At Home with the World

Every now and then I make a visit to The Geffrye Museum which is less than a 10 minute walk from my Hackney flat,  and has such a sense of peace about it that I step out in a slight daze, oblivious to the contrasting noise and traffic of Kingsland road.

Geffrye is a museum of interiors and the home. It is small and perfectly formed with an airy cafe/restaurant that over looks the surrounding lovely period gardens and serves fresh, no fuss food. 

Unlike most museums visits that overstimulate my senses, a visit to the Geffrye is a much gentler experience. On a gray day, one might escape the rain by taking refuge in its inviting period rooms or casually drop by on a warm sunny day,  and float from room to room, along with the dust particles visible in the haze of the light, that shines through its large windows.

 

my favourite part..the reading room.

the restaurant

Current exhibition: At home with the World How English are our homes?

I learnt that the idea of using Forks came here from Italy

beautifully hand-written recipe book from1724!All recipes include Mace, Nutmeg and Cloves

A book of furnishing textiles samples from 1800's

Mackintosh computer from 1990

 The final section of the exhibition asks the visitor to write down the name of one object in their home that's come from another country

 mine would be this! My most treasured possession... my late beloved grandmothers Samovar.
I brought it here from Iran in my hand luggage but it almost did not make it passed the Iranian borders. The airport authorities feared I might use it as weapon to take down the pilot!

lone walker

 When I moved to London, age 17 I fell in love with an English boy who'd left his heart behind in Mexico. He'd fallen in love with the Mexican sun, chilies and heat, dark, dark eyes and wide inviting smiles. I don't think he understood why given the choice, anyone might want to come to this 'unfriendly' country of his where folk were so damn 'cold', SO 'reserved'! He'd seen better and suffered as a result.

He was from the West Country and so my weeks were divided between the quiet of the English countryside with him and the buzz of London life where I'd enrolled at an art college.
It was clear what the boy thought about his homeland and so when in London, it was up to me to make my discoveries through my own adventures and so I set about walking.
It was a warm summer.
Still afraid of getting lost in the maze of the underground tube, I stayed firmly above. Alone, I walked and walked and each day with each step I took, I claimed a little more of the city for my own... until it felt like home.
I'd already left home once. I wasn't leaving it again to follow anyone in search of chilies.

        A recent Sunday walk along the Bankside and a visit to Tate Modern

              Please note to get the most out of such walks, they are best enjoyed alone.

window shopping for candle holders

       

food installation in a Bankside art gallery window

Thames

view from the level 7 restaurant at Tate Modern

The cucumber elderflower martini that has made me want to return every day since!

 Yayoi Kusama & dots...is it acceptable to say dotty Yayoi Kusama?I'd say she's too cool to mind and anyway its the dottiness that makes her so brilliant!

The incredible mirror room: The Passing Winter 2005

what goes into the making of a supper club?

The answer is BAGS of energy and a thousand liters of LOVE!

 After the incredible success of the last two supper clubs I did last year, I've been a bit slow on the getting a move on front with the next event & I know it! Come to think of it, perhaps the post supper exhaustion I felt, wisely kick started my defence mechanism into action hoping to slow me down so that I might see sense and IDEALLY not die of a heart attack age..... ?! (well who's bloody business is it anyway what age I am?)

I did the last two Persianesque suppers in partnership with very capable and talented friends and my amazing little sis, Sanaz. The first event was with Sara Ekholm at the lovely Violet and the last with Jasmin Jodry at her amazing Dalston pad where we even had a beautiful dancer performing in between courses! (her dance to Tom Waits 'Green Grass' was just divine!)

This week after much procrastination, I found myself trying to organise my next Supper evening and boy am I already knackered! There is just too too much to organise and then playing the Head Chef & cooking for a hungry sophisticated foodie crowd with high expectations and in a kitchen thats not your own is quite simply TERRIFYING but equally... exhilarating!

This next one will be on March 19th in celebration of Nowruz or the Persian New Year (celebrated on the vernal equinox and the first day of Spring)  The venue is the F Cooke's Pie & Mash Shop on Hoxton Street.....It feels right that we should celebrate something so ancient in a venue that also has a vibrant history.


Totally inspired by my recent travels to Iran and the ever stylish Copenhagen, I'm planning a delicious & colourful feast...so I'm cooking, experimenting and refining a little each day.

Various people & friends are getting involves and spaces are filling up fast and with each new booking, my heart beets a little faster....Oh lord I think I can feel that heart attack coming on! (fear not...I wont let it happen till AFTER the 19th!)

Sara's amazing Saffron Brioche

Sara,Sanaz and I dishing up desserts

Ok so lets just say this image was enhanced slightly...:)

 If you'd like to join us get in touch!solizardosht@gmail.com