Rest, Regroup, Relaunch...

So it turns out that street food is mighty harder work than it appears to the outside world!  The last  nine months have been some of the most intense working periods of my entire life.  It's a good job I had all that time off swanning around Asia for a year or two.  It's the only way that having so little time off now would be at all bearable.

But aside from the exceptional hard work required, it has been a year of intense ups and downs.  I've learned an incredible amount (and still much more to go).  I've had some of the best times of my life. And some of the most terrifying.  Which is interesting, because that's a lot like travelling as a family across Asia.  I have made great friends along the way, tasted amazing food and experienced such support from people, it has made some very difficult times endurable.

During the next few months, I have a couple of Christmas markets to attend to, cooking up some warming street food on the streets of Ramsbottom and Leeds.  But my focus will be returning to some fine dining and writing.  I have an exciting pop up with a fellow chef in the pipeline, vegetarian fine dining at my supperclub and cookery classes in the stunning setting of Catton Hall.

For detailed information about events, check out my new website www.thehungrygecko.com

Hope you like it!

Cookery classes, collaborations & a lack of concentration perhaps...

I've been such a a busy bee lately.  So many irons in the fire.  Which is good, but I do think I need to focus.  Focus on what I want, the food I want to make and who I want to work with.  Unfortunately all this activity has meant a week away from home, but it makes me appreciate it all the more now I'm back (apart from armies of the teenagers that appear to have moved in).  

With the inmminent launch of my dining club (aka supperclub, underground restaurant or whatever you want to call it) we've been working hard to get the set up just right.  Lee's working on some dining music while I blog.  I'm very excited about the launch night and been working hard on perfecting dishes.  Both dates are now booked up, but I will post some new dates to the website soon.

I had an enjoyable evening last week with a Cracking Good Food cookery class, a local social enterprise company that aims to give people the skills to cook seasonal, nutritious and cost effective food from scratch.  The enthusiastic students did a fantastic job of their cauliflower stuffed parathas.  I hope to do another new class with them again early next year.

This weekend I spent a day teaching a Streetfood Masterclass at The Vegetarian Society's Cordon Vert cookery school.  Again, great fun although a long day for a Sunday and I forgot to give them a break!

I've also been busy working on the menu with Tampopo Co-founder David Fox for the Manchester Food & Drink Festival dining event, Tuesday 11th October.  More details can be found here: http://foodanddrinkfestival.com/event/festaurant-presents-mekong-beyond-an-east-asian-food-odyssey/
  
We've come up with a really exciting East Asian feast, in between sharing travel stories.  Not surprisingly we have a lot in common when it comes to travel and food.  The menu includes Tampopo classics and some travel inspired dishes with a fine dining twist.  I'm VERY excited.  Not least to be working with such an experienced team.  Tickets can be booked online via the MFDF website or at Tampopo Triangle, Exchange Square or Tampopo Albert Square.

 

Mekong & Beyond

5 Course Tasting Menu:

£39 pp (including ½ bottle wine or equivalent)

Asian Cocktail

With Thai prawn crackers

Vietnamese Lettuce Wrap

Mint, Asian basil, coriander, cucumber,

with a chilli, ginger and garlic sambal

Asian Dumplings

Trio of dumplings including gyoza stuffed with exotic mushrooms,

glassy steamed dumpling filled with fresh crab or smoky tofu,

& crispy wonton filled with chilli squid or Asian vegetables.

All served with Asian pickles & dips.

Singapore Laksa with Lobster & Clams

Yellow noodles, lobster & clams in a fiery coconut broth,

with mint, cucumber, red onion, tofu & lime

or

Singapore Laksa with Smoky Tofu (v)

Yellow noodles, crispy smoky tofu in a fiery coconut & macadamia broth,

with mint, cucumber, red onion & lime

Malaysian Rendang served three ways

Rich coconut curry served with beef, tempeh & jackfruit,

served with lime rice and snake bean & watercress fritters

Vietnamese Creme Caramel

Coconut caramel pudding served with caramelised pineapple & ginger wafers

Cookery classes coming soon...

I have some cookery classes coming soon, which is a very exciting development.  I am talking to several people about running a range of classes through the coming year.  

To begin with, I'm working the social enterprise company Cracking Good Food, a cooking network based in South Manchester. They aim to bring together passionate food lovers to share their knowledge with people who want to experience the joy of locally sourced, affordable and seasonal food.  With a belief that cooking great food is a life skill everyone should have access to, they run affordable cooking classes and foraging sessions, as well as free community events. 

I'm pleased to be involved and will be running a session for them on the evening of Tuesday 8th November.  We'll be cooking butter dal with spiced aubergine and some cauliflower stuffed parathas.  Followed by chai spiced rice pudding with mango coulis and ginger biscuits.

If you fancy taking part, you can get in touch with Cracking Good Food via their website: http://www.crackinggoodfood.org/