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CLOSED Redemption Bar: no booze for healthy socialites from East to West London

Redemption Bar offers an alcohol-free alternative to the intoxicated lifestyle of London. Even non-abstinents savour with poise the alcohol-free cocktails at this trendy bar in Shoreditch, Notting Hill and Covent Garden. The contemporary health obsession prescribes green juices and superfood tonics to charge you up, while acro yoga serves as the social binder.Before we stack upon each other like monkeys in the jungle, let’s eat.

ORGANIC, VEGAN, NO ALCOHOL

Redemption started west in the hip Notting Hill as a casual, sugar-, gluten- and wheat-free vegan bar and café with a no alcohol bar curated by a nutritionist. It is still not the chic spot you would suggest for a date though, for that head east to its Old Street brother.

Spawning from the more rustic set-up in the West End’s Notting Hill, Redemption promises to “spoil yourself without spoiling yourself” also in Covent Garden and Shoreditch. The booze-free environment is a unique set up for a bar. Other, highly creative drinks are served so the patrons do not feel deprived of alcohol, the cultural construct celebrated until recently that now comes with warning labels.

While Shoreditch generally indulges in raw, untidy appearing interiors, Redemption radiates an ultra clean feel. Plants enveloped in a mossy stuffing accompany the marble tables. The quick bite counter faces a lush courtyard. Oxygenated with leafy greens, Redemption is a healthy space for work as it is generally not noisy during lunch as other cafés. A friendly service compensates for the snail speed kitchen. Relax, read or talk with your drinking partner at this Old Street branch, but do not bring in your boyfriend’s parents as we witnessed in Notting Hill recently. It was comical. The elderly British couple struggled over their Buddha bowls as their son’s vegan yogi love lectured them on healthy benefits of plant-based cuisine. A more casual introduction than taking them to the plush Farmacy around the corner.

Food-wise, the mostly organic plates are satisfying. While served in large helpings, you can take the rest away. “Californication”, the warm old favourite nesting in an earthen dish of baked sweet potatoes with button mushrooms, is ideal on a cold day. The mushrooms were cooked but tasting more like pickled pink onion, blanched spinach and a vibrant handful of radish sprouts topped it green. The Japanese cold brown rice salad with radishes, cilantro, hijiki seaweed and raw cucumbers, dressed in white miso with avocado and sesame sprinkle is a better side dish. Too rich, so get a half portion. The Kale Caesar with gluten-free croutons and vegan “rawmesan” was moist and yummy. RAW foodies find all dishes prepared under 42 degrees clearly marked. The mostly raw desserts with superfoods like chocolate or açai berries look ravishing but order less before to keep some space. A ruby forest gateau of rich chocolate mousse on a nutty chocolate base with raspberries and crème Chantilly is waiting for me.

Going booze free here means savouring creative liquid flavours in house-made infusions, fragrant low-calorie sparkling rose water and other fruit and herb cordials. “Fruities” like lemongrass lemonade with chilli, maple and sparkling mineral water, pure salvation (orange , pineapple, lemon and raspberry puree), heart beets (beetroot, orange, lime, ginger, coconut water), apple “mockjito” (muddled apple presse, fresh mint and lime with sparkling mineral water). Fitbeer, an alcohol-free beer from Bavaria (only 66 calories!). Bees Knees, an alcohol-free rosé or white sparkling wine (only 33 calories per glass). Of course creative smoothies and dairy-free rainbow of lattes fill in the beverage menu in abundance. Still, I rather drink water than the not as wine tasting alcohol-free rosé.

The biking and tech-savvy eastern bite of London now beams with healthy, slow food options, but Redemption might be the best. Striking a central deal recently third branch opened in Neal’s Yard.

Mildred’s: plant-based cuisine pioneer in London

Mildred’s together with the Gate are time-tested icons of the vegetarian eating out in London. Both survived the murky decades prior to the plant-based cuisine becoming mainstream to mushroom their delectable spores in the fecund forest of the sustainably-minded diners of now. The founders Diane Thomas and Jane Muir opened Mildred’s on Greek Street in 1988. From the boho Soho, the no-bookings, cheap, animal flesh-free eatery evolved into a more sleek café over the years. Vegan-friendly, Mildred’s integrates global cuisines in its plant and grain-centric plates that have consistently pleased, so new branches have sprung up from its Soho base to Camden, Dalston and King’s Cross.

Feeding your soul at Mildred’s

The art-filled café does more than support for animal-life, as the positively charged interior beams with positive energy. You can casually walk in and pick a veggie box, soup or a quiche to go from the work week buffet offer right as you enter. For a wholesome joy from your meal, book a lunch table all the way at the back, as when the sun shines, your meal feels happier under the glass roof X-ray. Daily specials spark the menu with the glitter of variety.

Whether or not you are a celiac or gluten-sensitive person start with the warm chilli corn bread. The crumbly, yet moist godsend is not that spicy, the side of chilli lime butter makes it so. These yolk-hued squares of wholesomeness might well be the best naturally gluten-free bread you have ever tasted and surely one of the best breads in London. To share, the easy dab and crack of the organic triangles alas blue corn nachos with a house chilli guacamole (not locally sourced) that is luscious with a buttery plant fat. Another all-time favourite are the pan-fried gyozas stuffed with tofu, sweet chilli and a side soya dip. The warm grilled aubergine with luscious saffron tahini, pomegranate seeds and molasses is a great starter too. I am not a huge fan of mock meats and there are not too many on the menu at Mildred’s, but the black bean, halloumi (Cypriot, typically a mix of goat’s and sheep’s milk cheese) or mock chicken burgers can be plushed up to your liking with extra avocado, vegan cheese, fries et al. Still, I usually go for the naturally fish and meat-free dishes. Too good.

Healthy and naughty vegetarian and vegan choices

The small pizzetta can be shared or rather, not. Topped with trumpet or porcini mushrooms, mozzarella and decadent truffle paste, the doughy treat is better than at most London’s pizzerias. Popular sweet potato fries are served with smoky chipotle sauce or tomatillo coriander mayo. A great, tasty, plus gluten-free carb fix. The croquettes were too oily, skip them.
In fall, cauliflower enters the menu in renderings such as dried rose petals, pine nuts and pomegranate for an eastern Mediterranean taste.
I also relished in the green falafel, ruby red freekeh (cracked wheat), saffron tahini, chermoula, spicy spinach with grilled aubergine.
A cold day calls for the generous turmeric yellow Sri Lankan Curry. Sweet potatoes, long beans, green peas and cashew nuts with a side of sambal condiment are wholesomely enveloped in a creamy coconut blanket of abundance. As with most Southeast Asian recipes it contains a dash of sugar, so keep it in mind if that is what you try to avoid. Cocktails, organic wines and juices next to Belvoir fruit farms cordial, vegan beer, and mocktails add on sugar too, so keep an eye on the drinks if you try to be holistically healthy.

Co-authored by the half Aussie cum Chilean chef Daniel, Sarah Wasserman, and Jane Muir, still at its helm, the two Mildred’s cookbooks are compendiums of the best, most delicious international creations of the team. With its second, now purely vegan cookbook Mildred’s entered the popular millennial minds striving to live sustainably. Sarah Wasserman nailed it: “A huge range of people are vegetarian and vegan for all kinds of reasons. Our customers like all kinds of foods and I think we have pretty much something for everyone. Also, more and more people who are omnivores enjoy eating vegetarian food.”

MUST HAVES: Warm chilli corn bread. Guacamole & blue corn nachos. Pan-fried gyoza. Rose petal and pomegranate scented cauliflower. Yellow Curry with green peas, string beans and cashews. The ultra-thin crust Pizzetta with porcini mushrooms is delicious, but there is little cheese on it, beware. Grilled aubergine with pomegranate and turmeric sauce.

45 Lexington St, Soho, London W1F 9AN
Daily 12noon-11pm; Sundays closed.

Updated: best of healthy dining in London for slow food

Beyond the stomach-turning fish and chips, bloating Indian curries and animal flesh or cheese on every plate, Londoners now also have healthier options when dining out. Thriving ethnic diversity flew in new flavours and dietary habits to the metropolitan London. There is even a vegetable butcher in the Harrods Food Halls now! He is not a lone wolf in the room of hedonistic excess though. The liquid bar of NO1 waters charged with botanical extracts, in 10 flavours so far ranging from rosemary, through lemon verbena to olive leaf, hydrate with their inherent added benefits without preservatives, sugar and other rogue health spoilers. Produced locally, no plastic, bottled in glass.

The current healthy eating front streams insistently from multiple directions, yet particularly the global elite residing in the pricy city centre supports high-quality and healthy cooking in a nicely designed environment. The plant-based eating trends from California, New York and Japan landed timely. Although organic produce is still hard to come by in the UK’s capital, some cold-pressed juice bars, raw diet cafés, and most of the plant-based food eateries source organic, even biodynamic and locally.
As the majority of real nutritional experts and scientists would agree, healthy means no hormones, potentially harmful additives (carcinogenic, inflammatory) and eating balanced meals with vegetables, legumes and whole-grains as the foundation, excluding red meat, high-fat dairy, saturated (except for the ‘magic’ coconut oil) and trans-fats. Eating local often means that the nutrients and vitamins were not diminished by long-haul travel, but that further depends on transport, storage and the quality of the soil, hence biodynamic and organic foods tend to score better. I wrote about science-based healthy eating previously, so check for details or read Marion Nestlé’s book What to Eat. Teaching at NYU, she is one of the most respected nutritionists in the US.

Pseudo-healthy or bland: healthy dining in London that puts you down

Finding the best of healthy dining in London was not a smooth ride, and some “healthy”cafés or restaurants did not convince me taste-wise or for other reasons:
Grace Spa in Belgravia – while beautiful on the plate, the food was not sourced from the most vibrant-tasting ingredients. To cut it short, our lunch was very bland, old-school healthy in a hodgepodge brunch style.
Gauthier in Soho – by far the most delicious, refined gastronomic vegan offering in town, but as it is not purely plant-based, the oversupply of bread with butter and extra creamy snacks and desserts can spoil the healthy resolve. You get the calories printed on the menu, but who counts these extras? Desserts are decadent, sweet, obviously.
The vegetarian restaurant Vanilla Black falls into the same high-calories and sugar trap. The plates should include more vegetables than being so carb-centric. It’s a nice place for dinner though.
Vantra, the plant-eatery of back then was great in the early 2000s when there was not much vegetable-focused eating out in London, but it is as rustic as the Wild Food Café, while the food is ok. Vantra is the proof that the vegan eating out has got so much better!
Weighhouse Deli of the popular local plant-based recipe creator behind the food blog Deliciously Ella is more a fast good food. The limited seating discriminates slow eaters and socialising. I would rather turn to Ottolenghi for superb salads to go. True, his cookies are sweetened with sugar, while hers with low GI coconut sap or “natural” maple syrup, but the calories are often higher in the high-nut and chocolate vegan sweets, and if you are not a diabetic, no stress, since worrying is as unhealthy as sugar!

I investigated what are the best, consistent, healthy nutrition-focused eateries across London for over a decade. Some of my choices are basic cafés with fun, local community feel, but they also attract curious globetrotting foodies who blend in.
My east to west selections of the best of healthy dining in London that follow are fit for a mindful sit-down breakfast, energising lunch and most also for a dinner date. If the other half truly likes you, a healthy meal out should not be a turn off, but a green light for a long, healthy life together. Most also offer wine and cocktails next to tea, juices and other healthy drinks, signalling that a spritz of alcohol is not necessarily bad for you. Consuming anything in moderation is key to a good health. Cold-pressed juices that retain maximum of nutrients are squeezed at most of these healthy-minded dine-ins and -outs.
Numerous highly-viewed scientific studies have proven that a balanced, mostly plant-based organic diet with a mindful addition of minimally processed, hormone-free and grass-fed animal flesh and seafood is healthy for us. These cafés and restaurants support that:

Mildred’s

VEGETARIAN GLUTEN-FREE AMBIANCE
MUST HAVE: Warm chilli corn bread. Guacamole & blue corn nachos. Pan-fried gyoza. Rose petal and pomegranate cauliflower. Yellow Curry with green peas, string beans and cashews. A superb side of grilled aubergine with pomegranate and turmeric sauce. While the croquettes are too oily, the ultra-thin crust pizzetta with porcini mushrooms is delicious, but there is some cheese on it, beware.
45 Lexington St, Soho, London W1F 9AN

Yeotown Kitchen

MINDFUL MEDITATION BRUNCH FARM PRODUCE
MUST HAVE: Golden latte with raw sweetener on side and more black pepper to boost the anti-inflammatory effect on your table. Whatever your mood suggests named bowl. Mezze to share. Go down to zen out inside the meditation pod before or after your meal.
42 Chiltern St, Marylebone, London W1U 7QT

Tanya’s Raw

COCKTAILS ORGANIC RAW TRENDY VEGAN
MUST HAVE: ‘Grawnola’ with raw goji jam and fresh almond milk. Avo Un-Toast on sunflower seed onion ‘bread’. Thai Curry Noodles. Taco with oyster mushroom and walnut ‘meat’. Blueberry Tart. My Fresh Start and My Vision juice.
35 Ixworth Place, Chelsea, London SW3 3QX

Daylesford

ORGANIC BRUNCH FARM PRODUCE WILD SEAFOOD
MUST HAVE: Seasonality is taken seriously at Daylesford. Choose three or four seasonal salads for a bowl. For breakfast try the plain organic yoghurt, kefir, orchard fruits, the British honey.
208-212 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill London W11 2RH & many other locations.

Ethos

VEGETARIAN SELF-SERVICE CONTEMPORARY
MUST HAVE: Seitan (high-gluten, low-starch wheat log) BBQ sauce marinated ribs. String bean salad. The luscious hummus.
48 Eastcastle St, London W1W 8DX

Hemsley + Hemsley at Selfridges

GRAIN & REFINED SUGAR FREE SUSTAINABLE SEASONAL
MUST HAVE: Bone and miso broth. A trio of hand-picked salads. Bounty bar for dessert. Skip the dry crab cakes, plus their kimchi is not at par with the proper spicy and fermented cabbage available elsewhere.
3F The Selfridges, 400 Oxford St, Marylebone, London W1A 1AB

Farmacy

BAR COCKTAILS ORGANIC TRENDY VEGAN
MUST HAVE: Mezze for two to share (kale chips, chestnut humus, crispy flatbread and wow the cauliflower popcorn!). The falafel. Kimchi Bowl with soba. Farmacy salad laced with red beet dressing. Beet and cinnamon infusion to cleanse your body.
Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill

Wild Food Café

ORGANIC RAW RUSTIC VEGETARIAN
MUST HAVE: Fresh coconut water served in its shell (rare in London). Super salad. Grilled halloumi cheese (sheep’s milk is easier to digest, lower in lactose and has less fat than the hard and triple-cream cheese).
First Floor, 14 Neal’s Yard, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9DP

Redemption Bar

ORGANIC, VEGAN, NO ALCOHOL

MUST HAVE: Drinks. Going booze-free at Redemption is about savouring creative flavours in house-made infusions; fragrant, low-calorie sparkling rose water and other fruit and herb cordials. ‘Californication’. The raw desserts with superfoods like chocolate or açai.

320 Old St, London EC1V 9DR, UK

For more details on some of the venues above, check my reviews linked individually inside this article.

Daylesford: the model for local sourcing from own farm to table in London

ORGANIC BRUNCH FARM PRODUCE WILD SEAFOOD FORAGING

A string of farm shops with casual dining counters in Marylebone, Notting Hill, South Kensington and a tiny spot in Pimlico, Daylesford sources most of its ingredients from the organic British farm of its founder Carole Bamford.

The largest Notting Hill spot is the perfect for a family brunch meal on weekends. When I lived in London, I’d buy their cheese, wholegrain bread with their seasonal salads and warm meals. Today, as Daylesford’s presence in London grew, the cafes and farm shops do not just sell their own farm produce (their own bottled kombucha is not to my taste), but most of the cheese, meat, fruits, vegetables, plus the artisanal snacks were produced in the UK. A team of a French baker, award-winning cheese maker, and hard working farmers constantly consult everything with the in-house environmental scientist. The beef, lamb, chicken, grains for flour, cow’s milk, yogurts and much of the cheese comes from the farm. The seafood served at Daylesford is line-caught and wild, mushrooms foraged and the rest is selected from local, trustworthy purveyors of organic produce. Anything made from their cow’s milk is better than conventional, because their animals graze stress-free on the luscious farm grass in Cotswolds. Their dairy produce is excellent, but the granolas are just ok and some of the plates lack in creativity.

Some of their items to go are also available on Deliveroo app. Daylesford certainly delivers on sustainability in sourcing as locally as possible, organic farming, packaging some of the products in glass, and educating through the literature sold at the London shops and the farm. A spa, hotel and cooking school were set up on the farm in Cotswolds, so if you are lucky to find an availability try and see. Still, Daylesford can do more, such as totally replacing all packaging with bring your own container scheme and selling in bulk and/or offering glass bottle return rewards to their regular customers so their packaging can be reused.

MUST HAVE: Seasonality is taken seriously at Daylesford. Choose three or four seasonal salads for a bowl. For breakfast try the plain yoghurt, kefir, orchard fruits, honey.

208-212 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill London W11 2RH & other location across the capital.

26 Grains: porridge made better in London

Dig into a bowl of wholesome porridge on a bone cold London day. At 26 Grains, hug the warm bowl with your shivering fingers and be comforted since there is probably nothing more nourishing to savour in these cold days. Even in London, late fall will fuse into an even colder winter soon, so snug in close inside this tight and cosy café where porridge, made to an utmost perfection in various seasonal tunings, is the king.

26 Grains: From a pop-up in East London to the epicentre of the foodie Covent Garden

Alex Hely-Hutchinson, the friendly and delicate founder of the initial Old Street tube station pop-up, moved to the permanent location in Neal’s Yard over a year ago. Working hard now in a slightly larger space, she often personally takes the orders from behind the kitchen counter cum till or serves the wholesome bowls of porridge, lunch salads or other grain-centric seasonal plates that she invents. Alex was inspired as much by her childhood penchant for a simple English porridge as by a year living in Copenhagen, where the local vibe of “hygge” coziness won her over.

Nordic cooking of making quality and simple food, not only from 26 Grains as the name of her business would suggest (the number is just her favourite), but from a chosen array of minimally processed complex carbohydrates rich in protein, vitamins and minerals such as amaranth, buckwheat, oats and rye.

26 Grains is the antithesis of a stressed out Michelin stared kitchen full of cursing men. Leaving the adrenalin aside, this casual cafeteria offers a la minute delicious food made by a purely female staff whisking porridge in sizzling pots, assembling fruits, homemade jams, seeds, nuts and other now desired healthy ingredients such as cocoa nibs, coconut yogurt or turmeric on the top. The cherished bowls of home feeling are nevertheless a bit fancier than your typical oatmeal at breakfast.

Unrefined ingredients and more nutritious sweeteners, “simple but more interesting”

From rolling the oats freshly in-house to keep the aroma of the released aromatic oils to soaking them overnight to break down the bloating phytic acid and to ease their digestion, this porridge is created to nourish your body for the day. Right by the window, you can see the hands-on machine for the oats to be roll pressed on the spot when needed. Cotswolds flour and bags of mostly organic grains are stacked around for a totally transparent ingredient route. Using spices like cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and turmeric to add flavour instead of the nutrient poor sugar and too much of the blood pressure rising salt, adds healthy points for any naysayer still challenging the nourishing mission of 26 Grains. Dairy milk is substituted by an easily digestible almond or coconut alternative (by Rude Health), organic dairy or almond butter from Biona and a little date or maple syrup or in most dishes coconut palm sugar is used in the sweet versions. In the mood for something savoury? Then Oats with kale, egg, avocado, chives and shirracha chilli sauce will fill you up. The porridge is served in earthenware plain bowls all day long while the lunch bowls are released at noon. From the staples the Nordic Pear, Coconut Milk Oats, Spices, Seeds, Cacao Crumble, Coconut Yogurt and Maple syrup is still a success, but since I do not digest pears well I went for the Almond Milk oats and rye, Roasted quince, Pecans, with a scoop of Orange Greek Yogurt and Pomegranate seeds, topped like everything else with purple sprouts. Hazelnut & Butter,the best selling Blueberry or Banana Cacao porridge also appear on the menu in their different seasonal coats. In November, I tried the superb mildly sweet Orange compote and Cardamon with Pistachios and a scoop of dense greek yogurt.

The buckwheat based Banana Bread is naturally gluten free. Alex published a cookbook in which hazelnuts are used, but sometimes at the café they substitute them with almonds. You get two toasted slices with a pour of a slightly sour coconut yoghurt, raw crushed cocoa nibs and the lively purple sprouts. I couldn’t resist to eat them both after I spooned out the entire porridge bowl.

You can also have a simple Avocado on rye bread or to snack sweet on the Orange and Cardamom Loaf, Pear Tart Tatin, Salted Rye Brownie or raw sweet balls of Date Cacao or Turmeric Sesame Bite.

Anything is also available for a take-away in recycled paper cups. Needing to warm up and to sate my sweet tooth I picked a small cup of Hot chocolate with turmeric, cinnamon and almond milk one afternoon. I like its dense texture, but the warming effect was more pronounced in the superbly indulgent Turmeric latte that I sipped a week before. Coffee and Good and Proper loose leaf tea, Chai Latte including, to elevate your caffeine intake or the particularly tasting bottle of refreshing Turmeric and Tamarind Tonic from the London-based Jamu Kitchen complete the beverage offering.

The snug place is packed for most of the day, 26 Grains even became trendy – porridge, look at her! Sit casually on one of the seven stools lining the kitchen counter, or facing the blanc et industriel rustic wall, two communal tables inside or if the rare London sun shines and warms the Neal’s Yard, tan your face and dig into your bowl in the courtyard. During the week it is more in between work quick lunch kind of place, but on weekend mornings a cool crowd of foodies rolls inside. Relishing in the smooth music here, with the guitarist pulling his strings in the auditory background, magically pacifies the beehive busy cantine. Funnelling in a relaxed mood, inhale the fragrance of cardamom, the vanilla or the seductive scent of cinnamon and dig in. This wholesome porridge may be the best thing you ate in the entire day.

If you dine alone, you can skim through and find an inspiration in the 26 Grains cookbook that lingers freely on the tables. The pure white design of the cookbook is filled with authentic Instagram style photos taken by a sister of Alex. It contains 100 grain-focused recipes from oats to amaranth in the breakfast porridges, salad bowls to nourishing warm dinners with fish, abundant seasonal vegetables and some highly hedonistic crumbled cheese. Porridge is so timeless that 26 Grains will be surely there to nourish Londoners for the years to come. Far from being just the current season’s fad that like the frozen yogurt outlets dot every Soho corner until we all get too tired of it or it gets so cold that your brain says no no, keep warm and eat porridge.

1 Neal’s Yard, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9DP

Mon-Fri: 8am-9:30pm; Sat 9am-9:30pm; Sun: 10am-4pm

Poco: the most sustainable restaurant in London

On the bank of the Regent’s Canal, framed by a bushy greenery, Poco offers more than the typical eatery in Hackney. Poco is the gate to the Broadway Market, where countless artisanal temptations dotted around create a little culinary paradise. What most of the gourmet neighbours have in common is their pride of British ingredients sourced directly from mindfully chosen specialist purveyors. At Poco, behind the open, by pickles and other jarred homemade edibles framed kitchen, these seasonal gems are turned into rustic yet delectable interpretation by the one or two chefs or preseved for the less bountiful months of the year. Monthly, at times tweaking the flip the recycled one-page paper menu daily, except for some staples like the sourdough, olives and falafel, you will almost never eat the same food at Poco, making each visit a delectable adventure.

Poco: making the most sustainable restaurant in London

Transparency is the heart of the food menu envisioned by the executive chef Tom Hunt. Hailing from Bristol, where the original Poco resides, Hunt also authored The Natural Cook, and is the founder of Forgotten Feast, a “Social Enterprise working on projects throughout the UK to revive our cooking heritage and help reduce food waste.” If you ever venture in to San Francisco, once you step in you may feel like in the Mission District’s Tartine Bakery. The furniture also has a minimum environmental impact – reclaimed timbers, English hardwoods, clay based paints and LED lighting. Tall tables with tapas bar style wooden stools, but also family friendly benches, so comfort is not discounted.
Voted the most sustainable restaurant in London, alas the “Food Made Good Restaurant of the Year” Award in 2016, Poco serves seasonal tapas from local and mostly organic certified suppliers, but it also goes much further to reduce its carbon footprint. Like Perennial in San Francisco, the restaurant is mindful of food waste, energy and water use, and minimizes the food miles of its ingredients as much as is viable. Hackney is a cycle-friendly East London borrough, and some guests will likely arrive on two instead of four wheels.

Poco embodies slow food in fast-paced city

The ethical produce is directly purchased from the Slow Food adherents. The generous sourdough bread is sourced from the nearby E5 Bakehouse, where the flour from local grains is being freshly milled before the loafs are baked into hyper fragrant bread. Milling the flour fresh assuers that the aromatic oils form the whole grains remain in the bread to seduce your nose. At Poco, choose from either wholemeal brown or Stockholm sourdough or have a pain du chocolate with a cup of coffee for breakfast. The perfectly moist and crispy crust of the sourdough calls for a generous dip into the basin of Marianna’s olive oil served on the side. Indeed, not everything is made in-house, but sourced from carefully selected providers. From the olive oil, dairy (Kappacasein Dairy, Neal’s Yard), through the bread to the chocolate (Mast Brothers of London) and the ice cream.
The slow food is taken seriously by the waiters, more than by the industrious chefs behind he counter kitchen. At lunch, come to the waiter to place your order, otherwise you may wait until dinner. On both occassions I diend there, the waiters have been cleaning up tables or playing behind the bar before taking our order. The aloof service is the only shortcoming at Poco though, and you will be generously rewarded with nourishing and superb seasonal plates.

Food: Eastern Mediterranean inspiration meets Spain in British produce

What marks Tom Hunt’s cooking style are sprouts on everything and the use of the Eastern Mediterranean flavours such as harissa, olive oil poured generously over the salads, a full crème fraîche like dense labneh, and a sprinkle of zataar spice and herb blend with sesame.
Lunch is quite different from dinner and the brunch offers much larger plates than the dinner tapas. The vibe is quite different from day to the lighting of the night bulbs. Children are welcome at brunch or lunch, and you can savour the artistic endeavour in drawings from the many of the kids hanging on the steel grey cement wall. On the contrary, the dimly, sexy, shaded dinner is buzzing with a Williamsburg kind of a crowd.
While recharging my weekend batteries during a brunch in November, I overheard that the organic eggs ‘how you like them’ are the most craved after brunch item, but went for the Field mushroom, labneh, za’atar, poached eggs, grilled sourdough and seasonal greens. Stacked on the amazing crunchy sourdough, the green kale was topped with two perfectly poached organic eggs sprinkled with dukkah and grilled giant cap mushroom. Labneh and olive oil sprinkled all over – yum, wholesome!
Sipping on the ultra tomato pigmented bloody mary with a spicy kick of harissa energized me after my flight from the South. Landing at the City Airport made Poco on the way to my central London hotel.

For lunch I enjoyed the giant, wholesome plate of Roasted roots (carrots, parsnips) with English quinoa, Smoked Labneh, and Dukkah. Served with red smokey pepper dip and a butter bean hummus with za’atar and sumac seasoning, house pickled red beets, sour tomatoes, streaks of labneh, roasted hazelnuts and almonds, plus sesame dukkah sprinkled all over, this could not have been a more nutritionally balanced offering.

At dinner around are swirled cold, hot plates, simple sides such as Harissa or aioli sauce, Kalamata, Amfissa or mixed Olives, and like in a rewinding video, I also had to order again and again the perfectly crisp and intensely fragrant Broad bean falafels atop a brown bean hummus and raw pickled beetroot. Consistently, they were the best falafels I had in London. Only Taïm in New York’s Soho can compete for the global city’s best falafel award, staged in my mind.
The unctuously creamy, thoroughly strained labneh either as a dip with dukkah (sesame and herbs condiment) and chipotle (smoky red pepper). For a dinner tapas the labneh can be additionally whipped with pumpkin seed, and olive oil or included in another more complex plate. In September, you could get a wild nettle tortilla with greens and harissa sauce or Kohlrabi strips, turnip, kale, spring onion with roasted red pepper and wild fennel. Most are veggie rich savoury plates, quite small £4-5 priced dishes, so go on and order more. The reduced portion size is also the sustainable catch as you will less likely order too much and driven by a real hunger clean up every plate.
From the hot offerings there are always some seasonal greens, some sustainable fish like Sardines on toasted rye bread with the omnipresent harissa, yellow and red plum tomatoes, coriander leafs and shaved almonds, but also some meaty sausages like the chef Tom’s own chorizo or the popular pork belly come mainly from The Butchery. There is always a set menu of five + (supplementary charge) courses for £26. You should not find bluefin tuna, Atlantic Halibut or wild bass on the menu since these are among the red rated ‘5’ by the Marine Conservation Society.

The aperitif hour whizzes the oysters and fizz on the wooden tables. Served simply with chopped shallots and cider vinegar, the West Mersea oysters from the England’s East Coast, are very popular. The desserts have the least Mediterranean aura. An English influence breaths from the Roskilly’s Organic clotted cream vanilla ice cream or Strawberries, clotted cream, gin and rose syrup or the international favourite of Dark chocolate brownie, chocolate sauce and cream.
During brunch sip on the local draft beer, or a cup of local roasted coffee. Seasonal cocktails made from foraged ingredients, homemade tinctures and cordials are designed by co-owner Ben Pryor. A shot of housemade limoncello breezes in the Italian-like warm hospitality that we all adore. Sherries, orange wine, a bright Gamay or sweetish Moscatel and other European, low intervention wines (biodynamic, natural, organic) by the glass and bottle complement the meals in the same sustainable spirit.
Do not be put off by the far in the east location, since the cost of the taxi ride will be compensated with fair prices and superb, generous food. Poco is more than worth trying, plus you can arrive on the clean energy London bicycle!
129 Pritchard’s Rd, London E2 9AP (the Southern end of the Broadway Market)
+44 20 7739 3042
Mon-Fri: 9:30 am-11pm; weekend 10am-11pm

MAST chocolate: seeing London through art and creative chocolates

Mast Brothers, originally established in Brooklyn, need to brace the brand’s reputation after the PR-faulted scandal of their misinformed bean-to-bar “craftsmanship” broke recently in the US. Rick and Michael Mast might be bolsterous bearded Brooklyn hipsters, but their tainted public image was more the fault of marketing than not selling tasty Mast chocolate, which the thousands of their regular customers seal with their weekly purchase.
Smart collaborations were their holy grail in the US, and when expansion beyond the American borders got on their to-do list, London clicked. The Mast chocolate (as it is now called not just in the UK) manufactory in Shoreditch that opened last year is phenomenal. Like in Brooklyn, and now in LA and London, you can see the chocolate making process, jusk blink at the see-through glass window, then taste rotating different chocolates or sip on creative brews at their cocoa bar.

MAST chocolate: Creative flavours and local inspiration

In London, you will savour some different collections from the US house brand. Get your taste buds ready for gin, rhubarb & custard, tea & milk, vanilla & smoke, black treacle, each incorporated into a unique chocolate bar. The signature London herb collection has an adventure pulling story behind. The place where the herbs are grown is quite unique, at least in the UK. I have heart of an underground garden in Manhattan, but now the former WWII Air Raid bunkers of London were converted into a verdant labyrinth of aromas. The herbs thrive in the moist and stable temperatures offering environment and the chocolate makers have consistent supply of fresh herbs in all seasons. My favourites were the Marjoram, I quite liked the Fennel reminding me of Indian cookies, Lovage as well as the rich pudding evoking Oregano, while I found the Celery and Sorrel just weird. In each the 60% cocoa is being blended with cane sugar and chosen dairy powder – buttermilk for celery, marjoram, lovage and sorrel; while dried sheep milk was blended into the fennel bar, and goat milk proved to pair well with the oregano bar – allergic dark chocolate lovers beware!
Some of the former employees gained plenty of experience with Mast chocolate to veer into their own business. Recently launched LAND that I discovered at the London Chocolate Show is on the other extreme pole of the chocolate making planet. True to its name, LAND’s founder Phil Landers goes as far as specifying the exact plantation and a location map printed on his truly bean-to-bar packaging. His fascination with the cocoa bean and a trip to Nicaragua taught him about the diverse varietals and he is not afraid to introduce them to your palate. It seems that the experience with Mast chocolate opened his mind and shrug off any fear from incorporating new flavours into his chocolate making process.

American marketing charm again strikes Europe

All the lines of Mast chocolate bars can be distinguished by their design wrapping paper. The London collection is printed with artwork by David Post, Brooklyn showcases the work by Andrew Tarlow, and in LA sisters Hopie and Lily Stockman of Block Shop Textiles stamped their California style on the distinctive Los Angeles collection. Mast Brothers are not alone in doing this, as Dandelion chocolate in San Francisco is using a similar idea of handprinted original designs and markets its products woefully. I must praise the marriage of art on the impeccably designed paper wraps with its chocolate indulgence inside.
The sea salt collection is enveloped in “paper artwork created by Calico Wallpaper using a unique modified salt resist technique combined with watercolor painting”. Maldon salt, Sel Gris from Slovenia, Welsh salt, organic Mineola Tangelo, Nordic Birch Smoked sea salt from Iceland or solar evaporated Bali reef salt, all sound utterly exotic. Ready yourself for more like the Blended Cyprus sea salt with activated charcoal in the Black Diamond, Trapani Coast salt mixed with Olive Oil – also from Sicily or the Italian Sabatino Tartufi luxuriating black truffles chocolate.

Boundless flavours transformed into chocolate indulgence

You pay for the looks, for the starring added ingredients and the blending skills of the hipster chocolatiers. This is not about looking for bean-to-bar single origin chocolates (Although the brand now broadly uses purchased beans instead of pre-made commercial chocolate remelted into bars. Independent investigation proved, that originally, they were using Valrhona bars, so popular with top pastry chefs worldwide, but unacceptable in their “artisan” chocolates), but adventurously blended original flavours. Sweetened with cane sugar, no fuss with organic, lower glycemic coconut or other more healthy and trendy sweeteners. Most bars contain powdered buttermilk so if you are lactose intolerant check the labels! In the US already developed flavours with sheep’s milk, maple, mint, or olive oil (not keen on this one as I tasted more fruity, citrusy flavours rather than the olive oil). Transparent listing of the origin of the cocoa is the brand’s biggest failure, although now some single origin bars were also released and the Papua New Guinea persuaded my spoiled palate. Still, surprisingly the Wholefoods in London sells Mast Brothers chocolates. If you are concerned about fair trade, only buy what has been either certified or can be legally responsible through its detailed label information.
Unfortunately, like at most chocolate boutiques, you cannot taste the truffles aka “cubes”, but you can buy by piece. Tempting and unusual flavours were churned out at the chocolate manufactory just behind the see-through window inside their Shoreditch location, so better select six morsels fitted into the gift perfect, charcoal tinted box.
Brazilian Mate, Damson and Marjoram, IPA Hops, Salt and Balsamic Vinegar, Sea Buckthorn, Vanilla and Smoke, these were my eyes rolling and tongue enveloping cubes. Playing with herbs, brewers ingredients (to honour the English beer tradition) and exotic tonics such as the South American mate (an uplifting beverage that is most popular in Argentina), but also with molecular gastronomy techniques like smoking, sets MAST in London apart from any British chocolatier. They are not cheap, but make for a special gift to any curious gourmand.

Inside the bright and so East London styled manufactory cum cafe, on tap, you can warm up with a wholesome cup of dense, perhaps the thickest hot chocolate in London, with chocolate blended coffee or with such anomalies as chocolate beer. The last just tasted too strange for me, but thanks for the sample!
You can book a chocolate tour with one of the expert guides. Watch, eyes glued on the succulent melting chocolate, how it is all being made into the solid sweet treats. No secrets appear to be hinding here. Although, according to the expert critics Mast Brothers are far from the best chocolatiers anywhere, still their flavours may appeal to your palate, so venture in while browsing the edgy shopping streets in Shoreditch. If you look for best artisanal, high quality chocolates, or chocolate shops in London and the UK check my recent report on the annual Chocolate Show, where the best presented chocolatiers were awarded medals.
19-29 Redchurch St, London E2 7DJ
+44 20 7739 1236
Mon-Fri: 11am-7pm; Sat & Sun: 10am -7pm
Public tours available daily; book at events.uk@mastbrothers.com
Weekdays: 3pm & 5pm
Weekends: 11:30am; 1:30pm; 3pm & 5pm

CLOSED Tanya’s Raw in Chelsea: London’s first superfood cocktail bar and raw food

Tanya’s Raw is a “superfood” cafe cum cocktail bar in the chic part of London. Situated in contemporary designed My Hotel Chelsea, Tanya’s Raw buzzes with healthy looking and enthusiastic staff in a comfortable and bright environment. “Everything at Tanya’s is raw living, plant-based, hand-picked, organically grown, ethically sourced, and free from refined sugar, dairy or gluten.”

Personal health struggle turned into a business as Tanya’s Raw grows

The plant-based cafeteria was ideologically nourished by a personal healing experience through vegetable juicing after a serious car accident, that left then a teenage Tanya unable to consume any solid food. “I healed instinctively on juices. Mint tea with Manuka honey was the first think I could have without throwing up at the hospital after the car accident seriously damaged my inner organs.” Vegetable juices followed and, to the kiwi doctors awes, she recovered. Tanya’s Raw Cafe in Chelsea, therefore serves cold-pressed juice blends, potent elixirs as well as pour-over coffee, one of the rare hot beverages in the house. Of a Russian origin, she grew up with her family in New Zealand and only in her twenties moved to the UK, where she curated her raw diet for years before opening with a partner Tanya’s Raw.
The passion translates in the kitchen as slow food made from scratch from organic seeds, nuts, spices, natural sweeteners, vegetables, and fruits. Having a breakfast just after the highly successful launch about two years ago, and a couple of lunches in various seasons, I can confidently nod to Tanya’s consistent appeal and development of the food, but wary of not so seasonal and mostly not locally grown menu challenging to source on the British Isles.
Having interviewed the co-founder Tanya Alekseeva, in the first days after opening, then a fresh 30 years old woman just before getting married, adopting a new surname (Maher) and pregnancy, gave me a well-rounded perspective of where Tanya’s Raw is heading. Serving energetically sufficient and nutritionally balanced raw foods in London has proven to be “the most difficult thing about serving raw food in London”, confessed the brain behind the recipes, nutritionist, and certified health coach. Locally sourced ingredients are hardly realistic. Despite having about 20 suppliers, for example finding an avocado, the popular “creamer” in raw recipes, during all seasons is not pliable so creativity thrives.

Experience raw from breakfast, lunch through desserts and cocktail hour

I am not a fan of the almost flavorless tiger nut “milk” served with the organic pour over coffee, in itself superb. From the morning warmers, the date sweetened and almond protein enriched My Hug in a Mug of immunity boosting Medicinal Mushroom Latte as well as the inflammation reducing Golden Turmeric Latte won my taste buds over. From the juices, if you are concerned about the taste, not just the potential “health benefits”, then My Vision (carrot, orange, turmeric, mango and juices) is delectable. For a late breakfast (they open at 10am on weekdays, 11am weekends) or brunch, I quite liked the Aussie-inspired savory Avo un-toast, which is a dehydrated onion bread based on sunflower seeds, raisins and the odorant bulbs, topped by a smashed avocado and chilli flakes, is one option, but the date sweet Grawnola based on sprouted buckwheat and served with coconut yogurt is the most popular.

My menu favorites include the creamy side of the pesto-hued Herbed Almond and Cashew Ricotta dip with the superb, sweet carrot sticks. The founder’s favorite plate are the Thai Curry Kelp Noodles, that have been on the menu from the start, and I liked them too for their light spicy kick, plenty of fragrant sprouts and seasonal vegetables versatility. As most of Tanya’s recipes, traveling has been a well of inspiration for the mother of a nine-month baby girl named beautifully – Lake. The author of The Uncook Book. From her travel-inspired Adventure Salad bowls, that I tried I loved the pickle-rich Europa Adventures including the marvelous spiced-up Korean carrots (also available as a small side dish) and smoked pepper hummus. The deep white plate was decorated with powdered matcha and by the US chef, Matthew Kenney inspired flower, that I also adore at the Milan’s best raw restaurant Mantra. Tanya confessed that her admiration for Kenney sparked because “he produces art on the plate”. The almond and cashew ricotta, sundried tomato paste and walnut meat stuffed courgette Lasagna are superb, while the Nori wrap was perhaps too mushroomy fermented tasting, yet both remind me of Kenney’s plates at his now closed M.A.K.E in Santa Monica. The raw burger that was popular after the opening yet has thus far vanished from the menu.

Raw foods: good for everyone and any ingredient?

In order to grasp the raw “uncooking”, the definition by the European Food Information Council [EUFIC] of what is cooking helps: “Cooking is the process of producing safe and edible food by preparing and combining ingredients, and (in most cases) applying heat. Cooking is a means of processing food, without which many foods would be unfit for human consumption.” Often, the reason behind why most contemporary raw (heated bellow 47^oC) food public eateries stick to a plant-based diet, is safety. The EUFIC warns; “at temperatures over 70^oC most bacteria are killed and below 5^oC most food poisoning bacteria can only multiply slowly or not at all”. Raw food is served at room temperature and prepared using maximum 46ºC heat so the bacteria can possibly thrive in the unpasteurized, cold-pressed, raw juices. They must be kept in refrigerator from the moment they were made. Still, either Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes can thrive in unwashed vegetables as in animal produce, therefore it is important to store and clean the veggies thoroughly. Some foods are rendered edible by the physical and chemical transformation during cooking, and some vegetables are even poisonous when eaten raw! Therefore, you will not find potatoes on the raw menus. Ideally, inform yourself of what ingredients are suitable for consumption in their raw form. This is also why well-established and for safety scanned raw cafes, juiceries and restaurants like Tanya’s Raw are very useful.

Cooking is a very complex process and if you are concerned about nutrition and digestion then you must consider each ingredient on an individual meter. For example, certain carcinogenic compounds (nitrosamines) are formed during specific methods of cooking such as grilling, smoking and other high heat processing. Sulfurous compounds add flavor in baked biscuits, bread or in cooked meat, but they can upset sulfate sensitive individuals. The EUFIC further warns that “water-soluble vitamins, in particular, are heavily affected by cooking processes that involve immersing food in water for long periods of time, and fat-soluble vitamins tend to be lost during cooking processes where foods are cooked in fat.” The raw foodists are right that enzymes in food are killed by heat, and our body has to work extra hard to produce its own enzymes to digest and absorb the nutrients from the food. Yet, it is not black or white.
On the other spectrum of the cooked versus raw contest is the fact that “heating itself does not affect mineral levels but they are usually leached if cooked in boiling water” (EUFIC). Further, “many of the nutrients contained in foods are not readily accessible prior to cooking and thus, cannot be easily digested by the body.” Take onion, that I have troubles eating raw, but when you serve it to me cooked, I have no difficulties digesting it comfortably. Yes, you kill some of the heat sensitive Vitamin C, but the balancing consideration is all about finding what suits you. One person is fine with raw veggies and nuts, while another’s body has a hard time producing the necessary enzymes to break it down. “Cooking foods containing starch (e.g., cereals and vegetables) aids the action of amylase and the consequent digestibility of the carbohydrate component of the food.” Pregnant women, vulnerable babies and small children are warned against the potential harm of consuming raw food. But again phytochemicals and pigments such as chlorophyll in green vegetables are degraded during long cooking with a fat. Carotenoids in direct contact with air undergo oxidation, but using lid or pressure cooker can prevent this. Water-soluble anthocyanins and anthoxanthins should not be soaked or boiled for a long time. Stir-frying is the most pigment saving method to flavonoids…it is complex, I said.

The sugar versus “natural” sweeteners health battle

Tanya’s Raw Cafes proudly use only natural, mostly low GI sweeteners such as xylitol, stevia, but also dates (although unprocessed they are too high in fructose and glucose, with over 67% carbs beware), and raw agave. The cashew creamy Blueberry Cheesecake tantalises the taste buds of many female but also male customers. By indulging in it, your body will get a super antioxidant boost since one cake contains 4 and a half cups of blueberries! The Key lime pie and Carrot Cake are also being rotated on the daily dessert offer. In the real raw philosophy, desserts are consumed before a meal to get the digestive juices rolling.
Some of the cocktails and shooters contain responsibly sourced Manuka honey. Although limited to a small number of drinks, honey and bee pollen are the only two non-vegan ingredients used. Ethical sourcing is native to her business. The raw cocoa and cocoa butter are fair trade. Beware, though as Tanya warns that “your cravings might be telling you something different than omg! I need some chocolate now! It may be that your body is asking for magnesium after a stressful event or during women’s period.” Our nerves need magnesium. The body is smart. It knows what it needs. You better give it a raw dark chocolate that is more nutritious than the normal, with white sugar packed chocolate.

Tanya revealed something, that stroke me as a considerably shocking and controversial claim: “When you cook food you are addicted to sugar, think about an apple, what happens when it is baked? It turns sweeter because all the carbohydrates in the fruit have turned into sugar under the high heat. Raw foods are less sugary in their nature.” Indeed, cellulose, pectins, and starches in the apple are broken under heat into monosaccharides such as glucose.
This sweetening under heat depends on the raw material though. My chemistry background directed me to a well-trusted, scientifically sound research. I found that some cooking methods actually reduce the sugar taste of its carbohydrates and turn them into more bitter compounds. For example during caramelization when the most dark to black caramel are formed. [source: EUFIC]

Beyond cleansing, organic beer and wine: shaking up innovative and nutritious cocktails

Sipping on a cocktail as a vitamin and mineral boost? A purportedly rejuvenating supplement meets indulgence at Tanya’s Raw Cafe. Although the limited juice, raw soups and raw snacks incorporating cleansing programs are a significant part of Tanya’s raw business, there are many other delectables and organic beverages to rejuvenate through. Organic European wines, as well as gluten-free Czech lager, are imported, but it is the mixology behind the counter that steals the show. Superfoods like matcha, cacao and acai are blended with organic gin, tequila or vodka or rum. These superfood organic cocktails are Tanya’s raw signature creations.
You can now savor Tanya’s Raw at two locations: Tanya’s Chelsea, the original raw food restaurant and superfood cocktail bar; and Tanya’s Parson’s Green, a much smaller cold-press juice bar and a coffee shop. Recent pop-up at Selfridges for over a month this year promises more to come to London. Tanya hints: “Raw foodies are not our target market. Most raw food eaters prepare their food at home and rarely dine out. Myself, I try raw restaurants, eat there once or twice.” It is about balance, and having more health and nutrition focused restaurants at your convenience helps to create a better nourished life when you are out and about.
Tanya proves that her positive persona is not just a superficial posterity, but a deep belief, as she instinctively concluded our conversation: “I don’t believe that everybody is suited to eat 100%raw food, it’s important to include it in our diet but you should listen to your body for what it wants.” I cannot more agree.
35 Ixworth Pl, London SW3 3QX,
+44 20 7225 7538
Tue-Sat: 11am -10pm; Sun: 11am-4pm; Mon: closed

London Chocolate Show: where fashion meets indulgence

Smudging deliciously brown the sweet teeth of chocolate lovers, the London Chocolate Show, tempts through chocolates made in Britain, but also from Denmark, Italy, Spain, and as far East as Hong Kong and Taipei. The Chocolate Week, that has been for twelve years celebrating fine chocolate, peaks with the annual London Chocolate Show. Seductively introduced to the consumers, the cocoa-centric produce from the most exciting cocoa bean growing regions is joined by highly entertaining on-stage chef demos at The Chocolate Theatre and the madly popular Chocolate Fashion Show, widening the pupils in the curious eyes of the onlookers.
Here is a sneak peak on the lip-smacking fashion show. From cocoa-dusted brooches and other jewels, some pinned in the long hair, while others snaking around the sleek necks of the welcomingly colourful models, to white, milk and dark chocolate weapons carried by a Medieval man resembling model, all were made from the sweet delicacy.

Showing off on the London Chocolate Show

The best from the participating chocolates were awarded medals – gold, silver and bronze and a proud sticker to display on their packaging. The chocolate dessert of the year was also announced. Under the glass roofed expo room inside the London Olympia, I encountered some familiar faces and indulged in my old favourites such as the India-inspired confectionery by The Chocolatier, the brand name of its founder and chocolate maker Aneesh Popat. His lovely mother fed me aplenty with Aneesh’s fragrant water ganaches, hard to find around, unless you dine at one of the Michelin stared restaurants that serve them. From all these, the dark Rose & raspberry, Kulfi in white chocolate enrobed with pistachio, cardamom, saffron and a hint of fennel as well as the caramelised Japanese citrus Yuzu appealed the most to my taste buds, but he has much more to choose from.
At his stand were also presented the Hong Kong based superfood raw chocolates RAIZ THE BAR. Kosher, organic, paleo, vegan certified bars with spirulina, activated buckwheat, chia or rose with acai, all sweetened with coconut blossom nectar – were playing on the millennial chocolate note as a health food. Energise me, Passionate me, will, at least psychologically leave you feel rejuvenated.
From the first time public appearances I was struck by four. The highly bean-specific bars by LAND, the project by Phil Landers. The ex-Paul Young and Mast Brothers alumnus works bean to bar from the Central and South American cocoa, made into chocolate in Bethnal Green, East London. His Malt Dark chocolate bar from Honduras was outstanding, showing natural fragrances of coffee and with malt barley notes.
The Polish-born Marcin Rendak has been making chocolates in his native country for years, but recently he has decided to go more upmarket with his luxurious organic range OCTO Chocolate. Launching for the first time at the Chocolate Show, the beautifully designed rose gold veined leafs print on pure white or black paper boxes, enchanted many visitors. The Almonds coated in raw chocolate with coconut water do not contain coco water, but are sweetened by the healthier coconut blossom nectar. What’s important though is that they taste more like a milk chocolate, while being dairy-free as all of the OCTO vegan-certified edible luxuries.
Yu Chocolatier is a truffle-focused exotic import, not yet represented in Europe, by chef Yu Hsuan Cheng based in Tapei. Inspired by his work at the three Michelin Ledoyen as well as the legendary chocolate maker Jacques Genin, both in Paris, his philosophy is “merging French and Taiwanese gastronomies”. His chocolate creations include Formosa Red Oolong Tea, aged plums, longan, bamboo ginger or black sesame oil into the cocoa mass, tantalizing!
Risa, made by a very friendly Philippine family, introduced the tremendous dark chocolate dusted roasted tender pili nuts. The “Pilitas” were sweetened by coconut sugar, and you could taste both the nuts and the cocoa. The morsels had a texture so creamy and soft that you could let them melt in you moth and chew the fairy delicate pili nuts. So far, they only have there dark chocolate bars both from their home country’s cocoa beans. Sourced from single origin regions Bicolandia n the central volcanic Philippines (sweetened by cane sugar), was the 70% force, while the South Cotabato 60% was sourced from the Southern Philippines (by coconut sweetened).
The award-winning and beyond London famous Rococo Chocolates hosted children play area, while the also well-established Akesson’s single plantation chocolates remained focused on showing the simple purity of terroir and chocolate. Blanxart from Barcelona brought the premium organic bars as well as the more polished and by cocoa-matching ingredients enhanced confectioneries.

At the London Chocolate Show you can sample an immense diversity of chocolate and chocolate products, such as hot chocolate, cakes, crêpes, fried churros dipped in melted chocolate, fragrant brownies, crafted truffles, single origin bars, lick the bounty straight from the chocolate fountain, but also purchase chocolate making kits. Unique artistic creations by Jen Lindsey Clark such as the chocolate sculptures of Benedict Cumberbatch or a bust of the Queen Mother, complemented the densely programmed event spanning three days. Next to it, plenty of other curiosities appeared on the fair – from cocoa cosmetics to chocolate wine, yes! The Rubis Chocolate wine tastes more like a sweet ruby port than a bottle of Cabernet, but as a dessert beverage it is interesting.
The hottest trends that I spotted from the conversions of ideas at the fair were using more organic raw materials, focus on the single origin or directly sourced cocoa (bean-to-bar), and the increased use of coconut sugar in place of the more traditional sugarcane. The healthy image of dark chocolate seems to continue enchanting consumers. The usual sugar, be it raw or even better organic cane sugar, or dehydrated cane juice, all the same, is unsuitable for those trying to keep their GI load low (GI 60 of cane sugar). The now increasingly popular dehydrated coconut sap or juice (GI of coconut sugar 35 ) are both minimally processed, high in minerals and do not undercut the flavour of cocoa as stevia does, but still should be avoided by diabetics and the most purist chocolatiers stick to old good sugarcane because of its more neutral sweetening power, not hindering the natural cocoa flavours.

Each October, come to indulge your chocolate cravings at The Chocolate Show in London, since it is also the most entertaining as well as informative cocoa-focused event in the UK. There are some other, to chocolate dedicated, fairs in town worth checking out. The chilly outdoors setting of the Chocolate Festival fronting the Southbank centre, is ideal for your pre-Christmas chocolate shopping.
This year, it will take over the weekend between 10 and 12 December.
11am – 8pm on Friday, 11am – 6pm Saturday & Sunday.
The Chocolate show is getting global. With separate events curated in Belgium, France, Italy, Monaco, Beirut, Japan, Moscow and Seoul so far, the chocolate palate has never had more opportunities to discover the magic versatility of the cocoa bean and benefit from the creativity of the world’s chocolatiers. Do not hesitate and take your part.

Thriving London chocolate producers and shops with focus on craftsmanship

Britain’s infatuation with chocolate is swirling into a delectable contagion now infecting millions of local and visiting passionate cocoa lovers. Finding the best London chocolate shops was a ‘sugarific’ detective work requiring years to accomplish if it were thorough enough. Here is my London chocolate report focused on craftsmanship.

Production of modern chocolate was fine-tuned in Belgium, France, Switzerland and now also in the UK. These countries are, judged by my well-travelled palate, generally ahead of everyone else. I consumed millions of chocolate calories worldwide, and despite its trendy and healthy image, there are still too many amateurish and rather commercial chocolate makers. I believe that love with chocolate is crucial in making a great one yourself, but still skilled craftsmen are indispensable in making the best chocolates. Therefore, not just the expression of terroir but also the artisanship of leading chocolatiers must be appreciated. One of the best in Britain is William Curley.

William Curley

William Curley had repeatedly won the “Best British Chocolatier” award judged by the the Academy of Chocolate. Before embarking on his own chocolate route Curley worked at the UK’s most celebrated Michelin restaurants, including a cherished post as the chef patissier at London’s eponymous Savoy hotel. There he met his former Japanese wife Suzue, who became his muse in most of Curley’s delectable pursuits. Combining classic western techniques with oriental flavours such as in Jasmine crème brûlée with caramelised mandarins defined their cooperation. Sadly, as they split his flagship branch in Belgravia closed down, but you can still buy his creations at a small concession inside Harrods. Taste the artisanal perfection in the Almond & Orange or Assam Tea “Mou” (Soft Caramel infused with Assam tea, coated in dark chocolate), and other creations like Orange and balsamic vinegar caramel. Get the cocoa dust into motion in your own kitchen with Curley’s book Couture Chocolate that received the Cookery Book of the Year Award. For cocoa purity and simplicity do not look here since vanilla is used even in the 70% cocoa House Dark Blend, that is nevertheless deliciously rich, almost chalky, with hazelnut and cedar notes. The cocoa mass is sourced from the Tuscan chocolate producer Amedei.
Harrods Department Store, Knightsbridge, London
williamcurley.com

Roccoco

Rococo Chocolates has pioneered the origin focused, sustainable cocoa sourcing in the country. For over three decades Chantal Coady, of the rare female breed of British chocolatiers has ushered her Rococo brand to the forefront of the local cocoa conscience. The founding member of the Academy of Chocolate and a fierce supporter of global cocoa sustainability, opened her first flagship boutique in South Kensington. Now nested also in the posh Belgravia the indulgent Dessert Bar conceils the frequent chocolate and patisserie courses in the kitchens below. With indoor and outdoor seating, this is a perfect place to unwind with a sweat treat. Now seeking bars made from organic cocoa, the Rococo’s 100% Plus Noir Que Noir dark house bar is one of the best pure cocoa mass bars I have ever had. Harmonious, with just enough richness to let the wallnut flavours subtly envelop your mouth, you do not miss the sugar.
The Earl Grey Tea 65% cocoa, the joint venture with The Grenada Chocolate Company for Gru Grococo in their vintage organic dark chocolate, and the Basil & Persian Lime in the Rococo bee stamped bar line, are my favourites.

5 Motcomb Street, London, SW1X 8JU
http://www.rococochocolates.com
Mon-Sat: 8:30am – 7pm; Sunday: 11am – 6pm

Pump Street Bakery

The rustic yet luxurious packaging reminds of the superb Allain Ducasse French-made chocolate bars and the quality of the cocoa-based squares inside is at least as impressive! These are, without any pretence, the best bean to bar chocolates in the UK. From their bakery cum cocoa roastery in Suffolk, the limited and numbered batches are supplied only to selected stores. After sourcing directly from the farmers, the cocoa material arrives in the UK, the cleaned bread oven is used to roast the beans, then the beans are ground and conched into chocolate in very small batches (25kg). Only the bare minimum of ingredients a sweet chocolate can have are used: cocoa beans, cane sugar and cocoa butter. Where possible organic raw material is used, no soy lecithin, vanilla and other flavour adultering substances are added to allow the ultimate quality of the cocoa to express itself in its most beautiful and pure delight. In their milk chocolates, milk powder of the succulent clotted cream richness is used with the above-mentioned cocoa triad. If there is only one bar you must try to satisfy your curiosity though, then go for their baker’s signature Sourdough & Sea Salt 66% dark chocolate bar. Without disturbing the natural expression of the Ecuador’s best crop from Hacienda Limon (66%cocoa) their crunchy toasted sourdough bread and sea salt meet in a unique, malty gourmet concoction. You can taste it without the bread in the Ecuador from Hacienda Limon 75% cocoa concentration. I am also crazy about the 75% Dark Jamaica bar sourced solely from the Bachelor’s Hall Estate, and the serious yet delicately smooth 80% cocoa from 3 Marias in Honduras. Each bar has its batch number stamped on the seal so you can compare the unique distinction of the crop and chocolate roasting process.

Flagship store & manufacturing 1 Pump St, Woodbridge IP12 2LZ, Suffolk, online store, at the British Produce Room at Liberty. For London stockists check their website.
pumpstreetbakery.com
Mon-Wed: 9:30am-7pm; Thurs-Fri: 9:30am – 8:30pm; Sat: 9:30am – 7pm; Sun: 11:30am – 5:30pm

Willie’s Chocolate

The journey of its founder, a cacao farmer and chocolate manufacturer in one William Harcourt-Cooze is as remarkable as are his personally selected cocoa beans and chocolates. His childhood on a wild stretch off the Ireland’s south-west coast opened his heart to adventure and wild produce. For two decades ‘Willie’ has been planting and harvesting the precious criollo cocoa pods at his Hacienda El Tesoro in Venezuela where ginger grows wildly beneath the cacao trees. No chemical treatment has been ever used on any of the cocoa farms that the beans are directly sourced from. Roasted in antique ball roasters (restored by Willie himself), just raw cane sugar and natural cocoa butter (less than is usual) – no soya lecithin and vanilla – are added because “the best tastes always come from fine ingredients that are not mishandled or contaminated“. Willie’a Chocolate uses only the less productive Criollo and Trinitario beans to achieve more interesting range of flavours than the largely used Foreastero strain of cocoa. Each bean is then conched for up to 11 days. For cooking the single origin 70 % cacao cylinders are very handy to crate also savoury plates (recipes on their website). Must try are the single district dark chocolates in the Venezuelan Gold range with the typical coffee and nutty aromas. I am fond of the Peruvian Gold sourced from Chulucanas as its plum and raisin fragrance is just so unusual.
Buy online at www.williescacao.com, at Selfridges Food Hall and other gourmet purveyors such as Sourced Market in London.

Hotel Chocolat British Cocoa Grower & Chocolatier

Hotel Chocolat took the concept of chocolate further than anyone else. With its own estate and hotel in the exotic Saint Lucia in the West Indies, the visitors can directly participate in the “Tree to bar Experience”. Picking your own cocoa pod from a tree on their Rabot Estate, roasting the beans, and then creating your own chocolate and truffles sounds like a dream for adventurers with a gourmet disposition. Not all the chocolates, many of them single origin organic pure creations, some more crafted for the funky taste seeking customers, are from their own estate, though. Sourcing also from Colombia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Peru, Ecuador, Ghana and Vietnam opens the flavour gates for experimentation. These single origin bars are titled “Rabot 1745 rare & vintage“.

I tasted my first 100% dark cocoa bar at their branch near the London’s Borough market, where you can also venture into a full meal prepared with cocoa or chocolate. From the pure range, the “Island Growers” cocoa from Saint Lucia was the most sublime with surprising grassy, herbal and vegetal aromas spiced up with peppery tones and olive oil creaminess. A touch of roasted oak rounds up this super complex cocoa beauty.
For a true sweet indulgence try the Pistachio Crunches in 70% dark chocolate. The ultra sweet tooth will clinch on the Marzipan Ingot in 70% dark chocolate coat. Hotel Chocolat is a large producer with over 80 shops in the UK, cafés and restaurants, a branch in Australia and three boutiques in Copenhagen.
The school of chocolate: 4 Monmouth Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9HB
hotelchocolat.com
OTHER LONDON based chocolate producers & stores:

The Chocolatier: A Niche by Aneesh

Aside the established UK producers, I must mention the talented math graduate Aneesh Popat, who applies his mathematical and scientific background to create unique flavour combinations. The Chocolatier, Anesh, has created the signature ‘water ganache’, a lean line of chocolate truffles with as little as 20 calories per piece. The water ganache is made without butter, cream, gelatin or eggs to create a ‘pure’ vegan chocolate. Aneesh’s Indian roots inspired intriguing creations such as the 70% dark chocolate bar with crunchy poppadoms and savory cum sweet mango chutney. Many Michelin stared restaurants feature his chocolates and you can also find them at Fortnum & Mason, Harvey Nichols, Harrods, Selfridges and some other locations.
the-chocolatier.co.uk

Also worth mentioning are the chocolates from Akessons, Amelia Rope, Bullion Chocolate, Damson, Original Beans, Paul A. Young, and upcoming talents just launching their chocolates featured in my review of the London Chocolate Show.

The best stores to buy chocolates in London:

The Chocolate Museum in Brixton
The Cocoa Runners in Islington

The confectionery section on the ground floor (next to the Rolexes and diamonds) at Selfridges, Harrods, Fortnum & Mason. and Wholefoods. F&M as well as Harrods have even their own ranges of chocolate bars as does the East India Company.

Other good UK-based chocolate brands worth mentioning are the Artisan du Chocolat and Melt, both nesting in Notting Hill. Their fancy stores are attractive and their chocolate creations are very tasty, but far from the bean to bar philosophy and the focus on artisanship of my other selections in this post.
Chocolate shopping in London has never been more exciting. With the annual Chocolate Fair, locally-masterminded chocolate awards announced at the London Chocolate Show and many energetic entrepreneurial chocolatiers popping up like water from a hot pan, the chocolate lovers never had better opportunities to indulge.
My cocoa-purity-focused investigation revealed that sustainable and fair sourcing, acquiring top quality raw material, and dedicated, passionate expression of artisanal curiosity, increasingly define the competitive and mature global chocolate market.

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