The Quality Chop House Shop

The Quality Chop House Shop 1

From its new incarnation towards the end of 2012, The Quality Chop House (QCH) has had a 'shop' incorporated into the wine bar side of the business.  Lack of space restricted this to the opportunity to buy kitchen-made produce such as pork pie, sausage roll or sandwich, and pick up a bottle of wine.  The ambition to offer more has now been realised with the acquisition of a shop next door to the restaurant.  Opening without fanfare on the run-up to Christmas, I noticed its lights spilling out welcomingly onto the Farringdon Road pavement.

The Quality Chop House Shop 2

Now, not only can you buy those wonderful pies or a hot sausage roll without weaving through a sea of diners, but there's all manner of other good things coming out of one of my favourite London restaurant kitchens.  It starts with the butchery occupying one half of the shop where Oliver Seabright, formerly at The Ginger Pig and Barbecoa, is in charge.  Right now, alongside the sides of British beef, pork, lamb, veal and venison, butchered how you want it, are game birds such as woodcock, snipe, widgeon, pheasant and mallard. There may even be a hare or two.  Having their own butcher, of course, means head chef Sean Searley has a ready source of quality meats for the restaurant, they can offer a butchery service and add value by producing cooked meats, pies and pates for the shop.  Other good things coming out of the kitchen might include tubs of smoked cod roe, remoulade or mayonnaise.  There could also be a treacle tart being sold by the slice, a tray of chocolate brownies or custard tarts on the counter.  QCH jams, chutneys, pickles and marmalades have shelf space alongside a small selection of the wines available.

The Quality Chop House Shop 3

Bread comes from Elliot's Bakery producing one of the very best sourdoughs in the capital.  Until recently, to get my hands on a loaf, I had to go to Elliot's Cafe on Stoney Street, Borough Market, and ask one of the staff to fetch one from the kitchen.  In the new QCH shop you'll find British cheeses from Neal's Yard Dairy and Blackwoods Cheese Company, British, Italian and Basque charcuterie, Hanson & Lydersen smoked salmon and Nardin smoked anchovies alongside the staples of milk and eggs.  There'll be a few seasonal fruits and vegetables too as well as some lovely little treats like chocolate from The Pump Street Bakery and, maybe, a bag of honeycomb or marshmallows.

The Quality Chop House Shop
Vegetable crisps

The shop is still evolving so it's well worth keeping an eye on it.  Now if they could only fit in a fish counter and spare me some of that fabulous fish they manage to get for the restaurant ….

The Quality Chop House Shop
90 Farringdon Road
London EC1R 3EA
Open 7 days a week

Brockley Market - Lucky Lewisham

Van Dough
 at Brockley Market

For my last blogpost of 2013 it seemed fitting to finish on a market, the lifeblood of London food.  London Farmers' Markets (LFM) now have 20 market sites covering areas from Balham to Wimbledon. LFM's principle of "We grow it. We sell it." is laudable but its rules and regulations can mean some good "local" producers don't quite qualify.  I shop at one or two LFM markets but they don't satisfy all my needs.  Some very good producers and traders who do not fit neatly into LFM's strict criteria find a home for their goods at Brockley Market in SE24.  That's not to say Brockley doesn't have high standards of its own, they're just different and, in fact, some of their stallholders also trade at LFM.

Brockley Market offers a cracking list of traders in a compact area where stalls are ranged around the car park to Lewisham College.  The estimable BBC Radio 4 Food & Farming Awards described Brockley as "a market that serves a community without pretence or artifice, a model to be followed". Brockley Market is doing a great job of finding, hosting and presenting some of the best food and drink producers and suppliers.  Some of what's on offer is very locally produced and some not, but Brockley Market has most of the food bases well covered.  With a central area devoted to seating, it's a family-friendly place to shop and eat.  This adds to the relaxed and welcoming feel of the market.

So who's there?  To mention a few, there are two excellent Organic fruit and veg stalls in the form of Wild Country Organics from Cambridgeshire and Kent-based Perry Court Organics; meats by my three favourites, Jacob's Ladder Farms, representing a small cooperative of Sussex farmers rearing animals on organic and biodynamic principles, The Butchery, the Bermondsey-based whole carcass butchery owned by Nathan and Ruth Mills and poultry from Fosse Meadows Farms in Leicestershire; East Sussex-based Hook & Son for raw milk; Hartland Pies who I know also make the excellent pies sold by The Butchery using The Butchery's meats; Flavours of Spain with a good range of Spanish ingredients; Blackwoods Cheese Company selling a small selection of Neal's Yard cheeses alongside their own Lewisham-made fresh cheeses.  Food vans include Van Dough selling freshly-made pizzas baked in a wood-fired oven mounted in the back of a 1970s Citroen Hy van; Mother Flipper offering burgers; and Good & Proper serving tea with, that irresistible pairing, crumpets.  Coffee is represented by Dark  Fluid.

Blackwoods Cheese Company has quickly become a favourite of mine for their lovely marinated raw cows milk Graceburn.  The fledgling cheese-maker is already getting noticed, being stocked by both Neal's Yard Dairy and the recently-opened shop attached to the Quality Chop House restaurant on Farringdon Road.  Look out for a Blackwoods washed-rind cheese coming soon, I'm expecting it to be pretty special.

You really get a sense of passion from walking around and from looking at the Brockley Market website.  It's a market I want to go to more and if I lived closer I'm sure I'd be shopping there every week.  Luckily, I can shop on Saturdays at some of the same traders in Spa Terminus/Druid Street, Bermondsey.  From talking to those traders, I know that they love trading at such a well-run and well-supported market as Brockley.  I can see how hard the organisers work at getting the best and Lewisham is lucky to have it.

Happy food shopping in 2014.

Brockley Market
Lewisham College Car Park
Lewisham Way
SE4 1UT
Saturdays 10-2pm
The market is a stone's-throw from St John's train station (7 minutes from London Bridge)

Beef Stew to warm the cockles

Cuts of Beef from my copy of
Reader's Digest 'The Cookery Year'

I was planning to write a piece on 'food waste'.  The media has been alive with comment, and quite right too.  Then the cavalcade abrutly moved on, unceremoniously rolling out of the way to make room for the 'horse burgers' scandal.  Those 3-for-2 offers don't seem quite so appealing now we know why the supermarkets can afford to do it.  Anger and disgust quickly gave way to endless equestrian jokes.  Now we Brits are preoccupied with the current bad weather - a subject dear to our hearts.  So, I've decided to combine all three subjects to bring you a beef stew - stay with me on this.

There is no cut of beef so mean it can't be used in a tasty stew.  Shin of beef is my favourite.  Sliced from the foreleg, the rounded nuggets of meat are connected by a gelatinous membrane.  Slow-cooking in stock, water or wine allows it to yield up a sticky, rich, quality to the sauce.  It's a relatively cheap cut and works so much better than the more expensive stewing steak. In buying this lesser-favoured cut - or a cut such as bolar, found deep within the shoulder - you're helping ensure the whole beast is used, and not wasted.

You can sometimes buy beef shin bone-in, in which case your stew will benefit from the marrowbone for an even richer sauce.  Of course to get your hands on shin beef, certainly bone-in, you'll need to buy from a good independent butcher - one you can trust and who really knows his beef.

Now to that stew.  This is a very simple recipe, calling for very few ingredients, which I've made dozens of times.  As with most stews, it tastes even better re-heated the day after making.  The recipe is based on 'Shin of Beef Stewed in Wine' from Elizabeth David's book French Provincial Cooking.  It's deeply comforting served with mashed potato and buttered cabbage.  In fact, it is the perfect dish for when bad weather rolls in.

So, what great insights did I have to offer on those hot topics of the week? Well, maybe instead of swallowing the line that the world needs to grow more food, how about we put in place practices to ensure we eat the food we already produce.  Instead of demanding cheaper food we should buy a little less meat and buy it regularly from a trusted independent butcher.  And, when bad weather is forecast, it's time to make stew.  There you go, 3-for-the-price-of-1.

Beef Stew
(serves 4)

100g (4oz) streaky bacon, cut into 1cm pieces
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, flattened
750g (1.5lb) shin beef (or bolar), cut into large nuggets and outer layer trimmed off
A handful of parsley and thyme
1 bayleaf
1 large glass of red wine
1 large glass of water
Salt & pepper

Pre-heat oven to 140C (120C Fan oven).  Fry the bacon in an oven-proof casserole until crisp, adding a little olive oil if it's very lean. Add the sliced onion, garlic and the herbs.  Place the beef on top. Add the wine, bring to  the boil and cook for 3 minutes.  Add the water and bring back to the boil.  Season well.  Cover well and transfer to the oven.  Cook for 3 hours.  Check seasoning and serve.

Here's a link to a helpful article by Alex Renton in The Guardian on How to Buy Beef

Maltby Street & Spa Terminus Update

I know many of you are interested in news from Maltby Street and Spa Terminus so here's a quick update.  In April I posted about the gradual migration of the original Observer Food Award winning Maltby Street traders.  The end of the year seems a good time to update you on how Spa Terminus is looking now.  To save repeating myself, you can find my April piece at Maltby Street & Spa Terminus - the doors open  Since then, Spa Terminus has welcomed a few more wholesale businesses opening for retail every Saturday:

Monmouth Coffee

England Preserves

La Grotta Ices

Natoora

Spa Terminus now has a website  with a map and a listing of all the businesses.  A few currently don't open their doors for retailing on Saturdays, and I have yet to try them.  The ones I mention here and in my April piece do open and I can recommend them.  The good thing is the 'Spa Terminus' website covers the new site and includes those few traders who are remaining in their original arches for the time being.  Most are on Druid Street (north side of the railway line) with only Gergovie Wines/40 Maltby Street bar remaining on Maltby Street (south side).

Other traders have moved into the area, particularly Rope Walk, to take the place of the originals.

Forage Fine Foods - Food Find

Forage Fine Foods has been on my radar for a few weeks as a font of knowledge about British wild herbs and flowers so it was a nice surprise to see some of Liz Knight's products on the sideboard at The Butchery in Bermondsey yesterday.  There are quite a few "foragers" out there - some people buy in to it, others don't.  Forage Fine Foods strikes me as the real deal.  What caught my attention was the fact that Liz has allied a long-held passion for cooking wild food with knowledge she has picked up from talking to her countrywise elders.  She has found working in a day centre for the elderly a fascinating education in folklore and some almost forgotten practices.  Gathering wild herbs, berries and petals in the Herefordshire/Welsh Borders area, in the shadow of the Black Mountains, she produces Elderberry and Lavender jam, Rose Petal Syrup and Jelly, A Wild Herb Rub and an exotic Wild Rose el Hanout to conjure up Marakkesh.  Or there's the piquant 'Pontack' sauce made from elderberries soaked in cider vinegar which I'm looking forward to adding to a beef casserole.  Forage Fine Foods currently have a handful of stockists including The Butchery but you also can buy on-line and at special events and festivals.  Or you could take advantage of Liz's enthusiasm to pass on her knowledge by booking a foraging course.

Forage Fine Foods

The Butchery in Bermondsey

Nath The Butcher
at Spa Terminus, Bermondsey

A version of this article appears in The Foodie Bugle  (Winner of the Guild of Food Writers New Media of the year Award 2012)

The last railway arch in the row which houses a little enclave of artisan food businesses is rather hidden.  A raised-bed of herbs and a butcher’s block outside alerts you to what lies within.  OK, so it’s a butchery, The Butchery in fact, but Nathan Mills is no ordinary butcher.   Sourcing rare-breed, free-range animals from small farms, either direct or via the Traditional Breeds Meat Market, the emphasis is on pasture-fed native breeds.   These include White Park, Red Poll, Hereford or Dexter beef, Tamworth or Gloucester Old Spot pigs, Llanwenog lamb, hogget and mutton when in season.  Sourcing  from farmers such as Michael Bancroft in the Midlands for Dexter cattle; Sue Money-Kyrle farming Llanwenog lamb in the Wye Valley bordering Wales; and Nick Ball and Jacob Sykes of Fosse Meadows Farms in Leicestershire for free-range chickens.

The Butchery is about more than ticking the ‘careful sourcing’ boxes.  They buy whole carcasses, taking seriously the traditional practice of ‘nose-to-tail’ or whole-carcass butchery.  This means every part of the animal is valued, not just the prime cuts, for, as Fergus Henderson puts it in his seminal book ‘Nose to Tail Eating’, “… it would be disingenuous to the animal not to make the most of the whole beast …”.  This commitment to respecting the animal is at the core of The Butchery.  It requires the customer, or chef, to approach the counter with an open mind.  Of course we can buy fillet and loin but rather than insisting on a Rib-Eye steak, maybe we should try a Pope’s Eye and if there’s no shin beef left opt for some Bolar (from deep within the shoulder).   

The Cold Room at
The Butchery

Being brought up in a family immersed in the art of butchery in his native Australia, Nathan has 20 years’ experience at every level of the meat trade from abattoir to counter.  This means he knows exactly how long, and under what conditions, he should age (or not) his carefully raised meats as well as all the ‘sneaky butchers cuts’ he can get from them.  Cuts you may never have heard of include Teres Major, Goose Neck, Pope’s Eye, and Bolar.  The blog page of The Butchery website explains all.

Arriving in London in 2005, Nathan’s experience includes spells at the highly respected Ginger Pig, Jamie Oliver & Adam Perry Lang’s Barbecoa Butchers and Whole Foods UK flagship store in Kensington.  Nathan and partner Ruth Siwinski  opened the doors to The Butchery in 2011, initially from a temporary home amongst the Maltby Street group of businesses.  All these award-winning enterprises are gradually moving to their new location, the little centre of excellence off Spa Road, Bermondsey, known as Spa Terminus, where The Butchery is established.  All the businesses here sell directly to restaurants, cafes and other outlets, opening their doors for retail trade on Saturdays. 

The plan for The Butchery is to allow the business to grow organically, gradually and steadily without any compromises to the ethos.  Ruth and Nathan cite Joshua and Jessica Applestone, who in 2004 opened their own uncompromising butchery store in New York State,  as an inspiration for The Butchery.  Their book ‘The Butcher’s Guide to Well–Raised Meat’ tells the story of how and why, against all the odds, they came to do it and is packed with helpful advice.

The Butchery arch

The Butchery arch is also the location for popular courses where you can learn everything from knife sharpening or sausage wrangling to how to butcher a whole pig, lamb, or even, a whole cow.  It’s a great opportunity for chefs, customers and enthusiasts to learn more about the meat they cook and eat.  You can take your cuts away with you or leave some of them for a while in the perfect conditions of Nathan’s ageing room.  Nathan and Ruth also cure bacon, make their own sausages, and their burgers are 100% beef.  They even stock sustainably produced British charcoal to cook them over.   

Debate is currently raging over how to increase food security whilst reducing the environmental impact of its production.  Some argue that raising cattle intensively on a cereal-based diet results in a reduction of methane gas production.  However, recent studies carried out at 10 National Trust farms in the UK have reached a quite different conclusion.  The National Trust report, ‘What’s your beef?’, issued this month concludes that feeding cattle on grass throughout their lifecycle is the most environmentally sustainable way to rear beef.  The report states "The results are contrary to recent thinking that livestock farming methods must intensify further in order to lessen carbon emissions to feed an ever-increasing world population.”  You can read more about this on their website www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Studies have shown that lamb and beef raised slowly on pasture have higher vitamin content than intensively-reared meat.  A report funded by the Economic and Social Research Council states that “Cattle and sheep raised on natural grasslands help maintain biodiversity and produce tastier, healthier meat”.    It’s known that higher rates of Omega 3 fatty acids, essential for physical and mental development, and lower levels of saturated fat  are present in pasture-fed beef and lamb. 

An old recipe book from William Douglas & Sons
butchers shop Farringdon Road, London

If you are going to follow the sustainable ‘nose to tail’ approach to eating you need to develop a relationship with your butcher.  It’s interesting to hear the customers at The Butchery debate the merits of particular breeds.  We all have our preferences, in my case I love Dexter beef and when Rib-Eye is available I will home-in on that, but because I trust Nathan I will try other cuts from the same animal.  Nathan and Ruth are more than happy to give advice on cooking and if you need more help, try Fergus Henderson’s books  ‘Noseto Tail’ and ‘Beyond Nose to Tail’.  Another useful book is ‘OddBits: how to cook the rest of the animal’  by American author Jennifer McLagan.  The writer concentrates on “all animal parts we have forgotten not only how to cook but also how to eat” and poses the question “Why is it stranger to eat a beef cheek than a cow’s back?”  There’s also a rather wonderful blog out there at www.nosetotailathome.com

Purebred Certification

 

If you care about well-raised British meat and you’re shopping for a good butcher in London, I recommend you check out The Butchery.  They’re bringing the best of British farming to London.


Short Q&A with Nath the Butcher:

Q WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR JOB?

A “Banter with customers and watching a progression of meat from a chat with a farmer about their breeds and raising methods to delivery of a whole carcass, aging in my coolroom to cutting up a beast, then having a customer come back and say how much they enjoyed it.”

Q WHAT QUESTIONS WOULD YOU ASK A BUTCHER?

A “What breed is it ? What has it eaten and where was it killed ? Do you know the real history of your meat in other words. In the UK meat is stamped with a number that can give you all this information and more if you want to know.”
Nb. The website www.tracingpaper.org.uk is where to go to make sense of these codes

The Butchery

Arch 13 Dockley Road

Spa Terminus

Bermondsey 

London  SE16 3SF

www.thebutcheryltd.com

Maltby Street & Spa Terminus - the doors open

The Butchery
Arch 11 Dockley Road
Spa Terminus

There was an air of excitement, expectation and a little trepidation amongst the Maltby Street traders as the doors opened on their new Spa Terminus location on Saturday.  Excitement that they now have arches with secure leases which give them control over their environment.  Expectation of welcoming customers old and new to their new homes, and a little trepidation that those treasured customers might not find their way. 

The Ham & Cheese Co
Arch 10 Dockley Road
Spa Terminus

All concerns proved unfounded.  There was a great turn-out of existing customers, mingling with a large number of locals checking out the new Saturday food shopping scene on their doorstep.  Just five minutes walk east from the traders' old arches which were centred around Maltby Street, the new ones are now a five minute walk from Bermondsey Tube station.

Whilst a few of the Maltby Steet award winning traders will not be moving until later in 2012, phase 1 has seen over half of the traders move home.  From Spa Terminus they run their wholesale businesses, supplying some of the best restaurants and food shops in the UK.  On Saturdays only (9-2pm) their doors are opened to retail customers. 

The area is spread over Voyager Business Park and Dockley Road.  Just as at Maltby Street, to cover all the arches at 'Spa Terminus' you need to move from the north side of the railway line to the south side.  At Voyager, you will find Kappacasein serving up their unbeatable toasted cheese sandwiches and Raclette alongside Neal's Yard Dairy.  Their neighbours are Mons Fromages, selling quality French cheeses, sharing an arch with Aubert & Mascoli, specialising in French and Italian wines.  Alongside you will find South East Fruits and Ice Cream Union.

The Little Bread Pedlar
Unit 5 Dockley Road
Spa Terminus

A walk under the bridge to the other side of the railway line brings you to a narrow gateway to the Dockley Road part of 'Spa Terminus'.   Here you can follow the aroma of baking to the unit housing The Little Bread Pedlar for some of the best croissant and brownies (and other treats) in London. The London Honey Company is alongside for all things apiarian, and close by is Fern Verrow for top quality biodynamic fruit, vegetables and meats.  Arch 10 is the new home of The Ham & Cheese Co, selling a fantastic selection of Italian and Basque cured meats, mozarella and the very best parmesan cheese.  The Kernel micro-brewery is right next door, brewing and serving up excellent pale ales, stouts, porters and more.  Last but far from least, is the arch housing The Butchery.  Here Nathan and Ruth run their 'nose to tail' butchery, buying in whole rare-breed and free-range carcasses to prepare for the counter.  You can even learn butchery skills on one of Nathan's courses.

If week one was anything to go by, Spa Terminus is now the place for your Saturday food shopping.  Don't forget, Spa Terminus is only five minutes from Maltby Street.  You can still find Tayshaw (Tony Booth fruit & veg), Monmouth Coffee, 40 Maltby Street/Gergovie Wines, St John Bakery, Jacob's Ladder Farms, selling fantastic biodynamic and organic meats, Topolski for Polish products, Kase Swiss, and Boerenkass for Swiss and Dutch cheeses, at their old locations on Druid Street and Maltby Street until they move to Spa Terminus later in 2012. 

UPDATE AUG 2012 - Monmouth Coffee pop-up now at Unit 3 Spa Arches Northside

Here's a map

Spa Terminus, Bermondsey SE16 :
Kappacasein
Neal's Yard Dairy
Unit 1 Voyager Business Park SE16

Mons Fromages
Aubert  Mascoli
Unit 2 Voyager Business Park

South East Fruits
Unit 3 Voyager Business Park

Ice Cream Union
Unit 4 Voyager Business Park

The Little Bread Pedlar
Coleman Coffee
Unit 5 Dockley Road

The London Honey Company
Unit 6 Dockley Road

Fern Verrow
Unit 10 Dockley Road

The Ham & Cheese Co
Arch 10 Dockley Road

The Kernel Brewery    

Arch 11 Dockley Road

The Butchery

Arch 11, Dockley Road

Maltby Street & Spa Terminus

Don't forget, the Maltby Street award-winning traders are on the move. Saturday 31 March is the first day of retail trading at new arches and units for the traders affected in phase 1.

Check this link to find your favourite traders in their new homes:

Maltby Street award-winning traders

I hear there will also be a Monmouth Coffee pop-up at the new location.

www.maltbystreet.com has now been updated too.

GO HERE FOR DETAILS OF THE FIRST DAY OF TRADING 31 MARCH 2012

Maltby Street Award winning traders are on the move

Phase 1 of Maltby Street
traders move 31 March 2012

The Observer Food Awards 2011 Maltby Street traders are to start their phased move from the Bermondsy railway arches on 31 March 2012.  Moving just a few minutes walk further up the railway line out of London Bridge will place them handily just 5 minutes from Bermondsey Underground station.  The traders mentioned in my 'Bermondsey Trail' will be occupying arches and units centred around the disused Spa Road London to Greenwich railway terminus.  Not everyone will be moving in phase 1 on 31 March but as of that date you'll find your favourite traders at the following.

Malby Street & Spa Terminus
(Note retail trade Saturdays - core hours 9am-2pm - some stay open later) 
Phase 1 move Saturday 31 March 2012:

60 Druid Street
Tayshaw Ltd (Tony Booth Fruit & Veg) - unchanged by phase 1

34-36 Maltby Street
Monmouth Coffee Company - unchanged by phase 1
La Grotta Ices - unchanged by phase 1

40 Maltby Streeet
40 Maltby Street/Gergovie Wines - unchanged by phase 1 (Thurs & Fri from 5.30pm, Sat 10-5.30pm)

72 Druid Street
St John Bakery - unchanged by phase 1

104 Druid Street
Topolski - unchanged by phase 1
Kase Swiss - unchanged by phase 1
Boerenkass - unchanged by phase 1
Jacob's Ladder Farms - unchanged by phase 1

Unit 1 Voyager Business Park, SE16
Kappacasein - unchanged, already trading
Neal's Yard Dairy - new location

Unit 2 Voyager Business Park, SE16
Mons Fromager - new location
Aubert & Mascoli - new location

Unit 3 Voyager Business Park, SE16
South East Fruits - unchanged, already trading

Unit 4 Voyager Business Park, SE16
The Ice Cream Union - unchanged, already trading

Unit 5 Dockley Road, SE16
The Little Bread Pedlar - unchanged but now opening for Saturday retail from 31 March
Coleman Coffee Roasters - new location

Unit 6 Dockley Road, SE16
The London Honey Company - new location

Unit 10 Dockley Road, SE16
Fern Verrow - new location

Arch 11 Dockley Road, SE16
The Butchery Ltd - new location
The Kernel Brewery - new location

Arch 10 Dockley Road, SE16
The Ham & Cheese Co - new location

Dates for the move of those traders unchanged by the phase 1 move are to be advised later.  This will be a more settled home for the award winning traders who have worked so hard to build their businesses and serve us with some of the best produce in London.  You can pick up a copy of the flyer photographed above from The Ham & Cheese Company at 1 Ropewalk on 17 or 24 March.

I expect http://www.maltbystreet.com/ will be updated soon.  If you already know 'Maltby Street', I hope this information helps you find your favourite traders.  If you haven't discovered it yet, you'll find some of the best produce in London here.

GO HERE FOR AN UPDATE ON THE FIRST DAY OF TRADING 31 MARCH 2012

The Butchery - Food find

'The Butchery' has arrived in my favourite shopping area of London.  Having bought meat from Nathan Mills at Ginger Pig and Barbecoa in the past, it was great to see him on Saturday behind the counter of his own business.   Nathan and his partner Ruth are buying in whole carcasses direct from small farmers, or in conjunction with The Traditional Breeds Meat Market, and butchering to the customers' needs.  Choosing rare breed animals, pasture-fed, organically reared and as chemical-free as possible - this is as good as it gets.  For now you will find them in the railway arch at 1 Ropewalk, Bermondsey SE1 along with The Ham & Cheese Company and The Kernel Brewery on Saturdays only.  Sign up to naththebutcher to keep up with The Butchery Ltd and check out these websites.  The Butchery is a great addition to the area which already has the excellent Jacob's Ladder butchers round the corner, in the arch at 104 Druid Street SE1.

http://www.thebutcheryltd.com/
http://www.tbmm.co.uk/default.asp

Observer Food Awards 2011 finds Maltby Street - Food Find

Good to see national recognition for "Maltby Street" with the Observer Food Awards voting this collection of small businesses "Best Newcomer" 2011.  Maltby Street is the centre of my Bermondsey Trail which I first posted about in September 2010.  The award encompasses the  businesses operating from the railway arches starting with Tony Booth's fruit and veg  (Tayshaw Ltd) at 60 Druid Street and ending at Kappacasein and Union Ice Cream at Spa Road/Voyager Park.  You can buy everything here from fruit and veg, bread, coffee, wines, beers, prosciutto, mozzarella, parmesan and salamis, British, French and Swiss cheeses and cheeses made on site, Polish sausages, meats, ice creams, cakes, honey and more.  Kernel Brewery was also runner-up in the Best Producer category for its beers, stouts and porters brewed here underneath the arches at 1 Ropewalk.
You won't find a better selection of high quality traders than in this little enclave in SE1.  Also, happily, some of these traders who left Borough Market after a dispute have returned to stalls there now that the Market is under new management. 

See http://www.maltbystreet.com/ for regular updates.

Sizzling Sausages at Jacob's Ladder - Food Find

I'm hooked on the sausages Jacob's Ladder are producing now.  Gorgeous meaty pork ones in natural casings are consistently good - minimal shrinkage, no gristle, great flavour and texture.  They also have their own recipe liver sausages and a spicy merguez.  Jacobs Ladder sells meat from a select collective of organic Sussex farms - principally Montague, Hophurst, Gill Wing and the biodynamic Perry Court - and eggs from Ladymead Farm.  To be added to Jane's mailing list for weekly updates on what's available and where to buy (currently Bermondsey and Wimbledon), email  jacobsladderfarms@googlemail.co.uk

To keep up to date on the Bermondsey Trail traders visit http://www.maltbystreet.com/

UPDATE: New website http://www.jacobsladderfarms.co.uk

Jacobs Ladder Farms - Food Find

Jacobs Ladder sells meat from a collective of Sussex farms - principally Montague, Hophurst, Old Plaw Hatch and the biodynamic Perry Court.  Phill, their first class butcher, has now moved from Borough Market to 104 Druid Street  New to the counter are delicious firm-fleshed Chickens and Guinea Fowl.  To be added to Jane's mailing list for weekly updates, email  jacobsladderfarms@googlemail.co.uk

UPDATE: New website http://www.jacobsladderfarms.co.uk

Beef and Watercress

Watercress

Knowing I was going to be working for 11 days straight up to Christmas Day, I decided a fuss-free joint of beef would be vital for a relaxed Christmas dinner.  Finding time to collect the meat was another challenge but I managed to get to the butchers just in time to collect a beautiful Côte de Boeuf.  Cut from a carcass which had been hung for 60 days, it proved the perfect choice.  Seasoned, roasted for 20 minutes in a hot oven, then for an hour and a half at 160C, this 2kg beauty needed only to rest for half an hour covered in foil to be exactly what I had hoped for. 


It's become something of a ritual with us that the following day the cold meat must be served with Gratin Dauphinoise potatoes.  If there is anything left of the joint beyond that then a bit of inventiveness is called for to keep everyone's interest, yet so much food has been consumed that a light touch is needed.  In this case a cold beef salad proved to be a hit.  Watercress has an affinity with beef so the choice of salad leaf was easy.  Creamed Horseradish was to hand, being a must if you have beef on Christmas Day, as were a handful of the tiniest capers, so this was the basis of my dressing.  I offer this now for those of you who are about to start your New Year celebrations.  I think it would work equally well with warm of cold beef.


Dressing for Watercress served with Beef


1 teaspoon horseradish cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice or wine vinegar
5 tablespoons good olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon capers


Mix the first four ingredients to an emulsion, then stir in the capers.  Dress your watercress and serve with thin slices of beef.

Good Eating and Happy New Year

Barbecoa the Butchers

Barbecoa - the Butchers

Located on Watling Street, a stone’s throw from St Paul’s, the new Barbecoa Butchers is an arresting sight.  With huge, glass-fronted cold-rooms displaying whole and part carcasses, this is in-your-face carnivore theatre.  Jamie Oliver and American barbecue expert Adam Perry Lang’s Barbecoa restaurant close by may be getting some mixed reviews whilst they get their formula right, but they’ve clearly chosen wisely with the butchery staff in the shop.  Recognising a number of the butchers from quality London shops I had no hesitation in taking a closer look at what was on offer.    

The provenance of the meats is not specified beyond, according to the official website, “Animals from carefully selected British farms and co-operatives are typically delivered whole, then butchered on site”.  At least the ageing, storing and skills of the butchers are more transparent.  Normally I would want to know more about the origins of my food before handing over hard-earned cash, but on this occasion I trusted the butcher and bought some rib-eye steaks.  Two minutes either side on a fierce smoking griddle,and five minutes rest to let the flesh relax, rendered them tender and juicy with a good mature flavour.  Bearing in mind the marketing blurb about animals being typically delivered whole, and the professional look of the place, I tried to buy some fresh suet for a Christmas Pudding I had planned.  No success.  The explanation - the suet layer surrounding an animal’s kidneys is these days stripped out at the abattoir.  Presumably our loss is Atora's gain!

Prices are comparable with other good London butchers, though significantly less than Lidgate’s in Notting Hill (considered by many to be the best butchers in London). 

Barbecoa the restaurant describes itself as “A celebration of the relationship between fire and food” and has committed to cooking the food without gas or electricity - “fire, smoke, wood and charcoal” are used instead.  Those who have been detect Perry Lang’s influence in the distinct New York feel.  Barbecoa’s location at One New Change, in the heart of the City of London with close-up views of St Pauls, will probably ensure its success.  It will need to pull in the punters to pay for the reported £3m spent on it.  The fact the website has a section headed “Interior & Branding” says a lot about the intentions for rolling this concept out elsewhere.   For the moment, Jamie Oliver has stated his intention to work at the Pass but given all his other commitments …….

UPDATE: Butcher, Nathan Mills, now has his own business "The Butchery" - currently open for retail Saturdays in Bermondsey SE1,

Barbecoa The Butchers
82 Watling Street
London EC4M 9BX
Mon-Fri 07.00-19.00
Sat 09.00-17.00http://www.barbecoa.com/

Romney Lamb from Montague Farm



Slow Roast Lamb Shoulder - Adapted from 
a recipe in "today's special" by Anthony Demetre

I’m particularly fond of slow-cooked meat dishes.  You know, the ones that are easy to prepare, you can put them in the oven, get on with your life, take the dish out several hours later and voila!  No stress, foolproof and delicious – or that’s how it should work.   A shoulder of lamb is a perfect candidate for this treatment and I have the easy recipe of your dreams. 

First, the lamb.  Romney is one of the most ancient breeds of lamb in Britain.  They have long wool, a large frame, are hardy and docile, and good foragers.  This is the breed raised on Montague Farm at Hankham, a 300 acre organic farm and nature reserve on the western edge of the Pevensey levels in East Sussex.  Three quarters of this wetland is designated an area of Special Scientific Interest.  The rest is permanent grazing marshes, running southwards from Pevensey Castle.  The ewes live outside all year round grazing the grass pastures and leys, alternating with cattle.  In winter they are fed hay and during lambing the diet of the ewes is supplemented with rolled oats.  A policy of minimum intervention is practiced.  The emphasis is on good quality feed and rotational grazing.  Lambing takes place in April (the natural time for ewes to give birth), and the farm uses an abattoir just twenty minutes away, thus reducing stress on the animals.  I can’t think of a better lamb to recommend.

Given the quality of the meat, Montague Farm’s prices are competitive.  The Romney Lamb Box looks particularly good value at £89.00 for approximately 7kg – 1 whole shoulder, 1 leg, 8 loin chops and 1 rack (6/7 bones).  At £7.00/kg I picked up a whole shoulder of lamb for £13.50 (easily fed 6 people) for this recipe.  So good was the lamb that I decided to cook the recipe again a couple of weeks later, this time using a half shoulder and reducing the other ingredients in my list by half, to make sure of the quality of the lamb before posting this piece.  It cooked every bit as well as the first. 

A note about my inspiration for this recipe: Anthony Demetre is chef (and co-owner with Will Smith) of Wild Honey and Arbutus restaurants in Mayfair and Soho respectively .  His book "today's special - a new take on bistro food"  is full of recipes using the less glamorous, and less expensive, ingredients showing you just how tasty they can be.  It's an excellent book with staightforward recipes which will inspire you to think differently about what you buy and how you cook.

Slow Cooked Shoulder of Lamb (Adapted from a recipe in  "today's special" by Anthony Demetre)
1 lamb shoulder (2-2.5kg or 4-5lb)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
40g (1½ oz) butter 
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large or 4 medium onions, thinly sliced
12 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Few sprigs of savory or lemon thyme
2 bay leaves
300ml (10fl oz) white wine                                                                   

A deep cast-iron pot which has a tight fitting lid is ideal for this recipe but a roasting pan tightly covered with foil will do.  Preheat the oven to 120^oC/gas ½. 

Heat the butter and oil in your pot.  Season the lamb shoulder well with salt and pepper and brown in the pot on all sides.  Remove the lamb and keep warm.  Add the sliced onion, garlic and herbs to the pot and soften slightly.  Add the wine and bring to the boil.  Return the lamb to the pot. Cover tightly and transfer to the oven.  Cook for 4-5 hours.  When the flesh is meltingly soft, raise the heat to  120^oC/gas 6 and cook, uncovered, for a further 20 minutes. 

Leave to rest for a further 20 minutes out of the oven.  I usually accompany this with potatoes, scrubbed, rolled in olive oil and sea salt, and baked in a dish popped in the oven 60 minutes before I plan to serve up.

naturalfarms.co.uk/natural-farms.shtml
Montague Farm supplies butchers shops in London and the south-east.  
Also on Saturdays at jacobsladderfarms.co.uk 104 Druid Street, Bermondsey (see my posting 'The Bermondsey Trail').

http://www.wildhoneyrestaurant.co.uk/
http://www.arbutusrestaurant.co.uk/

The Bermondsey Trail

1 Ropewalk, Bermondsey
Railway Arches SE1

For some time trains to and from London Bridge station have rolled above the cheese maturing caverns of Neal's Yard Dairy and the roasting hub of Monmouth Coffee, but over the past few months more has been stirring under the railway arches than irresistable aromas.  Monmouth Coffee was the first to draw discerning coffee drinkers to Maltby Street on Saturday mornings.  Soon a tall guy named Harry added a select collection from Neal's Yard dairy and St John's breads to the draw.  Next came biodynamic fruit, veg and meats courtesy of Fern Verrow, a Kase Swiss cheese stall and Topolski with sausages and pickles.  Then another arch opened 100m further up at 1 Rope Walk offering retail sales of delicious proscuitto and mozzarella, parmesan, salamis and chorizo from Elliott at The Ham and Cheese Company.  This space is shared with The Kernel Brewery, where Evin brews beers in his micro-brewery, and with Bill at Kappacasein making experimental cheeses such as Bermondsey Frier from his little cheesemaking room.  Saturday mornings at 'Maltby Street' became irresistible to those in the know. 

Fragolina Grape Cupcake
from Violet Cakes

The past month has seen Fern Verrow move to Stanworth Street to share an arch with The Borough Cheese Company, selling French Comte. Now we have the shock move of Tony Booth, cutting his long ties with Borough Market to trade his wholesale and retail fruit and veg business from Druid Street.  Most recently Kase Swiss, Topolski, and Hophurst Farm (naked oats and delicious meats) are trading from Druid Street too, sometimes welcoming in guest producers such as East London-based Claire Ptak's 'Violet Cakes'.  Pictured above is a Fragolina grape cupcake - vanilla sponge was a little dry but delicately flavoured with good vanilla extract and, thankfully, not too sweet.  The butter icing was deeply and satisfyingly fragranced by this unusual variety of grape.  So why do other bakers think cupcakes have to be toothachingly sugary? (see my post of 3/9/2010).

Currently this is a Saturday only shop - get there early, the core hours are 9-2.  Last Saturday for the first time I managed to do a full shop on this Bermondsey trail.

UPDATE NOVEMBER 2011 - Happily now that the management of Borough market has changed, Kappacasein, The Borough Cheese Company and Topolski have returned to stalls at Borough Market (still open at their Bermondsey arches on Saturdays).   

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2012 - MOST OF THESE TRADERS HAVE NOW MOVED 5 MINUTES UP THE LINE TO SPA TERMINUS - MAP HERE http://www.maltbystreet.com/