Sweet Tooth Tours, Belgravia, London


Question: What’s the best way to explore an area of London and satisfy your sweet tooth? 

Answer: Sign up for a tour with Lynne Staartjes of Sweet Tooth Tours! 

Lynne is a Cordon Bleu-trained baker who loves interacting with people, so she decided to establish Sweet Tooth Tours in July of last year to share some of her favorite food businesses in her home neighbourhood of Belgravia, London. The tour groups are always small, but I was extremely fortunate to receive a personal tour as the other participants had had to cancel due to illness.


Belgravia is a pretty neighbourhood with tall white stucco townhouses mingling with a variety of small, independent stores and restaurants. We started our tour at R Chocolates, founded by Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, a self-confessed chocoholic, in 1931. A quiet, elegant store, this would be a great place for afternoon tea or a box of chocolates.


The hot chocolate is absolutely delicious – chocolate flakes and roasted and ground Italian hazelnuts are blended with milk for a very rich, addictive drink.


A portion of the proceeds from the Sea Salt Caramel elephants supports Asian elephant conservation – hence the lovely door knob.


I wasn’t too sure what to make of Peggy Porschen Cupcakes – it was almost too pink, pretty, and “Instagrammable”! The store was crowded so I took my cupcake home and revised my opinion. I enjoyed every bite of my chocolate cupcake with a gooey salted caramel centre topped with rich, creamy icing. If you’re a banana fan, Lynne recommends the Banoffee cupcake, but I’ll stick with the Chocolate Salted Caramel if I’m ever back in Belgravia.


Our third stop was at Olivogelo, selling a range of gelato, sorbet, and ice cream. The owner is from Sardinia and has established a small group of restaurants specializing in Sardinian cuisine. The staff demonstrated how the gelato is made and I was then able to sample as many of their products as I desired. After quite a few samples, including some Sardinian specialties such as Sardinian Nougat and Date and Grappa, I settled down with scoops of two of my favorites – Bitter Honey with a tangy lemony flavour and Orange with Chocolate Flakes (made with real orange juice).


A visit to Pierre Hermé Macarons & Chocolats was a happy reminder of France. I was told that Hermé specializes in unusual flavour combinations and that certainly seemed to be the case judging by some of the macarons on display: White Truffle & Hazelnut (an unusual but memorable combination of the delicate aroma of truffle and the sweetness of hazelnuts), Chocolate & Foie Gras, Caviar, and Citron Noir. I’m fussy about macarons as they don’t always measure up to those from Wild Serendipity Foods in Saskatoon. Not too surprisingly, these were excellent.


Our final stop at The Fine Cheese Co. was probably my favorite stop on the tour. I’m deeply interested in cheese and Jake, who introduced me to the store and provided me with samples of a variety of different cheeses, was friendly, fun, and knowledgeable.


The store sells a variety of British and international cheeses, often with a very specific provenance (all the Swiss cheese is from one particular farmer). They also sell a variety of products that go well with cheese, for example, crackers and cakes of dried fruit.


I highly recommend Sweet Tooth Tours. Lynne is knowledgeable and goes out of her way to ensure you enjoy yourself. She has a really solid relationship with the stores we visited and the staff were all delighted to welcome tour participants.

There are opportunities to learn something new, watch products being made, and enjoy plenty of samples. (I took several of my samples home with me so I could enjoy them at my leisure rather than stuffing myself with one big sugar rush.) As part of a tour, I also benefitted from a 10% discount on the cheese and chocolates that I purchased.


Lynne says that she likes to under-promise and over-deliver, and she certainly did just that. With 5 stops and a tour lasting over 2 ½ hours, I was able to enjoy the neighbourhood and sample a great deal of its delicious food without feeling rushed.

Comments

Joanne and Pat Halter said…
The tour looks amazing. Thanks for sharing.
January 14, 2018 at 8:48 AM
Penny McKinlay said…
Thank you, Joanne and Pat!
January 14, 2018 at 9:40 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Flavourful Saskatoon, August 21, 2017

Image
Prairie Harvest Café I was sad to learn that Prairie Harvest Café has closed its doors. It’s been one of my favorite Saskatoon restaurants since day one, and I really appreciated the fact that the chefs focused on cooking with local ingredients, many supplied by the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market. All the best of luck in your new adventures. We’ll miss you. Hug a Farmer This has been a tough summer for many farmers. Prairie Sun Orchard lost their entire cherry crop to insects. Drop by their stand at the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market, tell them you care, and have an ice cream. My favorite is the chocolate cherry fudge, but Clare Pearson, the principal ice cream maker, says her new favorite is the salted caramel. Peppers If you’re like me, you assume that all small, skinny peppers are super hot and avoid them like the plague. But that’s a big mistake. Kaleidoscope Vegetable Gardens is offering two long, skinny peppers – one can be hot, but the other isn’t. Padron chile pepper
Read more

Flavourful Saskatoon, August 28, 2017

Image
The Next Great Food Business Public Tasting, Sept. 7 The Local Kitchen is hosting a public tasting with samples from each of the finalists in the Next Great Food Business competition. Finalists are: King’s Jerky, Kind Condiments , Smoke and Salt BBQ, Bannock Express , and Voodoo Van . Wine Tastings Guess the most expensive wine (Sept. 8), sample some Rhône wines (Sept. 22), or attend the 2017 Premier Showcase Wine Dinner (Sept. 28) sponsored by Saskatoon Co-op Wine Spirits Beer. Premier Showcase is also offering a Portugal with a Splash of California wine seminar (Sept. 29) and a Women & Whisky seminar (Sept. 30). Refresh and Renew I had a chat with Trent Loewen about his plans now that he has sold Earth Bound Bakery. He is heading east to visit chef friends in Ontario and then off to New Zealand to explore what's happening there. After 9 years with a single focus, it's time to explore new ideas. Interestingly enough, the bakery's new owner is a business
Read more

Spelt and Millet: Ancient Grains for Today's Healthy Diet

Image
When I was growing up, whole wheat flour and rice were exotic options. Now we have a whole range of intriguing choices – buckwheat, spelt, millet, kamut – the list goes on and on. My problem is that I don’t know very much about some of these grains, so I arranged a phone call with Nicole Davis, the Owner/Manager of Daybreak Mill near Estevan. Daybreak Mill grows and processes approximately 18 different kinds of flour, whole and de-hulled grains, flakes, cereals, and legumes. They are 100% organic. “We want people to have access to healthy, wholesome food,” Nicole explains. Two of Daybreak’s products – spelt and millet – have been nourishing people around the world for over 9,000 years. Spelt Spelt was cultivated by ancient civilizations in Europe and the Middle East for thousands of years. It grows well in poor soil and doesn’t require fertilizer. It’s resistant to frost and the thick husk protects the grain from insects. However, spelt requires more processing than wheat as
Read more

Beer: History, Trivia and War

Image
Brew North by Ian Coutts is a fascinating look at the history of beer in Canada. I particularly enjoyed the archival photos and beer labels. Here are some tidbits from Canada’s brewing history:           In 2007, Canadians drank 71.67 litres per capita with the Yukon leading the way at 139.75 litres per person, followed by Alberta at 98.54      The first criminal trial and hanging in Upper Canada was held at Finkle’s Tavern, which opened near Bath, Ontario, in 1793.      Two skeletons at the bar were props for Charles McKiernan’s tall tales (told in rhyme) at Joe Beef’s Canteen in Montreal. Customers shared the bar with a variety of animals, including a succession of beer-drinking bears.      Empty beer bottles were originally stored in crates filled with straw, a favourite spot for mice to nest. And the bottles were dark green, so it was hard to tell if the bottle was already occupied when it was filled with beer.      During Prohibition, many breweries switched to making soft dr
Read more

Artisan Cheese-Making in Saskatchewan

Image
Travel in Europe and you are immediately struck by the number and variety of local cheeses, but then you come home to Saskatchewan and there are next to no local artisan cheeses, but that situation is about to change. ( Salayview Farm south of Regina has just started making an excellent fresh goat cheese.) The Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre Inc. (Food Centre) held a two-day cheese-making workshop this past week, and it was filled to capacity with people who were eager to start making cheese as a hobby or to sell commercially. The course was led by Margaret Morris of Glengarry Cheesemaking and Erin Hiebert, the Food Centre’s Manager of Skills Development and Food Safety Programs, while Brev Chesky, the Centre’s Processing Director, assisted with the hands-on portion of the workshop. I was fortunate to join the class at the end of the workshop and to get a first-hand glimpse at the cheese-making process as well as to meet some of the participants. The Course Margar
Read more