Scoff magazine – BA Media and Communications

SCOFF SCOFF

£4.50

CULINARY TRAVELLING GUIDE

HACKNEY EDITION BINGE

Contents

Editor’s Note

3

Coffee Culture

9

Scoff Haunts

21

Rosanna’s Recipes

27

Victor Jechev

29

Craft Beer Revolution

41

Kitchen Gadgets

51

Recipe: Scallops

53

Claire Ptak

55

Cafe Culture pt. I

69

SCOFF

Editors’ Note WELCOME TO SCOFF

Dear Reader, Congratulations! You just got paid. Now is the best time to take our hand and let us guide you through Hackney’s culinary wonders and delights. Our experts here at Scoff will make sure that your fresh start will be like no other - stuffed with adrenaline and a handful of exquisite originality, our first edition will cater to your every whim and desire.

Consider yourself cordially invited to an intimate journey through Hackney’s bakeries, breweries and restaurants. By the end you will have seasoned your life with our Italian nanny’s tasty advice. Along the way you will encounter a chaotic Bulgarian chef and a couple of cereal-obsessed twins.

Try not to drool too much on our magazine.

4

5

6

SCOFF

7

SCOFF

Coffee Culture AN ACCOUNT OF HACKNEY’S VICE

By Hannah Gresty

C

offee. The oracle of caffeinated drinks. The socially-acceptable substance abuse problem that has made it all the way from the Arabian Peninsula of the 15th Century to the intimidatingly hip and trendy cafés on the corner of every street of 21st Century Hackney. The fact is coffee has become as ubiquitous to east London culture as Red Wing boots, fixed-gear bicycles, and well-groomed facial hair. But the morning ritual of almost every functioning adult which includes a soberingly strong cup of Joe is a far cry from 17th Century European skeptics who avoided coffee like the plague and baptised the drink the ‘bitter invention of Satan’. This vast difference in attitude begs the question: why has coffee been so warmly received in Hackney, and furthermore, who is responsible?

9

10

SCOFF “open, forward thinking population” of Hackney as being the key to a coffee shops’ success. She said: “People out east embrace independent thought and entrepreneurialism. They aren’t afraid to take a chance on the new, innovative and unknown, they celebrate individualism and want to learn about new subjects, specialty coffee being one of them”. This rosy view of the population does seem to resonate amongst other coffee establishments.

Williams, too, attributes the popularity of coffee shops with “younger and creative type people as they provide a social hub in many senses”. He added: “East London used to be cheap, and the atmosphere seems to attract a particular kind of person, making it the market with the most coffee drinkers”.

Given that the east is as equally full to the brim with chain coffee stores as it is with avid coffee drinkers, it is not unusual to By now you’re likely to have developed a palette for the type of coffee drink you like, whether it be a flat white, cappuccino, latte, cafe au lait, frappaccino, Americano, espresso - whatever. But believe it or not, for all your wishing for the perfectly cupped double shot, Bonsoy latte with sugar-free caramel syrup, coffee shops have ended up in postcodes EC to N for far more socio-economic reasons. I spoke with three of the most popular coffee roasters in Hackney, who supply roasts to over 60 of the east’s finest coffee establishments, to get the 411 on Hackney’s coffee crush.

Anette Moldvaer, co-owner and director of coffee at Shoreditch-based Square Mile (and the author of Coffee Obsession, and also the World Cup Tasting Champion of 2007), explained: “East London has taken to coffee for several reasons I believe, rent being one of them. Young, independent cafes seldom start out with huge budgets, and finding affordable locations in areas

11

wonder what exactly about the indie joint is so appealing that we cycle straight past the doors of Costa and walk proudly into the liked of Cortado or Tina, We Salute You. Well, it’s because of two reasons; number one, taste; and number two, Baristas. Now I’m not here to berate the corporations for not training their staff to an acceptable standard, because corporations of course have their merits. After all, it would not be unfair to say that it is often the chain stores that first get people interested in coffee, and to spark interest in the general public is a commendable feat. Furthermore, as Moldvaer rightly said: “Just because you’re an independent cafe doesn’t mean you’re going to be doing a good job - you can still serve terrible beans and brew it poorly. There is just a choice to be made by both on how high quality you want to be”. Quality, as with all businesses, is the key to coffee shop success.

with enough footfall is a challenge for everyone”. While your (and our) rent may seem like a not-very-funny joke every month, the east is still somewhat cheaper than its Soho sister, and back before coffee started to become more of a fashion trend than a pick-me-up, it was even cheaper.

Alas, as Hackney and the rest of the east continues to function as the Mecca for hipsters and creative minds alike, costs are only rising. Richard Williams, Head Roaster and Q grader at Nude Espresso in Shoreditch, who won Independent Café of the Year in 2010 and 2013, believes that while coffee shops first set up camp here because of cheaper rent, why they stayed is because of the simultaneous rise in quality food establishments and ‘trend foods’. He said: “By trend food I mean street-feast-style, moorish classics done creatively. It’s a similar kind of person that gets into high end coffee and interesting food”. Moldvaer also commends the

12

SCOFF Few people appreciate the quality control processes through which coffee beans go prior to their liquid espresso form.

Well, just as wine originates from a fruit, so does the coffee bean, which in its natural state lives within the coffee cherry.

Produced from trees grown in around 70 countries, there are approximately 124 species of the coffee tree’s genus, coffea, but C. Arabica and C. Canephora (otherwise known

First Right

Americano with brown sugar First Left

‘Tampering’ freshly ground coffee Second Right Allpress on Redchurch Street Left Fresh coffee cherries

as Robusta) are the main species used commercially, so these are the species you’ll be accustomed to. “Arabica is grown at a higher altitude, bears less fruit than Robusta and produces a more complex, sweeter and acidic flavour. However it is much more susceptible to disease”, said Chris Ortner, Barista Trainer at Allpress roasters in Shoreditch. “Robusta produces an earthy strong flavour and has around twice the amount of caffeine than Arabica”. Interestingly, a higher caffeine content acts in the interest of not just the sleepyheads working late nights but also in the interest of profit margins. Not many people know that caffeine is a natural pesticide, so the higher the caffeine content the less susceptible to disease or parasites the coffee tree is.

As you’ve probably guessed, a sturdier Robusta makes for a safer bet for commercial use, as it is far easier and cheaper to cultivate than its less hyperactive friend Arabica.

poor quality espresso machine can make it taste equally awful”, said Williams, us having delved deeper into the indie vs. chain debate. He said: “It would be factually correct to say [chains] buy poorer quality raw ingredients. However, there is also the streamlining effect that means efficiency around the roastery must be optimised, leaving less time for quality control and innovation”. Ortner agrees, having explained: “Chains will roast to immense volume and tend to have less care towards storage. The people who prepare the coffee in these chains don’t take care in doing so”. Note the operative word, ‘people’…

The art of coffee is indeed just that - art.

It may be frustrating to not get the foam you want on that cappuccino, or the silky smoothness of milk in that latte, but hopefully you give the guys pouring them some credit, for the coffee-making business is hard. Ortner, who runs frequent beginners Barista classes at the Allpress roasters, knows first hand of the incompetence (this was my choice of words, not Ortner’s, but believe me it was the right one) of an untrained coffee handler. Having had no further schooling beyond using a cafetiere and run-of-the-mill instant coffee (albeit Douwe Egberts; I’m not an animal), I was about as inexperienced as they come, and

“Consumers are getting more discerning and sophisticated with their coffee” - Moldvaer

While it is generally considered superior, using Arabica beans doesn’t necessarily guarantee the perfect cup. “No matter how good the coffee is when it leaves the roastery, a bad barista or

13

14

SCOFF entering Ortner’s training facility was like being a foreigner without a visa. Aside from the fact there were steps involved in the making of espresso that I wasn’t even aware were necessary, let alone vital, it was engrossing to see the skill and panache an adept Barista must develop.

Where chains tend to fall short compared with their specialty counterparts is here.

As Williams affirmed: “Very few larger chains have invested in Baristas”.

While the plot thickens - or milk stretches - on why chain shops disappoint, what is hot in terms of the borough’s favourite beverages as of yet remains unexplored.

While it seems Hackney residents are still revelling in the joy of the espresso base, they are also venturing into slightly newer territory. “The flat white has pervaded every corner of the country now, and that’s what we sell the most in our cafes”, said Williams. But our limited experience with the French-press may transpire to be not entirely useless; both Moldvaer and Williams contend that the filter coffee is coming back with a vengeance. “I think [the popularity of filter style brews] is such a good development”, said Moldvaer.

“Consumers are getting more and more discerning and sophisticated, and seek out and appreciate more unusual flavours in coffee than they’d brave before”. Williams hails the filter brew for being “a far purer form of coffee”, having said: “Filter coffee expresses the craft of the farmer rather than the brewing method, so you can begin to understand how processing, microclimate and farmer skill influence flavour - it’s the ‘fine wine’ of coffees”.

Coffee is not just a commodity on the market anymore. It is not something to be forced down in order to function at work, but something much more. The very fact that it is treated with the same respect as fine wine and good steak, oddly by

15

both Ortner and Williams on separate occasions, is a testament to its delicacy.

“Coffee offers something far more complex than great food, something harder to pin down and much more rewarding when you get it right. Not many people are making their millions in coffee, it tends to be filled with passionate people doing a job because they love it”, said Williams.

Presumably you’ve noticed that London is now awash with Aussie and Kiwi Baristas who are injecting Antipodean passion and flare into our already booming coffee scene, and having the blood of Australasia running through each of their veins, Nude, Allpress and Square Mile exemplify this cross-cultural partnership. “The coffee culture in New Zealand and Oz is ten years ahead of the UK. Everybody drinks coffee in New Zealand”, said Williams, although he confessed you better save some of your thanks for the Brits: “While there is an Antipodean influence here, the quality of coffee, roasting and Baristas is far better than in most of the Antipodes.

To say we’ve shaped the industry does a disservice to all the amazing coffee people native to this land”.

Hackney’s appeal to coffee then is more than just its caffeine benefits and great taste when done right. To appreciate the drink, you have to look at the wider picture. “My first job as a roaster, I was so happy to get up and go to work each morning I would have done it for free.

When you feel that way about your job it ceases to be a job and just becomes part of your life”, said Williams. But if that doesn’t sound like an ode to Hackney’s coffee culture, perhaps this remark from Moldvaer will: “I’m engrossed by how big the world of coffee is, how it needs so many people to happen, how it involves an entire world and how open and friendly it is. For me, coffee is about people. It’s

16

SCOFF about the people who grow it, it’s about how we influence their livelihoods, and it’s about how we best protect the plant and the producers in the future. And it’s about the people who drink it, how they deserve something tasty, how they deserve to know what they’re drinking, and how to get the best out of the raw material”.

Hackney’s love for coffee works both ways; from the people who drink it and the people who make it and back again. I could have dedicated this entire magazine to personal opinions on why coffee here is great, but why bother? If there is one thing that unites our readers its their adoration of this wonderful beverage, and it is this adoration that unites us to the people who make it their business to give coffee a good name.

Now, fancy a cappuccino?

17

18

SCOFF

SCOFF HAUNTS

FORMAN’S Stour Road, Fish Island, London E3 2NT The riverside restaurant offers close view of Olympic stadium specializes in grilled salmon. The top table and certificate of excellence winner has been running since 1905, but recently rose to success with the Olympic Games. The family run business is known amongst famous chefs. In 2010 it was featured on Celebrity Masterchef.

The restaurant also includes an art gallery, with regular exhibitions, featuring work by Hackney artists.

At Scoff we’re determined to see you through your paycheck.

So, we searched high and low for the restaurants that make your wallets wince but your tummy cry out with happiness.

THE CLOVE CLUB

The beauty of Hackney is its diversity, and the fact that for every dive serving day-old leftovers, there’s a beautiful temple serving magical creations that excite the senses. Here’s a list of our favourites...

The Clove Club is located inside Shoreditch Town Hall, built in 1865. Extended set menus, featuring British seasonal ingredients are served inside this historical and artistic venue. The avant-garde menu changes daily. A lot of attention is given to the presentation as simple ingredients are arranged magnificently. Inside, an open kitchen, wooden floors and big windows, construct a relaxed but professional atmosphere.

Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old Street, London EC1V 9LT

22

SCOFF

POND HAWAIIAN RESTAURANT

SAGER & WILDE WINE BAR

Stamford Works, 3 Gillett Street Dalston N16 8JH

193 Hackney Road, London, E2 8JL

Culture, flavour and history boost in this fusionist restaurant in the centre of Dalston.

Located in a Victorian warehouse this unique diner offers a vast selection of cocktails, snacks and its famous ‘plates to share’. The restaurant features colourful booths, shaped like shells in which you can relax and sip a cocktail, or enjoy a full menu. The menu is ‘authentic’ Hawaiian with Japanese, Korean and American influences.

23

Husband and wife owners Michael and Charlotte Sager-Wilde started the business after running a successful pop up wine bar in Shoreditch. Emerged inside the refurbished British Lion Pub, this cozy wine bar has it all. The vast wine selection features high-end wines from a menu that changes occasionally. The bar also serves snacks such as charcuterie boards, sandwiches, small salads and its popular grilled cheese.

MUSSEL MEN

THE BONNEVILLE

584 Kingsland Road London E8 4AH

43 Lower Clapton Road, London E5 0PQ

This vibrant Mediterranean Restaurant specializes in Seafood. Waiters in navy uniforms serve big portions of oysters, salmon and scallops, along with prosecco and cocktails. With events such as Lobster Tuesday or Sunday Seafood Roast, Mussel Men became popular, despite being around only for a year. It also features a wine bar and live music on Sundays.

This Clapton bar and restaurant offers a modern French dining experience in a dark and intimate ambiance.

The menu changes daily featuring French classics such as ratatouille and soft cheese, but also more experimental dishes such as poached duck egg or rabbit in mushroom jardiniere. If you are just looking for drinks, the bar serves traditional French wines and highly rated alternative cocktails.

24

SCOFF

SCOFF

RECIPE

FROM ROSANNA, THE ITALIAN GRANDMOTHER COLD VEAL WITH TUNA SAUCE 1 piece of veal “girello” 1 carrot, onion and celery 1 egg 2 cans of tuna 2-3 anchovies Capers Parsley Olive oil Place the veal girello inside a big pot and cover with water. Add the carrot, onion

and celery and leave to cook covered for 1-1 ½hrs., checking that the veal doesn’t get too dry and adding water if needed.

When it’s done, wrap in aluminium paper and leave to rest between two plates for 2-3hrs.

Put 1 egg yolk, the tuna, the parsley, a handful of capers, the anchovies and some olive oil into a mixer to create a smooth paste. Adjust with salt and pepper.

Cut the veal in fine slices and cover with your tuna sauce.

SWEET MASCARPONE CREAM 3 eggs 3 tbsp. sugar 300 gr mascarpone cheese 4 tbsp. rum 1 box of “Pavesini” cookies chocolate chips Beat the egg yolks with the sugar. When these are well mixed, add the mascarpone cheese and stir.

Beat the egg whites stiff and add to the mixture, mixing carefully with a wooden spoon from the bottom towards the surface of the cream, always in the same direction, so that the egg whites will remain stiff.

27

Finally, add the rum and leave in the fridge for at least 3-4hrs.

Cover the bottom of a large bowl with the Pavesini cookies soaked in rum. Put the mascarpone cream on top and add some chocolate chips to garnish.

28

Victor Jechev FROM BULGARIA WITH LOVE

By Radu Istrate

T

he white lights shine down on the silver counters and a thin layer of smoke that escaped the extractor makes its way out the window. There is a tired softness in his eyes as he takes off an oil-stained apron and throws it on top of a pile of others. It’s one in the morning and there is not a lot of sleep to be had until he has to get up and do it all over again. Through it all, he smiles smugly. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

30

SCOFF

31

This may sound like the beginning of a novel, but it is not. It’s Victor Jechev’s life. At 27, he takes pride in having blessed three continents with his cooking. He talks rapidly, makes abrupt gestures with his hands and paints vivid pictures of his favourite cuisine with words that people normally use to describe the love of their life. Sparks come out of his eyes as he remembers how it all started back in his hometown in Bulgaria.

common sense, but throwing them with utmost precision is the first thing Jechev learned in that restaurant’s kitchen. To him, normality and mediocrity are things he’s been shying away from for as long as he can remember. This attitude envelops every aspect of his life, but he applies it most to his cooking. Above all perhaps, what he brings most to the food he cooks is his chaotic nature.

“There was this restaurant in Sliven where my parents spent time with their friends in. At first they had to drag me along with them, but it soon became my second home. I used to spend so much time in the kitchen and witness true acts of magic. I didn’t understand why the cooks yelled at each other sometimes – it seemed like too much of a fuss over food. Now I get it, because it wasn’t just food. It was art.”

The old ways of cooking accentuate the main item of a plate, often times through garnish and other components of the dish that are there only to give it volume.

Today, a lot of chefs turn to a more chaotic element that Jechev holds in high esteem. His plates are irregular in shape to give food a coarse feel and the items on them are prepped in a manner that strays away from the center of the plate.

Not playing with knives is commonly considered as something that pertains to

“I’m in love with the abundance of color in my plates and their geometrical

31

SCOFF

inaccuracy. My cooking doesn’t reflect the way that I was taught at the academy, but I found my own style in my travels. I enjoy creating a bond between ingredients so that it forms a coherent idea, so that it tells a story – so that it offers a powerful vision.”

First Left Jechev’s roast Vegetables

What haunts Jechev to this day is the fact that his passion was close to never being kindled. He spent his teenage years flirting with the idea of becoming an actor. Had it not been for a solitary day at the library, he might have gone through with it. He tells the story of the day that changed his life with relief and gratitude. He was looking for American comic books on the shelves of Sliven’s local library, but found a French cooking magazine instead. “I didn’t understand a word, but the photographs spoke to me. I think of it as silly nowadays, but it was one of the happiest accidents in my life,” he adds.

First Right A signature dish

Second Left Victor Jechev

Opposite The perfect roast

Armed with a newfound sense of purpose, Jechev enrolled in the premier culinary university in Sofia, the HRC Academy. His two-year bachelor degree in Culinary Arts strengthened the foundation of Jechev’s skills. The most important elements in his development during his university years were his experiences abroad. The first city he worked in outside of Bulgaria is Amsterdam. Incidentally, it is also the city which made Jechev question his chaotic and spontaneous nature. For a city known for its vice and debaucheries, Amsterdam defied all expectations and managed to invoke a sense of tranquility into Jechev’s life.

“Everything was calm and serene. The city felt close to my heart the moment I stepped foot in it. Oddly enough, the kitchens were the same. People didn’t yell as much, even though there wasn’t any room left for mistakes. The expectations were higher than even, but they had to be managed with calm and composure.

Amsterdam taught me that passion isn’t always raw and violent.”

He spent his time there as a breakfast chef for the Conservatorium hotel where he learned more about European cultural distinctions when it comes to food. Such experiences proved to be vital for him at the time and they provided a platform for him to enrich the diversity of the foods he cooked.

Sadly, he did not get to practice it until much later in life.

America’s loudness proved to be deafening after Amsterdam’s reposefulness. Quickly after his time at the Conservatorium he made his way to Atlanta, Georgia as part of his university’s program. He worked for a Russian rooftop restaurant situated in the heart of Atlanta, on top of the Hilton hotel. Because the hotel was built in the 60s, tradition had a very important role in the restaurant’s ethic, which made Jechev lose his

33

sense of diversity. In his opinion, things were played too safely. What bothered him most about the south-east was what he calls the death of culinary creativity.

“There’s no point in denying it – America simply has the best raw products in the world. This is all due to their strategic imports. They get the best fish from Japan, the best flour, basil and fresh pasta from grandmothers in Italy. They have the money to buy it all. Even on some of their own farms the quality of the food is astonishing, but the fact is that it is used in an insulting way to this art.

34

SCOFF

“They turn their brilliant raw products into fast food almost everywhere. It’s strange to think that such good quality goes to waste, that it becomes heavily processed food. I think their favourite saying is ‘When in doubt, just deep fry it.’ I’ll always remember this restaurant in Atlanta that had ‘We’ll deep fry anything for you, except your baby’ written on its window. I just stood there and stared.”

While he doesn’t dismiss America as a bad experience, he hasn’t looked back since. Immediately after returning home he graduated and one of his instructors, Robin Villarreal, invited him to be his sous chef in a Spanish-themed restaurant in Sofia. The sous chef de cuisine is the second in command in a kitchen, the person ranking next to the head chef. Such a proposition was Jechev’s dream come true.

35

He distanced himself from the French classical way that he was taught in at the academy and embraced a bold new style that Villarreal tried to bring to Sofia all the way from Spain. While the circumstances and the timing were perfect, the location proved to be fatal to the restaurant. “Bulgarians just aren’t ready for such restaurants yet,” says Jechev.

“They just didn’t care for it.” After a long year, he called it quits and decided to make the boldest and most exciting move in his career so far. He headed east.

He received an offer from a modern Bulgarian restaurant that was located in Seoul and he landed there after just a week of preparations. While mesmerized by the new surroundings, Jechev experienced the bitter taste of disappointment once again. The head

“I’m in love with the abundance of colour in my plates and their geometrical inaccuracy” - Jechev

36

SCOFF chef of the restaurant hadn’t changed the menu in two and a half years and Jechev’s plans to convince him otherwise fell through. However, South Korea taught him the joys of informality that food can bring. Accustomed to cooking in high-class restaurants, he saw the beauty behind the chaos of Korea’s street food for the first time and has implemented his own version of it in some of the plates he makes today.

conversation has been exhausted.

One cannot help but feel hopeful for a man with such a strong sense of purpose and ambition. On the way out, he politely says that he accepts tips for the Japanese tea he served. He laughs loudly and kindly. “I’ve always wondered why people don’t tip,” he adds.

He felt that he was stagnating and to him, as a young chef, stagnation is the closest thing to creative death. Because of this he returned back home to Bulgaria to try to teach his ways to younger students of the academy after he received an offer to become an instructor. He skipped the traditional knife-throwing introductory class and dove into the realm of creativity with his students. But his experience didn’t prove to be satisfying enough.

“It was short, but sweet. I had 43 happy students by the end of it, so there are no regrets nowadays. The reason I left was because I was missing the fire of the kitchen. I missed cooking for people, I missed the passion – I missed myself.”

Jechev currently resides in a basement studio in Hackney where he dreams of opening up his own restaurant. A man like him could not have remained jobless.

Needless to say, he now works at a prestigious restaurant in London named Mossimann’s. More importantly, he’s recently had the opportunity to work for the Winter Olympics in Sochi after he was recommended by the head chef. Such opportunities, while ‘extremely gratifying’, cannot serve as the end goals for a man like Jechev. Perhaps there is no final goal for him except, perhaps, becoming the founding father of a food renaissance.

The tea’s been drunk and the three hour

37

38

SCOFF

SCOFF

Craft Beer Revolution HACKNEY’S RISE AGAINST CORPORATE LAGER

By Michael Ellery

W

hen Young’s closed its Wandsworth brewery in 2006, London was home to only two breweries, Fuller’s and Meantime, to cover all of its 606 square miles with locally sourced and brewed beer. In the last decade however, the breweries in London have multiplied to well past 50, with at least nine of them being founded in Hackney alone. These breweries, including East London Brewing Company, Pressure Drop, Five Points, Hackney Brewery, and London Fields Brewery, have been around for a few years now, supplying a huge demand for local, artisan, craft beer.

41

42

SCOFF Hackney Brewery was established and is run by Jon Swain and Peter Hills after they had been working in pubs selling beer to locals for over a decade. They began dabbling in the home brewing scene and after putting together a business plan they “just jumped right in” Hills explains.

He said: “We were home brewers for a long time, myself and John, we worked in pubs selling good beer, then we went and brewed a bit of beer with a couple of other small brewers and thought ‘we could do this’.”

He added: “We registered in mid July 2011, and literally six days later London Fields registers and a day later so did Beavertown. None of us knew each other at all; it’s quite unbelievable.”

But rather than the two other breweries becoming immediate competition and rivals, Peter believes it encouraged the The oldest of these new breweries, Hackney Brewery, has been around for less than five years, with the likes of London Fields Brewery being registered only six day later. To state a stereotypical view of East London, ‘the epicentre of what’s cool’ in the capital, you couldn’t be blamed for thinking that this is just another fad or trend that the hipsters of Hackney have cooked up to pass the time. Nevertheless, after visiting the people and the brewers behind these companies, it’s clear that the craft beer industry in Hackney, and possibly the UK as a whole is destined to become a whole lot bigger.

The breweries that I visited were all working out of one of the countless railway arches that provide the structural support for the trains that run throughout the capital.

These are rather cramped places filled with metal tanks, casks and kegs, and bottles waiting to be filled. As I took a quick tour,

43

craft beer industry. He said: “It really helped to boost the brewing scene in London, its brought awareness up and made the craft beer market bigger. Rather than everyone chasing the same pounds, we’re taking bites out of the bigger beer brands.”

Doreen Joy Barber, Marketing, Events, and Communications Manager at Five Points Brewing Company, likened the close proximity of the other Hackney Breweries to a street of friendly neighbours even to the point where they borrow each other’s hops and barley instead of milk and sugar.

She said: “We make up a really tiny, tiny group so rather than fighting amongst ourselves we can support each other and take a bigger chunk out of the market as a whole.”

the air was thick with the sweet smell of the fermenting beer as the yeast eats away at the sugar in the grains to produce the allimportant alcohol and the air takes on a strange humidity before being swept away by a wintery gust.

Brewing beer is a long day’s work, but much like baking bread, there are times were all you can do is wait. These times are perfect to show people around, and many of the breweries earn a bit more extra cash doing exactly that, with brewery tours.

At this time of year, the microbreweries seem to be manned exclusively by walking bundles of clothes with only the presence or absence of beards to tell genders apart. Everything is done on site, with people managing every stage of the beers development from barley to bottle; the workers even label the bottles by hand before packaging them away and sending them off.

45

SCOFF She added: “There’s no reason not to be friendly, because we all drink each other’s beer and we all like each other’s beer.”

It’s almost like the amount of breweries that have popped up, and their almost overnight success, is the result of a subtle revolution against the fizzy foam of corporate lagers. When you compare the two, independent breweries like the ones in Hackney to the big corporate institutions such as Stella and Carling, the differences are a plenty. But the most important one, affirmed by both Barber and Hills, is passion.

Previous Left Five Points Brewing Company in action Previous Right Five Points malt volt Left Five Points’ keg guage

He added: “Absolutely hats off to the guys who can make billions of pints of beer a year but if you think about that volume of product, if they can shave half a penny of their pint then you’re talking about millions of pounds worth of saving. On the other hand, if we’re looking at spending another 3p on a pint to make it a better quality product then we will because, realistically, it’s not going to hit us on the bottom line quite as hard.”

Jasper Osborn, a craft beer enthusiast, believes that this lack of quality in

corporate beer was exactly the factor that opened the way for the independent craft beer scene. He said: “I would say, that when larger companies can’t provide the complete care and quality that goes into a product, it opens up a gap for smaller business to come in and provide what large franchises can’t.”

He added: “Although, I think especially in the case of beer, to many, the smaller the company almost the more fashionable it is to buy from there. But it would seem that there are people who don’t care about

“People are sick of eating crap food and I think it’s the exact same thing with beer.”

Barber said: “I’ve never met them, so I might be making a huge generalisation, but I’m not really sure the head guys at Fosters and Carling are really that passionate about the beer that they brew and drink. Well they don’t brew it for flavour obviously, they’re brewing it for profit; they’re brewing it to basically print money. Which is fine, whatever you want to do, but for us we’re doing this because we really want to.”

- Hills

Hills also pointed out that the drive for ever-bigger profit margins in corporations could be a real detriment to the quality of the beer. He said: “The care we can spend over the product and the amount of the money we can spend on raw ingredients is a major difference.”

45

46

SCOFF that kind of thing, and are just happy to find and support local businesses.”

And according to the people behind the beer, drinking is just beginning to catch up with the rest of what we put into our mouths.

Hills believes that beer drinkers have become more discerning when it comes to what they want to drink, which has caused this shift away from big brands, he said: “I think to a certain extent, in the last 30 years, the product (beer) has been dumbed down and the range of drinks available wasn’t anywhere near what it is today.”

He added: “If you look at the general interest in food that’s happened over the last 10 years, that’s not bad, that’s people actually sick of eating crap food and wanting to eat something tasty, and I think it’s the exact same thing with beer.”

This isn’t just the rambling of a home brewer turned professional, who’s too caught up in the craft beer scene to see the bigger picture, but a common viewpoint expressed by those from other breweries as well.

Naomi Hannay, from London Fields Brewery, disagreed that this was just a fad, and that the pattern that craft beer was going through could be seen in the histories of other food and drink. She said: “Drink trends do come and go, like last year everyone was drinking mojitos.

I think craft beer is a lot more like what happened to wine. In the 70s everyone was drinking shit wine, but then, people became more educated about wine, and then there was a big consumer drive and finally wine became better quality. Now every supermarket you go into has a massive choice, even in newsagents you have a selection of wine to choose from.”

She added: “I think the same is going to happen to beer, people want good

47

quality. They want more variety. They start to know what styles they like. I think, although it seems like a trend, I think it’s something that’s going to stay and just get bigger and bigger. It’s a consumer drive for natural ingredients, artisan products, better quality batched produced, and not just your generic same tasting stuff.”

Barber also agreed spouting the old idiom ‘variety is the spice of life’. She said: “There’s so much variety being brewed by small independent breweries that’s so different to what Carling and Fosters is doing. If you got 30 burgers on a menu, or you’ve got all these other options of eating, why not have all these other options of drinking?”

48

SCOFF

Five Points Pale – 4.4% Brewed using three hops from the West Coast of the home of the craft beer movement, the USA, this Pale Ale combines British ale tradition with our neighbours from across the pond. With a little added wheat, this fresh, zesty, aromatic beer is bursting with aroma and flavour.

Unfiltered Lager – 4.1% As one of the only microbreweries in Hackney to offer a lager, London Fields does away with the tradition of the average mass-produced popular beer style. By not filtering this beer, it is able to retain more flavour of citrus and fern whilst still delivering that smooth texture, and crisp refreshment.

Golden Ale – 4.0% Brewers developed the Golden Ale in the late 20th century as an alternative to lager and Hackney Brewery’s is no different. At only 4.0%, light, with a malt base, it is ideal as a session beer to be enjoyed throughout the evening.

49

50

SCOFF

Kitchen Gadgets

SMART HERB GARDEN - CLICK AND GROW From £60 If you want to grow your own herbs in a perfect environment the Click and Grow Herb Garden is the solution. Inspired by NASA technology this small and elegant gadget provides herbs with oxygen, nutrients, water and light. You only need to add water once a month and the herb garden will do the rest. It comes with selected herbs, which can be replaced and refilled. No more dry herbs when you come back from your holidays! This small herb garden provides herbs with all the love they need.

DUAL OVEN - SAMSUNG £499

Forget your fossilised oven, forget your wilting herb garden that’s being suffocated by petrol fumes as it hangs depressingly from your windowsill. You can even finally forget that stained caffetiere that has got you through all those drab mornings before work. We’ve trawled the kitchen gadget market for some really suberb tech-bits that will make your kitchen just that little bit more gorgeous.

The Samsung Dual Oven combines efficiency and elegance giving you the perfect meal. Its dual technology gives you two cooking spaces that can be controlled independently. It comes with a removable shelf that separates the cavities. You can bake a cake while you roast chicken and without any transference of favour.

WIFI COFFEE MACHINE - SMARTER £129 One of 2015’s most waited for gadgets, this alternative coffee machine is powered through an app on your phone. Both devices are linked to Wifi so you can comfortably order your coffee from anywhere in the house. This intelligent gadget tells you when it needs refilling and even wakes you up when coffee is ready. The machine will be introduced to the UK market in March.

SCOFF

RECIPE CHEF NATALIE COLEMAN’S PAN-FRIED SCALLOPS Serves 4 as a starter Ingredients: -12 scallops - Juice from 1/2 lemon For the sauce vierge: - 1 shallot, finely chopped - 2 tbsp. chopped basil - 2 plum tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and finely diced - 100ml Olive Oil - Squeeze of lemon juice - Micro herbs to garnish - Salt - Pepper - Olive Oil For the scallops:

1 Season the scallops both sides with salt and pepper.

2 Heat a large frying pan with a little olive oil. When nearly at smoking point place the

scallops in the pan clockwise. Cook for 2 mins and when it has a nice sear turn and cook on the other side for 2 mins.

3 Squeeze the lemon juice when you remove from the heat to deglaze and drain on kitchen paper to remove any excess oil.

For the sauce vierge:

4 Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and set over a gentle heat to infuse 1-2mins then remove from heat and let infuse for 10mins.

5 Season with salt and then set aside until ready to serve. The sauce can be served warm – room temp.

53

Claire Ptak HACKNEY’S FAVOURITE IMPORT

By Hannah Gresty

T

welve years ago, Ptak found herself having to upheave her life in order to be with her English husband, which meant not only leaving her home in Inverness, California, but also prematurely giving up the job she had always dreamt of having. It was pure luck that her profession and skill spoke a language that is universal, and spoken most fluently in the country she was to emigrate to. That language is baking, and that country is Britain; two concepts that go as well with each other as butter and sugar. In a wonderful turn of events it turns out Hackney loves wholesomely baked goodies too, and as a result Violet, the quirky, homely, neighbourhood cafe that has attracted City folk, yummy mummies, and celebrities alike, stands tall on a quiet street minutes away from the hustle and bustle of Dalston Junction.

SCOFF

For Ptak, venturing into the world of running a business was never really on the cards. “I thought I wanted to work for someone, I thought that I didn’t want to run a business because I knew how hard it was”, Ptak said. “And when I worked in restaurants I thought, ‘God, I don’t want to have a restaurant’, because it’s really a huge endeavour ‘cause you have to know to much about customer service and front of house, and just so much!” Although her mother’s clothing business was successful and popular, Ptak’s was freqently assured it wasn’t a suitable line of work. “My mum was always saying ‘don’t do that, work for someone else, it’s way too much for you’”.

Nevertheless, the business that “just kind of happened” is looking more lucrative than ever and Ptak’s fifth book, The Violet Bakery Cookbook, is due in stores on the 12th of March.

Back in California, Ptak used to bake cakes

57

from home for her friends and family, and for birthdays and events on the side. Both her grandmothers baked, as well as her mother, and being around home-cooked food seemingly lit a fire inside of her.

“My mum would always be baking when I was around, and [my passion for baking] came also from a love of just eating those things”, she said, but it wasn’t until Violet opened, originally just as a modest stall at Broadway Market that Ptak started experimenting with her own creations. The Violet Bakery Cookbook is a chronicle of all these original recipes, including Ptak’s favourite bake, the fruit tart. “It’s so simple and so delicious”, she said.

Despite having penned four previous books, the Violet cookbook is Ptak’s first autonomous venture, her first independent work. “My other books were jobs, assignments. The publisher approached me and said we think you might be a good

58

SCOFF person to write this book on this subject, so I did that. This one was my proposal and I suggested it”, she said, and having been in the oven, so to speak, for two years, it marks a very poignant moment in her career. Ptak said: “I’m really, really excited and really, really proud. It was cool to put everything that I’ve been baking for all my friends and customers for the last ten years in one place. It was hard work for sure, a lot of work, but super rewarding and great”.

Now that Violet has become the go-to coffee break spot for the neighbourhood, Ptak has a team of 15 bakers and waitresses keeping the show on the road, a mighty-sized crew when you consider the minute space that houses them. But just because Ptak is not there in body, does not mean her morals go out the door with her. For those who haven’t yet made the worthwhile pilgrimage to Violet, you probably won’t be aware of its strict fresh, seasonal, organic-ingredient ethos. Not only did this stem from Ptak’s Californian love for all things natural, but also from her time spent as the Pastry Chef of what is considered one of America’s finest and most respected restaurants, Chez Panisse.

Chez Panisse is the restaurant of the famed chef Alice Waters, and the restaurant that took a leap of faith and hired Ptak after tasting her sweet pastry, rose geranium cream-filled tarts topped with hand picked wild berries. Although Ptak had some formal training having worked at a bakery almost every Sunday as teen, and been a member of kitchen staff at a Michelin starred restaurant, it was really her considerable experience with baking at home that gave her the edge Chez was looking for.

Ptak said: “It was the best place, the most respected place and I really wanted to be a part of that. I wanted to be somewhere where it was exciting”. When asked what gave her the courage to walk through the doors and ask for a job, she simply replied: “You just do it don’t you? You find where you want to be and hope you get an interview, and it was amazing”.

While Ptak feels strongly about eating sustainably, it seems there is something in Ptak’s West Coast ideals that gets lost in translation in east London. “Everybody wants things to be cheap, and all they ever say is that it’s too expensive, and I’m like, well then you can’t have good food!” She said. “I go into London Fields after the market and it’s a huge pile of litter, people just stand up and walk away. You would never in a thousand years get away with that, no, in a million years get away with that in America. People want to be more healthy which I think it fantastic, but I think there’s a disconnect between getting all those plastic bags and leaving them in the park,

59

First Left Violet dining Second Left Claire Ptak at Broadway Market First Right Violet Bakery Opposite The Violet Bakery Cookbook

Next Left Violet bakery Next Right Ptak foraging for fig leaves Below Violet goodies, Violet egg rolls & Ptak’s perfect Victoria sponge

and eating food that’s sustainable and seasonable but not understanding that it’s all part of [caring for the environment]”.

Needless to say, in the same way Waters demanded more organic and seasonal produce to the extent that most neighbouring restaurants felt they had to follow suit, Ptak is beginning to do the same in the borough of Hackney. “I’m working with Alice to try and get the awareness up, and talking to Jamie Oliver too about how we can get people to embrace it a bit more, starting with the kids. It’s a huge

60

SCOFF

long process, but I like [this area] so much because I think that people are really open minded and they want to do new things”.

Along with running a successful bakery, Ptak freelances wherever she can as a food stylist, consultant and writer. “When I started Violet it was one day a week.

I baked on Fridays and I worked on Saturdays, so I had Monday to Thursday where I needed to work. I had studied Film in school and I was always interested in photography and the media side of things, so I got in on a couple of jobs as an assistant stylist and got into it fully later”.

Until recently Ptak had a regular column in the Guardian, and has been published in the likes of Opening Ceremony, Observer Food Monthly, Vogue UK magazine, and Kinfolk. She said: “I have so many freelance jobs I’m kind of pulled in a lot of different directions all the time. Each week is totally different! I would definitely never

61

have done well with a nine-to-five job, but sometimes I wish there was a little more routine in my day”. Some days Ptak is styling, others she is recipe testing at home, or doing some consultancy work, but the best part of it all is the space for constant improvement in her baking and cooking skills. In June, Ptak is joining Waters and four other chefs for a fundraising event in Rome, and she is already anticipating the lessons she’ll learn. Ptak said: “I’m going to learn so much in those three days and that’s why I said I’d be there, no problem! Watching each other and collaborating and helping each other, you learn so much stuff and it’s always exciting because you just realise that you learn every day, there’s always something new to learn about how they’ve cut something or how to store something or how to cook it. You’re always working in a different environment and I really like that”.

That’s the great thing about Ptak; she

“I was really lucky with timing; cake seemed to really be on people’s minds” - Ptak

SCOFF never claims to be the best, although she does admit she can’t watch The Great British Bake Off because she disagrees with what Paul and Mary say: “They’re the authority and they’re telling people all this stuff and I’m like no! That’s not the way it is!” Ptak even confesses that one of the worst things she’s ever baked was so bad that it has become a long-running joke between her and her husband. She said: “It was this rose geranium pound cake that had the leaves at the bottom. It was actually a Chez Panisse recipe, and I was so excited about it, and I gave it to my husband and he basically said ‘It’s disgusting’. It wasn’t on the menu when I worked at Chez so maybe the recipe was wrong or something”.

With over two decades worth of baking experience, some home and some professional, you can’t help but pick up an extensive knowledge on the subject.

One Violet preparation tip she highly recommends is to under-mix. Ptak said: “People often mix things too much, so everything we do we really under mix and we bake things less. The thing I try to really teach the girls the most is just to mix it until the wet and the dry are together.

If there’s a recipe with butter and sugar it’s just about getting that butter and sugar whipped until it’s white and so fluffy. When you’re adding the flour, the gluten starts to from and its characteristics change, so then you want to mix it very little. You don’t want to get a big lump of flower in there, but most of those things will work themselves out, when they’re in the oven too”.

When he moved back he had some friends living in Hackney and so he basically said: ‘This is where we want to live’”.

And it’s a good job too; Violet seems as at home on Wilton Way as Ptak seems in Hackney. Perhaps it’s due to the fact we Brits have a time of the day dedicated to the consumption of delicious cakes, but really it’s much more. Ptak said: “I think for sure the interest in baking has increased tenfold. I was really lucky with the timing of everything, because cake seemed to be really on people’s minds. I think so much of living in a big city and our lives today, I love all of it, but it never turns off. When I’m baking I can turn all of that stuff off and I really can zone out. Because so many things you have on seem like they’re in the process all the time, you feel like you never finish anything. What I love most about baking is that you get to, within an hour and a half or two hours, you get to finish and accomplish something, and it’s really satisfying”.

Meeting her English husband while living in California turned out to be wonderful blessing in terms of Ptak’s private and professional life. “My husband moved back a little bit before me because I got the pastry chef job that I really wanted.

63

64

SCOFF

65

SCOFF

SCOFF

Café Culture Part I

AN ACCOUNT OF HACKNEY’S HAUNTS

By Radu Istrate

N

ever before in its history has Hackney experienced such a staggering growth in popularity and approval. London’s most cherished location seems to have deleted its scruffy past from public memory, replacing it with everything vibrant, quirky and colourful.

Scoff set out to investigate what it’s like to be part of Hackney’s most loved establishments – or better yet – what it’s like to own them. The first stop is 139 Brick Lane and by the looks of it, it may take a while to get inside. A small queue of people that includes zero clean-shaven men waits for what can only be a feeling of nostalgia neatly packaged in vividly colored boxes. Why else would anyone pay five pounds for a bowl of cereal?

The Cereal Killer café is the result of a sugar rush induced dream had by Gary and Alan Keery – the same dream at the same time. It’s a twin thing, they say.

69

70

SCOFF where there is always something of interest going on. Their upstairs library contains books on everything they do from exhibitions to cookbooks from which they take recipes from and modify in the kitchen to historic cocktails they make for a theatre production.

Bianca Hepworth, the right hand of owner Hector Proud, finds it difficult to pick one single factor that makes getting out of bed worth it. “I’m in love with the whole place.

At first, it was because of its architectural design, but now it has such a special feel to it and everything we do here is truly amazing to me. Perhaps when we do weddings,” she decides. “You get to build a wonderful relationship with the couple and having the venue as part of their day feels special to me.”

71

“We wanted to cause a reaction more than anything else and it looks like we achieved just that. We got marriage proposals and death threats out of it. We’re happy,” says Alan Keery as he hands out a bowl of milk that contains South-Korean Oreo cereals.

Is there any difference between them and the ones that can be found in England?

Nobody really seems to care, as most of the customers are displaying big grins that may or may not overcompensate for the overwhelming feeling of disappointment accompanied by the unwise financial decision to spend a fiver on a large bowl of cereal.

rarities such as Count Chocula’s which are produced only once a year during Halloween in America.

The whole project has taken a little over a year and a lot of time spent on eBay, but the twins managed to set the foundations of a monopoly on cereal. Their shelves are stacked with breakfast jewels that range from the very ordinary Frosties to

The perfect combination between high art and edgy innovation is embodied by a unique café down Hertford Road called The Proud Archivist. Referring to it as just a café is perhaps somewhat of an injustice – it is a cultural hub for Hackney’s community

A day in Hepworth’s life starts bright and early with her setting up the entire place, depending on whether there will be performances in the café later on. During the week the café’s customers are regulars who either live or work in the area. “As most of our customers come to us three or four times a week, we know them and what they like; serving them is easy and fun. I can spend most of the rest of my day talking to people about the seasonality of what we have in the pantry and what part of the cultural program the cocktail of the week ties in with,” adds Hepworth.

Besides the library, the café also takes pride in having a respected gallery. Past exhibitions include Mick Rock, Storm Thorgeson, Jonathan Knowles and Kate Bland. “It is important to us that The Proud Archivist remains diverse and one of my

“We want people to leave here thinking that they just had the best cereal experience of their lives, because at the end of the day, this café celebrates cereal in what we think is the best possible way,” says Alan Keery.

“Or at least on a massive sugar high,” adds his twin. However a customer may leave the cereal palace, we guarantee that it will be impossible to get the word ‘cereal’ out of his or her mind for the remainder of the day.

72

SCOFF favourite things about the café is how well that is reflected in the cultural and gallery programs,” adds Hepworth.

Things rarely go wrong at The Proud Archivist, simply because the people who run it spent years researching the market and what makes a café shine. The fact that the worst thing to have ever happened to the café is a duckling getting lost from its family speaks volumes. “It took weeks for them to be rejoined, but everybody took really good care of him. It was a really happy moment when they were reunited – he rubbed necks with Daddy Swan and they swam down the canal together,” Hepworth recalls.

First Right Cereal Killer Cafe First Left Gary and Alan Keery Second Right The Proud Archivist Opposite The Proud Archivist

“It is important that the Proud Archivist remains diverse, and that is reflected in the gallery programmes.”

- Hepworth

73

74

You have reached the halfway point. Money is tight, tighter in fact than your trousers. But it’s ok, we at Scoff have been there.

We made it through, and you will too. Just turn this magazine upside down and start again. You’ll see. ‘Budget’ doesn’t mean bad. Embrace your empty wallet and start using those claws at the end of your arms to make something of your own instead of getting the experts to make it for you. It’s fun, we promise!

SCOFF SCOFF

£4.50

CULINARY TRAVELLING GUIDE

HACKNEY EDITION BUDGET

Contents

Editor’s Note 3 The People’s Kitchen

5

Food & Happiness

Natalie Coleman

9

23

Scoff Haunts

33

Kitchen Gadgets

37

Recipe: Cookies

39

Mazi Mas

43

Fergus Gallagher

55

Recipe: Caribbean Curry

64

Recipe: Croissants

65

Cafe Culture pt. II

67

SCOFF

Editors’ Note WELCOME TO SCOFF BUDGET

Dear Reader, We know you’re fatigued from the financial splurge you’ve gone through and we think it’s wise of you to explore a more modest but equally exciting realm.

Our budgeting experts at Scoff will ensure a swift ending to your financial month as well as a smooth transition into the next culinary ‘investment’ of your hard-earned money.

Buckle your seatbelt for a comfortable ride through Hackney’s coziest kitchens with quick pit stops to pick up the best homemade recipes. Make sure not to skip the world tour with your own Greek guide!

SCOFF

THE PEOPLE’S KITCHEN

Is it a Saturday night, are you on the low end of your weekly budget, and are you hungry for a freshly-cooked meal which will also reduce food waste? Then the People’s Kitchen is the place to go.

Based at Passing Clouds in Dalston, a lot of good intentions come together at the People’s Kitchen. On their bikes, local volunteers collect all the fresh food which is too close to its sell-by date to be on the shelves, but is still safe to eat, from a number of local shops.

Then they gather to experiment with the left-overs and come up with a menu that can include specialities such as ‘green goddess pasta’, ‘spurs veg arsenal’ and ‘paradise salad’. Finally, the community gathers around the table to enjoy the meal – and you can join them in exchange for a simple donation.

The People’s Kitchen wants to change the way food is consumed. According to the House of Lords, 15m tonnes of food is wasted in the UK each year. Often, retailers feel like they do not have another choice apart from throwing away the food to make room for new inventory. But the People’s Kitchen volunteers have approached a number of grocery stores in Hackney, Dalston and Clapton and found that many of them are keen on giving them their left-overs. It gives them an alternative choice.

Once the food is collected, it is washed in the kitchen at Passing Clouds and it is prepared to be cooked. “It is really up to the volunteers to take ownership of the food and decide what they want to cook,” said Stephen Wilson, cook and founder of the People’s Kitchen, “What I enjoy the most is that the menu emerges from people meeting”.

HACKNEY’S SOCIAL ENTERPRISE DEDICATED TO REDUCING FOOD WASTE INVITES YOU FOR DINNER

If you help as a volunteer in the kitchen, the meal at the end is for free for you – as well as the good company, cooking skills and also contributing to reduce food waste.

You can join the People’s Kitchen every other Saturday at 3pm to cook or at 6pm to enjoy your meal.

6

SCOFF

SCOFF

Food & Happiness A GUIDE TO EATING YOURSELF HAPPY

By Cyrila Ringele

I

t is 6pm and you just had a bad day at work. You walk the streets with a slight headache and do not look forward to the mass of people that will be getting the train at Highbury & Islington. Fortunately it’s only a few stops. As you get off at Hackney Central you take the first road to the right and decide to go to Tesco to get some ice cream and chips. ‘It will be good after this horrible day’ you think. But what if it wasn’t? What about if scientist and nutritionists propose another food solution?

One quarter of Brits suffers from depression or anxiety throughout their lifetime. By all means some of these cases are clinical, but many are also linked to our lifestyle choices. What if food had more to do with your mood than you thought? What if nutrients also worked as anti-depressants?

Author and Nutritionist Elizabeth Somer recently wrote: “It always amazes me what people will put up with. We complain that we don’t have enough energy, feel blue or crabby, don’t have the motivation to accomplish goals. And, we rationalize feeling poorly, by explaining that we’re getting older, juggling too much, or just born to be glum”. However many cases of depression and anxiety can be treated by changing our eating habits.

Scientists agree that the food we consume affects our mood, but we should be careful with what we actually let into our bodies.

You might think what makes you happy is what you crave: ice cream and chips while watching a movie, chocolate after a long day, or a big fatty buttery burger. However research suggest this is not the case. In fact, while it may give people shortterm satisfaction, it is very different from long-term happiness.

Experts say ‘pleasure food’ is not the key to eating yourself happy. Some foods contain compounds that affect our feelings, levels of depression and happiness. Neurotransmitters, which communicate between brain and body, are responsible for our mood. These chemicals are made out of food units, which means that we can control and balance our moods by eating the right food. Out of all neurotransmitters the ones we associate most with happiness are serotonin, and GABA, which regulate pain and tranquilize the body.

So how do you eat yourself happy?

SCOFF

Understand the differences between pleasure food and happiness food

and community classes for curious individualswho want to learn how to cook healthy, local, seasonal food.

There are certain foods that just make us feel good. But isn’t it strange that our brain thinks it’s happy but our body is not?

If you prefer an international mix of flavours, you might consider Parkholme Supper Club. Based in Hackney, the social enterprise offers classes for motivated cooks who want to learn about home cooked food.

Actually, most comfort food does not provide us with the right nutrients. It simply comforts us because we associate it with something. Nutritionist Fiona Hunter explains that “foods that make people happy are foods that they often associate with times in the life when the felt happy, such as favourite foods that our parents gave us when we were young”. We use these comfort foods as ‘cure’ for anger and sadness. However they can be addictive! For example, when you eat ice cream, you feel good. But soon after you might feel worse, and at that point you need more ice cream to feel good again. It’s a vicious circle! According to nutritionist, psychiatrist and author Drew Ramsey “instant joy food” makes us momentarily happy because of the sugar that changes the brain chemistry. However, exactly like a drug, once the effect is over we are more depressed than before. This then creates the dependence, which may lead to obesity and diabetes.

Therefore rule number one is: cut the sugar.

Learn to cook and know what motivates you It may sound difficult for people that don’t know how to cook, who are used to takeaway. But don’t be afraid of getting that kitchen dirty. Cooking your own food not only allows you to have more control over what is inside your meal, but also gives you the satisfaction of making your own healthy accomplishments. Food blogger Anthony Shock says: “Cooking helps me think. If I chop something or whisk something, it helps me release some tension. Cooking also lets me be creative, so it gives me half an hour in my day in which I can be truly myself”. Certainly the process of making food is part of our happiness, especially when we can try share our new recipes. Nutritionist Lara Gwyn suggests: “It’s the best to start with small changes. Find one thing you want to change in your diet (eat more veggies, cut our sugar, etc) and focus on that to start. Find recipes you’re excited about.

Try new foods. Take a cooking class. It’s important to know what motivates you”.

The local food kitchen Made in Hackney organizes courses

Balance your diet Monika, author of ‘My Food and Happiness’ blog says: “I believe in a lifestyle that doesn’t put your food choices in a frame (vegan, paleo etc) and instead provides you with all of your favourite whole foods that you love in a balanced way.” This diet should include a lot of vegetables, fish, meat, carbohydrates and healthyfats. Yes fats! Such as in olive oil, avocadoes and fish. According to Drew Ramsey’s research, Omega 3 fats help fight cancer and reduce abdominal fat.

The Harvard School of Public Health also found that people who consumed a lot of omega 3 fats were significantly less likely to suffer form depression. It is important not to fear fats and to make a distinction between the healthy and unhealthy ones. Interestingly our brain is made of 60% fat, all of which comes from the food we eat. By eating healthy fats then, we are in fact supporting our brain.We should also not underestimate the power of fish. According to the Franklin institute “North American and European countries that don’t eat a lot of fish have 10 times the prevalence of depression in their populations that does Taiwan, where fish is a staple of the population diet.”

Dietician and author Gill Paul underlines the importance of treating your body with varied meals. “I believe in having lots of color on the plate, so at the evening meal I’ll include at least five vegetables of different colors covering two-thirds of the plate, with protein/carb on the remaining third”.

For fresh fish, meat and vegetables you might want to consider a trip to Broadway Market situated between Regent’s Canal and London Fields. For vegetarians or vegans who want to profit from a variety of nutrients that respect their diets, Scoff recommends the Black Cat Cafe and Shop in Clarence Road.

Weather you want to eat in or shop for groceries, the Café offers a variety of meals and ingredients.

SCOFF

“quick-pick-me-ups” might boost energy level and mood temporarily, but the high is followed by a crash. The person suffering from depression who turns to sugary foods might relieve the depression and feel better for a short while, but the depression returns. The person then must reach for another sugar fix, which sets up a spiral that can lasts for months, years, even decades”.

Eat with the seasons All living things change with the seasons.

So why should we force ourselves to food that is not ready? Eating with the seasons is something that is very overlooked, especially in a city such as London and an area such as Hackney where you can get anything you want at any time during the year. Much of the fruit and vegetables available in the wrong season are imported from far away, filled with chemicals.

Another thing you might want to think about is avoiding processed foods and going organic. The tomatoes won’t look like they are exploding, the shape of the carrots might not be exactly like at your local supermarket, but what’s inside will be much better for your long term happiness. All nutrients that your body will love are in whole foods. Drew Ramsey writes:

If you would like to visit a seasonal restaurant, Scoff recommends Shane on Chatsworth Street. It offers fresh, British sourced seasonal food. The menu always changes depending on the availability of products.

“Many insecticides and pesticides are neurotoxins, and although some claim that science isn’t settled about their health risks remember that the same was said about cigarettes for decades before their dangers where officially recognized”.

Laura Gwyn added:” I believe in eating whole foods that are unprocessed and unpackaged. I find that when I eat this way, I feel the best and that’s my goal throughout life. I listen to my body and develop my diet around the things I eat when I feel the best”. So maybe next time you could just try the strange looking potato at Stoke Newington’s Whole Foods Market. It might not look as polished as the one from Tesco but it won’t be sprayed with unnecessary products that, according to Ramsey, harm our body.

Avoid Problematic Food and think about going organic Although there are contrasting opinions forming around organic food, nutritionists agree that we are consuming a lot of problematic food. Drew Ramsey wrote in an article on the Huffington post: “So many of the nutrients that the human brain relies upon for its growth, healing and healthy functioning have been stripped from the food supply by modern food processing and factory farming.” He argues that we are both “undernourished” and “poisoned””.

An Australian Healthy Neighbourhoods Study showed that adolescents with junk food diets are 79% more likely to suffer from depression.

Hackney offers the possibility of getting local products from the Food Assembly’s markets. You can sign in, decide what you want and where you want to pick up your food from. All food comes from local

What we get from this is a need to eliminate problematic food such as sugars. Dietician Elizabeth Somer explained that “these

16

SCOFF

in negative moods two days later.

farms, and you can even get organic beer.

If you prefer to consume food at a local organic cafe Scoff recommends ‘Organic & Natural’ in Hackney Downs.

Similarly a 2013 Dunedin University study showed that people who ate vegetables felt better the day after.

People who suffer from depression and want immediate results use medicines such a Prozac, which will increase their level of serotonin. But actually, you can make tomorrow a better day by eating healthy food today!

Don’t think it will be expensive

Food is a life’s pleasure, and the body is our treasure. What we let into ourselves not only affects our general health but also our brain health. If we want to give our body a chance to eat itself happy we should start by listening to it, seeing how it reacts to different foods, maybe even keep a diary of what we eat and how we feel. Visiting Broadway Market, familiarizing with its flavours, and trying out new recipes is definitely a good start. So next time, when as you get off at Hackney Central instead of going right towards Tesco, it might be worth trying left. Healthy Stuff is only a few minutes from the station, and it might sell you happiness.

You might be more tempted to buy the shiny polished potato because it costs less. But actually, over time eating the right ‘happy food’ will turn out to be less expensive than you think. You might ask yourself ‘well how do I get to buy healthy and affordable food that at the same time will make me happy?’

Blogger Monika has an answer to that.

She argues that not wasting your food will be an easy and good way to save.

“This problem can be overcome simply by finding creative ways to use all of the food that you have. Also people normally underestimate the benefits of plant based protein-rich foods like beans and lentils, which are extremely cheap and can be great meat alternatives”. On the other hand, as Lara Gwyn argues, you can think long term. “By letting good things into your body and taking care of it you won’t have the medial expenses that come with depression, diabetes, heart disease etc.

“So in the end, eating healthy would be a less expensive option”.

Cover Avocados

Be patient A study by Penn State psychologist Dr. Helen Handy examined the relationship between food and mood over several days. The result showed that the effect is not immediate, but that actually happiness and depression manifest themselves later. She showed that calories, sodium and saturated fat consumption resulted

First Left Sardine picnic Double Page pink mango Current Page Fun picnic

SCOFF

SCOFF

SCOFF

Natalie Coleman HACKNEY’S MASTERCHEF JEWEL SHARES HER STORY FROM DJ TO CHEF

By Giulia Sgarbi

S

t Luke’s Community Centre, Hackney, a rainy Monday morning of half-term. While some polite baristas make coffee to half-asleep mums, their kids are all lined up, putting their aprons on, tying their hair and washing their hands. Their age ranges from 6 to 14 and you could count at least five different nationalities among them. They are waiting for their hero and that is why they are so quiet and disciplined, but as soon as the kitchen’s door opens, they all rush in hugging her and asking expectantly: “What do we cook today?”

SCOFF

It does not seem a coincidence that Natalie Coleman’s deejay profile says that her name has been on the flyer of almost every London party worth its salt. She is, indeed, a sort of expert in salt and in many other kitchen-related things, having won the title of MasterChef in 2013. Apart from a brief parenthesis in accounting as a credit controller, Coleman’s life has always been about these two things: music and food.

food-loving family and a music-loving community of friends. She remembers the weekends spent as a kid at her grandparents’ house: “On Sunday my mum and my nan used to make a roast dinner, one big meal for the whole family.

What I remember as a child was having a lot of food, getting under their feet in the kitchen and all this just reminds me of being happy.” The kids she is teaching to today seem to share her love of food.

With big smiles they take up their knives and slice the chicken breasts just as Coleman is showing them. They make fun of each other, laughing at the different shapes and forms of their sliced chicken pieces, and they dirty their hands with the paprika powder for the potato wedges.

Coleman and her colleagues run around, checking that everything runs smoothly and that the chicken cooks with just the right amount of oil.

The Community Centre’s kitchen is equipped with many different “stations”, each with their own cutting boards, mixer, bowls, pans, ovens and wooden utensils.

The class is fully booked so every station is occupied by two kids, while Coleman takes the central one, from where she finally gives the announcement: “Today we are making chicken quesadillas.”

A Hackney girl raised in Chingford, north London, Coleman grew up among a

25

SCOFF

spend the afternoon on Facebook or Twitter, or even run Mooch from the office,” she says. The night club then evolved into a record label producing minimal house and playful techno, called Mooch recordings.

Coleman went to the same foundation school as David Beckham, though she took food as one of her GCSEs. But she was never really sure what she wanted to become when she’d grow up. “At one point I did want to become a chef,” she recalls, “but then I changed that for a PE teacher, then a fireman, and then I had no idea what I wanted to be.”

However, so many of her childhood memories involve food.

“Every Sunday was pretty much like Christmas. We would have a huge dinner, then breakfast, then afternoon tea with Viennetta ice cream and sponge cakes.” These were the first things Coleman experimented with in the kitchen: little cakes that her nan would make with her help. Even her GCSE teacher said that she remembers little Coleman being quite experimental in her coursework, which she still keeps to show new students.

It is hard to see the clubber in Coleman as she spreads yoghurt on her pupil’s quesadillas, which have by now turned into tortillas filled with the chicken and cheese mixture, coriander and mint. The kids really can’t wait to eat them, but she prevents them from scoffing the delicious food just yet – first it has to go into the pan again, so that everything will be evenly cooked and warm. Coleman sees similarities between food and music. “If you throw 20 ingredients in the same dish, you will have 20 different flavours and then everything is fighting. It is pretty much the same with tracks: they should be simple and polished, you can’t have too many sounds, or they are just going to clash,” she explains. While she learnt to be a dee-jay mainly just observing her friends, her cooking education came from two main sources: her family and cooking programs on TV. “I used to watch so many of those. I was often at home on Saturday afternoons, tired and hangover, and there was just nothing else to watch. I guess at some point it all just sank in,” she remembers.

The part that kids at St Luke’s Community Centre – and maybe also Coleman as a kid – love the most is when they get to grate the cheese and mix it in a big bowl with the halfcooked chicken. Still warm from the pan, the meat melts the cheese, which becomes a sticky, deliciously smooth paste that the kids lick from of their fingers. They look at each other with guilt and pleasure as they do this – but Coleman just looks amused, and lets them try the tasty food that they are patiently cooking.

When she finished foundation school in Chingford, Coleman moved back to Hackney to start a strange double life. Her mother convinced her that she was good with maths, so she started working as an accountant, while at night she explored the bustling East End night life. She lived in a shared flat with a few friends with whom she would go out clubbing on a Saturday, and then cook them a Sunday roast the day after to cure their hangovers. Coleman slowly got more and more involved into the Hackney music scene. First she was asked to do PR for a friend’s night club, then she set up her own, called Mooch. As she moonlighted as a dee-jay, she got invited to Fabric to play a few tracks. “It was pretty cool actually, there were about 1,500 people. But I was so nervous! I got sick before I went on, and it was really intense,” she remembers, “but then, when I started playing, I forgot about everything else. It is a bit like cooking – it clears your mind and all you think about is what track you are going to play next.”

The young MasterChef winner recalls how bored she was with her job before she applied to the program. “As a credit manager, I used to do all my work in the morning and then

Cover Breakfast Buffet First Left Natalie Coleman First Right Cutting board Background Dinner with friends

Unhappy with her job in finance, Coleman let her auntie convince her to apply to MasterChef. “I applied for five years before they took me,” she explains. As the episodes started being recorded, she got less and less sleep and she would cry a lot. She remembers this now with a smile.

“I managed to function on RedBull and ‘rescue remedy’, a spray that my mum told me to get from the chemist and that helped me relax and sleep a little,” she laughs. For an outside observer it seems almost unbelievable that it took MasterChef five years to spot Coleman’s talent. Even though it is not her but the kids that are in charge of all cooking, all the dishes at St Luke’s Community Centre kitchen are beautifully presented and ready for the finishing touches. It is almost lunch time and the kids are basically drooling, but there is still something that needs to be done to finish up the chicken quesadillas. Sweetcorn, onions, coriander and the juice of half a lime all go into the mixer.

While one of the hardest challenges for her was cooking Thai food, Coleman thinks that there was no comparison with the final. “They called us on a Friday night to let us know that we were through and on Sunday we had to fly

SCOFF

to Italy. That means that we only had 24 hours to come up with a three-course meal! On Saturday I went to Borough Market as soon as it opened and then I spent the whole day cooking,” she recalls.

The final task was cooking for judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace. Coleman and the other two runner-ups were given three hours to prepare their meals. As the minutes ticked by, she grew increasingly nervous and Torode, who had so far praised her cooking skills, looked dubious.

“He thought I was never going to make it in time,” she explains, “but in the end all that I had left was baby carrots. I got everything else done! I was especially worried about the quail eggs, but when he cut into them, they were perfect.” Same as her quail eggs, the chicken quesadillas prepared by her pupils are also mouth-watering, so much so that the parents cannot help but take them from their kids’ hands and taste them – and the judgement is unanimous: delicious. But there is just the time to have a little bite, then the chicken quesadilllas are stored as the kids get their hands on the muffin cakes that they are preparing next.

days before she could start focusing on what she wanted to do next.

Muffins are another kids’ favourite. Flour, yoghurt, sugar, butter and eggs all go together to become a smooth mixture which they can work on with their own hands. As they get more and more confident by the minute, Coleman mainly oversees their work. The kids dirty their hands up to their elbows, then diligently walk to the sink to wash them – only to go back to the bowl and decide to give the mixture another stir. In a similar way, after winning MasterChef Coleman focused on learning more and more about cooking.

After writing a cookbook with the other finalists, she wrote one herself in which she collected a number of “winning recipes for every day”. “I just really wanted to get people cooking,” she explains. “People tend to always cook the same things, but there can be a lot more variety. The book contains 120 recipes, and I wrote them over two months. There really isn’t a limit to the amount of different things you can make!” she laughs. Asked how did she manage to come up with so many recipes, she says: “You know, I eat a lot.”

After the final was recorded, and Coleman had been crowned MasterChef of 2013, she found herself in a sort of limbo. “We were not allowed to tell anyone the result, and we just had to go back to our jobs until the final was aired. But the BBC kept postponing it, so it was aired two months later than I expected,” she sighs. When that finally happened, Coleman was at her parents’ house and watched the final with them. “It was really interesting because when you are in the studio you’re not allowed to go around and look at what others are doing, so it was interesting to see how the other finalists did,” she explains. The time pretending that nothing had happened was finally over, and she was thrown under the spotlight for a few

Then she embarked on a new experience: stages. These are short periods of time that chefs spend in the kitchen of famous restaurants, learning their techniques and studying their style. Coleman did 14, including one at Midsummer House with Daniel Clifford and one at Tom’s Kitchen, where she worked with Tom Aikens.

Finally she did a stage at Gavroche, where she also got to take her mum for her birthday. But she is happy she didn’t stay too long in these restaurants. “I got some really good experiences, I have learnt to work tidy and in general the stages have opened my eyes because the work these chefs do is genius. But you shouldn’t stay too long in one place, because then

29

“Cooking and music can be very similar, they clear your mind and you can’t think about anything else” - Coleman

30

SCOFF

Previous Left Coleman’s winning Masterchef dish Previous Right Masterchef 2013 contestants Below Teaching the children to make dough

you get used to their style and you stop experimenting,” she explains.

can taste any more. Finally, the kids have nothing else to do but to wait for the cakes to be done and, meanwhile, to finish up the wonderful quesadillas and potato wedges that had been waiting for them on the counters. Anything that is not eaten is efficiently put into foil and plastic bags to be taken home – at St Luke’s Community Centre kitchen, no wasting is allowed.

After taking a much-deserved holiday in the US, Coleman now wants to focus on her future. “I hope one day to be able to open my own restaurant. Maybe I will write another cookbook, and I definitely want to keep on getting kids cooking,” she comments. It has been an intense two hours for the kids, and now they are happy to take their aprons off and go home to enjoy their meals.

Among the weirdest things that Coleman has cooked you find pigeons, which she thinks should be cooked “rare and pink, otherwise they will taste like liver”. “My mum still won’t eat them, because she thinks it’s the ones you find on the street,” she admits. In her list of the weirdest things that she has eaten, on the other hand, duck’s heart takes the first place, as she animatedly urges: “You should try it, it is so good! There is a place here in Hackney, on Columbia road, where they make a wonderful duck’s heart.” Maybe the kids she is teaching to today wouldn’t be as daring, but they are definitely not scared of eating the muffins’ raw dough.

Most of it, though, manages to go into the heart-shaped muffin trays, which are promptly put into the oven before they

31

SCOFF

GREEN PAPAYA 191 Mare Street London E8 3QT

SCOFF HAUNTS If your cooking skills are limited to breaking bread and buttering it at a candle lit dinner table, being low on cash is a bit depressing.

Do not fret, though, as we’ve got a couple of tricks up our sleeves that’ll get you out of the red and into the black. But with food. Step into our office...

Located in the middle of the vibrant Mare Street, the family run restaurant is simple and efficient. It offers delicate Vietnamese cuisine that is much more affordable compared to surrounding restaurants.

From pancakes, to fish and exotic salads Green Papaya has it all. For less than £20 you can enjoy a full menu with drinks.

THE GINGER PIG CAFÉ 231 Hoxton Street London N1 5LG This restaurant offers a fusionist menu that starts with British specialities and mixes with American and Mediterranean flavours. All ingredients are locally sourced and meals are updated seasonally.

Whether you wish for breakfast, steak or a burger this is the place to go if you want British food with an international touch.

FRANCO MANCA 52 Broadway Market London E8 4QJ Franco Manca, run by Italians from Naples is rated one of the best pizza restaurants in London. The sourdough is left to rise for over 20 hours, and is then baked in a wood-burning oven with fresh ingredients. With pizzas starting from £4.50 this is the perfect place to go for an affordable authentic Italian dish.

It functions on a first come first serve basis and tends to get really full. So make sure to arrive early!

SCOFF

Stone Cave 111 Kingsland High Street, Dalston E8 2PB Since 2002 this restaurant has been serving authentic Turkish food for breakfast, dinner and lunch. With a range of cooking methods, it has been respecting Ottoman recipes serving traditional dishes such as falafel, kebab and meze. On weekends belly dancers and musicians boost the atmosphere, turning the restaurant into a vibrant party.

White Rabbit 15-16 Bradbury Street, London N16 8JN The open kitchen, wooden furniture and white walls give this place a familiar and laid back atmosphere. The restaurant, born out of an idea between friends now serves contemporary authentic food, and, as the chefs say “never classic recipes�. If you’re up for something special such as pork with orange and tarragon followed by a dark chocolate and beetroot cream this is the place to go.

Buen Ayre 50 Broadway Market E8 4QJ Chef John Patrick Rattagan brings Argentinian meat dishes to London. A paradise for meat lovers, this simple and small restaurants specialises in grilled meat such as Argentinian style sausages, ribs, and black pudding. The portions are big, and the prices are small. Be sure to book in advance as this place gets busy!

SCOFF

VACUUM SEALER - VON SHEF £29.99

Kitchen Gadgets

Cheap Kitchen Gadgets

The Von Shef vacuum sealer removes all air to keep your food fresh and full of flavour.

Vacuuming your food will not only take up less space, but will allow you to preserve flavours for longer, while shielding from bacteria present in the air. The bags can be frozen, or used for Sous vide(water bath) cooking. With only one operation, it is easy to use, practical and effective. The packaging also comes with 15 sealer bags.

NEST 7 PLUS - JOSEPH & JOSEPH £18.50 This practical colourful set offers all you need to measure and mix. The bowls have practical handles and a non-slip base.

The seven-piece set stacks perfectly and is dishwasher safe. Joseph and Joseph products are available in different configurations, depending on your needs.

You’re thirsty, but the well is dry - we get it. You may have splurged in the past few weeks, but there’s still a couple of gadgets that caught your eye. Luckily for you, those gadgets were picked by us, and are directly opposite to this page, and cheap. Need we go on?

PASTA/VEGETABLE STEAMER POT SUNNEX £19.44 The Sunnex pot set enables you to steam, boil, cook and drain all in one. It is perfect cooking pasta, rice, legumes and steaming vegetables or fish. You can simply combine the pieces according to your meal. There is no need to buy a steamer and drainer when you can have all in one.

Made of stainless steel, with a Thermo encapsulated base, it is durable and secures an even heat distribution. It is also dishwasher safe and can be used in the oven.

SCOFF

BAKE CLAIRE PTAK’S CHOCOLATE COOKIES Ingredients: - Rice flour 140g - Gram flour 70g - Milled flaxseeds 4 tbsp - Xanthan gum 1 tsp - Cocoa powder 100g - Flaky sea salt 1½ tsp - Baking powder 1 tsp - Bicarbonate of soda ½ tsp - Brown sugar 200g - Caster sugar 150g - Unsalted butter 200g, room temperature - Pure vanilla extract 1 tbsp - Eggs 3 - 70% dark chocolate 200g, chopped

Method: Heat the oven to 190C/gas mark 5 and line a baking sheet with parchment.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the rice flour, gram flour, milled flaxseeds, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, sea salt, baking powder, and bicarbo and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the two sugars with the butter. Once creamed, add the vanilla and eggs and beat well. Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat again. Add the dry ingredients and the chocolate pieces and beat until combined.

I like to use an ice cream scoop to shape the cookies. I use the ones sometimes referred to as a scissor scoop because of the shape of the

39

handle which releases the scoop.

Place the balls of dough that you want to eat right away on your prepared baking sheet about 10cm apart. Bake for 12–15 minutes until the cookies are still soft in the middle.

A little underdone but remember they will continue to cook slightly as they cool.

I scoop the remaining mixture whilst the mixture is soft and place them on a sheet that will fit in your freezer.

Freeze the remaining cookies which you can pop into the oven at a moment’s notice, making your life really easy when you have a craving or unexpected guests.

40

SCOFF

SCOFF

Mazí Mas THE AUTHENTIC SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

By Cyrila Ringele

T

he Albany theatre has been filled with decorations.

Candles, balloons, and music invite the guests in. In the kitchen Roberta’s Cassava is being prepared. As she shapes the small balls of dough in her hands, another chef perfectly peels carrots and sweet potatoes, before letting them sizzle in a spicy mixture. Jamima Fagta prepares her Lumpia spring rolls, a family tradition, unique from her hometown. There’s the lemongrass-marinated chicken, a rich coconut milk broth with chilli, eggplants and sweet potatoes, and banana sticky rice.

SCOFF

Before dinner is served, the head chef comes out of the kitchen, salutes the guests and begins. Fagta tells her story.

The political refugee started working in the kitchen at the age of eight, and later become responsible for family meals. In the Philippines she was a political activist and community organizer. She not only puts all of her love into cooking, but is also helping Filipino immigrants in the UK by campaigning for undocumented domestic and care workers.

fusionist cuisine that is currently boosting in London.

Kopcke has given immigrant women a possibility to cook their own recipes, learned through many generations. This creates an authentic fusionist cuisine that is currently boosting in London.

The chef always had a passion for food, but started to get involved at the age of 16, cooking in different restaurants in New York. The idea to transform this into a business developed for a personal reason.

“I am inspired by my Greek Godmother who was an immigrant in the US for nearly 20 years and wanted to open her own bakery. She was an incredible cook and still is. However she had a very patriarchal husband who believed women should not enter business. The fact that she was never given that opportunity was the force that led me to fulfil her dream.” Kopcke moved

Fagta, along with other six chefs, works for the social enterprise Mazí Mas, create

by Nikandre Kopcke three years ago.

The pop-up restaurant, which means ‘with us’ in Greek, creates employment opportunities for talented women from refugee backgrounds. Kopcke has given immigrant women a possibility to cook their own recipes, learned through many generations. This creates an authentic

45

SCOFF

to London in 2010 to do a master in in Gender, Development and Globalization at LSE. By the end what was left was a lot of anger, anger for society, for how the world still functioned, for the fact that not much was done to empower women. But instead of continuing to analyse and criticise, she decided to take her knowledge and do something. “I call it ‘feminism in practice’”.

Mazí Mas owns its success also to the deliciously fresh and fine ingredients. “We get about 90% of our produce from Local farms. We are really proud of our supply chain.”

All the fish and meat is sourced from small businesses in London. Kopcke believes in supporting the local economy, aiming for the food to be less carbon intensive as possible. “Mara, our programme’s manager is a real stickler about everything on the list coming from a place that she carefully evaluated”.

So despite their difference, she combined her two interests and decided to start a business. With a different background and no money to open a restaurant she went for the popup model.

There are no dirty plates, not even a dirty cutting board or knife. And then, on the other side of the kitchen, there is a wall with lots of recipes written on teared paper. It almost looks like another room amongst all that order.

“That’s were Mazí Mas has definitely benefitted. It wouldn’t have been able to happen at any other time, because people now know about popup restaurants, it’s become thing. If that hadn’t existed, and people didn’t feel comfortable going to it, it wouldn’t really have gotten off the ground.” At the beginning it was just Kopcke and a business idea. She started something from scratch with a simple website. “I think in this day and age all you need to start something is a website and anyone can put up a word press. I always say it’s not starting that’s hard, it’s continuing.”

Kopcke does not use her kitchen for events and prefers to cook on site. Women from different backgrounds but with the same passion come together to create a fusion menu that goes back generations.

When the menu is developed, on the basis of budget and client request, the team goes through a prep session before the event. Women get together and share techniques, mix flavours, creating unique recipes.

Then before the meal, the woman in charge stands up and tells her story. “She talks about herself, where she’s come from and why she’s cooked what she’s cooked and people really like that.”

These times were no times of luxury as Kopcke still lived in a Shared flat and worked by herself. But Mazí Mas has since then attracted dedicated people from all backgrounds. “We have casual volunteers who have helped us in the kitchen and at events. We have very skilled older professionals who help us with business development or with accounting. And people are just amazing, endlessly generous with their time and their spirit.”

Now, three years after the start of Mazí Mas, Kopcke not only built up a team of nine people and six chefs, but is also living in a much more spacious one-bedroom apartment. This is very important to her, as she does most of the work from home. Her living room is her office.

It is spacious, simply lit but does not have the slightest link to an office. One would not be able to guess her job unless you take a look at the photographs and step into the kitchen.

Everything is very clean and organized, and almost feels empty, but only because every object has its place. Opening the fridge and cupboards, a variety of fresh ingredients and colours grab my attention. The smell is delicious.

Cover Violet dining First Left Claire Ptak at Broadway Market First Right Violet Bakery Opposite The Violet Bakery Cookbook

“We try at all times to have women cooking their own food because I think it’s really important that they are not distant from the product. I think that you make work fulfilling by making people feel like they are irreplaceable.

That’s their recipes and I think that that recognition of intellectual property is very important.” One dish can travel the world and have many stops along the way. “Mazí Mas is about getting women in the food industry so changing what restaurants kitchens look like, changing what food businesses look like.”

For Kopcke it is a way of bringing something that happens in the private sphere to the public sphere when it can be remunerated, compensated and paid. At the moment the enterprise is a launching platform into employment, not a full time employer. “We’re a middle ground between long term unemployment and women starting businesses or finding full term employment.”

SCOFF

They work with women who are socially isolated and have little support in London.

“The biggest impact that we have is in providing a social network, what we call the Mazi Mas family. And it really is that, for many people. Especially for women who are in abusive relationships, emotionally and financially abused at home it become the family and support that they don’t have in the home.” Working together and sharing their backgrounds women give each other support. They might come from different parts of the world, but the same problems and aspirations bring them together and give them strength.

“The can feel and that they feel supported, and valued and that they are viewed as people who have skills and people who have something to give the world.”

Fagta treasures the special relationship that the women develop. “The best thing about Mazi Mas is that we come from all over the world, but in the kitchen we speak the same language”.

Roberta Siao, the chef from Brazil sees the team as a site of growth and improvement.

“Mazí Mas is a unique place where people who are passionate about its purpose and love what they do. It creates a truly special connection and a pleasant environment for us to work. It helps us go through our own difficulties and to get where we want to go. They really care about each one of us. It is inspiring and totally rewarding! It feels like a family.”

Three current chefs are developing their own food businesses, working with another organizations. The Peruvian chef started her own catering business and all other chefs have moved to further employment.

The future looks promising for Mazí Mas and Kopcke is positive about the

49

enterprise’s development. “Our dream is to open a restaurant. To open a training restaurant where we have women coming in, getting really intensive training in how to start food business of their own”.

And there is no doubt that the public would profit from a restaurant where the food changes everyday, where they can appreciate the cultural authenticity and fusion of dishes. “Especially in London where you have such exciting food all the time, people are always looking for something different. It’s the idea of ‘I’ve had Chinese food but I’ve never had home cooked Chinese food’.” She also believes that when these women move on to their own businesses, over time this can change how London’s streets look like. It can change a whole eating habit of people in this city. People will want home cooked food, the choice of great authentic dishes, and may abandon the unhealthy chips and chicken wings. “I think that migrant families and communities bring with them such rich ways of interacting and a lot of that is food focused. They are the ones that actually take time to sit down as a family and eat together, something that is disappearing in westernized culture.”

Last year Mazi Mas catered in Hoxton and had an Ethiopian and Filipino pop up restaurants in Deptford. From March to May the team will be at Oval house theatre for five nights a week. There will be a different woman in the kitchen every night so the menu will change every day.

Kopcke often returns to Greece to see her family. When she tells her godmother that she is her inspiration, she never entirely understands: “All women of her generation just have crazy humility. So when I say to her ‘I’m doing this because of you’ she says: ‘Ah no Niki I didn’t do anything’”.

“We come from all over the world, but in the kitchen we speak the same language” - Fagta

50

SCOFF

Roberta Siao from (Rio, Brazil) She studied sociology and anthropology and worked for the Central Bank of Brazil for ten years.

While on holiday in the UK she met her husband and decided to move to London.

She has an eight-year-old son, Thomas.

Roberta started cooking when she was a child, doing barbecue experiments in the backyard of her family home. For her, food is not only nourishing but made to share. She therefore treasures the act of eating with her family. Roberta spends a lot of time trying out new recipes and new products, combining a lot of her knowledge with the other chefs.

She is also a volunteer for FoodCycle.

One of her distinct recipes is thiebu dien (rice and fish with vegetables).

Her main goal is to make people happy with what she prepares, and therefore enjoys getting positive feedback.

She would love to open her own restaurant in Senegal one day.

Marlith Tenazoa Del Aguila (Rioja, Peru) From the Peruvian Amazon Marlith studied public relations and business administration and worked for Peru’s social security sector. She then managed a popular tourist restaurant for 15 years.

Because of personal family issues she emigrated to Barcelona, where she lived for 10 years and worked in the food industry.

Since young age she enjoyed preparing food and sees its importance as a healthy part of family life. She came to London in 2012, and has since then catered Peruvian food for different organizations. Marlith has three children. Her two sons live in Peru, while her daughter lives in London.

Aissatou Diagne (Dakar, Senegal) She was born in Meckhé, a small village, but grew up in Dakar. She learned to cook Senegalese food with the help of her mother and sister. Instead of going to university she joined her husband in London in 2012, where cooking became her new hobby. Now she enjoys creating new recipes, and learning through videos.

Zohreh Shahrabi (Tehran, Iran) She

51

studied art in Iran, and later obtained her Design degree from Coventry University.

She sees cooking as a kind of art and enjoys mixing different flavours and colours. She believes that love is the most important ingredient in a kitchen because it’s what enables cooks to be real chefs. Zohreh ran a successful business in Coventry selling Iranian sandwiches, and would like to open her own Iranian coffee shop in London, where she is now living with her son.

has a 15-year-old son who came with her to London in 2011. ‘Here I am now… and as my son Jonathan says: “When I eat my mum’s food it’s like going to heaven!”

Jamima Fagta (Philippines) She studied Politics and Sociology and used to be a community developer and and activist.

She came to the UK as a political refugee. She now works part-time for Kanlungan, a charity that supports the migrant Filipinos in the UK. She started cooking for the whole family at the age of 11. Not having a lot of money she put all her effort into creating amazing food with what was available. She believes in eating at home: “home cooked food heals wounds.” She uses a lot of colourful ingredients and is not scared to use chilli.

Azeb Woldemicheal (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) Azeb holds a diploma in accounting. In 1994 she married and moved with her husband to Italy. There she started to try Italian recipes, and combined them with what she learned from her family. She organized dinners, parties, and often had friends over to enjoy her delicious food. She makes people happy with dishes such as Dorowet, Mncetabish, Gulash and Kefto. During the 17 years that she lived in Italy, Azeb worked in two Ethiopian restaurants. She

52

SCOFF

SCOFF

Fergus Gallagher FIVE POINTS BREWERY’S APPRENTICE

By Michael Ellery

W

ith the rise of microbreweries in London, the craft beer scene has flourished, providing a wide range of ales, lagers, bitters, and stouts to the ever-thirsty populace of the city. But, as the craft beer scene steadily grows, breweries have to think in the long term, and this includes handing over the reins to young emerging brewers at some point to keep the dream alive. This is where people like Fergus Gallagher, 27, come in. Hailing from the idyllic, picturesque, seaside town of Bude in North Cornwall, which he describes as “alright”, Gallagher is currently enrolled in an apprenticeship at Five Points Brewery just outside of Hackney Downs Station.

SCOFF

As I walk down the wide alley to arrive at Five Points, so named because of the five way junction that lies nearby, the sweet smell of fermenting alcohol catches my throat and the noise of a busy day greets my ears. Gallagher is working inside, preparing for the next stage of the brewing process. Afterwards, we sit down on some nearby kegs; he adjusts his glasses and complains about the mess on his jumper. Five Points is were Gallagher spends most of the week doing his apprenticeship, which will earn him his ‘Diploma in Brewing with The Institute of Brewing & Distilling’, the rest is spent at the local community college. He said: “Ed Mason, my boss here, actually started the apprenticeship with Hackney Community College and they managed to get a tutor who’s got a lot of history with London beer and whose worked at a lot of old breweries and who’s incredibly knowledgeable. Every Friday I go there

for a day and get taught about the theory of brewing and then I work four days a week here. It’s full on.”

But how did Gallagher get into the position to become a brewer and devote his days to creating new quality, artisan beer for the people of London to enjoy? As a popular holiday destination for some people, many might consider leaving Bude for the hectic London lifestyle, as a step in the wrong direction but Gallagher regrets nothing about leaving his hometown. He said: “Yeah, it was a nice place to grow up, but I’m definitely a city boy, I definitely prefer the city to the country now.”

He added: “I’ve lived in East London for a long time on and off and spent a couple of years in Spain living abroad, but before that I lived in Peckham, and before that is was Bethnal Green.”

57

SCOFF

So Gallagher has been around, from the countryside to a different country altogether, and throughout those years, after not following the usual ‘student’ route through higher education, he’s worked in a number of bars that involved, among other things, “drinking a lot”. He said: “I didn’t go to University so I was around student age when I first started working in bars. The beer scene in London at that time, about six to seven years ago, there wasn’t a massive range of beer.

You could find some American craft beer, but the scene was completely different, so there wasn’t that much choice. It was a lager based world. At that time I wasn’t aware of the craft beer scene at all.”

breweries, Truman’s, Clarkshaws, and Weird Beards, across London. The course covers everything about brewing from the marketing of beer to the end of the brewing process. Gallagher explains that the course is a lot like any other. He said: “The course is mainly coursework based, so we do a lot of write-ups, but my tutor will come here and assess me brewing a beer, cleaning correctly, transferring liquid correctly. He’ll just come and check I’m doing things here right.”

He added: “It’s really good that way because if you struggle to put things down on paper you can just show it.

You could be brewing the best beer in the world and not be able to write about it and vice versa.”

This changed when Gallagher started working in one of over 25 Brewdog Craft Beer Bars in the UK. According to Gallagher, Brewdog train their staff with the “gift of the gab” to really sell the beer. He said: “They have a brilliant emphasis on staff training. They actually send their staff on beer sommelier courses to learn different styles. For example, what makes Belgian beer different to American IPAs, and you learn more about the ins and outs of beer. I really, really, got into it in a big way then. We actually had Five Points beer in the Brewdog bar and I saw the advertisement for the apprenticeship and went for it.”

So after signing up for the apprenticeship, Gallagher’s childhood curiosity for science, with a little added engineering, was reawakened. After not studying science in any formal way since his GCSEs, using his time at college to study Music Technology and Media Studies and escaping a career in advertising after a short stint, Gallagher, and his family and friends, think he’s found the perfect profession. He said: “Most of them thought it was a very apt job for me, to be honest.

That was it really. They were pleased, and a lot of them asked for free samples. I’ve always really been in to geeky facts and knowledge and brewing is the ultimate career for that. It’s a just a new way for learning geeky knowledge.”

He continued: “They all noticed it as a growing scene, it’s a good thing even if you ignore what it actually is, it’s a good thing to get into solely for the employment prospects. What’s great about the beer scene is that breweries are really friendly to each other, there’s not a massive rivalry like there are in other fields. I think it’s amazing, you won’t really find that community atmosphere anywhere else.”

There are also three other prospective brewers attending the same course as Gallagher, who are all working at other

Even though Gallagher will be a qualified brewer by the end of the summer, he believes this is a career that requires you to keep your mind fresh. He said: “It’s one of those jobs that I think it’s important to continuously learn and do courses when you can whenever possible. I want to never stop and continue learning. Also, the industry is such a saturated market that it’s good to have a high level of knowledge to make you as marketable as possible.”

Cover Fresh hops First Left Fergus Gallagher First Right Five Point beers Current Five Point bottles

This attitude seems to suit the brewing environment perfectly; Gallagher explains that, after visiting a fair few different breweries across the country and the rest of the world, everyone brews differently due to the different circumstances and the distinct styles they want to product. German mashing styles, for example, are at odds to English mashing styles because of the nature of the preferred German malts. By having this thirst for knowledge, and beer, Gallagher is also set to take on the difficulty of learning an entire new brewing process when Five Points upgrades its brew kit next month. He said: “It will be double the size of the one here now. It’s a whole different way of working because everything is heated by steam in the new kit, as opposed to electric heating in this one now.”

Many of the people I know who have taken the plunge into the craft beer scene have a very cynical idea of the lagers that populate the taps at their local watering hole.

Even though Gallagher agrees that most popular lagers “just taste of nothing so they appeal to everyone”, he also believes that his industry can turn that stereotype around.

“When I first started getting into craft beer it was seen as

SCOFF

a bit of a naughty word. Everyone’s mind immediately goes to Fosters and Carling and Heineken and all or the conventional lagers. But lagers done really well are amazing. What a lot of people don’t know is that lager is actually a verb that comes from the German ‘to store’. So it’s actually a way of brewing, where you leave to beer to mature for much longer, rather than a style of beer.”

He continued: “I definitely go for beers that I have never tried before; I’d like to think I did that already, but I definitely do it more now that I’m a brewer and more of an appreciation for the process. I will always go for an unusual style that I’ve never seen before. There are a lot of breweries in London that are doing completely new styles, or doing old styles from Germany which have gone out of fashion.”

So, even though Gallagher was introduced to the craft beer scene through his work at the Brewdog bar, he says that inspiration to be a brewer and inspiration for existing brewers can be found in pubs and shops throughout the world. He said: “The thing with famous brewers is that their products are always in the shops, so you can find inspiration from their beers. A lot of my favourite beers, I don’t know who actually brewed them, I couldn’t tell you their name, but they are just absolutely fantastic. So I take inspiration from other beers, and I know Greg, the head brewer here, does too, when he’s making the recipes for Five Points.

As the craft beer scene evolves and grows, and breweries like Five Points become bigger and start catering to a wider audience, what does Gallagher see in his future? He says, for the time being, he is happy to stay at Five Points as the assistant brewer and get a firmer grasp on beer and the industry, but seems possible in this burgeoning scene. He said: “Only time will tell, I’ll always experiment at home to create new recipes that hopefully I can translate at some point to a larger scale and brew in a brewery. But we’ll see if I make a huge impact on the scene or not.

He added: “I would love to own my brewery, but it’s all about start-up money, so I’m not massively hopeful. I don’t really care where I end up brewing, as long as I get the chance to use incredible ingredients and do something really amazing and delicious. I think I’m stuck in East London for a while, I’m getting married next year, but that’s not a bad thing. East London is so good for beer at the moment.”

He added: “He’s looked at beers he’s grown up with and fused them together with other beers and tried to make flavour combinations. I think that’s the great thing about beer. You can’t take the same inspiration from the food that TV chefs make because it’s quickly eaten after they make it. But with beer, you can take inspiration from the product rather than the brewer themselves.”

Becoming a brewer has clearly changed Gallagher’s life drastically, even altering the way he enjoys nights out at the pub with his friends. He said: “I annoy the hell out of my friends. I usually tell them off and order them something better. I just like to open people’s eyes to good beer.”

“I don’t care where I end up brewing, as long as I get the chance to use incredible ingredients” - Gallagher

61

62

SCOFF

CARIBBEAN CURRY Ingredients:

- 1 clove garlic chopped - 2 chillis chopped (with or without seeds) - 1/2 tsp turmeric - 2tbsp olive oil - 1 onion - 1kg lamb - 300g tinned chopped tomatoes - 2l water - 3 tsp curry powder - salt - 1kg rice

Method:

Cut the meat into chunks and place it in a container and season generously with the turmeric, garlic, and chilli. Cover the container and leave to marinate overnight.

On the day of serving, dice the onion and fry it off in a saucepan with oil. Add the marinated meat and fry until browned, then add the chopped tomatoes and curry powder.

Add 500ml of water to the mix, and season to taste. Bring the curry to the boil, then cover the saucepan and turn down to a low heat and simmer for at least two hours, or until the meat is tender and falling apart and the mixture has reduced.

Add seasonings of your choice to taste In another pan bring the rest of the water to the boil and add the rice. Cook until tender, and strain immediately before serving with the lamb curry.

64

SCOFF

SAVOURY CROISSANTS Ingredients: - 2 shop-bought puff pastry sheets - 400g cooked ham - 4 eggs - 1/2 garlic clove - 2 onions - 1 tbsp vegetable oil - 2 tbsp flour - 4 tsp chopped parsley

Method:

Preheat the oven to 220째C. Chop the garlic, onions, ham and parsley into small pieces. Then stir them in a frying pan with vegetable oil.

Place them on a baking tray and brush the yolk of the remaining egg on top.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 220째C.

Beat 3 eggs and add them to the sizzling mixture. Continue to stir until you have a scrambled egg-like consistency.

Leave to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Add salt and pepper. Remove the pan from heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes.

Dust rolled pastry with flour, then cut both into four triangles. Fill each of the obtained triangles with about 1 tbsp of the egg mixture. Use the white of the remaining egg to wet the sides of the triangles.

Seel the traingles and fold the corners.

They should have a typical croissant shape.

65

SCOFF

Café Culture Part II

AN ACCOUNT OF HACKNEY’S HAUNTS

By Radu Istrate

A

long the canal, if you were to go downwards from The Proud Archivist, besides a very happy duckling you may also encounter a good old-fashioned coffee roastery which probably smells like the entrance to Heaven – it’s the Counter Café! With their own onsite San Franciscan roaster (which looks like an awesome steam engine), the people behind Counter are sure to serve Londoners the smoothest, most delicious coffee in Hackney.

Its five year history is rich with both critical and local acclaim. The Right Roast, London’s hyperactive guide to coffee gave Hackney’s prime roastery five brilliant stars out of five. Hakon Lever, Counter’s media manager tells us why: “We’ve always had a purpose ever since the beginning.

We wanted to become a respected establishment which radiated energy.

There were so many artists living in Hackney Wick five years ago, but not a lot of good cafés. We wanted to be the best at making coffee and today, I’m proud to say that we are!”

Counter is mainly famous for its steamy javas, but it also produces food-related items such as sandwiches and cakes. Everything they do is produced by them and they are proud to share their homemade goods with the community. The fact that everything is homemade may load the staff with more work, but Lever says that it all pays off at the end of the day.

The mega-roaster occupies more than half of the kitchen and is considered a member of Counter’s family. “It’s our baby; our big, really fat baby.

When we bought it two years ago it was smoky and we had to open every door next to it so we could let air in. One time during winter, our former head roaster and close friend Howey had a lot of coffee to roast and he stood in the middle of the night in the kitchen while it was snowing on him from the outside. As you can tell, we’re pretty heavy on the DIY stuff!” Lever laughs.

Because it set out to be a safe haven for Hackney’s artists, Counter promotes their work to this day. They work closely with Stour Space, a gallery that mainly shows exhibitions from locals. Everybody who works for Counter also does art on the side, so the general feel of the café is as artistic as it gets. “It’s hard for artists to break into the market, so we do what we can to help them as much as possible. We’re a band of brothers after all,” says Lever.

SCOFF

James Walters from CRATE Brewery is all too familiar with the importance of creating a sense of family in a business. He’s perhaps the jack of all trades of Hackney’s best rated brewery. From covering media inquiries to organizing delivery routes and managing a team of drivers, there isn’t much Walters isn’t able to do in order to help the family be happy.

The fact that Hackney has the largest concentration of art studios in Europe has certainly helped the rapid expansion of the business. Over the last two and a half years of its existence, CRATE managed to establish a good reputation for excellent beers and many bars across London have it as their main supplier. “That is definitely the best thing about working here. You are part of a lot of things all at once in the best area in one of the best cities in the world. It’s can’t get much better than this, can it?” Walters asks.

When asked about what the brewery does best, he points out that CRATE is more than just a brewery.

It is also a bar and a pizzeria. The most unique thing to note about the establishment is that CRATE decided to add a little eccentricity to the flavouring to ensure that the pizzas went perfectly with the styles of beer that they make.

Perhaps it cannot. How can you possibly compete with an area in which you can buy cereal in a café for breakfast then go read your favourite book with a historic cocktail in your hand for brunch then go get coffee as a pick-me-up from a gigantic roaster from San Francisco only for you to end your day with a refreshing pint whose taste complements the pizza you’re eating?

“There’s no such thing as a normal day in the brewery, from our point of view. One day you’ll be brewing beer like mad, the next you’re sending it out to your own bar, and across London. The bar is our flagship, the floor room of our brewery. Having a working space such as the bar provides us with a place to showcase the beer itself, and an area for our regulars, staff, and friends to come to from within the local area to enjoy. We’re best at making everyone’s time worth it,” says Walters as he sips from his own beer.

A striking thing about the brewery is the level of comradery that is displayed all throughout the day.

The business works like a well-oiled machine. Walters claims that’s what happens when you’re friends with everyone you work with. Handling quality beer on a daily basis must surely have something to do with it as well!

“We’re a band of brothers after all” - Lever

74

SCOFF

SCOFF

PICTURE CREDITS Luxury Kitchen Gadgets: Smart Herb Garden: ClickandGrow Samsung Oven: AO Wifi Coffee Machine: Engadget

Cafe Culture: Activist 1 and 2: Pinterest Crate brewery: Pinterest Cereals: Cereal Killer Cafe Gary and Alan Keery: Cereal Killer Cafe

Cheap Kitchen Gadgets page: Joseph and Joseph: Amazon Vacuum sealer: Amazon Pasta/Steamer: Amazon

Photo page: Lollies: Pinterest Pastel Buiscuit: Pinterest Pepper and spices: Pinterest

Luxury Restaurants: Forman’s: London Town The Clove Club: English Shippy Sager and Wilde: timeout Pond: Pond-Dalston Mussels: Martha Stewart The Bonneville: abouttimemagazine Cocktail: 500px.com

Coleman: Natalie Smiling: Guardian Salmon buffet: Johnny Miller Dinner party: Pinterest Colorfull food: Pinterest Coleman cooking: Facebook Coleman students: Facebook

Affordable Restaurants: Table Picture: Creativitea Green Papaya: Thelulife Franco Manca: thefirstpint The Ginger Pic CafĂŠ: thegingerpigcafe White Rabit: telegraph Stone Cave: epicureandculture Spices: pinterest

Photo page: Peaches and nectarines:Pinterest Happiness Feature: Purple avocados: Pinterest Sardime picnic: Pinterest Mango: Pinterest Poolside grapefruit: Pinterest Fun sushi: Pinterest Green pea saucepan:Pinterest

Coffee culture: Nespresso ad: Pinterest Coffee cherries: Pinterest Brew: Pinterest Allpress cups: foxandflavour.com Machine: foxandflavour.com Coffee Tamper: foxandflavour.com Allpress Tamper: foxandflavour.com Jonathon Gregson: foxandflavour.com Coffee cup and sugar: foxandflavour.com

Mazi Mas: Carrots: Pinterest Grapefruit, lemons and limes: Pinterest Spinach: Pinterest Three chefs working: Guardian Four chefs smiling: Guardian Jamima and Kopke: Mazi Mas Table setting with flowers: Mazi Mas

Photo page: White figs & Honey: Pinterest Flour: Pinterest

Brewery: Fivepoints bottle: Facebook Brewety in action: Facebook Spent hops: Facebook Guage: Facebook

Victor Jechev: Roast onions: Pinterest Roast Chicken: Pinterest Mozzarella Salad: Pinterest Spaghetti plate: Pinterest Chef and frying pan: Tumblr Jechev: Facebook

Ptak profile: All images: Instagram

Photo page: Leaves: Pinterest Coconut: Pinterest

77