Visit To William Curley London

On the way home from our recent trip to Madrid we stopped of at London, the city where we first made our name in pastry. There are many fantastic food store, markets, restaurant and chocolate shops and it was great to drop in to an old friend and mentor Chef William Curley at his second outlet in Belgravia. William has among other things been the pastry chef of Marco Pierre White, Raymond Blanc and Pierre Koffman but it was during the time that he was the executive pastry chef at The Savoy Hotel that we first met. William has an unrivalled knowledge of pastry and chocolate and has been awarded UK chocolatier of the year in the past four years. We learnt so much from William during our time at the Savoy and he has been a great friend since. We dropped in to catch up and William gave us some valuable advice for our first business and also some amazing chocolate and pastry items to take away. William's wife Suzue, is also a very talented pastry chef and together this pastry shop/dessert bar in the centre of London is a must visit. William's original shop is still in Richmond and is also well worth the detour, the patisserie and chocolate works are as good as you will find anywhere in the world. Check out William's website and blog from the links below and pop in if you get the chance.

William Curley         http://www.williamcurley.co.uk/engine/shop/index.html

William's Blog         http://www.williamcurley.co.uk/engine/shop/page/Curley+Blog

Madrid Tales 4 - Produce & Our New Favourite Pastry Shop

One of the most popular cheeses here - Tetilla, this version is smoked - delicious!

It is found on most restaurant plata de queso - it is called tetilla because it is shaped like a.............

Our new favourite wine - a Crianza called Arzuaga (pronounced 'Arthwayga')

 

These eggs were found in the local supermarket, free range, fresh and delicious. Each box has a certificate of authentication and less than Aus$5 for a dozen.

 

We found this stall at a local market, selling only fresh and natural fruit jellies (pate de fruit) with no colours or preservatives.

Everywhere you go! Not complaining!!

Paleta Iberica is the less expensive front leg of the Iberica pig, it requires and extra chew but the flavour is amazing.

Air dried beef - fantastic.

Our new favourite Chocolate/Pastry Shop on Calle Alcala, 5 mins from our hotel.

The shop smelt amazing and had a very high quality selection of entremets, chocolates and viennoiserie.

 

All of the large gateaux were sold out within an hour but beautiful individual pieces were still available.

All items are baked and prepared on premises by a very talented chef called Ricardo Martinez Velez.

Check them out if you come to Madrid www.moulinchocolat.com

Every flavour of Macaroons that you can think of...and you MUST try the canelle!

It has been a real education looking at all of the local and regional Spanish produce and there is so much quality in shops that don't have international recognition!

BUBO - One Of The Best Patisseries In Barcelona

Inventive and stunning shop display coupled with innovative design.Loved the ideas and colours.
Very smart modern patisserie
Beautiful individual pastries.
Macaroon's of every flavour and colour.Sweet tooth's really are spoiled for choice in Barcelona, it seems every street has a world class patisserie, ice cream shop or bakery. We think we found the best though, Bubo was fantastic and an inspiration to us. Their design, packaging ideas and beautifully executed patisserie was outstanding. Obviously the chef is a very talented man and we applaud his achievements. Burch & Purchese are looking forward to returning very soon. http://www.bubo.ws/

Adriano Zumbo - A Must Visit In Sydney

Adriano poses for us outside his patisserie in Sydney.We popped into our friend Adriano's shop in Balmain in Sydney last week to catch up with him. Its been a while since Burch & Purchese worked with Adriano when Ramon Morato was over from Spain for the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival in March. Since then Adriano has been flat out out and achieved a certain celebrity after his T.V. appearances, well we can say it's well deserved as his pastries are stunning. Adriano captures depth, flavour and texture and showcases modern pastry techniques. His playful description of his works are also very clever and Burch & Purchese say thanks for the fantastic creations and well done on all of your success, it won't be long before we return!!!! http://adrianozumbo.com/patisserie.html

Sisko Chocolate - New Store

Our friends at Sisko Chocolate have a NEW retail and consultation studio open at 330 Auburn Road in Hawthorn, the shop showcases their beautiful creations including their trademark Sisko Chocolate Flowers. Christina is an extremely talented chocolate professional who is a pleasure to know, we are very excited for her and this is THE place to go for exclusive decorative chocolate pieces. Sisko use Burch & Purchese favoured chocolate, 'Chocovic', available from The Cocoa Alliance. http://www.siskochocolate.com.au/