Update

We have been absent from the blogosphere for some time.  We are in the process of revamping the blog and our new website will be up and running soon.  In the meantime, you can follow us on our facebook page (Calon Y Gegin) and keep up to date with events.

Calon Y Gegin

Calon Y Gegin Underground Number 3 Saturday 8th May

It's just two days until our 3rd underground restaurant event.  We have 15 guests coming which has meant that we have had to find a bigger place to host it.  Saturday's event will be held near Roath Lake in Cardiff and guests will be feasting on a menu with locally produced, good quality Welsh ingredients.  We have diver caught West Wales scallops, fillet of Welsh Black Beef, Welsh cheeses, seasonal vegetables from an organic farm in Abergyvenny, bread from Keepoch Street farmers market and homemade petits fours.  Guests will be served an aperitif on arrival and then invited to sit back, relax and enjoy the food.

If you weren't able to make this event keep an eye on our Facebook page for future events.

Foodie Thought of the Week

It's British asparagus season, get out there and buy, buy, buy!  The season is so short and we have the best asparagus in the world, don't bother with that air freighted stuff that's flown halfway round the world before it reaches your plate! 

Roast it briefly in the oven and then drizzle with balsamic vinegar and parmesan shavings or blanche it and serve with a delicious hollandaise sauce.  Ummmmm, whatever you decide to do, do it quickly as the season will all be over by June/July!  Enjoy

Calon Y Gegin Underground Number 3

All the places at our secret dining table on Saturday 8th May have now been reserved.  Thanks to those discerning diners who reserved a place and will be enjoying a dinner of scallops, Welsh Black beef and vanilla pannacotta.  For those of you who couldn't make it, we hope to see you at a future event.

Calon Y Gegin's Foodie Thought of the Week

This week our foodie thought of the week will help you create beautifully fragrent Thai dishes with that perfect balance of sweetness and saltiness for which Thai cooking is so famed.  There are a number of store cupboard and fresh essentials you need for Thai cooking.  These are:

Fresh ingredients - lemongrass, galangal (like ginger), hot chillies (bird eye would be a good choice), Thai basil, shallots, garlic, kaffir lime leaves, limes.

Store cupboard - coconut milk, nam pla (fish sauce), palm sugar, sweet chilli sauce, Jasmine rice, shrimp paste, rice noodles.

If you live in the Cardif area there's a great Asian supermarket on Penarth Road (not too far once you've come over the river from the direction of the train station, its on the left) called Man Fung.  You can get all sorts of delights here, there's so much choice and the prices are very reasonable.  They also have a hardware section where you can stock up on little miso bowls, chopsticks, dipping bowls, woks etc.  Go and have a browse, the guy in there is really friendly and helpful and then get creating!

Calon Y Gegin Underground Number 3

Calon Y Gegin is opening the doors of its underground restaurant again on Saturday 8th May at 7.30pm. Guests can come and enjoy a delicious and thoughtfully selected four course menu in the comfortable and relaxed surroundings a secret location in Cardiff. Our menu will be finalised this week and posted on our Facebook page and our blog along with the cost. It will focus on seasonal and where possible, locally sourced Welsh ingredients. Don't forget Calon Y Gegin Underground is a "bring your own" eatery. Places are limited to 10 and if you would like to reserve a place at our secret dining table please send us a message via Facebook or our blog. We will reveal the secret location once you've reserved your place. We look forward to exciting your taste buds soon!


Gastrnomically yours,

Calon Y Gegin

Foodie Thought Of The Week

Add some good quality dark chocolate and a generous piece of cinnamon to give great depth to your chilli

Calon Y gegin's Secret Sunday Brunch

Calon Y Gegin hosted its second underground event on Easter Sunday - a secret lazy brunch. Thanks to all our wonderful guests who came along to enjoy a delicious brunch of glazed Welsh gammon ham (sauteed mushrooms for the veggies), poached free range and organic eggs, homemade potato rosti accompanied by a homemade HP style sauce, a selection of locally produced breads for toast, homemade preserves and endless tea and coffee.


There were plenty of new faces at Calon Y Gegin on Sunday which was really encouraging; we hope they will spread the word about our underground restaurant. Judging by the feedback, they loved the homemade HP style sauce which was a perfect accompaniment to the ham.

We’re busy preparing for the next underground event now and will post a date on the blog and our Facebook page really soon. If the feedback we’ve had is anything to go by, we’re going to have to make sure we find a larger secret venue for the next one!

We look forward to welcoming back our guests and opening our doors to the adventerous who want to try something totally new!

Calon Y Gegin's Secret Sunday Brunch 4th April

The delicious menu for Calon Y Gegin's secret Sunday Brunch is:

For the carnivores
Glazed Welsh Ham, potato rosti and poached eggs accompanied by a homemade HP style sauce. 

For the vegetarians
Sauteed mushrooms with a touch of garlic and fresh parsley, potato rosti and poached eggs accompanied by a homemade HP style sauce.

Accompaniments
Brunch is served with a slection of breads for toast (spelt, organic and white flour),  and a selection of homemade preserves - plum jam, blueberry jam and rhubarb & vanilla compote.

Orange juice

Tea or coffee

Boiled egg and soldiers for the little ones

We sourced all the fresh ingredients from the local farmers market in Keepoch Street and Cardiff Indoor Market this morning.  The cost of brunch is £7.50and £1 for the little ones

There's still time to message us if you want to know the secret location and come along and enjoy a lazy brunch with a stack of the Sunday papers.

Foodie Thought Of The Week

Until chillies were introduced from the New World the heat in Asian food was dreived from peppercorns.

Foodie Thought Of The Week

Starting from tomorrow and every week after that Calon Y Gegin will be posting a foodie thought of the week.  It might be a quick recipe for you to try, a tip for the kitchen or just a randon food musing.  Whatever it is we hope you will enjoy it! xxx

Sssssshhhhhhhh......Calon Y Gegin's Secret Sunday Brunch

Calon Y Gegin is hosting its second underground restaurant event - a secret lazy Sunday brunch - on Sunday 4th April.  Feast on whatever we've got our hands on from the farmers market, delicious fresh coffee, endless cups of tea, a big stack of Sunday's finest papers and boiled egg and soldiers for kids. Doors open from 11am (price and menu to be posted next Saturday after the visit to the farmers market).  If you would like to come along have a look at our Facebook page and it you're already a friend leave a message on our wall or e-mail us at ygegin.thekitchen.com and we will contact you to reveal the secret location. 

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=112988068714531

We'd love to see you at our second underground event.

Article on Calon Y Gegin

Have a look at the article wirtten by Caroline the journalist who came to the first night of Calon Y Gegin Underground.  Keep an eye out for the next event, del and lara x

http://www.capturecardiff.com/area/bayandpenarth/exploring-the-secret-of-cardiffs-first-underground-supper-club/

Comments from our frist underground night

Here are the comments that our guests left for us on Friday evening:

"The ambience on arrival was perfect, guests were made to feel special and looked after.  The first course was "to die for".  The flavours were just right - the ham in particular was so tasty.  Main course - lamb was very tender and flavourful.  Dessert - there was no mistaking that it was fresh rhubarb - something that one doen't taste often.  The vanilla ice cream complemenetd the rhubarb - absolutely delicious" Lynda

"Thank you for a wonderful evening!  Beautiful food and great company!  I am looking forward to writing a piece about how fantastic my first supperclub experience was.  Good luck with the future of Calon Y Gegin, what a great start! Many thanks" Caroline

"The food was lovely - tasty & fresh.  The setting was comforting & the lighting was good.  The leek and potato soup was warm and comforting - as it should be.  The butter was amazing - so soft and rich.  Lamb was tender and melted in your mouth.  The dessert was tangy and sweet - great combo.  The meal was amazing - well done.  Congratulations on your 1st underground night xxx" Chris

"The food was well presented & each course was delicious..  The soup was extremely tasty, the lamb was tender & flaoursoem & well cooked.  The rhubarb dessert was well cooked, sweet & light.  Congratulations to both chefs for a very impressive meal" Marilyn & Dave

"I've mentioned Calon Y Gegin to friends and family already and they are very interested in coming in the future.  Having eaten and enjoyed every course I will spread ther word even more.  Excellent food from beginning to end!!  Please keep me updated" Mark & Rhian

"I think to have everyone around one table is a great idea as it felt very sociable & got everyone chatting.  Food was fantastic, as usual.  The soup was nice & light, ravioli lovely & unusual, rhubarb tart - lovely texture, great ice cream.  Good timing between courses" Beth

Calon Y Gegin Underground

We held our first underground restaurant night on Friday 19th March in a secret location in Cardiff and thanks to our wonderful guests and our superb helpers (M, E and R) it was a resounding success.  We did feel a little nervous about the event beforehand, after but we agreed that a little bit of nerves is a good thing.  We had fun trawling the local shops, the indoor market, suppliers and delis for the best, seasonal and locally produced foods and ingredients we could find.  Sullivans and Fresh and Simple in Cardiff Market supplied all our fruit and veg and they were so helpful in getting things in especially for us when we couldn't find them on their stalls and Gary Anthony in the market, D's regular butcher, once again came up trumps with the most amazing lamb and gammon ham.  The Really Welsh food company helped us with our puddings by supplying us with yummy Welsh ice cream with great names like Swirley Bassey and Why, Why, Why vanilla!

The night itself was brilliant!  As we prepared, cooked, fussed and plated up in the kitchen we were encouraged by the noise of the laughter emanating from our guests in the dining room and the empty plates that were returned to the kitchen (some of them even looked like they'd been licked clean!).

One of our guests, a trainee journalist at Cardiff Univeristy's prestigious School of Journalism, will be publishing an ariticle on Calon Y Gegin Underground early next week (we'll post the link once the article is out).  Next time we host an underground evening we'd like to invite Horseradish on Toast, a local food blogger, to review our food (more nerves!).

It was hard work but fun and it was the first of many underground events to come.  Have a look at the pictures from the evening and the comment cards that guests filled in and watch our blog and facbook page for details of the next underground event. Thanks again to everyone who helped us make our first night a memorable success!

Calon y Gegin ~ Underground 1

It's official - the 1st (of many) Underground nights is set!  Join us on March 19th 2010 as we remember John Thomas (1826 - 1913).  See the link for Pencerdd Gwalia to find out more about him.  The menu is formed around a few things common on this day in 1913, the day John died, with a modern twist...  Come immerse yourself into a little local Welsh history...

Purchase your tickets here: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/75554
Beginnings
Penclawdd Cockles, Mussels & Clams
Gently steamed with leeks and Cariad white wine
Or
Leek & Potato Soup
local leeks and potatoes cooked with Welsh white wine, served with a parsley butter crouton

Served with a selection of home-made breads and butters



Middles
Slow cooked local Welsh Lamb
with baby vegetables in a red wine sauce
Or
Welsh Rarebit Ravioli
A delicious home-made ravioli filled with a trio of Welsh Cheeses and Ale with a sage butter sauce



Side Dishes
Tatws Rhost
Purple sprouting broccoli
Rocket & Spinach Salad



Endings

Decadent Perl Wen Cheesecake
Served with a seasonal fruit compote
Or
Rhubarb Tart with Vanilla Ice-cream
Locally grown rhubarb in puff pastry served with local Welsh vanilla icecream




Coffee & Petit Fours


Where possible, all produce is sought from local farmers and suppliers unless home grown.

Meeting with Caroline Cook - trainee journalist

We met Caroline Cook (a trainee journalist with Cardiff School of Journalism) on Saturday to talk about a feature piece Caroline wants to write about CalonY Gegin Underground.  Caroline asked us lots of questions about how we became interested in cooking and food and about the underground night we're organising for March 19th: if we'd decided on the menu, the costs, where it would be held, how we are going to advertise the night.  We agreed that Caroline would come to the underground night and, speak to fellow guests and then write the piece on Calon Y Gegin Underground.  Apparently, we are the 1st underground restaurant in South Wales!  Caroline publishes her articles at http://www.capturecardiff.com/ and will publish the piece sometime after 19th March.

Certificates

Lara and I have successfully completed our level 2 certificate in basic food hygiene. We found a great online training module which we completed last night. Complying with the Food Safety Act 1990 and the Food Hygiene Regulations 2006 is important when producing food for public consumption and undertaking training in food hygiene is one of the many ways in which we must comply. So, we're all trained up and waiting for our certificates to arrive.

Sunday Taster I

Thanks to everyone who attended our Sunday Taster on January 31st 2010.  We really did have a fantastic day and were extremely grateful for everyone answering a questionnaire after each course.  Thank you so much!

For those of you who were unable to attend, the menu looked something like this:

• Processco and Brioche accompanied:
  Jams: Plum, Apple & Blueberry, Apple & Blackberry
  Compotes: Spiced Plum, Apple & Cinnamon
  Marmalade: Grapefruit
• Amuse Bouche
  Tapenades: Black Olive, Green Olive
  Pestos: Green, Red.
• Homemade Soups
  Welsh Pea & Ham, Roasted Red Pepper, Thai Butternut Squash, Slow Roasted Tomato & Garlic
• Butters
  Lemon & Parsley butter with HaddockGinger & Orange with fresh scallop
  Chilli, Coriander & Ginger with grilled prawn
• Baked Quiches
  Roasted Red Pepper & Goat Cheese, Ham & Perl Las, Spinach & Gruyere with slow roasted tomatoes
• Sauces
  Arrabiatta, Tomato & Basil, Provencal, Tuna & Black Olive, Apple & Fennel
• Chutneys
  Apple, Spiced Plum, Caramelised Onion and Balsamic, Roasted Red Pepper & Chilli
• Sweet Things
  Lemon & Walnut Shortbread cookies, Vanilla Cream Cupcakes, Super Good for You Chocolate Cake, Caramel & Apple Shortbread Tart

We plan on hosting another tasting day in May... keep a look out on the site for the date.

Welcome to Calon y Gegin | Heart of the Kitchen

Everyone, welcome to our blog!  We are a new Underground Supperclub in the South Wales area and will hold events in both Cardiff and Bridgend, starting March 19th 2010.  Our drive and ambition is not only our love and passion for food and cooking, but the beautiful produce available to us locally - yet so many of us use the convenience of supermarkets.  Granted, not everything can be sourced locally.

Calon y Gegin | The Heart of the Kitchen, is not only a supperclub.  We produce beautiful jams, chutneys, pestos, baked products like quiches, cakes and biscuits - all made to order, fresh!  If you have any requirements at all, you should get in touch and we will do our best to fulfill your needs.