Juliets, Tunbridge Wells: Cafe of the Week

Juliets cafe, Tunbridge Wells

We're taking a little trip out of London for this week's Cafe of the Week. Don't panic Londoners, we're only heading 45 minutes south of the city* to Tunbridge Wells in Kent which, as well as being a lovely place for a day trip, also happens to be my home town.


Juliets is a new addition to the roster of independent cafes, delis and boutiques that line Tunbridge Wells' high street. And it is insanely popular. Saturday lunchtimes see a queue of people backed up out of the door and snaking down the street. I tried to visit in late December and found a trio of middle-aged ladies in the doorway fluttering with distress - Juliets was closed for the holidays.

Why the fuss? I pin it down to Juliets holy trinity of creative salads, ginormous cakes and vintage trimmings. And the greatest of these three is, of course, cake.

Beautiful, vital salad I glanced at on way to the cake

Carrot and walnut cake, Juliets Tunbridge Wells

The counter of Juliets is divided in half - platters of vibrant, vital salads and grainy goodness by the till, monster-sized cakes by the window - all the better for luring in passing shoppers. The counter is protected by clear perspex, which I like to imagine is there to protect patrons from sticking their faces straight in the frosting.

And what frosting! Exhibit A) above, was a moist and fragrant carrot and walnut cake with a wall of whipped mascarpone and walnut shards on top. The frosting was barely-sweetened which was great news - sickly, too-sugary cream cheese frosting is the downfall of many a good carrot cake.

Massive Victoria sandwich, Juliet's Tunbridge Wells

Exhibit B), the Victoria sandwich is already something of a local legend. This Victoria sponge, filled with fresh cream and tart blackcurrants, basks in the window of the cafe on a tall cake stand on a Roman column. It is huge, this Victoria sponge, the width and depth of a car tyre but thankfully not the texture. The picture doesn't even do its size justice - that's a dinner plate, not a saucer.

Exhibit C) the orange blossom and almond cake, is one for serious sweettooths only, with royal icing spooling over the sides and crystalised orange segments on top. It was delicious with a dainty cup of Jasmine pearl tea.

I may have got sidetracked by cake (what's new?), but there is much else that impresses me about Juliets...

• All the soups and stews are gluten-free
• There is an extensive and imaginative tea menu which even includes mate from Argentina
• The exposed brick walls feature interesting and actually good local art (i.e no kittens, no windmills)
• The breakfast menu includes original menu items like pan-fried beef and tomatoes on brown toast and a toasted croissant with speck and Fontina.
• Owners Juliet and Simon use local produce wherever possible

Now if they would only start using an apostrophe, Juliets would be nigh on perfect. 

Juliets, 54 High Street, Tunbridge Wells Kent TN1 1XF
julietstunbridgewells.co.uk

*Trains from Charing Cross, Waterloo East or London Bridge at least twice hourly- honestly, the TW tourist board should pay me for this stuff.

Easter rocky road recipe (for goodtoknow.co.uk)

Easter rocky road, image copyright IPC Media

Rocky road is a dentist's nightmare. Crunchy biscuits, squishy marshmallows, melted chocolate - it's a refined sugar convention. Which is precisely why it's so incredibly delicious. Now, I'm certainly not recommending anyone eat this every day, but I've created an Easter rocky road for goodtoknow.co.uk. It's packed with Mini Eggs, pastel-coloured marshmallows, Rich Tea biscuits and juicy sultanas.

Click here for the recipe.

Mother's Day biscuits recipe for goodtoknow.co.uk

Mother's Day biscuits, image copyright IPC Media

It's Mother's Day on the 18th March, and I've been squirrelled away in the test kitchen at goodtoknow.co.uk making some Mum-worthy treats, including these easy Mother's Day biscuits. Click here for the recipe.

Chocolate and blueberry porridge recipe (gluten- and dairy-free)

Chocolate and blueberry gluten-free porridge

Porridge is one of the best ways to start the day (sorry, bacon). But to keep eating it every morning, I need some fun ingredients in the mix. This is a food-loving household, not a Victorian workhouse.

Enter: chocolate. More specifically, a spoonful of cocoa powder, not a paving slab of Dairy Milk. That would be silly. A little cocoa powder, plus a drizzle of agave nectar or honey is all you need to pimp your porridge. And now gluten-free oats are starting to appear in supermarkets, almost everyone can join in the porridge-pimping fun.

Oats are a thorny ingredient in the world of gluten-free diets. Although they don't contain gluten themselves, oats are often contaminated with wheat, rye or barley in production or during the milling process.* Nairns now does a range of gluten-free oat products, including porridge oats. They are farmed separately and kept free from contamination during milling. Nairns sent me some gluten-free porridge oats recently and while I don't often write about food products here on Pinch of Salt, I was particularly keen to give them a whirl...

About a year ago I was having some dull and unglamourous health problems, and was tested for Coeliac Disease among other things. Luckily, the result was negative but I did a lot of reading up on gluten-free diets and gluten intolerance and, ever since, I've tried to eat less wheat and more of The Worthy Grains, like brown rice and quinoa. All I know is, when I eat less gluten and dairy, I feel a lot better. For Coeliacs, I imagine any development which means a verboten ingredient becomes a possibility once more must be met with big fat cheers.

So here's a gluten-free, dairy-free way to make porridge feel like dessert, even though the naughtiest thing in it is two teaspoons of cocoa. As the porridge heats up, stir in some blueberries. They'll start to soften and burst, adding a wonderful sweetness.  It takes 5 minutes and makes overcast weekday mornings bearable...

Chocolate and blueberry porridge (gluten- and dairy-free)

60g gluten-free porridge oats
220ml rice milk
2 tsp cocoa powder
2 tsp honey or agave nectar
50g blueberries
A few flaked almonds to sprinkle

Place the porridge oats in a small, heavy-based saucepan and add the rice milk.

Stir in the cocoa powder and honey.

Heat for a couple of minutes on a low heat, stirring regularly. Add the blueberries half-way through cooking time, so they start to burst but don't loose their shape completely. Bring to the boil briefly and then simmer for another minute or two.

Sprinkle a few extra blueberries and flaked almonds over the top.


*The Coeliac Society's official advice on adding pure oats to a gluten-free diet can be found here.

Would you like to see more gluten-free and/or dairy-free recipes on Pinch of Salt? Let me know in the comments below.

Casa Felix supperclub, Buenos Aires Argentina

Casa Felix supper club, Buenos Aires

Casa Felix in Buenos Aires is a very special place. Ring the buzzer at a non-descript front door in Chacarita, a quiet residential neighbourhood, and you'll be ushered into a courtyard that plays home to one of Argentina's best supper clubs or 'closed door restaurants' as the locals call them.

'Closed door restaurants' are a well-established feature of the Buenos Aires dining scene - some of them have been running for decades. Casa Felix was started five years ago by Argentine chef, Diego Felix, and his wife Sanra in the open-air courtyard of their apartment. 

Casa Felix's courtyard - open to the stars

 The evening begins in the garden, with a cheeky mint and watermelon clerico (a sangria-esque spritzer made with white wine and very popular in Argentina). The herbs and plants in the garden, the portly figs dangling over the courtyard from next door's garden and the intensely green fruit from Diego's stout little lime tree form the basis of our dinner. Anyone thinking that Argentine dining is all meat and no veg would be in for a shock at Casa Felix where locally-grown vegetables, wholegrains and indigenous South American herbs form the basis of an imaginative menu, inspired by the Felix's travels around the continent.

A breeze ripples through the main courtyard as we sit down at a tealight-studded table to the first of five almost-faultless dishes - an addictive morsel of hot, runny Fontina cheese wrapped in Chayote squash leaves and drizzled with syrup.

Causa limena, Casa Felix

Next up is causa limena - a traditional Peruvian cold mashed-potato cake (does that sound grim? It's not) doused in lime and topped with sauteed oyster mushrooms and a little chilli oil. Delicate, zesty, delicious. (Causa features on the menu of Ceviche, the new Peruvian joint in Soho if you want to try it in the UK.)

The starter-major is a hillock of roasted beetroot, toasted Brazil nuts, leaves from the garden, goat's cheese and roasted garlic, all drizzled with a sweet Malbec vinagrette. Then it's time for a palette cleaner: melon and lemon balm granita.

Our main is a fillet of grilled Patagonian sandperch marinaded with Diego's take on Mexico's pipian sauce - smoked salt, cumin, cocoa powder and ground pumpkin seeds. Yes, it's every bit as lip-smacking as that sounds - I'm going to try giving some Brit fish the pipian treatment soon. The fish is served with black beans, a small dollop of an umami-tastic mole, pine mushrooms and salsa.

Throughout the evening, Diego wanders between the tables, explaining the origins of the dishes and ingredients to attentive, mainly American, diners. He recommends a wine-pairing for each course but we opt for a bottle of Torrontes - a fragrant white from the Salta region in Argentina's northwest.

quinoa and fig galette with lavender and honey ice cream, Casa Felix

We end a magical evening with a nutty quinoa and fig galette, topped with a creamy, if a little grainy, lavender and honey ice cream. Wholesome, original, delicious South American food served under the stars? Life doesn't get much better.


Colectivofelix.com