondue. When I think of potato waffles, I immediately remember the stodgy frozen ones from Iceland that are a key part of any student diet. Chris's waffles didn’t even come close to Iceland’s. He informed me that the master piece was created by making batter similar to that of Gnocchi and then poring this into his waffle maker (purchased that morning)! The results were epic. It really didn’t taste of potato, more like crispy savoury waffle bread. And with the fondue, I was in cheese heaven. It’s safe to say that I had a very large second helping with fondue drizzled on top. I think I would have gone in for round three, but as we were with company, I had to be polite… You can’t make new friends if you’ve passed out from too much cheese.

 Due to the Alpine theme, it was mandatory to have a shot of Jaeger following the main course, but that was fine by me. Pudding was equally exciting, as we were severed a butternut squash based waffle with a maple glaze and Pennywort leaves.

The best thing about attending a supperclub is the element of the unknown. It was really fun to get to know the other people around the table, who all had a shared interest in food. Chris created a well-thought out and delicious menu from start to finish, which we all enjoyed. The fact that we were sitting around the table in his living room also gave the evening a special and intimate feel. It’s so different from being in a restaurant, because it’s a one-off evening, it feels quite unique. I would highly recommend attending a supper club if you enjoy the sociable aspect of food. I learnt lots of interesting things about waffle making, cheese, sorrel and Italian alcohol in the company of some great people, so I think it was an evening well spent.

(It cost £25 in case you were wondering).

If you would like to attend a supper club, you can view them on the following website:

http://www.edibleexperiences.com/

There are other clubs and websites around, but this is the one I know of. 

Two particular food experiences which I would recommend as a starting point would be:

1.      Parkholme Supperclub – raising money for MSF and cooking exciting food.  The owners are really friendly and have a great blog too. http://www.parkholmesupperclub.co.uk/

2.      The Back Door Kitchen – They describe themselves as a ‘secret foodie extravaganza’. The owner, Rob, was at The Pickled Fork dinner and he highly recommends his own supper club…. It does sound good so I will have to take his word for it.

http://backdoor-kitchen.com/

Loafing around Lauriston

Tucked away in East London is a pretty area known as Lauriston Village, although it isn’t technically a village, just a road. It’s a great location due to its proximity to Victoria Park. You can stroll through the park, and just when you begin to get peckish, you hit a lovely selection of cafes and restaurants. There is something for everyone.

One such café is ‘Loafing’, run by a delightful French lady called Susie. It is the prefect place to meet friends or just sit and read the papers. I happened to be meeting some friends for a pub quiz we are organising, so it was the prefect place for our brainstorm. Busy minds need feeding so we quickly got down to business and ordered our food. The savoury menu uses simple artisan ingredients in elegant combinations. I had a sourdough toasted sandwich with sun dried tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, with a pot of earl grey. Other options included soup, quiche, sausage rolls, pies and focaccia sandwiches all home made. You can see that they have really taken care to source the best products, including yeast free bread, award winning Monmouth coffee and Newby teas. This attention to detail has won Loafing ‘Best Cup of Coffee in the Village’ for two consecutive years. With tough competition, that’s really saying something.

 

Although my sandwich was delicious, that wasn’t why we were there. The piece de la resistance is the cake! The windowsill is filled with cake stands holding a beautiful array of home baked cakes and sweet treats. Sponges, mince pies, cookies, biscuits and tarts. It would be rude not to try something…

Between us we had a slice of victoria sponge, red velvet and lemon meringue cake. The victoria sponge was potentially a bit boring but the other slices were exquisite. The red velvet was made in the traditional way using real beetroot and the lemon meringue had a rustic meringue icing. There must be a wizard working in their kitchen as everything looked and tasted perfect.

There are some other really great restaurants in the area, including Spit Jacks, Elbows and Su Sazzagoni, where you can eat al fresco. The Ginger Pig butchers shop is also worth a visit as they sell hot sausage rolls and pies to take away. They are one of 6 butcher shops run by the same company, selling meat which triumphs animal welfare and husbandry, which they believe makes the meat taste better. Their meat is stocked in key restaurants across London, including Honest Burger in Brixton.

Overall, the best thing about the area is that the eateries are all small local businesses with character. I always think it is wonderful to actually meet the people who designed the menu and baked the goods. It makes eating a much more cultural experience and brings you closer to the food making process. There is also the added excitement of the unpredictability of what will be on offer.

Scores for Loafing:

Food: 8/10

Ambience: 10/10, the mismatched vintage tea cups and pots were a special touch. Good chairs, seating outside and inside, sometimes live music. GREAT.

Value for money: 6/10 A bit expensive, but you pay for location.

Would I go again: Yes

Website for Loafing: http://www.loafing.co.uk/

The Ginger Pig blog - http://www.thegingerpig.co.uk/blog/

Website for Su Sazzagoni Italian restaurant- http://www.susazzagoni.com/