• 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/Events
  • About
    • Published Articles
    • Books
  • Shop
    • Cart

The Underground Restaurant at Bestival 2012

September 14, 2012 12 Comments Filed Under: Uncategorized

Les girls. Costumes by Ruth Bennett
Preparing for brunch: making bread by torchlight; fishes and loaves; a mutineer’s breakfast
Bestival: Wishing Tree Field

Coconuts: cocktails and south seas soup

Costume details
Exotic fruit plates at the brunch

Scenes from the Underground Restaurant
Sienna’s seating plan; the man who brought our clams for the vongole; a propped up slopey kitchen. 
Drinks in the rowing boat; black boards outside; Shipwreck pavlova
I loved finding props and styling this project. Drunken bottles, globes, rum shots, maps, seascapes. This restaurant was inspired by the novels of Patrick O’Brian, set just after Nelson’s death. 
Valerie June looked like a crew member; an Isle of Wight Elvis came to visit; cabin boy Jim welcoming guests

Brunch: home made muesli, Bloody Marys with rosemary; yoghurts and fruit, home made bread and jams, Marmite, ricotta hotcakes and maple syrup, tea and coffee.
We all joined in with The Crew, an Isle of Wight shanty band; ex X factor contestant Paige Richardson jammed with them; Main stage act Skinny Lister

Brunch: ricotta hotcakes with maple syrup; Head chef Angie made these cute ‘fish’ butters.

I had a fantastic mixologist in Poppy Farrugia who works at Golden Bee bar in Old Street; her wonderful mum Denise, who runs a tattoo parlour came too. 
I served the vegetarian spaghetti in maps and banana leaves which seals in all the taste.
Props: seashore books; Victory Ale (we also sold other era appropriate drinks such as ‘sack’, or sherry; port and madeira); map cushions in wooden boats; ‘mapkins’ and sea shells on trunks; ships in bottles
I used Garofalo pasta, bronze die pasta from Gragnano in Italy. I experimented with cooking times. If you have a very good quality pasta, it’s very difficult to overcook it. The mains course, Spaghetti vongole al cartoccio, was very difficult to do for so many people. It required precise timing. This was 11 minute spaghetti. We needed to cook it for six minutes then place it in a sealed parchment bag with the sauce and bake it for five minutes. I would dearly love to go to visit Gragnano, to find out more about pasta.

Menu:
South Seas soup with sweet potato, plus chilli, coconut and lime sambal
Spaghetti vongole al cartoccio
Isle of Wight tomato salad
Pirate Pavlova

Top right: one lady came to brunch with her hair in a towel, having just showered.
Isle of Wight local sea shanty band The Crew who both looked and sounded very authentic. 
Isle of Wight tomatoes, a ‘compass’ salad
Gizzi Erskine adored my spaghetti vongole in a bag
Skinny Lister and Gizzi

Sunset pirate

Thanks to Come Cosi tomatoes, Garofalo pasta, Vitamix UK (vital to make the coconut lime sambal), Wines of South Africa, Rabl wine, Merry Widows wine, Green Pan UK, (a lifesaver for the ricotta hotcakes), Bestival, Josie and Rob Da Bank, Katie Maddison, Gemma Thorogood, Ali of Bristol Vintage, Kellie Edmeades for doing accounts, Achillea Flowers, Dionne Leonard for menu maps and constellation flowers, Kiren Puri,  Marmite, The Crew (Sue Rose, Jan Young, Phil Young, Sam Brookes, Shane Brookes, Barry Seaward, Paul and Lindsay Sturgess) and all the cast of The Underground Restaurant. (Kitchen: Angie Hodgkinson Day, Luke Sutton, Tyler Bladebone, Karolina Kulesza, Kat Baily, Gareth Harris, Beggs. Front of house: Tanya Moulson, Ros Brooks, Jeannie Miles, Izzy, Selina, Sarah Servante. Bar: Poppy and Denise Farrugia. Seamstress/costumier/wise woman: Ruth Bennett. Door/handyman and the guy who makes me laugh, Jim Pennington. Sienna Rodgers for sorting out the bookings and keeping me sane. Missed you Imo x

Recent posts

Discovering fairytale Saxony in Germany

January 25, 2023

Fake meat taste test for Veganuary

January 8, 2023

A round-up of my favourite travel destinations of 2022

January 1, 2023

Previous Post: « Last chance to sow
Next Post: Tropical recipes: watermelon and coconut »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jules

    September 14, 2012 at 7:52 pm

    Looks like a fabulous event. I love the menu and styling.

    Reply
  2. Anonymous

    September 15, 2012 at 2:58 am

    I couldnt have said it any better to be honest! keep up the awesome work. You are very talented & I only wish I could write as good as you do 🙂 …

    Reply
  3. ernährungsplan

    September 15, 2012 at 5:15 pm

    very good post

    Reply
  4. James

    September 16, 2012 at 7:49 pm

    Swashbuckling costumes!

    The shipwreck pavlova on a return voayage. Bet the coconut hollowing day was memorable.

    Wow! Looks like I missed a good one!

    Reply
  5. theundergroundrestaurant

    September 16, 2012 at 7:59 pm

    I bought ready hollowed coconuts! (memories of last years horrendous pumpkin hollowing out sesh).
    But there was quite a bit of coconut cracking and skinning for the coconut sambal.
    I'll do the recipe in the next post. it's totally addictive. Missed your packing expertise. I forgot so much stuff.

    Reply
  6. Anonymous

    September 17, 2012 at 6:42 am

    awesomeness

    Reply
  7. sewa mobil jakarta

    September 17, 2012 at 8:04 am

    Very nice, thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  8. Victoria

    September 17, 2012 at 10:13 am

    You are so creative, it is awe inspiring.

    Reply
  9. Franksexual

    September 17, 2012 at 4:19 pm

    again – it looks amazing!!! Wish I was there! xxx

    Reply
  10. Anonymous

    September 19, 2012 at 7:02 pm

    Wow. That looks like so much fun and yummy!!

    Reply
  11. le bord doré des nuages

    October 1, 2012 at 9:12 pm

    Quelle folle journée!!!!
    Merci pour ce très joyeux spectacle gourmand!!!! les photos et l"ambiance SUPER! Bravissimo!

    Reply
  12. Sally - My Custard Pie

    October 3, 2012 at 8:59 am

    Your creativity is awesome. I just wish I'd been there. Shipwreck meringue – wonderful stuff. Having just won a Vitamix need that recipe!

    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
My piece is The Great Read: My piece is The Great Read:
Naples at Christmas- discovering piennolo di vesuv Naples at Christmas- discovering piennolo di vesuvio,the Christmas 🍅, which lasts up to a year fresh. It’s given boxed as gifts around Christmas being the only local fresh tomato available. It dresses all the Christmas pizzas and pastas. It’s grown on volcanic Vesuvius soil and sparsely watered. As a result it has thick skins, and a sweet intense flavour. #tomatoes #italy #naples
Not cooking much at the moment due to a thick laye Not cooking much at the moment due to a thick layer of dust over my kitchen. This will be my dining room/photography studio. Done on a whim.#unplanneddemolition
Another picture of my granddaughter Ophelia in a n Another picture of my granddaughter Ophelia in a nest of apricot tulle (found at portobello market). Isn’t she lovely? #granfluencer
Broccoli Stilton soup. This freezing week is defin Broccoli Stilton soup. This freezing week is definitely a week for soups. My friend @jimfrommanc is staying & needs his hot lunch.
Cheese on toast with crushed chilli 🌶️ in Ven Cheese on toast with crushed chilli 🌶️ in Venice the fresh food market sells bouquets of colourful chillies. I’ve still got mine, drying in an enamel jug. #travelandfood
The Christmas tomato or piennolo di vesuvio. Read The Christmas tomato or piennolo di vesuvio. Read all about it: https://msmarmitelover.com/2022/12/christmas-in-naples.html  Got a couple of bunches hanging in my kitchen. #naples #campania #tomatoes🍅 #travelphotography
Opheliagram. This morning I photographed her in an Opheliagram. This morning I photographed her in an Italian outfit I bought in Naples on a William Morris playmat which looks great and is practical for tummy time. So many things are different about parenting now. Parents use apps to track feeding, pooing, weeing etc. You don’t bathe them anymore for the first few weeks because you want to leave the vernix ( the white waxy stuff they are covered in at birth) on their skin as long as possible. Nappies now have a line on them that turns blue if they’ve done a pee. White noise apps to help them sleep. New technology guides new parents. As well as ancient probably prehistoric customs being rediscovered. #granfluencer #grandaughter I’ve tagged in @siennamarla and @jamescalmus as the authors of this baby.
I made two dishes from one pack of white beans las I made two dishes from one pack of white beans last night. Soak, then cook with 2 stock cubes, water & a fan of bay leaves. When soft & cooked, scoop some into a soup bowl with plenty of stock, add white wine, fresh basil and or a scoop of pesto and a squeeze of lemon for soupe au pistou. Garnish with Parmesan. Today I cooked the pot until the liquid had almost disappeared and added a block of feta. I baked this in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, added @pomoragoodfood new olive oil, salt and pepper for a gigantes plaki (but with smaller beans). Eat more beans!
What to make when you have lots of leftover egg yo What to make when you have lots of leftover egg yolks after making a pavlova? Zabaglione, that classic Italian trattoria dessert made from egg yolks, sugar & tons of masala sweet wine. Whisk it up over a bain-marie or be a bit cheaty & add a teaspoon of cornflour. Strong wrists needed. #italianfood #christmasdesserts #leftovers #cooksmart
The unpackaged vegan meats. My panel of 4 ( from c The unpackaged vegan meats. My panel of 4 ( from carnivore, to recent vegetarian, to long-time vegetarian to never eaten meat (my daughter)) tasted 18. It was quite a bushtucker trial. Carnivores & vegetarians liked very different things. Full report in next weeks @hamandhigh #veganuary #vegan #vegetarian #tastetest #fakemeat #plantbasedmeat
Fake meatathon tasting taking place as my veganuar Fake meatathon tasting taking place as my veganuary column for @hamandhigh So many companies doing this now. As a longtime vegetarian I don’t want anything that tastes too much like meat. But new vegetarians and vegans may want something that tastes close as damnit to meat in order to stave off cravings? Which category are you in? Have you any favourites or dislikes? Is this just another example of ultra-processed food? Let me know in the comments #vegan #vegetarian #meatfree #veganuary
Pasta buselli al cedro. Cedro or citron is a fragr Pasta buselli al cedro. Cedro or citron is a fragrant citrus & one of the founding citrus (along with pomelo and mandarin) that created all the other citrus fruits you know about. Usually candied, it is also used in this unusual neopolitan recipe in which you soak the zest in the pasta water overnight before cooking. Post up on the blog later today. Board a Xmas present from @siennamarla #pasta #naples #cedro #citrus
My london garden ce matin My london garden ce matin
My Sacher Torte (1 word or 2?) with a difference- My Sacher Torte (1 word or 2?) with a difference- bergamot marmalade in the middle. In the @hamandhigh this week. It’s bloody delicious. #chocolatecake #feelaustria #untoldstories #vienna #sachertorte
These are Mela Annurca apples, ‘mel’anurca’ These are Mela Annurca apples, ‘mel’anurca’ in Neapolitan dialect. They are a Christmas apple, in season now. I bought this little model basket of apples in San Gregorio di Armenia street in Naples where every year neopolitans buy something to add to their ‘presepe’ or nativity scene. Often scenes from markets to add to the expensive, anything from 500 euros to 5000 euros nativity crèches. Around Christmas this street is packed (watch out for pickpockets) with locals and tourist picking out their addition to the scene. Melanurca apples are picked in September then laid on the ground to ripen, turning them every day by hand, to ensure all sides transform from a yellow green into a Wicked Witch red. They are very healthy, particularly for your hair, according to scientists at the university of Naples. #naples #neopolitanchristmas #melanurca  #food #travel #sangregorioarmeno #presepenapoletano #nativityscenes
The Christmas tomato 🍅 or piennolo di vesuvio, The Christmas tomato 🍅 or piennolo di vesuvio, a local tomato that is sold around Christmas in Naples. It is grown with very little irrigation and lasts fresh up to a year. Hence it is used for tomato based Christmas dishes. This tomato has a thick skin and is really intense in flavour. It hangs outside grocers, on balconies, in kitchens, having been braided by ladies into bunches of 1.5 kilos. Each costs 15 euros. I went to visit the farmers and the ladies skilfully tying the tomatoes into clusters, using the vines to fasten them, like cherries. Boxed, these are given as gifts. Reel on the way! #naples #christmas #tomatoes #travel #food
Travel: how I pack. I choose one colour as well as Travel: how I pack. I choose one colour as well as black and white and stick to that palette. For Sicily & Naples I’m doing red, white & black. I’ve bought @coti_vision red glasses chain, a red beret & a black one, a pair of red @snagtights & a black pair, a red hair clasp, a red & white pair of shoes (25 euros, leather from Naples), a red & white dress, a black & white striped dress, and so on. Do you roll? Do you flatten & spread? Do you fold? How do you pack? A few days before I leave I leave my suitcase open in my bedroom and every time I think of something I need to take I sling it in there. ( like adaptors) Last thing is wash bag ( I have a hanging one which is useful) and coat (red for this trip). Basically I colour code my life. When I did the Camino everything was blue & yellow, the colours of the Camino. When I went to Ireland I took all my green clothes ( I don’t have many). If I go on a boat trip I pack blue and white. #packing #colourcoding #travel #mysuitcase
Ruota di pesce spada. A glorious oven baked Sicili Ruota di pesce spada. A glorious oven baked Sicilian fish dish, baked on onions, studded with garlic cloves wrapped in mint leaves, then more onions, capers, olives, oregano & rosemary. Use a thick central slice of swordfish (where can I get that in london?). I’m tasting grillo & Nero d’avola wines @tenutorapitala about an hour inland from Palermo. The owner is the last count Bernard de La gatinais. He has 3 daughters. He’s French (Brittany) and Sicilian. He spoke about how difficult it has been for wine growers since lockdown- so many restaurants closed. Now they are grappling with high energy & fuel costs. ##winesofsicilia #siciliaDOC #wine #travel #sicily
I love Venice. I love Maneskin. I love Italy. I lo I love Venice. I love Maneskin. I love Italy. I love boats and water. #biennalearte2022
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Archives

Copyright © 2023 msmarmitelover