For years we’ve popping up our bread half way through the toast cycle to check its just the way we like it, peering over the top to make sure the edges haven’t burnt, narrowly missing singeing our eyebrows off.
Obtaining that perfect piece of toast hasn’t been an as easy task especially when we all have such high standards. Just read the requirements from some of my work colleagues and you’ll know what i’m talking about…..
“Caught just before it starts to darken, white and pale caramel coloured”
“crispy golden on the outside, fluffy inside with burned bits round the edge”
“I am very particular about my toast. I prefer hand cut bread, evenly done with a nice golden brown colour. It mustn’t be too overdone and if it’s too lightly done it’s too soft”
“Golden brown evenly toasted all over . To ensure its evenly brown I frequently peer into the toaster to check how its coming along”
If only we could see whats going on inside I hear you cry!!
Last night I attended a networking evening held by the lovely people at LS:N Global
For those of you that don’t know who they are – LS:N is an online consumer news and insights network set up by The Future Laboratory. In its simplest form the guys at LS:N provide news of whats going on around the globe in fashion, interiors, architecture, design you name it they are on to it and last night they held a fascinating evening at The Connaught Hotel in London.
The topic of the evening was luxury and the way the evening was set up was a bit like speed dating. 6 tables, 6 speakers, 6 minutes all we had to do was sit and listen.
Its been a while since my last post and for that I am sorry – Ive never been one for new years resolutions really, but one for 2010 is to blog more, even if its not big posts and just photos – i’m going to be more active!
2010 is a big year for me, I’m getting married in June this year and with that comes lots of fun and excitement and also lots of thinking and reflecting – a new chapter in my life, how did the last one go, what will the next one hold?
At the moment my fiancee and I are in the process of putting together a playlist for our band. We are thinking of the mood of the night, the songs that mean something to us and how we want to feel / our guests to feel throughout the evening.
Its got me thinking again about the power of song. You can travel between a really uptempo energetic number to a more romantic, subtle tune and create a real clash of emotions – it just happened to me as I sit at my computer.
Listening to Marvin Gaye, Aint no mountain high enough I was feeling really cheery and then Des’ree, kissing you came on and it was like being dragged through a sea of emotion in a split second….. Now I don’t really want that to happen on the big day, ill be a blubbering wreck – not such an attractive look!
At the moment, our biggest challenge is deciding on what our last song is going to be. We want to leave people on a high….. Ive got a few ideas, but if any of you can think of a good suggestion, let me know.
I have just returned from a week of bluesky adventures in Marrakech and the first thing that comes to mind is WOW what an incredible city. I was given fair warning from lots of my friends of how crazy & beautiuful it is, but nothing quite prepared me for just how intense it would be. The sights the sounds, the smells the colours, at times it could be quite overwhelming.
We chose to stay in a gorgeous Riad, owned by a British couple which was absolutely stunning. The attention to detail throughout was magnificent, it was so calming and luxurious and a real contrast to the rest of the city, the perfect place to spend our week.
The Fun Theory is an initiative created by Volkswagen to explore whether, if adding ‘fun’ to something will change peoples behaviour.
Take a look at the arcade game style bottle bank and the piano playing stairs – they are such a great way to engage with consumers, to get them involved.
On Saturday Phil and I visited The Fat Duck for lunch…….
Now, I’ve seen a few of Heston Blumenthals programmes before and have read quite a lot about his philosophy on gastronomy, but nothing prepared me for the AMAZING experience we had on Saturday.
First of all I have to say, we are both quite fussy eaters and were a bit worried that we wouldn’t be able to eat anything on the tasting menu. However our minds were put to rest by the efficient reservations team, who assured us our dietry requirements had been noted and taken care of, and to our delight they had been. (Everything we couldn’t eat was just replaced with something we could)
From the moment we arrived at the Michelin starred restaurant I couldn’t help but notice the attention to detail. This brand has been carefully considered from conception through to implementation and it is beautiful. From the crockery through to the bespoke liquid soap in the toilets every touch point of The Fat Duck brand works.
With no music playing in the background we were able to really savour the experience. Not everything was to my taste, but to be honest I was so blown away by the presentation, the combination of flavours, the skills involved in putting these ‘works of art’ together; that sometimes I loved the dish even if I didn’t like the taste.
The Fat Duck takes the experience of eating out to a whole new level Heston Blumenthal is a gastronomical genius. We went on a sensory journey that can only be seen, heard, smelt, touched, tasted – to believe. From Mock Turtle Soup through to hot & iced cold tea, which is really hot AND cold in your mouth at the same time; I have not stopped raving about the experience to anyone that will listen.
Most people have been quite envious of the time I spent at the Jane Packer School and for those who have seen my creations in ‘real life’, they have also been quite impressed with my new found skills. As I was making my way home on the tube on my last day I even heard two people remark upon my creations saying how beautiful they were, now that was a great feeling!
I have however had comments like this…
‘you did a flower arranging course? well its alright for some, while we are hard at work, you get to play with flowers….’
And to those people I say, yes I did get to play with flowers for three days and it was fabulous, but there is much more to creating a beautiful floral display than meets the eye. Delve a little deeper and you will see the skill, technique and artistic eye that is needed to becoming a success in the world of floral couture. Its not just about plonking a bunch of roses in a vase and be done with it, understanding the balance of flowers with foliage is important as are colours and textures.
In the short time that I spent at Jane Packer I just about got to grips with the basic techniques involved in floristry. I almost mastered a hand tied bouquet, (once I got over cramp in my left hand) and started to understand in a little more detail about how colour can affect our moods / emotions, something i’m really interested in.
As Jane Packer says, “Flowers, with their fragrance and colour, lift every setting and somehow seem to enhance the quality of our everyday life. A simple, unconstrained display of blooms can evoke a sense of calm, create a mood of luxury and bring us back closer to nature”
This is one of the biggest things that I learnt. Oh and also how if you put a sterilising tablet in with your cut flowers it will prolong the life of the flowers – amazing!
The past three days have gone so quickly. It really has been a bit of a whirlwind; of colours, textures, techniques and skills and I have loved every minute of it.
For now I’m just going to put some pictures up of the arrangements we created yesterday.
