Abergavenny Food Festival 2018

I've said it before, but the Abergavenny Food Festival has got to be up there as one of my favourite weekends of the year. On par with Christmas (I know), it's a special weekend I have loved ever since my family moved to Abergavenny in 2004. Last year I wrote about how the festival is a watershed of sorts, marking the end of one season and the start of another, and I suppose this year has been the same in a way that is more symbolic than literal.

I mentioned in my recent post, The Second Time, that I recently quit my job as a copywriter in Bristol to move back in with my parents in my hometown, Abergavenny. This has been a huge change and one I have found relatively easy, all things considered. I used to think working office hours was a sure sign I'd made it in the real world (whatever that is), but having recently started working shifts again my mind is changing.

Working the weekend of the Abergavenny Food Festival, when a 10-hour day felt like 10 minutes and was spent from start to finish on a high, I realised that being out there and involved is what makes life so enjoyable. So, even though I missed a lot of the events and food stalls on offer on the Saturday, what I gained was an unforgettably rich experience serving great food and coffee, meeting hundreds of people and gaining a new perspective. I even got to create and showcase my own dish for the festival – a vegan pesto and tomatoes on toast (absolutely divine, by the way). Maybe it's just me, but isn't it the experiences we don't try and orchestrate that end up being the really good, memorable ones?

Saturday evening was spent celebrating a successful day with my boss and coworker at a Grace Dent event at the Borough Theatre, which was very interesting! I don't read many restaurant reviews (lol, this is namely a food blog) but hearing her speak inspired me to get clued up and make a reservation at a swanky restaurant next time I have a spare £300.

One of my best friends, Emily, came to stay and we spent Sunday eating eating eating – our favourite thing to do. We had coffee at Bean & Bread, almond croissants from the Angel Bakery, mini patisserie treats from Cocorico, including these delightful lemon meringue tarts, samosa chaat, a halloumi pitta and vanilla sprinkles cake for my nephew's 1st birthday, not to mention all the cheese we sampled in the markets 🌝

The end of the food festival weekend always brings with it a heavy dose of the back-to-school blues I used to get as a teenager on a Sunday afternoon. I never want it to end, I always feel like it's not enough time, I want just one more day! But this year was different because this year I don't have to leave. This year I get to stay and enjoy this town some more after the city dwellers leave, and that might just be the best part of this change of season.

The Angel Bakery – Abergavenny

It's no real surprise, but recently my taste for the mass-produced, plastic-covered, soft-sliced bread found in supermarkets has dissipated, allowing my love for handmade, stretchy, crunchy sourdough to soar. Homely bakeries seem to be popping up just about everywhere right now, but only a few get it 100% right. The Angel Bakery fits in this category, and it just so happens to be in Abergavenny, my little teenage town in Wales.

Tucked just behind Abergavenny's main road, The Angel Bakery is an extension of its big sister, The Angel Hotel. If you're a long-time reader of my blog, you might remember one of my very first posts was a review of the afternoon tea at The Angel. Four years later and my love for what they do hasn't wavered.

Rivalling the likes of Harts and Bakery 47, The Angel Bakery covers all fronts: fresh bread (about a hundred varieties), pastries, brioche buns, brownies, truffles and coffee. I am sure that, depending on what day you visit, there will be a new treasure to devour, and this is one of the reasons The Angel Bakery is so special.

Being so used to the busy people of Bristol eating my favourite bakery out of its incredible pain au chocolat, I got up early on Saturday to get first dibs at The Angel Bakery. My fellow bread lover, Emily, came with me and we perched on the stalls inside, nibbling pastries (an almond croissant and raspberry danish), while the girls made our coffee. 

Everything – from the friendly service to the golden coffee machine – was perfect. I took a loaf of the fennel, raisin & hazelnut sourdough home and ate the whole thing in two days. When so much passion, love and hard work goes into something as delightful as The Angel Bakery, it's impossible to leave without a bit of that magic lingering in you. Just go and see for yourself.

Morning Fuel at Tinderbox – Glasgow

I can't figure out why I love shopping. I don't spend lots of money on stuff, but I enjoy wandering around cities I have known forever, and finding new places to enjoy. I spent the weekend in Glasgow visiting family, and it was the most relaxing break. Every day I use a computer, so it was wonderful to leave mine at home and spend time with people and see things.

On Friday I spent the day in the city centre, doing a bit of shopping for a camping trip next month (August is going to be the best month) and awkwardly admiring trainers (I do not fit in in sports shops). But like every time I go shopping, I have to find somewhere good for breakfast first.

I wandered out to Ingram Street, a ten minute walk from the city centre, to find Tinderbox, (a place Grind My Beans raves about). The place was fairly empty, but buzzing nonetheless. The staff were busily making coffees, stocking up the fridge for the day and chatting away to each other in their bea-utiful Glaswegian accents.

Of course I ordered an Americano, but it took me a while to decide what to eat. If it hadn't been 9am, I would have picked a slice of the jaffa cake, but pastries are (obviously) more breakfast friendly. I eventually chose a pain au raisin, the best kind of pastry, according to the cute guy serving me.

If you're on a budget, Tinderbox is your next stop. I paid about £3 altogether, the coffee alone coming in at £1.65.

I could see an upstairs seating area from the bar, but it wasn't until I walked to the end to pick up my coffee that a whole seating area around the back was revealed. I sat down at a small table and took in everything around me: a latte art wall of fame, notice board, gorgeous furniture (am I old and boring for saying that?) and quirky wallpaper. The atmosphere was chilled but vibrant. It was nice and quiet, but I can imagine it fills up quickly as the day goes on, and even more so on weekends.

A Smiths-esque soundtrack with hints of Florence and the Machine and Shura complemented the gorgeous interior, making the whole experience beautifully uplifting.

Do you ever feel like running away as soon as you step inside some coffee shops? Tinderbox was so wonderfully unpretentious, a refreshing change from the usual 'hipster' hangouts. I felt welcomed and at home. The staff were so friendly, but who isn't in Glasgow?

But back to the food and drink. The coffee was strong, hot and perked me up, but I think I need to break the habit of ordering small – I always end up wanting another one. I think one day I will have to venture into the world of milky coffee so I can get a nice picture of the latte art. 

The pastry was full of juicy, sweet raisins, but I would have liked a bit more custard in the middle (Coffee #1 has yet to be beat). Having said that, Tinderbox is way up there with Timberyard. I loved it there. I can imagine going back with a group of friends and spending an afternoon playing board games and people watching out of the enormous windows. 

If you're ever in the area, pop into Tinderbox and see for yourself just how great this place is. I know I'll be back again soon. You can find out more about Tinderbox here.

Timberyard – Old Street, London

I am currently recovering from a week of very early starts. Monday to Friday I yawned my way through work, dragging myself out of bed at 6 o'clock every morning, then on Saturday I faced an even earlier start to catch my 6am train to London to meet Ellen. I was not begrudging that, though. A friend, good food and sights were waiting for me at the other end, and my 21 hour day was so worth the sore feet I am faced with now.

First stop was Timberyard – a coffee shop that boasts runner up of London Coffee Shop of the Year. We stepped inside and, like typical bloggers, whipped out our phones and snapped everything in sight.  

Timberyard is artfully crammed with food and drink and everywhere I looked there was something new, something else to consider, and choosing what to order was very hard. 

I don't think I have ever been to a coffee shop where choosing what to order is such an overwhelmingly difficult process. All the cakes, pastries and sandwiches looked incredible, and the drinks too. 

The barista let us try the two iced teas on offe – Earl Grey and Hibiscus berry. I wasn't keen on the Earl Grey, but the berry one was lovely. I decided I needed a strong coffee, however, and picked the peanut butter chocolate brownie to go with it.

We were told to take a seat, and within a few minutes our food and drink were brought over to us on a wooden tray, along with a large bottle of water which we hadn't asked for, but it was appreciated all the same.

The brownie was fudgey, chewy and full of chocolatey-peanutty goodness. It wasn't too sweet, or too nutty, but had a perfect balance of salty peanut butter with rich chocolate flavour.

Ellen ordered a rhubarb and custard pastry which she polished off in no time. We were so impressed with Timberyard's sweet treats. Some of their other original creations included salted caramel brownie cakes, peanut butter and banana loaf, double chocolate doughnuts, blueberry doughnuts and lemon curd doughnuts, to name but a few.

But what about the drinks? Taking the safe option after my uncertainty over the unsweetened iced teas, I opted for an Americano, served in a little black tea cup with a delicious caramel coloured crema sitting on the surface. It was good coffee – admittedly it could have been hotter, but I'm a bit weird about beverage temperatures.

Ellen's orange juice was vibrant in colour and she described just how good it tasted over on her blog, Devilishly Destructive Delights. (Go follow her, she writes good stuff!)

Ok, so Timberyard may look like every other hipster cafe in London, but it's genuine, I promise. Just look at that glass panel on the floor. Stuff like that amazes me, and those suitcases make such cute coffee tables. The staff were lovely, attentive and made the whole experience one worth raving about on WNW. We decided even before we left that Timberyard was a winner, and we would be visiting again. If only more coffee shops like this existed instead of the hard, plastic and cold chains that bombard every town in the UK, but I guess the rarity of places like Timberyard is part of their charm.

Have you been to Timberyard before? If you live in or near London, it's worth the tube journey to catch up with a friend or spend time with your thoughts while sipping a matcha green tea latte(!) Check out their website here and take a peek at their Instagram – the photos are gorgeous.

A French Breakfast - Le Pain Quotidien

When I was little, my family and I used to go on holiday to France. I made scrapbooks to take back to school in September, and my dad helped me stick all my tickets and wrappers from every aspect of the holiday in my special book. One thing I remember glueing onto one of the pages was the thin paper of a french stick of bread. Every morning we would walk to the boulangerie to get fresh bread for the day, and, sometimes, for a special treat - a pain au chocolat. We would eat bread for breakfast, lunch and tea, (with other things), smothering it with Boursin, butter or eating it plain, on its own. My favourite way was to stuff it with squares of chocolate - soft, chewy, crispy, sweet and delicious.

I haven't been to France in years, and I miss it! So, on our last day of our trip to London a few weeks ago, I dragged my sister Sarah along to Le Pain Quotidien for a breakfast reminiscent of hot summer mornings in an isolated village in France. It is one of my favourite places to go for breakfast and as true to a French breakfast experience as any that my memory serves.

At Le Pain Quotidien there is a decent range of dishes to choose from for breakfast, but I knew what I wanted: bread, coffee and orange juice.

It was a good thing the Petit Déjeuner was listed on the menu because it was exactly what I fancied. I ordered a black Americano and a pain au chocolat as my choice of hot drink and pastry.

I love how they serve their hot drinks in little bowl cups. I think this is a particularly French thing, although I have never had coffee from a bowl anywhere else.

Sarah ordered a spelt and quinoa scone – which sounds healthy for something usually indulgent – and a cup of tea.

One of my favourite things about Le Pain Quotidien is the range of spreads and condiments they have laid out on the table. I asked for more, because I wanted the entire range to choose from, and the waiter happily obliged, going into a secret cupboard where lots of jars of chocolate spreads were hidden. Pictured above is just a few of them. My favourite was the Noir spread – a dark chocolate spread, thick and delicious like a slightly hardened ganache.

My basket of bread and pastry arrived and I devoured all but two slices of the bread which I just had no room for. Why is bread for breakfast so good? I'd like to go to France this summer. Even if it's just to Calais, a trip through my childhood town of Dover and a journey on the ferry would be a nostalgic treat in itself.

Have you been to Le Pain Quotidien? I would love to visit some other French restaurants for breakfast (or lunch/tea!) so if you know of any, please let me know in the comment box below or tweet me @hello_flower

Tapped and Packed

There really isn't any better way to catch up with a friend than by finding a good coffee shop in which you can dump your shopping bags, tie your hair up and relax with a good cup of coffee. This time it was with Iesha in central London at a place called Tapped and Packed – or TAP for short, and it was lovely.

We spent a good while searching for the perfect place to sit down and catch up on the last nine months(! – post uni life sucks sometimes). After a few tube journeys and misread routes on our phones, we finally found this little place. I loved it instantaneously. The name especially is one that just sounds so nice in my head. I think of when I used to work in a coffee shop and tapped and packed coffee into shots while making all types of coffee on busy mornings, afternoons and evenings (everyone wants coffee all the time, seemingly).

The branch we visited was just off Tottenham Court Road on Rathbone Place, and on our way we passed the big Primark, (ahhh), vowing to go back later. I also bumped into one of my lecturers from university as well, and it was such a nice surprise. What are the chances of bumping into anyone in London, especially when neither of you live there?

The choice of sweet and savoury treats in TAP was excellent, and there were a number of things I could have easily devoured – that ham & gruyere mustard mayo baguette for one looked incredible, but I had been craving a pastry all day so I went for an almond croissant – the perfect partner to a cup of coffee.

As both Iesha and I drink black coffee, the waitress recommended the filter coffee. Like when I visited Colonna & Small's in Bath, it is best served black, made to order, and I couldn't wait to try it. We both ordered a cup of the Guatamala, and just like in Colonna & Small's, we were told to take a seat and our food and drink would be brought over to us.

I wish I could come here every day to catch up with friends, or just for some time on my own. I have, in recent years, started to enjoy going out alone – sitting and enjoying where I am, thinking, sometimes writing, mostly watching.

There's a downstairs seating area in TAP which leads to the toilet – where the toilet brush was stored in a Starbucks mug, ha.

Pretty lady Iesha with her ham and cheese croissant and coffee :)

It's a strong statement to make, but this is the best coffee I have ever had. It was served at the perfect temperature, the colour was amber-brown, and the taste was both refreshing and rich. My almond croissant was so custardy as well. I smothered it with apricot Bonne Maman jam that was on the table next to us and it was the best.

This has to be one of my favourite coffee shops to date. Everything about it was spot on and it was so nice to catch up with Iesha – it had been far too long. You can find out more about TAP here. I really recommend that you do. Where is your favourite place to go for a catch up? Are there any other coffee shops I should visit in London?