Our gift shop is situated just outside the CBC and is a must visit if you are dining or attending one of our venues. In addition to the purchase of some of the most rare and well researched cookbook selections, we have a fine variety of teas from the Tea Palace on Westbourne Grove, and chocolates from the infamous Melt chocolatier.

Unique featured items are our handcrafted tea pots from the Crafts Council. Each tea pot is artistically designed by various artists (stop in our shop for details) and no two are alike. These tea pots are the perfect gift for all those tea pot collectors who appreciate not only the beauty and craftsmanship of each one-off pot, but also their functionality in the social environment where it is certain to stir up a bit of conversation.

If you are struggling to find the perfect Holiday gift for that special someone we can customise a Christmas hamper specially designed to your liking and desired budget. Prices start at around £75.00.

Or how about giving that friend of yours who has everything and then some…a gift certificate for perhaps the best Sunday Brunch in London at the Cookbook Cafe.

The Cookbook Cafe now has a new, fuller website! Feel free to browser around and let us know what you think.

If you are currently subscribed to our RSS feed you will need to update your feed reader.

Thanks,

All at CBC

If you haven’t had the immense pleasure of visiting St. Moritz, a prestigious mountain resort in the Engadine valley of Switzerland, where the jet/trend-setters of the world spend their winter days and nights simply playing, then you must put this on your own personal list of the 7 wonders of the world to see and experience before you…tuck your party shoes away!

There are so many unique events which make St. Moritz the icon that it is. From the annual Cartier Polo-on-ice event to the prestigious Gourmet food festival on the frozen lake, this winter wonderland has the best-of-everything life has to offer. No wonder that it has been the winter stomping ground for the social elite and their families for generations.

Reto Mathis is the son of the infamous Hartly Mathis who is personally responsible for changing the gastronomic experience of the Alpine catering trade. He began back in the 1960’s by taking over the existing Corviglia Restaurant located at the top of the mountain in the ski resort of St. Moritz. At the time the Corviglia consisted of a self-service restaurant with space for 240 guests along with a Cafeteria for 80 guests.

From the moment Hartly set eyes on the Corviglia he realised that this location had yet to reach its potential. His awareness that there was a niche in this particular market for Gourmet cuisine and his desire to put his culinary talents to good use, inspired him to introduce more sophisticated choices on his menu. He already was certain the elite clientele would understand and support his wish to experiment with his gastronomic offerings.

However, in usual Swiss fashion, his decision was met with opposition from the local community who believed that such changes were not necessary and would not be well received. Fortunately they were wrong! Hartly began with simple additions to his menu by adding an entrecote and soon to follow lobster, truffles and caviar became the normal offering for a lunch time break from skiing when visiting the Corviglia. In other ski locations throughout Switzerland, this dining concept might not have worked but for Mathis and his niche clientele, it was an immediate success!

Hartly ran the Corviglia restaurant for 25 years until his son Reto took over in 1992. Originally Reto had chosen to pursue a career in Electrical engineering, a popular choice for youngsters at this age, but he quickly realised that his passion was in the kitchen. Realising from a very early age that following in his fathers footsteps would not be easy, he realised that for him to be in the same trade he had two choices open to him: Either run away and form his own business, or stay and challenge what already existed! With his keen business sense he realised that to succeed in today’s culinary world, it is not just about being a good cook but also to be looking outside the box by investing, designing, marketing and PR. Through implementing such changes and staying on top of the game, Reto has been able to thrive in this highly demanding and competitive market. It probably does not hurt that he is handsome as hell and has a charming personality to boot!

What inspired you to become a Chef?
Initially I was interested in Electrical Engineering because this was a popular field at the time. After my Dad arranged an interview through one of his friends, from one of the big Swiss companies, I quickly realised this was not for me. I was concerned with how little time I saw my father when I was growing up as a result of his occupation and did not want to create the same life for myself. But it became apparent to me that this is what I love doing! I attended Lausanne Hotel School and knew that it was the Food and Beverage side of the industry that interested me. Rooms are a dead material which I couldn’t influence, but as a Chef you can see the results of your input right away. I then apprenticed at the Palace Hotel in Lucerne in the summer and at the Suvretta Hotel in St. Moritz in the winter. I also apprenticed under the legendary Anton Mossiman who has remained a close and personal friend.

How is your business affected by the fact that it is a seasonal location? The fact that it a seasonal business we cannot change. We do 95% of our turnover in the winter months from the beginning of December until mid-April. We keep our coffee shop open in the summer more out of goodwill as I have an agreement with the community to keep it open when the train is in operation.

How do you spend your time in the off-season?
My wife Barbara and I travel a lot! We do promotions, galas, catering and PR events. My wife Barbara is very involved in PR and has recently been responsible for a small range of merchandising items we are retailing.

What is the strangest request a customer has asked for?
One lady wanted fresh fruit salad with truffles all over it. So I gave her what she asked for!

I understand that you have two young daughters; do they have an interest in taking over your business one day?
My daughter Georgina who is almost 21 is currently attending the Hotel management school in Lausanne. And my daughter Camilla who is 19 has just completed her apprenticeship as a pastry Chef. Anything is possible!

What would your last meal on this earth be?
Sovaroff Truffle: this is goose liver, whole truffle, port wine, porcini mushrooms and gravy, covered in a puff pastry and baked for 20 minutes in the oven.

What do you always have in your refrigerator at home?
Champagne and a nice selection of cheeses!

If you haven’t already tubed it to High Street Kensington to check out the latest rage of Whole Foods Market, the food retailer extraordinaire, which recently hit the high street then you are certainly more clever than I. Yes I queued for 25 minutes in front of a rope and wired security dude on a Sunday afternoon to check out the latest in organic offerings. I don’t think I’ve ever queued in front of the hottest night club in N.Y. nor London for that long. But one satisfied customer meandering her way out the front door informed the masses that it was “well-worth the wait!” I personally had to find out first hand what all the fuss was about…

To put all this into perspective, let me give you a little history: Whole Foods Market originated in Austin, Texas in 1980 and was the brainstorm of three local businessmen who decided the natural foods industry was ready for a supermarket format. At the time there were less than half a dozen natural food supermarkets in the U.S. The original store in Austin, Texas staffed a total of 19 people. When it opened its doors it was an immediate success!

Fast-forward to 2007 and you are looking at the Whole Foods Market chain comprising over 39,000 employees, with locations in North America and now the U.K. The average store size is 32,000 square feet.

Keeping in mind that the average waist-line in the UK is growing at a rate faster than the bald spot on Prince Charles’ head, I’m thinking organic healthy options can’t be a bad thing. So 150 pounds lighter, and I’m not referring to my waist-line here, I left the store with a bag boy (no not carrying my Balenciaga) to help me get my tasty offerings to my car. Perhaps this is when I realized the Whole Foods people might have given more thought to location. Granted High Street Kensington has all the buzz with commuters, but there is no parking lot and no easy access for getting the groceries to your pay and display parking slot. So I’m thinking this location is simply designed for the commuter on the go looking to make it a lunch time stop or to pick-up something healthy for dinner on their way to the tube. Pricey? Oh yeah, makes M&S look like a real bargain! Healthy? Most certainly!

In my opinion, the just-right climatized cheese room is not to be missed! Whether it is a fabulous savory Gruyere from the Swiss Alps you are craving or a perfect goat cheese from the mountains in Italy, you are certain to find just the right cheese to satisfy the most discriminating cheesy palate.

So does the Whole Foods Market meet the UK expectations? I think it is worth a visit, and perhaps the worst thing that might happen is that you sample your way through your lunch hour for free.

Like all good things, there is always a flip side: The CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey, has led a bizarre anonymous online attack of one of his competitors Wild Oats. Mackey used a pseudonym on financial message boards to bash rival Wild Oats as a bad business not worth its stock price. He’s now making a move to buy it. Illegal? Unethical? Perhaps not one of his better moves. I’m thinking this organic, natural, wholesome, pure company has one bad apple!!! But now that the seed is planted, let’s leave it to the universe to balance things out…

Here we go with the Chocolate Pizza recipe:

CHOCOLATE BRIOCHE:
300g Strong Flour
15g Yeast, fresh
30g Sugar, white
6g Salt
3 Eggs, free range, large
135g Butter, unsalted, soft
20g Cocoa Powder

TOPPING:
2 Bananas, chopped
150g Pecans, chopped
150g Brown sugar, soft
100g Butter, unsalted, cut into cubes
15g cocoa powder
200ml Double cream
200g milk chocolate, droplets or small pieces
200g dark chocolate, droplets or small pieces

For the Brioche:
Mix all the ingredients except Butter in small machine with dough hook for 5 minutes on low speed
Add Butter, mix with higher speed until sides of bowl become clean and no dough sticks anymore
This can be done obviously by hand with initially a softer kneading and then with more force to get the same smooth, non sticking dough

For the Topping:
Roll out the dough to a round base, let this base now rest for 30 minutes covered loosely with Clingfilm by room temperature.
Sprinkle with cocoa, then sugar and then the butter
Top with the chopped bananas or slices if you prefer
Bake at 200 C for 15 minutes
Remove from oven, sprinkle with nuts and drizzle with double cream. Bake again for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle now with the chocolate droplets or pieces and just quickly melt them in the oven for another 2 min.
Serve still slightly warm

For those of you who are still reeling from Hugh Grant’s recent bean salad-toss-tantrum towards a photographer outside his Chelsea home - may you gain some solice from the rumor that HG’s weapon of choice just may have come from one of his favorite local suppliers…Luigi’s Delicatessen.

Luigi’s one-stop shop has been open for business and serving the local community of Chelsea for the past 34 years - offering fresh cheeses, pastas and sauces of every type and brand, the finest of olive oils from Italy and Spain, and an extensive wine selection (90% of their products are imported from Italy - the remaining 10% are Spanish delicacies).

Whether you are entertaining last minute - or simply cannot decide what to feed your family for din-din, Luigi’s offers an outstanding selection of dishes cooked on the premises by a friendly staff who somehow seem to know all their customers by name.

Luigi’s daily specials are a revolving variation of: homemade lasagna, risottos, roasted and stuffed chickens, meatballs, and soups. Each dish du jour is determined by the fresh produce of that season, and is accompanied by a robust salad and vegetables. Note…Luigi’s regular customers claim the Gazpacho is “world class!”

Here’s a tip - want to prepare a quick meal but make it look like you slaved the entire afternoon? Try Luigi’s breaded veal Milanese. Simply fry each patty on both sides in a little olive oil, served on a bed of rucola salad and a wedge of fresh lemon, and viola!!

For me, what sets Luigi’s apart from other delicatessens is its old world charm. The friendly service and clientele chitchat in their native tongue (Italian, Spanish or Portuguese) is just the icing on the cake.

So, next time you dread slogging your bum to the local M&S for another qwikie dinner fix and are feelin’ like a little Italiano, wend your way to Fulham Road and try one of Luigi’s daily offerings and tell Hugh I’ve been meaning to get back to him - then DUCK!!

Have you ever dreamed about a restaurant with no menu (or a menu of your own creation)?

1. You just walk in, see lot’s of great fresh produce, meet the chefs and talk about what you desire to eat, your mad cravings and hunger.

2. You call up on the day you want to dine in our restaurant and talk to the chefs, or via a virtual chef on the website, and then you design your own menu. You arrive at the CBC and your desired menu is prepared and waiting for you.

3. What would be on your restaurant menu?

Share with us your favourite dishes via a short comment on this blog. I would like to collect as many of your favourite dishes as possible and see what we all have in common, or not. We want to know your everyday favorites. Peanut butter sandwich with strawberry jam, spaghetti with tomato sauce, cheeseburgers, classic chateaubriand with bearnaise sauce, foie gras with sauternes jelly?

Let’s see what you dish out and we will attempt to whip up and place these dishes you crave on our menu for the day of your reservation.

Cheers

P.S. My favourite meal at the moment is Veal Scallopini al Limone, served with fresh taglierini, followed by a rhubarb crumble to satisfy my sweet tooth.

I got to know Mark Edwards back in my days at the Badrutt’s Palace Hotel in St.Moritz, the infamous ski resort located in the Swiss Alps. In 2002 we opened the restaurant Nobu at the Palace. Roland Fasel, was Hotel Director at the time (and is currently the GM at the InterContinental London) and was the initiator and visionary in bringing Nobu to this exquisite mountain resort. Needless-to-say it was a match made in heaven and an immediate success.

In the seasons pre-opening phase we received the first food market list with all products required for Nobu to operate and immediately began sourcing the items desired. We realized quickly that this would be an extraordinary task trying to locate these products domestically. The fact that Switzerland is not part of the EU made matters worse. We were able to obtain a majority of the items from JFC (Japan Food Company, who import all products from Japan) who have depots in the UK and Germany.The main challenge was then to convert the codes for the food items from EU to Swiss codes for import and taxation purposes. We were able to achieve this with through our connections and with the help of many of our suppliers.

The day before Nobu was scheduled to open we had most of the ingredients we needed to operate apart from rice and a few additional specialty items. The remaining missing items had just arrived from the UK and were waiting to be picked up at Geneva Airport on the other side of Switzerland. I organized a DHL courier to drive it to St.Moritz where it was snowing heavily. The courier phoned late in the evening and informed me that he wouldn’t take the risk of driving over the snow loaded mountain roads of the “Julierpass.” So I got in my car and drove in the middle of the night to the other side of the mountains to take over the freight. We made it back to St.Moritz by 3am where Mark and his team were preparing the mise en place for the opening on the next day. The Nobu team were anxiously awaiting the last items to arrive.

In the beginning of this year we met over a vodka tonic in the hotel bar and discussed the opening of the Cookbook Cafe and the launch party. I asked Mark if there was any chance of honoring us as a guest chef for this industry event. (Mark, thanks for your great support on the night of the launch!!). The event was a huge success thanks to Mark’s contribution. Following is our foodie interview with Mark Edwards, the genius Head Chef of Nobu London and partner of Nobu Matsuhisa.

(Above: Image of the South ramp of the Julier Pass road on a sunny day)

(Below: Mark Edwards with Executive Chef Michel Gehrig at the CBC launch)

Here is the interview:

Why are you in London? It’s one of the top gastronomic cities in the world
What is your favorite neighborhood restaurant that you would recommend to a friend? Hot Stuff in 9 Elms
What is the best dish Hot Stuff puts out there? Menu changes every day
What do you always keep in your fridge? Champagne, quality cheese, smoked salmon
What is your favorite cook book? Roman Cookery by Apicius
What is your favorite dish? A dish that someone else has prepared for me with their heart and soul
What do you never eat? Monkey Brains
What is your most important kitchen tool? My hands
What is your all time favorite drink? Vodka tonic (and we had so many of them already!)
What inspires you? Researching the history of regional peasant dishes
What do you cook for someone you like to impress? Something very simple
What would be your last meal? The executioner slowly braised over an open fire

Would you share your favorite recipe with us?

Steamed John Dory with Wild Garlic, recipe for 4

(more…)

Join us in celebrating Easter with your family in their finery for a wonderful brunch replete with Bellinis, Iced Tea Martinis, Bloody Marys and lots of lovely provender to please your perspicacious palates.

Our Chef has prepared a fabulous from the best Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon and Caviar to Cornish Easter Lamb with Spring Garlic and Thyme and more, you can look at the menu by clicking: easter-sunday-brunch-menu.pdf.

Chill and relax watching Park Lane and the world going by…whilst your children will delight in the Easter Egg decorating corner and copious near-coma producing cakes and candies whilst you and your significant other(s) are welcomed with a complimentary glass of fine Champagne to be followed by limitless lashings of the above mentioned beverages and lots of lovely offerings from our eclectic kitchen.

So don’t delay! Reserve your space today for our Easter Brunch. Spring into the season with us! We have a lot of bookings already and its picking up rapido!!

While sitting down with my family and friends this Palm Sunday we were discussing what we will be serving up next weekend for our Easter Sunday family lunch. The following recipes are what we decided on and I thought why not share them with those of you who are pondering on the same thought. Our menu is as follows:
Cucumber salad with creme fraiche dressing, Roast leg of lamb with pancetta, sage and rosemary, and Fresh strawberries with sour cream and brown sugar. (more…)