Manchester Foodie – eating her way through the Northwest … & beyond

Weekend of Produce: Riverford @ Stockley VS Cracking Good Food @ Glebelands

20.09.2010 (9:45 pm) – Filed under: ingredients, perfect, riverford, stockley, veggie, win, yurt ::

Who doesn’t love discovering honest-to-goodness, organic produce in a charming English setting? We attended two very unique and drastically different events doing just that.

Trimmings that'd convert hardened carnivores to the green side

Trimmings that'd convert hardened carnivores to the green side

The first was lunch at a travelling field kitchen in Stockley Farm, a satellite partner farm of Riverford’s Veg Scheme which originated from Devon. Winning nothing but praise from the likes of Rayner, Coren and Ramsay, the afternoon still managed to exceed our expectations. A pictorial of how we got on:

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1.5 kg of Popina’s Choc Truffle Brownies

19.09.2010 (9:19 pm) – Filed under: baked goods, win ::

It may not have the fancy vibrant icing of the cupcake, nor bits of fruit and nuts nestled within a muffin, but what it lacks in appearance it makes up for in ‘oomph’, taste-wise.

Save for a passing mention in another food blog, I am not too familiar with Popina nor the author Isidora Popovic. There’s a story about how her baked goods went rags to riches from a Portabello Market stall to Fortnum & Mason and Harrods, but that sounds more like a PR/publisher hook rather than any testament of merit if I’m honest. The blogger endorsements and the positive reviews off Amazon were more convincing.

My verdict: unfussy recipe, short prep & bake time, 5 ingredients (all in unspeakably sinful quantities except for the flour and egg), little washing up, and really really good.

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A chance interview with the Fuchsia Dunlop

14.09.2010 (10:17 am) – Filed under: Chinese food, Fuchsia Dunlop, Hunan Cuisine, Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook ::
A chance interview with the Fuchsia Dunlop
In researching for the upcoming review of the city’s first Hunan restaurant, in amongst the myriad forum and blog posts comparing Hunanese recipes and restaurants across the globe, was Fuchsia and her Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook, which details her trails in Hunan. Hers is a lone shining beacon of authority on the subject in English language, and when all the links to her Observer Food Monthly article intriguingly entitled “How to Eat like Chairman Mao” hit a wall, I duly filled out the Contact Form on her website to ask her agent for a copy.
So when Ms Dunlop herself responded in 10 minutes offering, if I couldn’t get ahold of her book, a chat, I couldn’t accept fast enough.
Having the combined benefits of internet access and being Native chinese, I spent most of yesternight not only trawling through her various interviews, but also scouring the net for information on Hunan food in Chinese and have come up with a few choice questions from which I hope to develop debates about the cross-over of cultures beyond the story of the faemed General Tso’s chicken dish.
It’s a personal interest too, as I’m more than a little humbled by her dedication and expertise on what is arguably my own culture and heritage, and if this opportunity means I can learn from a ‘laowai’, then so be it!
I hope to incorporate elements of our discussion into the review, which I will cross-post when it goes up on ManchesterConfidential.
Copyright belongs to Colin McPherson 2008

Copyright belongs to Colin McPherson 2008

In researching for the upcoming review of the city’s first Hunan restaurant, in amongst the myriad forum and blog posts comparing Hunanese recipes and restaurants across the globe, was Fuchsia and her Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook, which details her trails in Hunan. Hers is a lone shining beacon of authority on the subject in English language, and when all the links to her Observer Food Monthly article intriguingly entitled “How to Eat like Chairman Mao” hit a wall, I duly filled out the Contact Form on her website to ask her agent for a copy.

So when Ms Dunlop herself responded in 10 minutes offering, if I couldn’t get ahold of her book, a chat, I couldn’t accept fast enough.

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