Berlin through the eyes of Jamie

Thanks everyone who sent me kind and supportive messages after my last post. I feel basked in your warmth!

Without much further ado (mainly because there's no time!), here's the full article I wrote for Jamie magazine, Dutch edition, on foodie Berlin. I'm working on a translation so non-Dutchies, bear with me! Photographs by Maarten van der Wal; the lovely illustration on the last page is by Linda Scott.

Cook a lot: One more slice by Leila Lindholm

Every time I tell my mum I have baked something sweet, she says the same thing: be careful. It's not really a surprise as this is my mum's response to many of the things I tell her. On holiday? Be careful. Long drive in the car? Be careful. Got a cold? Be careful. After years of the same spiel, I know the code behind the much used phrase. In the case of baking she means: you'd better watch your weight. Baking means eating, and who else but me and my man would be eating up all this cake?

Looking at the pictures of Leila Lindholm in her second baking book, One more slice, I have a suspicion that her mum worries about other things. Leila looks like lately, she's been baking her cake and eating it, too. Dressed in floaty clothes and padding on Birkenstocks, she's a down to earth version of the equally curvy Nigella Lawson. An earth mother of sorts, and one that - according to the foreword - is trying to bridge the gap between cultures and generations by baking goodies. The recipes are international enough and range from Italian semifreddo to American brownies and from French pain au levain to Russian blinis.

Cook a lot: Fast, fresh, simple. by Donna Hay

I first 'met' Donna Hay in the shape of her magazine when working for Jamie Oliver in London. It was one of the mags that were eagerly awaited by everyone in the office. Once in, it would be fought over, disappear for days on end and finally pop up somewhere with drool marks on the pages.

Donna's books are like fat versions of her magazine: summery, whitewashed pictures with lots of pastels and impeccable food styling that somehow doesn't make you feel inadequate just by looking at it, but convinces you that your plate/table/life can look this good too.

Fancy London?

‘It’s mayhem here around Christmas,’ smiles manager Michael Gale. His butcher’s shop, Allens of Mayfair, is slap bang in the middle of – indeed – Mayfair, where the cars are chauffeured, the shops are unaffordable and the women cosmetically pretty. Every winter the ceiling of this tiny butcher’s, with its listed tiles on the walls, is covered to within an inch of its life with turkeys. Allens will get through eight thousand of them during the holidays (‘Our Christmas season starts in November, ’ Michael explains, when the Americans from around the corner celebrate Thanksgiving.’) and they are all aged hanging from the ceiling. One look inside the shop and the craftsmanship, care and love that Allen’s puts in its products becomes instantly clear. ‘The beauty is, that with us, you can just walk in off the street, look up and handpick the turkey that’s just right for your Christmas celebrations. That’s unique in London.’ In the holiday season you will see Michelin starred chefs, American embassy workers and neighbours, all queuing up in a nice orderly line, waiting with a patience that only the English seem to possess. Queuing for you turkey? It only adds to the joy of Christmas.

Michael's worked at Allen's for many years
Pic by Bonnita Postma

No nation is looking forward to Christmas as much as the English. Traditions are being dusted off, Christmas trees, houses and whole streets are covered in tinsel and baubles, and the whole of December, in pubs around the country, another round is being hauled in ‘because it’s Christmas time’. Restaurants are filled with groups of friends and colleagues sat at long tables for their annual Christmas party, drinking champagne, eating a set menu and – it’s a silly sight – wearing a paper hat. The hat stays on, all night long. It’s Christmas after all.

Read a lot: the camper van cookbook

Ever since I saw Martin Dorey on telly in his BBC programme, One man and his campervan, I've developed a bit of a crush. Yes, I know he's married with two kids and yes, he seems quite happy about that. But still. His enthusiasm for food, foraging for ingredients and nature itself, his down to earth attitude when things go wrong and his lovely, lovely campervan called Pootle make him the ideal holiday companion.

Martin's book on life and cooking in his campervan, The camper van cookbook, has earned a spot on my dashboard. It is mostly a cookbook, focusing on versatile recipes that can be cooked on two rings max. Or on a barbie, of course.

            

At the same time, the book is filled with tips and ideas for a jolly holiday. Want to pick your own mussels? Make your own hammock? Build a sundial or convince the world and his best friend that you're a first class surf dude? Martin tells you how to do it.

           

The campfire songs (chords provided), funky car games (roadside roulette anyone?) and guide for picking your own berries make you long for those good old holidays you enjoyed as a kid. Now there's a guide for grown ups. Good thing the holiday season is here!

This happy camper book is available in English (Saltyard Books) and Dutch (Kosmos Uitgevers). Want to see more of Martin? Go to Martin's blog or follow him on Twitter (@campervanliving).