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Underground University: Food Bloggers Conference

February 22, 2011 7 Comments Filed Under: Food, Recipes, Uncategorized

Delegate’s badges!

The night before: the phone rings: “Hello I’m calling on behalf of Daniel Young”
Me: (interior groan, big sigh, this can only be bad news): “So …is he cancelling?”
Lady: “No, but Daniel has lost his voice and I’m…” big noise in background from Kitchen Aid mixer beating croissant dough ” and I will come with Daniel to …interpret….what he wants to say”
Me: “a kind of telepathic…um…talk?”
Lady: “Well I sort of know what he wants to say, and, I have a print out”.
Me: (interior: hesitating) “okaaay”
Lady: “I don’t know anything about food blogging.”
Me: finally, “Okaaay.” Deep breath. “And you are?….”
Lady: “Oh I’m his wife, didn’t I mention that? I’m Mrs Young and Foodish. I’m in publishing though”
Me: (interior…oh they are married. Should be ok then. She must know his every thought.) “Fine, no problem, see you tomorrow”

Daniel Young’s talk was channelled through his wife Vivian, Editorial Director of Reaktion Books. Sometimes, Daniel would whisper further points, which had the effect of making everybody lean in and listen hard. 

We had a ‘business breakfast’ of home made croissants, plain and almond, pains chocolat (with dark and white chocolate), pains au raisins and coffee. The delegates wore name badges with their blog or Twitter name on them. Food bloggers, suppliers, Tweeters swam in, through rainy February skies, from all over the country, armed with laptops and cameras.
 For these almond croissants, I made them fresh from Michel Roux’s Pastry book, but added an almond paste inside and on the top. 
Ingredients:
Fresh croissant dough
100g of ground almonds
100g of unsalted butter, diced
100g of caster sugar
A few drops of orange blossom water
A few sliced blanched almonds to add on top.
 Michel Roux’s book suggests a triangle template of 9cm’s by 18. This produced mini croissants.

 I made the pains chocolat with two types of chocolate that I found in my cupboard: a really serious dark chocolate Original Beans Piura that stood out as an ingredient even after being baked: and also Green and Black’s white chocolate. I’ve never had a white pain chocolat before, they seemed to go down well.

Laura James talked about how to write a recipe, giving a list of jumbled up ingredients and asking people to write out the recipe in an understandable form.
Then lunch: a great opportunity to network and meet the other delegates.
Pictured: Spaghetti Vongole in a bag. Lakeland are now doing this combination parchment/foil which is perfect for cooking things in a bag.
 Rhubarb and custard clafoutis in individual enamel dishes
 Photographic hottie Paul Winch Furness talking about the technicals.
 Fire and Knives editor/broadcaster Tim Hayward in characteristic expansive humour, explaining how he got into writing, his background, his advice on writing. In fact I learnt more about him in an hour than I have in the last two years. 
People went home with their heads buzzing and their hands full with a goodie bag. 
Rachel’s Organics showcased their new yoghurts, among them coconut, honey, and passionfruit.
Douwe Egberts gave vintage blend coffee.
A copy of Fire and Knives magazine, the food quarterly. 
Small jars of Marmite!
Next conference May 21st: How to start and run a supper club. 
Book here.
Confirmed speakers: MsMarmitelover
James Ramsden of The Secret Larder
Lynn Hill of My Secret Tearoom
and more conferences to come…

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. The Secluded Tea Party

    February 22, 2011 at 12:55 pm

    It was so much fun! Thank you for letting us in on such a fun and encouraging event! I shall return!
    Miss Sue Flay xxx

    Reply
  2. Gerry Snape

    February 22, 2011 at 5:01 pm

    My daughter came to the conference and loved it. I can just see her in one of the pics….she has the amelies house blog. painting on cakes. I love the english can cook site. Great!

    Reply
  3. Nessa Robins

    February 23, 2011 at 4:37 pm

    Wow it sounded like a really wonderful event!

    Reply
  4. The

    February 23, 2011 at 4:40 pm

    Sounds great, shame I missed it :/. I am really going to try and make it to the next Underground University Event however, sounds very interesting x x

    Reply
  5. The Curious Cat

    February 24, 2011 at 4:06 pm

    Ah sounds wicked – Tim Hayward sounds interesting…I would have loved to have picked his brain! xxx

    Reply
  6. Milly

    February 25, 2011 at 10:53 am

    I'm loving your blog, I'm following!

    Would love you to enter my amazing GIVEAWAY- to win a pasta making course and meal with wine for two:

    http://thoroughlymodernmilly5.blogspot.com/2011/02/best-gievaway-yet-ida-restaurant-pasta.html

    xx

    Reply
  7. orangerider

    March 10, 2011 at 8:42 pm

    I loved the rhubarb and custard clafoutis – it was delicious. Have just been given enormous bundle of Yorkshire rhubard and would like to cook clafoutis. Can you point me in the direction of a recipe please. Thanks.

    Reply

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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.

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Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
My next supper club 17th June london tickets £50 My next supper club 17th June london tickets £50 BYO book here: https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsummer-supper-club-tickets-june-17th #london #supperclub #msmarmitelover #midsummer
For tonight’s event I had to push the boundaries For tonight’s event I had to push the boundaries. Here is how to prepare goose neck barnacles or percebes which are a very expensive and rare delicacy, hunted down from cliffs. It’s quite dangerous to forage them. #canapes #eventcatering #satanicfood #percebes #grossfood #seafood #devilsfood
Midsummer supperclub 17th June book tickets here h Midsummer supperclub 17th June book tickets here https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsummer-supper-club-tickets-june-17th at London’s pioneering supper club. Tickets £50 BYO. Scandinavian inspired summery food. #supperclub #msmarmitelover #midsummer #northwestlondon #londonevents #popups
Tina sweating through a gig at Brixton academy cir Tina sweating through a gig at Brixton academy circa 1987 pic: kerstin Rodgers #rip #tinaturner #rockphotographer #kerstinrodgers #teenagephotographer
Attended an incredible talk with @frenchpete_1 on Attended an incredible talk with @frenchpete_1 on war photography in the Ukraine . Go to the exhibition @thebppa @thebargehouse in SE1 last few days 
Had to stop filming cos I was told off. The photographers would be less forthcoming if they were filmed I was told. 
Anyway @frenchpete_1 should be followed by a camera crew cos he’s a star.
For yesterdays lunch I made a blue cheese puff pas For yesterdays lunch I made a blue cheese puff pastry quiche and a little one with less blue cheese & no salt for my 7 month old granddaughter. She absolutely loved it. I’m enjoying seeing her experience and explore new foods with baby led weaning. Avocado, strawberries, kiwi & buttered crumpets are a hit. Pasta less so. Who is this child? Are we even related? #babyledweaning #quiche #homemadepuffpastry
Nice to be featured as The Great Read in The natio Nice to be featured as The Great Read in The national newspaper again. These are the stories I love to do: I go off on an adventure, take my time, interview people (especially women), photograph them in their environment and create recipes on site. This story cost me a lot more than I made as I had an accident and lost my excess. My own damn fault though! Loved loved loved having a campervan. Thanks for lending me it @camperdays.international and sorry about the hole in the side.  https://www.thenational.scot/news/23505593.foraging-seaweed-western-isles/
My terrace on a sunny May morning. The builders @l My terrace on a sunny May morning. The builders @lk.general.building left yesterday. They’ve been working since January. I had the awning installed, the encaustic Minton tiles removed and put back with green grout. The terrace was causing damp so this had to be done. My calamondin plant is looking lovely. The benches which I repaired with hard wood & I repainted using a mix of 2 colours. The marble table I bought in Suffolk at a car boot. Everything is still dusty & I’m waiting for the window cleaner to arrive.
Last but very heartfelt thankyou to @cideriswine f Last but very heartfelt thankyou to @cideriswine for their contribution of these beautiful dry ciders for the coronation street lunch. Gorgeously illustrated labels. #stcuthbertsrd #kilburn #london #cider #artisanaldrinks
When it comes to vodka I much prefer potato vodka. When it comes to vodka I much prefer potato vodka. It’s smoother. Artisanal distillery @devoncovevodka contributed some bottles to my coronation lunch which gave everyone a feeling of being at a classy party. Thanks so much. And also @rawfoodanddrink for arranging. If you want to read my blog post about how and why I organised this event, copy and paste this link: https://t.co/GWNNW2XKba #coronationstreetparty #biglunch #community #kilburn #london #forthepeoplebythepeople
I’ve been a fan of @luscombedrinks for years now I’ve been a fan of @luscombedrinks for years now. They sent a selection: elderflower bubbly, st. Clements orange 🍊 Sicilian lemonade, @belvoirfarm_uk lemonade, which were all delicious and just the tickets for the fortuitous mini-heatwave that occurred on the Sunday coronation lunch. #thankyou #community #coronation #streetparty #biglunch
Our street party. Double page spread in The Sun! T Our street party. Double page spread in The Sun! Tiny bit in the guardian. Decent pic in the Mail and The Star credit @asproider #coronationlunch #kilburn #stcuthbertsrd #kingscroftrd #fordwychrd #templarhouse
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Seaweed foraging at Spring tides in the Outer Hebr Seaweed foraging at Spring tides in the Outer Hebrides with @outerhebrideanforager Fi bird. She’s cutting sea spaghetti. I drove my campervan @camperdays.international from london to the Hebrides- using my gas stove to cook foraged and local ingredients. A real food safari. With the sea spaghetti I made a sea spag vongole with giant parlourdes picked up from the sand at the same time. Great fun, beautiful weather and, the day of the full moon, a wonderfully low tide. This was on south Uist.
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Yesterday I attended @marmaladeawards @dalemainman Yesterday I attended @marmaladeawards @dalemainmansion I found out so much about marmalade. I’m going to make it this winter. I found out the worlds best maker is Japanese, in fact I was most impressed by the Japanese marmalades in general. Everyone wore orange. I must have tasted 50 marmalades. I met Paddington’s sister, karen jankel who is michael bond’s daughter, born in the same year as Paddington. She gave a charming talk on Paddington, mentioning how the queen insisted on having real marmalade sandwiches in her @launerlondonofficial handbag during the shoot. The house itself is Tudor and Georgian. I stayed in my campervan from @camperdays.international in the car park, cosy in the rain. Another freewheeling adventure. #yorkshire #marmalade #travel #food #ontheroad #campervan
I had a piece in @thetimes on Sunday about being a I had a piece in @thetimes on Sunday about being a vegetarian rather than a vegan. How I still need butter. And how restaurants & plane meals are now vegan rather than vegetarian. But, there are still more the double amount of vegetarians as vegans in the UK. I’ve written a vegan cookbook V is for vegan (link in bio) and am a big fan of vegan foods. I’ve not eaten meat for over 40 years. This is a sustainable diet, in terms of longevity. Vegans that I knew from the early noughties have reverted to meat eating. #newpuritanism? #vegetarian #vegan #foodwriter
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I went to Wembley in north west london to talk to I went to Wembley in north west london to talk to Sophie of @tobia.teff she uses the iron-rich, gluten free teff grain from her homeland Ethiopia. She showed me how to make injera, the Ethiopian flatbread which is fermented. She also talked about the coffee ceremony, 3 cups, which they pair with toasted barley or, currently, popcorn! I’d love to visit Ethiopia and find out more about their ancient food culture, history, 3.5k year old monarchy and religions.
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