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Exploring SOHO on a gastronomic adventure with Scratch London

June 5, 2015 by manjirichitnis 13 Comments

SOHO – London’s famously infamous district where sex shops sit comfortably nestled between artisan bakeries, will always hold a sense of intrigue to everyone who visits. No matter how many times you go to SOHO each time the place will reveal a new facet of it’s colourful personality. I truly believe that there is no better way to discover any place than on foot. And a walking tour that involves eating at 10 very different foodie joints is what you will experience on a SOHO walking tour with Michelle of Scratch London tours.

SOHO Square
SOHO Square

A chef and ex-restauranter who has worked in some establishments in SOHO it is fair to say that as regards the food scene in SOHO Michelle is an insider. She also hosts Marylebone’s Scratch SupperClub.

On a bright and crisp Saturday morning a few weeks back Michelle met a small group of people including me at SOHO square from where the tour normally starts. After a background into the history of the surrounding area Michelle indulged us with a quick little treat of mini croissants with fruity and chocolaty fillings. Procured from a local artisan bakery. It is fascinating to hear how an area once populated by aristocracy is now home to swanky bars, sex shops and Michelin starred restaurants. Immigrants from various European countries who migrated here like the Huegenots had a profund impact in the development of the area in the pre WWI era.

SOHO, London
SOHO, London

First stop was Princi – an Italian casual dining restaurant – brainchild of entrepreneur Alan You – who founded Wagamama , Hakkasan and Yauatacha.

Princi SOHO

Looking at the large amount of variety on counters behind glass panes got us all salivating and craving to dig our teeth into some food.

With our appetite whetted we walked through the by-lanes of SOHO sampling various types of world cuisines taking in the sights, sounds and more nuggets about the history of SOHO from Michelle. Michelle has lived in London long enough to give you a real insight into this dynamic neighborhood. While we spotted Grade II listed buildings, mock-Tudor style architecture and half timbered buildings oozing old world charm we also took in the unmissable sign boards for massage parlours and posters advertising ‘models’ .

SOHO, London
SOHO, London

Of all the different tastes that we experienced the most indulgent was fresh Oysters. Randall & Aubin – a quaint French restaurant complete with Victorian fittings and a humongous millor ball is a SOHO institution. As a special birthday treat for one of the guests on the tour that day Michelle had managed to get us some Champagne too.

Oysters at Randall & Aubin, SOHO, London
Oysters at Randall & Aubin, SOHO, London

Next we moved onto another fabulous seafood grill and oyster bar where we were introduced to ordering food using an ipad and very tuna ceviche. My past experience of indulging in ceviche at Uni in Victoria has made me a great fan and I genuinely adore the taste of Tuna which in my humble opinion tastes great raw as a ceviche and medium rare in a steak.

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When we set out on the tour little had I expected that in half a day we would be taking our taste buds on a world tour while discovering some hidden gems in an area buzzing with energy.

Walking Tour with Scratch London in SOHO
Walking Tour with Scratch London in SOHO

Of course all gastronomic adventures should end on a sweet note and Michelle does not disappoint. Not only did we sample hand crafted artisan chocolates from London’s leading chocolatier we also got a cool discount on our purchases. I managed to find some black truffle chocolates from Mast Brothers which had made their long journey from NY just a few hours ago.

Walking Tour with Scratch London in SOHO
Walking Tour with Scratch London in SOHO

As the danger of the modern property market and campaigns to ‘clean up’ SOHO are rapidly changing the look and feel of neighbourhood from grunge, quirky and a hub of adult entertainment, it is important to experience SOHO and all its varied foodie offerings in it’s original and natural setting. To do so with a knowledgeable guide like Michelle as part of a small group where you do not loose yourself and can actually make sensible conversation is a great pleasure.

Randall & Aubin, SOHO, London
Randall & Aubin, SOHO, London

For £61.50 per head, a Scratch London tour will include all ten food and drink destinations on the route.

*With thanks to Michelle for inviting me on a gastronomic adventure through SOHO. No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Miscellaneous Tagged With: an Italian casual dining restaurant, food tour scratch London, Hakkasan, Princi, Randall & Aubin, Wagamama, Walking tour, Yauatacha

Salon du Chocolat’s first Chocolate Fashion Show in London

October 27, 2013 by manjirichitnis Leave a Comment

For any one with a sweet tooth going to a fashion show and watching models walk around in clothes made with chocolate is a pure test of resilience, thankfully I sampled almost all of the varied offering by master chocolatiers after to not feel deprived 😉

During National Chocolate Week – Salon du Chocolat‘s world famous fashion show came to London for the first time.On Friday the 18th of  October Chocolate Couture was its best with various world-renowned chocolatiers teaming up with designers and artists to  present their creations live on the catwalk at the VIP Gala Evening.The venue was National Hall, Olympia ,at Kensington in London and before we (Nisha of My Kitchen Antics and Suchi of Kitchen Karma) went there we had quite enjoyed dressing up and doing our own hair and make up , after all ”girls just wanna have fun”, huh?

The weekend saw many events unfold like demonstrations, talks, interactive workshops from acclaimed chocolatiers and chefs including master patissier Eric Lanlard in action, Great British Bake Off winner John Whaite and leading pastry chefs from Hakkasan and Le Manoir aux quat’saisons.

Lindt’s strapless chocolate dress weighed a whooping 50 kg and was made with chocolate and chilli.Called the “Eternal Diamond” it was designed by Graduate Fashion Week 2013 winner Lauren Smith:

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My favourite though was this elegant and beautiful creation by Mark Tilling of Squires Kitchen.

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Artisan du Chocolat’s ‘Alaya’ dress made by Sabina Motasem with white, caramel and dark chocolate, embellished with chocolate pearls and sugar diamonds and accessorised with a Kelly Spence tulle veil trimmed with intricate chocolate lace.

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Fruitful Blooms who specialise in bespoke artistic chocolate creations created a chocolate bikini with matching cover up with British designer swimwear brand, Bikini Fling.

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French patissier and chocolatier Les Sucreries de Mélodie’s sweet creation was adorned with cupcakes, macarons and edible brooches.

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The chocolate bath had tell tale signs that some one had taken a dip in it and as I found out later ,sure enough earlier on in the evening a model had done exactly that!

Hotel Chocolat’s life size chocolate cocoa tree:

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Some of the best chocolate companies from the UK and abroad such as Artisan du Chocolat, Paul a Young, Rococo, Hotel Chocolat, Paul Wayne Gregory, Marc Demarquette, Divine, Prestat, Lindt, Valrhona, Pralus and Bonnat offered tastings to lucky visitors.

Iain Burnett – The Highland chocolatiers intricately decorated designs made for a very pretty mixed box, apt for a very special gift idea indeed!

 

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ChocoMe’s brilliant combinations and ever so tempting display of goodies had me drooling.

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Comptoir du Cacao’s delicious offering are very tastefully  packaged in very artistic packs, I love the brunette in a red scarf cycling past the Eiffel Tower and oh yes I tried ALL the yummy flavours 🙂

Chocolate Week fashion show resized images

 

Am so glad I was sent a free entry ticket for the Chocolate Week and choose to go see the spectacular Fashion Show, was so much fun!

For spectacular photos of the fashion show, visit The Salts article here and The Metro’s beautiful photo gallery here 

Filed Under: Events, Food Tagged With: Artisan du Chocolat, Artisan du Chocolat's ‘Alaya’ dress, artistic, bespoke, Bikini Fling, blogger event, British, caramel, chocolate bath, chocolate bikini, chocolate creations, Chocolate Fountain, chocolate pearls, chocolatier Les Sucreries de Mélodie, ChocoMe, cococa tree sculpture, Comptoir du Cacao, cupcakes, dark chocolate, designer swimwear brand, Divine, edible brooches, Eiffel Tower, embellished, Eric Lanlard, Eternal Diamond, food event, French patissier, Fruitful Blooms, Graduate Fashion Week 2013 winner Lauren Smith, Great British Bake Off winner John Whaite, Hakkasan, Hazelnut paste in a tube, Hotel Chocolat, Iain Burnett, intricate chocolate lace, Kelly Spence tulle veil, Kensington, Le Manoir aux quat’saisons., leading pastry chefs, Lindt, london, macarons, Marc Demarquette, Mark Tilling, National Chocolate Week, National Hall, Olympia, Paris, Paul a Young, Paul Wayne Gregory, Pralus and Bonnat, Prestat, Rococo, Sabina Motasem, Salon du Chocolat, Squires Kitchen, sugar diamonds, sweet creation, The Highland chocolatier, Valrhona, white

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