Edible London 2023, London and Sussex

 Last week we were together in Ireland slathering heaps of butter on our potatoes “steamed in their jackets” and wondering whether the apparition of water buffalo was real or imagined. This week we’ll channel the U.K.’s bounty from a cultural as well as culinary/viticultural perspective all under the expert guidance of Les Dames d’Escoffier’s London chapter.  

Now that you’ve digested Edible Cork, welcome to Edible London. Ready to get started?  Again, we’ll focus on three highlights. First, we’ll explore the U.K.’s burgeoning sparkling wine industry in Sussex with comments from fellow traveler and guest contributor Liz Barrett, Chicago-based wine writer and educator. Then, staying in the countryside, we’ll travel to Charleston House, home to the legendary Bloomsbury Group. New York City PR guru Joan Brower will add her observations on this circle of early 20th century writers, philosophers, and artists discussing how they lived, loved, and created within their tiny abode. Finally, I’ll pick up the reins as the unsatiable food shopper with a visit to Borough Market, London’s oldest and most famous food market.  

Britain’s Sparkling Wine Industry

Ten years ago on the first Edible London tour, I had the opportunity to sample one of England’s then early attempts at making sparkling wine. As I recall, it was a Brut from Nyetimber, the country’s first wine “pioneer.” The bubbly left a strong, favorable impression back then, and this was from someone who had already spent decades marketing Champagne. I mean, the real deal from France.

Fast forward and now, the British sparkling wine sector has truly come into its own. Today, it produces quite a few top-quality brands, some of which can stand up to the best bubblies in the world.  Who knew, right?

Currently, the U.K. boasts more than 150 wineries producing both still and sparkling wines. Thanks to advanced viticultural know-how plus global warming, making good sparkling wine, in particular, is no longer an impossible challenge. If you don’t believe me, consider this: some of France’s big-name Champagne houses, such as Taittinger and Pommery, have been buying up land on England’s south coast. And they should know what they’re doing.

I wasn’t the only one who was wowed with what we tasted in Sussex during our recent visits to Ridgeview and later Rathfinney Wine Estate. Liz Barrett agreed with me, too. Here are her comments on the topic:

I was super impressed with the English sparkling wines I tasted!  When I learned that the Champagne region of France is on nearly the same longitude (51 degrees north) as Britain's Kent and Sussex counties at 49 degrees north, and only 200 miles away across the English Channel, it made perfect sense that wine grapes grow well in Kent and Sussex. 

And now that the climate is getting even warmer, they are finding they can ripen grapes enough to make still wines, in addition to sparkling. I tasted some glorious Chardonnays at Gusbourne! (Liz visited this winery on her own. Incidentally, the brand was chosen as the official coronation sparkling wine.) 

While English sparklers do make it into the U.S., they face two challenges: lack of awareness among the masses ("They make wine in England??!!") and they are on the pricey side. (Ridgeview wines can be found in New York shops for $38, but the Gusbourne wines come in at $65 and up.) 

The quality is there—many English sparklers could easily be confused for Champagne (but don't tell the French!)—and I hope more people start discovering these wines in the U.S., and certainly while traveling in the U.K. 

If a trip across the pond is not in your immediate future, you can still find a selection of noteworthy producers exported to the U.S: Ridgeview, Nyetimber, Gusbourne, Digby, Bolney, Chapel Down, Hattingley Valley, Winston and Louis Pommery England, to name a few. Together, these labels represent a myriad of different styles and price points.

However, if you do plan to explore England’s wine country someday, head to Sussex and the South Downs only 50 miles from London.  The countryside is rich with lush rolling hills, picture-perfect villages, and welcoming small inns.  Rathfinny, one of the wineries we visited, also offers lodging in a beautifully restored historic building in the middle of their vast vineyards not far from the coast. They also offer wine tours and tastings plus amazingly delicious meals at their two restaurants.

Our guide, Valentina Harris, pointed out that on a good day you can see France from Rathfinny’s hillside vineyards located in the heart of the South Downs. This area, also famous for its coastal Seven Sisters—which outrank Dover’s White Cliffs in terms of drama and extent—is paradise for hikers. Hang gliders love it, too. The day we were there, we delighted in spotting their colorful, triangular sails soaring overhead like a flock of birds catching the thermal air currents.

Charleston House

Before heading back to London, we took a detour to visit the Charleston House which in 1916 became the rural outpost for the Bloomsbury Group. But let Joan tell you the details:

Having majored in English in college, earning a M.A. degree in British literature, what a thrill it was to visit Sussex for an immersion in Charleston House, the communal countryside retreat of members of the famed Bloomsbury Group. Named for the Bloomsbury area of Central London where they each lived and worked, this extraordinary set of English painters, writers, journalists, art critics, intellectuals, and economists helped transform modern aesthetics and attitudes during the early part of the 20th century.

Labelled then as both bohemians and creative trailblazers, the controversial group – including Clive Bell, Vanessa Bell (and her sister, Virginia Wolff), Duncan Grant, Roger Fry, Leonard Wolff, Lytton Strachey, and others – rejected bourgeois social rituals, claimed freedom for their own ideas, and rebelled against previous generations with their liberal stances that included the redefinition of sexuality and personal relationships. 

Famed wit Dorothy Parker once said of the Bloomsbury Group that they “lived in squares…and loved in triangles.” And so it was at Charleston House, where controversial relationships played out against the backdrop of a unique home treated as a “living painting.” While wandering through each of the house’s many small rooms, we viewed each space as a unique painter’s canvas in which every wall, piece of furniture, and even bathroom fixtures was designed and painted in the group’s individual, distinctive styles. Similarly, the outside garden was filled with glorious surprises: luxuriant cottage plantings; a variety of classical and modern sculptures; geometric and cyclical lawns; mosaic pavements.

The Charleston House experience was so decoratively divorced from realism, that we felt like Alice transported to the magical world of Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland.  And it was fabulous!

Borough Market

For a serious foodie, there is no better place to explore in London than Borough Market. Kate Howell, who oversees marketing at the market, assured us this was not an overstatement. Being in the know, she also recommended going early to avoid the crowd of tourists. “And come hungry! You’ll be surprised at the exciting labyrinth of places to eat and drink we offer here at Borough Market.”

Kate further explained that Borough Market traces its history back to 1756. It now occupies a sprawling site near the London Bridge which consists of three sections: Three Crown Square (where you can find the larger producers and merchants); Green Market (which has small, specialist purveyors); and Borough Market Kitchen (which houses all the street food vendors).

In addition to its large, covered area, Borough Market spreads out in a maze of smaller streets which encircle it. This is where you can encounter a cornucopia of small restaurants, coffee bars, and other purveyors of specialty foods, such as Neal’s Yard Dairy.

This highly regarded merchant has been a destination for cheese lovers for decades and should not be missed.  We stopped by to sample some of Neal Yard’s artisanal cheeses from England and Ireland, then settled on several wedges of farmhouse cheddars. We knew hard cheeses traveled well plus would pose no problem at U.S. Customs.

According to Kate, the market is run by a board of trustees as a charitable trust. We learned that it originally started as a wholesale market serving the restaurants and green grocers of south London.  “Later” she elaborated, “The market expanded to offer its wide array of delectables to the public as well. Part of our mission today is to feature both British and international products.” To be part of the market vendors must observe a strict set of standards established by the trust which emphasize quality, sustainability, as well as social and economic engagement with the community.

Once inside Borough Market’s cavernous space, our group was fascinated with the long lines snaking through the aisle of various vendors. Locals and informed visitors alike were already patiently queuing up by 11:00 AM to pick up their Spanish paella, Tuscan porchetta sandwiches and Ethiopian stir-fried stews at Borough Market’s veritable international smorgasbord. And our group was still sipping late morning coffees! 

And if the market did not offer what you were looking for to feed your culinary appetite, then you could step outside and explore what’s available in one of the small shops on the periphery.  According to locals, a must-stop is the legendary Kappacasein (the name of a milk protein) where you can gorge on raclette served on potatoes with a side of pickles. If potatoes are not your thing, then opt for their famous toastie, or toasted cheese sandwich made with generous amounts of melted, Alpine-style hard cheese and leeks. Adding ham is extra!

Back inside the Green Market section, you’ll find mountains of beautiful, seasonal fruits and vegetables. One look and you’ll be yearning for a kitchen where you can experiment with ingredients not easily found back home: Jack fruit, mangosteen, purple asparagus, Lincolnshire new potatoes just out of the ground, and exotic, wild mushrooms, among many other food discoveries.

Lacking a place to cook, I placated myself with purchasing some Darjeeling tea from Ratan of Tea2You. This is where the new King, along with his estranged son Harry, is known to drop by and there are photos galore to prove it. When I asked for a recommendation of something interesting to take home for my tea-loving friends, Ratan suggested a two flush Darjeeling.  He explained that the tea leaves fall to the bottom and can be reused three times. That makes sense as it was three times more expensive than any other of the teas offered at Tea2You.

From there I moved on to pick up some Tellicherry black peppercorns from India at Spice Mountain where owner Magali Russie sources her products from all over the world. We had heard about her from Kate who explained that Magali prides herself in working directly with producers wherever possible. Every spice imaginable can be found in this compact, little stand: from Calabrian fennel pollen to Nepalese peppercorns to dried fruit powders. Magali also creates special spice blends in her London kitchen which she features at her stand.

Before joining the group at our designated meet-up time, I dashed off for a few more last-minute purchases. I discovered the Tinned Fish Market, a stand with a selection of top-quality tinned seafood from Spain, Portugal, and France, all sustainably sourced.  Owner Patrick Martinez proudly showed off his array of products from pole-and-line caught tuna, to miniature mussels marinated in the best olive oils and sauces, and Boquerones, or white anchovies from Spain, which I was craving and just had to buy.

If you go to Borough Market, keep in mind that it’s closed on Mondays. The market is easily accessible by the Underground on both the new Jubilee and Northern Lines, station Borough Market, of course. For additional information, check out their website at https://boroughmarket.org.uk/.