In England's Green and Pleasant Land...

...the color violet is making quite a splash. That would be "violet" as in Violet Cakes, Claire Ptak's very popular London bakery business (www.violetcakes.com). For non-West Marin readers of this blog, Claire was born and raised in the Pt.Reyes/Inverness area, was a childhood friend of Sonya, and now, by one of those odd quirks and coincidences of life, is a neighbor and good friend of Alex and Sonia in London.

The success of Claire's business led her to take the big step of moving her operation out of her flat and into a free standing building on Wilton Way in Hackney. Instead of burning the midnight oil every Friday in her own small kitchen -- baking hundreds of wildly delicious cupcakes and other sweet treats, for sale Saturdays at her stall at the tony Broadway Market in Bethnel Green -- she now has a spacious, well-equipped commercial kitchen where she can burn the same midnight oil, but also expand her offerings.


One of these offerings is the Violet Secret Supper - dinner for around 25 lovers of great food, cooked by Claire and a well known local or visiting chef. The inaugural Secret Supper took place last night and, again, by odd quirk and coincidence, we found ourselves in London and happily able to attend! One look at the menu and our mouths began to water....



In the upstairs dining room, a side table set the tone of elegant food display, and anticipation of things to come. An hour or so of yummy little toasts of ricotta/garlics, broadbean/spicy treats/puréed artichokes and other delectables were accompanied by tastes of a local brewery's latest flavor and champagne. The perfect touch to pass the time, until the word came to "please, ladies and gentlemen, take your seats, dinner is served."


The upstairs room quickly filled as the eager foodies took up their soup spoons to sample the "fish-not fish-soup." Yum! A blend of shellfish with (it seemed to me) a predominate flavor of lobster, all creamed together with subtle spices and a creamy texture. Like I said...yum!



Meanwhile, downstairs in the kitchen, Claire and her visiting chef, Christopher Lee, were busy assembling the main course:

Squab Pigeon grilled over a hole with Savoury Bread (and Secret Things)

After 16 years as chef at Chez Panisse -- where I believe he met Claire, (a former Chez Panisse pastry chef) -- Christopher and his wife, Janet Hackinson, opened Eccolo on 4th Street in Berkeley. Now, he travels as a consultant, and just happened to be in London to coincide with the first Violet Secret Supper.

How could he not resist being part of this ?!



The squab platters made their way to each table, greeted with great delight and enthusiasm. Nestled into a bed of arugula and radicchio, and accompanied by the "secret things" (all those unmentionable items in much of American cuisine, but delicious in most other -- liver, kidney, tongue, lardons, etc.) the dish was infused with a warm slightly spicy dressing that balanced all the flavors perfectly.

A suitably long time went by as we all devoured this delicious course, with second helpings for most of us, and many toasts to the chefs.


All the while, in the oven, the unknown Tart of Darkness bubbled and baked away. The mystery finally revealed itself as Rhubarb Tart, without doubt my most favorite fruit flavor. This was no ordinary rhubarb, however. Up north, in Yorkshire, a flourishing agricultural business produces rhubarb grown entirely in the dark. Known as "forced rhubarb" the crop is harvested by candlelight, so as to reduce to a minimum any light, and thereby ensuring a vibrant pink color and much sweeter flavor than the rhubarb that grows in my vegetable garden at home. Need I add that it was divine!




We were not done, though! Delicately-flavored ice cream provided the final sweetness, accompanied by a soft and subtly tinged mint tea.








Meanwhile, at what was called both the "kid's table" and the "chef's table" because it was downstairs in the kitchen, we enjoyed the lively company of Damien, as well as that of Jemima Lewis, columnist for the Sunday Daily Telegraph, and her husband, Henry Dimbleby, who runs Leon Restaurants. Jemima, one week overdue with her second child, announced, as she was eating her rhubarb tart, that she was having serious contractions. They departed for hospital shortly thereafter, and she gave birth to a second son. Perhaps, if it had been a daughter, the name "Violet" might have been considered...





...but, in any event, it was clearly a great evening for Claire, not only giving birth to the new home for Violet Cakes, but also celebrating the birth of a friend's baby, and we were delighted to be on hand to cheer her on.

Brava!




À bientôt!