27 Comments
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Sarah Thorley's avatar

Not overly "different " but mum used to macaroni pud years ago as a sweet. Just like a rice pud but with macaroni.

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Vanilla Black's avatar

Ahhh, someone else said that directly to me. Funny.

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Sarah Thorley's avatar

I'm not sure if it was one up or one down from rice. I know she had to eke out food for 7 of us and she did really well. She was an amazing cook.

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Vanilla Black's avatar

And that’s the way it should be. Sometimes my mam would warm our food for us.

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Sarah Thorley's avatar

😂😂😂

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Matt Inwood's avatar

Nice stuff. Amazing food pairings. We dined with friends a few years back and one of them ordered the Marmite ice cream saying it had to be good for someone to put something so brazenly not of a dessert world onto the menu. He took one spoonful and screamed in disgust, OH MY GOD IT TASTES LIKE MARMITE. I got through about half of it (too timid to have it returned to the kitchen almost untouched) and remained curious but not satisfied throughout. It felt like it had just been infused with the flavour and that the idea stopped dead there. I love that your process goes further.

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Vanilla Black's avatar

Thanks Matt. How we taste and how our tastes are related to various reference points is fascinating. And the reactions caused are intriguing to me.

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Matt Inwood's avatar

I can still picture his screwed-up face and his wife's repeated, 'But what did you expect it to taste of?'.

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Felicity Jones's avatar

I think it’s fair to say that you consistently rocked out different.

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Vanilla Black's avatar

That’s a slightly different way of putting it. Thank you.

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Felicity Jones's avatar

The Crocs though …

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Vanilla Black's avatar

Beautiful, yes.

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Felicity Jones's avatar

Right. I am back on track in the right week now. I remember that pineapple and chilli. Don’t recall the broad beans - can you share that in anticipation of my harvest (first time allotment growing, it may be meagre) …

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Vanilla Black's avatar

Welcome back. Let me see if I can dig it up.

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Pamela Glasson Roberts's avatar

I remember eating roasted pineapple with chilli syrup at Bruno Loubet's Odeon on Regent St in something like 1998? Or earlier. Was fabulous.

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Vanilla Black's avatar

Ah Bruno, he’s a nice chap. Lives in Australia now.

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Clare Heal's avatar

Love the sound of the coffee-onion combo. Inspired. Had an asparagus sorbet on a dessert at a place in Margate once which surprised me by being really delicious.

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Vanilla Black's avatar

Thank you. Asparagus!! Now that’s very interesting.

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Clare Heal's avatar

It was! There had been an asparagus starter too so it was a really nice callback.

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Caroline Osella's avatar

Oh my God, another one with extraordinary food and some good laughs. Much appreciated, ta! Thought about you guys this week. A vegan friend held her birthday party in Brighton. She wanted Terre a Terre, but too expensive. (Her mates are hunting saboteurs, seagull rescuers, cat foster parents etc - not the wealthiest crowd). So we went to Food for Friends. It was ok. Just ok. Could have done with some avo mousse or chilli pineapple.

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Vanilla Black's avatar

Thank you Caroline. Haven’t been to FFF for donkeys years. Last time we went it was decent, but yea, no twists and turns like TaT.

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Lorraine Malyan's avatar

I love this. I've had blue cheese ice cream with a dark chocolate fondant in a restaurant in Amsterdam. When I ordered it, the lovely waitress said " not many people go for that one" It was really good.

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Vanilla Black's avatar

Thank you.

Now that sounds very good, it’s set my imagination ticking.

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Matthew Clapham's avatar

I used to do a 'Greek salad' dessert which involved melon and watermelon in place of cucumber and tomato, queso fresco (though the saltiness of feta might have been more interesting), and sultanas in place of black olives, sprinkled with toasted pine nuts (I had to stop making it when the bank refused to remortgage the house for the 7th time...) and drizzled with honey.

Radical ice cream is an area I feel is very much underexplored. I think there's a place in Barcelona doing some funky stuff, and I have fond memories of visiting the Guinness record-holder for flavour varieties in Mérida, Venezuela, which I hope has survived.

I quite like the idea of having an artisanal ice creamery. Avocado sounds like a natural fit, already a hugely smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Lots of potential for vegan versions using horchata as the base, rather than simply a flavour, as well.

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Vanilla Black's avatar

Ah, that’s a clever idea, I like that.

We did a podcast with a guy who has an ice cream parlour in Kent. Interesting combinations. Pine nuts are currency somewhere, I’m sure of that.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Opv9jdgkAvG3e3GMjYSpz

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Dunk Parsonage's avatar

Another cracking read. Thanks for sharing A&D! I have fond memories of serving a dessert with caramelised mushrooms and cep fudge at Taste of London for you. It was delicious

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Vanilla Black's avatar

Thank you D. Mad crazy days. Thanks for helping out, you are the best.

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