saharasplash

The Real Greek Lunch

Just two weeks after my last day at my office job, I found myself heading for Westfield Shepherd’s Bush at 1 o clock on a Friday afternoon. I was so excited as this was to be my first blogger’s lunch and boy was I in for a treat! I’m sure you have all seen one of The Real Greek restaurants if you are local to London, there are 9 in total and I was about to experience The Real Greek Lunch celebrating the launch of their new book. This inspired cookbook is written by the restaurant’s consultant and expert in all things Greek- Tonia Buxton.  I was so surprised when the menus came round to see the incredible variety of things which I could eat as a coeliac. Over half the menu is gluten free and so I was thrilled to see what was going to be brought to us, ordered all by Tonia who looked after us so well.

The Real Greek Lunch The Real Greek Lunch-6

It was lovely to meet the Blink Publishing team along with Tonia herself and a handful of bloggers too. It was great to chat blogging and food while we waited for our starters to arrive.

The Real Greek Lunch-4

We tried pretty much everything from the starter menu, my favourite was the Melitzanosalata, an aubergine dish which I have recreated in my own kitchen and photos are at the end so you can see!

The Real Greek Lunch-2

We tried a range of wonderful mains too, a lot of the fish I didn’t eat just because I’m not a fan of things from the sea, but the others certainly enjoyed the dishes.

I had the most amazing greek salad and chicken skewers with peppers. The stand out dish for me was a vegetarian dish called Gigandes Plaki. Giant beans in a tomato sauce went down a treat.

The Real Greek Lunch-7 The Real Greek Lunch-8

Speaking of treats, I tried something new which I had never even considered to be a dessert until this was put in front of me. It looked like yoghurt and mushrooms, but Tonia explained that it was candied walnuts. I tried one and fell in love!

The Real Greek Lunch-10

The sweet nut paired with the greek yoghurt was so moreish, it was lucky we were sharing this as I would have eaten the entire thing.

The tea was also a big hit, it’s a herbal blend called Greek Mountain tea and was so good, I have been back since just for this alone!

The Real Greek Lunch-9

What I discovered at The Real Greek Lunch, aside from the amazing tastes, was a new found repsect for Greek culture and the great importance food has for it. I loved how simple the dishes were and how we shared them out to try a bit of everything- this is definitely something I will be going back to with friends and family to show them the way of the Greeks!

As promised, here is a little something I cooked recently using The Real Greek cookbook. The Melitzanosalata recipe on p29 was so simple and easy to follow, I made the most amazing accompaniment that gave my turkey steaks and quinoa rice the perfect zing!

The Real Greek Lunch-16 The Real Greek Lunch-15

Here is a little outfit detail for those of you wondering what I wore to The Real Greek Lunch:

The Real Greek Lunch-13 The Real Greek Lunch-12

Boohoo crop and H&M skirt

The Real Greek recipe book is out now, buy it from Amazon here to bring some Greek style to your kitchen!

The Real Greek have posted all about our blogger’s lunch, so check this out here to see more photos and who was there 🙂

Saharasplash x

SHARE:
Comments Off on The Real Greek Lunch
saharasplash

The Blogger’s Tea Party at PopUp Patio

It’s that time again, time for another Bloggers Hangout event! This event was focused on food and drink and was hosted at the Pop Up Patio in Hoxton. It was a great location for a smaller event, and I took thetrousseaudiaries along with me too!

 

First, to the fashion:
Bloggers -Tea-24 Bloggers -Tea-26
I’m wearing a white lace boho blouse from Forever 21 and some tan high waist wide leg trousers from F+F. I went with a funky print shoe from the M&S Limited collection to finish my look- I got these in the sale at just £8.50! Best buy of the month.

 

Now, onto my top 5 brands from the event:

 

The Cocoa Den is a company owned by Kate Burton who specialises in handmade chocolates. She creates the most intricate designs in chocolate, it was wonderful to see her creations as well as taste them too! Virtually all her chocolates are gluten free and they were so lovely! Here are my favourite designs:
Bloggers -Tea-2Bloggers -Tea

 

Just Bee drinks were really awesome. They have just gone through a complete brand relaunch and I was really pleased to meet them at the event. They infuse each drink with just a single drop of honey and they use the best honey from this family-orientated business. They stock in Selfridges, Fortnum and Mason or you can buy from them directly too. A 12 pack is just £19.99 and they have 3 delicious flavours to choose from:
Bloggers -Tea-3

 

Chikas snacks were really popular at the Bloggers Tea Party. Inspired by West African heritage this company is all about making a change for the better. Chikas snacks offer you a way to eat healthily (suitable for vegans and gluten free) and at the same time help do some good. For every subscription box ordered (starting at £4.99) you will also be paired with a child who needs support to receive an education. The snacks are so delicious, my favourite was the plantain crisps!
Bloggers -Tea-12

 

Drink Me Chai are the number one instant Chai drink in the UK. I know I have been guilty of spending way too much money on chai tea lattes in Starbucks in my time, and so Drink Me Chai are the perfect solution for saving money and still being able to have those luxury drinks. Much like a hot chocolate, all you have to do is add hot water or a water/milk combo to 3 teaspoons of the mixture. It’s so perfect and blended so well, it’s definitely the best instant drink I have tried. These are available in Sainsburys, Tesco and Waitrose for £2.50!

Tea Party-9

I reviewed these guys in my snackly box review a few months back, and it was great to try some more flavours. These snacks are 100% fruit so they are vegan and gluten free. The flavour is intense and so fruity! These are the perfect snacks for on the go, busy bloggers and for in the office too. They have also just launched a brand new flavour- apple, blueberry and banana which I am dying to try, they didn’t have it in time for the event so if I get my hands on a pack I will let you know on Snapchat and Twitter!
Bloggers -Tea-10

 

Thank you so much to the Bloggers Hangout team for organising such a fun event, Merrell and I had a great evening and we will definitely be blogging more about the brands there in the coming months! If you have any questions about any of the brands mentioned in this post, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter.

 

Saharasplash x