Are you interested in gardening but don’t have the first idea about how to get started?
In my first younggroundsound podcast I talk to Paul Matson, co-creator of Sow How, about his book and about just how important growing your own food is for your health. Check it out below:
Growing your own food couldn’t be easier with Sow How. You can find more information about the book here. You can also follow Sow How on Twitter, here.
Bristol has so much to offer you, the adventurous eater. Yet, whilst many will offer exciting and interesting menus – nothing quite compares to the innovation, the passion and the flavour of the Chocolate Bear in his current residence at the Strawberry Thief in Bristol.
James’s menu is bursting with inspiration. All of the food featured is friendly for vegans, vegetarians, gluten free and dairy free diets. Each dish has been paired beautifully with the Strawnberry Thief’s range of carefully chosen Belgian beers. Whether you’re a regular adventurer or you want to try something different, together, the passionate food and the palette of smooth, fruity, hoppy and dark beers will leave your taste buds reinvigorated.
See my video below for a taster of what you can expect:
Bristol is the spiritual home of alternative culture. From veganism to multiculturalism, it leads in so many ways. For non-meat eaters who live in Bristol, the city is a haven of alternative food. For those who live outside of the city, a pilgrimage to Bristol is well worth it.
Every corner and every street in the city has a new and exciting eatery to tempt you in. Instead of having to rely on the small box on the side of a menu offering a salad or a bog-standard veggie burger, us meat-avoiders can sit down and eat a meal that is as full of love and passion as any top-quality steak.
Stokes Croft is a densely-packed feast of treats. Along with the bright graffiti and fantastic pockets of music and rhythm deeply engrained into the street’s identity, each restaurant and café you pass holds its own inspiring menu and decor.
Café Kino is a pioneer in vegan thinking. The eatery and café’s ethos is all about community. And this sense of a big community is only reflected in their rich menu. From a selection of non-dairy milks to go with your coffees and teas to vegan cheese to top your chips and your burgers, Kino has considered the tastes and interests of everyone. There are no traces of meat anywhere on the premises, of course. Whilst that may turn off those kings of beef, by taking out that most common of ingredients you’re left with a menu that challenges, inspires and excites.
Slightly political note: linking back to Kino’s community ethos, this also applies to the wider world. With demand for meat increasing at an alarming rate, those quality steaks are going to become rarer. By looking at alternative cuisine based on pulses, grains, nuts and soya, we can continue to enjoy rich-quality food at much cheaper prices.
And boy, was the burger I ordered delicious! Again, not an ounce of cheese in sight. Kino do offer vegan cheese to top your food. However, I really didn’t miss the cheddar once I tucked into my meal. Whilst cheese has become an essential ingredient for everything, my burger matched any cheesy quarter-pounder and the beautiful, flavoursome tomato salsa I layered on top of my burger took the definition of a vegan burger to new heights.
Meat-obsessives: be a little more open-minded and give Kino a try. You can go one day without meat. To my fellow non-meat lovers in the UK and beyond, Kino alone is enough to make the journey to Bristol.
You don’t need a lot of money to have a great foody time. By putting down the lunchtime meal deal and making your own food throughout the week, the weekend can be the time that you truly indulge yourself on some fine food.
Being a vegetarian, it’s a given that I only review the alternative options on menus. However, I should say that I do sit down to eat with many meat-lovers and pay close attention to their satisfaction of the meal too. Even so, I often find that a restaurant can be measured well on the innovation and the inspiration behind its alternative dishes.
Continuing my exciting (but affordable) culinary journey through Bristol and beyond, this week I’m reviewing the brilliant Sunday lunch menu at the Royal Navy Volunteer, located along the timeless King Street in Bristol.
If you’re an experienced Bristolian, or you visit regularly, you’ll know that the city is full of innovative, inspiring and beautiful food. Every corner holds a new foody treasure and King Street is no exception.
As soon as you arrive into the Royal Navy Volunteer you get a sense of true pub authenticity. The Volley’s interior is deceptively large: each little corner is full of life – and this is particularly true on a Sunday. Across Bristol, people arrive at the quaint pub to sample its roasts. They know as I, too, found out that the pub’s roast has garnered quite a reputation.
As a vegetarian, I often judge the quality of a menu on its options. Although I’m quite satisfied with a spread of vegetables, I do enjoy something a little more filling to compliment them. The Volley menu did not disappoint on this occasion, and I chose the intriguing option of a lentil roast served with the classic trimmings. My Sunday lunch buddy, who is 100% carnivore, chose the lamb roast.
I felt a very strange sensation when the food arrived, one that I haven’t felt for quite some time. More often than not, when I go for a roast I find that the plate can often lack the colours and the flavours of its meat counterpart. Yet, here I was presented with food that filled, and almost spilled, off of the plate. More importantly, the entire thing was soaked in a rich gravy; something that many other vegetarian roasts miss.
Then, with knife and fork in hand, another strange-but-brilliant sensation overcame me: I was lost in this bounty of delicious food and had no clue where to start. However, once I’d worked out that the crispy potatoes would be my first destination, I devoured them quickly. Roast potatoes are easy to make but difficult to make well. As I crunched my way through the crisp, beautifully textured skins and into the glorious fluffy middles, I felt complete.
Looking over at my Sunday lunch buddy’s choice, the lamb roast itself was so large that it could’ve been put on its own plate. Again, the bed of vegetables was cooked to perfection and the whole thing looked straight out of an advert.
Onto the vegetarian lentil roast, and the passion that had gone into creating this soft, meaty, wonderfully flavoured meal won me over immediately. In fact, every element from the spongy Yorkshire pudding to the freshly steamed kale and the depth of flavours noted in the gravy created a meal that truly celebrated the end of the week.
The Royal Navy Volunteer isn’t just an innovative restaurant, of course. As a rustic and authentic pub, the Volunteer celebrates the Bristol craft ale scene, offering a wide selection of different beers which round off any roast or other meal perfectly. I enjoyed a dark porter with my food. With this palette of hops combined with the smoky flavours of the lentils and the rich gravy, I had a few moments in food heaven.
If you really want to round off your week with a Sunday roast, I urge you to pay The Royal Navy Volunteer a visit. Sit yourself down in the warm, immerse yourself in the food and forget about the working week ahead.
We all love a waffle, right?
Those belgian treats have become a familiar part of our diet. You could wander a market, visit a shop or pop over to see a friend who has an actual waffle maker; the point is that this delicious treat has become a central part of our food culture.
Continue reading youngground reviews: The Chocolate Bear Kitchen
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