If you’re wondering what to do in April. The month that feels like spring but yet it’s not quite warm enough to spend endless time outside here are a few ideas.
Coffee Festival is back in Shoreditch from 20-23 April. All the latest coffee innovations, flavours and brands will be there. The event is busy with talks, workshops, products to buy and samples to try. The Festival is attended by big brands as well as independent brewers. There’re also cocktail workshops.
In preparation for the coronation in May Hyde Park hotel Royal Lancaster Hotel prepared special afternoon tea. The Coronation tea includes English classical flavours such as roast beef and horseradish and smoked salmon sandwiches and warm scones. The petit gateaux include beautifully crafted traditional sweet bites such as fruit cake, Darjeeling tea cake, damson plum mousse and lemon cream.
The Royal Lancaster Hotel mixologists also crafted coronation inspired cocktail inspired by King Charles’ favourite cocktail, the classical martini with a twist. The Coronation cocktail features infused the vermouth with the finest Darjeeling tea. The afternoon tea is available from 28th April till 9th May. Options include classical afternoon tea and vegan afternoon tea.
30th April is national Bubble Tea Day. You must have heard of this popular drink originating in Taiwan that took London by storm. Years later people still queue outside small venues in China Town to grab one. However, if you haven’t let me mention a few things.
It’s traditionally made with tea, milk, syrups and tapioca balls hence the name. Although now there are fruit, juice and even cocktail varieties with fruit juice filled balls that pop. The fruit variety is the way to ease into bubble tea according to Ning Ma founder of TeaJoy. It’s a fruiter version for those who might find tapioca balls a bit too starchy. Although for me traditional tea with tapioca is my preferred version.
TeaJoy founder developed a signature jasmine based tea syrup that can be mixed to make bubble tea making it more accessible nationwide in a number of food venues such as Las Iguanas, Toast, Rosa’s Thai Café and the little Chinese street food venue MamaLan in Brixton where the brand was born.
Last but not least if you are still hibernating at home post winter consider some creative home cooking. It’s wild garlic season now all across the UK. It’s leafy green aromatic plant from the Amaryllidaceae family covered shaded forest floors and some are even blooming with delicate white flowers by now. The whole plant is edible both raw and cooked.
Wild garlic has quite a different flavour to the bulb and is less pungent than you might expect given its garlicky, yet pleasing, aroma and it becomes sweeter when cooked.
For those of us not up for foraging in damp woodlands and hedgerows you’ll you’ll be pleased to learn of Tracklements latest Special Edition – NEW vegetarian and gluten free Wild Garlic Sauce.
Tracklements Special Edition Wild Garlic Sauce is a careful balance of delicate wild garlic, hand-picked in the beautiful Wiltshire woodlands, honey and mustard. The sauce is the perfect partner for pork tenderloin, hot smoked trout or pan-fried Pollock, this little jar has a lot more to give.
Drizzle Wild Garlic Sauce over steak, chicken, roasted vegetables, omelettes, scrambled eggs and tortillas or stir into a potato salad. It’s also rather good mixed through mayonnaise or crème fraiche for a dip, or salted butter for a tasty little surprise on toast to accompany a bowl of soup.
And this lively jar just keeps on giving; use as a dressing for salads (thicken with Greek yogurt if you fancy), dress an insalata tricolore, or even use as a marinade. Tracklements Special Edition Wild Garlic Sauce RRP £3.75 for 170g, is available from fine food delis and farm shops nationwide and online at website.