Winter Bites

Cook food, serve love.

As the snow fell last night we were busy working on some menu ideas for next week's pop-up.

Although it's bitter outside there are loads of wonderful, hearty flavours to warm the body and soul at this time of year. We've put together a lovely seasonal menu that seems all the better for the thick blanket of snow outside. There are so many ingredients that bring some light to these gloomier months, and we've been playing around with things like chicory, leeks, carrots, celeriac, oxtail, rhubarb, oranges, artichokes, mushrooms, Guinness, cloves, salsify, cauliflower, and purple sprouting broccoli to name a few.

A table has cancelled so we still have some places available for next Sunday's meal. Email us at WalbrookandAvon@gmail.com if you would like to come and find out what made it on to the menu.

Oxtail and ale pie.

Menu deliberation.

Our 2nd Anniversary

In December 2009 we hosted Broadway Market's first pop-up restaurant, two years on and a dozen or so events later we are back to celebrate our 2nd anniversary.

To mark the occasion we have put together a wonderful winter warmer of a menu, full of lovely seasonal treats and a few classic Walbrook & Avon dishes that have gone down especially well over the last couple of years.

We will be returning to F. Cooke on Broadway Market, Hackney on Sunday 11th December at 2pm. Tickets priced at £25 per person are now on sale. As usual the £25 includes two alcoholic drinks. Places are limited and to ensure fairness we operate on a first pay, first served basis.

If you would like to sample the delights of Walbrook & Avon on Sunday 11th December then please drop us an email at walbrookandavon@gmail.com and we will get back to you with further details and payment info.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Polly & Paul
Cook Food, Serve Love

Walbrook & Avon, last pop-up of the summer

With a change to our original plans, we will be back for a final summer pop-up on Sunday 11th September.

The wonderful F. Cooke on Broadway Market, Hackney will once again play host to a seasonal three course menu. Tickets priced at £25 per person are now on sale, and as usual this includes two alcoholic drinks.

Places are limited and to ensure fairness we operate on a first pay, first served basis.

We will be getting things underway at 2pm. If you would like to sample the delights of Walbrook & Avon on Sunday 11th September then please drop us an email at walbrookandavon@gmail.com and we will get back to you with further details and payment info.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Back on Broadway Market

After a few months off Walbrook & Avon return for the first of a series of summer-inspired pop-ups.

We are back at F. Cooke on Broadway Market, Hackney on Sunday 3 July at 2.00pm. We will be serving a seasonal menu in the unique 1930’s surroundings of the pie shop. Tickets priced at £25 per person are now on sale, and as usual this includes two alcoholic drinks.

Places are limited and to ensure fairness we operate on a first pay, first served basis.

If you would like to sample the delights of Walbrook & Avon on Sunday 3 July then please drop us an email at walbrookandavon@gmail.com and we will get back to you with further details and payment info.

We look forward to seeing you there.

We're still here...

...we know we've been really quiet of late, but we're still here.

Lots of busy weekends have been getting in the way of things but we are planning our next couple of dates and we will be popping up a few times before the summer's over!

Watch this space.

Polly and Paul

Sunday's menu and jars of chilli jam

We still have places left for Sunday's pop-up following a few drop outs. If you would like to come along please send us an email and we will get back to you with details.

We spent Sunday making a batch of our super tasty Walbrook & Avon chilli jam. If you would like to get your hands on a jar please come and see us at F. Cooke on Broadway Market on Sunday from about midday. Prices start at £3 a jar.

Walbrook & Avon, Sunday 13 February 2011

Pomegranate and orange Bellini
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Leek and cheese tart with winter coleslaw
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Pork and celeriac stew with root mash and greens
(V. Swede risotto with roasted vegetables)
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Poached pear and chocolate pot
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Goat's cheese with Walbrook & Avon chilli jam

...We're Back

Walbrook & Avon started 2011 in fine style on Sunday with our first pop-up of the year. It was really nice to see a few familiar faces, along with lots of people new to Walbrook & Avon. It is great to now have a few diners we can call regulars.

Our wintry menu went down so well we will be back doing it all again in a couple of weeks. We return to F. Cooke on Broadway Market, Hackney on Sunday 13 February at 2.00pm. We will be giving people another chance to sample a seasonal menu served in the unique 1930’s surroundings of the pie shop. Tickets priced at £25 per person are now on sale. As usual the £25 includes two alcoholic drinks .

Places are limited and to ensure fairness we operate on a first pay, first served basis.

If you would like to sample the delights of Walbrook & Avon on Sunday 13 February then please drop us an email at walbrookandavon@googlemail.com and we will get back to you with further details and payment info.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Polly & Paul
Cook Food, Serve Love

First Walbrook & Avon of 2011

Photo by wobble-san

With Christmas and New Year already feeling like an age ago it is time to get back into the swing of things with the first Walbrook & Avon of 2011.

We are very pleased to announce that we are back at the one and only F. Cooke on Broadway Market, Hackney on Sunday 30th January at 2.00pm. We are on hand to help beat the post holiday blues and hopefully bring a smile to your face with our fresh and seasonal menu served in the unique 1930’s surroundings of the pie shop. Tickets priced at £25 per person are now on sale. As usual the £25 includes two alcoholic beverages.

Places are limited and to ensure fairness we operate on a first pay, first served basis.

If you would like to sample the delights of Walbrook & Avon on Sunday 30th January then please drop us an email at walbrookandavon@googlemail.com and we will get back to you with further details and payment info.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Polly & Paul
Cook Food, Serve Love

First Pop-Up Of The Winter

Photo by mag3737

After a few month hiatus to allow for holidays and a trip to Bestival dressed as rabbits and unicorns we are back at F. Cooke on Broadway Market from 14.30 on Sunday 14th November.

By then the clocks will have gone back an hour and the chill of winter will be upon us. As ever, we will be taking inspiration from the changing seasons and putting on a feast to lift any gloom bought by the coming of winter. Over the next four weeks will we keep you updated with the recipes we are working on and taking inspiration from.

Tickets priced at £25 per person are now on sale, which includes two alcoholic drinks. Places are limited and to ensure fairness we operate on a first pay, first served basis.

If you would like to sample the delights of Walbrook & Avon on Sunday 14th November then please drop us an email at walbrookandavon@googlemail.com and we will get back to you with further details and payment info.

We look forward to seeing you in November.

Polly & Paul
Cook Food, Serve Love

The Best W&A Yet

Sunday 28th March saw us pop-up for the third time, and it was our best outing yet. Celebrating the official start of British Summer Time we served a selection of starters from the marble-topped counter, pintxos style. The more relaxed, convivial start to the meal went down well and will definitely be repeated.

As ever we must thank Lucy for her wonderful graphics and calm, collected service. Jake again provided great music and lots of hard work. Rachel was our washer-upper supreme helping out with anything that needed doing, she was so good we'll be asking her to help again.

We'll probably be back in late April or early May, until then here are some photos of a very fun day. Thank you to everyone who was there, hopefully we will be feeding you again soon.

Paul & Polly

Walbrook & Avon

Thanks to Julia Dwyer for the photos.

Walbrook & Avon - Sunday 14th February

Walbrook & Avon popped-up again on Sunday with 32 guests enjoying five courses, lots of wine and great music. We can safely say it was another success with everyone leaving in good cheer with lots of nice things to say about the food and festivities.

We would like to thank everyone who was at Walbrook & Avon on Sunday. It was a pleasure to cook for you all. We would also like to give very special thanks to our glamorous assistants who worked very hard and helped create a great atmosphere; Lucy who is responsible for all our wonderful graphic design and is also our ever-calm and graceful waitress. Jake (The Otley Express) who is responsible for the great music, steady wine-pouring and cheery hard work. And Beth and Cat who washed up and cleared tables and generally got stuck into any work that needed doing with broad smiles and a sense of humour. Thank you all.

We are currently working on the details of the next Walbrook & Avon event and we will release the date and ticket information at the beginning of March. Hopefully, we will see lots more new faces at the next Walbrook & Avon.

Paul & Polly. x

More photos here.

Walbrook & Avon Chilli Jam Recipe

We spent this afternoon making savoury chilli jam for next week's pop-up. We've made a dozen or so jars of wonderfully dark, mildly spiced chilli jam that we will serve next week and also have for sale. If you are not lucky enough to be dining with us next week here is how you can make your own.

Ingredients

250g red peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped A good handful of bird's eye chillies, deseeded and chopped

1kg jam sugar

600ml cider vinegar

4 x 250ml sealable jars

Makes about a litre

1. Without stirring, dissolve the sugar in the vinegar over a low heat
2. Deseed and chop the red peppers and chillies
3. Blitz the peppers and chillies in a food processor
4. Once the sugar has dissolved add the chilli and pepper mix to the sugar and vinegar and bring to the boil
5. Let it simmer for about an hour or so
6. It is done when a spoonful on to a plate stays fairly still when the plate is tilted
7. Pour into sterilised jars and firmly tighten to lids
8. Enjoy with cheese, salads, salami, ham, cold meats and more

It will last a couple of months, although in our experience you will not be able to resist it's charms for that long.

Something for the weekend

Following on from the mix by Walbrook & Avon/dollop DJ; The Otley Express, here's a mix by the Brighton based producer/DJ Splintz.

This mix is full of ripe, juicy house flavours. The driving, almost tribal top notes make this the perfect accompaniment for roast lamb or chicken. The funkier, soulful base notes and arabesque hints mean it also works well with meze-style salads or grilled fish. Again this can be enjoyed with food or whilst cooking. Best served chilled.

Music for the more mature - mixed by Splintz

Reppin' LDN

We have been featured on the wonderful Pop Up Fresh alongside some great pop-ups in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tokyo and Taipei. It's definitely a site worth keeping an eye on for other pop-up shops, restaurants, exhibitions and parties.

http://popupfresh.com/events/walbrook/

Something for the weekend

Here is a mix by the sometime dollop DJ and Walbrook & Avon's in-house musical enabler; The Otley Express. This is a laid back mix with hints of techno and some developed dub base notes. Best enjoyed with something fragrant or robustly spiced. Can be enjoyed with food or whilst cooking.
Best served chilled.

Blimey by The Otley Express

Hello and welcome

Walbrook & Avon is a new pop-up restaurant run by Polly Clifton and Paul Allen. We aim to share our enjoyment of food and cooking through lovingly put together menus using predominantly seasonal British ingredients. We are lucky enough to be able to pop-up in the wonderful F. Cooke pie and mash shop on Broadway Market, Hackney. The interior of the shop dates back to the 1930s and the original tiled walls, marble table tops, wooden benches and huge mirrors provide us with an amazingly stylish place in which to entertain.

The aim of this blog is to keep you up to date with when Walbrook & Avon is popping up so you can come along. If laziness doesn't get in the way we will also write about other things; a lot of which will probably be related to food in some way.

Walbrook & Avon, where we cook food, serve love.