Congratulations!

Well done to all who entered the cookery competition.
The continual down-pours did nothing to dampen the spirits of our local cooks and this year saw some fantastic entries.

Best in Show winner Charlie Fox with his champion Victoria Sponge

Radish snail!

Vegetable Hat Parade and Best in Horti Show winner Loveday Corden

Mr Col Baldwin, worthy winner of the Savoury Preserves Category  with his delicious Sweet Chilli Sauce with Basil

Crab Apple Jelly

First prize in the Sweet Preserves Category

Crab apples contain so much pectin that unless you really add too much water, the jelly will always set and you'll have something delicious to show for your efforts.

Wash the crab apples well, removing the leaves and stalks. Place in a large pan and just cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer on the lowest heat for one hour until the apples are very, very soft. Line a large sieve or colander with a muslin cloth and tip in the mixture. Leave the liquid to drip through for a couple of hours - if you push it with a wooden spoon, you will get more out but the finished jelly will be cloudy. Measure the apple liquid and pour into a very large clean pan. Add roughly three quarters of the same volume of granulated sugar ( I had 2.5 litres liquid, added 1.8 litres sugar and got 9 jars of jelly) and gently bring to the boil, stirring from time to time until the sugar has completely dissolved. Boil hard for 10 minutes then cool a little, pour into jars and seal.

Hello and Welcome

This year's cookery competition is taking place outside the Review Bookshop on Sunday 5th October

Please drop off entries between 10am - 12pm.

Winners to be announced at 3.00pm followed by the cake sale (of any entries that have been donated to the event) at 4.00pm.

Brownie points will be given for any cracking stories behind your entry. All winners and runners up will be awarded a lovely prize.

Entry forms and further info will be available soon from the Review Bookshop. All proceeds raised will be donated to a local charity.

This year we will also be running a sister horticultural event on the same weekend. Categories include giant vegetables, floral arrangements and a vegetable hat parade.

For more details click here.

Victoria Sandwich

I've been practicing for the all-new category of Classic Victoria Sandwich this week. I started with the oldest recipe I had which is this one here:

Isabella Beeton is one of the most famous cookery writers in British history. The Book of Household Management, first published in 1861, was a best-seller and a guide to how to run a household in Victorian Britain.

Time: 20 mins
Serves 5-6

Ingredients
4 eggs; their weight in pounded sugar, butter and flour; 1/4 spoonful of salt, a layer of any kind of jam or marmalade.

1. Beat the butter to a cream; dredge in the flour and pounded sugar; stir these ingredients well together, and add the eggs, which should be previously thoroughly whisked.
2. When the mixture has been well beaten for about 10 minutes, butter a Yorkshire-pudding tin, pour in the batter, and bake it in a moderate oven for 20 minutes.
3. Let it cool, spread one half of the cake with a layer of nice preserve, place over it the other half of the cake, press the pieces slightly together, and then cut it into long finger-pieces; pile them in cross bars on a glass dish, and serve.

Recipe taken from Mrs. Beeton's Cookery and Household Management, Isabella Beeton [1874] London.

Could this be the return of the legendary Spicy tomato ketchup?? ketchup

as photographed at 11.49pm, Friday Pm. We know how to whoop up on a Friday night..

Man in search of the ultimate welsh cake recipe

Just in: a photograph of local Peckham man paddling up the River Wye in search of the ultimate welsh cake recipe. "The Baking Brilliance prize will be mine" were the last words heard coming from his lips as he disappeared down some rapids....

New Judge! Top Prize!

We are very happy to welcome East Dulwich Deli bossman Tony Zuccola into the judging panel this year. EDD is sponsoring the Best In Show award but Mr Z is keeping his special prize very much under wraps....