Innocent Inspires -An evening of good taste.

Yesterday  I attended the Innocent Inspire event which took place in the Crypt under St. James Church in London with a few of my foodie friends, Sylvia Filozof, Manjiri Chitnis and Fiona Mclean.

"Innocent Inspires series"s are a series of inspirational evenings that are tailor made by Innocent to give you a sensory night of good taste.The focus of the evening was to understand why does taste matter,how does it work,what's the perfect combination and how can good taste  transform your life and career?

The venue was transformed in to an inviting and cosy atmosphere with beautifully set table, cosy candlelights, flowers in jam jars, ample Innocent Juices and a lively buzz of excitement.We were greeted at the door with a delicious raspberry, lemon and rose water mocktail that smelled divine and even tasted sensual. This was just the beginning of the evening. The evening kicked off with an introduction by Innocent and followed by a wonderful talks from the guest speakers while we munched of foodie treats.

Florence Knight head chef at Polpetto Restaurant, Florence talked about seasonal foods and how she gets inspiration from them in her cooking. She served us an amazing ice-cream which had a combination of pepper, caramel and sliced peaches.

The second talk was Ms Marmite Lover - the undergound supper club queen. Ms Marmite lover is one amazing woman with a fantastic personality. she is really entertaining with an awesome sense of humour. I could have sat and listened to her antics all evening. From her talk I learn't the importance of carbs in our diet. Apparently carbs release serotine a happiness hormone so we should all be indulging in them when we need to be happy. During her talk it came as no surprise when we were served up marmite and toast and virgin bloody Mary's made with tomato juice and marmite!!! Needless to say I hate marmite and was not brave enough to try it although looking around our table there were many empty bottles so it must have been good!!!
As we listened to the speakers we were constantly supplied with crudités and dips by the Dip society.I got my first taste of a spicy Beet dip and houmous made with rapeseed oil. Both were delicious.

The next speaker Bombas and Parr - jellymongers extraordinaire continued to entertain us.I was so amazed to see how a person can be so passionate about jelly!!!It was interesting to learn how one can make a career from making giant jelly models and selling the idea to the world!!! Our taste buds were  tickled with a jelly tasting session, but before it was served  we had to chant for it to appear!!!Sadly being a vegetarian I did not try the jelly although it looked delicious and was very wobbly just like a jelly should be!!! I learn't that the upcoming trend is to have jelly at weddings and funerals too!!! Finally cup cakes have a rival!!!

The next talk was by Emilie Baltz a transatlantic food designer, her focus was on smells and taste and we were taken on a sensory journey by smelling vanilla pods and biting into figs with ear plugs in our ears!!!The sound of the bite into the fig and the smell of vanilla gave taste and smell another dimension.

Last but not least we had a wonderful talk by Ollie Dabbous chef- owner of the game changing Dabbous.What can I say about this young man?? He received his first Michelin star only after 1 year of opening his restaurant, he is the most sought after chef in the culinary world.

The evening ended with Q&A with all the speakers and a lovely goody bag of Graze box, Innocent Juice, a box of mints and some vouchers together with a very unique bill for the event.

I would like to Thank Innocent Inspire for inviting me to this event ,it has certainly awakened my senses and understanding of good taste.