Hello everyone,
Caroline Oldham
So next week I am off to Thailand so watch out for my next column which will be telling you about my experience so far. I am really looking forward to getting away, as an entrepreneur, it is really hard to find time to get away, especially when you have a boyfriend who is also an entrepreneur. We decided last year that instead of doing our usual mini breaks that we would get away and have a proper holiday.
We wanted somewhere really relaxing and exotic so we chose Koh Samui in Thailand. I am really looking forward to it, however, I am nervous about the food, on my last trip to Thailand over 10 years ago I just remember everything drenched in soy sauce, so I will have to be really careful. We have been recommended a few restaurants, so I shall report back and let you know how I get on and what the options are like for people with dietary requirements.
So we are headed into Spring as I mentioned last week, but boy it still feels like Winter. We had my sisters wedding on the 5th of March and it was an absolutely beautiful day, thank goodness the rain went away for a few hours but it was bitterly cold. I must discuss the wedding food, as it was my sisters wedding she was always going to get it right, but the expectations of the food have set the bar really high. She used a local company called James Brown Catering, James as cooked in some of the top places around the UK including Claridge's alongside Raymond Blanc, he has also had the pleasure of cooking for various celebrities too such as Carol Vorderman.
The food was impressive, to say the least, James went above and beyond my expectations, his staff had been told who I was, therefore, all my special canapés were bought over which was a real treat. We sat down for dinner and for the starter I had a beautifully presented gluten and lactose-free soufflé, it was delicious and full of flavour. For the main course my sister opted to have a roast dinner, each member of a table was assigned a carver which was really cool and then we were bought layered potatoes, large mushrooms, peas and spinach.
Everybody commented on how beautifully the meat was cooked especially considering there were 16 tables to serve. However, it was the pudding that was just exquisite, little did we know but James has actually organised a surprise, there was a trio of desserts, including mine, however, I had gluten and dairy free salted caramel tart, brandy snap basket with some lactose-free ice cream.
At the side of the board, it was served on was a small bowl, the staff poured a solution on this all at the same time which caused a river of smoke across the tables, it was absolutely amazing, a real show stopper and lovely surprise. For more details, head over to James' website, I hope he is available for my wedding!
My recipe of the week is something of a sweet treat, with these winter months dragging themselves out, I do find myself craving sweet things, so I stick to homemade healthier baking! My gluten free and dairy free flapjacks are excellent snacking material and can even be broken up and put into hot porridge in the morning. If I want to be extra healthy I will switch the demerara sugar to coconut sugar, give them a go!
http://blog.biteappy.com/blog/gluten-free-dairy-free-flapjack/
Restaurant Hangout of the Week
Located in various places around Brighton you can find Bagelman, as you can probably tell by the name it is a Bagel shop, however the exciting thing is they sell gluten free bagels, they also have a great awareness of coeliac disease and will ask if you would like it made on a different/clean service for you. They do charge extra for the Bagel, however as we all know gluten free products are a lot more expensive for restaurants to source, so personally, I am ok with this.
There are many options to choose from and I have been many times so I have a few favourites including, Mighty Aphrodite and the Funky Tuna, however, you can pretty much have what you want, so it's a real bespoke Bagel service. It is a great place to have lunch, they have a branch at the Brighton station which is great if you need to grab a quick bite to go before your journey. Their branch on Duke street is the largest and has lots of seating if you fancy sitting in. A great place to visit in Brighton.
Tagged in Caroline Oldham