The flowers have been removed and the Tony-shaped salt and pepper shakers replaced; FTLOL at Tony’s has finished.

From the lows of exhausted prep days filled with relentless lists, through to the ebullient highs that came at the end of a hard, but successful service we just about kept our sense of humour, a real tribute to all those who worked on the project – thank you.

What have we learned from the whole experience? Well, we now know: Tony likes Ouzo, most others don’t like Ouzo, but can be forced in to drinking it. No-shows are absolutely crippling, and the most destructive slight you can pay a restaurant, but mostly, what we have realised is that we can successfully operate a pop-up restaurant and deliver a very good product.

When working on the restaurant concept we wished to eradicate all those things we dislike about eating out: tables being turned, discretionary service charges, corkage fees, lazy service, bad quality ingredients, and most heinous of all; lack of imagination. What we soon realised was that the bottom line is incredibly tight, and all of the above negative ideas help to alleviate pressure from creaking profit margins. Although we do not agree with 12.5% being added to the final bill, £4 per bottle corkage being charged in a BYO and shortcuts being taken on ingredient quality, having run our restaurant we can understand why proprietors are forced in to making these compromises. May be AA Gill was right when he said, “if you love food, then don’t open a restaurant”

Having said that, we have been buoyed by our success and have already begun work on a new menu………….

A final thank you must go to my beautiful girlfriend who has been forced to endure the destruction of our kitchen and my erratic work life, all whilst being 7 months pregnant. You are truly amazing.

We have found the perfect venue; Tony’s café. A greasy spoon on Northcote Rd with a postcode wide reputation for £5 breakfasts, frothy coffee and endless cheery hospitality.

We look forward to seeing you there.

For The Love Of Life

At Tony’s 74 Northcote Road, London

Amuse Bouche

Taste of Korea

Starters

Courgette flower stuffed with salt cod brandade, tomato & cucumber relish
Octopus Arrabiata, polenta cake
Ox tongue with anchovy & pickled vegetables
Asparagus with deep fried soft boiled egg

Main courses

Summer Kiev, broad bean, new potato & pea salad, goats cheese & beetroot
Lamb rump, Parmesan & parsley crust, butter bean & onion mash, salsa Verde & roasted tomatoes
Root vegetable & pear salad with blue cheese sauce, millefeuille pastry

Dessert

Custard tart with pastry trimmings & rum/raisin cream
Vanilla panacotta with rhubarb
Doughnut station: melted chocolate, crème Anglaise, strawberry jam – Served to a minimum of two

£27.50 per person for three courses

Menu subject to change due to availability and quality of produce on the day

Bring your own policy for alcohol. We are only able to offer still water in terms of liquid refreshment

Due to the booth style seating, we must insist that tables are booked in groups of four. Pairs will be considered, but will have to be seated with others

Please state beforehand if allergic to nuts, or suffer from any other ailment, which may strike you down during the course of your meal

Starting from the 8th every Wednesday & Thursday in June. Bookings can me made through our website

Cash Only

To make a booking please see the availability by clicking here

Ahoy ye sailors of the good ship FTLOL! Tony’s asked me to put together some wine recommendations for the restaurant. I know it’s a BYO so I’ve tried to throw in something for everyone. Enjoy your meals and happy quaffing!

Cracking value light fruity red, go for Cuvée Chasseur 2010 Vin de France £4.35 Waitrose

A brilliant zinging crisp white Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Grüner Veltliner 2010 (Austria) £7.99

Get reacquainted with a classic – breezy fresh and lush Château Salmonière Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie 2010 (France) Asda £6.17

Alternative to Pinot Grigio with peachy vibrant fruit is Tesco Finest Fiano 2010 (Sicily) £6.99

A beefy red that rocks my world is Viñalba Reserva Malbec 2009, Mendoza, Argentina, Majestic currently on offer £8.99

From his many years of eating and drinking Matthew has developed the most important asset when critiquing food: confidence. Where so many others are swayed by fashion and opinion it is refreshing to read the work of a man who is confident enough to say exactly what he believes. He is a critic who most chefs like, and, most importantly respect.

Matthew will soon be back on our screens casting his cutlery over dishes prepared by the some of the country’s most acclaimed chefs on BBC2’s Great British Menu.

We took him to the barber at Dunhill for a bit of pampering before tucking in to the questions.

How did you start in food?
It’s how I grew up really. My childhood was filled with food, music and conversation. They are the things that have sustained me throughout my life really. My father was an exceptionally greedy man, and my mother was a good cook. I remember making fudge on wet Saturday afternoons. In the years before television that’s what we did. But I really started cooking when I went to Lancaster University to study English literature. Being on my own for the first time I started to experiment. I was then thrown over with love, and as you do, became incredibly tedious. My friends started avoiding me and the only way to coax them back was to cook for them. I also soon found food to be a wonderful balm for my wounded heart.

After university I worked in advertising which is a great way of educating your palette at other peoples’ expense. It was when the business lunch was absolutely “de rigueur”; the longer and the pissier the better. I always loved the theatre of restaurants; I spent far more money than I ever earned on eating out. I then met a man who became a friend who knew a lot more about food than I did. You always need to meet a guru; someone to say “try that” or “this is how you do that”. His name was Peter Lewis and I suppose he really opened up my mind to different possibilities (FTLOL: Was he a chef?) No, no he was man rather like me who had been a slave to his appetite for all his life.

So how did you move from the world of advertising to food?
I was in advertising for twenty years during which time I cooked and talked about food excessively. Then one day some friends came for dinner. They brought along a nice man called JDF Jones who was then the editor of the Financial Times Saturday Review. In the middle of dinner he said, “You like food Matthew, would you like to write a column for me in the FT on Saturday?” It’s rather like someone tapping you on the shoulder and saying, “could you turn out for Manchester United next week”, but I just didn’t realize what an extraordinary privilege it was.

It sounds like a very lucky break?
In some ways it was. But JDF was a visionary and an exceptional editor who built up the FT Saturday review with an extraordinary and eclectic collection of talented writers who were all passionate and knowledgeable, but above all good writers. He took a punt with me, but from my point of view if you’re given an opening, a chance you work bloody hard to make it work for you.

Which do you think is easier; learning about food, or learning to write about food?
Learning about food is infinitely easier. When I was editing the Guardian food pages I can’t begin to tell you how many pieces were ruined by people who knew a lot about food, but hadn’t learnt how to express themselves. (For example) A writer would carry out exhaustive research on the tomato and by Jove they were going to ram it down your throat till it was coming out of your every orifice whether you liked it or not. Right idea, wrong delivery.

On reflection I think advertising is an absolutely brilliant training ground for a food writer; nobody wakes up in the morning and thinks to themselves, “I really want to watch the ads”. Advertising taught me to look from the point of view of the consumer, or in this case the reader; you know what you want to tell them, but you also have to consider that, that they want from you. In reality advertisers probably have less than a second to hook someone and draw them in. I would say the same principles apply to food writing.

What do you think about writers such as Giles Coren who delivers a 200 word pre-amble about his own life and issues before he even attempts to touch on the restaurant he has visited?
I think writers like Giles, Adrian (Gill), and Jay (Rayner) all have a problem. The problem is that they have to write 1200-1500 words about a restaurant. In my opinion you have to be some kind of genius to hold the average readers attention for 1500 words when ultimately you are just describing food. I think Adrian, and probably Giles would admit that they are writing as entertainers, and not purely as restaurant critics. The problem with being a restaurant critic is that essentially you are writing about a repeated experience: every time you go to a restaurant you sit down, choose the food, choose the wine, eat, drink, pay the bill, and go. There are the odd idiosyncrasies that change with venue but ultimately it is a repetitive experience. The challenge is to make it interesting.

How do you go about constructing an article?
I myself will very rarely write more than 850 words for a restaurant review, because I reckon I can hold peoples’ attention for that length of time. There is always something; a little story, an observation that will carry you through, give you the little narrative you need to drive you to the end.

I am very aware that amongst any readership there will be a certain number of divisions: those that read you compulsively because they want to know about restaurants, those that read you on the odd occasion to find a good place to eat, but the majority read you and have no intention of going to the place you are describing. They read the article because it is like the gastronomic version of fantasy football. So there are those different constituencies that you have to think about and ultimately satisfy.

I have to say that I’ve always written very consciously about the restaurant and the food. In my mind I’m not the entertainer. What I do try is to reach what food writers perceive to be the Holy Grail which is to get the reader to share the same experience as you’ve had.

Having said what you have about not being an entertainer, how do you view your television rolls on Great British Menu and Market Kitchen, which are essentially entertainment programs?
I used to get very snooty about food being treated as an accessory. Not just to entertainment, but also as a fashion accessory: people wanting to be seen purchasing the correct brands from the correct shops just for the sake of image. Your choice of balsamic vinegar became as important as your choice of shirt or trainer. But then I realized I was being a snob, and that it doesn’t matter how people come to decent food, just as long as they come – even if it is via a food entertainment show.

You talk of food becoming a fashion accessory. What are your views on branding such as Fair Trade and Organic?
It can be very confusing. I think they start off as being well intentioned, good and fair, and they set out to establish certain principles. The trouble is, is that they become victims of their own success and the powers that orchestrate the food industry in this country, namely the supermarkets are incredibly quick to pick up on trends and see it as just another tool in the marketing box. It’s rather like religion; you start off with something that is pure and decent and it is then slowly taken over by other forces. Having said all this; if they do exploit us then I think it is because we allow ourselves to be exploited. It is down to every human being to educate themselves on the subject of food so they can control their own choices. I think it is very easy……… and, in fact I think we have delegated our responsibility in regards to food choices to the supermarkets, the government, and various Quangos. I think we can, and we should take responsibility for it ourselves.

Do you think food on a general level has got better or worse over the years?
Unquestionably better. I remember when I was growing up going to the greengrocers for example and seeing red potatoes and white potatoes. They didn’t have any names, there was no sense of giving information, whereas now there are so many varieties available which can be researched on the internet or asked about even in the most basic of food retailers.

I think the rationing that went on until 1956 also destroyed an entire generation of food knowledge, which in a sense I believe we have been learning back ever since. We have also been expanding and adding to our knowledge through travel and the media.

FTLOL suggests that due to the invention and rise of prepared foods people are able to skip cooking and so have not picked up some of the skills that would have been necessary in the past.
But what you’re assuming is that all the food that was cooked tasted good. No. Food was cooked and prepared much worse going back 50 years. Very few people knew how to cook. They might have had a fresh green vegetable, but they wouldn’t spend time meticulously preparing and treasuring it, they would boil the buggery out it because they didn’t know what else to do. But what I will say is that there may be has been a loss of effort in certain areas; but any shortcomings are outweighed by the enormous gains made elsewhere, such as the appreciation of food influences from overseas………….

(Some consideration)

…………. The truth of the matter is, is that we live in two food nations: for a large percentage of people it’s ready meals and readymade sandwiches, and there are social reasons for this. However there is a small number who you might call gastronomically enfranchised. The number is growing, slowly, but nonetheless it does grow. 10 years ago there weren’t any farmers markets in this country, now there are over 600. 20 years ago cheese makers from this country were an endangered species, now there are several hundred of them. There are alternative methods of retailing for producers which has bred an entire new class of producer. Even supermarkets are beginning to pay at least lip service to the notions of provenance and seasonality.

You mentioned social class. What is the link between class and food?
You can’t separate food and class in this country. It is one of the things that has disturbed me for a long time. In most other culinary countries of the world there is a sense that the food culture is accessible to everybody. In this country that is not true. Food has very much become the province of the middle classes, protected by their pseudo knowledge; if you don’t know the difference between balsamic vinegar and malt vinegar then we’re not letting you in, you’re not part of our club. This idea is reinforced by the post war media. If you look at all those who have written about food, presented programs about food they are all nice, well-educated, middle class people. The only person to have really broken that mould is Jamie Oliver. What he manages to do is to speak to a constituency who hover on the brink of gastronomic emancipation, and all they need is someone who speaks a language they are comfortable with. That is why he has been such a successful and positive force on our culinary landscape.

Do you believe there is a link between social behavior and eating habits?
Absolutely. There is terrifying amounts of research that demonstrate how infrequently people sit down and eat together. There is an entire generation of kids who will never eat with their parents. I would go as far as saying that I believe there to be a direct correlation between acts of antisocial behavior and the number of meals taken together as a family. There are two main reasons for sitting and eating together: Firstly it socializes you, teaches you how to interact with others. Secondly it is a forum for discussion, a point of exchange. There is no other situation that forces you to be in the same place as, and to converse with Granny, Granddad, mum, dad, sister and brother.

A polarizing effect happens when not eating together. Little tribes are created; the children go off together in their little huddle, the adults stick to their group, and never the two shall meet.

How does this compare to your experiences on the continent?
As a trend the Europeans spend much more time around the table than us in the England. The resulting differences in culture are quite profound. In Italy, for example, it is quite usual for people to stay at home until they are in their thirties. The result is that you develop adults who are well socialized, have a strong idea of community responsibility, respect their elders, and preserve their food culture. However the very same people become deeply conservative and extremely conformist. In this country parents cannot wait to kick their children out the door, and children can’t wait to leave. As negative as this may sound the result is an adult with a much greater level of independence, a greater degree of free thinking and a much less conformist attitude.

Which do you prefer?
Personally I would go for Conservatism. But I really don’t think there is a perfect solution.

It’s interesting how our conversation has developed. It seems food is a vehicle for so many other subjects.
Food is at the center of everything ……… There are only two processes deemed vital to the survival of the human race, and once you’ve reached a certain age frankly eating is the only one left. But more to the point food is at the epicenter of human life; food is pleasure, food is health, food is history, food is the way you relate to the world, food is memory, food is emotion. Just take for example travelling to a different country. Visiting galleries, churches and monuments offers a snapshot in time of that country. However sitting down to eat is how you encounter a country at its most contemporary and its most vivid.

In fact if you go back through the centuries you will find that empires and civilizations have been formed and destroyed by the changing fortunes of their food sources. Trade routes were formed, wars were fought, and corners of the World discovered on the back of the search for exotic spices. Food has been at the center of human life and exploration for millennia and will continue to be.

Excellent. One final question: as a man at the forefront of British cuisine. What do you think the trends are for the future? We’ve had the molecular gastronomy of Heston, what do you think is next?
Well you mention Heston like he was some sort of faze, but what is most interesting about his work is that he broke the mould of chefs who were enthralled, but ultimately trapped by French cooking (Modern English cuisine is heavily based upon French techniques). But his (Heston’s) is not that slavish imitation that we saw for so long. Not only did Heston introduce new technologies and processes to the kitchen but more importantly he empowered a whole new generation of chefs to say “I can do what I like”. In other words, what we are now seeing from English chefs is an increasing sense of individuality. They are expressing themselves on their plates.

No longer do English chefs feel the need to touch their forelock in submission of the French, Italians, and indeed the Chinese, Japanese and Thai, they’re doing their own thing and making their own food. What’s more they are bringing to the table, and showing off all the ingredients that they find in this country, and I believe that, that is very important.

If I think of some of the current crop of chefs in this country, Lisa Allen, Kenny Atkinson, Sat Baines, Nathan Outlaw, Tom Kitchin and Jason Atherton to name just a few they are all so individual, but one of the traits they all share is humor. As good as French and Italian cooking may be, something that we have over them is wit and humor. I believe that these will be the underlying themes for the future of British cookery, and long may they continue.

The reluctance of our present government to properly castigate the banks through legislation is maddening. Hands partly tied by sycophantic contracts signed by the last government, coupled with a paralytic fear of a mass skills exodus (really how many emigrating bankers can Frankfurt and Geneva really take?), basically means that the banks are able to ride roughshod over any sensible idea of morality.

The problem is further compounded by the myriad cuts the government is making to all areas of the public service. Some are admittedly the shedding of the excesses of boom – good riddance, but most will cut deep in to the lifestyles and incomes of the whole population, either directly or as a knock on effect.

That the problem was wholly created by the unchecked systems of an insatiably greedy financial market simply adds more muck to the moral mire they paddle in. It is these banks which are currently strangling the private sector through their reluctance to lend money to small businesses; those very same businesses which the government is relying on to take up the slack when the real effects of their public expenditure cuts are felt this summer. How can you continue to claim there is no money to lend when you are able to find eight billion in bonuses?

So we’ve established that whilst the average man is suffering, those that put us here in the first place are slowly going back to their old ways. However, what the bankers may not have countenanced is that the moral debt they are in may well be collected later this year by somebody who has nothing to lose, somebody so desperate to realign the moral compass they go to extreme measures.

Having said all this, it seems to me that the banks have an unparalleled opportunity to help their fellow (poorer) man, and potentially pull off the greatest PR stunt ever known: they could donate the eight billion to society, straight in to the government coffers – hell why not even pay some tax on it? Think about it, your debt to society will be paid, sure you may have to wait a year to buy your Ferrari, but at least when you do get it nobody will throw eggs at it..

Bankers, have a think, because to me it seems we have finally come to the end of the Capitalist cycle. We now understand the power of our system; congratulations, because you guys have done it. We finally know the price of morality; that’s right, it’s eight billion pounds.

They may take a bit more effort to cook than your normal dish, but, you and those you serve will love eating them – you won’t be able to help yourselves.

Miso tempura Brill with barley risotto – serves 4
This recipe is based on a classic Korean dish Miyeok Guk – Miyeok meaning seaweed and Guk meaning soup. The health benefits of seaweed have been known in Asia for centuries, apparently helping clearness of mind and blood.

The “stock” recipe can be eaten just on its own; it is delicious, however in this recipe we have allied the MSG credentials of both the Wakame and dried anchovies with the classic European Mire Poix, using Pearl Barley as the vehicle. The Denjuang in the Tempura Brill is another classic Korean ingredient – much like Miso, Denjuang is the product left over during the fermentation process used to make Soy Sauce. It is brimming with natural MSG.

All components of this recipe can be taken individually. If you don’t have time to make the stock for the risotto then just replace with a light beef stock.

Ingredients

Stock2tbsp sunflower oil
1kg of beef shin bones
500g beef shin meat
2tbsp soy sauce
4tbsp dried anchovies
1 clove of garlic, bashed
Water to cover
40g dried Wakame seaweed, soaked in warm water and then drained

Risotto
2tbsp olive oil
1 small garlic clove, peeled and finely diced
75g carrot peeled and finely diced
75g turnip, peeled and finely diced
75g celery, finely diced
75g shallot, peeled and finely diced
300g pearl barley, washed
1L stock
Picked meat and seaweed from cooked stock

Tempura Brill
4 x 180 pieces of Brill
100g corn flour
100g plain flour
1 tablespoon of brown miso paste
300ml cold sparkling water
Oil for frying

Pickled cucmber
½ cucumber, chopped into seedless 1” batons
150ml rice wine vinegar
50ml water
2tsp sugar
3tsp salt

Method

Stock
Heat the oil over a high heat in a large, heavy based saucepan. Add the meat and bones, and brown well all over. Turn the heat down and pour in the soy sauce, reduce just a little before adding all of the other ingredients apart from the soaked seaweed.

Bring the water slowly up to boil skimming the surface thoroughly of all impurities. Simmer for about 1hr or until the meat is tender. Once ready strain the stock. Pick out any melting marrow from within the bones and reserve. Add the soaked and drained seaweed. Heat through. Shred the meat and add back to the stock.

Risotto
Heat the oil over a medium heat in either a high sided frying pan or saucepan. Add the garlic, carrot, turnip, celery and shallot. Sweat over a medium heat for 2-3mins. Increase the heat and add the pearl barley. Fry for 2mins. Add a ladle-full of the stock, along with the meat and the seaweed that comes with it. Reduce the heat to a point where the liquid is gently bubbling. Stir the barley. Add the remaining stock as necessary ladle by ladle, stirring the risotto almost constantly. The risotto is done when the barley is soft but still retains a bite.

For the Tempura
Pre heat the oil to 170°c

Place the two flours and the miso paste in to a bowl. Add about a quarter of the water and whisk to a smooth texture, use more water if necessary. Pour in the remaining sparkling water and whisk to incorporate.

Dip the pieces of fish into the batter and fry. The fish should take no longer than about 4mins to cook. Because of the miso paste the batter will colour quicker than normal so it must be closely watched.

Once fried remove to kitchen roll to drain off excess oil.

Pickled cucumber
Mix together the vinegar, water, sugar and salt. Drop in the cucumber batons. Leave to steep for about 20mins. The cucumber should be lightly pickled.

To serve
Place the fish on top of the risotto with the cucumber on the side.

Garlic and ginger Congee with Mackerel – serves 4
Congee is a traditional peasant dish eaten all over Asia. It is normally a method used to transform stale, cooked rice into something edible, so feel free to use this recipe to use up old, cooked sticky rice. The amount of water used to cook the congee in can vary, dependant on the rice, but don’t worry it is a very forgiving recipe.

This dish uses Dashi granules. Dashi is a mixture made from dried Konbu and Bonito flakes. It is the mainstay many Japanese dishes; It is to Japanese cooking what chicken stock is to French cookery.

Ingredients

Congee
300g rice, washed and soaked for a minimum of 15mins
1 x large garlic clove peeled
1 “ ginger, peeled and cut in to 3 pieces
About 2L water
2 heaped tablespoon of Dashi granules
Pickled pink ginger
2tsps black sesame seeds 2 tbsp of caviar

Mackerel
2 x mackerel, cleaned and gutted
2tbsp sesame oil

Method

Congee
Put the rice, garlic, ginger and water into a saucepan. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 35mins. The rice is ready when it becomes like porridge – very soft with no bite at all, and a thick, but pourable consistency. More water can be added if needed.

Take out the ginger and garlic. Dice the ginger very finely and add back to the rice Congee. Using the side of the knife crush the garlic to a smooth paste and also put back in to the Congee.

Whilst the Congee is still warm add the Dashi granules and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon to incorporate. Taste the Congee, and if necessary season with a touch of soy sauce

Mackerel
Pre-heat your grill to its highest setting.

Place your whole Mackerel on to a tray and grill for about 5mins each side. The skin should blister and become crisp.

To serve
Spoon the Congee in to bowls. Top with the pickled ginger and black sesame seeds (or caviar). Drizzle over the sesame oil. Serve the Mackerel on the side.

Mushroom risotto with pickled walnuts
This recipe is a classic. Everybody knows mushroom risotto. We have used dried mushrooms in this recipe because the liquid that they produce when being rehydrated adds so much flavor.

The risotto is delicious just on its own, but the pickled walnuts and mushrooms lend an acidic balance to the earthy tones of the risotto.

Ingredients

45g dried mushrooms, including porcini and shitake
300ml water, just off boil
3tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 small clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 x sprigs of Thyme
250g risotto rice (Aborio or Carnaroli)
Glass of red wine
1L light chicken/vegetable stock
Knob of butter
45g grated Parmesan
40g pickled walnuts, diced with their vinegar reserved
1tbsp sugar
4tbsp parsley, roughly chopped

Method

Risotto
Place the dried mushrooms into a bowl and pour over the hot water. Leave to stand and re-hydrate for a minimum of 10mins. Drain the mushrooms whilst reserving the liquid.

Heat the oil over a medium to high heat in a high sided frying pan or sauce pan. Add the onion and garlic. Sweat for 4-5mins until lightly softened. Add the thyme and half of the drained mushrooms reserving just a few for garnish, fry for a further 2-3mins. Add the rice and continue to cook for another 2mins. Pour in half of the glass of wine and let it reduce to almost nothing whilst stirring continually.

Add the mushroom soaking liquid to the chicken stock. From now until the risotto is finished – about 15mins, add the rest of the mushroom liquid and the stock by the ladle, whilst continuously stirring. The risotto should be cooked over a heat that keeps the liquid bubbling over.

The risotto is ready when the rice is soft whilst still retaining a little bite to it. Finally add the butter and the parmesan stirring to incorporate. This should create a silky, shiny texture. Finally stir through the parsley.

For the walnuts
Place the remaining half glass of wine and the vinegar from the pickled walnuts in to a small pan and add the sugar. Reduce the liquid until it is a coating consistency. Slice the remaining mushrooms and add to the reduction along with the chopped walnuts.

To serve
Spoon the risotto on to plates and top with the pickled walnuts and mushrooms.

That is about to change, I have commissioned a piece by an artist who I believe is well worth looking in to. Her name is Hester Finch, and her work is the first that I have come across in the price range that demonstrates real personality and character.

If you are one of those people who enjoys hanging a real painting from your walls, and have a bit of money to invest then I would highly recommend taking a look at www.hesterfinch.com

I will embrace my new found lucky number by firstly buying 3 lottery tickets with all number combinations being variations of the three times table. Secondly, the double espressos I so enjoy will carry more of a kick by becoming triple espressos – three stirs clockwise, three stirs anticlockwise if you’re making. And finally to complete my triadic transformation I shall break this critique down into a tripartite of topics.

Firstly: atmosphere. Trinity forms one side of an odd Polygon in Clapham Old Town. Set back just far enough from the main road so that you can easily miss it, Trinity manages to escape the hubris of Clapham High Street, and exudes a relaxed quality immediately identifiable in the sweeping glass that makes up its façade. Tables are well separated and covered with the stiff, white linen you would expect of a quality restaurant. A single set of cutlery, water and wine glasses complete the pleasingly simplistic table decoration. The dining room feels spacious; the white walls are set off by the rich brown of varnished Parquet flooring and door frames. The kitchen can be seen from almost all the tables through the service hatch. The busying noise of the 5-strong brigade brings a sense of familiarity to the room. It is a well thought out and inviting restaurant seamlessly melding the precise execution necessary to inform you that you are in a classy and serious environment with a relaxing lightness of touch that makes you feel instantly at ease. This is a very, very agreeable place to eat.

Secondly: service. There is a standard of service to which all aspiring restaurants must adhere to. Trinity does not disappoint on any level: jackets are hung, seats are pulled out, and tables crumbed down. However what they do at Trinity is what can only describe as Michelin meets TGI Friday. Before thoughts of hyperactive waiters in stripy shirts crouching aside your table introducing themselves reaches your brain, let me explain. Many waiters of high end restaurants can be reserved, sometimes to the point of snootiness; they go about their duties with swift precision; they are knowledgeable, well presented and proud. However too often they can be robotic, their personalities hidden behind the bland, fixed countenance of a bygone era, when the food of restaurants felt static, and the people who could afford to eat in them were the staid businessmen who preferred this approach. Food has moved on since then, the dining experience has become more accessible and the imagination, humour and personality of chefs pushes the zenith of achievement higher and higher each year. In my humble opinion, service should match the food, and it does so brilliantly at Trinity. Our waiter was happy to entertain the poor jokes of myself and my companion, he did not glare at us when asking for tap water (house sparkling and still water are not charged for at Trinity) or ordering the second cheapest bottle of white plonk. He delivered each dish with pride and genuinely seemed to enjoy being at work. He joined in on conversation where appropriate, and fell back when not. Marvelous.

Thirdly: food. Adam Byatt is an exceptional chef proven to the cooking world over many years of awards and accolades. In Tom Sellers he seems to have found a gastronomic soul mate able to cook and innovate to the very highest of standards. Tom was formerly Tom Aikens’ sous chef and is one of very few English chefs to complete a Stage at both the French Laundry and Per Se under Thomas Keller. This experience sings throughout. The flavor combinations were flawless: raw cubes of beetroot were imaginatively set off by smoked egg yolks emulsified into a rich yellow mayonnaise. The accompaniment of potato crisp and deep-fried-bread-crumbed egg worked wonderfully with the richness of soft, golden yolk and luxurious lumps of homemade ricotta. The dish was a true synergetic triumph of texture and flavor. A plate of pressed ham hock with Sauce Gribiche and a Foie Gras parfait with Verre Jus demonstrated a great understanding of the sharp acidic pang necessary to balance the peasantry fat of pork as well as the regal richness of Foie Gras. For the main course I tried the chicken and ham Boudin served with Sweetcorn sauce. The mixture of wild mushrooms, allied to the skilful culinary execution brought a lovely maturity to ingredients plucked from childhood memories. These dishes were all excellent. However the real star of the show was the caramelized halibut. Served with a vibrant swathe of broccoli puree, and poached spears of asparagus that crisscrossed fluffy pillows of gnocchi, all topped with an unlikely anise spiced foam that delicately knitted the dish together. This was as good as any plate of food I have ever tasted. Desserts were both very good, but perhaps not up to the high standards of their savoury counterparts; combinations of honey, Cacao, bee pollen, green tea, and meringue delivered a cleansing sweetness to end the meal upon, but did not exceed expectation as the main course and starters had. Overall: brilliant.

The only criticisms that I can lay at the door of the kitchen is that I prefer my fish cooked less. Especially with a fish as good as Halibut, I want to see the opaque flesh, and feel the contrast of texture from the caramelized outside to the moist, delicate center upon my tongue. The Boudin was on the verge of being over seasoned. There is a habit amongst top-end chefs to season uniquely to their palette. This is dangerous, as a lifetime of sampling and serving rich food can numb their taste buds to a point where they are on a different plain to us mere mortals. Fine for themselves, but remember it is us mere mortals who are paying for and eating the food. It is not a sign of weakness for a chef to lay cruet on the table, and they should not recoil at the sight of customers using it. My last criticism is the service charge that is added to the bill. Why do restaurants continue to add this? The prices at Trinity are extremely competitive; you would not find it hard to spend more on a lesser meal in a Gastropub. I do not resent the final balance, but I do resent how you reached it. Please just put up the set menu prices to cover that 12.5%, so that the shallow people of the world, like myself no longer have to hurrumph when presented with the bill.

Criticisms should be taken in context; this is as good a restaurant as I have eaten in. It is built upon the DNA of perfection, but is nicely tempered and rounded by the good nature that seems to come from Adam Byatt himself. Adam has a rich gastronomic history that has its fair share of ups and downs, but in Trinity he has built his Shangri-La. Why Michelin have chosen to pass over it for so many years is logic defying, but it does mean that the restaurant still has the feel and atmosphere of an undiscovered gem. Go there, before Michelin recognize it, and the Michelin led gastro-wolf pack descend upon it and invariably change the mood.

The first thing to be noted is that, without prefix, an egg will always refer to those of a chicken. We, in the UK consume a staggering 11 billion eggs a year, produced by a massive brood of 29 million registered laying hens.

It is the unique nutritional make up of the egg that makes it so versatile and appealing to humans. It can probably be presumed that our ancestors somewhere far down the Darwinian line began raiding the nests of birds, drawn there by the protein-rich jewels the birds were sitting on. The egg is made up of a high density of both protein and fat. The white offers all the benefits of fatless protein to all the diet maniacs, while the yolk provides high levels of fat, along with a rich amount of protein, perfect for adding stability to all manner of cooking.

So, how to tell a good egg, and why it’s important? On appearance a good egg is normally medium in size and has a more defined conical shape. This appearance suggests that the egg was laid by a young foul. Their youth, smaller size and tighter muscles are more adept at the arduous process of egg production. Of course, this description is subjective and may differ with the natural idiosyncrasies of species.

As soon as the egg is laid, it begins to degenerate in quality until it becomes rotten. This means newer laid eggs are better than old ones. The age of an egg can be tested by immersing it in a glass of salted water. A very fresh egg (up to one week old) will stand on its end pointing to the top of the glass. A medium aged egg (one to two weeks) will float about halfway up the glass, on its side. An old egg (anything up to three weeks) will bob around on the surface of the salted water.

As explained further along in the article, certain methods of egg cooking necessitate a fresh egg. The quality and appearance of both poached and fried eggs is dependent upon the freshness of the main ingredient. So it follows that fresh eggs should be used for frying and poaching. Medium aged eggs should be used for scrambling and boiling, whilst the oldest eggs should be used for baking.

Below we have attempted to cover the major bases of egg cooking. From boiling to baking, if you can master the following recipes you can consider yourself a true Eggspert. (Sorry, had to be done)

Boiled Eggs

Perfect boiled eggs are extremely easy. There are many quoted ways of boiling an egg, but for FTLOL there are only three rules to follow for consistently perfect eggs:

Start with eggs at room temperature.

Pierce a small hole into the top of the shell with a pin.

Place the eggs directly into boiling water using a spoon.

For a medium egg, if you want it soft boiled cook it for 5 minutes, if you want it hard boiled, cook for 10 minutes.

An excellent tip for peeling eggs is to immediately immerse them in cold water. This helps the shell to slightly come away from the white. It must be noted that very fresh eggs will always be hard to peel.

Poached Eggs

There are so many different methods, rumours and old wives’ tales that surround the poaching of eggs. From the addition of vinegar to leaving eggs at the back of the fridge for an hour, FTLOL has heard of most and tested several. There is some truth to many of these methods; however the overriding factor when cooking a perfect poached egg is the freshness of the egg itself.

If an egg is fresh, it will automatically hold itself together when dropped into water. Poaching for 3-4 minutes will deliver a gloriously warmed through, but liquid yolk.

If a less than fresh egg must be used, then we have found that a couple of glugs of white wine vinegar, allied with a vortex in the water, created by vigorous stirring, leads to the best results. That said, we would suggest eating a boiled egg, omelette or scrambled egg instead.

Fried Eggs

As it seems with all forms of oeuf cuisine, a single method of cooking can cover a wide scope of variations.

For us at FTLOL, a fried egg should be fried in oil and butter over a medium/high heat. Once the butter is lightly foaming, crack in the egg, holding it for just a short pause while the yolk sets and centres itself in the white. Leave the egg to cook at this heat for about 3 minutes. This will cook through the white from the frying pan up. It is a personal preference to cook the white at such a heat, and for such a time that it develops a brown and crisp frill, whilst choosing not to spoon hot fat over the yolk to cook the thin layer of enveloping white through.

The perfect fried egg should serve not only as an addition to other meal components, but also as a delicious meal in its own right.

Omelettes

“As everybody knows, there is only one infallible recipe for the perfect omelette: your own.” Elizabeth David.

There is something so comforting and reliable about an omelette. Whether your choice is a Tabasco-doused version in an American diner or the delicate baveuse texture of a classic omelette from L’Hotêl Poulard, the simplicity of beaten eggs cooked in fat is a perfect dish.

Although methods may differ, we suggest using a non-stick, heavy-based 20cm pan for all of the following recipes. You may also find a heatproof spatula very useful. We have taken three main types of omelette and given, what we believe to be, a good recipe to use as a guideline.

Omelette aux Fines Herbes – serves 1

Ingredients

Knob of butter

3 x eggs

1 tsp chervil, finely chopped

1 tsp chives, finely chopped

Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Heat a good non-stick frying pan over a medium/high heat and add the butter.

Crack the eggs into a bowl, whisk until well mixed and season. Once the butter is lightly foaming add the eggs.

Move the eggs around the pan, ensuring that they don’t stick. Once the egg has reached a slightly stiff scrambled egg stage, turn the heat off. Leave in the pan to set for about 10 seconds, fold the omelette over itself and then sprinkle with the chopped herbs.

American/English Omelette – serves 1

Ingredients

Knob of butter

½ x tomato, deseeded and finely diced

3 x eggs

2 x slices ham

50g Cheddar cheese, grated

Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Heat a good non-stick frying pan over a medium/high heat and add the butter.

Crack the eggs into a bowl, whisk until well mixed and season. Once the butter is lightly foaming, add the diced tomato. Fry for 1 minute before adding the eggs. Move the eggs around the pan ensuring that they don’t stick to the bottom.

Once the egg has reached a stiff scrambled egg stage, scatter the cheese all over it. Lay the two slices of ham on top. Continue to cook the omelette over the heat for approximately one more minute. Turn the heat off.

Flip the omelette over in half. The bottom should be golden and a little crisp. Leave for a little while in the pan to ensure the cheese is melted before serving.

Spanish Omelette – serves 4

Ingredients

4 tbsp olive oil

1 x medium potato, peeled and very finely sliced

½ x onion, peeled and very finely sliced

Splash of water

1 x courgette, washed and grated

1 tbsp butter

6 x eggs

Watercress, to serve

Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Heat half the oil in a good non-stick frying pan over a low/medium heat. Add the potatoes and onions and cook, turning periodically, for about 20 minutes until they are tender and slightly caramelised. If necessary, add a splash of water to speed up cooking time.

Add the courgette to the pan and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium/high.

Crack the eggs into a bowl, whisk until well mixed and then season. Add the butter to the pan and melt before adding the eggs to the pan. Move the eggs around ensuring they don’t stick to the bottom. Keep the eggs moving until they begin to thicken, this should take about 3-4 minutes. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes to colour and set the base.

Once the base has set and is easily pulled away from the sides, take the omelette off the heat. Place a plate that is larger than the pan face down on top of the frying pan. With one hand firmly on the plate, flip the frying pan upside down. The omelette should drop onto the plate. Place the frying pan back on to a medium/high heat and add the remaining olive oil.

Carefully slide the omelette back into the hot frying pan. Cook the omelette for 3-4 minutes until the bottom is golden and the centre almost cooked through. Slide the omelette onto a chopping board, top with watercress and serve in chunks – Delicious hot or cold.

Asparagus with Crispy Fried Duck’s Egg – serves 1

Ingredients

1 x duck egg, soft poached and cooled in ice cold water

50g flour, seasoned

1 x egg, beaten

50g panko breadcrumbs. (If not panko, then nice, dry breadcrumbs)

Sunflower oil, to deep fry

1 x shallot, peeled and finely diced

3 tbsp light olive oil

1½ tbsp sherry vinegar

8 x asparagus spears, trimmed and boiled until just tender, drained and kept warm in pan

Method

Dust the poached duck egg in the flour before dipping it in the beaten egg and then rolling it in the breadcrumbs. It is important to ensure a good covering of crumbs on the egg.

Heat the oil over a medium/high heat until it reaches about 180°C/350°F. You can test the temperature by tossing a few of the breadcrumbs into the oil. If the temperature is right, they should begin to fry instantly and rise to the top. Place the egg gently into the oil and fry for about 3 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen roll.

Mix together the olive oil and the sherry vinegar. Add the shallot. Spoon the vinaigrette over the warm asparagus. Serve immediately with the crisp egg.

Soufflé Pain Perdu – serves 2

Ingredients

2 x eggs, separated

1/2  tbsp caster sugar

3 tsp good quality vanilla extract

4 x medium sliced bread, crusts removed

Strawberry jam

1 tbsp sunflower oil

Knob of butter

Icing sugar, to serve

Method

Place the egg yolks in a bowl with the sugar and the vanilla extract. Whisk the yolks and sugar together vigorously for about 1min until the mixture becomes pale and slightly velvety. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they reach a soft peak.

Beat half of the egg whites into the yolk mix before lightly folding through the remaining half.

Spread two of the slices of bread with strawberry jam. Place another slice of plain bread on top of each to form sandwiches. Cut these in half, along the diagonal.

Heat the oil and butter over a medium heat in a non-stick pan. Once the butter is foaming, dip the triangles into the batter and place directly into the pan. Cook the battered sandwiches on all sides for approximately 1 minute per side. Drain on kitchen roll before serving dusted with icing sugar.

Custard Tart – This recipe is based on a large 25cm tart case with a depth of 4½ cm

This is the best custard tart that we have been able to produce. The most important part of this recipe, and unfortunately the one that can only be perfected through repetition is how long to set the custard for. You are ultimately aiming for a slice of the tart to have a pronounced wobble whilst not oozing to pieces. The best result is to remove the tart when the surface produces a wobble akin to the tenacity of a bounced upon trampette when shaken lightly.

Ingredients

For the pastry base:

400g plain flour

60g icing sugar

200g butter, cubed and cold

1 x lemon, zest only

2 x eggs beaten

For the custard filling:

12 x egg yolks

1 vanilla pod, seeds only

190g caster sugar

750ml double cream

Fresh nutmeg

Method

For the pastry base:

Pre-heat your oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

Place the butter, flour, icing sugar and lemon zest into a food processor. Using the pulse button, combine the ingredients until they take on the appearance of fine breadcrumbs. Add half of the beaten egg mixture and pulse again. The mix should just be coming together. Add half of the remaining egg and pulse again. At this point it may be necessary to add the rest of the egg, depending on how well the pastry has combined.

Tip the mix on to a clean work surface. Begin to bring together the pastry, working it lightly until you have a smooth paste. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Remove the pastry from the fridge. Roll out to a thickness of 3-5mm. Line the tart case, overlapping the edges of the case with the pastry. Refrigerate for another 20 minutes. Remove from the fridge and line the pastry with either strong cling film or greaseproof paper. Fill with baking beans*. Place in the oven and blind bake for about 25 minutes, until the overlapping edges have turned a dark golden hue. Remove from the oven and take out the baking beans. Return to the oven for a further 10 minutes until the base has completely cooked through. Be sure that the base does not soufflé – decrease the temperature to about 160°C/315°F/Gas Mark 2½ if necessary.

Once the case is cooked, remove onto a wire rack. With a sharp knife, cut around the edge of the tart case to give an accurate finish to the tart. Leave to cool.

Turn the oven temperature down to 150°C/300°F/Gas Mark 2.

For the custard filling:

Whisk together the yolks, vanilla seeds and the sugar, add the cream and mix well. Heat the mixture over a medium heat to body temperature. Pass through a sieve into a jug. It is advisable to fill the tart case once it is already on an oven tray. This means you will not spill any mixture when placing in the oven. Fill the case to just below the top. Cook in the oven for 35-40 minutes. There should still be a good wobble in the center of the tart. Remove from the oven onto a cooling rack. Grate over a generous amount of fresh nutmeg. Leave to sit for a minimum of 1 hour before removing from the tart case. Serve on its own or with rum-soaked raisins and crème Chantilly.

*This is a technical term given for the porcelain “beans” used in blind baking tart cases. We use, more often than not, plain rice. This gives a far more defined edge to the tart.

Designed as a hard wearing outdoor shoe, the distinctive holes were originally punched in to drain away excess water, a perfect example of practical design developing into iconic style. Along with the holes, the serrated edged cut of leather has become synonymous with the look of the traditional Brogue. Leading the way in this marriage of timeless quality and modern style is Tim Little’s company, Grenson.

Based in the historic cobbling county of Northamptonshire, Grenson’s can trace its foot prints back to 1866 when it was William Green and Son. Grenson’s has managed to uphold the heritage of the Brogue, employing traditional manufacturing techniques whilst adding contemporary variations of fabric and colour to bring them right up to date for the modern fashionista.

Grenson’s proudly still use the old process of “Goodyear Welting” which means that whilst it may take three weeks to produce a single pair of shoes, there will be no question of their quality.

Here’s some wine recommendations to get your palate pinging!

Domaine Ventenac Chenin/Colombard 2008 (Vin de Pays des Cotes de Lastours, France) is £6.99 and flipping marvellous. Apply, fresh, dry and round white wine with seriously bright zing in the tail. If you’re a fan of crisp whites, grab this and go aperitif-crazy with all over it – or for a decadent match, try it with fresh oysters or pre-dinner nibbles.

For a huge storming red, grab Benegas Malbec 2007, Mendoza, Argentina usually £17.99 but down to £13.99 when you buy two bottles at Majestic. It is a vast wine – fragrant aromas with a palate of huge rich depth and massive dark bold fruit with a fist of spice. Long-lasting, epic, in your face and stacked with flavour – a must with a hearty chunk of beef. An HGV of a wine!

Take good care of one another, keep on rocking and see you soon!

Olly