IVY'S MESS HALL

i spent the last two and gloriously hot and wonderful months of summer, finalising the menus of two venues; one, which is in dalston and opened in late february; cafe, by day and bistro, by night, with a small bar with wine and beer and a list of cocktails. 

ivy's mess hall, was dalston emporium, a deli cafe, where both cris, my friend and co - owner of ivy's and myself have done pop ups there, separately; cris, with her jungle baroque pop up restaurant and me, with my white tie, post new year event in january and the age of aquarius in february pop up cocktail bar.

and together, at stav B's liquor bar (where cris did the kitchen) and VIVA!, where i did the cocktail list and opened the bar. 

good times...

i was asked to devise a small, but concise and signature cocktail list for ivy's, representing the ethos of the place: mediterranean and exotic (a fluent combination of italy and brazil), with bright colours ( red, blue, yellow, orange), clean, simple and seasonal. healthy, spicy, fresh and perfumed. 

and the challenge begun. the research. the experimentation. the note taking.
so, i came up with a list, contemporary and unique, combining my own found and mixed syrup with st. clement's herbal tea, violet liqueur, kumquat jam and two aperol based cocktails, ingredient, incredibly popular, especially, this summer, with the ever so tedious, but effective, aperol spritz!

i improved the quality of the classic, stylish and beloved negroni with a special liquid and red juice - NOT tomato!

i gave them names like, motorcycle daiquiri, with aperol (based on my thorough research and my ability to be a good finder of things), blossom and persephone, with pomegranate seeds, not necessarily based on greece, but on greek mythology, sensual and rich in content, fleming's agent, gin and aperol based, for my endless love of bond and violet tendencies, with the wonderful lychee and the sharp and blue/ purple violet liqueur.

my st. clement's sour, with my homemade syrup, is an incredible success, with a smooth finish and a perfect head and of course, gin based. 

i made the caipirinha fruity and sharp, by adding kumquat jam, instead of the never melting sugar cubes. 

i also introduced the smooth almond, on the menu, which is a coffee based concoction, combining the bitterness of a fresh espresso shot, the bittersweet flavour of the disaronno and the roundness of bourbon.

good time continue...

IVY'S MESS HALL 
129 kingsland high street,
london E8 2PB
open every day from 8am - 10pm (m - thu)
                              8am - 12am (fri - sat)
                              9am - 5pm   (sun)

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mixing the classics...

... is a title i came up with, while i was working on new drinks and menus.

twisting the classics and inventing new combinations with spirits and of flavours, are included in this title.

i created a new account, with a small paragraph of blurb and more images of my drinks and inspirations.

follow me on queen of clubs, where you'll see my drinks, made and photographed.

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10 years of life together

we had a hot and long summer here in london and it was a true blessing...

the heat brought a lot of parties, outings, BBQs, garden gatherings and warmth into our hearts, as well, as a tan on our bodies and the golden kiss from the sun is no understatement. 

in the middle of july, i was invited back to the gorgeous garden of viv and dom's, to host their 10th year wedding anniversary (the first time, i was making my devised drinks for viv's 40th) and as always, it was a lot of fun, despite the long stint - it was summer after all and we could all hear the music from field day all the way from victoria park. 

after the usual conversation and thought, i came up with a simple menu, which was representing my style, timing (as i only had one young girl/ the couple's neighbour and babysitter to help me) and dom's budget. it was, nonetheless, delicious, appropriate and desirable as i ran out of everything apart from red wine and beer by 2am!

as always, i met great people, who i have seen before, old faces, who i have not seen for ages and i used to work with and brand new people, who were interested in hiring me, as well, as chatting with me, as i was mixing and shaking. nice. 
this is the menu below. the music spinned in choked speakers and a knife nearly flew in drunken jest, which, i removed from the irrelevant hands and placed back where it belonged. the drawer. the adventures of the adults never cease to amaze me. for better or for worse. till the next time: happy anniversary dom and viv.  x

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THE PLACE needs a place

... and at present, it resides once a week in a 70s building, which has been and still is a community centre, with a theatre hall and various other rooms as studios and in the process of being occupied by other creatives in art and design and media and other gatherings... the library, has moved to dalston central, a super modern building in the regenerated square...

The Rose Lipman community and theatre hall is where THE PLACE pops up and pops down every friday from 6pm.

and to be exact in the ROLAND VICTOR ROYSTON - MINTON hall, complete with a kitchen, a huge ballroom, a stage, thick heavy and velvet red curtains, lights and a load of history, which i wish to unravel as we trot along in this new journey...

i was introduced to the space in october 2012, when i was invited to do the bar for MILLco's annual exhibition, sponsored by CO - OPERATIVE, in their new building in london's haggerston/ de beauvoir crescent...

i saw it. i liked it. i wanted it. i got it.

and as my short trip to voodooray's was paused temporarily, we'll see, for purely business reasons, i jumped at the opportunity, as i see the potential, for something interesting to commence and continue, by retaining the originality and the new and fresh and interesting...

i stripped down the menu to my my twisted classics and originals, so that i can get rid of stock i already had and start again with the new events.

i also dropped the prices down, for obvious reasons, but also, as a reaction to a brutal conservative system, which includes soaring prices and no service; well, not in my shop!

the wine has changed in politics and quality, too: carton boxes of wine equivalent to four bottles are mafia free, chemicals free and carbon foot print reduced and they are absolutely delicious, organic and precise in flavour, true to their grape. 

the prosecco comes in tap and its frizz is just right; fresh and bubbly and wonderfully seductive and very very italian.

i kept the estrella damm, bottled beer from barcelona, as it has been the most popular and very affordable.

there is still jam in the old fashioned, from apricot, to black cherry and victorian plum, rhubarb in the treacle, fig in the margarita and fresh sage in the vodka martini.

trying new vodka and gin from a london company is also exciting with homemade and purely distilled spirits, where bottles are to be kept for recycling and money/ resources saving reasons. bliss.

art and politics. cocktails and fun. stories intertwined. as it should be.

this is going to be my fourth week in the theatre and the traffic has been interested/ interesting and consistent. with regulars, who follow and new ones, who pop in, out of interest or sheer curiosity; word of mouth, has always been a good source of advertising after all and it's always lovely to greet and serve new folk.

last week, we entertained two beautiful boys, for their joint birthdays and we had a lot of fun... 

i'm putting my head down for more focus and re invention... after all, i've always done it my way and constantly learning...

THE PLACE is at ROSE LIPMAN building/ ROLAND VICTOR ROYSTON - MINTON hall, to be exact every friday from 6pm. the entry is free. watch this space for extra treats; hair styling, under the spotlight, dance for against violence to women, magic, theatre productions and the dyke march launch party...

busy bee and up for it...
join us.
in drinking and avant garde fun. music, too. from the 40s all the way to the 00s. 

peace and cheers. 

THE PLACE.
ROSE LIPMAN BUILDING 
43 DOWNHAM ROAD,
LONDON N1 5SQ.

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2013 is here and so is a fresh start

HAPPY NEW YEAR from THE PLACE!

we dusted and polished the tiled bar and steel surfaces. we set the bar with its bitters and spices. we got the bottles out and we chopped the fruit. we turned the music on. the red lights. the ovens and the dishwasher. we opened the doors.

the first week of the new year started well with the warmth of the after parties and the amount of sluggish sleep and a friend's birthday, who congregated a fine amount of male and female friends, who joined in to celebrate... as well as new folk, too...

and as i did last year and it is january, i introduced a small, but concise list of non alcoholic drinks, as i know that a number of folk don't drink alcohol, another, will be detoxing and others have ceased drinking for a month, in aid of a worthwhile cause; raising money for a charity to help cure/ beat cancer... fun and ethics go hand in hand and there is nothing strange about that...

my humble hub is in total support and solidarity...
tomato, mango, guava, cranberry, beetroot, carrot, lots of fresh ginger, lemon juice and fresh mint, spices, olives and celery...

we also discovered the virgin option of a voodooray daiquiri, tasting delicious without the rum and there is always a fair amount of fresh chillies to add to a bit of vavavoom to the drink... constantly mixing and experimenting, get it?

as lemonades out there, are so watery and timid in their tartness, i decided to make my own, squeezing eight lemons, adding cardamoms and fresh ginger and leaving to rest in the fridge.
as i decanted and strained it into a jim beam bottle, washed and delabelled, i enjoyed the thick pale yellow colour and the condensed taste, although, topping it up with ginger beer, made it a real lemonade, instead of a lemon juice... 

on the list for sure, as it was a success, consumed on a friday night with splendid company, while watching 007 instructing the waiter for a perfect vesper (james's secret is lillet. yum).

the creases are ironed continuously and the show must go on... in style, quality and love...

we are back the 9th. same place, same time, spot on fun.

cheers and many thanks for your support so far... you know who you are.

additional photography by charlotte harris ©2013

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apricot, ananas, black cherry and sage...

this weekend gone, was a true challenge...


after The T club, on thursday, i had two events to pull off, with brand new and tailor made cocktail lists for variety and a positive welcome to summer, which is not yet here... but i have hope...


on friday, i went one more time, to my beloved fabrica584, to make cocktails for a double birthday celebration of two italian friends, friends of the friends at the last party (beginning of may/ the italian party).


the menu was inspired by my new found passion for italy, in small doses and very filtered, elements of which, i truly appreciate: the language, the seasons, the freshness and some of the history...


i gave the drinks italian names for fun and the different and the individual: albicocca daiquiri/ with gin and apricot brandy; dolce vita/ with bourbon and amaretto and dry orange curacao, as a variation of the godfather (history, get it?); ananas in the caipirihna and limoncello in the caipirowska... and i also made a huge bowl of punch which i call 584 with fresh fruit and juices... lychee and mango and pineapple, in juice and fruit, with raspberries and strawberries and blackberries and a whole of cantaloupe melon and it was just divine and really good looking! o. yes: one bottle of dark rum and one bottle of spiced rum!


ironically and delightfully, the three amazing cakes, the celebratees had chosen for their guests, had lush fruit on them!


we were busy, busy, busy and we run out of the spirits in due time and towards the end, which pleases me, for stock control and customer satisfaction! no door glass was smashed this time, but the writing table, which normally hold the amp, is a bit sensitive and in need of some fixing tlc... o. well... i'm sure we'll have it fixed by the time, robi is back from the americas!


three of us stayed till late, clearing up, while i was spinning my 45s kept in my 'office' downstairs!


.......................................................................................................


on saturday, i carried and uploaded the liquor bar's boxes in the enterprise house, on hackney's tudor grove, a warehouse space, where residents live, create and host events...


so, they hosted this one too; sons of satyr (sos), a collaborative venture, between two ex colleagues and now, friends, passionate about food offered and presented differently...


i was asked to do the bar and as i always rise to the challenge and enjoy new ventures, i said yes and i focused on creating a new cocktail menu, to match as  much as possible the food and the general atmosphere...


i put black cherry jam in the old fashioned, which was a total winner; rhubarb in the gin daiquiri, which sweet and bitter juxtaposition, matched the herbal gin with the maraschino; sage and pineapple in the vodka and i made an eponymous punch with cardamon and ginger...


great food, amazing photographs from a posh butchers in mayfair, by gaby motola, gracing the walls... a stuffed fox, was keeping company to anka, who was doing the door, in fine style...


total yuminess and appreciation...


phew! sunday was rest and preparation day for another chocker week, in the dark room and The Place (my new venture)... keep an eye for more information...

many thanks to all involved in assistance and love: george, valentina, irene, giulia, andre, dan, sarah, anka, oliver, andrew and zbigniew

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