2007’s around the corner!
(Beard Papa’s cream puff)
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Dearest readers, has 2006 treated you well?
The end of the year always makes me review how the year has been, & I can honestly say, it went by like a storm, fast n’ furious. 2006 was full of excitement & activity to a point of not having much energy left. I have been getting little sleep or rest because I’m busy until late every night & get woken up early every morning. A far cry from the old days…, when I used to sleep til 12 noon easy on weekends. Working & being a mum ain’t plain sailing. That said, doing something I am passionate about is so satisfying that I never find it a chore. And most importantly, my son is growing up well & there really is nothing major to complain.
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This year, the stall operation has become much smoother. I now use disposable cardboard food trays for transporting my produce from kitchen to market. It is something like 70p per tray & so I’m throwing away five to six pounds every week, but atleast I don’t need to wash them at the end of a tired Saturday like I used to. And the speed of me doing these cakes & chocolates has trippled it seems, as I have more practical experience under my belt.
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It was also a year of good girlfriends leaving London… Lisa, Layla, Nikki – three of ’em! *sigh…* But I mustn’t forget that it was also a year of meeting great new people too. The kindness I came across this year from some of these people still glow warmth in to my heart.
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This week I am in relax-mode since the market is not open. Drinking pink champagne, wine, beer & Otima 20 year old Tawny Port (which was seriously delicious) over the Christmas celebration that stretched several days. I also had the treat of going out in to town while my parents looked after our son. We first spent money like water on Winter Sales shopping, then ate Dim Sum for lunch. A de rigueur visit to La Maison du Chocolat, & then crossing the road to check out the sales shelves at Fortnum & Mason.
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Just before we went in to cinema to see the new James Bond movie (thumbs up to gorgeous Daniel Craig!), we bought the Beard Papa‘s Cream Puff (freshly made choux pastry with whipped cream custard piped inside)… Oh boy,,, it was de-licious!
I love the fact that they bake the choux pastry several times daily on premises (the ovens were just behind the counter on view), & once an order is taken, they pipe the freshly made cream & do a little dusting of icing sugar all in front of you! How wonderfully fresh is that!
It was soo cheap too – 10 cream puffs for 11 pounds (I think it was £1.30 for one). My only quarm is that the shop name works out odd in English (the shop is Japanese y’see), & the supposed ‘vanilla’ custard cream was seriously lacking in the ‘vanilla’ front. I only saw a dozen black specks of vanilla seeds in it – basically non-existant (I would have put in a lot lot more). Maybe this is what explains the low price since vanilla is an expensive ingredient afterall. – Despite this minor detail, the cream puff was crispy n’ creamy & I finished mine in nano second flat! And I can seriously reccomend you get one next time you’re in town, it’s opposite Uniqlo on Oxford Street, London. – Beard Papa, respect.
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*Happy New Year 2007*
Wishing you peace, love, health & happiness,
t xxx
Beard Papa just recently opened in my island. Price for a pack of 5’s is £2.60 for Vanille or Chocolate fillings. My favourite is Vanille but has more than dozen of vanille seeds … :-P
On the other hand I think Beard Papa can do better than that because cheaper vanilla beans can be purchased from India which is as good as those produced by Indonesia, Tahiti and Mexico. Of Course, you can’t compared to Vanilla Bourbon from Madagascar which is the best of the lot. I suspected the hike of Vanille is control by monopolistic companies again since centuries ago (and still today) If not mistaken Vanilla is control by Dutch…:-P
Anyway, I managed to snatched a bargain of Vanilla Bourbon (Madagascar) from a wholesaler for £40.35 /250 g. I still haven’t open the package to count how many sticks in there.
My father-in-law just bought for me another batch of 20’s for £7.50. Which I think it’s a bargain compared to my hometown.
Is it expensive over there in UK?
Warmest regards
pixen
Comment by pixen - February 6, 2008 10:10 pm
Hi Pixen!
if you don’t mind me asking, which ‘island’ do you live on? (just curious…!)
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Vanilla pods are very expensive here in the UK, if you buy it at supermarkets (£1.44 per pod for the cheapest one). which is “totally” ridiculously expensive!
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I buy mine through a wholesaler, & if I remember right, I bought a 1kg (or was it 800g) for about £75.00. – I use pods all the time, for the chocolate truffles aswell as for creme pats, so it’s so cool I managed to find some so cheap! ;-)
Comment by tamami - February 9, 2008 12:37 am