Good afternoon everyone, It's a hot one! The Hamblin Family will be braving the bank holiday traffic tomorrow as we head to Somerset to catch up with one of our dearest friends, Nye Smith, head chef of the Three Horseshoes in Batcombe. Nye has been cooking professionally since he was a teenager, and cut his teeth at Moro during the late noughties. During this time he and Hugo became very close and enjoyed the rollercoaster ride of opening tapas bar Morito together in 2010. Since then Nye has cooked extensively in Paris and London and now finds himself in the west country, heading the kitchen in a beautifully restored village pub and working closely with Margot Henderson. His food is...
Good afternoon everyone, Earlier this week Kate found herself in the heart of Kensington Palace Gardens, as part of a small group of bakers attending the inaugural Baker's Day, an event at the French Embassy to promote Anglo-French food relations. Once proof of identity was shown to security, and coat was hung in the marble cloakroom, under the exquisite chandeliers and ornate drapes, we listened to a talk about the benefits of growing heritage wheat, delivered by Andy Forbes, baker and grain authority, and Fanny Leenhardt, a french nutritionist now farming in Ireland. Once again the ability, in fact preference, of these wheats to grow without chemical inputs was emphasised, a quality more valuable now than ever. And it seems there is...
Good afternoon everyone, Let's start with the pastry counter. The strawbery has a strong claim as the jewel in the crown of the English soft fruit season, and having taken delivery of 10kg via our friends at Styan Family Produce, we are taking the opportunity to make one of our all time faves, the Swiss Roll; Genoese sponge, lightly cooked strawberry compote, and whipped Berkeley Farm double cream with a touch of Neal's Yard Dairy Creamery crème fraîche. There will also be blackcurrant muffins, walnut and white chocolate shortbread, and a vanilla and hazelnut cake at the weekend. Cantal cheese has been produced in the Auvergne in central France for centuries, if not millenia, which makes it all the more...
Good afternoon everyone, On the pastry counter this week a few changes. The Chelsea bun with its brown sugar, dried fruit filling and milk glaze is back. We are sneaking it in before summer dictates something much lighter. We've also got hazelnut shortbread, apple crumble financier and rhubarb karpatka (choux pastry sandwiching rhubarb compote and whipped cream) using Styan's first outdoor rhubarb of the season, and for the weekend special, a bit of fun... We have done a recipe swap with Lizzy and Eric at Elsewhere Bread, a bakery in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We had been admiring their chocolate and rye muffins from afar, so we asked to exchange recipes, with them opting for our ricotta bun formula. These muffins are soft...
Good afternoon dear readers, We are delighted to announce that for the third year in a row we have the honour of collaborating with the wonderful Goodies on their annual party. Without further ado, here are the need-to-knows: What: Goodies Two Year Anniversary Party When: Saturday 2 May, 6PM—late Where: Goodies and Hamblin Bread, The Covered Market Eat and drink: Bar in Hamblin Bread serving natural wine, beer and soft drinks. A free panino when you buy a drink for the first 50 punters. It all started back in the early days of Hamblin, when we were operating as a cafe and shop. Matt and Rachael, the founders of Goodies, became regulars. Hugo was immediately taken with their impeccable taste...
