Happy new year! Edinburgh Foody had an interesting 2016, full of change and new challenges. Here are some of the things we remember most.
The Edinburgh Foody team.
Amy
My top food thing is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it was very odd, and sad, to say farewell to Danielle as she embarked on new baking adventures in Bristol. Danielle was a stalwart of the Edinburgh foody community, and a key factor in where I am now in my career.
But the flip side of her departure is that Caroline and I have welcomed Kerry and Nicki to the Edinburgh Foody family. The blog has evolved as a result, and is embarking on a new chapter. And that’s nice to see, and to be part of, with new friends and new goals. Watch this space!
Caroline
I have two highlights: finding the courage to pickle and my visit to Norn.
Dish #7: Strawberries. The best of the berries.
The two are linked, to some extent. There’s a growing trend for home-made pickles and fermentations and Norn make their own everything. Their flair is inspiring and made me want to experiment.
My palate appreciates small hits of acidity. I’m not talking pickled onions but the more gentle Scandinavian sweet pickles. Acidity and crunch administered with a light hand. For Christmas, I pickled fennel and red onion with dill, earlier in the year I made pressgurka. Pickles add contrast to everything from cured salmon to cheese on toast.
Kerry
My top foody hightlight for 2016 has to be winning Best Reader’s Recipe at the Observer Food Monthly Awards 2016.
Attending the star-studded awards ceremony held at the Freemason’s Hall in October and rubbing shoulders with many of my food heroes and writers, including Jay Rayner, Jamie Oliver, Pierre Koffmann and Rick Stein, has to be any foody’s dream.
The icing on the cake was meeting John Littlejohn, founder of Social Bite, who won Outstanding Achievement award for all he is doing to help the plight of homeless people. I’m hoping to catch up for coffee with him in 2017 to find out more about Social Bite and his new venture ‘Home’.
Pleased as punch (with very good reason)! Image copyright Observer Food Monthly.
Nicki
It’s funny when you look back on 12 months you realise just how much you have managed to cram into the year. My favourite ones have been sharing experiences, especially those when we have all got together as a group.
I really enjoyed hosting the EF farewell dinner for Danielle back in the summer, as well as our first team review at Cote, that was great fun. We had some lovely food and an awful lot of laughs. The final one has to be my first experience of The Pitt in July with Amy, we sampled our way round all the stalls – loved every bite!
