Win a pair of tickets to Foodies Festival Christmas 2014 – Old Truman Brewery, London – CLOSED

1-Competition (Copy)

With only a couple of months to go until Christmas day arrives, it’s time to start working through that Christmas list, and there’s no better way to start than surrounded by food, friends and fun at Foodies Festival Christmas.

Join ‘Foodies’ at The Old Truman Brewery, 28-30th November, for this festive three-day celebration featuring London’s best street food, produce and culinary masters. Here’s what to expect when the UK’s biggest food and drink festival puts on its Christmas jumper:

Michelin star and top chefs cooking live

-Drink masterclasses with champagne, cocktails and craft beer

Street food and feasting tents

-Artisan markets, pudding halls and wine and cheese villages

-Hands on cake and bake masterclasses

-Ski bars, pop-up breweries and vintage Soda Bar

-Ceilidh dancing, Christmas quizzes and live entertainment

BxP4dXXIMAAUOv8

Foodies Festival  have offered me to giveaway a pair of complimentary tickets to share with all foodie fans. 

To win simply leave a comment on the blog post telling me what is that you are looking forward to most at the Foodies Festival 2014 AND tweet out the following:

#Win a pair of tickets to @foodiesfestival at @trumanbrewery ,28-30 Nov, enter at bit.ly/1xLKx6p #giveaway

For more info visit Foodies Festival here

Terms and Conditions:

  • Deadline for entering this contest is 10th November ‘2014 midnight GMT.
  • Entry is open only to residents of the U.K and all entrants must be 18’s old and above.
  • One lucky winner will get one pair of complimentary tickets.Children under 12 go free.
  • Tickets are non transferable. One pair of tickets per winner only.
  • Complimentary tickets are valid or one day’s use on the day of the winner’s choice.
  • No cash alternative available.
  • Complimentary tickets obtained through this offer may not be duplicated.
  • All tickets will be scanned on entry to the show.
  • Winner will be picked out via Random Number Generator.
  • Winner will receive tickets directly , I accept no responsibility for any disputes arising out of any anomalies.

CONGRATULATIONS to Veronica Still @ronstil – You have won a pair of tickets to Foodies Festival Christmas 2014 at Old Truman Brewery, London, drop me an email at fruitsnveg@yahoo.com

The Spice Traveller explores Great Britain’s culture and cuisine

Crab Kasoori Methi  – sounds intriguing right?  If that piqued your interest then there’s lots more in store in the creative repertoire of Celebrity Indian chef Saransh Goila who’s food and travel show aptly titled The Spice traveller debuted on his YouTube channel last week. For the uninitiated Saransh Goila won the hearts of millions of fans when he won the  Food Food Maha Challenge which was hosted by Sanjeev Kapoor ( a chef he has watched on T.V in his formative years & greatly admires! ) and Madhuri Dixit ( Bollywood super start, mommy to 2 and possibly the most graceful dancer Hindi films have had in the ’90s!). He then went to host the TV show Roti Rasta aur India on Food Food channel where he travelled 20,000 km of India by road in 100 days  – exploring local flavours and cooking feats for a lucky few along the way.

IMG_6454 (Copy)

First, of its kind, India’s youngest celebrity Chef Saransh Goila’s digital food travelogue show is a 20 part series where the celebrity chef travels across England and Scotland exploring beautiful travels destinations, local food and culture. He attempts to change perceptions about how people travel across England and Scotland and what they normally expect to eat while they discover new destinations. Goila’s  1000 km journey takes him to exotic locations around Cotswolds, Yorkshire, Edinburgh and Fife where he cooks up finger-licking fusion cuisine.

kellie castle fife (Copy)

Chef Saransh at Kellie Castle –  Fife

yorshire cheese (Copy)

Chef Saransh making cheese in Yorkshire

Saransh also managed to throw in exciting experiences including cider making , also pretending to be ‘Alice in Wonderland’ for a day at what he described as the best cream tea party ever, took over the reins of a Michelin starred kitchen, spent a day at a trout farm in Yorkshire and fell hook,line and sinker in love with fishing – while learning all there is to about fly-fishing and Rainbow trout!

IMG_6092 (Copy)

 Chef enjoyed some amazing cream tea and warm scones with clotted cream and jam polished off with fresh British strawberries!

And while he was cooking, travelling and making exciting cocktails at the Virgin Atlantic bar in the air at 35,000 ft, he also managed to get a designer kilt made and ermmm pose  🙂

kilt (Copy)

Chef Saransh in a pensive mood, maybe his day out in Scotland left him enamoured with the Scottish Highlands!

So throw away all those musty old travel guides and hop onto an exciting culinary journey through English and Scottish countryside with Chef Saransh!

And what better place to start that journey than in the city I have fallen madly in love with – London city! Watch the second episode of The Spice Traveller as he explores multicultural London  – learns to make Britain’s favourite Fish-n-Chips with Chef Micheal Brown at Fishworks, discovers a restaurant that serves 100% vegetarian food in the heart fo Central London, cooks up England’s favourite curry  – Chicken Tikka Masala in the kitchen at Cinnamon in Soho, explores the sights and sounds of Covent Garden and wanders the beautiful street markets of London city!

IMG_6052 (Copy)

Chef Goila’s 1000 km has only just begun and you have lots more episodes to look forward to and exciting contests to participate in too!

So fasten your seat belts, as VisitBritain  – @VisitBritain and Virgin Atlantic Airways – @VirginAtlantic in partnership with One Digital Entertainment and Zenga TV.com – @ZengaTVMedia take you on a fabulous journey – no passport or air ticket required for this one folks!

mood pic (Copy)

Hungry for more? Watch this space for an exclusive interview with the charming Chef – COMING SOON!

Disclaimer: With Thanks to Chef Saransh Gola for sharing his fabulous culinary adventures with me and my readers.

All images are courtesy Chef Saransh – Please do not reproduce without seeking prior written permission, feel free to share with due credit.

Le Restaurant de Paul – Boulangerie transitions into a restaurant

Originating in France in PAUL bakery  continues to be be a family owned company  five generations on. Today they are present in more than 25 countries  in London, Washington, Dubai, Tokyo  ,Singapore and Moscow. They have been the go to bakery for authentic French bread, cakes and pastries for Londoners with  30 other branches located across the length and breadth of the city.

Their first bakery in London at  Covent Garden has recently become a  full fledged  restaurant . We were invited there for a relaxed dinner on Sunday evening .Located in the heart of theatreland , its walking distance from Covent Garden tube station but I prefer walking from Waterloo station . Walking beats taking the crowded tubes and my reward is a beautiful walk by the river with stunning views of the London eye on one side and St.Pauls cathedral on the other.

The famous black shop front with the name in stately lettering made famous by Francis Holder in 1993, is difficult to miss amidst the evening crowds, theatre goers and many shops.The aroma of freshly ground coffee beans is a welcome olfactory assault that is complimented by the the beautiful display of meringues, cakes ,pastries and fresh bread .

1-IMG_9007 (Copy)
4-IMG_9010 (Copy)

The restaurant was packed when we arrived  and the front of the restaurant which functions as a delicatessen  had people queuing up for French bread , coffee and cake at the counters up front when we reached , so we busied ourselves taking pictures of the beautiful baked goodies .

5-IMG_9013 (Copy)
6-IMG_9014 (Copy)

Our waitress for the evening was a smart young lady who showed us to our table a beautiful semi circular sofa against a wall and comfortable chairs on the side. The beautiful décor which is comprised of hand picked antiques is pleasantly distracting and a lot of photos later we finally settled down.

3-IMG_9018 (Copy)

Our two sharing ,one a charcuterie and one a vegetarian platter arrived with a large tray full of colourful glass jars stuffed with bright ,preserved vegetables – which were used as a base to rest the sharing platters wooden boards on – now that is going to be an idea all of us will end up using for our food photography !

7-IMG_9031 (Copy)

The charcuterie is a selection of saucisson, jambon cru, coppa, rosette,terrine,smoked duck breast, pickled baby onions ,cornichons,butter and assorted breads.

3-IMG_9027 (Copy)

The veggie platter was such a beauty – so colourful and fresh – selection of grilled and marinated vegetables,tapenade,aioli,hummus,sauce vierge and PAUL cheese gougere.

Heidi enjoyed her oven baked Camembert and  toasted Campagne bread.

2-IMG_9026 (Copy)

If anything these starters had made us hungry for more and our mains were so good that when they arrived all conversation came to a standstill ….

My main of Loup de Mer – Pan roasted fillet of sea bass, braised fennel with sauce vierge was flavourful and the sauce was faulous , my sea food loving self was very , very happy!

08-IMG_9041 (Copy)

I also had a delicious side of Gratin Dauphinios – Traditional French potato gratin   (£2.95)

9-IMG_9033 (Copy)

We shared a bottle of red which went well with the mains – a French Pinard Classique  2013 – best described as a lively bouquet of plum, bluberry and hints of blackcurrant on the nose, the palate is beautifully rounded, soft and juicy.

4-IMG_9020 (Copy)

Our group of food bloggers had these fabulous French delights :

Clockwise Top left to right – Demi Poulet au Grain Rôti à l’Estragon – Roasted free range corn fed half chicken marinated in tarragon ,lemon & garlic ,green salad (£12.50) ,

Saucisses de Toulouse – Traditional course cut Toulouse sausages served with crushed buttery potato mash & Bordelaise sauce (£10.50)

Poivron Fraci  (£7.50)  and

Confit de Canard aux Olives – Slow-cooked duck leg, crushed buttery potato mash, black olive & red wine sauce (£10.50)

Pauls restaurant sept 2014

I am glad I could squeeze in some dessert as well after all that food – I really needed some coffee so mini macaroons paired with a latte it was.

Am positive that I shall be returning to dine at Le restaurant de Paul and would highly recommend that you check it out for yourself – a taste of authentic French food in the heart of  London – with a sensibly priced menu too – Why not ?!

While you are here why not have browse through the blogs of my blogger friends too?

Giveaway Mornflake Breakfast Hamper – CLOSED

GOOD MORNING!

What better way to kick start your day than with a bowl of Oaty goodness ? well ….oat smothered with fruits perhaps! 🙂

Who better to know about the goodness of oats than Mornflake who have been milling oats in the South Cheshire countryside since 1675, making us the longest established miller of oats and cereal in the UK! 15 generations later they have managed to keep the family business within the family started by original miller, William Lea. Year on year have won accolades for the quality, purity and consistency of their oats year after year from International Grand Medaille D’Or, an international quality award. Environmentally conscious, they use local British oats wherever possible, have reused and recycled packaging, and use only certified sustainable palm oil.

our-story_Home Banner

To add to that they have a wide variety of products to choose from – from rolled oats to oat bran cereals ,muesli ,granola ,oat meal and the life saver superfast cereal pots for busy morning when you have to catch the rush  hour and not miss breakfast too!

No matter how you like your oats , plain , warm , cold with or without fruit, in pancakes or in cereal bars there is a great range of products to choose from.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and to all oat lovers ,the folks at Mornflake have a fabulous giveaway for one lucky reader of sliceoffme ! It’s really easy to win ! So why not take part and stock up on pats , perfect time too with the weather all set to turn cold!

541844_628047150569765_1080806019_n

You could win this fabulous giveaway,courtesy of Mornflake where ONE lucky winner can win all these lovely goodies :
1.Mornflake Organic Oats
2.Mornflake Scottish Jumbo Oats
3.Mornflake Superfast Oats
4.Mornflake super fast cereal pots – 4 packs in different flavours
5.Mornflake Oatbran CEREALS – any 2
6.Mornflake Oatbran Nuts & Seeds Granola
7.Mornflake Hessian bag
Mornflake-Hamper_thumb
How To enter the giveaway :

Please have a read through the T&C’s – will take just a teeny weeny minute !

Terms and Conditions:

  • Deadline for entering this contest is 8th November ‘2014 midnight GMT.
  • Entry is open only to residents of the U.K
  • One lucky winner will be chosen using random number generator.
  • The giveaway prize is as mentioned in the post and will be sent directly as a free delivery to the winner by Mornflake and sliceoffme accepts no responsibility for any disputes.
  • By sharing your email id in the comment you allow Mornflake and me to contact you to notify you in case you win
  • The prize is as stated: no cash alternatives are available.
  • You get one entry by way of commenting on this blog post AND following me on Instagram
  •  OR one entry by following @manjirichitnis on twitter AND following me on Instagram,
  •  OR one entry by liking sliceoffme  on Facebook ( do not forget to mention your facebook name in the comment here , comment once only) AND following me on Instagram .
  • All entries via any of the above modes is valid and you can enter by any one way .
  • All blog comments must mention your email id clearly and without a spelling error so the winner can be contacted.
  • The winner will be notified within 7 days of the closing date via the email id provided an announced on this blog post and on twitter .
  • If winner fails to respond within 7 days then another winner will be chosen.

WE HAVE A WINNER FOLKS !!! And the winner is ….hold your breath…. any guesses ?!:) Ok no more suspense !

It is  TWITTER : @smeethsaysfashion  – I have sent you a TWEET ! Please email me at fruitsnveg@yahoo.com asap. Thanks for participating everyone!

*With thanks to Mornflake for sending samples. No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own. All images courtesy Mornflake.

Radha Krishna Bhavan – Tooting , a review

On a dreary Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago after my weekly Indian shop form Dadu’s at Tooting, not feeling particularly in the mood to cook , we walked into Radha Krishna Bhavan for an early lunch . The place was open and barring one table we could pick and choose where to sit , unusual for a Saturday afternoon , little did I know that minutes later the place would be buzzing with activity.

 

1-2014-08-16 12.54.53 (Copy)

 

This is a sea food lovers heaven with authentic ,well balanced south Indian cuisine. We ordered a starter of spicy Vadas – flat, fried lentil dough spiced with green chillies and onion , this was crunchy and delicious and just the thing needed on a boring Saturday afternoon when the weather was playing traunt ! (£2.95)

 

2-2014-08-16 12.56.48 (Copy)

 

6-2014-08-16 13.09.31 (Copy)

 

The first thing I noticed was the many sticker on the glass outside with various ratings from the Good Food Guide, Square Meal etc  and a bright yellow mini menu saying ”3 courses for just £5.95′ ! Super ! That definitely drew us in.

 

1-2014-08-16 13.21.16 (Copy)

 

But we decided to go a la Carte and ordered for some Kerala Fried Rice (£4.50)and Kerala Fish curry (£7.50) .The fish curry was yum but the portion size was a bit small to share , same with the rice and we found the rice had more than a generous use of oil but it was delicious all the same.

 

2-2014-08-16 13.21.41 (Copy)

 

Hungry for more we decided to experiment with some Vellappam – a pancake made of fermented rice with ground coconut and coconut milk with a  lacy egg like appearance . These were light yet  filling and 2 panckakes per dish came with the curry at a combined price (£7.95 ) .The pancakes were mopped up with the accompanying  curry –  a spicy King Fish Malabar.

 

3-2014-08-16 13.50.44 (Copy)

 

With no room left for dessert after this we decided to skip and just get ice lollies on our way home 😉

 

5-2014-08-16 13.07.56 (Copy)

 

I’d definitely recommend you visit Radha Krishna Bhavan if you are looking for delicious and authentic  flavours of South India at budget rates in a clean , welcoming atmosphere with quick service head (opposite Sainsburys on Tooting High Street)

 

3-2014-08-16 12.57.11 (Copy)

 

*This review was written by me of my own accord . I bore the expense of this meal. All views  expressed as always are my own and no monetary compensation of any sort by provided to me by either the restaurant or any other third party.All opinions expressed are valid for this particular visit .