Is the Local movement simply a new version of Protectionism?

Image from The Food Project:

I have been thinking about local food a fair bit recently. And it is very hard to argue with the fact that local food is better. Oliver Rowe's food and restaurant demonstrate this brilliantly.

Riverford Farm also does a great job of showcasing the idea of local food being superior to food from far away. Not long ago it was fashionable to serve air freighted peas from Kenya out of season. Now this would result in people making their excuses and leaving. Or worse still calling Greenpeace to dob you in for crimes against the environment.

Now I love local food. The idea of terrior is fascinating. And has been around since the first Frenchman ate a decent mouthful of food. It gives food a story. It gives you a physical connection to where your grub has come from. Quite often it means you personally know the producer or the trader involved. It also means you support the local economy/community.

But when you look at it this way, isn't the local food movement simply a locally sourced, sugar coated version of protectionism?



Image from Marxist.com

Championing local food is a clever way of getting around the thorny and politically charged issue of protectionism. In a climate where we have a free trade agreement in the EU it helps to look after our own by raising demand for local food rather than limiting supply from abroad. Clever, touchy feely stuff. It also stops the domino effect and protectionsit arms race that would kick off where we able to slap tarifs and duty charges on foreign food.

We've all grown acustomed to being able to buy fancy foreign food at Tesco and would find it very strange if we were only allowed to buy local food. It would limit our choice and we would all complain bitterly. So the emotional route in via touchy feely protectionism is far more powerful.

It's an interesting subject that I am just beginning to get my head around. If I was doing a PHD I'd love to explore this area in more depth. I like the idea of flipping the idea over and getting into it from the other direction - if that doesn't sound too dodgy.

The Future Laboratory meets Oliver Rowe

I went to The Future Laboratory's Spring trends day earlier this month to find out about what the future has in store for consumer attitudes, design and a whole wealth of other interesting things. But most importantly they always do a good lunch. In the past Melrose and Morgan have done the catering and also the Wapping Project. Both of which were brilliant.

But this year things moved up a notch. I noticed that the afternoon talks featured a half hour session on "Food Futures" which covered the idea of "Localvores". Having been to Konstam at the Prince Albert about 5 months ago I was delighted to see Oliver Rowe's food on the menu.

To emphasise the impact of this trend towards local food, it made perfect sense for Konstam to do the catering. All the food had been sourced from within the M25. Our slow roasted shoulder of lamb from Amersham was delicious. It fell apart at the touch of our bamboo recyclable cutlery and melted in the mouth. Seriously high class "mass catering". I recognised some of the staff from Konstam who did a great job of serving up high class food in a cramped, tumble down building - London's oldest and most derelict music hall called Witlons.

I popped outside with a cup of coffee to check some emails and get some sunshine and found myself peeking through a crack in the wall that looked into the kitchen and was amazed to see Oliver Rowe himself doing the cooking! When we had been to Konstam he hadn't done any of the cooking in the open kitchen - but he did come in to check how things were going. So it was brilliant to see the man himself slaving away for us. It made the whole experience 100% more authentic.

So I can recommend both The Future Laboratory and Konstam / Oliver Rowe!

Cafedraal, Bruges

For my 26th birthday Cowie and I went to Cafedraal - one of Bruges' best known restaurants. It's a bit of an institution and rightly so. They've even had an Absolut bottle ad made just for them.

We were seated next to the entrance which was unfortunate so we asked if we could move. In the past we would both have been very embarrassed about this but these days we're much better at standing up for our restaurant rights! They repositioned us to the bar where we tucked into a couple of glasses of champagne, greatly relieved to no longer be next to the restaurant equivalent to the M1.

There really out to be a warning on the menu - portion sizes can kill - from the Surgeon General. My North Sea fish soup was gigantic, both in terms of the robust flavours and its sheer size. Deep, shellfishy savouriness and soft, tender chunks of fish. The croutons, rouille and gruyere transformed my vast bowl into something really special. But given the fact that it had a lobster and crab claw in it I didn't really need a hole lobster afterwards!

But then again, when do you ever NEED a whole lobster... not often! My lobster was a dish of two halves. I was disappointed whilst wolfing down the first half because they hadn't told me that they were keeping the other half warm in the kitchen. So when I finished the first one I felt a bit let down. But then elation took over as the second installment arrived, steaming from the kitchen. Great lobster. It's just a shame that it came from Canada! I only asked them at the end expecting to be told that he had come from Brittany or Zebrugge... but to my shock he had been flown over from the other side of the Atlantic! Again this kind of thing needs a warning sign. I felt a little bit let down by this revelation.

Cowie had a piece of halibut that arrived on a bed of rice and cauliflower. Unfortunately the base was cold so Cowie sent it back - and it came back spot on. But it was unfortunate that they had let themselves down.

The atmosphere was fantastic for people watching. The couple next to us were almost impossible to read. She was much younger than him. They switched between speaking in English and French. They seemed to work together. He made lots of sexually iinappropriate remarks. Baffling.

We left the restaurant in top spirits amazed by the atmosphere and weighed down by the food. Cafedraal is an institution.

Update!

We've just been to see "In Bruges" at the cinema and spent the whole film pointing and giggling because we've just been to the places where the film takes place. But the best bit was when Colin Farrel and his date eat at Cafedraal. They sat at the same table that we did! But our meal was less spectacular - I didn't punch a Canadian couple in the face! Go to see the film if you've been to Bruges. It's weird but you'll love it. It's set to be the next Withnail and I.

Bar Salon, Bruges

Rock-Fort and Bar Salon are congenitally conjoined at the kitchen and came with a hefty recommendation from our hosts, Freida and Benno at Absolut Verhlust - our BnB around the corner. Rockf-Fort is a contemporary, trendy restaurant with modern styling and a very hip menu. Unfortunately they couldn't squeeze us in so we went to Bar Salon, their high chaired bar next door. The menu is more tapas focused but you can also order from Rock-Fort's more substantial menu.

We arrived at 9 which is monumentally late by Bruges standards. In fact it compares with the Lake District in this respect. Everything shuts up shop at around 8pm. Bar Salon was buzzing and with a lively crowd sucking on cigarettes, sloshing back tall glasses of wine and wolfing back tapas tasting menus. Or more accurately the food on them.

We ordered a sharp bottle of white to cut across our beautifully marbled jamon iberico and complement our tuna tartare. My jamon was stunningly presented on a long white plate with the meat pillowing up like little waves. The fat to meat ratio was outrageously high - and good for it! The white lard was delicious and the star of the who.

Cowie's tuna tartare was delicious too- if a little healthier! It set us up perfectly for what turned out to be one of the best main courses we have had in a long time.

Cowie had an impeccably cooked fillet of sea bass which came with an assortment of foams and a vanilla cream. I had a whole pigeon cut into chunks and served with a sticky, meaty reduction. The flesh was barely cooked with wonderfully crispy skin. Perfect. It reminded us both of the Anjou Pigeon we once ate at Chez Bruce. It was so good I wanted it to carry on for ever.

We loved it and would recommend the Rock-Fort / Bar Salon combination to anyone looking for something between mussels and chips and the high end gastronomy of p(a)laces like De Karmeliet next door with its 300 Euro tasting menu!

Self Stirring Tea Cup

From the Telegraph - that bastion of tea drinking:

"The teaspoon could become a thing of the past after the invention of a mug that can stir liquid by itself.

All a drinker has to do to work the clever cup is gently swirl it. This sets in motion a ceramic ball positioned at the bottom of the mug that stirs the contents.

The device was invented by two French designers, who recently displayed it at the London Design Festival. Florian Dussopt, 23, said: "The cup aims at introducing a new way of drinking tea or another warm drink without using a spoon.

"The ball is put into a slightly protruding base to keep it in place when stirring and drinking.

"Users gently move the cup, like you would when swirling a glass of cognac, and the action pushes the ball around.

"The ceramic ball mixes all various sugars and milk at the same time, thus eliminating the need for a spoon. When you drink it the ball is blocked by the gravity in the recess of the glass. This eliminates the need for a spoon. Ceramic is a material that is hygienic and beautiful at the same time. The combination of glass and ceramic is aesthetically appealing in its formal interpretation of the traditional cup and saucer."

Bad news for teaspoon manufacturers everywhere. Personally, I don't see what's wrong with mugs? They've got these clever inventions called handles that stop you from burning your hands. They come in lots of different styles and it could be argued that they are a British icon. So why do we need some sort of Jamie Oliver Flavour Shaker device for our tea?

Absolutely Awesome BnB in Bruge

For my birthday Cowie and I went to Bruge on the Eurostar. Apart from Cowie almost being sick in a granny's hat on the train our journey was smoothness encapsulated. Within 4 hours of leaving London we were unpacking our kit in the most idylic BnB.

Absoluut Verhulst is beautifully looked after and run by a delightful couple with an eye for detail. The house exudes comfort and taste. We had a suite on the top two floors which you can see below.









Benno & Frieda are great hosts and make a tremendous breakfast. Benno's omelet is particularly good and has no end of praise lauded over them in the visitors's book.

It's only a short walk from the centre of town... although that's probably true of most places in Bruge!

Freida very kindly booked us into Cafedraal for my birthday and suggested Rock-Fort/Bar Salon as well. Both were excellent and will be reviewed soon.

If you're heading to Bruge... stay at Absoluut Verhulst.

Photo featured on Londonist

One of the more innocuous photos that Jack, Dan and I took on our recent London photography trip has found its way onto Londonist:



It's a proud day for the Paunch!

Chorizo Lasagna

With a glut of chorizo ragu and having already belted out one classic new recipe confidence as you can tell was high!

My infatuation with chorizo is getting a little out of control. I started emailing people about it at work, looked it up on wikipedia and also watched Tomasina's programme about chorizo in Spain a couple of times for good measure.

Now I know chorizo isn't Italian and it's not exactly the kind of thing a purist would do... but I decided that the next step on from a simple chorizo stew and pie was to use my leftover chorizo ragu to make a good old fashioned lasagna.

It's easy. And more importantly show stoppingly delicious.

Pour in a good glub of ragu into the bottom of your mother's old cast iron lasagna dish.



Arrange a layer of lasagna sheets on top of this. Then create a layer of roasted peppers and roasted aubergine topped with garlic and a good lashing of smoked paprika. I cheated and used some Greek jarred stuff which worked brilliantly.



Then top this with another layer of pasta before topping this with some more ragu. Then more pasta. Then loads of good mozerella. Then a layer of mushrooms sauteed in butter with a sprinkling of salt. And then pour on a layer of bechamel. I wasn't sure whether to use bechamel or not. At first it didn't seem right. But it landed up tasting amazing. And that's what matters!



It was sensationally delicious. I'd love to include a layer of spinach next time. In the absence of spinach we accompanied our lasagna with a peppery rocket and watercress salad with some roasted tomatoes. Stunning.



For more chorizo recipes click here.

Sorry Sight of Tabaq Closing Down

Tabaq, the Pakistani restaurant that proudly displayed its numerous awards on its front door has closed down. It was the pride of Clapham South and is now gone. It's a very sorry sight.

The pictures say it all really.











If anyone wants a tandori oven, tapestry, carpet or a random selection of professional catering equipment call them on 07750968768.

Chorizo Pie

I've been trying to find a word for the Spanish equivalent to a pig shepherd... if anyone knows the word please let me know and we can chirsten this recipe properly. For the time being it's called "Chorizo Pie" which doesn't come close to doing it justice!

What you do is make the chorizo, butter bean and smokey red pepper ragu a la Nigel Slater. Then lob in a load more smoked paprika. Cook it in the slow cooker for ages and then leave the lid off for a few hours at the end to reduce it down. It'll turn into a deep red sludge that tastes like Hades (in a good way)!

Pour a good load of ragu into a large baking dish and then top this with some sauted garlicy spinach and a good twist or two of salt and pepper. Then lightly char some sliced chorizo and layer this on top of the spinach before topping with riced potato. Spinkle a seriously unhealthy amount of Mexicana cheese on top and then cook in the oven until you've got a sinfully crispy golden top and the pie is cooked through.



Then open a robust bottle of red wine - preferably Rioja - and settle in for one of the most satisfying meals you could imagine. This has quickly become one of my all time favourites.