Brunch!

Brunch 2 (2)The British brunch is something that is truly magical. The whole process from the lazy morning lie in, to the slightly more energetic walk to the eatery of choice, to sitting down and feasting on a steamy plateful of eggs, bacon, sausage and other goodies (immediately voiding all previous attempts at exercise…). Everything should be taken at a leisurely pace (thankfully because I’m not a quick cook!), with all worldly worries forgotten for a while, and simply concerning yourself with the tasks in hand – maintaining a full mug of tea and polishing off a decadent and delicious plate of food.

This is the kind of experience we are trying to replicate at the farm, with our lofty goal of creating one of the finest Full English’s in London. Staying clear of shop bought beans, rubbery pink sausages and cardboard toast, we decided to take the homemade approach and try and create a plate of food any Brit would feel proud of.

And so we began our breakfast quest last January with a quite paltry selection of homemade elements – our tomato jam (adult ketchup), beans and tattie scone. It was still a passable meal with our bacon, sausages and black pudding provided by the fantastic Ginger Pig while the bread was bought in from the local bakery (equally amazing). But sticking to our café ethos that homemade, and indeed, home grown is best, we looked to create a truly traditional farmhouse breakfast. We had quite a lot of work to do…..

Month by month we added more of our components onto the plate. First to make an appearance was our sourdough, closely followed by the home churned wild flower butter. Then came my inaugural experience of curing, making the first farm bacon, an instant success. Some months passed before we invested in a mincer and stuffer and added sausages to the party and finally after 11 months own homemade black pudding completed our Stepney brunch.

It has proved quite a journey. Each item has brought its own niggling problems. To a novice baker, the sourdough starter was incredibly temperamental, creating discouragingly irregular results. The sausages started with almost 100% meat, as I was of the belief (naively) that more meat meant a better quality sausage. How wrong was I! Yes they gave a meaty mouthful, but they lacked that necessary juiciness and therefore satisfying flavour you’re looking for in a British breakfast banger. With the addition of sourdough breadcrumbs, a little back fat and some balancing of the spices, I now have a sausage I’m proud of. All these setbacks have provided a wonderful learning curve which culminated in the brunch during Pig Fest last December where we were proud to be using our farm reared pork for the bacon, sausages and black pudding, not to mention the beautiful eggs laid a stone’s throw from the café. It was a proud moment.

Yes, we are all very proud of the brunch we offer at the farm. It is by far the most labour intensive dish prepared at the cafe with over 6 hours of hands-on prep time and with the individual processes collectively lasting over 2 weeks (curing, hanging, stuffing, proving, soaking, boiling, churning, poaching and of course frying). It is a dish which we as a café our best known for, and I think epitomises our ethos and spirit perfectly.

So I hope you’ll join us one of these Sunday mornings and enjoy a proper brunch experience down at the farm. A meal that truly satisfies both the body and the soul!