National Meal Kit Deliveries

Quality Chop House meal kit

Now that lockdown Round Two has begun and the hospitality industry has sadly closed its doors for a month, here’s a chance to support the industry and enjoy delicious food from your favourite restaurants at home. These restaurants are delivering NATIONWIDE and I’ll keep adding to the list when I hear of more. DISCLAIMER: I haven’t used any of these meal kits but I have eaten at all the restaurants and know how good they are.

That Hungry Chef

Lockdown isn’t only affecting restaurants, it’s decimating the catering industry and private chefs’ businesses, too. To that end, spicing guru Pratap Chahal (aka The Hungry Chef) has launched his Maharaja’s Feast Box, a collection of dishes created from a treasure trove of recipes enjoyed by Indian royalty. Veg and meat options available within the menu - I’m hankering for the pomegranate goat curry. Very reasonably priced at £50 for two, delivered nationwide every Friday. Order here.

Sambal Shiok Laksa Bar

Mandy Yin’s renowned laksa is available for us all now! Assam, prawn and vegan laksa versions available comes with broth, rice noodles, and all the extras Available via Pezu - a fantastic platform to buy lots of good stuff from independent restaurants and businesses - fill your boots here.

Quality Chop House

One of my favourite restaurants now delivers to Not Londoners: a choice of multi-course meal kits - steak or game - including those heavenly confit potatoes and gorgeous puddings. Reasonably priced for the excellent quality and reports of the At Home versions are very good. Also lots of goodies to buy , from ferments and bread to gifts and wine, in their shop. Tuck in here.

Norma

This much-praised modern Sicilian restaurant is now doing feasting boxes. The meaty one currently comprises antipasti, slow-cooked lamb shoulder, Swiss chard and ricotta gratin, tiramisu and cannoli, as well as booze and a signed copy of Moorish, Ben Tish’s latest cook book. Click here for feasting.

Lyles

Magnificent Michelin-starred menu boxes, mince pie kits and provisions from James Lowe - an absolute treat. Drooling over the menu box for two: tclassic sourdough loaf and butter; pumpkin & whey soup with chestnuts and pumpkin seed oil; crab & barley porridge made with Cornish crab meat; fore-rib steak from Dexter Cows in Cornwall, beetroot, beetroot sauce, and a pot of beef fat to be rendered and spooned over the meat; freshly-baked quince sponge served with vanilla custard and Lyle’s brown butter cakes and caramel chocolates to finish. Phwaor. Order here from November 11.

Hame

Adam Handling of Frog renown is dishing up a range of home delivered goodies - a la carte menu items, including Adam’s signature lobster wagyu - and several outrageously delicious set menus. Order here.

Nutshell

Modern Iranian feasts and cocktails available for home delivery from this critically acclaimed Covent Garden restaurant. Click here.

The Dishpatch

Exclusive home delivered meal kits from your favourite London restarts including Farang, Cafe Murano, Tom Cenci x 26 Grains, 10 Greek Street, Tacos Padre, Bubala, Crispin, Andrew Edmunds, Supa Ya Ramen. Delivered to your door Friday morning. Click here to choose.

Sri Lankan Feasting - Kolamba

Independent Sri Lankan restaurant, Kolamba in Soho, have launched 'Kolamba At Home’. The bold and vibrant flavoured feasting boxes are lovingly pre-cooked by the restaurant chefs and simply need to be reheated. It's possible to choose from either a Chicken or Vegan option (think island classics like Ceylon Chicken curry, Dhal, Green Bean and Coconut curry and fiery Pol Sambols). www.kolambahome.co.uk. (starting from £36).

Ottolenghi Ready - OTK (Ottolenghi Test Kitchen)

Perfect for those evenings when you don't fancy cooking, but want a quick, nutritious meal. Cooked in the OTK (Ottolenghi Test Kitchen) just as they would in your home, these ready meals simply need to be reheated (and can be frozen for up to a month). The range includes Pulled lamb tagine and ricotta meatballs and Braised spinach, paneer, herbs and lime. ottolenghiready.slerp.com/order. (starting from £7.95).

Padella Pasta Kits - Padella

Padella’s pasta kits have been designed to be as simple and fast as possible to cook and assemble at home. Expert pasta makers, the team of chefs at Padella do the hard work for you. Pasta is hand rolled fresh each day and sauces, including their renowned 8-hour Dexter beef shin ragu, are simmered slowly to ensure maximum flavour. From £15 for two people. https://www.padella.co/#home

Sabor en Casa

Born in lockdown but now a permanent part of their offering, Sabor offers two meal kits from each part of their restaurant, the Counter and the Asador which includes signature dishes such as their tortilla and their pulpo a la gallega. They also sell bottled cocktails, including the renowned sangria and fino negroni.

Artisan Italian wine and Aperitivo snacks - Passione Vino

Supplier to London’s top restaurants, Passione Vino, have created an extensive online bottle shop of artisan, Italian natural wine labels. The bottles are divided into flavour profile sections to help selecting easier (i.e. ‘Fresh, Young, Crispy & Zesty') and there are also boxes like ‘Memories of Italy’ (starting from £46) and ‘Aperitivo Packs’ (starting from £25) which come with beautiful cheeses, charcuterie and other produce. shop.passionevino.co.uk.

DIY Shoryu Ramen Kits

Amazingly delicious ramen kits, in huge demand last lockdown. Click here to order

Restaurant kits

Dozens of meal kits to choose from from restaurants including Kricket, Pizza Pilgrims, Bao and Dirty Bones. Click here.

Amelie

Their Flam-kuche, yeast-free, mega thin and tasty topped flatbreads come highly praised, and are now available in DIY flatpack form. £16.95 contains four medium sizes. Deliciousness awaits here.

Call4Fish

Not strictly a restaurant meal kit but you can find local fisher folk to sell you spanking fresh seafood here

Smokestak

Banging BBQ from London’s acclaimed restaurant - smoked meats and sticky toffee pudding through to cocktails and rubs all available for delivery nationwide. Click here to order.

Simon Rogan at Home

Weekly changing three-course menus created from seasonal ingredients in Rogan’s Cartmel kitchens, and follow videos with step-by-step showing how to prepare the dishes. Extraordinary five course Christmas lunch menu available too. Whet your appetite here

MEATliquor

Hot dogs rather than their famed burgers are on offer here: all beef dogs, lots of cheese, onions, gherkins and chilli on pillowy buns. Also a plant-based version and yummy cocktails. Get your paws on them here

Bocca di Lupo

Home-delivered feasts from this stalwart Soho Italian change monthly - November meals are Puglian inspired, while December is Piemonte (that means truffles). Snuffle out the offering here

Hawkesmoor

It’s not the cheapest meal kit around but the quality of the meat is extraordinary and well worth considering - especially for that bone marrow gravy - for a treat. Includes brilliant cooking instructions. Choose your meat feast, with or without the booze to wash it down, here

COOMBESHEAD FARM: A RURAL RETREAT FOR FOOD LOVERS

About 500 years ago when I was fresh off the boat from Australia and drunk on the novels of EM Forster, Thomas Hardy and Evelyn Waugh, I somehow imagined I would one day live in a fine Country House with lots of guest rooms and verdant grounds for striding forth on Bracing Walks. At the very least, I was sure I would befriend someone who knew someone who owned one. None of this has eventuated.  

Apart from the odd weekend away at a posh country house hotel (bills always steep, atmosphere invariably flat), the closest I have come to my rural idyll is Coombeshead Farm in Cornwall, where I stayed last weekend.

Quite a lot has been written about Coombeshead since it opened last summer, but for those who haven’t sniffed it on the breeze yet, it’s a kind of rural retreat for the food-obsessed. The lovechild of Tom Adams (twenty-something chef-owner of London’s acclaimed BBQ joint Pittcue) and his business partner and pal April Bloomfield (renowned New York-based British chef), it offers accommodation in a picture-perfect 16th century farmhouse and feasts prepared by the owners (Bloomfield visits regularly) using the farm’s own produce and trusted hyperlocal suppliers. 

Coombeshead has all the hallmarks of a typical boutique hotel in the countryside: Wellies by the front door for guests to step into, crackling open fires and squishy sofas, elegantly understated bedrooms and photogenic chickens pecking around the central courtyard. Except this hotel – if that is in fact what you call it – is extraordinarily cool.

Accommodation:  the five lovely bedrooms are simply decorated, with comfy beds, crisp linen and dreamy views across the countryside. Some reviewers have remarked they're a little bit spendy at £175 per double per night (including breakfast), especially as the bathrooms are tiny (ours had no bath, just a shower). All I can say is I’ve paid a lot more for a lot less, and it's hard to begrudge the price when there so many generous touches: a bottle of sloe gin in the bedroom so you can help yourself as needs arise, an honesty bar downstairs, and a jaw-dropping breakfast (more of which later). As is the way with boutique hotels these days, there are no televisions or electricals in the bedrooms, save for the obligatory DAB radio. This is fine by me, except for the Coffee Problem, a common one among boutique hotels who fear the aesthetic will be spoiled by a kettle. The thing is, I need a brew before I'm fit to face strangers at breakfast, so with no room service or coffee-making kit in the room, what to do?  

The vibe: previous reviews have pointed out how casual it all is and it's true; staying at at Coombeshead  is like visiting friends with an awesome home and exceptional hospitality skills. During our visit we nattered with/distracted Tom and his kitchen offsiders Blair and Henry , as they peeled and chopped and prepared their glorious sourdough bread. If you pop your head around the door to say you fancy a cuppa, Tom or his girlfriend Lottie will return with a lovely tea tray, maybe with rye and spelt shortbread (topped with a perfect sprinkling of salt crystals) or a wedge of quince frangipane tart, which you won't have room for but you'll eat anyway because it looks and tastes delicious.

In the slivers of time between eating you can make yourself at home in the sitting room or the library, which has a covetable cook book collection. Or go for a walk; there are 60-odd acres of truly lovely meadows and woodland, complete with gurgling stream, to wander about in and work off some of the feasting.  

Dinner is served communally around one lovely big table and if the idea of this bothers you, really, you need to just get over it. Even people who claim to hate dinner parties need not fear; the evening starts with small bites and drinks in the sitting room - the exceptional cocktails include a wonderful dirty martini made with pickled wild garlic brine - so everyone has warmed up by the time they sit down for dinner. As the food comes out and the booze flows, the decibels rise and conviviality reigns. 

The food: on our visit, many of the guests had been lured to Coombeshead by a recent write-up in the Guardian praising breakfast; the reviewer had come away so bewitched they declared it the finest in all of the UK. Certainly Adams lays on a cracking morning spread: flavourful, grain-rich Burcher muesli, preserves and yoghurt, incredible sourdough toast and cultured butter, and the main event of thickly sliced belly bacon, hog’s pudding and a bowl of scrambled eggs the consistency of silken whipped cream.

For us, though, the star meal was the three-course set dinner (£50pp plus booze), which showcases Adams' culinary imagination and skill, and sublime ingredients. He makes every tiny thing from scratch: from luscious fat-flecked charcuterie to glorious pickles (the shelves are stacked with jars of ferments, from dainty nasturtium capers to ribbons of wild garlic), and home-churned cultured butter to sour cream for the pudding. Food highlights for us included a heady bowl of smoked roe so good that no one really wanted to share it (meals are served family-style); slices of intensely flavoured, farmyard-ripe mutton ham served on a sharpish green sauce; and a rare-breed short rib rendered so obscenely sticky and tender after five hours in the AGA it was the texture of butter. 

To our surprise, the most stunning dish that BBQ meat maestro Adams served  was a vegetable main course; he slow-roasted celeriac, an otherwise under-valued root veg, until burnished without and creamy within, and served it with a rich butter sauce, roasted pumpkin seeds and a swede reduction that swung a delicious umami punch. Adams says that vegetables will be his focus going forward, and if this dish is anything to go by, that's a fine decision. It also makes sense for the menu not to be completely meat-centric. Coombeshead is a fair old hike to get to unless you're coming from the West Country, and staying two nights is almost a necessity. As delicious as the meat dishes are, two nights in a row could be too much of a good thing, even for dedicated carnivores like me. 

Coombeshead is evolving. Building work is underway to create more bedrooms, a cookery school, a bakery and a second dining area for pop-up events. This is a very special place and I can't wait to see what Adams and Bloomfield get up to next - I'm going back.

Coombeshead Farm
Lewannick
Cornwall
PL15 7QQ

+44 (0)1566 782 009
bookings@coombesheadfarm.co.uk
pen Thursday -  Sunday for bed, breakfast and dinner

Longthroat Memoirs: Soups, Sex and Nigerian Taste Buds

Oh this is a stunning, delicious feast of a book.

When it popped up on the short list for the prestigious André Simon Food and Drink Book Awards 2016, many food writers, even those with a keen radar for culinary literature and a rapacious appetite for it, had never heard of Nigerian author Yemisi Aribisala. Thank goodness the awards brought this mightily talented writer and her wonderful book Longthroat Memoirs
(it took out the John Avery prize) to our attention.

Through a series of stories told with a bold, quirky, warm and witty voice, Aribisala explores the relationships between food, sex and culture in Nigeria. The food, she admits, is an enigma to many of us. "While the rest of the world has gone on and on about their cuisines, we have remained mute, with our mouths full of food," she explains. Indeed, this is unknown culinary territory for me, so it was a joy for Aribisala to take me by the hand and lead me through the food markets, kitchens, ingredients, memories and gender politics that make up her epicurean world.  

The pages sing with her clever, beautiful prose and sharp eye. In the chapter Longthroat Memoirs, she vividly recalls the food hawkers carrying basins on their heads as she watched them from her grandparents' balcony as a child. "The balancing of the weight was done with so much impossible grace that you watched the necks of the hawkers as they passed, wondering if they would not snap in two." She describes the "distant suggestion of onion" wafting from a pot of moin-moin being cooked (a kind of steamed bean pudding) and the loud clang of women's cooking pots that "immediately set everyone's salivary glands into overdrive". I read this on a Kindle and my pages are a rainbow of multi-coloured highlights marking out passages of her wickedly clever and often  hilarious prose. 

There are tantalising recipes, too, and droolworthy descriptions of vibrant soups and starchy stews. There are strange and exotic (to me) ingredients, like fermented locust beans, Aridan fruit, "magnificently aromatic hot-aniseedy Calabash nutmeg", fermented cassava tubers and alligator pepper with its "powerful zing of heat and sweet floral nasal notes that spread warmth into the stomach."

As Andre Simon food assessor Bee Wilson says, this book will make you yearn for okra soup and Nigerian stews. It's true: seek it out.

Published by Cassava Republic Press, £12.08

Check out The Library of Liquor

Note: This is a very old post from April 2013 when The Library first opened. I've carried it across from my old website because this bar remains one of my favourites - it's not changed much, just got better. 

Take a look at my new local. Young restaurateur and former UK barman of the year James Fowler has done something completely magical. He’s transformed a shabby two-room space above The Larderhouse, his restaurant in Southbourne, Bournemouth, into a drinking venue. It’s called The Library and it’s amazing.

Enter an unremarkable side door in the restaurant, continue up the wooden stairs, turn left on the landing and you suddenly find yourself in an Edwardian library. It’s lined with burnished wood panelling and mirror-backed cabinets gleaming with bottles of liquor. Everywhere there are fantastic things to look at. A stuffed fox chases a pheasant in the bay window… … a set of bagpipes waits to be played and a sepia-coloured globe wants to be spinned. You can play chess in a comfy chair by the fire ... or rent a vintage suitcase to store your own special tipple to enjoy when you visit.

Amazingly, the space was an empty shell five weeks ago. James had been tinkering with the idea of opening a bar above The Larderhouse for a while. But when he spotted some original antique wall panelling for sale on ebay – salvaged from a private bar in Middlesborough that hadn’t been touched for 20 years – he bought it straight away. From that point he had no choice but push ahead with the bar idea. Lucky for us.

The bar is most extraordinary. It’s been salvaged from the famous Macintosh Pub in Aberfan – the Welsh mining village that was devastated in 1966 when a man-made mountain of coal waste slid down the hill, crushing homes and the school and killing 144 people, including 116 children. You can see from the iconic images taken inside the pub (click here to see them) by J.C Rapoport that ‘The Mac’, as it was known, was a vital hub for the community in the aftermath of that terrible day. The Mac is no longer a pub (inevitably apartments I think). But it’s wonderful that such a special bar has been preserved in a happy new home.

There are lots of very special things to drink here: fine spirits, wine, sherry, bubbles and cocktails made by clever mixologists. You need to make a reservation, as it's always busy. Sometimes they open it for Sunday roasts, and special tasting evenings and events. You can also book it for gatherings in the daytime. Just ring and ask James, the chief librarian.