For those of you unfamiliar with events from youngandfoodish, these tend to be one-off offerings that typically involve taking a chef out of their usual environment and setting them loose cooking food they wouldn't normally prepare. There are, however, some exceptions, and, in a way, this is one of them.
Bea Vo, of Bea's of Bloomsbury, is a name most closely associated with baked goods, particularly given the recent duffingate scandal whereby another company tried to trademark the name "Duffin" with regards to doughnut-muffin hybrids. This summer she'll be opening a burger joint of her very own called Stax, assuming things work out well, tonight's menu served as a small preview of what we can expect.
I like Ozone Coffee as a venue, it's clean, open, you can see everything, and, especially if you have counter seating, you get to really watch the chef work.
We were at the first seating, and had the pleasure of the counter seating, which meant we got to watch Bea and her team in action, she seemed to be tiny, lovely ball of energy, running around doing all sorts of things, a veritable blur of onion-frying, ice-cream scooping activity.
Super Buttery Spiced Popcorn
There's an increasing trend for "gourmet" popcorn out there, with even supermarkets getting into the game and offering savoury treats in unusual flavours. This was very tasty, and quite possibly some of the finest popcorn I have tasted. It was fresh, buttery, spiced (as you might expect given the name) and jolly enjoyable. As you get to about halfway through you can feel a slow build of spices, but it's very mild - more that it lets you know there's warmth than anything else. I could have happily just chained that if left to my own devices. One piece was overly-covered in the topping and was spectactular.
Bea’s Stax Burger - Willowbrook Organic Free Range Beef, grilled onions, American cheese, mayo, lettuce, tomato.
The patty had been hand-minced, it was a loosely-packed mince which gave a crumbly, flakey texture - primarily juiciness with a hint of crunch. The meat just about holds together a you eat it, though I did see a couple of people having difficulty.
The battered gherkin on the side was a nice addition.
Blooming Onion
The Blooming Onion was Bea's favourite junk food while growing up, so here's her own take on the dish. For people not versed in the dish, it's an onion that's been cut, opened up into a flower, battered and deep fried. So obviously a healthy dish. This was accompanied by a very tasty sauce.
Duffin Sundae - Baked doughnut muffin with Gelatorino fior di latte gelato, fudge sauce, salted caramel sauce and whipped cream
Ah, the duffin, this was probably capable of serving as a dessert in and of itself, but where would the fun in that be? Instead we get to layer toppings onto it, before ending with the obligatory cherry on top.
And, as if all that wasn't good enough, Bea was kind enough to provide some Stax pancake mix, complete with link to a tutorial video, enabling us to make our own American-style pancakes at a later date.
So, when summer rolls around, and a final venue for Bea's burger endeavour is declared, go sample the delights for yourself. Just make sure you order plenty of popcorn if it's available as you will end up munching through it pretty swiftly.
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