FOOD AS SENSORIUM: JOIN US AROUND THE TABLE 

As we enter the season of rain-soaked embraces, chimneys begin to smoke around London. At early dusk, the streets smell like burning wood, mineral rain and warming Thai takeaway, as we await the cardamom-infused Christmas that is merely seven weeks away. There's no better time to warm your senses to the approaching winter than to indulge in food that does much more than inspire your tastebuds. This month, the little argonaut is all about food as something multi-sensorium: food is not only a thrice daily intake of nutrition but is accompanied by herbaceous aromas, new textures, dim candlelight, brilliant music, and most importantly is best shared with people. Here are some affordable hidden gem restaurants to try as the nights draw in and a broth to share around the table at home too.

FEAST ON LONDON

Beigel bake (both of them) on Brick Lane

A visit to Shoreditch is best matched with a visit to the oldest bagel bakery in London, opened by a Jewish family in 1855. Celebrate the undermined power of a warm bagel and tangy dill pickles in your mitten-hands as you walk down brick lane and mooch about in the charity shops best found on the side streets of brick lane. 

Cafe Palestina, Kentish Town

The perfect all-day breakfast to share with friends on a late Sunday morning. Be welcomed by the smell of Arabic coffee and chatter and explore the Palestinian-made ceramics and dress in the shop. Proceeds go to both Medical Aid for Palestine and their own family run organisation, CADFA, supporting the community both locally and internationally. There is also a prayer room downstairs, where they also have a room for vegan supper clubs on Fridays. 

Queen of Sheba, Kentish Town

 In this small and cosy family restaurant, where Ethiopian Jazz plays, share their generously fulfilling dishes that are traditionally scooped up with injeras, a type of Ethiopian flat bread made of ancient grain. Multi-sensory can also mean eating with your fingers as well as your eyes, a perfect way to warm your fingers and commemorate food as something to be shared with people you care about. 

D4100, Nunhead and Bloomsbury

You can also keep the hands toasty by heading south on a weekend for £4 Aperol and sustainable Italian style slow food, where they serve wood-oven fired pizza and some of the most loaded hot sandwiches found in the city. On weekdays, pizza for less than £10 is paired best with lager by d4100 in their residence pub, The Perseverance, on Lambs Conduit Street, only a 10-minute stroll from campus.

Kottu Roti in Victoria Park market on Sundays

 Kottu Roti is a famous Sri Lankan street food dish served most commonly on the streets of Kandy, Sri Lanka's old colonial town. Find it in London every Sunday in Victoria park market, where they chop and fry away in wind, sun and rain. Kottu roti is chopped roti and vegetable, sometimes with chicken or fish, and is what makes Kandy so famous: the chopping sound makes improvised combined tunes as it bangs again the frying table, so watching your food be made is not only a spectacle of speed and talent but also a musical performance. 

FEAST AT HOME

While dining out together is a great winter treat as so many of us can become so overwhelmed by the darker days and chillier nights, cooking at home with friends is not only more affordable, but is also something worth cherishing, creating communitas in our own lives (instead of only studying it). Broth is not only warming and nutritious, but can be used in a multiplicity of ways, but it can also massively reduce your home food waste. Here is a quick and easy broth recipe that you can store for up to a month, in jars, or frozen for longer.

Any whole, expiring or leftover remnants of raw vegetables, such as tomatoes, celery, carrots, onion and garlic (the skin too), cabbages, kales and herbs, and bring to a boil in a large pot. Once boiling, bring to a simmer and keep on low heat from 2 up to 6 hours. Add dried thyme and rosemary, black pepper and generously add salt. The broth should reduce slightly and become richer in colour but keep adding water in small amounts to maintain volume. After, scoop out the softened vegetables and store the broth. These vegetables, minus the peels of the onion and garlic, can be added to pasta sauces such as Bolognese or blended into soups. 

Following the same recipe,  can also ask your local butcher for the carcass of a chicken or two to make chicken broth. This ultimately saves your butcher the waste of chicken parts such as the head or feet that are packed with flavour and extremely nutritious. They are also extremely cheap, either free or a couple of quid. 

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE

curated by

LUCY BERNARD

CARLI JACOBSEN