Sarah Siese is celebrating the launch of her second book “Heaven on Earth KIDS” at Cookbook Cafe on Tuesday 8th May 2007

Following the success of Heaven on Earth, A calendar guide to hotels around the world, Sarah Siese is launching the second in the series: Heaven on Earth Kids!

Looking for the perfect family holiday is seldom an easy task, which is why this definitive guide to what’s on offer for children in hotels around the world is set to be another bestseller.

Parents want luxury, the kids want fun. But there’s no longer any need to ’surrender’ a week for your kids; you just need to know where to choose. A unique compilation of children friendly hotels, “Heaven on Earth Kids” features 70 tried and tested hotels in 40 countries around the world (for any time of year), packed with detailed descriptions of all the activities, menus, clubs and general comments on the ‘happiness factor’ as reported by the author’s children.

Sarah Siese is married with three daughters, aged 11, 9 and 7. After graduating from Westminster College London in Hotel Management, Sarah has had a varied career that has included working in a French hotel, time in the city as a management consultant, and becoming an accredited life coach! Today, she is MD of St. Christopher’s Publishing, a boutique publishing house with the Heaven on Earth series and other titles to follow next year, and writes regularly for various magazines and Guardian on-line.

What a great tool, Yahoo has added (since quite a while) a platform where events of whichever nature can be shared, so if you want to start a local group of some sort of activists, or start a neighborhood meet up group, or see what’s happening at Cookbook Cafe, “upcoming” is the answer…I will put all future events on to upcoming and you can find it here http://upcoming.yahoo.com/

Hi everyone. Here’s a list of some of the events which are coming up this month at Cookbook Cafe. Drop us an email if you’d like to join or give Roberto and his team a buzz. If times and dates don’t suit you, let us know and we can create something tailored just for you and your friends.

MAY HIGHLIGHTS
May 11 & 12: Some of our chefs are out to Henley for a food festival. If you are nearby, taste Chef Michel’s slow cooked Shepherds Pie with Espuma of potatoes…an interesting combination of texture and flavours.

May 22 / 12.00 - 2.30pm / £15.00: Once more we are doing the Austrian classic, world famous Wiener Schnitzel. Pop in for a bite anytime between 12:00 and 2.30 pm, and we will show you the secrets to making the crispiest and tastiest Wiener Schnitzel. (For those who don’t know, a Wiener Schnitzle is a thinly pounded veal escallop, bread crumbed and pan fried in butter until crispy and golden brown)

May 31 / 06.30pm / £20.00: Chocolate Master Class with Keith Hurdman from …Melt… in Notting Hill. Starts at 06.30 pm and will last about 60-90 minutes. It includes, of course, a few glasses of bubbles upon arrival to get you all relaxed and chilled out. Keith will do an intro on what chocolate is all about, where it’s from, and we can then taste some different origin chocolates. After that, its all hands on deck as everyone will have a chance to fill, roll and prepare their own truffle chocolates which will go in a souvenir box to take home. To finish off the evening, Joel, our Bartender, will be doing a Master Class on his specialized Chocolate Martini, which should end the night on a high! (I am not a great fan of Chocolate Martinis, but this one is just so yummy - it’s a must know for any party)
JUNE HIGHLIGHTS

June 6 / 11.30 - 2.00pm: Antiques Road Show’s John C. Benjamin is an independent jewellery ad visor, valuer and lecturer specializing in the renaissance, 18th and 19th century periods. He’ll be giving a talk on diamonds, which will then be followed by light lunch. For those interested, a complimentary John will also be giving complementary jewellery valuations. (RESERVATION ONLY)

June 20 / 12.00 - 2.30pm: Wonderfoods - rainbow on your plate with Natalie Savona, the Kitchen Shrink. Natalie is one of Britain’s foremost nutritionists with a strong presence across all media as an author, columnist in Cosmopolitan, television presenter and regularly-quoted expert in the national press. And this one is about how to get the perfect healthy yet tasty combination on the plate…

Make sure to book your space for the events!

…my fridge was in need of a major top-off, hence an extensive shopping day was on my list of things-to-do. I love Selfridges food hall as it is a one-stop shop for all your cooking needs! If you are anything like me and love to explore and expand your culinary skills, then Selfridges food hall is the place for you, where you are able to locate all those difficult continental ingredients you will never find in your local Sainsbury’s.

I decided on veal scaloppini for dinner with a lemon sauce. I pounded out the veal until it was paper thin, then pan fried it in a little butter and olive oil to give them a nice golden colour. The sauce for the veal was a lemon sauce prepared with un-waxed lemons and served with a side of fresh taglierini.

The secret lies in the sauce: the freshness, acidity and deep flavour of the lemons are in perfect harmony with the fresh made veal stock and cream sauce - light and balanced. To prepare the lemon sauce cut the lemons into wedges and remove the seeds, then pan-fry them in olive oil with a large piece of fresh new season garlic. Add a few sage leaves, a tiny sprig of rosemary, a pinch of salt, sugar and pepper. The lemons and juice will begin to caramelize forming a thick syrup-like liquid. Add a bit of water and simmer until the lemon rind is completely soft and ready to eat.

After the scaloppini are pan fried, set them aside in a baking dish, then deglaze the pan with some white wine. Reduce the heat and add the lemons, juice, veal stock, and a dash of cream. Finally, season with some chopped flat parsley. Spoon this mixture over the scaloppini and place the pan in the oven for a few minutes to allow the meat to absorb the flavors. Serve with fresh cooked taglierini or pappardelle (I suggest trying Cipriani’s pasta which is as close to home-made, if not better, and can be purchased at Luigi’s on Fulham Road. It costs about GBP4.50 a box but is worth every pence). Eat and enjoy this outstanding dish!

I have made this dish before but never with the slow cooked lemons and concentrated juice which really makes an incredible difference.

Why are you in London? I Love the town and the cosmopolitan life here. With all the international cuisines on offer London is like the worlds biggest larder, for shopping, cooking, and eating.

Do you have a favourite neighborhood restaurant you would recommned to a friend? Yes, No. 1 Thai, at 1 Dalgarno Gardens in North Kensington. This very authentic Thai restaurant is situated at the back of Ladbroke Grove and has the cheapest and best Thai food outside of Thailand. It’s run by a husband and wife team. If you desire vino then you must bring your own bottle as alcohol is not served on the premises. There is a great outside garden area which backs onto a lovely park. You can dine and watch the sun go down - it’s a little piece of heaven.

What dishes do you recommend? I love the Massaman or Penang curry, however the Pad Thai or Tom Yum are also excellent dishes. My intention is to try a new dish every time I go there and so far every one has been sensational.

What do you generally like to have in your fridge? Being German I of course have Black Forest ‘Speck’ in my fridge together with pickled cucumbers. However I could never be without Chilli Jelly;this sweet but spicy jelly is fabulous on cheese toast and is also outstanding with ice cream. An absolute must have in the fridge.

What do you have in your fridge at this moment? Smokey Tomato chutney, Thai green curry paste, chilli jelly, speck, pickled gherkins, Dijon mustard, paprika oil, pomegranate molasses, tamarind paste, fresh horseradish, Anilla’s Korma curry paste, coconut butter and cream,and my homemade vinaigrette dressing.

What is your favourite cook book? The food of India by Murdoch Books, this book is written by quite a few authors who travelled through India and wrote the best authentic recipes of the local cuisine; it’s worth every penny.

What is your favourite dish? My very own Hungarian Goulasch with Spatzle and sour cream.

Please share your favourite recipe with us?

Hungarian Goulasch
Ingredients:
1lbs beef diced, 1lbs sliced onions, 1lbs skinned and deseeded finely chopped tomatoes, 4 cloves of chopped garlic, 1tblspn of crushed caraway seeds, 1 handful fresh Marjoram or 1-2 tblspn dried marjoram. 3 tblspn Hungarian Paprika sweet.

Preparation:
Fry meat until brown on all sides, they add onion and fry until golden brown. Then add tomatoes and cook the juices out. Add the garlic and spices, Place all the ingredients in a big casserole dish and add beef stock to cover. Let it simmer for 1.5 hours or until meat is really tender, serve with potatoes or Spatzle (our traditional pasta from the Black Forest) and a dollop of sour cream .

What would you never eat? Tripe can’t stand the leathery stuff at all.

What is your most important kitchen tool? My big granite pestle and mortar. I could not live without it.

What is your all time favourite drink? Sorrel, sometimes called Hibiscus. I came across this drink in the Caribbean. Take a few flowers and place them in a big jug, pour boiling water over it and let it infuse for 30min. Serve over ice, or with a shot of rum or brandy. Either way its thirst quenching, slightly sour, and a great long drink to sip as you watch the sun go down.

What inspires you? The smell of my spices when I open either the shop door or the warehouse door. It’s different everyday and gives me the motivation to blend new spice mixes almost on a daily basis.

What would you cook for someone you are looking to impress? Osso bucco with porcini risotto.

What would you want your last meal to be? Chicken Mole! That Mexican chocolate sauce over chicken is to die for.

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

Read the rest of this entry

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!!

Here are the activities coming up in the next 3 month:

April 17 at 11am - 12.30pm:

Cooking workshop with Executive Chef, Michel Gehrig, get inspired with various easy to make but effective and impressive spring time cocktail party and small plate dishes to cook for your friends on any occasion. £15.00

April 24, from 11.30am - 2.30pm:

Our special of the day will be the Austrian world famous speciality Wiener Schnitzel or thin escalopes of veal, breadcrumbed and pan fried. What is the secret behind a perfect crispy, golden crust? Pop in to CBC for a light lunch and learn from our chefs all the secrets behind Wiener Schnitzel. from £15.00

April 26, from 7.00pm

Cookbook Cafe Kitchen Party, join us to have a dinner full of activities, various cooking stations and tasting sections, try Michels Ceviche with Tequilla shots, Stirr the Risotto pot, Roll the Sushi and use the blow torch to caramelize one of the several creme brulees! Muddle mojitos and caipirinhas and discover the secrets of mixology. £35.00 includes all food, wines and cocktails during the night.

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. Read the rest of this entry