6 minute read
MY PERFECT DAY
Celia Brooks, who runs food tours, including two special ones for the Marylebone Food Festival, describes her perfect Marylebone day
Interview: Clare Finney Images: Nyla Sammons
Breakfast
I am not much of a breakfast person – I don’t have a big appetite early in the day – but if I find myself peckish in Marylebone in the morning, I will drop into Paul Rothe & Son on Marylebone Lane. It’s so fun in there; stacked to the ceiling with jams, jellies and chutneys, almost like wallpaper. My favourite sandwich of theirs, and something I would definitely fancy mid-morning, would be a granary baguette with their amazing mixture of stilton, cream cheese and caraway seeds. I have that with sliced pickled gherkins, lettuce and a nice cup of builder’s tea.
A breath of fresh air
I just love Paddington Street Gardens. It’s the heart and soul of Marylebone, and will be a big part of the Sunday tour I’ll be leading for the Marylebone Food Festival. We’re going to visit a few of the local eateries, then the farmer’s market, and I am going to pick up a few goodies along the way – then it will culminate in a picnic in the gardens (with a contingency plan in place in case it rains!).
Coffee
It is hard to beat the Italians when it comes to coffee, and they do a great coffee at Caldesi. I love the atmosphere in there too; it’s so classic, and the staff are warm and friendly. I like a latte with sugar, and a chat with Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi, the owners, if they happen to be there.
Outfit
The charity shops in Marylebone are some of the best in London, as the local clientele have very good taste and an abundance of extra clothing. They also tend to donate locally, so you can find some real treasures. Oxfam and Cancer Research are both excellent.
Shopping
The Japanese Home is the absolute best. They’ve evolved from just selling knives to becoming a cookware and kitchen gadget emporium, with the most unbelievable selection of topquality gadgets and cooking utensils – things like indoor charcoal grills and wonderful pepper grinders and pestle and mortars. I could have one of everything in that shop.
Culture
I have a friend whose wife is a pianist, and whenever she is at Wigmore Hall, I go to see her perform there. It’s such a beautiful place.
Pre-dinner drinks
I always try to feature Le Vieux Comptoir on my Marylebone tours, and hope to include it in the one I am offering for the Food Festival. I call it the secret subterranean champagne bar: it’s so easy to miss, tucked away as it is on Moxon Street, but the owner Laurent is the host with the most, and he has wonderful taste in champagne. He has a delicious house champagne, and house rosé champagne as well as lesser-known brands that are just as good as any of the top players in the champagne world. His wife is responsible for the interior design, and each room has its own character and a lovely feel. You feel you’ve been invited into their home.
Eating out
The best restaurant I have been to for a long time anywhere, not just in Marylebone, is Jikoni. I think Ravinder is an absolute superstar – and when people ask me what my favourite restaurant is, that’s the one I name first. Ravinder was born in Kenya to Indian parents but raised in London, so the food reflects that immigrant and local culture: Asian, African and British, wrapped into a unique cuisine that is all it’s own.
Eating in
One of my favourite London shops has to be Greenfields on Crawford Street. It’s run by an Egyptian family, and it sells the most wonderful selection of north African and Middle Eastern ingredients – I particularly love their flatbreads, and they do this amazing ‘spicy yoghurt’: a thick Lebanese-style yoghurt with garlic, nigella seeds and fenugreek that is totally addictive. I always grab a pot of that when I am down there. Then there’s Totally Swedish, a few doors down, which has some unique Scandinavian ingredients.
The Conran Shop Opposite top: La Brasseria Opposite bottom: Paddington Street Gardens
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