• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Snapchat
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MsMarmiteLover

  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Vegan
  • Travel
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • UK
  • Wine
  • Gardens
  • Supperclubs
  • About
    • Press
    • Books
  • Shop
    • Cart

Tsunami of umami/breast is best

November 30, 2009 21 Comments Filed Under: Food, Recipes, Uncategorized

Visitors book

Phoebe feeding…is there anything more beautiful than a mother feeding her baby?

Phoebe’s milk, Lorna’s milk
Breast milk boobsicles
Stuffing mackerel
Dashi
Yuzu marinated sea bass
Gold and silver leaf in the sake

Eleanor Seabird and Gaz Twist played

Confit

That liquorice foam looks a bit dodgy doesn’t it?
Do we? Don’t we? Oh what the hell…

What is umami? It’s the fifth taste after salt, bitter, sweet and sour, discovered in 1908 by Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda, who was trying to define the taste of ‘dashi’, a typically Japanese broth. Chemically, umami is a L-glutamate, which is why MSG (Monosodiumglutamate) makes food so moreish. Umami is a Japanese word (onomatopoeic in that it sounds like ‘yummy’ )and the nearest translation is probably ‘savouriness’.
I realised earlier this year that almost all the food I like is umami: Marmite (naturellement), cheese, tomatoes, anchovies, seaweed, mushrooms, umeboshi plums, soy sauce, seafood, pickles, in fact anything fermented… meat is probably the only umami ingredient I don’t like.
Umami also satiates and produces serotonin; in other words it makes us feel full and happy when we eat. In my research I found it particularly interesting that human breast milk is very high in umami, much higher than cow’s milk or formula. I’m not a scientist but this leads me to believe that umami is somehow necessary for human development. Clearly breast milk had to go on the menu, but who would donate?
I registered for mumsnet and put up an ad. It was taken down within seconds. I asked around for months. One lady agreed but her boyfriend objected. Finally a saviour: Petra Chocstar’s cousins, Lorna and Phoebe, had recently given birth and even better, were willing to donate!
It’s a controversial ingredient. Most people’s reactions both in real life and on Twitter, ranged from ‘ew‘ to ‘no to breast milk. It feels quite wrong to me… cannibalistic even..‘ to the extreme ‘I’m going to open an underground restaurant and serve a cum sandwich.See how you like that’ and even further ‘I don’t care if it cures cancer and promotes world peace! It’s effing BREAST MILK!! That’s disgusting!’. (Thank you Chris Pople).
While it’s perfectly acceptable to exploit the milk meant for calves, in the process separating mother and child, apparently it sparks outrage when donated by an animal that can give consent, the human female. The aversion might be centred around that it reminds us that we are, in fact, animals. When I was breastfeeding, especially having to ‘express’ milk from a pumping machine, I did feel like a cow. It brought home to me that society’s sexualisation of breasts meant that we’d forgotten the basic function of them…to feed our young.
Vegans are very pro-breast milk: PETA, the animal rights activists suggested that Ben & Jerry’s icecream use human milk rather than cow. Not so weird actually, for there is an icecream company that does precisely that. Breast milk recipes can be found at this link, the aptly named site Land of Milk and Honey.
On Twitter I discovered up and coming culinary star Signe Skaimsgard Johansen (@scandilicious). She too is an umami buff and agreed to help me devise and cook a menu for a special Underground Umami night. Signe was a stagière at The Fat Duck lab, has trained in Japan and at Leith’s cookery school. An academic, specialising in fermented foods such as bread and cheese, Signe has contributed recipes to The Bumper book of Marmite, The Ultimate Student cookbook (soon to be reviewed) and will be teaching at the newly set up School of Artisan Food in Nottinghamshire.
Wakana of Akashi Tai came to help out with front of house plus provide free sake tastings for my guests. In the kitchen Wakana suggested a private tasting with some aged sake (2002) which matched impressively with the cheese board. Sake is not in itself umami but, paired with certain flavours you achieve ‘umami convergence’ a food boffin’s term for bloody delicious.
Signe and I decided to add gold and silver flakes (courtesy of @spoon hq) from Laura Santini’s Easy Tasty Magic clever food range to add sparkle to the sake. We also used her Taste No5 Umami paste (and funnily enough I was wearing Chanel No5) to up the umami quotient in the mackerel stuffing.
The menu:
Complimentary Kir royale
A shot of dashi, a shot of Akashi Tai sake flecked with gold and silver, a taster of yuzu, white miso, umeboshi plum, kaffir lime and ponzu marinated sea bass with pickled ginger
Parmesan custard with wild mushrooms on sourdough toast
Roasted mackerel stuffed with sun-blushed tomatoes, Laura Santini’s Taste No5 umami paste, parsley and thyme served with a confit of fennel, celeriac, lemon and capers
Cheese plate from Neal’s Yard: Colston Basset stilton, Stawley goat cheese and Gorwydd caerphilly, orange blossom honey, chilli jam from Italy, almonds and oat cakes.
Chocolate fizz pop icecream served in cinnamon and cardamom cones with Marmite butter caramel and liquorice air
Mother’s milk
Coffee
Marmarati goodie bags
One of the great things about collaborating with others is you pick up tips. As we prepped and cooked through the day on Saturday, Signe shared both old wives’ tales from her Scandinavian background and professional knowledge. After removing the mackerel bones with tweezers, she suggested using cheap vinegar to remove the fish smell from our hands and chopping surfaces.
I prefer to use wooden chopping boards rather than nylon. Wood is a natural disinfectant and heals itself from cuts. Sig told me a trick: especially on wood used for meat, sprinkle a thick layer of salt on the boards, leave overnight and discard the salt in the morning. This thoroughly disinfects the wood and prevents it from buckling from moisture.
Fizz Wiz in the icecream
The standout dish for me was the ceviche style yuzu-marinated seabass, a classic Japanese dish to which I added both fresh Kaffir lime and ordinary lime. This is definitely going on the menu for future dates. I adore ceviche, ate it all the time at street stalls in Peru (where it was paired with sweet potato) and this Japanese take on it hit all the right taste receptors.
As for the breast milk, I decided to keep it simple as I only had enough for a mouthful for each of my guests. I froze it in little breast shaped chocolate moulds with a goji berry representing a nipple. The guests were remarkably open-minded, all but two ate theirs. How did it taste? Subtly sweet…

Recent posts

tofu pic: Kerstin rodgers/msmarmitelover.com

Tofu recipes for the unconvinced

January 10, 2021

Food and drink books 2020 pic: Kerstin rodgers/msmarmitelover.com

Pick of the food and garden books 2020

December 6, 2020

A Christmas shopping wish list

November 30, 2020

Previous Post: « Cussin
Next Post: Online sommelier »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. James

    November 30, 2009 at 9:39 pm

    Bitty.

    What a umamifest!

    Reply
  2. the good soup

    November 30, 2009 at 9:46 pm

    Just wanted to say, I'm really impressed with the breast milk effort. I've been wanting to write something for ages on our aversion to drinking from our own species- philosophically I think it's very interesting. I've just blogged a piece on the bandaid to industrial agriculture that is milk pasteurisation. And now you've inspired me to start writing even more on this milk thing. Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself and say, next I'm in London (I'm living in Berlin at the moment) I'll be reserving a seat at your inventive place.

    Reply
  3. Maggie Bob

    November 30, 2009 at 10:19 pm

    I think you're right about the human reaction to breast milk – if you think about it logically, surely drinking milk from a cow is more unnatural than drinking that from a human. It's all about what society has instilled in us as 'the norm', which is why we are happy (in this country) to drink cows milk, or eat their meat, but find it disgusting to drink the milk of other animals, such as, say dogs, and eat their meat too…

    Reply
  4. Petra Barran

    November 30, 2009 at 11:07 pm

    What a feast. And so funny to see that pic of Phoebe breast feeding! I'm glad it was a success and isn't it fascinating how reactionary some people are? Big up to the boobies!

    Reply
  5. Chris

    December 1, 2009 at 10:02 am

    Thanks for the mention! For what it's worth, I probably would eat dog meat, and have eaten insects, fruit bat, snake blood and kudu (a kind of African antelope). Didn't like all of it, but none of it made me squeamish. I just draw the line at consuming someone else's bodily fluids.

    Reply
  6. theundergroundrestaurant

    December 1, 2009 at 10:05 am

    But it's considered perfectly acceptable for a woman to consume a man's body fluids…

    Reply
  7. Ann

    December 1, 2009 at 11:39 am

    Is human breast milk set to become the next 'luxury ' food item? I can see it now, mass production, exploitation for profit.

    Reply
  8. Kanga_Rue

    December 1, 2009 at 11:41 am

    I totally agree with what you said about breast milk – in fact, I'm jealous that I didn't get to try it! The rest of the meal sounds delicious too.

    Reply
  9. theundergroundrestaurant

    December 1, 2009 at 11:55 am

    Ann: visions of The Handmaid's tale?
    Of course I'm not suggesting exploiting human females for milk, although there exist of course Adult Nursing Relationships (ANR's) in which an adult nurses from a lactating woman. The benefits are a closer relationship they say and both sides gain satisfaction. Sometimes these ANR's are not sexual merely about comfort.

    Reply
  10. Fiona Beckett

    December 1, 2009 at 12:07 pm

    Brilliant menu! I'm so sorry to have missed it – not due to an aversion to breast milk I hasten to say. I see absolutely no objection to that. Interesting that it was sweet which may account for the fact that most of us have a sweet tooth. I haven't, maybe because I was bottle fed from day 1. It would be fascinating to do some research into the taste preferences of babies that were breast fed for different periods and ones that weren't at all. Sounds like a project for Sig!

    Reply
  11. theundergroundrestaurant

    December 1, 2009 at 12:13 pm

    I was bottle fed as well.
    Funnily enough I remember my own breast milk as being quite savoury…I wonder if the fact that I don't eat meat contributed to that or the insult 'vinegar tits' would be apt in this case.
    😉

    Reply
  12. theundergroundrestaurant

    December 1, 2009 at 12:19 pm

    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=vinegar%20tits

    Reply
  13. green drawers

    December 2, 2009 at 1:38 pm

    So glad it went down well. As discussed previously I cannot understand why people are so squeamish about this. It seems we have become so far removed from what we are that we cannot bear to be reminded. And yet we drink other creatures milk with no problem whatsoever. Like the good soup, and many others, I too believe that we take particularly the 'simple' foods so for granted that we just don't want to think about where they come from and what is done to them to make them 'palatable' to us. In the case of milk, pasteurisation is done so that we don't have to husband the animals as carefully as we would if the milk were left raw. What does that say about us? We don't really care as long as we get what we want. Cheap. All food should be considered nourishment, not just fodder.

    green drawers

    Reply
  14. Anonymous

    December 3, 2009 at 1:16 pm

    Wow, it all looks delicious. I find it weird that people took offence at breast milk being on the menu, I mean it's our natural food and without it the human race wouldn't be here.

    Even so I'm a bit squeamish, but that's just a personal thing, not a statement of position! Maybe it's because I've never had human milk. A friend of mine really wants to make cheese out of it.

    Reply
  15. theundergroundrestaurant

    December 3, 2009 at 1:18 pm

    It's hard to make cheese out of it, unless you add rennet…

    Reply
  16. James

    December 4, 2009 at 12:32 am

    Ooh cheese on toast.

    Reply
  17. George@CulinaryTravels

    December 5, 2009 at 12:52 pm

    What a feast indeed. A very thought provoking and informative post. Food for thought.

    Reply
  18. The Curious Cat

    December 7, 2009 at 12:31 pm

    The seabass was indeed fantastic! This menu looks very exciting…not sure about the breast milk…I'm sure I'd have had a little taste out of curiosity…I hope! Wooden board tip is interesting too – and what you say about it being a natural disinfectant – why don't food hygiene people take that into account or tell you that when they are teaching?! xxx

    Reply
  19. shayma

    December 23, 2009 at 11:17 pm

    e brava brava brava! love the menu, *all* the items on it.

    Reply
  20. giselle

    February 11, 2010 at 3:41 pm

    Chris you already drink someoneelse body fluids when you were a baby. There is so many things society make us believe an do, but we havethe desicion. Now I know we should not be drinking cow milk, perhabs the majority of animals don't drink milk when they become mature, what make me think we should just drink milk to certain age. There is a reason why people make a 2% fat milk and just kids should be drinking whole milk. If you drink whole milk every day of your life you may become over fat. It may not be healthy for you. So it make sense to me that we should be drinking from our own species, not others. But I don't we are suppose to drink milk our whole life. There is calcium in other food.

    Reply
  21. Robert Giorgione

    February 25, 2011 at 8:37 am

    Boobilicious!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

Subscribe to my mailing list

msmarmitelover

Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
Got the sewing machine out last night and hemmed t Got the sewing machine out last night and hemmed the top of these toile de jouey curtains in my summer house shed. The days are lengthening a little which brightens up my mood. Self care= trying to get up and washed. Trying to leave the house once a day. Keeping my hands busy. Finding small ways to be creative. #coronaloner #sewingmachine #curtains #shedsofinstagram #sheshed #springiscoming #supperclub #stayingsane #selfcare #lockdown3
Pasta aglio olio. I’m turning into a vampire. I Pasta aglio olio. I’m turning into a vampire. I get up later and later every day. I’m living in a twilight world- dim skies, getting nothing done. Next week it’s my birthday and every year I’m at my lowest ebb just before my birthday. Lockdown on your own is tough. My motivation, my mojo has disappeared. #lockdown3 #coronaloner #pastadinner #nofilter #january2021 #januarychallenge #selfemployedwomen #single #aquarius #0degrees
On the heath on Sunday. Must. Walk. More. #coronal On the heath on Sunday. Must. Walk. More. #coronaloner
Tonight’s lockdown dinner with my bubble. Proper Tonight’s lockdown dinner with my bubble. Proper pesto alla genovese with trofie, small boiled salad potatoes, steamed green beans (good tip: steam the beans in a colander plopped on top of the potatoes or pasta), good quality pesto sauce ( mine from local microbakery @seansloaf ), good olive oil (@pomoragoodfood), torn fresh basil, a few pine nuts. This turns this student dish into a balanced meal of carbs, veg and a little protein.  It’s cold outside, I’ve lit the fire. Covid rages in Kilburn high road in north west london. The rate is 1 in 30 london wide but I feel it’s higher in this poor inner london area. We have a high BAME population who are particularly vulnerable. It’s a little bit anarchic on my high street: cars perched on kerbs waiting for hijabi women, braving pound shops and Aldi . We are all covered up now. In winter masks keep your face warm, but you have a choice between safety and being able to see. I’ve not managed to prevent the inevitable steaming up of my glasses when wearing a mask. Nothing works.  #january #londonwinter #pestopasta #pestoallagenovese #vegetarian #pasta #trofie #supperclub #covid_19 #lockdownlife #lockdown3 #bubblegang
Galette des Rois, made yesterday in 12th night. Mi Galette des Rois, made yesterday in 12th night. Minus Crown and king as I cannot find either. This one is made with Tonka bean. Plus homemade puff pastry (well worth the effort). According to ike delorenzo at The Atlantic:  The tonka bean, a flat, wrinkled legume from South America with an outsize flavor that the US government has declared illegal. Nonetheless, it proliferates on elite American menus. The tiniest shavings erupt in a Broceliande of transporting, mystical aromas.
The taste of the tonka bean is linked strongly to its scent. "Scents," I should say, as the tonka bean has many at once. I register the aromas of vanilla, cherry, almond, and something spicy—a bit like cinnamon. When served cold—say, in tonka bean ice cream—the taste is like a vanilla caramel with dark honey. When warm, perhaps shaved over scallops, it moves toward spiced vanilla. Additionally, the aroma of the tonka bean shavings (it's almost always shaved) is so affecting that it seems like an actual taste in the way that opium, which has no taste in the traditional sense, "tastes" like its rich, flowery smoke.  Here is the recipe: 

Tonka bean galette des rois

Serves 8
Ingredients
* 140 g caster sugar
* 125 g salted butter, softened
* 100 g ground almonds
* 2 eggs, medium
* 1 tonka bean, grated
* 2 packs ready made butter puff pastry on a roll
* 1 yolk for brushing the pastry
Instructions
* Preheat your oven to 200c.

* Blend the butter with the sugar then add the almonds. Make sure it’s well mixed. Add in the 2 eggs one at a time, then add the tonka bean.

* If using a block: divide the puff pastry into two and roll out to 5mm thick. 
* Make two circles about 15 cm’s each in diameter. Lay one circle on a silicone mat/parchment paper on a baking tray and fill with the almond cream leaving a 3 cm border around the edge. 
* Paint the border with the egg yolk. Then lay the other circle on top, sealing the edges with a fork. 
* You could then carve designs into the top. Make a little slit in the middle to let steam escape then brush the top with the egg yolk
Mapo tofu is probably my favourite Sichuan dish. T Mapo tofu is probably my favourite Sichuan dish. This is a vegan version. ***

Ingredients:
- 400 g box of soft tofu not silken
- 5 soaked dried shiitake mushrooms, diced, keep water
- 1 red bell pepper, finely sliced
- 400 g fresh shiitake mushroom, sliced thinly
- 400 ml vegetable stock
- 1 thumb fresh ginger, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 4 tbsps groundnut or vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp fermented bean paste
- 1 or 2 small red chillies, minced or a spoonful of Chinese chilli paste
- 1 tsp heaped sichuan peppercorns, finely ground
- 2 tbsps soy or tamari sauce
- 2 tbsp cornflour in 3 tbsps water, mixed into a slurry
- 4 spring onions, finely sliced
- large pinch fresh coriander leaves

Prepare the tofu by cutting it into one inch cubes and soaking it in hot but not boiling salted water. Drain after 15 minutes.
Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms, covering them in boiling water. Leave until soft, then dice the mushrooms. Retain the mushroom soaking water and add to the vegetable stock water.
Prepare the other ingredients so they are ready to stir-fry: red bell pepper, fresh mushrooms, ginger, garlic.

Using a wok or deep frying pan, add the oil and heat to frying temperature. Add the bell peppers,fry for a couple of minutes, then add fermented bean paste, chilli paste or chillies, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sichuan pepper.
Add the mushroom/vegetable broth and simmer on high for a couple of minutes.
Carefully add the cubes of tofu, taking care not to break them too much.
Add the cornflour slurry, stirring for a couple of minutes.
Serve with rice or noodles, garnishing with spring onions or chives and or coriander leaves.  #veganuary #mapotofu #sichuanfood #tofu  #shitakemushrooms #supperclub #londonchef #msmarmitelover #ham&highcolumn #eatplants #lockdown3 #selfisolation #coronaloner #cooking #recipe #cookingfromscratch
Macaroni cheese with odds and sods from the Christ Macaroni cheese with odds and sods from the Christmas leftover cheese board. I’ve used @paxtonscheese truffled brillat-savarin and a mystery hard cheese that’s lost its label. Plus cream and topped it with samphire fried in butter. Haven’t bothered with making a roux- this is the lockdown lazy version.  #lockdownlazy #lockdown3 #supperclub #macandcheese #macaronicheese #truffledcheese #leftovers #leftovercheeseboard #londonlockdown #breakfast #coronaloner
Another thing the Japanese are brilliant at is san Another thing the Japanese are brilliant at is sandwiches. They use the softest, whitest, fluffiest bread. Their mayonnaise kewpie is gorgeous I don’t know why. Perhaps someone here can explain? Here I’ve used sourdough as it’s what I have; kosho which is a Yuzu citrus and green chilli condiment and the aforesaid kewpie Mayo to make an egg 🥚 sandwich.  I’m not a big egg fan but I suddenly had the urge. Also I’ve noticed when I eat eggs it satiates my hunger for hours. All that protein.  #sandwich #sandwiches #japanesesandwich #kewpiemayo #kosho #eggsandwich #sourdough #supperclub #cookingforone #solo #londonlife #lockdownlondon #recipe #snack #sundaysnack #sando
Agedashi tofu for New Year’s Day. With a vegan d Agedashi tofu for New Year’s Day. With a vegan dashi stock, it’s perfect for veganuary. How to make dashi: put a piece of kombu seaweed in water. Soak for half an hour then simmer for half an hour (don’t let it boil). Then mix 2 cups of dashi with 2 tbsps of mirin and 2 of soy sauce.  For the tofu: press soft tofu with weights for half an hour, then cut into cubes. Dust all over with cornflour.  Then deep fry the tofu cubes in 180C veg oil until they float. Set aside to drain, then place say 3 cubes in small bowl. Pour the sauce around and top with spring onion and daikon and togarashi 7 spice.  #easypeasyvegan #veganuary #agedashitofu #tofu #japaneseveganrecipe #newyearsday #freshstart #supperclub #londonsupperclub #msmarmitelover #visforvegan #recipe
Writing about tofu which I think has an unfair rep Writing about tofu which I think has an unfair reputation in this country. It’s so flexible and is a brilliant flavour sponge. Here I’m preparing my soft tofu for a Japanese dish: agedashi tofu. I first pressed it in a clean tea towel with a weight on top to firm it up a bit but not too much. Then I dusted it with cornflour and I will deep fry it in oil. Then I will serve it in a broth of dashi/mirin and tamari sauce, sprinkled with finely chopped spring onions and togarashi pepper from Japan. I would usually add some finely mandolined daikon radish but couldn’t find any. It’s a subtle dish of texture: soft yet crispy. After Christmas I’m desperate for light zingy fresh flavoured food. #supperclub #tofu #vegan #vegetarian #agedashitofu #newyearsday #cookingagain #lunch #asian #japanesefood
Happy new year from my bubble to yours! Keep holdi Happy new year from my bubble to yours! Keep holding on...
#happynewyear #happynewyear2021 #supperclub #hootenanny
Some of my Christmas food 🥘 lots of veg includi Some of my Christmas food 🥘 lots of veg including mashed swede with cheese and butter. I put pomegranate seeds with my sprouts, and cooked my carrots in marmalade ( worked v well), the mushroom wreath fell apart as I was transferring it to a tray 😤, roast potatoes and parsnips, then a cheese spread with fruit nuts, quince cheese (homemade), Chocs @lindtuk 😍 @guylian_uk @disaronno_official @baileysofficial @taylorsportwine and Brazil nuts. Plus a pavlova wreath ready to be topped with whipped cream and persimmons. 
#christmasdinner #vegetarianchristmas #vegetarianchristmasdinner #supperclub #londonchristmas #liqueurs #christmasspread #grazing #cheeseboard #port #pavlova
Christmas has started! Home-cured smoked beetroot Christmas has started!  Home-cured smoked beetroot and aquavit salmon with homemade blinis, creme fraiche, dill, Prosecco.  The fire is lit 🔥, the tree is up, 🎄the presents 🎁 are wrapped, we have a #brexit deal- a Christmas miracle. Peace and harmony. #christmas #christmasinengland #homemade #christmaseve #blinis #smokedsalmon #prosecco🍾 #londonchristmas
Done some doorscaping, the latest trend in Christm Done some doorscaping, the latest trend in Christmas decorating. It might also cheer up passersby. #christmas #christmasdecor #doorscaping #doorsofinstagram #londonchristmas #doorwreath #doordecor #doorsoftheworld #doordecoration #exteriors #london #supperclub #covidchristmas
Look at my gorgeous Nordic pine Christmas tree 🎄 from @pinesandneedles with some family ornaments and beautiful foodie ornaments from @gisela_graham  it’s 7 foot high and no drop. My parents brought over the candle lights. I’ve also used paper ornaments (apples and pears cut from maps) from @dionne_leonard which I first commissioned for a supper club.  #christmas #christmastree #christmasdecor #foodiedecorations #glassbaubles #supperclub #christmasinlondon
More #fbmarketplacefinds I find meeting the seller More #fbmarketplacefinds I find meeting the sellers interesting. It’s often about moving on whether through death, a change of circumstances, moving country, loss of a job. Today I visited a gorgeously renovated Edwardian house where the owners, an antique dealer & a master decorator had died with 18 months of each other of cancer.  The sister was there emptying the house, an incredibly painful experience. The husband who died was an expert in putting up lincrusta wallpaper which I’ve pictured here. All that craftsmanship and knowledge lost now.  The piece I got on Sunday, the teal chinoiserie cabinet, was from a Spanish guy returning to Spain. He’d lost his job as a hotel manager, the hotel, a big one, has now closed. The marble coffee table and arepas grill was from a Spanish couple who’d had a restaurant here for 40 years. They are now returning to Spain. Other slides: green Edwardian fireplace tiles, William Morris wallpaper, 2 small scalloped coffee tables, a knife and fork cutlery hook set.  A fireplace for my bedroom if I can find someone to put it in. #lockdownstories #covidstories #movingon #decor #interiors #bargains #secondhandstyle #edwardianstyle #williammorris #tiles #wallpaper #scallopededge #teal #chinoiserie #whitemarble #vintage #kitchenalia #supperclubrefurb #london #lincrustawallpaper
Another #fbmarketplace find £30. I can’t afford Another #fbmarketplace find £30. I can’t afford proper chinoiserie so I make do with fakes. The gradual doing up of my flat proceeds apace. Need to start on main bedroom. Looking for a storage ottoman (velvet?) bench to turn into a horizontal filing cabinet.  Any ideas? Above is a map of london based on the A to Z map which a minicab office was tossing out. Remember when we all carried mini A to Z books in our handbags? Before google maps? #nocrushedvelvet #chinoiserie #supperclubrefurb #londonapartment #londonflat #norfweezy #decor #organising #storage #interiors
My new/old rise and fall light over the dining tab My new/old rise and fall light over the dining table. Found for £50 on #fbmarketplace  but originally from @thefrenchhouse.net_ one of my favourite shops. Every day, a little more progress. #supperclubrefurb #supperclub #londonflat #interiors #lighting #riseandfalllights #lightingisimportant #frenchstyle #vintagestyle #rusticstyle #turquoise #diningtabledecor
Two vegetarian meal kits, laksa and ramen, from @k Two vegetarian meal kits, laksa and ramen, from @kit.eats.uk. Took only a couple of minutes to cook(see stories) and very good. I’m trying a few meal kits of late to see how hospitality has adapted to the great reset. As a cook I’ve always thought why would I need these but now I get it: it’s like going to a restaurant- the pleasure of food prepared by someone else. Getting jolted off of your normal repertoire, so it’s teaching cooking too.  #mealkits #vegetarian #homecooked #hospitality #covid #takeawayfood #foodpackaging #laksa #ramen #supperclubchef
Still working on my glass cupboard. I’ve hung up Still working on my glass cupboard. I’ve hung up all my wine bottle openers and cork screws. My favourite is the zigzag bottom left. If you find them at a flea market in France, if you are lucky you may get it for around 35 euros.  #supperclub #londonflat #londoninteriors #corkscrews #frenchkitchenalia #zigzag #tirebouchon #oakcupboard #diy #diyprojects
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Archives

Copyright © 2021 msmarmitelover