Friday Food Club, Blackheath

Allow me to cut to the chase: the Friday Food Club is brilliant.

This terrific little supper club is run by Lee and Fiona Behan from their rather funky apartment in Blackheath. Formerly the GPO film studios and an art hall, the building has now been converted into apartments with high ceilings, huge ornate windows and (in the case of Lee and Fiona's apartment, at least) ritzy furnishings. This is a supper club with all the trimmings.

Lee Behan is a classically trained chef, while Fiona is the gorgeous, bubbly, front of house personality. They opened their doors in January 2010 and since then, it seems, have mastered the art of utter professionalism, while keeping things relaxed and friendly.

They often host special events - recently, Mark Hix took over the kitchen and this week they're working with Dhruv Baker (winner of Masterchef 2010). The Peanut Gallery and I recently attended for an evening with Prosecco Riccardo, and a menu designed to match.

A very seasonal corn veloute seduces us into the evening like the glorious pink sunset we watch through the windows. Served in small, white espresso cups, it is sweet, mellow and simply sumptuous. It is paired with Riccardo's lovely Superiore D.O.C.G. Spumante Extra Dry which is not as dry as the name suggests. Its apple and pear characteristics work well with the corn.

A starter of pork, pistachio and apricot terrine is served with red onion marmalade. It's terrific. And also smart - for the first 2 courses, most of the prep work can be done before the guests arrive, so everything is timely and relaxed, while losing nothing to quality and taste. The D.O.C. Treviso Spumante Brut is a fabulous accomplice, balancing dried fruit and floral hints.

Cornish pollack is pan fried to perfection and served atop a creamed Prosecco sauce of smoked bacon, leaks and clams. This dish really shows Lee's skills. The pollack is transformed into a thing of luxurious splendour, basking lavishly in its luscious, creamy sauce.

This dish had an unusual partner - a still Prosecco, Riccardo Prosecco D.O.C. Treviso Vino Tranquillo (for "tranquil"). Made with 100% Prosecco grapes, this wine had all the apple and pear flavours of Prosecco but without the fizz. While the wine was popular with other guests, it seems I'm a bubbles girl to the end. I like the lift that the fizz gives the flavour in a Prosecco and felt it fell a bit flat without it. However, the wine matched well with the pollack and so perhaps is more of a food wine for me.

If anything tops the main, it is a pretty late summer berry prosecco jelly balancing elegantly on white chocolate set cream - a divine match of flavours, so light and delicate, this was an accomplished dessert of which any Michelin starred restaurant would be proud. It matches wonderfully with the Riccardo Cartizze Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. Spumante Dry - very dry and delicate.

We were even given a home baked muffin as a parting gift to munch on for breakfast the next day. No, I did not wash it down with Prosecco (but I thought about it).

Douglas of Intoxicating Prose and Riccardo Tomadin from the winery did a sterling job of educating and entertaining us about the wines throughout the evening. Riccardo Prosecco is the business of the Fornasier family, which has been growing grapes since the end of the 1800s. "Prosecco" is no longer a label that can be used by any wine made with Prosecco grapes - as a protected designation of origin, the grapes of a Prosecco wine must come from the north eastern Veneto region of Italy and meet defined standards of quality and production methods. The Conegliano Valdobbiadene region was recently promoted to D.O.C.G. status, which means the wines are subjected to the most stringent quality and production standards for Italian wines.

The Friday Food Club is normally BYO and I understand they will advise guests on the most appropriate wines to match their menu of the day. Tickets normally cost in the range of £26.50-£38.50, although this event was subsided by Prosecco Riccardo and so lucky guests experienced the joy for a bargainous £18.

Ultimately, as a supper club, it's hard to fault. The only draw back is the last train leaves from Blackheath station at around 11.20pm, just as you get the sense that the party is about to warm up. So think about booking a taxi, sit back, meet some new people and enjoy.

Friday Food Club, Blackheath (a 5 minute stroll from the station), London, SE3

Greedy Diva was a guest of Prosecco Riccardo. Thanks to Riccardo Tomadin for the invitation.

Chapters All Day Dining: Meat Binge in Blackheath

I learned many things that happy night in Blackheath. 

I learned that when one speaks of the Josper charcoal grill oven, one should be aware that Josper is actually pronounced "Hosper" (it's Spanish). How embarrassing. I've been raving on about the "J"osper all this time like I've practically got one tucked away at home, convinced that my friends were admiring my innate foodie knowledge when all along they've been secretly pitying my ignorant ways. Damn it, Greedy.

I also learned that it's possible to devour more steak than you ever thought humanly possible and still want more. And more. And then lick your lips, tuck in your napkin, and go in for more again.

Head Chef of Chapters All Day Dining, Trevor Tobin, knows how to grill a steak. Chapters All Day Dining was awarded a Bib Gourmade by the Michelin man and 3 AA rosettes within 4 months of the restaurant opening (its predecessor was the acclaimed Chapter 2 from the same team). Trevor grilled us up a steak or 2 (ahem) at a bloggers' dinner I attended recently, along with The Wine Sleuth, Eat Like A Girl, The London Foodie, London Eater and organised by Intoxicating Prose. 

This was no average dining experience. This was a night of serious, hard core steak porn. And it just kept getting better.

We started with a Cumbrian Blank Angus fillet steak dry aged for 18-19 days, sourced from W.G Butchers in Smithfields. Beautifully grilled in the Josper to medium rare, the fillet steak is the least fatty cut. So this steak was less richly flavoured than those to come, but gorgeously tender. 

The Aussie grain fed rib eye followed, aged for 40 days, and grilled slightly more thoroughly than the fillet to really let the fatty marbling in this baby do its magic. The crust had caramelised superbly in the Josper, and had the subtle sweetness associated with grain fed cattle. The Josper oven, still a rarity in your average London steak house, is known to give an excellent crust while retaining the lovely juicy flavours.  I was quite the fan of the rib eye from Oz, and it wasn't just the matching French Malbec doing the talking.

The English hanger steak (or onglet or skirt, depending on where you come from) was served rare, as best done for this cut to avoid toughness. It has quite an offal-like flavour due to its proximity to the internal organs of the animal - I don't even like offal, but this was delicious and gamey, if slightly chewier than other cuts. It had a slightly salty flavour associated with the grass fed cattle. Once referred to as the "butcher's cut", the onglet seems to be making a fashionable come back of late, although can probably still be seen as one of the better value full flavour steaks around.

But, lo and behold, the grand finale was still to come - a comparison of premium UK and USDA steaks on the bone - porterhouse, t-bone, rib eye and sirloins - to be eaten comparing UK vs USA steaks on a like for like basis. Hold me down.

Cooking steak on the bone is said to be more flavourful - the adage goes that the closer to the bone, the sweeter the meat. Since we were in company, I stopped short of curling up under the table to gnaw the bone just this once. 

The porterhouse and t-bone cuts saddle up the bone with a fillet on one side (which is larger on the porterhouse, and is the more tender part) and a sirloin on the other. The sirloin is a bit chewier than the rib eye, but less fatty. It strikes a good balance for the dieting gourmand (an oxymoron, surely?). All of these showed quality pieces of meat cooked expertly.

Generally, the prime USDA has a luscious, rich creamy flavour. The Scotch beef is cleaner. I'm a USDA girl all the way. (But I did like that Aussie rib eye).

The starters are also worth a mention.

We sampled a tasty range: Salad of warm Kentish asparagus, poached egg and Hollandaise sauce; Risotto of wild garlic and creme fraiche; Salad of chicory, pear, walnuts and blue cheese; Josper baked mackerel, spiced puy lentils and aubergine with apple puree; Baked scallops and chorizo, sweet chilli dressing and baby herb salad; Terrine of potted ham hock and black pudding, piccalilli and grilled sour dough; Serrano ham, rocket and goats cheese salad and grilled sour dough.

Never let it be said I don't know how to eat.

A good steak restaurant is hard to find. Patron, Andrew MacLeish did a grand tour of some of New York's best (such as Balthazar and Peter Luger) before bringing a sprinkle of the Big Apple magic back to London. Chapters' steaks were up there with my favourites, Goodman (Trevor and the team helped advise them when setting them up) and Hawksmoor - and although it may be less central, it's decent value. Starters generally range between £4.50 - £6.50 (£9.95 for the scallops) and the premium steaks on the bone are £4.50 per 100 grams (compared to £6/100g at Hawksmoor for the prime ribeye and porterhouse and £6.25/100g at Goodman). Crucially, the chips and burger are still to be tried...

Walk up to the zinc top bar, and you'll see the setting is sleek and simple. There's exposed brickwork on the walls, olive green banquettes, high ceilings and modern fittings. It's all fairly fresh and relaxed. But this is all by the by really - it's those charcoal grilled juicy steaks that will draw you in and have you drooling.

Chapters All Day Dining, 43-45 Montpelier Vale, Blackheath, London, SE3 OTJ (Tel: 020 8333 2666)

* I attended this event as a guest of Chapters All Day Dining.