the cookery club.

if you follow me in instagram/youtube you will know that i recently won a cruise! a post about the actual cruise coming soon!

as part of the prize we were given a class with james martin's cookery club to learn how to make thai street food.

now jay and i are not best friends when we cook together, so it was an interesting experience where i mainly took pictures and ate some of the food when he wasn't looking...

our chef was great, cracking all the jokes and giving us helpful tips along the way.

we made chicken satay with peanut dipping sauce, fishcakes and steak salad, all quick and easy meal to make at home as well (the sea view does add a little something though)

its a really lovely activity to do if you're ever on a P&O cruise, plus i've been well informed the james himself comes to the classes often!

after cooking and eating all our food we took ourselves off for a nap (with recipe cards in hand) before we had to dress up fancy and eat our fourth meal of the day (i felt like a hobbit) 

the vlog of our adventures is below and i'm working on a little montagey type video if you're not into the vlogging malarkey. 

*this class was gifted to me by bolsover cruise club as a prize, all view and large amounts of food eaten are my own

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afternoon tea at the arch.

where we ate

The Arch London

50 Great Cumberland Place

London  

W1H 7FD

what we ate

royal afternoon tea*

a few weeks ago jay and i ventured (albeit not too far) to marble arch for afternoon tea at the arch 

we sat in a little booth tucked away from the restaurant where be basically ate ourselves into a cake induced coma.

we chose our tea from basically of novel length tea menu, i opted for moroccan (i'm usually an earl grey kinda gal) which was a nice balance with the amount of sugar i was about to eat

every thing on that cake stand was so delicious, i only managed to eat one of my scones but if there was only a tiny bit left i would have fitted it in!

everyone at the hotel was so lovely and friendly and couldn't have been more helpful! 

we also need a second to talk about this crockery, i would happily eat every meal off of it forever....

the royal afternoon tea is running until 30th october so if you fancy a little treat just off oxford street its well worth a visit!

*all food and drinks were provided for reviewing purposes however all views and cake loving sentiments are my own 

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cottons notting hill

where we ate

157-159 Notting Hill Gate

London W11 3LF

T: 0207 243 0090

what we ate

Barbecue glazed pork belly With rum & molasses, pickled vegetables

Honey & guava glazed Corn fed chicken Chow Infused with spiced rum 

Cottons Signature meat Platter | Jerk marinated & grilled Pork ribs, Lamb chop, Chicken pieces and herb crusted salt beef with plantain

Cottons Signature Fish & Seafood Platter | Scallops, Clams, King Prawns, Squid, Monkfish tails and lobster with plantain

Rice n peas

Fried Plantain

Chocolate Praline Bar Chocolate cake with praline mousse, lemon curd, iced bubble gum marshmallow 

what we drank

Ying Yang Colada | half pina colada, half frozen Daiquiri with edible flowers

Frozen daiquiri | dark rum, lime juice, strawberry puree and crushed ice

Reggae Rum Punch | Wray & Nephew overproof rum, orange & pineapple juice, lime juice and grenadine 

a few weeks ago i was invited to try out a new caribbean restaurant in notting hill, cottons was not a restaurant that had been on my radar before but once i asked a few friends about it they could not recommend the camden branch enough so i had high hopes for the notting hill restaurant escecically as there aren't that many caribbean restaurants local to the area. 

as you walk in you are welcomed with the sound of 90's r&b and a beautiful brightly painted mural wall. the resturant is modern is with caribian twist, we sat in the back which has a conservatory type of feel (good for letting in light when you want to take pictures of your food, i know blogger problems)

the food was lovely, not too spicy and full of flavour, i would say its not somewhere to eat if you are in a hurry as the staff let wait a little bit between courses but thats nice if you want a relaxed eveing

we also need a minute to talk about the cocktails, i had a ying yang colda which combines a frozen daiquiri and a pina colda. basically if you go get one, coconut slushy goodness. 

you can book here if you fancy checking it out for yourself and they also deliver if you want to sit in your pjs and watch telly instead of venturing outside. 

*all food and drinks were covered for reviewing purposes however all views and cocktail loving sentiments are my own 

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wake me up before you go go.

last week i took part in alpro's new campaign/challenge called #alprotops 

the lovely people at alpro sent me four different yogurts and many maaannnyyy different toppings,

i then shared my different combinations over five days via instagram/twitter.

i also got sent some pretty bowls (which i almost brought the week before) and a super cute spoon which i will be using allot! they also sent me some lovely gifts for taking part which I'm in love with and will probably be featured soon.

day one | vanilla yogurt sprinkled with coconut and chia seeds, topped with almonds.

day two | lemon and lime yogurt topped with goji berries, mango chunks and dried strawberries.

day three | plain yogurt topped with coconut, plain chocolate and a strawberry (and a few more on the side)

day four | strawberry and rhubarb yogurt topped with muesli and extra fruit.

day five | vanilla yogurt topped with chia and flax seeds, almonds and chocolate (and a croissant on the side, it was a sunday need i say mor) 

my favourite yogurt was the vanilla, basically because it tasted like the vanilla custard that i treat myself to at waitrose...and don't eat out the pot...

i  wasn't the biggest yogurt eater before i started the challenge but during the week i felt much better than i do after my normal toast and peanut butter and will be considering a bit more of a yogurt based diet. 

all yogurt and toppings were provided by alpro*

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