A professional chef, food, friends and Finish

It’s not often I get down to London these days. When I sat down and worked it out it had been nearly 5 years since my last visit. Not good enough. So when Finish got in touch and wanted to know if I fancied a day cooking with Florence Knight then I was hardly going to say no.

Little did I know that I was going to be introduced to a cheese that was set to become an obsession…

I found myself south of the river, in one of those magazine shoot style kitchens – can you say jealous? – coming face to face with a couple of octopus. Or is that octopi? Whilst simultaneously having a surreal moment where my Twitter timeline had come to life and there were the living breathing people behind some of my favourite tweeters. Not to mention finally, after 2 years of solid friendship, meeting the total legend and my online bestie that is Katie of Feeding Boys. Really, it’s no wonder that I ended up demolishing three portions of tiramisu.

Head chef of Soho’s Polpetto, Florence is young and beautiful but you can see she’s a force to be reckoned with in the kitchen. I doubt my rather slap dash approach would be met with approval, nor my reluctance to give up my garlic press in favour for a knife and a bit of salt. But her food is good.

Burrata, a cheese that I had never even heard of before, has become an obsession. Mozzarella off-cuts combined with cream, contrasted with blood oranges and a fresh oregano oil is the stuff of heaven. Octopus with potatoes, rosemary, thyme and chilli is fun and veal meatballs in a zingy tomato sauce with fresh bread to mop up the juices. Florence’s approach to food with friends is very much of the bung it in the middle of the table and tell people to help themselves school of thought, one that I whole heartedly approve of. Though my disbelief at her suggestion of a couple of meatballs per serving probably explains the difference between her tiny frame and my not so tiny one.

We weren’t just there to cook though. Finish also wanted to interview us on camera about our blogs and our thoughts about the new Finish tablets. It turns out that if you put me in front of a video camera then I will waffle, ramble and say “Um” a lot. I doubt you’ll be seeing any vlogs on Fishfingers for tea in the near future. As you won’t be treated to my rather unintelligible thoughts on Finish Quantum any time soon I should let you know that the new Power Gel tablets are worth buying. My roasting tin of doom was revived and even gave off a bit of a sparkle. Not bad for something that takes a fair bit of a battering in the kitchen.

Disclosure: My travel expenses were covered and I was paid a fee to attend the day. I also received several samples of Finish dishwasher tablets. However, all thoughts remain my own. Photos are all attributed to myself bar the product photo which was provided by Charlotte Tolhurst. 

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About Sian Reynolds

I'm Sian, mother to a three year old who thinks she’s a teenager and a husband who has issues with cows. Both have insatiable appetites and are rather fond of cake. And chocolate. And cheese. Freelance this and that, coffee drinker, food blogger. I seem to spend most of my time in the kitchen, with one eye on the laptop and the other watching the toddler run around with a colander on her head.

18. February 2013 by Sian Reynolds
Categories: Reviews, Sponsored | Tags: Blogger events, Finish, Florence Knight | 4 comments