Blaggers' Goodie Bags by Food by Mark

Cecilia and Mark had a fantastic time at the Blaggers’ Banquet. By all accounts it was a sensational success, with over £6,000 being raised for Action Against Hunger. If you want to read more about the event from a variety of perspectives then have a look at…

The early stages…

and this post by Gin and Crumpets about the initial get together at the Draft House

The frantic preparations… by Princess and the Pea and Scandilicious

The view from the pass… by Gourmet Chick and Kavey Eats

The wine experts’ perspective… by Fiona Beckett and The Wine Sleuth

A photographer’s snapshot by Food by Mark whose image is at the top of this post

And most importantly devour Niamh’s amazingly moving post…

But the fun hasn’t stopped. And neither has the fund-raising. If you visit the Blaggers’ Banquet eBay store you can bid on the first batch of lots including:

An Interflora “Hamper for Him”
An awesome Kitchenaid Artisan Stand Mixer
A visit for two to Artisan du Chocolat Atelier
Afternoon Tea for Two at the Ritz
A White Christmas Tea Collection from the White Tea Company

And look out for your chance to bid on Mexican cookery lessons from none other than our very own Tommi!

Thanks to Food by Mark for the image – have a look at the rest of his fantastic images here.

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We invited Qype’s top reviewers to sample our new menu that we’ve put together for the cold months and this is what they thought, in bite sized chunks:

SMOKED HERRING TOSTADAS by Alex Sheppard

Photo by @kelsiemortimer on Flickr

The smoked herring tostada is something that I’d probably never have tried – I wouldn’t have thought fish and tacos would work well together. But I’m glad I did as it will be the main (but certainly not only) reason why I’ll be coming back to Wahaca. Not only is the fish MSC-certified and sourced from Hastings, they were delicious. The smokeyflavour stayed in the mouth long after they’d been eaten, but it wasn’t too overpowering. For me, they were the highlight of the evening.

PORK PIBIL TACOS by Almost Witty (Andrew Wong)

The pork pibils – from memory I think that was Johnny Depp’s dish of choice in Once Upon A Time In Mexico – and definitely the best. They dripped off the tongue as they should.

MUSHROOM AND HUITLACOCHE QUESADILLAS by Kate Matlock

The quesadillas…oh good golly… the crazy mushroom quesadilla that was creamy and gooey and unpronounceable. It’s a fungus (called huitlacoche) that grows on corn. Seriously. Can I just say it’s the best damn fungus I’ve ever tried because I will be back for more.

BLACK BEAN SOUP by Qyper ‘ShakinSwedens’

The black bean soup which was so full of surprises it almost deserves a review of it’s own. The bowl was filled with goodies like avocado and roasted chillies and then the black bean soup poured over by the waiter. Each mouthful was different with a burst of fresh coriander in one or the piquant chilli in another.

MOLE ENCHILADA by Jenny from The Red Mangetout

Photo by @tikichris for Qype on Flickr

The mole enchiladas initially looked like more black bean soup, except this time it was topped with crema and rice. Digging in, it became apparent that underneath the sauce lay an enchilada stuffed with tender chicken and vegetables. The mole sauce was rich and spicy, with a good hint of chocolate. This was one of the stand out dishes for me, and a good introduction to Mexican flavours, without being too scary for the British palate. My only regret was that by this point I was getting too full to manage more than a mouthful!

FISH A LA VERACRUZANA by Su-Lin from Tamarind and Thyme

Photo by @Kelsiemortimer on Flickr

The Fish a la Veracruzana was a large piece of pollack with tomatoes, olives and capers, all baked in a foil parcel. The perfectly cooked fish broke off easily into large moist flakes at the touch of a fork and its lightness was complemented perfectly by the freshness from the tomatoes. However, as well as rice, this was accompanied by a salad whose toppings I found a little too punchy and acidic for the delicate fish.

SEASONAL VEGETABLE BURRITO by Simon Doggett

Photo by Su-Lin on Flickr

The burrito caused a bit of a stir round the room with one particular controversial ingredient. The cabbage. Now, it’s a veggie burrito. Of course we expected veggies. But cabbage? Turns out this has been a bit of a talking point over the years between owners, chefs and us lot – it’s prevalent in a certain area of Mexico, but we really weren’t sure. Then again, those of them on the other side of the table were excited about something a bit different. I guess we’re waiting to see if it actually makes a reappearance! Before the tasting I was pretty clueless about ‘proper’ Mexican street food, and nine times out of ten would have plumped for the burrito option. But now, ya know, having been presented with the excitement beyond burritos, I’m not so sure about that.

WINTER BUERZA SALAD by Jess

Photo by @kelsiemortimer on Flickr

So perhaps I wouldn’t have normally ordered a dish like this at Wahaca. Firstly, it’s a salad, and secondly, it’s chocka with what might appear menu-wise to be too many ingredients, ending up as one confused salad amongst loads of hearty Mexicana goodness. But oh, what a revelation to have been fed this little beauty! It’s bursting with surprises – from the delicately deep fried anchochilli pieces giving the crunch to the fresh orange and pickled hibiscus over the feta and butternut squash, right down to the spelt hiding underneath it all.

BAJA CALIFORNIA TACOS by Mel fromTravels with My Fork

The absolute hit of the evening was next: a classic Baja-California Fish Taco – crispy fried fish with just the right kick of chipotle mayonaise served in a soft taco. I could have eaten a whole tray of these alone and am now contemplating throwing a fish taco party in the near future. High marks for this one.

CHURROS Y CHOCOLATE by Gail

When we reached the meal’s finale, a platter of golden churros arrived on the table – infuriatingly out of reach, initially. Once the people at the other end of the table realised that our conversation had died and we were all staring at them with intent – ok, at the churros – they surrendered them to us. Almost without a fight. Beautifully light cinnamon-dusted horseshoes of crisp batter, with a dribbly dark chocolate sauce – they were never going to last long. They’re better than any others I’ve tried, probably because they were obviously fresh and quickly fried. The perfect sharing dish for the end of the evening – as long as you get in fast, they won’t last long.

TEQUILA by Epicurienne

Photo by @kelsiemortimer on Flickr

Under Mark’s guidance, we tasted three tequilas from the Wahaca stable: a Blanco (white), served cold, a Reposado (rested) served at room temperature and an Añejo (aged), also served at room temperature, with a lovely, caramelly tang. As many will confide, I, too, have had the occasional clash with tequila, but the selection we enjoyed last night was an utterly different sensory experience to student union layback sessions in a vintage dentist’s chair. This was refined, smooth, flavoursome liquid, to be sipped and savoured, not consumed in one swallow. This was tequila for grown ups and it was better than good.

And… the last word from Qype Guru Tikichris who helped to set this all up

By inviting us twenty or so lucky Qypers along last Thursday for a sample of their new “cold months” menu at their stylish Westfield location, the good folks behind sensational Mexican street food restaurant Wahaca succeeded not only in delighting our appreciative taste buds and filling our bellies with more than ample amounts of their flavourful Latin dishes but in raising the bar for future Qype events as well. Really, I can’t even remember the last time I saw so much food laid out in front of me. That so much of it was incredibly delicious left me a bit dumbfounded (or was that the cumulative effect of all that lovely, free flowing Tequila Corralejo?)

Thank you Qype for making the evening so much fun, for providing so much valuable feedback and for all your kind words. And thanks for your great reviews which you can read in more depth here:

Tamarind and Thyme
Ravenous Libby
Epicurienne
Travels with My Fork
Qype Blog

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We got an email the other day from someone called Emma, who said something along the lines of:

“I visited Wahaca the other day and heard a great re-mix of Marvin Gaye’s Sexual Healing with lots of trumpets. I completely forgot to ask the waiter the musicians, can you let me know?”

Yes indeed. This is one of my favourites (hence why we play it quite a lot at the moment!) They are called the Hot 8 Brass Band… here they are on YouTube playing the song:

If you have any songs you think we should be playing please let us know by leaving a comment below.

Many thanks Emma for getting in touch.

Mark

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We met up with our friends at Bibendum Wine last night to try and create a new hibiscus flavoured Prosecco cocktail.  After a couple of tastings prior to this we we had settled on the delicious “Desiderio Jelo” Prosecco to help us on our quest.

We first of all stewed some hibiscus flowers and left them to marinate in their own syrup.  We then took the flowers and syrup and put in a champagne flute and added the Prosecco.  The result… was incredibly disapointing!  The flowers seemed to take all of the bubbles out of the Prosecco leaving a tasty, yet flat Cocktail.  The flower also looked a little bit lifeless in the glass unfortunately!

Next we decided to just create our own hibiscus syrup from cooking the flower and then discarded the flower.  We mixed the fresh syrup with the Prosecco and the result was glorious.  A really fruity, berry tasting Bellini which we brought a smile to all our faces… now we just have to find a suitable flute to serve the Bellinis in and we will get it on our Winter menu due at the beginning of October.

Check out the Bibendum Wine Blog for more wine related stories and follow them on Twitter here.

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Having been hooked on the mysterious world of underground restaurants after my baptism at MsMarmitelover’s I was invited to attend an even more bizarre experience by a friend. The venue? Her Majesty’s Prison High Down, Sutton in the newly opened restaurant aptly called The Clink. After being led through numerous security checks and having all items remotely suspicious removed from my person we were led through four heavily guarded and locked doors, through the open courtyard in the middle of the prison and finally through a large heavily barred door with the words “The Clink” written above.

What greeted us was not a prison canteen that I had been expecting but a really rather thought out mini 40 seater restaurant and well designed (considering this was in a high security prison….even the lighting had had due care and attention). Everyone in the restaurant, including waiters, managers and chefs were serving time in Prison (we didn’t get the chance to ask for what!)… but they all seemed really happy and enjoying the opportunity to prove themselves to the outside world (and the “Inside” – Prison officers are allowed to eat there as well!) This is an initiative to teach inmates about the hospitality industry and every person working there does their stint on the floor and in the kitchen. The aim is to give them more of a fighting chance when they leave, they were still new to it though and they were clearly nervous. Yet sitting down looking into an open kitchen that all seemed very professional.

Water was brought to the table (that was all that was on offer – a compromise by the Prison Executives I imagine) and hard plastic cutlery was laid up. The menu is simple (no starters) but a range of well portioned main courses with breakfast and tea also on offer as well.

What was amazing was the price. Homemade ravioli with ricotta and spinach in a rich tomato sauce was £4.00 and was enough for two. Mackerel fillets on a salad with vegetables were £5.00. If I had any complaint it would probably be that the portions were too big and the sauces, where given, too plentiful, but considering this place had only been open for two weeks it was on the right track and we were all overwhelmed by the effort and enthusiasm of the guys working there.

For a novel experience and to give some support to a really great initiative I recommend trying this out if you live near Sutton or hop on the train from Victoria and it’s 20 mins and then a quick bus/ taxi ride. As you might expect YOU HAVE TO BOOK, and be checked out before arriving but it’s fairly harmless and gives you curious feeling that you have done something wrong! For more information go to http://www.theclinkonline.com or watch the promotional video below.

The Clink

Mark@Wahaca

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