Tag Archives: Food

The Little Espresso Company

July 11, 2013Food for ThoughtCoffee, Drink, Food, Food for Thought, Lincoln, Silver Street, The Little Espresso CompanyCharlotte Reid

The first time I stumbled across The Little Espresso Company it was completely by accident. It really is little, it looks just like a doorway in a crowded street. A bit of research later I found out that they were once trying to be officially recognised as the smallest coffee shop by the Guinness World Records. Yet it took me about a year to organise getting The Little Espresso Company onto Food for Thought.

Luckily it was well timed as Adam Lowiss, the owner of The Little Espresso Company, is about to start a delivery service alongside the shop. Adam says the soon to be launched service is “like bringing an entire coffee shop to your desk at work”.

Although the first impression you get of The Little Espresso Company is just about how tiny the space is. Originally being a small coffee shop was a bit of a ‘gimmick’ says Adam but the size makes sense very quickly. It’s cheap to run, and mostly serves takeaway drinks to people on a quick break from work. These people have no need to hang around, sit and read a paper.

Adam also knows a lot about coffee. Not being a huge coffee lover myself, he already knew what to recommend to someone like me and this impromptu test worked a treat. He also uses local products, suppliers and high quality items like Suki Tea and Chocolate Abyss.

Listen to this week’s Food for Thought here, which includes the interview with Adam and a chat with the Children’s Food Trust about encouraging children to have a healthy diet.

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Foodie findings in April

April 28, 2013Fun stuffApril, BN, BN Biscuits, Cookie cutters, Drink, Food, Lakeland, Nostalgia, Shades cookie cutter, Vanilla Coca ColaCharlotte Reid

Food and drink are two of the most important things in life, and I think they are much better when they aren’t taken too seriously. I’m always on the lookout for new and interesting foods, so here’s a roundup of the fun food related things I found this month.

Baking madness

If you want to find absurd cooking gadgets then Lakeland is the best place to visit. The baking section is my favourite area with its twee silicon moulds, decorations and varied baking trays. Usually the cutters just tend to be the generic heart and stars shape, but this weekend I found hipster cookie glasses.

They actually call themselves shade cookie cutters, and “ideal” for the summer. Mostly it makes me happy that Lakeland stocks bizarre goods so items like this can exist.

Nostalgia

Every now and again products which for whatever reason vanished from the shelves are brought back. The most recent comebacks are Coca Cola Vanilla and BN biscuits.

I don’t remember Vanilla Coca Cola being so popular, but at the moment every other post on Twitter or Facebook is someone excitedly buying a can of the stuff. The drink is as sweet as I remember and you have to really concentrate to taste the vanilla flavour, but it’s fun.

The BN biscuits comeback is far more exciting though. The French biscuits haven’t been sold in the UK for the past 13 years, but they are back and with a rebrand. They are only available in chocolate and vanilla for the time being, but they taste just as I remember. I used to have the biscuits in my packed lunch at school and with one bite I was transported back to the lunch hall.

It might have been years since the BN adverts have been shown, but admit it you occasionally find yourself singing that advert.

Everyone, join in.

Hollywood’s hunger

March 25, 2013Fun stuffBBC, Bread, Food, Great British Bake Off, Paul Hollywood, recipes, television reviewsCharlotte Reid

Paul Hollywood likes to stare. It’s a wonder he manages to make any bread in between all the staring. Yet he does, and he now has his own BBC cookery show to tell us how to make bread too.

Each week Hollywood offers up a different slice of bread history and culture. In the first episode Hollywood explored the bread classics: bloomers, ploughman’s and malt loaf. He occasionally flirts with meat and cake recipes, but the series is predominantly, as the title suggests, about bread.

This week his focus was on flat breads. They might be really interesting but it looks like making them will be more effort and hard work than my little kitchen could handle. He started by visiting different restaurant kitchens to learn how to make impressive looking flat breads.

It was all very educational but then Hollywood began to act like he was in his own episode of “The Generation Game” all about bread. He would see the experts doing it and then decide that he could do it better. Annoyingly Hollywood didn’t end up plating up some rubbish, like Generation Game contestants normally would.

Hollywood has landed this series after showing off his baking skills on “The Great British Bake Off”, playing the bad guy to Mary Berry’s comforting figure. Innocently it makes sense that Hollywood, a keen and knowledgeable baker, wants to get the nation making their own bread, as he says: “I can’t just be beaten by a piece of dough, it ain’t going to happen.”

Not so innocently, the Hollywood stare seems to have caught some people’s attention. Nicknamed the ‘Silver Fox’ he seems to be a bit of a sex symbol. Looks aside, he does end up playing up to his reputation. He likes to get his hands messy, demonstrating how he likes to use his hand as a mixer. He also started to pound his dough roughly against the table, instead of just rolling out his flat breads. He isn’t doing himself any favours.

The important test for any cookery show is does it make people want to cook. Hollywood surely knows that he has a battle on his hands. Any person watching a heavenly chocolate cake being made on the telly would surely try making it themselves? You show someone how to do meat, potatoes and veg a bit differently then someone will give it a go. But even if you show how amazing it is to make your own bread, then almost everyone will say: “That’s nice but it costs about £1 in the shop.”

However, he does make it look simple and that’s encouraging. Make your own judgement and watch “Bread” on BBC iPlayer.

Creme egg brownies

March 24, 2013Food for Thoughtbrownies, Cadbury, Creme Eggs, Creme Eggs brownies, Easter, Easter eggs, Food, Food for Thought, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, recipe, Siren FM, videoCharlotte Reid

The latest episode of Food for Thought ended up a bit of a mixed bag. I was hoping to interview a local tea room but I was leaving it a bit late.

I record the show on a Tuesday evening and had arranged the interview on a Tuesday afternoon. Unfortunately it didn’t work out as when I arrived my interviewee was ill and at home. Hopefully we’ll be able to rearrange the interview soon. As a result the show ended up being a bit rushed. Luckily I have lots of interviews which I like to reuse every now and again.

I also realised that it’s almost Easter so I should try making something. There are recipes for creme egg brownies on Facebook and thought I should give it a go. So the brownies get reviewed on the show too.

You can listen here:

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Recipe

Easter hasn’t arrived until you have had a creme egg. There may be bigger eggs or better chocolate but nothing compares to the childlike wonder of a creme egg. There’s something very Heston Blumenthal about them.

I, perhaps foolishly, decided that they could be made better with cake. I admit this recipe is not mine, I found one on the internet here and then tweaked it according to what I like.

If you would like to try them out I made a video recipe guide. And if you do try them out then let me know how they went.

Bacon and birthday

March 13, 2013Food for ThoughtElectric Bar, Food, Food for Thought, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Siren FM, Stokes, Stokes of LincolnCharlotte Reid

There’s been a bit of a delay in Food for Thought recently. To sound dramatic I had a really bad cold. When I have colds I am particularly pathetic and this time as well as sneezing every five seconds I lost my voice. This doesn’t help when presenting a radio show. This week I bravely struggled on. I still sound a bit odd but hopefully it isn’t too distracting.

On this week’s show it is a celebration of the Electric Bar and Restaurant. They have been open a year so held a lavish party at their Brayford based restaurant. Also on this week’s programme I find out more about brunch. The Stokes cafe at The Collection have started to serve the mid-morning meal on Sundays and I wanted to find out how it is different.

You can listen to this week’s show via the player below:

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Electric Bar’s birthday

It seems hard to believe that the Electric Bar, with its awe inspiring elevator and beautiful views of the Brayford, is only a year old. The restaurant is on top of the Doubletree Hotel and has had quite an impact on the local area.

To find out how the food, the bar and the hotel have developed over the last year I chatted to the general manager, Philip Walker, and head chef, Phil Henson.

You can listen to the interviews below.

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Their party saw flash cars on the waterfront and was a chance to showcase the Electric Bar’s food and cocktails. Here are some pictures from the evening.

Brunch

Most of us know what brunch is, but how many of you have had it done well? Stokes cafe at The Collection is now serving pancakes, waffles and crepes as a great Sunday roast alternative. Jean Sebastian Braen, the general manager of the High Bridge and The Collection cafes, knows more about brunch than others. He is originally from Canada and has helped to create this menu. He hopes to introduce the idea of brunch to Lincoln.

Listen to the interview with Jean Sebastian here:

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If you have enjoyed this blog post then why don’t you try listening to Food for Thought live on Siren FM? It goes out on Wednesdays at 2pm and you can listen online.

Crafty cakes and James Martin

February 28, 2013Food for ThoughtElizabeth Dimmock, Food, Food for Thought, James Martin, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Michelle Forrest Beckett, radio, Rock Paper Scissors, Siren FMCharlotte Reid

This week on Food for Thought I interviewed the people behind Lincoln’s crafterie and cafe shop, Rock Paper Scissors, and also a chat with the celebrity chef James Martin.

Sound interesting? Then you can listen to the podcast here:

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Rock Paper Scissors

Something a little bit different has recently opened up on Lincoln’s High Street. You can instantly tell that Rock Paper Scissors is different to the rest of the high street. Outside there is a chair with an open sign propped on it to invite people in and the design on the shop window is hand drawn.

The shop, run by Elizabeth Dimmock and Michelle Forrest Beckett, sells arts and crafts and also holds workshops where they teach people new skills such as knitting. The food part, the most important part for Food for Thought, is you can grab a slice of home made cake or a cup of tea at the same time.

This might sound like a slightly old fashioned way to spend the day but in the short time they have been open a whole age range of people have visited. Elizabeth says: “We’ve had some older women coming in who did knitting the first time round and are coming back to learn things.

“Young people are coming in and picking it up. It’s becoming cool apparently.”

Michelle says there is a good reason for these hobbies to be popular: “I think there’s just something feel good factor about making something with your own hands. Its a nice way to pass the time.”

You can listen to the interview with Elizabeth and Michelle here:

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James Martin

When I mentioned that I was going to be interviewing James Martin for Food for Thought all sorts of people who I never even expected to be interested in cookery shows wanted to know more.

Sam Pidoux, who regularly helps out on the show, was far too excited so it would have been mean to not allow her to also interview the celebrity chef.

It was a chance for James to chat about his new TV show, United Cakes of America, but we also got chatting about a few other topics. In particular his thoughts on the revelation that in the UK beef has been cross contaminated with horse meat.

Listen to the interview with James Martin here:

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Windmills and takeaway cake

February 20, 2013Food for ThoughtCrunchie Munchies, Ellis Mill, Food, Food for Thought, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Siren FMCharlotte Reid

On this week’s programme I find out about an alternative takeaway company in Lincoln called Crunchie Munchies. I also have a tour of the Ellis Mill to see how flour is made.

Listen to this week’s show here:

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Crunchie Munchies

I have been presenting Food for Thought for almost a year and every week I have managed to find a different person to chat to about the food that Lincoln has to offer. I think one of the reasons why there are new people to chat is students leaving either of the universities in the city and coming up with creative business ideas.

This is certainly the case with Crunchie Munchies, set up by graduates from Bishop Grosseteste. Stephanie Milner, one of the co-directors of the alternative takeaway company, came to the Siren studios to tell me more.

Crunchie Munchies sells cakes, sweets and treats with the profits going to community projects. Stephanie studied drama at university and also works as a drama facilitator. She says she took up baking as a way to fund drama projects: “The drama work is something that is definitely needed round the community but its very expensive so we were trying to find a way to sustain it for ourselves and make it more affordable for lots of different people throughout the local community.”

Listen to the interview with Crunchie Munchies in full here:

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Ellis Mill

I have lived in Lincoln a while and regularly see the Ellis Mill on the horizon. Yet I only made a point of visiting it last weekend.

Windmills were used to make flour, until it was realised that machines could do it more efficiently. The Ellis Mill was closed down in the 1940s but was reopened as a working mill in 1981. I was given a tour by the chairman of the Ellis Mill volunteers, Barry Brooke, who demonstrated how the mill works which you can listen to below.

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If you have enjoyed this podcast then you should listen to Siren FM on Wednesdays at 2pm to hear the show live. And if you have suggestions or thoughts for the show — tweet me @charlottereid.