Page 124 – A Little Bird

9th December 201528th October 2021

Regis Negrier of The Delaunay Restaurant on Christmas cookies

I’ve always wanted to be a pastry chef mainly because my father was a baker. As a child I used to lick the spoons and mixing bowls once he had finished baking his sweet delicacies!

I did my apprenticeship aged 16 in Auxerre, France, which was a challenging experience as I was getting up 4am and working 6 days a week for 12-16 hours a day. I lodged above the pastry shop with my fellow apprentice – in winter the temperature often dropped below 7°C as the heating was so poor. It all seems rather Dickensian now but being in charge of the pastry kitchen at such a young age enabled me to learn skills that I still use today.

If our boss, or “patron” as we used to call him, wasn’t happy with the way we had cleaned the floor at the end of the day, he would wait until we had changed to leave, then empty a bucket of water all over the floor and make us clean it again. We used to have “casse croute” at 8am each day, which was a morning break consisting of baguettes, pâté, saucisson and red wine, which left my colleagues a little tipsy to say the least.

Chris Corbin and Jeremy King have had an enormous influence on my career. From the overall management of their restaurants to how they visualise the journey of a cake or dessert from conception to the plate to the customer, everything is done with absolute care and attention to detail, even though they are not pastry chefs themselves.

A typical day means I need to rise at 3am and catch the 4am night bus to central London in order to ensure everything is ready when The Delaunay Counter opens at 7am. After that we continue with the preparations for lunch and dinner service at The Delaunay. The afternoon is usually filled with paperwork – mainly ordering goods for the following day, catch up sessions with staff, answering e-mails and various meetings. I rarely get home before 5pm.

Christmas is looming, which is always a fun time in the pastry kitchen as we become very creative. This year we’ll be selling gingerbread houses, white chocolate snowmen, festive biscuits (the recipe for our cinnamon stars is below) and truffles and a train made of gingerbread that runs around on a track, complete with icing sugar for snow!

Occasionally we receive requests for one-off celebration cakes, which are always difficult to master as the clients tend to have very distinct ideas about what they want. When I was working in Asia, a lady asked me to make her a Leaning Tower of Pisa wedding cake. I didn’t anticipate the weight of the different layers and the effect of the humid weather – the cake collapsed before the ceremony had even started!

People often ask me if I have any baking tips. I would say it’s crucial to read the recipe from top to bottom once, twice, even three times before you start, even with my recipe for cinnamon stars below! It’s amazing how many things we misinterpret.

It’s a job that definitely keeps me on my toes. It’s hard work but rewarding and I love it!

Cinnamon stars (Zimtsterne)

Makes about 30 stars

For the dough: 100g icing sugar, 60g of orange peel, 120g marzipan, 150g ground almond, 4g cinnamon powder, 4g vanilla essence, 20g egg whites

For the Royal icing: 150g sugar, 15g egg whites, 10g freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method 

To make the dough, use a food processor to blend together the icing sugar, orange peel, marzipan, ground almond, cinnamon powder, vanilla essence and egg whites. Be careful not to over-blend, the orange peels must still be visible in the mixture. 

Take out of the food processor and roll out onto a work surface with a rolling pin (about 0.5cm thick).

Place in the fridge to rest. 

Meanwhile, prepare the royal icing by manually mixing together the icing sugar with the egg whites and freshly squeezed lemon juice until it looks smooth and glossy. 

Take the dough out the fridge and using a spatula spread the royal icing evenly out on top of the dough.

With a star cutter (around 4.5cm) cut out the cinnamon stars. Place the stars onto a lined baking tray. 

Let the stars dry at room temperature for approx. 2 hours 

Bake in the pre-heated oven at 150c for 5 to 6 minutes or until the tips of the stars start to colour.

9th December 201528th October 2021

Bar Termini Cocktails

2015 has seen us sip Bar Termini’s delicate glasses of bittersweet aged Negroni while staring into the eyes of a lover, saying cin cin to celebrate a work collaboration, and catching up with girlfriends during aperitivo hour… If this elixir – from the count of cocktails Tony Conigliaro – could tell a tale, it’d be fruity. We waxed poetic about his concoction (pre-mixed and chilled to better infuse the flavours) earlier this year and flagged up that the three bottled blends would soon be for sale. And now, hurrah, just in time for Christmas, the very first of the trio has arrived in store – the Classico, a precious mix of gin, vermouth, Italian bitters and secret botanicals. Once again the bottle has an exquisite label designed by cult tattoo artist Mo Coppoletta, whose parlour on Exmouth Market draws the great and the good of the ink-on-skin brigade. We’ll be giving the bottles as presents – but only to those who’ll be sure to share a glass with us.

9th December 201531st August 2022

Hand made crackers by Beggars’ Velvet

These crackers don’t come cheap, but we think they are totally worth their price tag because they are so special. Made by Beggars’ Velvet (who hand-make all manner of beautiful and useful things), they are singular and extravagant in the best way. We bought a box last year and have already ordered another batch for this Christmas. And you do have to order them, as they are a limited edition, put together to order. Not only are they beautiful to look at on your Christmas table, but they contain unique, small antique gifts which the Beggars’ Velvet elves have spent all year collecting together. This year’s treasures include Roman coins, lead toys, crotal bells, a Victorian thimble, a 1930 lucky sixpence, Georgian gaming die, and even a tiny wooden telephone. Each gift is carefully wrapped with its source printed onto the paper packet. Also inside the cracker is a selection of quotes from ancient texts to Mrs Humphrey’s Book of Manners for Men scrolled in gold paper and sealed with string and wax (these are always really fun to read out loud), a silver paper hat, and of course the all important snap. Each cracker is hand stamped and tied with silk ribbons, tassels and bells. They cost £25 each and come in boxes of 4 (though you can ask for an odd number).

To order your crackers, email Beggars’ Velvet at: queries@beggarsvelvet.london

2nd December 20153rd December 2015

Votary Facial Oils

We are big fans of face oils but there’s always room for more really good ones on our bathroom shelf. Votary was launched in September by Myla founder, Charlotte Semler and the make-up artist Arabella Preston, who has used face oils on her clients for years and noticed that massaging the skin with a custom-blended oil would relax her clients as well as leaving them with a radiant complexion.

All the products are beautifully packaged in green glass apothecary-style bottles with art-deco style patterned boxes. We’ve been using the rose geranium and apricot cleansing oil which is fine enough to be dispensed through the pump spray provided. If you wear a lot of eye make up, you might want to use a micellar water first but the oil is undoubtedly robust enough to wipe way any trace of the tinted moisturiser we wear most days. You use the hot cloth method with these oils – a flannel is helpfully provided for buffing away the product. Our favourite oil from the range, however, is the Neroli and Myrrh. This can be used post-cleansing, to even out patches of dryness or oiliness. It is brilliant for this time of year when skin typically goes haywire from being buffeted alternately by the wind and central heating.

We love the suggestion that you hold your palms up to your face once you’ve dispensed the oils on them, to inhale the scent, before you even use it on the face. The calming effect of this unisex scent is almost as gratifying as the effect the oil has had on our skin. We’re also grateful that using the oils has reminded us to give ourselves a proper facial massage even post-pub, when we’re knackered.

The oils are available via the website below or from Liberty if you’re in London.

25th November 201528th October 2021

Here comes December…

Yes, Christmas is just over four weeks away but what we’re really thinking about at the moment is getting December ready.

Christmas cards. For something a little bit different, we’re ordering these Silhouette greeting cards, around $125 from Le Papier Studio, especially sweet if you have kids.

Or a little more traditional, we love these handprinted Christmas cards, £6.95 for a pack of 5 from Cressida Bell Studio (see details for her forthcoming studio sale here)

Or, and this is our very favourite type of Christmas card (and gift tag), make your own with these gorgeous Hand made Rubber stamps, starting at £6 from Noolibird. We stamped 30 of our own one Christmas and they really don’t take that long to make.

2. Christmas Wreath. Yes, you can make your own wreath and most years, we do. But this year, we’ve got our eye on this beautiful wreath, price varies from That Flower Shop.

3. Make your own Liberty Print stocking. Get creative and make your own, complete with pompoms and name labels. The results are beautiful, even for the not-so-crafty. For instructions, see here.

4. Advent Calendar. Step away from those commercial chocolate calendars and buy the Kalendarhaus from Clever Gretel this December. You’ll receive ready baked gingerbread pieces to build your house and ice it. Then each day, there’s a surprise treat to add to the house. £75, from Clever Gretel

5. Wrapper Paper. We love this hand printed Enchanted Wood wrapping paper. £10 for five sheets, from Paper & Cloth Design Studio

And we always finish it off with a wax stamp and seal. Snowflake Brass Wax Seal, £9.99 from City Company Seal

6. Window Lights. Maybe it’s our Swedish heritage, but we just can’t resist putting up a welcoming paper star light in our windows in December. Try a classic white one, £10 from Ikea

Or you could try this Zoé Rumeau snowflake, £117.45 from Smallable

18th November 201528th October 2021

Ivy Cafe

We are fans of the Ivy restaurant: both the original and the recent revamp. We were nonetheless quite sceptical about spin-offs from the brand and had not even ventured to the Ivy Market Grill or the Ivy Chelsea Garden. Now that the Ivy Café has opened on Marylebone Lane, however, we thought we should at least try it for size before dismissing all these satellite restaurants out of hand.

The interior has been designed by Martin Brudnizki (who is also responsible for the central bar at the Ivy restaurant proper). There is an antique pewter bar, pendant lights and cosy red leather banquettes. Although it does not scream “occasion restaurant” in the same way as the mothership, this is clearly still a place to come and relax, and be treated well.

Our lunch got off to a good start with salt crusted sourdough bread, brought warm to the table. We were perfectly pleased with our starters of prawn cocktail and smoked salmon (the latter served with crab mixed with dill and cream) alongside granary toast, but it was with the main courses that things really took off. We had one of the best sirloin steaks, served with green peppercorn sauce and excellent chips – fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside – that we can remember eating. Beautifully tender, it was a reminder of how sub-standard many of the steaks served in restaurants are. Our friend ate roasted butternut squash served with a salad of buckwheat, chickpeas, pumpkin seeds and pomegranate with crumbled feta and a harissa yoghurt and coriander dressing. It looked as worthy as it sounds but our friend pronounced it “unbelievably delicious”, mainly because the squash was so soft as opposed to the stringy texture we often end up with when we cook it at home.

As well as a decent wine and cocktail list, the Café also offers a range of very good juices should you be that way inclined. Our friend raved about the crème brulee but we were stuffed enough after our steak and chips not to be able to manage a dessert. We will be back however, not least because half of the tables are held back for walk-ins and there are menu options for any time of day – including elevenses and afternoon tea. The staff are also noticeably accommodating of babies – always a good sign.

11th November 201511th November 2015

This Works Light Time

We’ve been big fans of This Works – the pragmatist’s beauty range – ever since it launched back in 2003 and not just because founder and creative director Kathy Phillips was a colleague of ours in our days at British Vogue. As well as being reasonably priced (a little more than high street brands, but less than other premium brands) we love the clean look of the brand and the no-nonsense approach. Kathy is also, like us, obsessive about the effects of good sleep and the latest additions are a response to the fact that few of us really get the amount of decent sleep that we need these days. The range includes a depuffing eye cream and the smoothing Skin Plumper (with hyaluronic acid) which smells heavenly. We love the brightening Cleanse & Glow – a water-activated cleansing balm with brightening Vitamin C – which can be left on for up to 10 minutes for even better results (although not for sensitive skins). With ever shortening days it’s the perfect way to brighten up.

4th November 201531st August 2022

Marby and Elm’s new shop

We have always loved Marby and Elm’s handmade letterpress stationery, which we first discovered online and then saw selling like hotcakes at Liberty. Founder Eleanor Tattersfield’s clever combination of employing traditional techniques (her stationery is all printed on a vintage hand-fed press), together with bold designs, bright colours and a sly wit, make her cards, notebooks, invites, tags, stickers, and notecards look fabulously fresh and modern. So we’re not surprised that she’s now opening her own shop, opposite the Zetter Hotel in Clerkenwell, where you’ll be able to buy her whole range, as well as ordering her distinctive bespoke, fluoro-edged notecards which can be printed while you wait.

The shop opens on 10th November, and if you visit it on opening day between 11am and 5pm, and quote A Little Bird, you’ll get a lovely Marby and Elm goody bag with any purchase. See you there!

28th October 201529th October 2015

Jane Bown: A Lifetime of Looking

Jane Bown was the Observer photographer for over 60 years; she was renowned for always getting the shot, earning herself the nickname ‘Tenacity Jane.’ Many of her pictures have become iconic, including that of the famously camera-phobic Samuel Beckett, snapped in an alleyway and a picture of Bjork, covering the lower half of her face with her fingers. Bjork said of Bown “She can look at a person and she knows, instinctively, straight away, who they are.”

The definitive monograph of Bown’s has now been produced, edited by her friend Luke Dodd and entitled Jane Bown: A Lifetime of Looking. Her ability to get under a sitter’s skin can be seen in this collection, in portraits of James Baldwin, Mick Jagger, the Queen and a rather magical picture of Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Noel Coward all laughing, dressed as though for a day at the races.

Among over 200 photographs, there are also examples of her previously unseen street photography so that images of fishermen, picknicking postmen and dustmen on strike nestle alongside those of Liberace and Muhammad Ali. The book is a joy in itself but also serves as a kind of record of the second half of the twentieth century: there is a portrait of Jean Cocteau as well as a picture of a protest against the state visit of the Greek royal family in London in 1963. There are girls playing lacrosse at Rodean as well as a clutch of younger girls stood by a burnt out tram in Woolwich. And the collection is arranged with a degree of wit so that smartly dressed men attending a Sotheby’s house sale (several sat, waiting on a four poster bed) appear on the page next to a homeless man dressed in a dishevelled version of their outfits, eating from a saucepan on a parkbench.

21st October 201531st August 2022

Charlie McCormick Bloomsbury Pop Up Shop

If you are a regular reader, you’ll probably know how much we love Ben Pentreath and Bridie Hall’s Bloomsbury shop, which sells beautiful objects and things for your home. Pentreath, who is an architect and interior designer (as well as a shopkeeper), also writes a wonderful blog about what’s he’s been up to – the buildings he’s visited, the books he’s reading, the decorating he’s doing, and what’s happening in the Dorset valley where he and his husband have a house. If you follow this blog (it’s pretty addictive), you’ll have got to know, in an online way, Pentreath’s husband, Charlie McCormick, who is clearly a wonderful cook and gardener. (Check out the blog post about their July wedding party, clearly masterminded by McCormick, and swoon). Like Pentreath, McCormick also has a fabulous eye and impeccable taste when it comes to antiques and objects.

So it comes as no surprise to hear that McCormick has turned his skills into a business: cooking for parties large and small, flower arranging, and providing home-grown English cut flowers. In celebration of this, McCormick has taken over the shop next door to Pentreath and Hall, and, for the next couple of weeks, turned it into his own.

We went there today and wanted to buy every thing in it, from the botanical prints and Staffordshire figures, to the slipware bowls and vintage terracotta flower pots. The shop is small but packed full of lovely things: garden antiquities, old china and glassware, prints, beautiful plates and dishes and platters and teapots, beautiful lustreware and silver, herbaria, and huge buckets of freshly cut English flowers. Everything is reasonably priced. We came away with a lovely lustreware vase for a tenner, for example. On top of all this, there are crates of apples, chestnuts roasting, and plentiful amounts of excellent cake baked by McCormick.

Our only complaint is that the shop is pop-up rather than permanent. Do make sure you visit it before it closes at the end of this month. Note: it is shut on Sundays and also Thursday 29th October.

14th October 2015

A Little Party Box

As any parent knows, throwing a party can be a gargantuan task – the food, the décor, the party bags. It always ends up being a marathon of online sourcing and covert operations. But one new start-up plans to take a big chunk of the stress away. A Little Party Box, founded by Parisian Camille Hallo, combines all the style of French brands with the party planning skills of a professional organiser – which is Hallo’s day job. You order a themed box (for either 8, 16 or 24 children) and then choose from Superhero, Unicorn, Circus or Pirate. Each box contains plates, cups, straws, napkins, balloons, banners, confetti and centre-pieces for the table. We tried out Circus on a group of extremely demanding pre-schoolers and it was a major hit – especially the cute golden animals on sticks. It probably doesn’t work out any cheaper than sourcing all these products yourself – but the thrill of opening a box with everything beautifully co-ordinated more than makes up for that fact.

7th October 201528th October 2021

Wick & Tallow Candles and Diffusers

With so many candles and room fragrances on the market we rarely veer into new territory but we were recently won over when we were given a diffuser from British candle maker Wick & Tallow. Alice Malcolm Green first opened her own home fragrance stall in Portobello Market in 2009 and then later joined forces with her husband James Malcolm Green and brother-in-law Tom to create their debut brand. Not only are the candles and diffusers sumptuously packaged, but the scents are delicious too – we’ve been using the zingy, uplifting basil and bergamot which combines fresh green notes with an aromatic woody cedar and sandalwood base. The range include equally refreshing Lemongrass & Neroli, Patchouli & Grapefruit, Jasmine & Ylang Ylang as well as sweeter fragrances such as Sandalwood & Rose or Cedarwood & Juniper. You can even commission your own bespoke fragrance if none of the above fit the bill.