recipease, london (the deli)

pretty little deli belonging to jamie oliver in the heart of notting hill. this is a sequel to my earlier post on the cafe at this same site – and I have to say that just as much as I enjoyed breakfast at the cafe, I loved walking about the deli. bread, pastries, jams, oils, chocolates, utensils – I mean you name (a food-associated) it, they probably have it.

these photos are just a tiny distillation of the huge space downstairs. there is a sort of giant island in the centre, where people take cooking lessons – that night there were a group of adults learning various methods of cuttings vegetables, such as dicing, matchstick-ing and julienning. surrounding this are shelves full of food: jamie-branded jars of jam and mustards and pickles, colourful bottles of oils and vinegars, and loads of straight-away-edibles such as chocolates and biscuits.

beyond these jarred and save-for-laters, there are bread and baked carbo-goodies like muffins and cake strewn around, just as upstairs. I only found out during this visit that the flour station, which is advertised together with the enticing breads and sandwiches, is actually an offshoot of fifteen, which is another jamie establishment. it has expanded from a store at borough market to providing posh-ish (something you wouldn’t immediately associate with the jamie brand) bread to restaurants and cafes like this one. pretty cool.

there is also an open kitchen at the back where happy-looking chefs prep food for the upstairs, and I think you could possibly grab a coffee to sip at a corner table if you’re into that.

I really liked this place – it was a sort of candy store for my food-obsessed mind and I’m not sure I would have left if my parents hadn’t dragged me out of there. the only other jamie place I’ve been to is union jacks, which I enjoyed for good food and happy service – this place is pretty much the same. good idea for brunch and food-gift-shopping, especially now that the holidays are coming up!