Meeting David Lebovitz...

So, one slightly rainy evening last week, I finished off work for the day and headed up to Mayfair for an early hair cut and blow dry. This was just a quick pit stop - with several public appearances on the cards over the coming weeks, I was keen to try and make myself look a little bit more presentable in anticipation. What normally takes about an hour and a quarter ended up taking twice as long. It was torture. I was so excited to get to David Lebovitz's cookery demonstration, I did seriously contemplate making my excuses and dashing away with wet hair. But I'm not sure that would have made the right impression. I wanted to meet him and tell him how inspiring I think he is.

I'm a huge fan of David Lebovitz's cooking and writing. I too used to live in Paris, so there's an extra connection. I adore his recipes, his approach, and the fact that his recipes can be so easily adapted. I was so excited he was here, in London.


Finally, around 8:20, I finally got away. My hair looked great, but I was worried. The demonstration was on from 7 till 9pm. So, off I ran in my heels to Marylebone High Street. I arrived at Divertimenti out of breath and ran into the shop, "where is he?! is he still here?!" No, he wasn't. He had left 5 minutes earlier. I was so disappointed. I was consoled by the delightful Adrienne Katz, who sent me home with some of the sweet treats which David had made. Take a look:

There was a ginger cake made with fresh ginger. Light, buttery and intensely gingery. Then coconut macaroons dipped in dark chocolate, and finally salted caramel peanuts. I took a wrong turn whilst heading home. I ended up walking up to Regent's Park which is in totally the wrong direction for me. It was late and I was starving. I thought I'd save the cakes to share with my sister.  Needless to say, I gave in. Just a couple of nuts to tide me over on my journey home. Famous last words! They were unbelievable. It's lucky there were enough left to photograph. The sweet and salty combination of flavours is seriously addictive.

So, David, I was so disappointed to have missed you. Hopefully there will be another opportunity soon. But those cakes have certainly left a lasting impression.