People are more willing to experiment with where they eat and with the popularity of shows like Come Dine With Me and underground restaurants covered on shows like Jamie's American Road Trip, it feels perfectly acceptable to go around a strangers house and pay for the privilege of them cooking you dinner.

Maybe the attraction is the Russian roulette nature, in that you don't know whether you are going to get the good, the bad or the downright ugly (food, host and location included). It's an exciting, new and growing scene and an experience no restaurant can match.

London has a host of established and successful underground restaurants but the scene is starting to bubble in Brighton. And with the often eccentric nature of Brighton and its inhabitants, I personally couldn't think of a better place.

I don't know what I was expecting of my first underground experience, but it was entirely exceeded. Walking into the personal space of another human, expecting to be served is odd no? Well no. It could have been the beautiful apartment located in one of the Regency Brighton properties off the seafront, but I think it was the warm welcome of the hostess that made me feel quickly at ease. I mean you don't get a peck on the cheek from a restaurant owner as a welcome would you?

Also, in a restaurant you would NEVER talk to the people around you, yet this intimate space was like an open forum. Super. It was intimate and actually quite romantic, but if there are interesting people to engage with then it always makes for a pleasant evening. I like the little details and I appreciated the personal touches like the wax seal and handwritten quotations on the back of the menus.

So what about the food? The menu for the evening (£25 donation per person) was entitled Winter Warmer and by heck we needed warming up.



We started with a Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Parmesan Croutons served in a hollowed out pumpkin. Creamy, gorgeous and homely. Exactly the sort of soup I could happily live on.



Main was Oxtail Slow Braised in Guinesss with Cannellini Beans and Mash. Mr Graphic Foodie loved this so much that his pleading eyes won him a second helping (another bonus versus a traditional restaurant). There really isn't too much to dislike about this dish. Deep, rich, comforting and fulfilling. Not the prettiest of dishes but looks aren't everything in real eating.



We finished with Flourless Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Coulis and Ice Cream. Flourless cakes remind me of occasions I have been subjected to dining with certain veggie friends who seemingly have allergies to everything that tastes good. But this was lovely and gooey, whipped off the plate in little time.

Coffee and tea was served in darling vintage cups which I have a hopeless passion for. Love Poppy also does a vintage afternoon tea that will be well worth a look.

As this was the opening night I was impressed. I have cooked for 10-12 people on many an occasion but to cook for paying guests is another matter entirely and takes a brave individual. I probably would crack under pressure but Poppy was as cool as a cucumber, peeking out from behind the screened kitchen for chats.

If you are interested in trying an underground restaurant you will obviously not find information via the regular sources. Exact addresses are divulged after you have booked and drinks are typically BYO. Prices vary but are generally in the £20 - 30 mark.

To book a table at Love Poppy's underground restaurant in Brighton visit Love Poppy's Ning page or blog.

To find an underground restaurant near you visit the Supper Club Fan Group on Ning or search via Facebook or Twitter.

I love yogurt me. And as much as I love piles of thick, fatty Greek yogurt, drizzled with honey and pistachios, I also love my hips so I opt for low-fat versions on a day to day basis (bad foodie). And what a sad old market the low-fat yogurt isle is. If it isn't synthetic tasting (does anyone like artificial sweetener??) it's weak and watery and well... not piles of thick, fatty Greek yogurt with honey and nuts.



Chobani contacted me and I have to admit their offer of taking me to Graze in Brighton for a specially created menu using their product was all too tempting. I've wanted to try that restaurant in like, forever. And you know what, if the chefs here are happy to use the product (in cocktails, sauces, sorbets, panna cotta, as a tart filling...) then it's good enough for my kitchen too. They went to town on the menu but standout was the Lamb Rack and Lamb Belly with Chobani almond barley, olive, confit tomato and fennel and an incredible Treacle Sponge with Chobani sorbet, candy bacon and a bacon and vanilla foam. I can't wait to revisit them for dinner soon.



As well as being pretty delicious, thick and on the whole fat-free, it doesn't taste of artificial sweetener like their main UK competitor or have any odd thickeners or other chemistry set stuff. Chobani is a strained yogurt, high in protein and is clearly ideal to cook with. My pet hate with cooking with yogurt is that it splits and curdles, something which Chobani shouldn't do as most of the water is removed during the straining process. What also interested me (and my hips) is that you can in theory substitute things like butter, oil and cream in recipes, and they give you a handy conversion chart and information on their website.


Low-fat substitutions have always seemed too much of a taste sacrifice ("Here, have this frozen banana instead of this lovely gelato, it's practically the same." "Er, no.") but this yogurt is so thick and creamy I was willing to give it a go. The proof is in the pudding as they say, but as I'm on some crazy baking bender at the moment, I'll be testing the theory out with some lemon and poppy seed cakes.

Well. Maths isn't my strong point and Batch #1 of the Lemon and Poppy Seed muffins were a disaster because I ended up doubling the liquid part of the recipe in my conversion. I got a B in GCSE maths amazingly. Totally fluked that one.



Batch #2 was correct but the muffins were heavy, close textured and frankly, just horrible. I created the world's first inedible cake.

Batch #3 (I'm clearly determined to make this work) was much better. I hadn't used the muffin base recipe before so wasn't sure it was a duff recipe or the yogurt, so I used my fail-safe Victoria sponge recipe as a lemon and poppy seed loaf. This was so much better. As there is far more butter used anyway, by halving it and adding some yogurt, you almost didn't notice the difference. I think the muffins had such little butter in them (15g), halving it to almost nothing didn't give the cake any lightnesss. They also had too much yogurt overall (110g as the recipe already called for yogurt, plus some for the aforementioned butter substitution). You need SOME fat in baking, it's just incredible you can halve it by adding some Chobani.



I'm sure the loaf recipe would work as muffins, just adjust the cooking time for them.

For some reason, Chobani's PR are targeting lifestyle and fashion bloggers (I must have slipped the net) so would have been more interesting to see people using and commenting on it from a food angle rather than reading post after post about it being "yummy". The fruit versions really are, erm, yummy however, I really do think that the plain Chobani product is a useful thing to have in the fridge for cooking. And, if you are hot on your maths, then a great ingredient to successfully substitute traditional fats for. Your arse will love you for it.

http://chobani.co.uk/

The Chilli Pickle
You know I love this restaurant. Having had time to bed into its new location in a more foot-fall friendly road and increased in size, it still retains all of its magic, quality and affordability. With a larger premises, they have been able to expand their tandoori dishes and the huge mixed meat platter as well as the whole tandoori sea bass are worth going for alone. The Oxtail Madras is also back on the menu - one of Mr. GF's favourite dishes. Still have a great selection of beers, still have fantastic staff, this is such a great asset to the Brighton dining scene. [Previous review here and here.]

Sam's of Brighton (Kemptown)
Another one of my favourites, Sam's can be relied upon for simple yet robust, quality cooking. Their lack of faff is a real plus point as well as their smart bistro style interior. Plus it's round the corner from my house! Using lots of fantastic produce, the meat dishes in particular are always good. On this visit I had a really succulent pig's cheek starter (which was on the specials) and a delicious and surprisingly hearty Salt Marsh lamb salad. I also tried a really nice Sicilian wine from Mandra Rossa which was new to me. [Previous review]



Love Poppy's underground restaurant
I attended a really pleasant event here courtesy of Casillero Del Diablo wines. Fab wines aside, Poppy delivered another stonking, beautifully presented meal. Her slow cooked pork was droolingly good. And you know what it's like at underground restaurants with strangers where everyone is being polite? Yeah, well, forks were spearing leftover meat here, there and everywhere! Mr GF, usually such a charming man, made sure he nabbed the bone of the platter for the last tasty morsels! Dessert was the prettiest of the month too.



You won't get her attention to detail in any restaurant in town. Get down to here if you can, upcoming events here. More info available at www.lovepoppy.co.uk.

Boho Gelato
Whenever I have a troop of visitors, I march them down to Boho for an education in gelato. Now my visitors DEMAND we factor in a visit here! Offering a different experience every day as the flavours change constantly, I loved my lemon and poppy seed and mint choice this time. The best bit about going with a load of people is you get to share (if they let you!) so got to try the Gin and Tonic, Cherry and White Chocolate and Honeycomb flavours (although you can always ask the server nicely for a little taste). [Previous review]

Cocoa Patisserie
I'll almost forgive them for always running out of my favourite Cocoa product, the briochette unless I go in super early, because the second choice will always be first class anyway like their flaky croissant, tartlets, macarons and beautiful mousse cakes. Since discovering this gem, I refuse to eat pastries from anywhere else in the city. A piece of Paris right in the heart of Brighton. Bliss. [Previous review]

Pho
I popped in for a solo lunch because I wanted a really good feed and a steaming hot bowl of their Pho is always going to fill you up! I tend to go for the meatballs and brisket, shoving loads of the  supplied coriander, chilli and beansprouts in. It is a heavy lunch but instead of making me sleepy, always makes me feel strong and virtuous - perfect to fuel an afternoon back at the studio designing! Nice and casual, I always enjoy my visits here. [Previous review]

Cote
Another chain yes, but another quick post-work meal on the fly. I do think from reading reviews we have a particularly good branch here, I think the interior is the nicest in the old music library and I've yet to have a dud meal off the full menu (the cheap early dining menu can be a bit hit and miss). [Previous review]

Brighton has a beach, a disposition for pleasure and the sun (ok, so not the sun). The only other thing missing is some decent gelato and, as London is seeing gelaterias popping up willy-nilly, Brighton hasn't had so much as a sniff of the action. That is until now. The beginning of July saw Boho Gelato opening in the Pool Valley area in Brighton (not a valley at all, a coach station) to the rejoice of the Brightonians.



There are 24 daily-changing flavours including some familiars (pistachio, vanilla...) and some not so familiars (avocado, carrot cake, brown bread, black sesame, pink champagne…). A massive USP is that the gelato here is made using local Sussex non-homogenised milk in a state-of-the-art vertical gelato machine.

The other USP is the infectiously enthusiastic (like really, really so) owner, Seb Cole, who fell in love with gelato on frequent business trips to Rome in his previous employment working for an Italian printer. His original plan was to open a pizza al taglio (heck - Brighton needs one of those too!) but his sweet tooth and love of flavour creations brought him to gelato. And jolly happy I am that he did.



The current house favourite is the amarena cherry, but with little tastings happily offered, I can imagine people will go for the braver flavours. Seb has also created flavours for local restaurants (a local thai restaurant has lemongrass and a poppy seed flavour on order) and will craft flavours for special Brighton events. Bespoke gelato can also be created for enjoying at home with a minimum order of 3.5 litres (I think from memory). Now that would be a brilliant birthday gift for a special someone (read me), no?



Whilst I was there, an unusual liquorice flavour was just coming out of the machine. I love liquorice so this was right up my street and worth waiting for. The texture was so soft, silky and smooth, having just been prepared, it was absolute heaven and just the right amount of sweetness to balance the bitterness of the liquorice.

I also sampled the avocado flavour which was surprisingly light and would make a delicious twist on the classic prawn cocktail for a starter. You can get the gelato to take away in handy polystyrene containers so excellent for dinner parties (or just gorging on at home). The brown bread flavour was very comforting and, as Seb suggested, could be converted to a perfect autumnal flavour with plum or apple, forming a kind of iced crumble, proving that gelato is not just for summer!



Also worth a mention is the branding and the design of all the cups, which have been designed to match certain flavours (and you know I love that sort of attention to detail). The interior, with just a few tables and chairs, has been nicely considered and would attract adults and children alike.

Pool Valley was formerly a bit of a crummy area but today you'll find a fashion boutique, an exclusive handmade shoe shop and (an old favourite of mine) The Mock Turtle tea rooms. Boho Gelato, with its colourful facade brings the street up yet another notch.

Hope to see them next year on Brighton beach with a mobile gelato unit. Until then, they'll be seeing my face a lot!

In the world of cookbooks saturated with celebrity chef endorsements, nameless books are often eyed with suspicion. Sometimes a miss-match of collective recipes (often untested page fillers) they can seem uninspiring and unrewarding to cook. But not always and certainly not in this instance.

Bake is big (an impressive 1.5 inches thick). Bake doesn't have anyone's smug "I'm making so much money" face on the cover. It doesn't even have a name credit on the front. Its gold, typographic cover reveals almost nothing yet if you crack it open it contains page after page of interesting baking recipes from cakes to breads. I think as it focuses on global baking from 13 areas of the world, it holds your attention for almost 400 pages. I'm not one of these hardcore passionate bakers, I can take or leave it and often the saccharin colours, twee design and gaudy decoration of most baking books turns my stomach.




This is a really classically laid out book, and whilst not winning any awards for ground-breaking design, is easy to navigate, has a useful index and some nice touches like a photo of all the ingredients laid out as a visual checklist. It also has progress photography where needed. The images overall are actually quite nice and simply styled, illustrating each recipe perfectly. I suppose the only thing I would want to change is adding an equipment list in the recipe sidebar as most call for a specific cake tin shape and size. That way you could see at an easy glance what you can make with your stock of tins and anything else like cutters, forms and piping bags.



Unusually, I wanted to bake quite a lot in this book, mainly from countries I wouldn't have tried baking from; Moon Cakes from China, Sweet Pierogi from Poland or Siphonoptta cheesecake from Greece. Breads feature too like Pitta, Fougasse, Naan...there is even a recipe for fortune cookies and savoury tarts and rolls. The USA, UK and the French of course, have all of their classics represented (as they should) although I'll never eat another croissant now I know how much butter there is in one!



So after a lot of bookmarking, first up were these little German Baumkuchen layer cakes. And for the first time in my life, the result is the spit of the book image. My whole family loved this cake from the baby to the grandparents. A very unusual batter mix, cooked in thin layers under the grill (get a cuppa and stick the telly on), it was fun to create such a different take on a cake. It is quite wasteful in chocolate and offcuts - but these can be eaten too. I will definitely, definitely re-make this, maybe adding a little orange liqueur to the mix and making a template so I get 100% even triangles. For the effort (hardly any), these were impressive little cakes. The recipe was spot on with the timing it takes to make as well (a recipe feature I like as I am time poor).



I was tempted enough to purchase a Madeleine tray as I do like these little cakes and it turns out they are so easy to make. I ended up baking 3 batches of the lemon and poppy seed Madeleine in a week as they are so quick and take a mere 8-10 minutes to bake. A good one to knock up to take on house visits or get the kids involved with. Will really enjoy playing with the base of this recipe and using other flavour combinations with it.



A Victoria sponge is a classic recipe and the one in this book is exactly that. I've always used a similar ingredient spit as this and gave a light sponge with a fine texture. The second time I make it I substituted half the butter with Chobani strained yogurt (and some lemon and poppy seeds) and the cake didn't suffer much at all, maybe being just a tad dryer.



Seeing as I had the biggest pumpkin in the UK to deal with, I just had to make the Pumpkin Pie in here for Halloween. Thankfully calling for shop bought pastry (I HATE making pastry), the filling was easy enough and the result was pleasant. No soggy bottoms here. Can't say I'm the biggest fan of pumpkin pie but I ate quite a few slices of this one. The spices gave warmth without being too over the top.

As I said, there is so much I want to bake from this book, but I will be giving my hips a rest before trying out a few more. If you like baking, or if like me, the latest series of Great British Bake Off has inspired you to get interested in it again, then Bake is an ideal book for you. I've had quite a few cake books that have been relocated to the charity shop for being unreliable but this one I'm keeping. With the range of recipes, it should be the only one you'll ever need too.

Bake by Love Food is published by Parragon Books and costs £xx0.

I received this copy for review.