I’m just back from the British Summer Time Festival in London and I’m in the mood for more summer sunshine – if it comes back to Jesmond anytime soon! I could do with some so I can get out around Jesmond and Low Fell on my scooter a bit before it gets too cold.
We had a great couple of days away for my wife Laura’s birthday and saw The Killers, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Stevie Nicks – all of whom were fantastic. We’ve also just booked up to go to Amsterdam and see The Rolling Stones with Thomas in September – which I can’t wait for.
While we were away, we went to Hawksmoor in Knightsbridge where the steaks were spot on. We went to Camden Market too (the day before the fire) and had an awesome time. It’s such a cool place and I love street food. Camden Market was a real pioneer for it and what we have on the Quayside in Newcastle on a Sunday morning isn’t too far away from that these days. It’s amazing when you look back at what it was like even a couple of years ago.
Things in the kitchen are brilliant at the moment. We’ve got a cracking team of chefs who are doing great things. Menu-wise there’s a really nice monkfish cheek dish which we’re doing with some nice spicy Korean flavours.
We’ve got some amazing summer ingredients in. Obviously, strawberries are big right now so they’re with the desserts, but we’ve also got some green strawberries which we serve with the scallops, red pepper and crab for a really nice, fresh starter.
I have to give a shout out to the fish and chips at Beamish Museum. We went with Thomas and they’re unbelievable! I think I would have been a very happy fish fryer back in the day.
