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Born into a family of food lovers.

Born into a family of food lovers



Born into a family of food lovers, Iraqi/Belarusian Jewish. Above is a picture of my parents at their wedding with a profiterole cake called Croquembouche.  

I was raised in London, a city rich in food from around the world. My parents are both born and raised Londoners. It's usually when my friends meet my family do they have that 'aha!' moment. "So that's why Flo loves food so much...". 

Growing up, my Friday nights consisted of staying in with my parents and two sisters where we’d do Shabbat (jewish tradition) and invite friends/family round to eat a huge meal together. This meal consisted of roast chicken, vegetables, onions and roast potatoes, topped with onion gravy. My sisters and I would ask my mum to burn the onions because they would become caramelised. Yes, we are particular. Can’t forget the Challah (traditional jewish bread), which we’d usually buy from either The happening Bagel in Finsbury Park or Daniels in Temple Fortune. For those who haven’t tried Challah, I usually describe it as a bread similar to Brioche as it’s soft, eggy light textured inside and has a hint of sweetness. 


The next morning my dad would use the leftover Challah to make eggy bread, or as he calls it, egg dipped in bread. He would soak the bread in eggs for 15 minutes and by the time I would wake up in the morning I could smell him frying the bread in the pan. It was the smell of heaven. I loved it gooey and my sisters loved it well done, so my dad catered to our eggy bread ‘needs’. The grin on our faces as we poured on the maple syrup and took our first bite. That was love. 

I remember getting really pissy because I had to stay in on Friday nights. My perspective on this completely changed as I got older. Shabbat taught me the significance of sitting down with friends/family and eating a meal together. It taught me community. It taught me presence. 


Restaurants filled with familiarity 

My dad has always seeked out new/independent restaurants in London, mainly family run, hidden gems. He continues to go back to his favourite restaurants, ones which he himself has been going back to since he was a child which is over 60 years. Over the years, he’s watched the restaurant owners age, pass away and hand restaurant ownership to their family members. 

One of these restaurants is called the Green Cottage. This is a little family run Chinese restaurant in Swiss Cottage, which has been open for over 30 years. It looks pretty standard from the outside and it’s pretty shabby from the inside, but it’s simple and not overcomplicated. The one dish my family has always gone back for is the duck rice, the best in London. The duck is soft, tender and melts in your mouth. I have never tried duck better than there, though I’ve been told that some of the best duck is in Bangkok, which is my next stop for duck! Every time I’m in London now I try to visit the Green Cottage not only because the duck is to die for, but because the Green Cottage is apart of my childhood. It’s a place filled with memories and familiarity. 

                                                                           

Just to end this post, here’s something I find funny. I was brought up partly Kosher (strictly not aloud to eat pig). My parents would be pretty unhappy if they found out my sisters and I had eaten pork at our friends, or sneaked it into our dishes somehow, which of course we did. However, every time we went to the Green Cottage, my parents would order us all Won Ton Soup for our starter, made with pork dumplings. My parents knew it was made with pork. It was only when my sisters and I got older did we find out that we were eating pork. My parents had no excuse and shared that the Won Ton Soup was irresistible. Note - So, Won Ton Soup from the Green Cottage is apparently an exception…

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