Jamie Oliver knows how to throw a party, I’ll give him that. Earlier this month, the doors of his cookery school Recipease in Notting Hill were thrown open to a party of bloggers, vloggers and social media mavens. Quite how I ended up in the line up I’m not sure but when food royalty invites you out for the evening you go.
It was culinary performance in the round. Food was being prepared from the centre of the room with everyone gathered around to drink, taste and watch. Jamie’s mentor Gennaro Contaldo was twirling sheets of pasta, layer cakes were being built up and sparklers lit.
The object of celebration was his new book Jamies Comfort Food which I reviewed this month. And we were being served dishes from the book to eat that night.
My favourite was this Massaman curry with butternut and potato which I am definitely making again at home. Also dotted round the room were stalls of Jamie’s favourite beer, cheese, wine and meat producers.
If you’d like to get a taste of the atmosphere that evening, watch this video from Jamie’s Food Tube which was recorded before my very eyes.
With twinkly lights and panettone dangling everywhere from the ceiling the night kicked off the festive season in style.
And of course no comfort food line up is complete without cakes… lots of them.
As if the drinks were not enough to get us merry, the fumes of aerosol paint were heavy in the air too. Before our very eyes, a spray can artist was stencilling customised designs onto the fabric bound covers of the new book. I picked a tiger.
And naturally the highpoint of the evening was getting Jamie to sign it for me. I’ve not been this excited since the Nigella book signing.
I got him to write “Easy Tiger” in it!
Thank you to Jamie and the team at JamieOliver.com not to forget everyone at Recipease for making it such a memorable evening.
Mardi (eat. live. travel. write.) says
Oh Sarah – what a wonderful evening! I was totally living vicariously through all your pics 🙂 LOL, “Easy Tiger!” 🙂
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
Yes I saw the tiger illustrations being done on some of the books and I knew exactly what I wanted him to write in my book!
Kim Carberry says
How exciting! I saw Sprinkle of Glitters video about it an the food looked absolutely amazing! What a great event x
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
I saw her recording with Jamie but I’ve not seen her own video. I’ll have to go look.
foodgloriousfoodx says
Easy Tiger! Looks like you had a fabulous time 🙂 x
Judith (Mostly About Chocolate Blog) says
OMG this looks AMAZING I am well jell! Great photos and it looks like it was an educational experience too!
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
The photos were all taken with my iphone6. I would have preferred to have a proper camera but to be honest it was so dark maybe I ended up with better pictures than I could have taken without a tripod anyway.
Lucy @ BakingQueen74 says
Wow, it looks like that was a really fun night, the customised book covers all looked great too. What a wonderful thing to have on your bookshelf!
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
With a picture like that on the front I’ve considered framing it!
Urvashi says
what a lovely evening. I do love everything that is Jamie. He’s just an inspiration
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
There was a jolly atmosphere and everyone was enjoying themselves. I like to think of Jamie as the British answer to Martha Stewart. Only with more food and less crafting!
Laura@howtocookgoodfood says
What a great night to be a art of Sarah. Bet it was packed full of fun and great food. The book looks great, am sure it will be another hit!
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
I think he’s had more Christmas number ones than Simon Cowell?!
Helen says
Looks like you had a super time! Those cakes looks amazing. YUM!
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
They were and especially with the sparkers!
Sally - My Custard Pie says
I would have loved to have been there – getting stuck into the book right now.
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
We’ll have to compare notes what you make. I don’t know where to start!
Clementine Buttercup says
Wow, meeting the man himself. Jamie Oliver books taught me how to cook and helped me build the confidence to experiment with food. Lucky you!
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
I was in awe 🙂
Munchies and Munchkins says
I watched the Instagram images of this evening while sat at home rather green with envy! It looked amazing. I was lucky enough to meet Jamie Oliver a few years ago at The Big Feastival and he’s so lovely! The comfort food book is great, I have it at home and I’ve spent a few hours drooling over it so far.x
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
Jamie was a fabulous host and we all had a brilliant time. He seemed very normal when I met him. He said “Have you had a good time, I was worried you might think it was a bit boring?” As if we would!!
Ren Behan says
An awesome evening! It was lovely to see you and I’m glad I was able to introduce you to Zubrowka and apple juice!
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
There’s no vodka in the house so I may need to buy a bottle 🙂
Jo of Jo's Kitchen says
This looks amazing! So jealous