Perfect.

Made famous by the likes of Heston Blumenthal, this method of cooking gives you superb results, albeit with a little more fuss that normal.  I managed to recreate it in my kitchen using a pan of hot water (55°C), and by vacuum packing my seasoned meat into a cleaned out crisp packet (don’t judge – they’re food safe, and easy to seal).  After an hour of sitting in my crude water bath (a thermometer is also a good idea here), I opened the packet (beware, it’ll smell like a butchers shop), and threw it into a searing hot pan to invoke the Maillard reaction (turning that meat into semi-burnt tasty goodness), and then onto my warmed plate covered in veg.  With a quick red wine reduction in the pan the steak was cooked in, the meal was complete.

You can check out a more in-depth explaination of Sous-vide cooking here:

http://amath.colorado.edu/~baldwind/sous-vide.html

The Golden Ticket for those of you that don’t know, is a Willy Wonka style offering from Ryan Carson over at the ever awesome Carsonified – write a blog post about why you want to win the Golden Ticket, get 25  or more comments and enter the prize draw.

Anyway, being that I’ve left it so long, I’ll cut straight to the point… Why I’m craving the Golden Ticket.

I’ve worked in the t’interweb business for 10 years now, and have managed to keep it a passion (if anything, it’s become more of a passion – I guess I’m lucky that I’ve got a job I enjoy so much). However, for as long as I can remember, I’ve been surrounded by people who, despite working in this awesome industry, just seem to lack the passion for it. When I dashed over to FOWA London last year, I felt at home in a sea of people passionate about what they do – and better still, what the possiblities that lay ahead are.

To be fair, in my time I’ve been lucky enough to work with some wonderful passionate people – but those individuals are few and far between. Maybe, just maybe, with the chance to get amongst others who feel the same way as I do, the smile on my face that I bring back at the end of the day (not to mention the photos, videos and mountains of goodies), may inspire some of the other I work with to consider this wonderful web as more than just a 9 til 5. (*ahem* 9 til 6 if you’re a Londoner like myself).

There’s a small and slightly personal note to this post – my intentions aren’t completely selfless… For the past few months I’ve been working on a side project that will hopefully one day soon blossom into a fully fledged webapp. Work has been flagging with the torrent of stuff that has taken my time up over the past 4 weeks, but I’m hoping that with a bit of inspiration, some serious networking, and of course, a few friendly faces to bounce ideas of, it may just come to fruition.

Spare a second to comment if you can. I’ll be eternally grateful!

Nath.

Secondly, I’m about to dive out of the office, so this post is going to have to be a short one.

Back to that first point… I’m back! From Mexico! Riviera Maya to be more specific (on the Caribbean coast, near Tulum). I’m moderately tanned, somewhat relaxed, and missing the hell out of being waited on with cocktails and food all day long. London met my return with about 5 minutes of sun, before finally reverting to a nice solid grey sky – kinda fitting when you’ve spent 12 hours on a plane, followed by another hour on various trains and tubes.

Anyway, before I ramble on (and make myself even later), here is the very brief summary of my holiday:

• Took a taxi to the airport. With a taxi driver who couldn’t drive, or navigate, and who took 2 hours to get to Gatwick
• Almost missed the plane, but instead, after some schmoozing at the check in desk, managed to get upgraded to increased leg-room
• Took a 12 hour flight to Cancun
• Followed by a 3 hour bus ride to Riveria Maya
• Finally stopped travelling. Got greeted by waiters handing me cocktails. Bliss.
• Explored hotel and beach. White sands, crystal blue seas, no clouds. Check
• Took a trip to Chichen-Itza. Gorped like an idiot at the incredible architecture.
• Went to Xel-Ha, swam with dolphins (incredible!), snorkelled, and lounged in luxery. All in an eco friendly resort.
• Rode speed boats through the mangroves on the coast before snorkelling around the coral and attempting to take photos of the crazy fish.
• Got bitten by aforementioned crazy fish. Now have small teethmarks in my finger.
• Ate at a mexican-japanese restaurant where the food tasted like chinese takeaway. Top marks for effort though (the guy on the hotplate who was spinning knives on his fingers and juggling eggs was a real treat)
• Got drunk in a swimming pool with a bunch of Americans.
• Flew back!

I’ll update this blog with a bunch of content once things settle down at work – the vids of dolphins, speed boats and ancient temples will come as soon as I manage to edit the footage (taken with a Hi-def digital camcorder – in 720p glory!)

Nath.

Thankfully, after a bit of googling for stuff to do in London on a rainy day, I stumbled across a small and somewhat different museum dedicated to the products and branding of the past 100+ years. A quick cab and a shake of a wet umbrella later, we bundled into the aptly named “Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising” – an awesome collection of real product packaging spanning from 1890 to the present day.

What fascinated me was the evolution of the packaging and branding as the times changed – from the unique hand-crafted tins of the pre-war times, to the disposable, brightly coloured card packaging of the modern day.

Of course, the trip wasn’t entirely without a hint of nostalgia – as I passed from the 70’s to the 80’s, memories of “Fiendish Feet” yogurts and “Space Raiders” crisps were dredged up from my childhood, and I was transported to a world more innocent and full of luminous plastic…

For just over a fiver, and with a warm welcome from the owner (and collector of the products from the past 30 years), it’s well worth a visit.

After making our way towards Notting Hill, and pottering around the antiques stalls on Portobello road, we finally sat ourselves down at the Tea Palace, somewhat unsure of what to expect. After looking through the list of exciting and exotic teas from around the world, we made our selections of “1st Flush Thurbo 2008″ (Kate) and “Russian Caravan” (Me), and eagerly tucked into the tiny, yet filling selection of finger sandwiches, scones (with clotted cream and jam) and cakes. Whilst our teas were being carefully brewed to order, we enjoyed a chilled glass of pink champagne – definately the best way to enjoy a non-hungover Sunday afternoon.

After much swapping of cups, we decided that Kate enjoyed the Russian Caravan (smokey, similar to Lapsang Souchong) and I prefered the Thurbo (a light fruity Darjeeling). Needless to say, my love of tea was rekindled, and before leaving I purchased a tin of both the 2008 Thurbo and the Earl Grey with Blue flowers (refreshing, and pretty with the fragrant blue tips!).

If you’ve got an afternoon free, and want to try something a little different, I’d highly recommend a visit – just be sure to book in advance as it fills up quickly! Also, if you’re like me, I’d skip breakfast – the scones and cakes are incredibly rich and filling!