Inside this month:
Rob's ramblings
Meet chef Chris Tunmore
Welcome to Waffles
Exclusive invitation and FREE gift!
Crispy Chicken Thigh recipe
Filter coffee of the month: Macho
Great Friends, Great Times!
Greetings T&T VIPS!
Ever keep playing a favourite memory over and over in your head, hoping that it could last forever?
At the beginning of last month I got to spend five whole days with my best buddy from primary school, Wade. Apart for 14 years and separated by miles and miles of ocean, he surprised me in my office on a warm autumn Tuesday afternoon.
Wade and I have been best friends so long we can’t remember meeting. Our folks were pals. People say we are like chalk and cheese. I love the big city he loves nothing more than fishing for snapper in the middle of the Whangarei harbour, Heineken in hand.
One of the most traumatic things for me moving from NZ to London all those years ago was not having my best buddy with me any more. We struggled with the transition. But over time catching up after work in the “legendary” garage in Mt Eden, gave way to long chats on the phone. House parties were replaced with weddings back home, more recently 40th birthdays.
When Tried & True was only weeks old, and Clara had just been born, I was working in the café, it was very quiet and I was wondering what on earth I’d got myself into.
My phone rang. It was Wade.
“How’s it going bro?” he asked.
“Well, we’re open” I replied.
There was literally no one in the café bar me and Nikki. I was scared, exhausted and pretty emotional.
I’d only recently walked away from a challenging career and a decent salary and I couldn’t envisage when I’d feel any sense of financial security again.
I mentioned that it was dead.
“You know the one thing you need bro?” Wade asked.
“No” I was pretty keen for answers!
“Time” he said. “All you need is time. You can do this. If anyone can, you can”.
That advice from my very best friend in the world kept me going for the next few years while we built T&T into what it is today.
I’ve been so fortunate to enjoy such a long, close friendship with such a great guy and the few days we spent together in London were amazing. Cheers Wadeo. You’re a fundamental part of the T&T story.
RK November 2017
Staff Spotlight – Chris Tunmore
This month we welcome the latest addition to the Tried & True kitchen team – Chef Chris Tunmore.
Originally from Reading in Berkshire Chris got his start in the kitchen cooking in a garden centre coffee shop in his hometown. His love of cooking and solid work ethic soon led to Chris leading the kitchen in a busy gastropub in the West Berkshire countryside.
Seeking new challenges, Chris moved to London in May last year with his fiancée to further their respective careers. Their first stop was in a busy pub in Kings Cross where he would regularly serve over 200 roast dinners a day!
So what’s the attraction of the kitchen for Chris?
“I enjoy the adrenaline rush on busy days and I love experimenting with different techniques and dishes and trying different plating ideas and styles,”
“But it’s when the pressure is on that chef’s show their true colours”.
Chris explains…
“The most challenging thing as a chef is the constant pressure… but with the right attitude and right team the job is easier to perform to a high standard”.
A big BBQ fan, Chris’ favourite dish on the menu is (not surprisingly) the Pulled Pork Benedict. “So much time and love goes into making that dish…the homemade corn bread is amazing and the pork is cooked low and slow overnight. You can taste the dedication!”
Chris starts his day with a latte. An avid cyclist and swimmer, he also makes time to get to the gym regularly. He also enjoys exploring London events and is looking forward to the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park.
Chris is a professional and talented chef and we are very pleased to have him on the team. RK
What’s Cooking? New on the menu at T&T
One thing we do constantly at Tried & True is to receive and respond to feedback from our valued guests.
It is super -important to us to ensure that everybody is having the best experience possible.
Therefore, we have streamlined our menu a little to make sure our T&T VIPs continue to enjoy the best brunch in London, whenever they visit.
BUTTERMILK WAFFLES
Our super popular buttermilk pancakes have miraculously evolved into buttermilk waffles. They are the same great recipe in a new, lighter, fluffy waffle format. Continue to enjoy a special treat with maple syrup, mascarpone and our homemade seasonal compote. You can also enjoy with our new...
STREAKY BACON!
We’ve been serving our treacle marinated dry cured back bacon from Real Butchers in New Malden for over 5 years now.
Word in our feedback box over the years reveals it’s a bit like Marmite…guests either love it or hate it!
So… we’re bringing back the basics and will be serving dry cured streaky bacon with all our dishes from now on.
Try it with waffles, in a sandwich or just on the side!
VEGE SKILLET
A sizzling cast iron skillet full of potatoes, chorizo, pulled pork and poached eggs has almost tempted a few of our vegetarian guests to the dark side. They can now visit T&T safely now in the knowledge that we have a new Vege Skillet featuring, crushed potatoes, mushrooms, baby spinach, poached eggs and basil pesto. Yum! RK
EXCLUSIVE EVENT FOR T&T VIPS!
Grab a fresh (& FREE) start to the end of the year …with Ringana
Local mum Leona Ogden is hosting an exclusive pre Christmas event at T&T on Thursday 30th of November at 7pm showcasing Europe’s first and only fresh skincare and whole food nutritional supplements from award winning Austrian company RINGANA.
As the nights close in and the clocks go back there is one fear that resonates broadly across the entire T&T community. What to get (insert name) for Christmas!
AMAZING OFFER!!!
Leona is stepping in to help inspire our health conscious and ethically aware community with an exclusive event for T&T VIPS where you’ll be able to explore the range of innovative beauty products and healthy supplements from Ringana. All while enjoying a complementary glass of bubbles and a mince pie!
Enjoy a sociable night out, while exploring the innovative RINGANA range.
GRAB A FREE GIFT WORTH £19!
And as an added bonus, the first 20 people to RSVP either by phone or online will receive an exclusive free gift of a skincare travel set worth £19! Click here to register online.
INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS
Ringana is unique in the ethically and environmentally challenged cosmetics industry. Their products are made from 100% fresh, high-quality, highly active natural ingredients - using state of the art high-tech processes. Their products only use fresh raw ingredients harvested at optimum time for maximum effect and are without synthetic preservatives, solvents, mineral oils or stabilisers.
Because of their freshness philosophy Ringana can deploy extremely effective, antioxidant, active substances that cannot be used in conventional products.
RINGANA products are completely vegan, are not tested on animals, and are sustainably produced.
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
RINGANA’s range includes skin and bodycare, sun-care, sports products, wholefood supplements and superfood health drinks and shots. The products are unisex and can be used by the whole family - young and old alike.
ABOUT LEONA
There are many reasons why one would take up the challenge of establishing and running their own business.
One that really resonates is the time and flexibility you gain (after all of the hard work) allowing you to enjoy the time available for the important things in life.
So it was for Leona, who, determined not to miss out on the special moments with her two young children, Isobel and Harvey, took the plunge into RINGANA.
But it was the company’s core values that really struck a chord:
"We want to eat fresh, toxin free food so why should what we put on our skin and what’s in our supplements be any different? And that care and concern extends beyond to the natural environment. RINGANA is a leader in the quest for a better, healthier world where sustainable and ethically sourced products are the rule and not a rare exception."
HOW TO RSVP
If you’d like to attend the event on the 30th at Tried & True simply call 020 3189 1279 (24 hours) and leave your name and address details.
Or, if you prefer, log on to www.rinfresh.com and enter your name, address and contact details there.
NO STRINGS
There are no strings attached. You will receive your invitation by mail and email which you can bring along to the event - and exchange for your exclusive free gift if you are one of the first 20 guests to register!
THE EVENT
7pm - 9pm Thursday 30th November at Tried & True, 279 Upper Richmond Road, Putney, SW15 6SP.
For more information call Leona on 07966 355208 or visit her website www.rinfresh.com
Recipe – Crispy Skillet Chicken Thighs
These Crispy Skillet Chicken Thighs are a super simple recipe with just a few ingredients from your pantry. These babies are usually on a weekly rotation in our home. They’re just so quick and easy, and go with just about any side dish.
Perfect for a Sunday dinner, yet quick enough for a weeknight dinner.
Chicken thighs are our favorite part of the chicken, pretty hard to dry out. And boy do I love the skin on these thighs. Like seriously it is so good! The use of the coconut oil gives it such an amazing flavor.
CRISPY SKILLET CHICKEN THIGHS
Serves 5-6
INGREDIENTS
5-6 skin on (bone in optional) chicken thighs
2-3 tablespoons coconut oil
2 teaspoons maldon salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 220 C
2. With paper towels pat the chicken dry.
3. Heat a large cast iron skillet to medium high heat, add coconut oil, let melt.
4. Once the oil is hot, place chicken thighs skin side down in the hot skillet and cook, until skin is crispy about 8-10 minutes, flip chicken thighs and place skillet in the oven and cook another 15-18 minutes or until internal temp is 75 C.
5. Remove chicken and let it rest 5 minutes before serving.
Serve up with your choice of sides. I love them with a bit of coconut rice and some broccoli RK
Filter coffee of the month
MACHO
Tasting Notes
HONEYCOMB/ HAZELNUT/ CREAMY
Square Mile’s second Macho lot for the season, and this time we have the red honey processed lot providing a heavier, creamy body with sweet honeycomb flavours and a sprinkling of hazelnuts.
Square Mile have been roasting this coffee with the awesome name from the Macho farm for the last three years, and each batch has been delicious. Expertly managed by Efrain “Macho” Naranjo and his son Herbert, the farm’s harvests are
processed at their Santa Rosa 1,900 mill. The steep hills sloping down from the building are lined with mesh tables that let the sun and air gently dry the coffee down to export level moisture, allowing their coffees to really shine with clean, delicate acidity.
This lot is processed as a red honey in which some mucilage is left on the beans and gives us the fuller and sweeter characteristics. Bold, nutty, creamy and sweet like honey we think this is a coffee to keep everyone happy!