Chocolate & Oats - The Love Affair Continues...

You're in rude health when...you kick off the working week with a whisky, chocolate and oat fuelled oatstravaganza. 

We knew it.  Oats and chocolate are a match made in heaven. So how could we resist a chance to prove it? Especially with Valentine’s Day bearing down on us. We couldn't.  Which is why we found ourselves surrounded by chocolate & oat lovers in the Chelsea chocolate boudoir of Marc DeMarquette, renowned chocolatier, ranter and World Porridge Championship Partner-in-crime, on Monday.

We started as we meant to go on, taking oats and chocolate to places they've never been before. Marc handed out steaming oat milk hot chocolates injected (literally) with a dose of Old Pulteney whisky and topped with cream. 

The night then went something like this:

Porridge demo and taste using our Daily Oats. Nick ranting about only using Halen Mon Finer Flake Sea Salt in his porridge. Oatmeal porridge demo and taste. Nick ranting about how he was robbed at the World Porridge Championships. 

Nick making oatmeal and talking, at the same time

Salty caramel demo by Marc.  Same Marc ranting about Nick’s loss at the World Porridge Championships. In case you haven't made salted caramel, it takes a pro to do it while talking about something else and not watching the pan.   

Marc talking and making salted caramel, at the same time

A Demarquette chocolate cup filled with salty caramel porridge for everyone as per our 2011 Golden Spurtle entry. The one that didn't win. Silence whilst everyone dribbles over how good it tastes.

Salted caramel porridge in a melting chocolate cup 

So all in all, a normal Monday evening.

See video here courtesy of implausibleblog.com and pictures here.

Interesting Porridge

I thought that everyone loved porridge again. For goodness sake, Kate Moss eats it and she made wellies the must-have footwear just by wearing them. But this morning someone complained to me (of all people) that porridge was boring. My reply was a perfect demonstration of why I make porridge, not speeches. A few hours and a bowl of porridge later, here is the response I would like to have given.

“Where have you been? Porridge is the new London, if you’re bored with porridge you are bored with life. But don’t panic, just get yourself to Providores, order the porridge, eat it, and then tell me porridge is boring".

This is Providores porridge.

A picture is meant to be worth a thousand words, but in this case it isn’t. You have to eat it yourself.
Part of the fun of this porridge is that it doesn’t taste anything like you expect it to. Especially if you haven’t read the menu properly. It is warming, creamy and tartly fruity, but not oaty, which is no surprise if you did read the menu and noticed that it’s called "Brown rice, apple, maple syrup and miso porridge with tamarillo compote". Bonkers - yes, boring - no. When did you last have tamarillo & miso in the same bow? It's also indescribably delicious, so I won't.

In case you don’t, won't or can't breakfast in Marylebone, Peter Gordon, Chef & owner of Providores has very generously explained how to make it.
"Basically, you almost over-cook organic short-grain brown rice. You make a compote from Granny Smith apples and maple syrup, and another from peeled tamarillos (a fruit from South America) and maple syrup. Once the rice is cooked, you whisk in some shiro miso (white miso) and organic soy milk* and bring it to the boil, then add the apple compote and cook for 5 minutes. Top it with the tamarillo compote and you're done".

I'm off on a tamarillo hunt. If this seems a bit extreme, there are easier ways to enjoy interesting porridge. Hint: Rude Health.


*Whatever you do, don’t show Nick this post, or he’ll go off on a soya rant.

Rude Health - Rants

Rude Health - Rants