Grey is not my favourite colour...

50 Shades of Grey has become an international phenomenon. For those of you who have been living on a different planet, it follows the relationship of about-to-graduate college student Anastacia "call me Ana" and Christian Grey, a billionaire who she meets when she interviews for the college magazine.

An inexperienced, shy virgin, Ana is overwhelmed by his intense wooing of her, laced from their first meeting with sexual tension and innuendo.

In graphic (bordering pornographic) detail, the book traces our protagonist's first ever relationship, featuring from an unfeasibly early stage, his "red room of pain and pleasure" in which Christian, as a Dominant, wishes to spend much of his time with Ana.

Shock, horror! Our gauche young college student realises she has a taste for her controlling and emotionally distant lover and, unlikely as it seems, he feels the same and they fall in love. The book follows their struggle to identify compatability: Ana wants more of a traditional relationship with Grey, while he wants to dictate all aspects of their relationship and expects complete obedience. Both of them make compromises, but is it enough? Can they work out their differences? At the end of the book, which is dominated by explicit descriptions of their sex life, Ana breaks it off with Christian, believing they cannot fully satisfy each others' needs. Cue the next book in the trilogy...

So did I enjoy 50 Shades of Grey? Well, yes, I have to admit I did,. Did I find it compelling, believable and worthy of the hype it has generated? No way.

I have several issues with this book.

Use of sterotypes

Why does it have to be the man who is the dominant one? Why oh why can we not see a woman take charge and set the tone? Did the author really need to pander to pornographic references "ooh the innocent school girl" and "ooh the naughty older man". Oh please. This is the 21st century. I found this quite cringe-worthy. And before you retort "But Christian had a relationship with an older woman before he met Ana" - I know this. But let me point out that she is repeatedly referred to as a paedophile and an abuser, with fairly weak denials. Double standards? Not so enlightened.

Unbelieveable

Aside from the unlikeliness of Christian Grey and Ana ever meeting in the first place, would a billionaire playboy really be that interested in Ana? Yes she bites her lip, which he apparently finds irrestible, but I just didn't see enough in her to warrant his stalker-like focus on her. What does she bring to the table, really? She isn't the worldly, submissive he desires. Would he want to spend so much time on her "training"? And would he really present her with a legal contract and and NDA? How disappointingly modern.

Lack of originality

The Secretary anyone? How about 9 1/2 Weeks? Or innumerable Black Lace books? The only original thing this book has done - as far as I'm aware - is to successfully cross-over from the 18+, soft porn category into the mainstream, making BDSM more accessible to everyone. And I'm not sure that's such a good thing. Would you want your 13-year-old daughter to read this book? 

Dominant vs. Sadist

Despite Christian Grey's insistence that he is a dominant, not a sadist, I couldn't really tell the difference. He gets off on doling out pain as well as dominating, so surely he's both? The issue is raether that Ana is neither submissive nor a masochist. 

Character likeability

Be honest. Did you really warm to either Christian or Ana? Christian, our "hero" is a billionaire playboy who admits to having paid for sex in the past, continually and patronisingly calls her "baby" and flaunts his wealth as much as possible. The half-hearted attempts to make him vulnerable are too obtuse for me. Ana is inconstant - sometimes pathetic, sometimes bolshy, always over-analytical and dull. Think about it: outside of her relationship of Christian, what is interesting about her?

In summary, to my mind, this book panders to the female fantasy - a complicated, wealthy man who cares about you and is willing to change to please you. In reality, you would drive each other mad, irritate each other no end and realise pretty quickly that you are incompatible sexually, emotionally, financially and with regard to background, ambition, future plans - basically in every way.

But this is a book designed to titillate. It does that. And perhaps that's enough.

Review of Trafficked by Sophie Hayes

I really had to post a review of this book which is an unequalled example of triumph over adversity and of finding inspiration through tragedy.

By way of introduction, we learn that Sophie comes from a middle-class family. She has never felt good enough for her father, who was abusive to her mother, her brother and Sophie herself before her parents separated. She achieved good grades throughout school, although she opted not to go to university. Her first love was deported back to home country and while she dithers about whether or not to marry him so that he can return to England with her, fate takes the decision out of her hands as she is admitted to hospital and is unable even to let him know what has happened. When she recovers, the window of opportunity has passed.

She reconnects online with a good friend she met several years earlier who has since moved abroad. When he invites her to meet him in Paris, she does not hesitate and has a wonderful time. So, when he next invites her to meet him in Italy, she looks forward to it. But this is where her nightmare begins.

Shortly after her arrival in Italy, she is told that her friend owes thousands to drug lords and then she must "work off the debt". Forced into prostitution by someone she trusted, who now threatens her and her family back in England if she doesn't comply, she is psychologically tortured, mentally beaten and physically abused. Told that the police are in his pocket and with him monitoring her phone calls to her family, she has nowhere to turn.

I won't ruin the denouement by describing how she escapes - nor what happens next (let's just say her nightmare is not over even after she is reunited with her family). I do nonetheless want to reassure readers that her story ends on a high note that truly demonstrates that love can triumph over the odds and that the human spirit is more resilient than we can ever comprehend. Sophie is without question one of the strongest and the truly "good" people in this world; even if, to the end, you don't feel that she believes it.

And it is arguably this which makes the book so readable: even in the depths of despair, Sophie is undeniably engaging yet self-deprecating, introspective but realistic, managing to share the details of her ordeal in a way that touches your soul without dragging you down. A fine line to walk but achieved with a mixture of finesse and innocence that makes you want to cry when you think of everything she went through, and how she emerged a sensitive, caring young woman determined to improve the world for other people.

Learn more www.sophiehayesfoundation.org/

A Sophisticated Supper in Berlin

Octopus carpaccio

So there I was minding my own business, when I was invited to dinner in Germany's capital city. I thought about it for all of two seconds, packed my bag and was out the door before you could say "ich bin ein Berliner"!

In the upmarket Gendarmenmarkt area, we sat down in a chic and discreet environment, with a well stocked bar and modern jazz playing unintrusively in the background.

After a pick-me-up martini (shaken, not stirred - naturally), we felt brave enough to be adventurous with our starters.

The warm, wafer-thin octopus carpaccio was dressed with linseed oil, ever so slightly spiced curry emulsion and was accompanied finely shaved asparagus. Topped with a translucent seeded white chocolate bar, this was really indulgence at its finest. When you didn't think about the fact that this was essentially raw octopus, it was absolutely delicious, with no tentacles to distract you from the perfectly balanced delicate flavours. 

Peppered raw tuna

Fresh (read "raw") was the name of the game as we were also served a beautifully presented and meaty peppered raw tuna with a lemon grass risotto salad on a tapenade of apricots and red onions. 

Veal breast

Moving languidly and indulgently on, the best main course we tried was the breast of veal, braised in oriental spices with fried octopus and chanterelle  kohlrabi lasagne. The veal wasn't tough but definitely solid enough to let you know it was probably going to give you all the protein you needed for a week while the elegant mushrooms and crispy octopus tentacles (wonder if they came off my starter? Admirably cost-effective if they did...) reminded you that this was haute  - or rather, hoch - cuisine.


Cremes brulees

Dessert is always one of those dishes that I both adore and dread; I adore it because I love sweetness; I dread it because it's like approaching the end of a good book. I've enjoyed it so much that I'll be sorry when it's over and dessert is the herald of the end of the meal, rather like Poirot gathering all the protagonists together to reveal who the murderer was. But I digress...

Chocolate mousse & ginger tea

We couldn't choose between a trilogy of luxuriously creamy cremes brulees and the less traditional iced ginger and fruit tea with orange chocolate mousse and tobacco flavoured ice cream. So naturally, we had both!

And - in keeping with the overall direction of the meal - the more unusual dessert was our favourite. The mousse was light and airy, sitting in a edible cup of tempered chocolate topped by a kumquat. The ginger tea was strangely compelling, pleasantly burning at the back of your throat long after it had gone. For me, the only mild disappointment was that tobacco ice cream is indistinguishably similar to vanilla ice cream. It matched the dish and was a welcoming cooling influence on the ginger tea and I suppose if they had just advertised it as vanilla, I would have been more than happy.

If you're ever in Berlin and want to have a sophisticated evening out, I do recommend La Gendarmerie (http://www.gendarmerie-berlin.com/)

Review of Death Bed by Leigh Russell

I must say: I've been a bit of a fan of Leigh Russell for a few years and the blurb on Amazon really says it all: after she burst onto the crime thriller scene with Cut Short in 2009, which was shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger Award for Best First Novel, Leigh Russell has gone from strength to strength. Her follow-up novel Road Closed was published in 2010 and also featured the policewoman heroine Geraldine Steel. Leigh Russell continued the series with Dead End in 2011 and Geraldine Steel became the number one bestelling female sleuth on Amazon Kindle.

As a result, I couldn't resist reviewing Death Bed, the fourth in the Geraldine Steel series, which was released recently, also published by No Exit Press.

With Geraldine still seemingly unlucky in love - there's still no man on the horizon - and her relationship with her sister still awkward after she learned she was adopted, she buckles down to work, hunting for an apparent serial killer with a gruesome fetish.

Set in London with scenic descriptions that evidence the painstaking research of a literary perfectionist, Death Bed starts with the abduction of a girl who's just been out for a night with her friends and is a little the worse for wear. So far, so good - especially when you think about the number of times you've been in that position yourself... and the man who offers to take her home shows her his police identity badge so surely she's safe to accept... But is he really a policeman? And even if he is, does that make him exempt from evil? And more significantly, is it possible to live forever?

An innovative and refreshing take on the psychological thriller, with a strong female heroine who is struggling - just like everyone else - to balance her work and her personal life and muddle through, knowing all the time that every decision she makes could mean life or death.







Learn more about Leigh Russell at www.leighrussell.co.uk or at  www.youtube.com/leighrussellauthor

Taste of London - To The End...

After attending this event for the first time ever on Thursday, it says a lot that I returned again on Sunday, the last day, happily humming Food! Glorious Food! under my breath as I squelched through the mud of Regents Park in London.

Could the last day possibly live up to the first (see blog post below)? In a word, yes.


Stuffed courgette flower (Opera Tavern)

A few days ago, I was intent on sampling as many Michelin starred dishes as possible; the event is so big that I just hadn't been able to try everything I wanted. This time, I determined to explore more of the event.

I sat in on a couple of cookery demonstrations and learned some interesting factoids; for example, did you know that the wok was introduced to Thailand from China, or that chilli is not native to Thai cuisine but was introduced by Portguese settlers around 450 years ago? (Thank you Blue Elephant for that information)


Snail croquettes (The Savoy)

Or what about the fact that the best wasabi is grated on shark skin and that if wasabi is bright green, it's poor quality and made mostly of raddish and food colouring? (Thank you Wabi team for those insights)

But back to the food: I was thrilled to find Opera Tavern as I'd wanted to eat their courgette flower stuffed with warm goat's cheese and drizzled with honey earlier in the week, but hadn't had time. And what a stunning dish! The courgette stalk straggled the gap between between al dente and soft with ease and the flower oozed with salty goat's cheese, brought back into balance by the fine clear honey. A dish that was at the same time a starter and a dessert, and yet neither, I cannot place it but I cannot fault it for that; some flavour combination defy definition, and need to be accepted as such.  


Steak (Gaucho)

However, today, the Savoy River Restaurant really shone for me. The crisp-coated snail croquettes oozing with parsley sauce were rich and indulgent and have made me an unswayable fan. Snails are never straight-forward: if they are not well prepared, they can be gritty; and if they are not well cooked, they can be tough and bouncy. These were as perfect as I have ever tasted, and I used to live in France, the snail capital of the culinary world.

Lindt chocolatier

Although this was my dish of the day, for a solid hunk of meat, I need to give another shout out to the Gaucho team, whose infectious high spirits added to the eating experience. Their steak was tender, succulent and perfectly pink inside and the char grill really made this a wonderful caveman dish, elevated by the humita cake and smoked garlic hollandaise.


Chocolate Fondant
(British Airways)

This was also a day for desserts. I couldn't resist the most chocolate-y of chocolate fondants prepared by Simon Hulstone and the British Airways team. Surrounded by candied hazelnuts, digging into it revealed a salted caramel sauce that flowed shamelessly from the core and really saved the dish from being too rich.

I had heard that by the end of the event, Taste of London can seem to run out steam: after four days, the people working there are understandably tired. But I saw no evidence of that. There was dancing and music at every turn, laughter and even a game of ping pong in one of the bar tents.

If you didn't come to Taste of London 2012, all I can say is: you missed out. This is a joyful, inclusive and friendly event, suitable for even the most amateur gastronome. I can't wait till next year.


Blue Elephant cooking demonstration

Malaysian carved melon display

Brazilian dancers and samba band



Making Flavoured Oils - Step One

Inspired by Soup Tuesday (twitter: @souptuesday), I recently decided to use my herb garden. It's sat dormant all winter (and let's be fair, we've not really had a spring and I'm not even convinced it's summer yet...)

So I did a little check of what's there and I have two types of mint (peppermint and Indian mint), oodles of sage and a little thyme, as well as lavender and garlic.

Just goes to show: the mint is basically indestructible: I can't tell you how little I tend my herbs but they never die - if anything I have to restrain them as they would take over the world if they could. That's why they are in their own separate pot. I tried putting mint in with other stuff in the good old days when I was innocent and naive and it just totally took over.

So... I cut some sage and thyme and took some garlic out and put them (separately) in three airtight glass bottles I'd bought (at Hobbycraft!) and poured in some good quality olive oil. My friend @souptuesday tells me that in about a month they should be good to go so I will let you know if my experiment has worked in a few weeks time!

In case you were wondering, sage is on the left, thyme in the middle and garlic on the right. Interesting how the sage almost looks like it's in suspended animation...

Taste of London - Day One

 

Michel Roux Jr signs books at Le Gavroche stand (top) while
dancers entertain the crowds at Taste of Thai (bottom) 

I hold my hands up: until today, I was a Taste of London virgin. I had never before experienced the hustle and bustle of this celebration of world-class cuisine at Regents Park in London.

And I must admit: I was a fool for not attending sooner.

From the relaxed, sociable atmosphere to the world renowned chefs happily mixing with the visitors and not forgetting the unbelievable food, this is truly an event for every foodie out there.



Chicken tikka pie with spiced
wild berry compote (Benares)

And what a range of food there was! From the comforting stodge of light, creamy mash unusually but expertly combined with spicy chicken tikka and spiced wild berry compote offered by Benares (and trust me, the photo doesn't do justice to the depth of flavour and sheer joy of this dish) to the fresh, warm grilled octopus and chorizo salad of Bar Boulud, there really was something for every taste.

Poulpe roti: grilled octopus, carpaccio
& iberian chorizo salad (Bar Boulud)

Of course, there were the obligatory "wacky" dishes such as confit duck with popcorn by Club Gascon. Our consensus was that the duck was beautifully cooked but we just couldn't understand the use of the popcorn. What purpose did it serve, except to evidence the creativity and "blue sky thinking" of the chef? The dish was no less enjoyable for that, however, and the home-made ketchup that accompanied it was wonderfully spiced.

Mexican doughnuts (Asia de Cuba)

My stand-out dish of the day, however, was the dessert offering by Asia de Cuba: light and fluffy Mexican doughnuts made with sweet brioche, smothered in cinnamon sugar and plumped full with butterscotch sauce, accompanied by a mojito-flavoured sorbet that refreshed the palate.

All this without mentioning the free cocktails we enjoyed from Rocktails (deep passionfruit and pineapple fusion and elderflower and cucumber crush) and the awe-inspiring cooking demonstrations.

The people I met in the queue on the way in knowledgeably informed me that, from their experience over the last four years, Thursday and Sunday are the best days as everyone is fresh and enthusiastic at the start and there's lots of free giveaways on the last day as the exhibitors don't want to ship things back.

And guess what? I'm taking their advice. Taste of London - see you on Sunday!