EAT MEET SUPPERCLUB



Somewhere between Brockley and New Cross, Julie & her friend Sophie, run the Eat Meet Supper club. I had read about their supper club through other blogs after doing some research on the area. After emailing them directly to find out more, so I was over the moon to get a reply that there was an event coming up.

Excited for over evening adventure we headed over, wine in hand. However we found we had to do a couple of circles round the block as the excitement had got us there a little earlier than expected. On arrival (still 10 minutes early!) Julie and Sophie welcomed us straight into their kitchen and a cocktail of Rose syrup, Rhubarb and rosemary gin martinis. By the time they welcomed the remaining guests into the garden with a background music of 'screeching women' (Julie's words not mine) we were sailing onto our second delicious yet rather feisty cocktail!




Introductions were made with all the other guests whilst taking the few remaining rays of what sunshine there was, in the lovely back garden. I was interested to find out that none of the other guests had ever been to a supper club but they'd also heard good reviews about Sophie and Julie which had lead them there. Once the cocktails were finished, Julie guided us into the front room which had been turned into our dinning room for the evening.



The first course was green gazpacho chilled soup. A refreshing blend of cucumber, celery, herbs and cream topped with smokey sourdough croutons. The flavours were light and delicate, I really enjoyed this soup it was delicious. And the addition of the croutons were amazing! I love sourdough and these were the best croutons I ever had.




Next was a 'South-Eastern' fried buttermilk chicken served with a citrus slaw and green salad.
The salads were served in bowls on the table and the fried chicken portions arrived on a large chunky wooden board.



The chicken was moist with a spicy crunch coating. It was perfectly cooked, it that the chicken just fell off the bone. The citrus slaw was vibrant with the addition of sharp flavours of grapefruit and sweetness from the orange. Green salad was simple and non fussy, lettuce leaves and radishes. I think by having having light side dishes to the robust flavours of the chicken complemented the meal and prevented it from getting too heavy.




Dessert was rhubarb jellies with homemade royal jelly, honey, rosemary and greek yogurt ice cream. Sounds amazing, except I do have a bit of phobia of jelly and ice cream since I was a kid. Love both just not together, it's something to do with textures.
However I overcame this by eating it in layers. The ice cream was light and fresh not too sweet and then the jelly had a lovely texture from the rhubarb. Both were good however I personally wouldn't jump to have it again purely on the fact I was concentrating so much on the fact I was eating jelly and ice cream together. I just don't think the textures go together.

It was at this point that I stopped taking photos, sorry about that. However Julie popped some photos of the pudding on the Supperclub's Facebook page - Here

The evening then finished with a selection of cheeses served with homemade fruit bread. Which I've never had had with cheese before and it works really well. A bit like having the chutney already in the bread. 

Julie and Sophie were an excellent hosts, sitting down with us to chat after the plates had been cleared away. After a coffee and a couple more glasses it was time to head on home.

I'd highly recommend you to go to EAT MEET, Sophie and Julie are just so much fun and the food is really tasty! I myself have my eyes peeled for when the next one is. Just make sure you have some paracetamol for the next morning! ;)

BOWES MUSEUM



TIM WALKER // DREAMSCAPES // BOWES MUSEUM //

My main profession is a photographic retoucher working for a company called Touch Digital in Shoreditch, East London.
On the 24th May 2013 the Touch Crew set off from the very wet London via Kings Cross station en-route to the NORTH for the opening exhibition of one of our clients, Tim Walker.

After a raucous trip up on the train we arrived in sunny Yorkshire, only to be whisked away over to Richmond where our fabulous host Tim and Austin were awaiting us with their three well behaved whippets, Misty, Rosie and Kofi. Millgate House is situated just off Richmond’s cobbled square, with an award winning garden, that was bursting with roses, clematis, hostas, geraniums and many other plants.



After a quick change and a short trip we arrived in the historic market town, Barnard Castle & to the impressive Bowes Museum. This gothic building dates back too the 19th Century and was opened as a museum in 1892. The museum houses a impressive collection of fine and decorative arts. However it is the famed mechanical Silver Swan that is one of it’s main attractions.


We of course were there for the opening of Tim Walker’s Dreamscapes exhibition! 

An innovative exhibition of photographs by Tim Walker, revealing how this leading fashion photographer is a significant artist with roots in traditions of English landscape painting.
Curated by Greville Worthington, this exhibition will explore Walker’s work beyond the pages of Vogue and Vanity Fair, showing influences from British Surrealism, and a unique Neo-Romantic take on a particularly English aesthetic. The improbability of Walker’s sets in these 26 photographs fringes on Surrealism; beds float in trees, a flying saucer glides alongside a fox hunt, and giant dolls crash through landscapes filled with foreboding, where nature frightens rather than soothes. The ambition and scale of his images is especially impressive as they are not digitally manipulated; every fantastical scene is created with props.
For the first time, Walker’s images will be displayed in light boxes, which give a new quality of drenched colour to the images.
The presentation of Tim’s work is new and unique approach for a photographic exhibition, and is closely linked to how we at Touch see imagery day in and day out, in a backlit situation. Not to mention in a dark, blacked out room! We felt very much at home.



In the morning we were treated to an elegantly presented breakfast of fresh fruits, seeds, nuts, cereals and yoghurts, followed by a full cooked brekkie with the tastiest mushrooms ever! After having a belly full we managed to fit in a walk along the River Swale and its waterfall beyond, followed by a team building climb to the top of Richmond Castle. It turns out Ben isn’t too keen on heights....but he made it too the top!

Then back on the train to London whilst the sun went down.


Tim Walker: Dreamscapes
Sat 25 May 13 - Sun 01 Sep 13
The Bowes Museum
Barnard Castle
County Durham
DL12 8NP