Craft London, SE10 - The Magic of Christmas Menu

Go-on, ask me, 'Which is your favourite restaurant'? and you'll always get the same answer, 'Nothing beats Stevie Parle's combination of flavours, his inventiveness, seasonal dishes and Craft's choice of the very best of British produce'. Marina O'Loughlin, the restaurant critic, once wrote in the Guardian, 'I'll almost swim for Stevie Parle's Clay-Baked Duck'. No way I can top that as a short ride on the 188 bus takes me from home to the O2, but I would certainly skip all the way from North Greenwich station to Craft.

The last time I visited Craft, I was wearing my the Greenwich Visitor Columnist's hat. We were shown to the bar-terrace on the third floor. It was a balmy summer's evening and Jared Brown, Sipsmith Gin's Master Distiller and founder, regaled us with his cocktails and life stories. On this wintery Monday evening, the bright and cheerful colours against the white background of the O2 had been replaced by sexy dark blues and copper hues. Craft London was designed by Tom Dixon who applied some spells of his own.

Stevie Parle was not in attendance but Thomas Greig, Head Chef was busy in the open kitchen.  When we got to say hello, Guess what? .......

Thomas asked me, 'Which was your favourite dish'? This time, I hesitated a little. Could I really say, the snack, probably not. But, I was spellbound, from the minute these two crackers, arrived on our table. Staged on top of dark green pine branches, topped with dots and translucid tiny bubbles, I didn't even attempt to find out the name of every ingredient, I didn't want to know; Magic was here.

The following course, IPA Devonshire Cured Trout with Kholrabi and smoked yoghurt didn't disappoint. At present, Craft smokes and cures in-house, waiting for Greenwich council to grant them the application needed to re-open their smokehouse. In a not-so-distant past, Parle used one of the small Greenwich Peninsular public parks as an orchard with bees. That had to move elsewhere as the developers moved in, forever adding to the density of this relatively new London district.

Thomas Creig was curious to hear what we thought of the duck pairing. Treacle Glazed Duck and Cherry Purée and though I would have preferred my duck slightly warmer, there were no worries to have over this dish. With its Pistachios and Figs, this is an inspiration for Christmas dinner, the BBQ Gem and  Pickled Walnut provided that little bit of crunch.

Next, our waiter who by then was my favourite waiter on earth (but that might change tomorrow) bought plates of 'Roasted Squash, Sage, Brown Butter and Foraged British Mushrooms'. At this stage, I really thought that Jeanne, who as always had been excellent company, had lost the power of speech. She was signalling with her fork, making strange 'yuumhmm' noises. No need to ask her which was her favourite dish. 

Craft Christmas menus come in two sizes, 3 courses or 5 courses. The mains on the evening we visited were Leicestershire Guinea Fowl or Monkfish Tail. Here three courses can easily become five and five eight as there is not only one but two desserts. If you are looking for a Christmas menu to remember, Stevie Parle's Craft is the place and please ask me anytime which is my favourite restaurant.

Craft London Peninsula Square, Greenwich Peninsula, London SE10, 020-8465 5910. Christmas menus run until the 21st December.

Disclaimer: We were guests of Craft. I was in no way influenced by any commercial initiative, words are my own. This article contains an affiliate link which means I earn a small commission for clicks and purchases.

Burrito - Duck Burrito, Pebble Soup style & Greenwich Market Book

I love looking into the provenance of dishes, don't you? I am not talking about the source of the ingredients but rather which area does a dish originates from and what its variations are, as it travels from one place to the next. Though, I might be inclined to think that sometimes fusion cuisine goes a step too far which, some might say, is probably the case for this recipe.

It's not often that I use a tortilla to make a sandwich, I am a member of the baguette fan-club. But when faced with the left-twice-overs from Sunday slow-cooked duck, it's easy to relent, head for the pantry and pick up a tortilla or two.

That's how Pebble Soup Duck Burrito was born but where does Burrito come from? Mexico. 

Oh yes! I also have some leftover from the newly digitised batch of pictures from that Mexican trip too and here is one, last one, I promise. Hasn't the quality of pictures changed in the past 15 years?

Classic Mexican burritos are filled with refried beans and meat.  I got the inspiration for this dish from the newly published The Greenwich Market Cookbook which I reviewed for my monthly food column in the local paper.

But it left me intrigued as the Greenwich market burrito, Pabellon Burrito, from Argentina  contains plantain, rice, salad and topside beef. A quick read of the relevant Wikipedia page revealed a world of burritos.

Here, is Pebble Soup version which has a distinctly Asian style and is definitely one to remember when you need to serve something tasty and

Ingredients

• Left over from duck (enough for 4 whole burritos)
• 1 Tbsp. of oil (lemon oil if possible)
• 1 avocado roughly chopped
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp of soy sauce
• 1 tsp of rice wine (optional)
• 1 tsp of five-spice powder (failing this, ginger powder)
• Cooked rice
• Shallots finely sliced
• 1tsp Honey
• Flour tortillas

Method

1. Shred the duck meat finely.
2. In a bowl combine all the ingredients except the rice, the avocado and the duck.
3. spread the sauce over each tortilla
4. make a line with the rice at about 1/3 of the tortilla leaving about 5cms top and bottom
5. top with the duck and then the avocado
6. to wrap: foil the top and the bottom so that it cover the food a little
7. and roll, slice into two, diagonally is prettier and serve on a bed of shredded salad leaves

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Read more about the Greenwich market book

Foodie Quine published a full review 

Tall Ships Event - Greenwich -

Greenwich and Woolwich have been buzzing for the past four days. More than 600,000 visitors so far have flocked to the borough to take in this year's tall ships event. 
 

With the last tea-clipper on dry dock at Greenwich, the borough was the natural place for such a festival to take place. And, a festival it was, there was a real party atmosphere. It was incredible to see so many (50) majestic boats gliding on the Thames.

 

He and I were among the privileged press members to board the Iris on Sunday morning. Though the weather was overcast, it was slightly surreal to see familiar sights from a very unfamiliar angle.

The final parade was spectacular. If you have missed the festival do not despair, I am being told that the event will reoccur in 2017.
 

Latest, an update on the event from the Greenwich media team: The final figures show that there were 1.1m visits to our event sites. People truly voted with their feet and turned up to the event in huge numbers but we have also heard from many local businesses who have said that they had their busiest ever days on record!

Queens Orchard in Greenwich Park & Meringue Rhubarb-Strawberry Mousse

Did I mention that the waiting list for an allotment in Greenwich is 120 years? I have 100 years to go before getting one, so to pass the time I tried a few options. The last one went pear-shape but undeterred I have found another scheme, this time, volunteering in Greenwich park newly opened Queens Orchard. Follow me, through the gate:

 

Situated near the park's north-east entrance, what is today the Queens Orchard is believed to have been once the siege of a large house. The first thing one notices is a dry well, recently covered by beautifully sculpted iron work. 

Curious about it's appearance, a well usually shows signs of humidity, I asked. I am being told that "It's an old fridge", where ice was kept in Victorian days. Look up  from that point on there is a magnificient mixture of vegetables, flowers and heritage fruit trees dating back to the 1500's. The orchard garden is open to the public for a couple of hours a week on Sundays from 13-15.
 

 

Once the work is done, mostly weeding so far, volunteers are encouraged to take home some of the surplus. This week, was rhubarb, chives and radishes. 

Rhubarb plants grow very large, every couple of years they should be divided. Leaves are poisonous if consummed in large quantity but the revelation was the fact that there are a myriad of rhubarb types and they all taste slightly different. My favorite is a variety called Champagne.

 

There is a short period of time when rhubarb and strawberries co-exist, mixing them gives fabulous results as in this

 Rhubarb-Strawberry Meringue Pot

 

Adapted from a BBC recipe
Ingredients

450g rhubarb cut into 4cm/1½in chunks                                        
Golden caster sugar                                                                                
About 10 strawberries halved & tailed
2 eggs separated

 Method

1.  Put the rhubarb in a saucepan sprinkle over 50g/2oz of the sugar and stir together. Cook for 20 minutes until tender.
2. Allow to cool slightly. Stir in the strawberries then the egg yolks. Divide the rhubarb mixture between four 175ml/6fl oz ramekins. Put on a baking sheet and cook in the oven for 10 minutes until lightly thickened.
3. While the rhubarb is cooking, whisk the egg whites until stiff. Sprinkle over half of the remaining sugar and whisk again. Gently fold in the rest of the sugar. Pile the meringue on top of the rhubarb to cover it completely and swirl the top. Return to the oven for 10 minutes until the meringue is puffy and golden. Serve immediately.

L'Artisan - Delicatessen & Caterer in Greenwich - London

You would be forgiven for thinking that the A206 otherwise known as Trafalgar Road, the main congested drag, permanent traffic jam, leading all and sundry, in and out of Greenwich on the way to the Blackwall tunnel, is a no man's land for traders.

Yet, L'Artisan, a delicatessen, has been going from strength to strength since its opening last year. People praise the high standard and quality of the food  and L'Artisan appeared in The Guardian top 10 budget restaurants in Greenwich.

Intrigued by the phenomenon, I decided to find the secret of this success and went to interview to the owner: Joris Barbaray.

Joris comes from Bergerac, a town situated in the South West of  France, an area famed for its Anglo-French flavours. Joris reckons that, "In the small towns and villages in the Dordogne, 60 % of the population is English". With a French literature baccaleaureat and a good food family background, dad is a traditional butcher, mum, at one time, was a cheese-monger, Joris's path could have been a straight line.

Instead, he decided to travel through France, Spain, South America learning about all sort of local culinary specialities, before opening shop in Greenwich. His shop is a small outfit with a large window to display his creations: plats du jour such as duck osso-bucco, yummy take-away sandwiches, good looking French fruit-tarts and much much more. Four can seat at one time. There is also a space to display bread and groceries like "sirop de menthe" or tins of sweet creamed chestnut. L'Artisan's door is always open  to let in the customers and  the tantalising aroma fresh home-made meals out.

What do you think of Londoners' food habits?

"When it comes to eating, people look for a certain facility. They know good a meal even if they don't always know how to cook it themselves. There is a demand for good food".

And what about Greenwich?

"Of course, Trafalgar road is not an easy place for trading but if you offer your clients regularity, a consistency in the quality, they will return. Some establishments start real well and quickly nothing follows"

Aaah so this is the secret, but is there more? When ask, Joris smiles warmly,
 "I like to work with local people, I like that kind of proximity, in France we call it 'le commerce de quartier'. I like talk to people, to get to know them.
If they don't have the correct change, I'll give them a small discount, I offer samples so they know in advance what they are buying. My clients are people not numbers, I also like Greenwich cultural melting-pot".

L'Artisan offers a wide range of cooked food from salads to desserts, Joris likes to cook the whole range, "I associate food with moods, when I get up, if I fancy sausages, I'll make sausages that morning. The next day, I might fancy something sweet, then I'll bake a dessert. There is no limitation to cooking, recipes have been around for hundreds of years but each cook will give it a personal touch".

What sell the most?
"Ready made meals. Freshly prepared food. But for a special occasion or a birthday, people will buy an item from the grocery range like a tin of cassoulet."

What surprised you most?
"Rabbit, in a very good way, my clients love rabbit dishes. I worked in Dulwich before where it was difficult to sell anything to do with rabbit. Here, I never cook enough of it, I prepare it in terrines, sauces, grilled, pies...and I like that, because personally....I don't like chicken."

It has been a delight to get behind the scenes of my local deli, to see how much care, knowledge, steadfast work and good quality goes into the meals offered by L'artisan. Thank you Mr Barbaray for the interview.

If you want to know more, drop by: L'Artisan is at 93 Trafalgar Road SE10 9TS, do mention this post and enjoyed the chat.

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