Ben's Canteen

One of the best parts of making a key food ingredient is the opportunity to meet chefs and compare notes on their menus to see how our delights can help make their dishes even more special whilst retaining their unique personality. Fortunately, our fruit vinegars have such "extraordinary depths of flavour" (thank you to Bill King for that quote) that a little goes a long way and they allow for real creativity in the kitchen. Over the past couple of years that I have been sailing the good ship Womersley, I have been lucky enough to welcome aboard many chefs who have shared their enthusiasm with us all. Many have provided recipes on our Trecipe page (Luke Mackay even suggest bathing in Raspberry Vinegar!) and others have also contributed longer recipes on these pages.

Dave Aherne at Real Food Festival

Certainly, one of the most entertaining chefs you could hope to meet is the lovable Irishman, Dave Aherne. On a trip to London the other day, my wife and I caught up with Dave for the first time in a while, at his current "home" of Ben's Canteen in SW11. Don't be fooled by his bluff, sweary exterior, he is a gentle giant whose piercing blue eyes can spot good food ingredients a mile off! 

I first met Dave at the Real Food Festival last year, when he came to our stand and got all ecstatic at our "feckin amazing" vinegars. We have kept in touch ever since...

But he didn't even get into cheffing until he was in his mid 30s! Dave told me he came to London hoping to do Event Management, but found himself working at the popular The Ship at Wandsworth (a job found through exchanging tweets with owner, Oisin Rogers). He had a great time there, but eventually moved on to a couple of other places before arriving at this buzzing little place near Wandsworth Bridge: Ben's Canteen.

So we decided to go and have a look and were joined by our good friend, Daphine, too. The three of us tucked in to these fabulous dishes. They were followed by a sublime carrot cake with coffee, but it just about arrived at the table and was gone, hence no photo!

The tenderest cod cheeks and home made Pesto

All day Breakfast Scotch Egg with the perfect soft yolk, mushroom and bacon breadcrumb coating and black pudding.
Very good for you....

Brisket and Bone Marrow Mayo in a bap

Dave works on many other projects including last year's successful Kaiwecare fund raiser for the victims of the Christchurch earthquake. He worked with Mat Follas and many others to raise a staggering £65,000. His next major project is the "Chefs for CALM dinner." CALM stands for the Campaign Against Living Miserably, a charity working exclusively with men who suffer from depression. This is a cause close to Dave's heart, following the sad death recently of promising young chef, Kevin Boyle. Dave will be joined once more by a host of great chefs and others to create a special evening catering for 200 guests in London on 30th April. If you would like to read more about this, do read his blog where you will also find details on how to help out, if you are able.

But, if you find yourself in the Wandsworth/Clapham area at any time, don't miss a chance to visit Ben's Canteen and get a "feckin' good feed."