Tag Archives: Jamie Oliver

Jamie Oliver arrives in Chiswick with Union Jacks

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Jamie Oliver seems to have a restaurant in every borough of London, affirming his position as the city’s favourite chef, so it seems only sensible that he brings his appealing grub and lovable character to West London, after all we have waited long enough. Chiswick High Road houses a plethora of restaurants and cuisines – so many eateries come and go, it is easy to be unaware of the streets latest offerings. Jamie Oliver’s new Union Jacks casual cool diner suits Chiswick.

Keen to cover all Chiswick’s highlights, it was essential that I checked Union Jacks out… with, of course my favourite Chiswick girl guest. The venue is quirky and fun, and already feels firmly established despite only being a mere few weeks old. Upstairs we had great window seats overlooking the High Road, ideal for voyeuristic diners. The staff are young and hip and seem trained to speak in Jamie’s trendy lingo, which we found quite hilarious. The drinks are simple but innovative, I particularly enjoyed the Roobarb & Custard drink made with Chase Hereford Rhubarb Liqueur, apple and cinnamon… served with an awesome stripy straw!

This chain was set up by Jamie with American chef Chris Bianco whose small restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona apparently serves the very best pizzas around. The menu focuses on ‘flats’ – wood fired pizzas adorned with big British flavours. There are a few other options available but they pale in comparison to the bread based recipes. First we had a few little plates: smoky and delicious Sausage and Bacon with strong ale & sage mustard and Smoked Trout with fresh horseradish & baby yorkies… this was an unusual combination and apparently tasted extraordinary.

The flats flavours are bizarre, my friend was brave and tried the Fish Pie variation which actually looked beautiful and had a lovely flavour. With Smoked Pollock, heritage potatoes, sweet leeks & delicate little Welsh cockles, it was a work of art. I chose the Juliette: a take on the Margarita, which I then jazzed up with shoulder of pork, one of the wonderful extra choices. The pizza/ flat was highly flavoured, with the base cooked to perfection, but I would have liked perhaps a little more topping to prevent it from being too dry. We also tried the intriguing purple sprouting broccoli with crushed hazelnuts, bacon bits and roasted garlic, it was a very inventive side.

Overcome with joy about the exciting homemade ice-cream, we ordered a small scoop of each of the numerous flavours. I thought the Eton Mess and Bramble Ripple were best though my guest loved the indulgent Snickers bar flavour which was chocolatey and nutty in equal measure.

Jamie Oliver is unstoppable, Union Jacks in Chiswick is further proof of his unbelievable energy.

Visit the website here to book.

THOROUGHLY MODERN MAN: Barbecoa Butchery Demo

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I was intrigued as to what this demo at the butcher’s wing of Jamie Oliver and Adam Perry Lang’s famous Barbecoa restaurant would entail.  I can assure you that it was a novel experience that I would recommend to anyone with a stomach or a taste for meat.

After a bit of a chat with the butchers (Marco, Zach and Adam) that would be leading us through the evening, we were directed to look at a humongous 170kg half carcass of a cow that was chained up in the walk-in refrigerator.  Suffice to say there was not much left of it by the end of the evening.  After a struggle with a knotted chain, the cow was lowered to eye level and the breaking down began.  The masterful butchers began with the substantial shoulder of the animal before deconstructing the entire piece; carving, boning, slicing and dicing was interspersed with helpful commentary that simultaneously offered innovative recipe ideas while dispelling preconceptions about the uselessness of certain cuts of meat.

The night also involved a wine tasting, which was professionally led by Paul Green, the head sommelier at Barbecoa restaurant.  The first wine, a 2009 Spanish red called Pacheco, had a full-bodied texture and a spicy, fruity taste.  I must say this was my favourite of the three.  The second was a 2010 Pinot Noir branded Paper Road.  It hailed from New Zealand and evoked a slightly lighter and earthier flavour.  Finally, we sampled the 2009 wine from Italy, Ca’marcanda Promis.  This was a heavier drink with a nice sweet liqourice flavour.  We were advised to enjoy this alongside a sirloin or rib-eye steak.  Interestingly, these wines are exclusive to the Butchery and are not served in the upstairs restaurant, and have been selected by the resident butchers to compliment the cuts of meat that they offer.

It was truly a delight to spend an evening with these guys who clearly love and invest a lot of time in their craft.  I left the Butchery feeling a lot more knowledgable about how to get the best out of good quality meat.  We were also furnished with some generous gift bags to go home with, and although my camera battery died just before the demo started, I can offer you some snaps of what I did with Barbecoa Butchery’s meat.

Drop by the Butchery on Watling Street by St. Pauls to inquire about one of these demos – it’s an experience you will not forget!

Visit the Barbecoa website here for more information.

Written by a Thoroughly Modern Man, Mark McCloskey.