TrendLife Food

This weekend 40 bakers will descend on Brixton Market to battle it out to be branded best bake. The event is being judged by local businesses and celebs Victor Scalzo from Patisserie Valerie and Levi Roots. The event starts at 10 so you can buy the fares but the winner won't be announced until 1. To top off the event they will have swing dances throughout the day too. What a wonderful throw back for a saturday morn.

The deep and rich aroma of roasted beans can rouse you out of the deepest slumbers and help shake off the cloudiness of late afternoon energy dips. But gone are the days of thinking coffee as simply a necessity, an ever day occurrence lumbered in with the washing up and commuting; coffee has fast risen to become known as the daily luxury. With connoisseur worthy coffee shops springing up all over the country, we are all firmly coffee appreciators now and have begun experimenting with drip methods, antipodean influences and pressure brewing. If you’re looking to widen your horizons, chase your next caffeine hit or discover new methods then we’ll see you down at the London Coffee Festival. If you can’t make it there are lots of events going on for Coffee Week (April 23-29) and it’s all in aid of Project Waterfall.

All things retro are back. They are affordable, fun and bring back those fuzzy warm memories of our youth. Nothing does this more for me than Jelly. It costs nothing, has a million colourways and flavours and is very fun to make. These fantastic jelly moulds from British designer Lydia Leith are perfect for the Queen's Jubilee. Make Queen's head shaped jellies for your street party. The mould makes a 2 Litre jelly and my suggestion would be a very patriotic strawberry or bluberry. Sure to feed a good few mouths at a street party and have you the talk of the town (in a good way).

All this sunshine and unexpected heat has me lusting over bright and bold colours. These colanders from The Contemporary Home are the perfect colour punch for the kitchen. Perfect for draining veg or pasta when you're only cooking for 1, or even as a funky way to serve vegetables to guests at a dinner party, allowing each guest their own personal portion to be served alongside their main dish. Much more sophisticated than a free-for-all with big serving dishes and it means that no-one has to feel greedy for snaffling the last spoonful of peas! Available in 5 bright and bold colours, allowing you to remain true to your colour scheme or mix and match for an eclectic look.

This months seasonal vegetable is the humble cauliflower. I know, I know cauliflower is rarely out of season but for April we shall give it some loving attention. It's going to be a rainy, dreary month so take it back to the homey and warming Cauliflower cheese. I put a mixture of cauliflower and broccoli florets in a glass dish. I then mix up a simple roux sauce and add some mustard seeds, a teaspoon of mustard and as much cheese as it will take. Pour this over the florets and bake until golden. Yummy with just some green beans (there is lots of protein in cheese) or as a decadent but traditional side with a roast dinner.