Smoked mackerel and sorrel omelette

I’m supposed to be having a productive Saturday. I got excited about all the produce on Bloomsbury Farmers’ Market on Thursday, bought as many vegetables as I could carry and made a date with my sofa last night so I could spend all day cooking them today.

Nothing has gone to plan. I stood up my sofa in favour of pints at Lock Tavern, got up at midday and all I have managed to cook so far is this omelette, which uses just one of the many ingredients I bought at the farmers’ market and takes about 10 minutes.

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Almanak

When I heard the Danes were famous for open sandwiches I was nonplussed. Open or not, how exciting can a sandwich really be? Very, it turns out. Just take a look at these bad boys:

My sister, Charlie, definitely chose the right venue for me to try my first smorrebrod. Almanak is part of Claus Meyer’s growing empire. Among many other ventures, Meyer is co-owner of Noma, number one restaurant in the world.

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Amassive lunch

An understatement. This was the very longest of languorous lunches in the history of the world. Or at least in the history of my world and that is not insignificant; in my 30 years on this earth I've had my fair share of long and languorous lunches. My sister and I arrived at Amass restaurant at 12 o’clock and left at 5.30pm. Five and a half hours of lunching is a new record for me.

The 2013 opening of Amass restaurant in Copenhagen was much anticipated, making headlines around the world.  Head chef and owner, Matt Orlando, has worked with the likes of Heston Blumenthal, Raymond Blanc, Thomas Keller and Rene Redzepi. He was sous chef and, most recently, chef de cuisine at Noma, number one on the world’s best restaurant list.

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The height of good taste

One word: surreal.

This time yesterday I was suspended from a crane quaffing white wine waiting for a Michelin-starred three-course meal cooked by this guy:

In the sky.

Yes, really. 

Daniel Hutchens (Speyside Glenlivet), Jacquie Bance de Vasquez and Leigh Farmer
(Sustainable Restaurant Association)

I was invited to attend London in the Sky by the good people at Speyside Glenlivet. They were also responsible for keeping me sober - important at this dizzying height. (I am a klutz and a dropped knife, fork or glass is a regular occurrence when I dine with wine; much more dramatic at 100 feet!)

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Deb and Wally’s Ginger Spice Cake

This is one of my favourite cake recipes. I like it because it looks so modest; the kind of cake that not even the greediest child would bother picking up at a tea party. More fool them.

I got the original recipe from Kylie Kwong’s cookbook, It Taste’s Better.  I love the addition of white pepper, which I had never seen before in a cake – it gives it a real kick.

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