Gregg
Stuck in Tenerife
It’s great that the sun’s come out, it means we can sit outside, nothing better as far as I’m concerned, eating al fresco with a bottle of chilled. Do you know how al fresco translates? In the fresh, I like that.
There’s obviously a lot of spring produce on its way and I’m personally looking forward to working with chef to highlight the best of the crop.
But at time of writing I’m stuck in Tenerife, not a bad place to be stuck I suppose. I’ve got Heidi and the kids here with me, but stuck we are, unable to get a flight. As soon as we do I’ll be back at the cafe, wandering from table to table with a glass in my hand, see you soon.
Tags: Gregg, Gregg Wallace
Dhruv and Arun
Masterchef winner Dhruv Baker was in for lunch yesterday with wife Aileen and 21 month old Arun - a breather after a hectic day of media interviews on Thursday. They live locally in Earlsfield and have been in a couple of times previously, with Arun a particular fan of the fish goujons (which were off the menu, damnit - will investigate). Dhruv had the pork pie and picallili and Aileen had the wild garlic spaghetti, and we sent them packing with a blood orange pannacotta for later. He gave up the day job in February and is now looking for a restaurant site in London. It must be super weird to be catapulted into the public eye like this. Gregg was saying yesterday that viewing figures peaked at over 7 million for the Masterchef final on Wednesday night, so going to the supermarket is interesting for Dhruv these days, with a lot of interest in what’s in his shopping basket.
Tags: Dhruv, Gregg, Masterchef
Nick Clegg
With the Beatles playing in the background and shards of milky sunlight piercing the Easter rain, Wallace and Co on Good Friday welcomed visitors with specially prepared Easter egg cup cakes, fresh vegetables in abundance and an array of other goodies.
A steady stream of customers, from young families with push chairs to hearty rowers with even heartier appetites enjoyed a long leisurely breakfast and fry ups were definitely the star performer. The smell of fresh coffee, bacon and eggs, blood red orange juice and newly prepared toast welcomed our guests and most tables were full by 11am.
As breakfast turned into lunch, a new batch of welcome diners could be seen enjoying some of our newly prepared salads, simple spaghetti with parsley and garlic or tucking into a pie or quiche.
Gregg was in for a few hours mingling with guests, helping parents with push chairs and taking around tasty morsels just prepared by our excellent pastry chef. As he walked around with plates of Battenberg, dishes of chocolate mousse and even the odd Scotch egg, his enthusiasm for food was plain to see.
He wants people to love our food, enjoy it for what it is – fresh, tasty and reasonably priced.
Nick Clegg, he of the Lib Dems, came in with his family and posed for the odd photo with Gregg and admitted for his love of the place although he may have just been after our vote – who knows.
Gregg carried on with the bonhomie as our team of attentive and enthusiastic servers hustled and bustled.
It was a good day, a typical day and as the evening came on, the candles came out and our evening diners joined us for supper.
If you haven’t been yet, come and give us a try. Be it for breakfast, lunch, tea supper or just a coffee, we’d love to see you.
Tags: easter, Gregg, nick clegg
Pies, pies, pies
I’m at the café as much as I can, although now we’re starting to film the Masterchef semi-finals. Still I’m down about three or four days a week.
My favourite dishes are the iman biyaldi, the quiches, pies and the puddings. Sadly none of my partners seem to like my saffron cauliflower, I will get my revenge. Poor Tim, the chef, is almost on his knees and said he’s never made so many pies in his life.
We are busier than we planned to be, so we’ve drafted in some talent, especially at the front. I’ve now been told off a couple of times by the assistant manager for getting in the way and messing the systems up. I can’t help it, I like joining in. He suggested I just chat to people instead and don’t do anything complex or professional looking.
I am looking forward to changing the look slightly at the front, we want to introduce more veg for sale and I think a few jars of tasty goodies would go down well. Spring is just around the corner, loads of great veg, hurry up Mr blue sky.
Tags: Gregg, Masterchef, pies