a week in the life of a food obsessive
Wednesday, July 20, 2011 at 8:41AM 
To say that there has been some changes in my life since starting a supper club would be a complete understatement. Life has transformed dramatically. I am having so much fun and I am meeting so many new and interesting people, each with a huge passion for food.
Last night I attended Edinburgh’s Clandestine Cake Club. I am no baker, but I really enjoyed my attempt at baking. I have seen the Rainbow cake* on literally hundreds of blogs this past year, and have always written it off as ‘blog fodder’. It looks great, but I can’t imagine that it tastes great. It looks like it’s for children, but I can’t imagine anyone in their right mind filling children up with so many E numbers and then being able to cope with the fallout! However, when I heard that the cake ladies of Edinburgh were getting together and the theme was going to be ‘the last cake you ever bake’, I thought I’d sign up and give it a go. As anticipated, my creation looked fabulous but it did not hold a candle to the far more accomplished and tasty creations on offer. But it was all good fun.
It was great to meet the Godmother of secret tea rooms too, Bakelady. We chatted about the world of underground dining, secret tearooms and clandestine events. If you are interested in setting up your own secret tearoom or arranging a clandestine cake event you should get in touch with Bakelady.
Tomorrow I am off for my cookery lesson with Neil Forbes at Cafe St Honoré. I am so excited but a little bit terrified too. Not only is Neil a real chef, he is a very, very good chef. Will he roll about the place laughing my knife skills? Will he be horrified at my plating up? Will I make a twit of myself in a professional kitchen? We shall find out tomorrow. Whatever happens, I should at least have some very tasty recipes for my Gaelic loves Gallic events in August and September.
On Saturday I am meeting a woman with a large country house and a kitchen garden that wants to set up her own supper club. Then I am meeting another passionate home cook who has offered to help with the cooking on one of my nights. This is so exciting because these are people just like me. Passionate and enthusiastic and are looking for an outlet for their kitchen creativity. The supper club scene is finally beginning to grow in Scotland, and it feels exciting to be involved in something like this from it’s infancy.
But... as with all silver linings there is a little bit of a grey cloud attached. My ever expanding waistline. I am in a constant battle with the same 15lbs, year in year out. However, I have joined forces with the gorgeous food author Vanessa Kimbell and four other foodies to develop a ‘not diet’ for greedy gourmands. Vanessa will be blogging about the project here and I will be tracking my daily highs and lows here.
Oh! I almost forgot! On Saturday night I will be attending the Crescent Dining supper club. My first supper club as a guest. I met with Jethro and Calum a few weeks ago and I can’t wait to attend their second supper club event. I’ve had the menu through and it sounds fantastic... just have to manage those portions! Eat, diet, eat, diet... the rhythm of my life.
*I'm not saying which recipe I used because, the cake was very dense. If you're interested in baking this, I recommend using your favourite sponge cake recipe and researching online the method for making the rainbow cake layers. Good luck!
Reader Comments (5)
It was so nice to finally meet you. What a lovely post and thanks so much for the mention.
Agree with Lynn, fab to meet you and listen to your supper club stories, your rainbow cake photographed beautifully and remember, it's not about the cake in your hand but the one you're going to eat next ;)
I do love the look of that rainbow cake, it may be a sixth birthday cake in September...lovely to read about the burgeoning supper club movement in Scotland.
It's hard to balance one's weight with foodie obsessions! Perhaps the answer is to become equally passionate about exercise (have you noticed how many chefs are runners?)
Have a great day tomorrow!
I am so jealous of your cake club. It sounds fab! I heard about it on Victoria's blog and have been working through all the links. WIsh we had one in Dundee :)