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The team from the
Magnolia Brasserie
led by head chef Ben
Bullen at Faringdon’s
Sudbury House Hotel
have been awarded
2 AA Rosettes.
The Magnolia Brasserie
opened its doors in June
2014 and Ben says: “At
the Magnolia Brasserie
we have a mix of
Mediterranean style and
classic British dishes on
the menu; I like to create
twists on classic flavour combinations using fresh, quality
ingredients to give our diners a memorable experience at
Sudbury House.
“We have a feature woodburner stove and an open plan
kitchen in the brasserie, which gives me and my team the
opportunity to interact with our guests.”
Cold January nights need comfort food, and M&S has
given lasagne a new twist by using minced venison
instead of beef.
Venison is seeing a resurgence as people discover the
benefits of the lean and nutritious meat, which is low in fat,
high in iron and extremely versatile.
Matt Dawson, M&S product
developer, says: “We
slow-cook the venison with
allspice, star anise, port
and red wine, which makes
the lasagne meaty, rich and
moreish.” Gastropub Venison
Lasagne is £4.50 for 400g.
Originally sold as an essential ingredient for making
Japanese Katsu Curry,Yutaka’s curry block is fast
becoming popular with cooks using the curry blocks
like normal stock cubes. They can be used to flavour
stews and gravies, as well as made into a sauce to
spice up chips, sausages and noodles.
For a meat marinade, mix ½ curry stock cube in 2 tbsp of
water then add 2 cloves crushed garlic, 1 tbsp soy sauce,
1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine and 1 tsp rice vinegar. Place in
a freezer-style bag with the meat of your choice and allow
to marinate for an hour.
Yutaka Curry Cubes are
available from Sainsbury’s.
£2.25RRP
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The Nomad Bakery
Prospect Street, Caversham
www.nomadbakery.co.ukHome-made sourdough bread toasted
and slathered in butter and home-made
jam, a seasonal soup that’s gluten-free
and vegan but can have added protein,
sandwiches like manchego and chorizo
and children’s art trays with veg sticks,
hummus and healthy snacking – all
these have ensured The Nomad Bakery
in Caversham has been buzzing since it
opened in November.
Run by Laura Gonzalez, known in the
Reading foodie community as a baker
who sold at events and as a supper club
cook through Pop-Up Reading, she has
finally realised her dream of a combined
bakery and café.
Of Argentinian origin, one of Laura’s
specialities is Argentine pastries – she
makes her own brioche pastry and
flavours it with the renowned Caversham
Jam Lady’s jam and a big selection of
those jams, jellies and chutneys sweet
and savoury, can be sampled and bought
in the bakery.
Laura’s bread – from the sourdough
called Reading’s Heritage loaf to the
seeded rye, focaccia and farmhouse
– has literally been flying off the shelves,
meaning customers needed to get there
early to bag a loaf. She now has a bigger
kitchen so the bread baskets on the
counters can be replenished often.
“It has been my dream for a long time,”
said Laura who gave up her job at
Vodafone to open the bakery/café.
“After roaming around Reading kitchens
for almost three years, we had the
opportunity of setting up our base in the
heart of Caversham and without doubt
we dived in. We just wanted to have a
place where everyone feels at home
and could have real bread (flour, water
and salt without any unnecessary
additions), yummy treats and homemade
eats worry-free because we make our
recipes as allergy-friendly as possible.
“Now we are a few months old and we
have formed what we call The Nomad
Family, which consists of our friends
who helped us all the way, the amazing
Nomad team and our devoted regulars.
“We are eternally grateful to them for
helping us in this adventure. “
Nomad niceties: home-made crunchy
granola takeaway bags, wi-fi, crafts
like ceramics, tapas evenings.