An Edible Voyage

May 2021 Walking through the residential streets of Cardiff's Roath, spotting the haunts of my student days, the last thing I expected to come across was an old garage, mid-terrace, housing a sourdough bakery.  Despite the small shop front, the bakery has a cavernous interior, plenty of space for all manner of sourdough loaves, including ones made with quinoa, and yesterday's bread going cheap.   In the sweet treats line up, 6 flavours of doughnut sit alongside choc chip pretzel cookies, and their signature Queens - no less than 27 layers of melt in the mouth, flaky pastry, similar to a round, sugar-dusted croissant, filled with the flavour of the month which changes with the seasons.  Being the last day of the month, I just managed to get my hands on May's offering - the PBJ Queen.  The zingiest raspberry jam marbled with peanut butter diplomat cream - a genius invention I have to say, oozing with every bite from the soft, sugary Queen.  This really was th...

Pastel de Nata. Those words alone are likely to spark endless debates on which city, which bakery produces the best, and even what it is that constitutes 'the best'.   I have to say, when trying to choose the coveted 'best' it is a tricky one.  Pasteis de Belem in Lisbon has pasteis de nata as good as you would expect from the place claiming to be the original.  Still using the secret recipe from 1837 when the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos started selling them to raise money for the closing convents and monastery, the tarts have perfectly flaky pastry and ooze creamy custard. Hot on their heels though, is Manteigaria, with shops in both Lisbon and Porto.  Watch the bakers as they work, and eat hot from the oven perfect tarts, filled to the brim with caramelised custard.  They also serve a delicious breakfast bowl with oats, berries and nut butter if you feel you need some breakfast before your pastel de nata...but I won't judge you if these glorious tarts are your...

March 2021 Bakergirl. “If you know, you know” they say, and I think this perfectly sums up what has become quite the Oxfordshire institution.   Starting life as a farmshop café at Wykham Park Farm, and baking flavoursome sourdough loaves, cheese and marmite scrolls, and all manner of cakes, pastries and buns, they appeared in the old thatched post office in the quintessential Cotswold village of Great Tew following a brief hiatus.   At both venues, no matter the time or day, queues of locals as well as those who’d travelled from a afar for the legendary cinnamon buns, snaked out of the door and around the farm/ village green. Deciding to switch things up so as being able to maintain their baking dream whilst minimising the unsociable baker’s hours, they moved fully to their bakehouse in Wroxton to focus on pop-ups.   Sourdough pizza Saturdays, with home made salted caramel gelato and ‘sides’ of loaves of sourdough, milk loaves or whatever else takes their baking fancy...

November 2020 My first visit to Newcastle upon Tyne meant the excitement of researching the bakery, coffee and general food scene.  Small batch microbakeries with exceptional hand crafted baked goods are the places of my dreams, so Northern Rye was top of my list, and I planned my journey to arrive in Newcastle at dawn on a Saturday so I could be first in line! I underestimated the popularity of this place though - it seems since opening on the river bank in Byker in June 2020, Northern Rye has gained a dedicated fan base.  Following the Ouseburn through Newcastle's creative quarter with its old warehouses sympathetically refurbished in to contemporary housing and office space, I could see the queue long before I could see Northern Rye!  The riverside spot made for a scenic location for some weekend people watching and the wait was more than worth it.  I was greeted with a handsome display of coconut and blackcurrant croissants, ginger and fennel buns, deliciously me...

June 2020 Bakey and chocolaterie, can you get a better combination?!  Nestled in amongst the historical buildings of the picturesque, coastal village of Orford in Suffolk is Pump Street Bakery.  The counter bursts with both sourdough and yeasted bread, baguettes, baked goods and pastries, as well as their own made chocolate.   I arrived at opening time to find there was already a long queue and I quickly found out why.  Having devoured the Bear Claw - flaky, perfectly laminated pastry filled with gooey, nutty almond paste, and a great flat white, I queued up for round 2! The highlight was the pillowy doughnut filled with sweet but refreshing rhubarb jam.  It really was like eating the most delicious cloud. The chocolate selection is as equally exciting, with beans sourced from all over the world.  My all time favourite bar is the 72% Solomon Islands which really tastes of baked banana.  I'm also very excited to try th...

June 2020 It was love at first bite and, ever since, Gatineau in Summertown has been a favourite of mine.   The croissants are perfectly crisp on the outside and delightfully soft in the middle, the kind where you can pull the end and the light and airy middle will tumble out.   Pain aux raisins balance generous spirals of creme patissiere and raisins without being overly sweet and sickly, and the colourful display of beautifully crafted patisserie always makes it a challenge to choose. Le Cappuccino is a decadent summery alternative to an iced coffee - coffee soaked sponge and silky coffee custard wrapped in a crisp white chocolate cup with a little crunchy biscuit on top. If matcha is your thing, go for the matcha sponge soaked in a tart passion fruit syrup, balanced by sweet and fruity raspberry jelly.  In case this isn't luscious enough, it's topped with a creamy yet airy Opalys 33% whipped ganache and gold flecks. ...

March 2018 Hot, snack size buns of bread or pastry dough, filled with minced lamb.  Find them at stalls on the streets of Kazakhstan or at restaurants. 

January 2020 A staple quick bite on the go, or filler upper when you’re running low on cash.     A baked or fried bready pastry turnover with a variety of fillings – beef, chicken, cheese and ham.     The quality really depends on the freshness and whether it’s been mass produced.     I also noticed many shops microwave them which I imagine makes them a little soggy.     In my opinion, a good one should be slightly warm from the oven and full of flavour, so find them from street sellers who carry around small baskets of their freshly baked goods.     I found a great one in the El Caminito area of Buenos Aires.

January 2020 Medialunas Breakfast means two things here – coffee and medialunas or coffee and tostados (see below).    The streets are lined with cafes offering coffee and medialuna deals.    These crescents of deliciousness are slightly crispy and syrupy on the outside, soft and fluffy in the middle.    The coffee perfectly balances the sweetness, I didn’t want them to end!    The best ones I found were at Dulce Maria in Martinez which has the added bonus of being on the Rio de la Plata beach, with views across the water to the city.    Go on a Sunday, late morning, to soak up the atmosphere when locals head to the beach. Tostados The other breakfast option (breakfast is a simple and light affair in Argentina).    Toasted bread served with cream cheese and jam – these work surprisingly well together and are a good option for a tasty breakfast that will leave you with space for an asado later. Find it everywhe...