Mecca...Bansky, Space Invaders and Mask Graffiti with Eine and Toaster Graffiti within 10 steps!

This was On Rivington Street near Shoreditch High Street
12 down, 89 more to go

Fast becoming fans of... Toaster Graffiti and Mask Graffiti

While in Soho, I came across what I thought was a sticker graffiti artist- Toaster.
This one was on Sutton Row off Tottenham Court Road.

After a visit to Shoreditch, I realized that this artist was much much more than that. I am fast becoming a fan of their work!


Another artist who seems quite prolific in the Shoreditch area is the mask graffiti artist as pictured above with toaster graffiti.

Space Invaders Nellie Dean

11 down, 90 More to Go

Space Invaders Greek Street

9 Down, 92 more to go

Space Invaders Soho Square

10 Down, 91 more to go

Space Invaders Flitcroft Street

8 Down, 93 More to go

Space Invaders St Anne's Court

7 Down, 94 more to go

View from my Flat

This is the view from our balcony terrace. We are working on getting it re-decorated to take full advantage of the view! The only noise in the evening on the river is the occasional party boat that comes bumping along. What amuses me is that you can often tell what type of people are on the boat by the music that is playing. There have been a few banghra music boats passing by....

You can see the london eye and the Gherkin!


we also have perfect views of the financial center at Canary Wharf.

Space Invaders Charing Cross Road @ Astoria Theater

6 down, 95 more to go

Enjoying Canary Wharf

More Pics from our flat's terrace. I'm listening to music with the balcony door wide open... It's 7:30, still about 80 degrees outside, small breeze, waves lapping below. Does life get better than this?

Space Invaders Charing Cross Road

Space Invaders Tottenham Court Road Station

5 down, 96 more to go.

Soho

Yesterday, I did a bit of exploring around SOHO. Soho was grazing farmland until 1536. Many believe that the name Soho comes from the old ‘soho!’ hunting call. The music scene in Soho can be traced back to 1948 and Club Eleven which is generally revered as the fountainhead of modern jazz in the UK. In the early 1950s, Soho became the center of the Beatnik culture in London. Coffee Bars like Le Macabre (Wardour Street) which had coffin shaped tables, fostered beat poetry, jive dance and political debate. Soho is a small, multicultural area of central London; a home to industry, commerce, culture and entertainment, as well as a residential area for both rich and poor. Here are my favorite snapshots from soho:


And of course, the space invaders find for the day.


4 down, 97 more to go

Today's Space Invaders Sighting

3 down 98 more to go!

Street Art at the Tate Modern

On Thursday, I had the pleasure of heading down to the Tate to see the street art exhibit currently on show.

the outside of the Tate exhibits work from 6 different artists. Around the Tate, they have commissioned a few more works. They have tried to make these as authentic as possible utilizing doors, walls and other slightly hidden places.

They also had a booth set up outside which helped define the different types of graffiti.
What I was the most taken by was the street art that was not commissioned by the Tate. There seemed to be something extremely contrived and not that interesting about the commissioned art. Street art is meant to be street- something that someone threw up in the middle of the night in an inconspicuous location- where if someone stumbles on it, smiles and acknowledges the talent.
My favorite street art that I found while on the Tate Street Art walking tour were:

Wear Beard

Photographer tagging ( I love love love his proverb!!!)
and of course

SPACE INVADERS!!!!!

and AGAIN!!!! 2 down, 99 to go.

Airplane Food

Throughout history, when Americans used airplanes as a means of transport, they always followed the railway system and had some sort of meals on the flight to feed the pilots. When airplanes started carrying passengers on the airplanes, it was a given that food would be supplied to the passengers as a necessary means of substance.
The first experimental galley was tested on a flight from Oakland, California in 1934. In 1936, American airlines created the first galley on an airplane as a location to serve food out of while in flight. Heat was generated from the Glycol that was burned off by the airplane to heat the food. By 1945, Pan American airlines started using microwaves which is now the industry standard.
by th 1960s, the standard for first class food was again altered. Pan American airlines partnered up with Maxim's of Paris for their first class menu. Which leads us to where airplane food is today.
For those of you who think airplane food is awful- well it generally is. For those of you who have had the luxury of sitting in Business or First Class, you know that meals are no longer the rubber cardboard tasting dishes that they are known to be. On my flight to London, I had the pleasure of enjoying a meal designed by world reknown chef Charlie Trotter. Did the meal taste better? Sure, it tasted better than the regular pasta shells or cardboard meatloaf that you usually get. Was it a meal that represents and show cases Charlie Trotter's talent? probably not. Will some one be more apt to choose one airline over another based on the celebrity chef that is designing their menu? No. The one thing that airplane food has done is come leaps and bounds and can only improve!

Duck Confit with Soba Noodles. It was actually quite tasty

Sneak peak at finals dishes

Just a sneak peak at my final presentation.. more postings to come!

The First Day of the rest of our lives

A Big Congrats must go out to the graduating class of 07-10-26 at SDCI! (from left to right)
Maurice- you have such a big heart! You are a loyal friend and always able to make me laugh! Keep out of trouble and you'll be a huge success!
Oscar- your flavor combinations will always astound me. always relaxed, chilled and real, reasonable and calm- you will make a great executive chef one day and be an amazing leader to your brigade!!!
Sam- Your kindness and quest for perfection shows in everything that you do and will shine and showcase your talent in the kitchen!! Your commitment to being a team player is always 100%. When in doubt, Sam always steps up to the challenge even if there is not enough hours in the day to get it done!!!
Dara- to the funniest, most vibrant gal! You always put a huge smile on my face. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with out you!!! You have always run circles around me in the kitchen and you are gonna run one of the most efficient, fun kitchens this industry will ever see!!!
not pictured because they decided to transfer to the day class and ditch us! =P
Abraham- PIMP DADDY!You have sooo much perseverance and I envy you for that! You are always down to learn- always listening and soaking everything in. You are gonna kick butt even if you are a lefty!
Danielle- Your dishes always awe me! Always calm and doing her own thing, you always end up with the most perfect dishes. Your talent is natural and graceful!

I also wanted to thank our chef instructors.
Chef Lewis- you have been an inspiration to me from the first day I met you in my interview! Your knowledge, wittiness and commitment to your students is amazing. You have been an integral part of making my culinary aspirations come true and I could never thank you enough for the opportunities that you have given me. I never thought in my wildest dreams that the conversation of training at a Michelin star restaurant in my interview could become a reality. You made that dream become a reality! Thank you for always having faith and confidence in me!
Chef Waefler Thank you for wupping us into shape! Yes we may be the tattle tail class but can we help that we expect everything to be clean, put back into the right place and done the right way? You opened our eyes to the reality of kitchen life. Your abundance in experience and knowledge, your devotion to your students shows every day in class. I will miss you so much!!! " Open eye!!!"
Chef Kai- the walking encyclopedia!!! Thank you for being such a great teacher. I always love your lectures because I learn sooo much about not only the attributes of food but why it happens- to better grasp how to work with the material. Without this basic foundation, we wouldn't be able to apply it further. You always make class fun and relaxed! Thank you for always going above and beyond to make sure that we as students get everything that we possibly can out of school.
Chef Brill- Thank you for always letting us explore our own creativity. You always challenge us to think about the material and how to re-apply it. Class is always enjoyable with you and our dishes always turn out to be some of our favorites with you! Thank you for always pushing us towards our own independence to help us build up our confidence!
to Johnny and Lena- thank you for all of your hard work and late nights! SDCI would not be able to run with out you. I will miss your chicharrones and pancit!!!

Fun with Salt Dough

As part of our final examinations, we had to create a Salt Dough sculpture. From the first day of class, I knew what I wanted to make. To me, my relationship with food is deeply rooted in the travels and parts of the world that my parents have given me the opportunity to see. It is the every day food of these places that create the fiber of the society and culture that that city or region has now become. I knew that I wanted to make a globe to show that relationship. Salt dough is an extremely tricky and fickle material to work with. It is comprised of popcorn salt, cornstarch and water.
To make my continents, I carved out each continent. These were version 2 out of about 5 as the salt dough kept on causing the continents to warp.


I started the sculpture in the end of April. The part that I had the hardest time with was covering the globe because the salt dough was so heavy. Sanding and patching, and ripping everything off and starting over again, took about a month working 1-3 hours every night after class.
Besides the globe (that turned), another crucial piece to my sculpture was the food that would surround the globe. The food that I chose was not any "fancy" dishes but rather again, local foods that represents to me those individual cultures.




A big shout out must go to Dara's husband Brian for being my master carpenter and engineer! Without him, the fact that my globe could spin could not be possible ( or even standing!)

This was the final product. All in all, I spent over 75 hours on the project but it was worth it!