Brunch Club

I've had a few days to let the dust settle after Saturday's brunch club and am only now getting to process the whole event. It was great to be back hosting again and fabulous to be sharing the experience with Sarah from Wild Oats. The porridge was a huge hit. Sarah did two special varieties on the day, a savoury porridge made from pinhead (steel cut) oats with walnuts and blue cheese and a  turkish delight porridge with lemon, rose and pistachio. Unfortunately due to my overly restrictive diet right now I wasn't able to taste any but judging from the clean bowls and smiling faces they did nicely. I had to take my hat off to Sarah who braved the bitter February air to cook her porridge under the gazebo on the back patio. Needless to say I spent minimal time out there but Sarah, who would appear to be made of stronger stuff than I, barely gave it a second thought. Good traits for a budding marketeer. (Wild Oats will be coming to markets near you in the coming months!)

wild oats doing her thing

Aside from the speciality porridge on offer, there was also a porridge bar where people could add there own toppings to a bowl of plain porridge. The usual fruits and honey were on offer alongside more decadent items such as peanut butter, nutella, seeds, cranberries and chocolate shavings. There was also toasted muesli, yoghurt, date muffins, carrot and orange salad and heavenly bread from the Bretzel Bakery lathered with butter and jam should you so desire. Fresh juice, bloody marys and as much tea and coffee as you could drink washed the whole lot down. 

For my part it was an exceedingly unusual experience preparing food for people when you aren't allowed to sample any of what you're making. As a result I was approaching this a little blind, although I couldn't resist sampling a bit of the bloody mary mix. Hardest of all was the bread. There's nothing like a fresh loaf of bread, crusty on the outside, beautiful and soft inside. And to top it off the torment of the smell of that bread then being toasted. It's too much to bear but bear it I did. 

The informal buffet set up meant that people could eat as and when they wanted and also were free to move around and mingle. This was great for us as hosts as it meant we were free to grab a chair for a minute or two when the opportunity arose and could interact more with our guests than my regular supper clubs usually allow. A definite bonus for this type of hosting. 

the happy brunch clubbers

DIY porridge bar

So now the only question is when is the next one? And where the hell are the keys for my patio doors? Last seen last Saturday evening. Planning of next brunch club key dependent. I will keep you posted.