On Friday evening my wife and I were fortunate enough to be able to visit the Aqua restaurant at the Shard in London. 
My previous dining experience at a high end restaurant was heavily floored and needed to be erased from my memory. 
This, however, was no a let down by any means. This is quite simply a "dining experience". Thirty something floors up above London. The twinkling ocean of lights down below were spectacular. My photo does not do it justice but I didn't was to spend my evening behind my camera-phone.
For starters I had the Salmon Confit and Mrs P had the partridge terrine. Both dishes were nice. Not mind blowing, not amazing, but nice. 
Our main courses of Belly of Blytheburgh Pork for my wife and saddle of Lamb for me arrived next. Again, these were both delicious, nice and tasty. Not amazing, not phenomenal, but nice. 
You'll notice a pattern occurring here. The meal and the service were not first class. It was very good, but not the excellence one would come to expect from a menu in this price bracket. But then..... the views! Our table was sat right at the window overlooking London in all of its nighttime glory. This was worth the bill. Once our three desserts arrived (Just a thing we do) The realisation that the view is included in the bill. This menu, anywhere else would be 30% cheaper for sure. The feeling of luxury from this loud and trendy restaurant is almost a hit. There was a buzz in the air and the dark and moody lighting within the restaurant gave an unrivaled cool ambiance.
There were moments where I'd wished for a little more lighting within the restaurant but I guess this is to highlight the London skyline.
Yes, I would recommend it. The food is over priced, but the view is priceless.

http://aquashard.co.uk/   

This weekend we also launched our Artisan Rose House burger. Sold all 20 in a day. Very popular indeed. I had planned to use a local artisan baker to make some bread rolls but needless to say, they were not up to the standard I required. I made the roll myself.
As a chef in a small kitchen I sometimes need to outsource tasks to other professionals. This was one of those occasions. But when the product is not right and does not suit my goal. That's it! I'll move on. Find someone else or just do it myself.
The burger was perfect. Red poll beef burger. Just seasoned with a little salt and pepper. No f'ing about with. Let the natural meat flavours come through. A rasher of local bacon and some #suffolk Gold cheese. #chef #ipswich #chefofinstagram ##burger #redpoll #beef #gastronomy #michelinstar ☺ #chefproblems #cheflife

I recently set up Netflix at home. After spending too much time trying to work out what to watch, I stumbled across this documentary series called The Chefs Table. It spends time talking to and with chefs at the top end of the game. Their inspiration and goals. Their motivation and desires. Some excellent TV. Well worth the monthly subscription (free trial). I am only a few episodes in hut can't wait to complete the series. Please do check it out.

This week we've had another great selection from our allotment grower over at Maidenhall.
Every now and then we get something which catches me off guard. This time it was these "Medlars"
I am currently still unsure what I'm going to do with them, but they are very interesting indeed.
Medlars can be used to make a jelly or jam. They have a taste similar to apple baby food, which I kinda like☺. I will post again once I work out what I'm going to do. If you have any ideas, please get in touch.