The elegant Maille boutique in Piccadilly was the setting for a thought provoking event with Olio, a relatively new app that aims to fight the shocking food waste our society is creating every day.
It’s a great concept, and Saasha Celestial-One, co-founder of Olio, explained how the app was born and how passionate the team behind it and the volunteers spreading the word are.
But why host the event in a mustard shop? Easy: mustard, with vinegar and salt, is one of the best preserving agents available. From pickling to pastes, using mustard can help turn left-over ingredients into exquisite results.
Inspired by traditional artisan methods and more than 270 years of expertise, the creators at Maille use high quality ingredients to create complex flavours that make meals memorable.
In the Piccadilly boutique there are some historical pieces too, including one of the brand’s first jars. During the evening we were also able to taste some of the wide variety of flavours available in the shop, particularly good we found the Coconut mustard, which reminded us of a Thai curry, and Dill & Lime which matches fish dishes particularly well.
Harry then told us how he experiments with any ingredient he finds left over to turn it into something else, as long as it is not wasted. With the help of mustard and vinegar, he showed us the multi purpose a watermelon can serve to: even its rind, pickled and made into a marmalade, becomes a delicious, inventive sweet condiment which we were lucky to try on the night as a topping to a mini cheesecake.
Again, we were able to try this out in some of the canapés served to the guests, accompanied by a mango cocktail made using not only prosecco but also a mustard mango vinegar which added a touch of acidity to the sweetness of the fresh fruit juice.
Overall, it was a great evening learning not only about mustard and pickling and preserving but also an eye opener towards food waste and how we can all make small steps to save our only planet. We’ve already joined Olio and are spreading the word!
Tzatziki Relish with Cucumber
Ingredients:
1 cucumber
1 cup of Maille chardonnay vinegar
1 teaspoon of Maille Dijon original mustard
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tsp. chopped fresh dill
Method:
Grate the cucumber into a strainer, cup the grated cucumber in your palms
and squeeze to release excess liquids, sprinkle with the sea and let sit for 5
mins.
Squeeze out again the excess liquid, place into a sterilised glass jar, mix the
vinegar with the mustard and add to the jar, add the garlic and dill. Seal and
place in fridge for 2 weeks.
After the 2 weeks, drain a tbsp. of the mixture and add to 100ml of strained
Greek yoghurt for a fresh tzatziki dip.
Tip: Keep the cucumber juice and use in a salad dressing
Serving suggestion: Serve pickled cucumber tzatziki with warm sourdough bread.