Market Café, Hackney – Top New Eaterie

I was lucky to enjoy a ‘hard-hat’ preview of this brilliant new place before it opened. There was still bare plaster everywhere and it was far from finished, but the almost-done back dining room demonstrated the theme of the décor; 50’s mismatched furniture, slick and cool, friendly and familiar, thoroughly enjoyable.

The food and drink follows a similar model, with “rustic London-Italian food and drink with a modern take on the ‘breakfast and bolognaise’ menu…no airs or graces here. Steak and kidney pudding for two, hand cut tagliatelles with meat sauces, truffled rarebit, jam doughnuts…and homemade Hackney Downs ice-cream”. I had the delicious tagliatelle with meat sauce that tasted so familiar but reminded me of a distant memory I couldn't quite place. It was flavour combination that definitely reminded me of something I’d eaten as a child. Braised beef shin in chianti with polenta was clearly cooked in home-style quantities of wine for e very long time. No corners had been cut and it was wonderful, like the absolute best home cooking. The rice pudding with jam was ambrosial… the creamiest and vanilleriest ever.

For drinks, we had lovely East London Cups, that were cocktails reminiscent of pimms and Market Café’s take on classic London cups (I hadn’t heard of them either). They also do wines, other cocktails and cups, fizz, and craft beers.


East London Cup

Husband and wife team Hugo and Fran Warner, who own the Market Café have taken on some fantastic staff. This really stood out. Their team is made up of genuine individuals who clearly really care, including the ultra-knowledgeable and enthusiastic long-haired and bearded bar manager/deputy manager (Rob? Sorry, I did ask but promptly forgot). The staff fit perfectly with the whole feel of the place; eclectic, down-to-earth, and welcoming. The chef, James Adams has worked at Canteen, Fifteen, St John and River Café and believes there is “no substitute for flavour”.

Hugo sat with us for a bit and his obvious passion for historical reference and good food bubbled over, “…working class cafés once lubricated and nourished a whole post war generation of artists, writers and crimes lords, and galvanised East End and British cultural life. These places were where ordinary people could afford to eat out and also to experience what was in its day exotic food.” He hopes that the “whole local community” will want to eat and drink with them.



Market Café is open all day and evening every day, for breakfast, elevenses, lunch, high tea and supper, as well as freshly ground coffee and evening drinks.

Borough Market, London

After recovering from the awful Thailand trip, I was about to start another adventure; moving to London. I'll still have my tiny stone cottage to escape to in France, but for work I really needed to be smack bang in the middle of things. So, after eight years of the good life, I said goodbye to the markets, foraging, foie gras, walnuts, my garden and close friends. Some things I would really miss, but there is plenty I am looking forward to about being in the UK and in The City. Here they are:

• Food from around the world, including top quality Spanish, Italian, Asian and tropical ingredients and produce. Just can't get them in France.

• Massive choice of high quality restaurants for every imaginable cuisine.

• Fish 'n chips, real ale, pork pies etc., freely available around every corner.

• The buzz, and a cutting edge, cosmopolitan vibe - rural France is backward. That can be charming if you want to get in touch with local customs and traditional recipes, but it sadly goes hand in hand with fascist attitudes; arrogance about the local way of doing things, racism, xenophobia, sexism... and don't get me started on the bizarre gender politics. This does also reflect in a very 'stuck' cuisine, with irritating, unsophisticated chefs assuming a celebrity persona because they manage to present their dated dishes with a couple of inappropriate chives crossed over the top.

• London-residing friends who I'll be able to see regularly again.

• Decent music scene.

One of my first commissions after arriving in London was to write about British food heritage for an Indian lifestyle magazine. I needed to take photos of scones, clotted cream and pork pies among other things, so I went a mere 15 minutes up the road to the fantabulous Borough Market at London Bridge. I found plenty for my photos and article, as well as plenty more for myself. There was even a demonstration of how to make pork pies.

I tried essex oysters, buffalo mozzarella 'ice cream' cones doused in pesto, black pepper cheese, village taboulé and goats' milk ice cream. Bring it on!






Mmmm clotted creeaaam :P

Big Easy Lobster & Steak

I'd been wanting to eat at this American diner in London for ages, so when a girls' night out needed somewhere to eat, I made suggestions. It was the combination of lobster, steak and cocktails that did it for me.

Having looked on the website, and chosen our dishes, two of us phoned separately to check on what deals they had on, because the ones mentioned were out of date. We were both assured that the deal would be running on the Friday night we planned to go.

When we got there, we were told noway! Not on a Friday! We explained our case to the manager, and thankfully got the deals we expected.

Anyway, the food was very tasty, the steak tender and the cocktails excellent. We all had a thoroughly enjoyable meal. But we all agreed that it wouldn't have been worth it and we'd have felt ripped off had we paid the full Friday night price, which would have cost about £40 extra EACH!

Brazilian Food Journey in London ...that I missed

I've been feeling sad (actually quite distraught) that I'm missing the carnival in Rio and Salvador, but was looking forward to the little ray of sunshine that was the MediaPlace 'Brazilian Food Journey' event at Favela Chic, in London. Embratur, the Brazilian tourist board, were sponsoring the event. So, I eagerly bought my train ticket and planned my journey so that I could get there right from the beginning. Unfortunately, someone jumped in front of a train, so a series of delays, lost conductors and cancellations ensued over the next few hours. When I finally arrived at Favela Chic, the event was over and all the food and drink was gone!! :'( All that was left was the remnants of this table of fruit, which looks like it had been a fabulous replica of a Bahian cocktail stand.

I tried my best to have a Brazilian night anyway, and enjoyed the live Brazilian band, authentic Brazileiro atmosphere, and one or two or three caiparinhas. I was still gutted, though!


Meanwhile, I am currently uploading the story of my own real-life Brazilian food journey to this blog, below. I was away for 3 months, and have so far completed the 1st week of blogs, so keep checking back - more is being added every day.

Cold, Curry & Caribbean - 4th September 2007 & Beyond

Crap airplane food throughout the night, and a 5a.m. landing were not ideal preparation for the sunny but absolutely bloody freezing weather at Gatwick.

Driving to my parents’ house in Sussex, everything was just so tidy and sterile. The culture shock was more so than it would have been in my adopted country of France, and, driving down the green lanes and smoothly tarmacked roads of Sussex, there were NO PEOPLE ANYWHERE. No-one walking, selling, carrying things on their heads, pushing cars, laughing, waving, shaking hands, cooking, or hanging out. Just shiny new cars driving to jobs, in order to support the huge, tidy, empty houses - no actual life. And no-one shaking my hand, asking my name, or enquiring “how di body?”

After a couple of days at my parents’ and the obligatory mouth-watering curry we have every time I visit (poppadums, peshwari naan, Bombay duck, and various wonderful freshly cooked curries, from the Magna Tandoori in Arundel), I began to adjust.

An evening out in London with a meal at a Caribbean restaurant helped, too. I drank Guinness punch (mega rich drink containing Guinness, spices, cocoa, condensed milk and sometimes egg), with roti (the fajita principle, with chicken curry inside a heavy pancake. The roti dough is usually made with flour, baking soda, oil, corn meal and seasoning). My companion had ox tail stew (rich, dark and flavoursome) with rice and red peas (kidney beans) - all delicious but very filling, and massive portions.

Then it was back to my life in France

Two days later, I got a text from a French friend who knows Freetown – he asked “miss gemma! how di body?” ☺



One last word; don't go to Sierra Leone without a guide, or at least experience of travelling in Africa. The country is officially 'encouraging' tourists (so why are visas so hard to obtain?), but there is nothing to help anyone find their way around or understand the place. Like no signs in the airport and no roadsigns in Freetown.