I was a little torn about whether to blog about this here, or to put the pictures up on my other photoblog. In the end, I thought you might enjoy abit of cake porn on a Monday.

Introducing… Gails.

Abit of background, Gails is a bread maker looking to revolutinise the way we eat bread, by baking and selling awesome bread and cakes to the unsuspecting London republic. They are still quite a small group, but one that is growing. Currently, there are three branches and their forth is due to open this Wednesday at Clapham.

I was in the Notting Hill branch last week to shoot some cake, and taste a couple.

I hadn’t really had much time for this, I sandwiched this assignment in between finishing up a lunch at Sketch at 3pm, and rushing off to another meeting immediately after at 5 and I was hoping 2 hours plus abit of time for travel was enough to cram in all home.

I turned cake down, seriously.

Looking back to the trip, I was so utterly amazed at myself: I said no to cake. These are the chocolate fondant ones, you know, the ones with a melting centre, what’s the name for it, a chocolate moelleux. Although, I only turned it down because of a really heavy lunch at Sketch (which by the way, rocked, and shall be reviewed/blogged about on Friday.).

Photographing food is usually quite difficult, one needs to resist the temptations, and trust me, all the temptation equals camera shake and rushing through composition. But since I was on a full stomach, this was quite breezy, but still. The temptations lurks….

The brick wall

I really wanted to get a shot of the interiors, and kind of throw the cakes out of focus (any red blooded cake lover would disagree with this I suppose..) and the brick walls seemed like such a nice touch to the whole ambiance of the place. Note the bread tin. I’m on the fence with the composition of this shot, there’s too much emptiness around the image. I think it’s just a little off, and might crop it tighter: more brick wall and less of everthing else.

What do you think folks? Surely among you is an avid photog, feel free to critique.

Money shots

Gails had spotlights which were great for hard directional lighting. The one of the jars was lit with alot of natural light, since it’s just by the door (on its right), while the flat white was placed there by one the staff. I liked these ones, I think they came out quite successfully.

Eating cake

All in all, a pretty tiring one. I was alternating with two prime lenses for this, everything handheld and shutter speedsfluttering around 1/60 to 1/125 at ISO640, some might argue that’s just abit slow for tack sharpness, but ah well, I have steady hands. I did manage to eat something, a pretty sugary cupcake, with raspberry and almonds. It wasn’t quite so moist as I would have liked it to be, although it had a good cushioned consistency and a lovingly baked richness. Not too bad at all, and a nice little reward.

Try me and Gails too

I’m hoping to score a visit to Gail’s bread factory (please, please, please..), that would be a really fun trip, and maybe take one of you along with me too. But we’ll have to wait and see for that one.

You can see the entire gallery at my flickr page here, if you need some food shots, email me, I’m free but you need to feed me.

Happy monday folks.

Gail’s official site
138 Portobello Rd (020) 7460 0766
Kensington, W11 2

First Floor Restaurant Official website
186 Portobello Road, London W11 1LA

Portobello Road Market is famous around the world.   On a Saturday you can wander along between the brightly painted houses and browse the stalls selling everything from antique silverware to fruit and vegetables.  About halfway along Portobello road is First Floor Restaurant, a welcome refuge from the chaos of the market. 

Shabby Chic

The restaurant is elegant but with a slightly bohemian feel in keeping with Portobello road.  Large picture windows allow a great view of the market sprawled below while crumbling walls and an eclectic mix of furniture is teamed with elegant candelabras throughout the room and fires blazing in the corner (a definite hit on a cold winters day).

There was a big group of us there for my friend Suse’s 30th birthday.  Drinks were served and the menus were brought around.  The food on offer is probably best described as modern European with an emphasis on British produce.

Golden Galette

One of the lighter choices on the menu was the “Golden Cross” Goats Cheese Galette.  The Galette was made from crispy puffed pastry and just a hint of puff pastry was served with confit tomatoes and ringed with basil pesto.  Just enough to whet my appetite for mains. 

Fantastic Fritti

I did have slight order envy as birthday girl Suse’s Calamari Fritti looked and smelled amazing.  Served with cherry vine tomatoes and sweet chilli the fritti was super fresh and by all accounts delicious. 

Chicken and Celeriac

Saddle of chicken served with celeriac and cabbage was beautifully presented.  The mashed celeriac provided an interesting twist on the usual mashed potato and the combination of celeriac and cabbage made this a comfort food classic.   

Classic Crumble

When it comes to pudding, in my view traditional is best and what could be more traditional than apple and berry crumble served with custard.  The crumble was served in a delicate little cup with a dish of custard on the side allowing you to be as heavy handed as you wished withthe custard (I believe there is no such thing as too much custard so this suited me perfectly).  The berry flavours of the fruit were intense and perfectly complemented the crispy crumble topping.  My only complaint would be that the both the crumble and custard were only luke warm.  Such a brilliant winter pudding deserves to be served piping hot.

Soak up the atmosphere…

A visit to the First Floor Restaurant is a perfect way to enjoy a delicious meal while soaking up the atmosphere of Portobello Road.  Only one floor away, but you feel a million miles away from the crowds below.  There is a bit of trash and a bit of treasure at the stalls on Portobello Road but I think it is safe to say that First Floor Restaurant is one of the treasures of the neighbourhood.

The Gist of it

First Floor Restaurant Official website
186 Portobello Road, London W11 1LA
Verdict: A treasure perched high above Portobello Road.  The shabby chic interior is romantic but equally great for celebrating a special occasion with a large group of friends.

About the Author: Gourmet Chick are the culinary adventures of a girl who lives to eat. She hails from Australia and lives in Notting Hill, reviews restaurants and also writes about stuff she eats while travelling. Truly delicious stuff.