Food Travel: Aberfeldy, Scotland

With my day off I took a trip to Aberfeldy (would have been a nightmare by public transport, but thankfully Hugh was off as well, so he was able to give me a lift on his way through to do some climbing). Aberfeldy is one of the bigger towns in the near distance from Ardeonaig and its range of shops and culinary hotspots is proportionally higher as well. Time to explore...

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I'd arrived in Aberfeldy fairly early, around ten to nine. Not much was open, but after two or three wanders up and down the high street I spotted a little bakeware and cookshop that was open - Dow's. Primarily, Dow's sells cookery ware like pie tins, mixing bowls and other assorted kitchen equipment (quite a lot of Joseph Joseph stuff actually) but at the back of the shop there is also a little kitchen where the owner makes up batches of scones and other baked goods to sell front of house.

He was just loading up the Dewar's Distillery van with their allocation of scones (more on the distillery later). After he'd finished, we had a wee chat about the local area and I enquired after a Tarte Tatin dish – he had none, but did have a range of pie dishes that can be used on the hob, so I may pick one up another time. I then bought myself a scone to keep me going until some of the other shops opened up to provide a real breakfast...

It has to be said though, there's nothing quite like a warm scone straight out the oven slathered in butter and jam. A delicious way to start a day's indulgences.

Right across the road from Dow's was another tantalising prospect – and one of the few shops that was also open so early! A specialist food shop going by the name of Fields of Perth. This was one of the highlights of the day. An establishment offering a wide variety of more unusual foods (raspberry balsamic vinegar anyone?) was a most welcome surprise in such a small town.

The owner (I'm saying the owner again – I really wish I'd asked people their names! Next time...) confided that when Fields had first opened around six weeks ago their stock had included some particularly unusual items, but that this had had to be curtailed a little due to customers not knowing what to do with some of the produce on offer! It was good to see harder to get items for sale though, and I helped myself to a bundle of samphire and a bottle of white wine vinegar.

The staff were kind enough to pose for a photo behind the charcuterie counter (there's also a fantastic cheese and fish selection) and were more than friendly and helpful. I'll definitely be back when I'm looking to cook to impress...

With ten o'clock fast approaching, it was time to get some proper breakfast. I popped into one of the many cafes in the town – the Breadalbane Bakery. A full Scottish breakfast later (and a pack of Aberfeldy Oaties for later – oaties are similar to oatcakes, but thicker and sweeter) and I was ready to wander the town again.

One particular incident in the tearoom caught my ear though. One customer had asked for a breakfast, only to be asked by the lady behind the counter whether he'd like an English or Scottish breakfast. He turned and winked at the room, asking aloud "An English breakfast? Naw, ah widnae eat that!". I love Scotland. It's good to be home...

A quick look through the cookery books in the thrift shop turned up an interesting find. A fifty year old hardback called 'Larousse Treasury of Country Cooking Around the World'. It's an absolute treasure trove of unusual recipes from all over the place. I'm sure some of these will be finding their way onto the blog at some point.

My next stop was at the local whisky distillery – the world renowned Dewar's. Having never tried whisky before I wasn't really sure quite what to expect. Dewar's is still a working distillery, but they've also built a museum in part of the building that's no longer operational and run a variety of tours.

I decided to go on the cask tour, which is a little more comprehensive than the basic one. I was the only one on the tour which meant I could take it at my own pace and take everything in – it was a particularly enjoyable experience.

Opening with a ten minute mini cinema screening of the history of Dewar's and the distilling process they use to create their whisky. This was followed by a self-guided tour of the little museum in the main building. It's a fascinating place, documenting the history of the brand, the exact processes they use in the creation of the drink, and every piece of trivia and information you could ever want to know about Dewar's and whisky in general.

The museum flows through into the dramming bar where you're offered a glass of Dewar's from one of three malts and blends. The whisky is a beautiful, fruity drink with honey notes that are just stunning.

After about twenty minutes of sipping, it was on to the next part of the tour. The tour guide, Jim (finally a name!) took me round the distillery explaining all the machinery and each part of the process. With only myself on the tour, it was very personal and excellently tailored. Jim was more than capable of fielding questions, and his insightful and interesting anecdotes really helped to bring across the family atmosphere that Dewar's tries to instil in its employees (indeed, many of the staff have taken over their roles in the distillery from their parents).

After a tour of the works, I was taken out to the warehouse where a few casks are kept (though most are shipped out to Glasgow for export). Jim explained the casking process and a few other details about the warehouses before tapping one of the casks for me to taste the casked whisky (complimentary glass!). This is the drink in it's highest volume state before distilled water is added during bottling.

While the alcohol level was around 60%, the drink still retained it's beautiful flavour and aromatic nose. In fact the smell of the whole place was just incredible. Very sweet and heady.

And finally it was back to the inevitable gift shop for a last wee mill round before leaving. I picked up a book on Tommy Dewar's globetrotting marketing strategies and of course a small bottle of whisky.

By this point, Hugh had finished his climb with Kris, and the two of them met me in Aberfeldy for a coffee at the Watermill. The Watermill is 'Feldy's answer to the pretentious art meets literature meets tea and coffee establishments that are so frustratingly fashionable at the moment.

I struggle with these places because while the quality of the food and drink is usually fine, it is always so very overpriced. The atmosphere in this sort of place I always find to be a bit tedious as well – all a bit overly quiet and austere. Not my thing.

Still, one more delight was yet to come – a visit to Cones in the centre of the town. A pokey wee ice cream shop that also sells local confectionary. The ice creams are beautiful and the range includes a few Scottish themed flavours like Cranachan and Tablet. Well worth a visit on a sunny day like it was (amazingly!).

And so that was Aberfeldy, and a very pleasant experience it was. I'm sure I'll be back soon to visit Fields of Perth and to pick up that pie dish from Dow's...

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Coming up:

- Got to make something with that samphire...

Food Travel: Killin, Scotland

I've been working in the Ardeonaig kitchen now for about a week. I took advantage of a day off yesterday, taking a wee trip to the local village, Killin, to have a look around and see what culinary offerings my new surroundings have to offer...

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Killin, like most rural Scottish villages, seems to rely heavily on tourism for its income. To this end there are a plethora of little B&Bs, hotels, and all of these have catering facilities or an attached restaurant (indeed one such establishment was proudly proclaiming that it sold Mackie's ice cream within. If you haven't tried it, do - second only to Nardini's in Largs or Soave's in Baillieston).

But I was looking for stand alone food places - just a restaurant, just a cafe. That type of thing.

The only restaurant worth mentioning (and it barely is...) is Shutters in the village centre.

The only reason I call it a restaurant is because that is what they have deemed to title the place, though it really is no more than a glorified (and expensive!) cafe. While I'm sure that the food is probably fine (though the prices were enough to keep me out), and the staff are more than likely wonderfully friendly (as are all the Killin folk I've spoken to), it really is going too far to label Shutters as a restaurant.

There are a couple of little cafes or bakeries, but the one that caught my eye was The Wee Bake Shop, a tin building near the top of the village. The place really was a testament to just what can be done with a pie.

From macaroni filling to the traditional Scotch pie and everything in between! I went for a thoroughly delicious steak and haggis pie and a can of Irn-Bru, naturally. The steak seemed to be decent quality meat and the haggis was fantastic.

They also had a range of other traditional baked goods like Bridies, as well as a few other wee bits and pieces. A great wee place - and cheap! - that I'm sure will become a fixture in my future visits to Killin.

There is also a little fishmonger and fruiterer which is a fantastic find, and I'm sure I'll be putting it to good use in the near future.

One other little gem I wanted to share was an interesting fish and chip vendor at the bottom end of the village. Make of it what you will...

Curious, eh? I've yet to see it open, but it doesn't look particularly disused. Maybe I'll try it out one day.

As I've mentioned already, Killin is a rural village and very tiny. And with most shops given over to tourism, the other 'real' shops all become general stores - selling a bit of everything! This can certainly be advantageous. I popped into the fine arts shop which doubles as a used book shop (of course) and managed to pick up a copy of Raymond Blanc's "Cooking For Friends" for fifty pence.

He looks rather younger on the cover here than he does today. What a purchase to end my trip to Killin on! Maybe it won't be so bad here...

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Coming up:
- I'll keep you posted when I can...

Food Travel: Scotland

I was up in Scotland last week for an interview for an assistant cook position at Abernethy Ardeonaig.

I got the job and I'm delighted to be able to turn a hobby and interest into something that I'll enjoy working on day after day. So expect a few blogs covering the sort of thing I get up to in my new role - start in six weeks, can't wait!

Needless to say, I took the opportunity to start getting used to some of the food I used to love so much in Scotland that you just can't get in England. Nothing quite like home comforts...

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Dad and the rest of the family were driving up to Scotland to visit his cousins in Nethy Bridge, so I hitched a lift as far as Glasgow. I stayed with a couple of friends before setting off the next day for Killin. This would mean a train from Glasgow to Stirling, a bus from Stirling to Callander, and one final bus from Callander to Killin. Plenty of opportunities to stop for a bite to eat en route!

I had to get to Glasgow Central station from Uddingston first. Uddingston is a little suburb on the outskirts of Glasgow, but it does hide one of Scotland's most well known bakeries - Uddingston is the home of Tunnock's!

The main site where such delights as Tunnock's Tea Cakes (the little chocolate covered domes of melty soft mallow and biscuit) and Caramel Wafers are baked sits opposite a smaller Tunnock's bakery where freshly baked wares can be picked up, as well as lots of little themed trinkets and gifts. A lovely little shop to visit - and the staff are particularly friendly folk too! Having bought a pack of caramel wafers, it was time to head to the station and get into Glasgow.

I didn't leave myself much time in Glasgow due to needing to get through to Killin for the interview. My next stop was in Stirling where it was time for elevenses. That called for a quick stop at Greggs, not strictly a Scottish chain (indeed, originally founded in Newcastle), but it always reminds me of going into the city centre with mum and getting a Greggs for lunch in George Square. And so it was that I came to have a lorne sausage and bacon roll with brown sauce. Perfect.

And then to wait on the bus to Callander, which is a tiny wee place that is all high street and not much else. While it is a pretty town where the mountains meet the buildings at one end, it is fairly touristy and attracts the sort of buses full of the elderly who'd like to visit a wee tea shop before going on to somewhere more interesting - like Stirling or Glasgow - where there is a little more to see.

With an hour and a half to wait before the bus to Killin - and the final leg of the journey! - I found myself in one of the tea rooms which was notably empty. A scone and some Irn-Bru later, I had a last wander round to admire the tacky tourist shops.

And finally I got to Killin where I was picked up to go to Abernethy and spend a few days working with the team there and having my interview. As I've already said, I got the job and am looking forward to starting in a few weeks. I won't go into any detail on the stuff I got up to at the moment as I'm sure I'll write a couple of more detailed blogs on the new job in the near future.

Back down to Glasgow it was then to catch a plane back home. But first to take in a few home comforts before the flight. First up was to go to the chip shop for a Scotch Pie supper. Please note that a 'supper' is 'with chips'. There's some Scottish for you. A scotch pie is just a mince pie with a crunchy outer crust and soft top crust. It's another dish that reminds me of when I was a wee boy, going to the football with dad and getting a pie and bovril at half time. The scotch pie is widely sold at football grounds across Scotland, with few exceptions (perhaps the most notable being Forfar, where the pie tends to be substituted by the local favourite - the bridie. Sort of like a pasty, but better.).

And to follow, a quick wee trip to the Greggs on George Square for a pineapple cake. Which are just delicious - and one of mum's favourites. A pastry case filled with a pineapple jam, topped with whipped cream and then covered in a thick, brittle pineapple icing. Just stunning.

And last but not least, dinner in the airport - what else to finish a trip back home than the traditional and best - haggis, neeps and tatties!

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When I got home, I had been inspired by seeing one of my old favourites, the pizza crunch, in the chip shops in Glasgow. So I had to have a go...

It's very simple, so I won't take too long explaining it. You just buy a cheap pizza - the cheaper the better. And generally only cheese or pepperoni. Though if you wanted to be a wee bit exotic, I expect that ham and pineapple might work okay too.

Cook your pizza in the oven, then quarter it (or smaller slices if it's a large pizza), let it cool and then batter and deep fry the slices. Delicious. And highly nutritious of course.

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I assure you that my diet is not normally as terrible as this blog entry may make it seem - I'll try to get a few more reasonable blogs up soon!

Coming up:
- Looking into a bi-weekly feature by a remote contributor. Stay tuned for more details!
- Possibly a blog on the new job.
- Whatever else I'm cooking in the near future...

Food Travel: Egypt

So the long awaited (is it - are you reading?) Egypt blog is here! Plenty of food experiences from Egypt to tell you about - so sit back and enjoy! There are of course more stories from my travels than just those about food, but this is a food blog, so that's all that'll be here. Maybe I'll put all my other notes somewhere else.

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Unfortunately, the first food I encountered on the journey was inevitably going to be on the plane over. Suffering the ignominy of airline food is never the best way to start a journey.

Coasting at thirty thousand feet over the glorious alps, Croatia forty miles out over the starboard wing of one of mankind's greatest inventions, the jet, and what are you served to eat?

A paltry excuse for a full English. And yet in that very British way we simply get on and eat it all (Or is that just polite? Or duty? It's included in the flight price - take full advantage!).

The view from the portholes, the occasion of flight, surely calls for the best of foods to be served... A steak perhaps, a roasted pig, the mighty lobster. But instead a pitiful pile of beans, a sodden, chewy omelette and a solitary, passable sausage. Packeted jam and butter for a stale roll. One small jewel that nestles on the tray - a chocolate brownie, gluten free, baked with an almond mixture rather than flour - is just enough to spare BMI's blushes.

I lived in hope that Egypt had better fare to offer...

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One of the most frustrating things about the shrinking size of the world (though there are many benefits to the modern ease and speed of travel) is that the culture of a place begins to be tainted and can become lost in the evil that is the cultural melting pot.

For example, the hotel I stayed in, The Barceló in Giza, is part of a global chain of hotels. This means that the food from the restaurants is mostly inoffensively European, be it pasta, chicken, beef - even a carvery!

How can a country with it's own bold, unique identity, cultural significance and historical

importance be reduced to serving croissants at breakfast and gravy at dinner time?! It's an

outrage.

After further scrutiny of the hotel's breakfast buffet I did eventually find a couple of local items. That middle eastern and mediterranean staple, the falafel, and another more obscure item (or at least one I hadn't come across before) was simply labelled black beans. They were like a paste - a little similar to Mexican refried beans (usually pinto beans). I think there was a little chilli and cumin mixed in there too.

So it was to be that lunches out and about in the cities of Egypt had to give more of a taste of local cuisine. Surely...

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It was three days in to my trip before I managed a real taste of Egypt.

Wandering down one of the little back streets in Cairo I came across a few little bakeries.

Stopping in at one I pointed at one of the glass cases (my Arabic is VERY limited. A few fairly useless phrases is all I have.), not really sure what it was I was looking at inside. But you have to have a sense of adventure, right?

Anyway, one of the guys in the shop came over and asked "One? Two?". I presumed he meant how many I would like, and so I replied "One." However, what he was really asking was how many Egyptian pounds worth would I like. Now one Egyptian pound is about ten pence - and even for this I was given a bag of seven little baked goods. I think he said they were called

Noshul or something similar. They turned out to be date cookies - a little like fig rolls, and

absolutely delicious. Well worth the pittence cash.

This cheap cost of living (at least that's the way it seems to those in the West), seems to be a bit of a theme when it comes to eating in Egypt. Wandering through another marked later in the week I found some saffron. For three Egyptian pounds (thirty pence) it was possible to get about one hundred pounds sterling worth of the stuff - absolutely incredible.

Speaking to another local about restaurants, it was explained to me that owning property near the Nile is very expensive, and mooring a boat to use as a restaurant is even more so. Because of this, he continued, restaurants on boats on the Nile serve food at a premium price. Curious, I asked him how much it might be for a meal one of these boats. Thinking for a while, he proclaimed that it would be about one hundred and twenty Egyptian pounds... I personally thought that twelve pounds for a meal out was a bit of a steal.

It makes me wonder what the average wage in Cairo is, but I never did get round to finding out.

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It was at the hotel that I next encountered some more local cuisine.

It was dessert and both the guava and persimmon were on the buffet. I decided to try both. I know that both are widely available the world over, but I'd never had persimmon before, and guava I'd only had in Lebanon.

When I'd last had guava, I'd had it as a fresh juice, so I knew to expect the sweet flavour and pulpy texture. It was delicious.

The persimmon however, was particularly unripe, overly firm, and very very bitter. It also had the interesting - but definitely unpleasant - effect of drying out my mouth as I ate it. So, casting it aside, I am still waiting to try persimmon in its ripe state.

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A couple of days later in a little town about seventy miles south of Cairo, I managed to

experience a proper Egyptian lunch.

Sitting on the west bank of the Nile, looking across to various mansions and other local interests - could there have been a better time to try Egyptian food for real? Was there a better place? Probably, but never mind. This was good enough.

Lunch was brough out in five or so containers and I was presented with a stack of a distinctly familiar flat bread - the Middle Eastern hobs (or aish in the local dialect). By the way, my translations may be a little off as I'm unsure of the spelling. It was what I got from some of the locals though, so shouldn't be too far out.

Each container was a different gem of the local food. A tray of grilled meats (Koftes and chicken - farakh), a tub of spiced potatoes, and another with salad (Salata, or more specifically, the very well known tabouleh), one of rice, and a tub of tahini which seems to be served with absolutely everything in Egypt.

Finally was a carton containing two types of beans. Beans seem to be one of the main staples in Egypt, from navy beans, to chickpeas, and many other varieties.

We were served what I believe may have been butter beans in an orange coloured sauce that

was a little spicey. The second was a type I've never seen before, and am not sure of the western name and I didn't catch the Arabic. The translation I do remember though - they are referred to in Arabic as bird tongues due to their small, tongue shaped look and slippery texture. Despite this nickname, they are delicious.

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The same night I had perhaps my most interesting experience of Egyptian cuisine.

Engaging a few locals (what better way to learn about the culture of a place), one of them was eating what appeared to be a bowl of vomit. Naturally I was challenged to have a go at this particular delicacy - and as an avid foodie, who was I to turn down this opportunity?

The dish is in fact known as mlooha (literally, 'stink'). And it really does stink. From what I gathered from broken English conversations and excited gesticulation, it's fish that is left to go off. It smells like very very strong cheese. And it tastes so much worse. I was fighting back the retching as I scooped a VERY little up into some aish and gave it a try. Quickly, they thrust some spring onion into my hand to mask the taste.

The closest food I can relate it to is Bombay Duck, but it really is much worse than that. Not something I'd try again, but I'm glad I got the opportunity to experience it.

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Moving further down the country, about 150 miles south of Cairo, it was just about time for breakfast as I arrived.

Breakfast doesn't seem to be Egypt's strong point. Or at least not to a Scottish palate. Served of course, the flat bread that is eaten with every meal, the aish. That morning though, it was accompanying another staple of Middle Eastern cuisine, the chickpea, in the form of fool. Fool is basically a chickpea casserole. I've had it before, but it really was horrible this time around. It didn't taste anything like when I had it in Lebanon - whether the ingredients were not the same, or just a difference in quality, I'm not sure.

There was falafel as well though, and that helped to make up for it. And chips, oddly.

Lunch was fairly typical, with all the usual foods doing the rounds. Grilled chicken, rice, bird tongue beans, aish and tahini. I like it, but not every day.

This seems to be the way in more rural Egypt though - with everything being very cheap

(compared to the already ridiculously cheap bigger cities), but never varying very much.

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I was also delighted to find Mirinda in Egypt. This is a soft drink that's common around most of the world, but sadly lacking from the UK market. It's a little like tango, except much more 'nuclear fallout glow orange', and a little less realistically orange flavoured. So all round, much better than anything on sale in the UK.

Junk food is a bit of a mixed bag in Egypt though. Some of the sweets on sale are perfectly fine - like Keshta, a chocolate wafer - but in general, the quality is very low. And just try to find a standard bar of chocolate. Forget about it.

This is all made up for by the low pricing though - two Mirindas and two Keshtas? That'll be

twenty pence. Not everything is cheap though - crisps are fairly comparative pricewise. About thirty pence for a bag of Middle Eastern Walker's - Chipsy's as they're known!

Food at equivalent prices tends to be the stuff that you'll find the world over - be it McDonalds, Burger King, Walkers, or other well known brands.

Back in Cairo, I decided to try one of Egypt's very own fast food chains - Mo'men. I do not recommend that you do the same.

It was honestly the worst thing I ate in my whole time over there... except maybe the mlooha. I had a chicken baguette which was more like a fat baguette. Just greasy, no flavour and the texture was hideous. Let me share with you a wee story to give you an idea of how bad it was:

Cairo has a population of two million street children (in a population of twenty million!), and as I sat outside the restaurant, I was approached by one little girl who indicated rather forwardly, having sat down next to me, that she would appreciate some of my baguette. So I broke off a little and passed it to her. She took a bite, was obviously disgusted, and thrust the rest back into the takeaway bag. Not even good enough for those who struggle to get a proper meal every day!

Don't try Egyptian fast food.

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And so to the last day. Having had enough of the breakfast on offer in the hotel restaurant (and indeed fighting through a mob to attain a dismal first meal of the day), I decided to take a walk down the high street in search of something more appetising.

After walking for a while, it occured to me that most of the shops would be shut - most places don't start to open until 11am, but they stay open until well past 11pm - but thankfully there was one little patisserie with it's door unlocked. The patisserie was Al Bohsali, proudly proclaiming on its boxes to have been producing cakes and other delicacies since 1870.

I am a firm believer that pudding makes the best breakfast. The shop displayed a formidable array of chocolates, cakes, baklava, and other Egyptian sweets.

Not knowing what anything was, and with no clear labels, I just picked what I thought looked best from the cake selection - and I picked well!

The cake was encased with a caramel cake surround and filled with various layers. From top to bottom, vanilla cream, pistachios, a thin sponge layer, a caramel cream that made up the majority of the filling, and finally a chocolate cake base.

It was a superb breakfast, certainly better than chickpeas!

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And that is the conclusion of my various food experiences in Egypt.

I did of course eat many more meals and other bits and pieces than I described above, but really the rest was either similar or unremarkable.

The general cuisine in Egypt, as I've said, does not vary much - whether that's due to availability, pricing, local tastes, whatever, I'm not sure. But the country is well worth a visit - not only for its food, but also for the wonderful attractions, the lovely people, and the excellent climate.

Drop a comment if you've any questions and I'll do my best to answer anything I can!

Hope the blog was worth the wait...

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Coming up:

- The big 'do' at the weekend.

Food Travel: St Andrews, Scotland

Hello folks - it's been a while since I've updated, and I don't really have an excuse. Just hadn't got round to it until now.

A couple of weeks ago I travelled up to St Andrews in Scotland for work and thought I'd use the time to have a couple of food experiences!
(Please excuse this blog if it doesn't make a whole lot of sense - it is currently 03:15... I think I might come back and edit this later.)

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The first was, of course, to visit the famous B. Janetta's Ice Cream Parlour.

It is renowned throughout Scotland as one of, if not the, best ice cream places in the country.
I have to add here, that this is not my opinion - Nardini's in Largs tops the chart for me, but it has added nostalgia for me.
Anyway, the shop itself is constantly busy, but there are plenty of staff on, and I got served quick enough. With 52 flavours to choose from, it's pretty tough to decide what to have.

Eventually though, I made up my mind to go for three scoops. One each of Snickers, pistachio and turkish delight. The turkish delight was particularly excellent, but every flavour I had could have been easily identified for what it was supposed to be.

Attached to the ice cream parlour, there is also a cafe owned by the Janettas where I had lunch. As the place is so famous for its ice cream, it would only have been right to have a soda float to accompany my lunch... Irn Bru it was...

The cafe wasn't great. In fact it wasn't even good. The menu wasn't very varied, and the food itself wasn't brilliant. However, the main attraction - that is the ice cream - is superb. If you're ever in or near St Andrews and you fancy an ice cream, it has to be from here.

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Second on the list was to try one of the fudge doughnuts from the Fisher & Donaldson bakery in St Andrews. My work colleagues are all very fond of these from when they have been working in St Andrews, so it was my duty to see what the fuss was all about.
You'll have to excuse the poor quality photos for this part, as they were taken late at night in my room after a full day's work.

Anyway, these doughnuts are pretty large, and they have the most phenomenal amount of fudge icing on the top.

This would be fine had the filling been fairly anonymous, or if there wasn't one at all. However, there really isn't a lot of doughnut in the doughnut... more custard with a very thin wall of pastry holding it in.


This was my second one (not right after the first - honest!), and I'll admit that I could not finish it. It really is too much, and I can't believe that the people at work like them so much. It makes me feel sick to think about it now! If you fancy the experience though, do give it a shot - it must be one of the most calorific cakes that money can buy.

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So, that was the foodie side of St Andrews - not too bad for a wee, small town in Scotland.

I'll conclude with some follow up to the last post, and another round up of what's to come...

I didn't have another go at the cake for my colleague's son. I know, bad show, right? Anyway, she had a go at it herself, and had little more success than I did. Her cake turned out okay over all, but I think (please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong in the comments there, Tanya) that she had the same problem with the oil seepage at the icing stage.

I think that it's probably best not to use the recipe I posted! If anyone can get the original to work though, do post up how you did it!

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Coming up:

- My mum, my wife and I (and maybe dad... phone call misunderstanding) are all going to the Foodie Festival in South Parks, Oxford next week. I'll be writing up a comprehensive report of what I get up to with plenty of pictures. Stay tuned!

- Whatever else interesting I'm making in the next few weeks... I made some cakes the other day, but forgot to take pictures etc. Maybe another time!