Waterstones Picadilly London Event

Come hear International Chef, Natasha MacAller talk about all things Vanilla! With its fragrant and captivating scent, it is a must-have in every kitchen, and the ways it can contribute to your dishes are endless and often surprising. Vanilla Table is a culinary celebration of all things vanilla. From sweet to savoury, soup to nuts, Natasha will share stories and take you on a journey to discover the many wonders of one of the most amazingly versatile ingredients in your pantry. You will taste a few sweet and savoury treats!

Tuesday, 17th March • 6:30 p.m. In the Mezzanine Cafe at Waterstones Piccadilly 203 - 206 Piccadilly, London W1J 9HD

To reserve a place, please contact the store on: 020 7851 2400 or email piccadilly@waterstones.com

Let Them Eat Cake

Gesine Bullock-Prado, one of the chefs from Vanilla Table, has just released a new book, Let Them Eat Cake: Classic, Decadent Desserts with Vegan, Gluten-Free & Healthy Variations: More Than 80 Recipes for Cookies, Pies, Cakes, Ice Cream, and More! Gesine wrote this book with everyone in mind. She wanted to provide a resource for bakers who are often hamstrung when confronted by the need to modify recipes for dietary restrictions. Available for purchase at Amazon.com

Awards Season

The International Association of Culinary Professionals has announced its 2015 IACP Award Finalists, which focus on the year's best food writing — from cookbooks to videos to journalism.  A few of the chefs from, Vanilla Table are finalists – Rose Levy Beranbaum, The Baking Bible, David Lebovitz, My Paris Kitchen: Recipes and Stories, Christine Manfield, Dessert Divas and Yotam Ottolenghi, Plenty More: Vibrant Vegetable Cooking from London's Ottolenghi. The Winners will be announced during IACP’s 37th annual conference in Washington, DC on Sunday, March 29, 2015. Congratulations chefs!

Vanilla Table Book – Giveaway

A Glug of Oil is delighted that the lovely people over at Jacqui Small Publishing are giving one lucky reader of this blog the chance to win a copy of this lovely book – 21 days left to enter. Please visit A Glug of Oil.com to find out the details.*

*Please note the prize – one copy of the book Vanilla Table, can only be sent to the UK only.

Milo & Olive

My favourite go to local – Milo & Olive a neighborhood bakery and pizzeria that is now twice the size. Smiles and delicious food all around! The lovely operations manager Anastasia was working at the new expansive counter on Saturday morning and chatted with a great friend, Chuck Craig and I, while we enjoyed a whole wheat mascarpone-blueberry iced cake, the apple kouign amann and Luxxe coffee. Our server Sarah was a delight – we will return again and again! Milo & Olive serves a menu of fresh baked morning pastries and bread, wood fired pizzas, farmers-market inspired salads and small plates in a very intimate and warm environment. Milo & Olive

When Pigs Fly

This is my London chef assistant, Kathy who helped cook and style for the Vanilla Table photo shoot. I thanked her with a gift of a Chefwear apron, “when pigs fly”. Kathy says, “it is by far her favourite apron and most complemented”!

Sausal – El Segundo

Sunday tasting for soon to open restaurant Sausal near LAX. Chef Anne began with a scrumptious artisan salad, homemade hominy and irresistible short ribs. Natasha finished the afternoon with Frozen Chocolate Soufflés and Fresh Raspberry Empanadas. Anne, Chef Terry Buzzard and Natasha, three happy gals celebrate with Sausal co-partners Sorin Costache and Joseph Suceveanu. Sausal – Nuevo rancho cuisine

Amazing fruit and veg art

Just love this! I think it beats an aquarium anytime.

Amber Locke creates intricate designs by photographing fruit and vegetables arranged on a sheet. “It started with a picture posted on Instagram of her weekly groceries last year, but now Amber Locke is being commissioned to create her 'veg art' by the likes of Jamie Oliver and Android.” Read more here and share with friends mad on photographing their veges! Amazing fruit and veg art

Melisse Restaurant

Melisse Restaurant in Santa Monica, is truly an extraordinary and elegant dining adventure! Chef/Owner, Josiah Citrin and Chef de Cuisine, Ken Takayama artistically combine ingredients, flavors and textures in a most spectacular manner. The food is divine and the presentation is exquisite. Pictured here are just two offerings that contain Heilala Vanilla beans. We are more than impressed with what they have created and extremely flattered to have our vanilla beans become a part of something so grand! Melisse Restaurant

Pineapple Souffle and Coconut Sorbet and house made vanilla yogurt with the most delicious fruit combination.

Heilala Vanilla USA

HOT OFF THE PRESS - The top 5 Trends spotted at the 2015 Specialty Food Association Winter Show in San Francisco are in - looks like Vanilla is one of the 5, with emphasis on varietals. As you can imagine that makes us Heilala Vanilla thrilled! Vanilla Bean Cheddar Cheese - yes please!! Specialty Food

After 5 Years of Work, Redbird Finally Takes Flight

Neal and Amy Knoll Fraser together run Redbird, the restaurant in the rectory of the former St. Vibiana Cathedral. It has been five years in the making. It’s been quite the journey for Neal and Amy Fraser, who made a pact 17 years ago to one day live in Downtown. The Silver Lake residents haven’t done so yet. For now, a beautiful new restaurant in a cardinal’s old home will have to do. Brilliant and cheers to you Neal Fraser.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - Once upon a time, a Catholic cardinal lived and worked out of the tidy concrete rectory adjacent to the St. Vibiana cathedral at Second and Main streets. If only he could see his old home today, transformed... Read more

Pic’s Peanut Butter

SOMETHING NEW.

Pic’s really good peanut butter

What's new about this, you may ask. It's the same old smooth peanut butter, With no salt. Like you probably bought by accident once. NO MORE! That smart White band around the lid tells you there’s no salt in this one. Soon you will find that same white band around the no salt crunchy as well....

See more

25 New Restaurants to Try Around Los Angeles

It's a new year (hello, 2015!), and the eternal question remains the same: where should we eat tonight? We're here to help answer that with a roundup of new and notable openings around LA over the last month, from Downtown LA to Burbank. Read more

Cookies

Cookie baking madness NZ style! Happy Baking from Vanilla Table!

Tui Bird Elixir

A New Zealand recipe for Tui Bird Elixir: 120g/4 oz sugar, 175ml/6fl oz hot water, 280ml/10 fl oz cold water. Add sugar to bowl, boil kettle and pour hot water over sugar. Stir to dissolve. Add cold water and place bowl inside a bright red or hot pink bowl. Wait patiently, Tuis will approach cautiously at first then word gets round the bird neighborhood and they will be singing and positioning themselves to land, have a few dips and race away chasing each other through the Manuka trees!

The Old Packhouse Market

Check out this exciting NZ new local market filled with produce growers, artisan food makers and more! The Old Packhouse Market

Co-op gals Sandra and Alexa at The Old Packhouse Market sold out of all their delicious from scratch treats including pate au poulet with tipsy cherries, smoked cheese, beetroot chutney and Mikey's Genuine Pork Pies-served with Branston Pickle and proper english mustard!

Koru Club Coffee Lounge at Auckland Domestic Airport

Kia Ora New Zealand! Back to the healing land of the long white cloud and a chef's inspirational playground! First up the Koru Club Coffee Lounge at Auckland Domestic Airport a short head clearing ten minute walk from International. The classic NZ coffee called a Flat White made to order in the lounge are worth it! Air NZ even has an app you can use to order your drink before you've even left the plane! The hot beverages come quickly and time is estimated to the minute for their arrival at the counter! Then a quick jaunt to board the 19 seater in what sounds likes a vacuum gone crazy, but the joy of being able to watch the cockpit every inch of the way. Greeted at home by a prize winning fisher woman, Kendra who caught a 20kg snapper and finishing the day with a NZ Grapefruit Vanilla Greyhound sparkle bevvie! Bliss and blessings to be back! Happy Thanksgiving today all!

VT Available on Amazon

Pre-order on AMAZONAvailable April 1, 2015

VANILLA TABLE The essence of exquisite cooking from the world's best chefs

With the help of 33 outstanding chefs, who have each contributed a 'vanilla plate', international chef Natasha Macaller has created a truly global compendium vanilla expertise, showcasing this most exotic and yet everyday spice in over 100 vanilla dishes, sweet and savory.

The Sweet and Savory Spectacular

I helped out @SherryYard and her assistant LeahChoi @HelmsBakeryDist at "The Sweet and Savory Spectacular" Food, Wine and Culinary Competition event for C-CAP a non-profit leader providing culinary scholarships for at risk high school students Sunday, October 19 at the gorgeous Art Institutes Santa Monica campus Caught up with @Duff_Goldman, @JetTila, @BarbaraLazaroff, SuzanneTracht @Suzanneatthejar, @SuzanneGoin, Barbara Fairchild @fairchildonfood and the effervescent Lori Wressell and tireless LA C-CAP director, Mitzie Cutler @mitz207! Congrats!

Favourite Farm Shop

One of my favourite Farm Shops just moments from the Cornwall Shore. Lucy's team Tracey and Maggie are full of smiles at Padstow Farm Shop supplying locals and visitors alike with outstanding local seasonal food and provisions including handmade bread with grains harvested and milled at the farm plus local fruit, vegetables, meats, sauces, and don't forget the Kernow chocolate (sea salt is my weakness). I left laden with gifts of chocolate, Cornish sea salt and bottles of Mary's Shed lavender hand soap! www.padstowfarmshop.co.uk