Follow your nose...

It’s mind-boggling how strongly a smell can trigger memory and emotion. My husband J finds the smell of Yves Saint Laurent’s ‘Rive Gauche’ irresistible (probably the fragrance of his first love, though he gallantly won’t admit it). For me, its powdery undertones conjure up memories of my adored grandmother – exquisitely elegant, but aged.

Last weekend, in our favourite restaurant, J positively swooned as a glitzy couple sashayed to the table beside ours: it was a suave Italian man, with a Noodle on his arm. As we left, J insisted on asking the Noodle what fragrance she was wearing (oh the cliché!). She fluttered her eyes, stabbed me with a triumphant look and confirmed that it was ‘Rive Gauche’. Her suave suitor and I were reduced to aroma-less gooseberries. So the next day, I succumbed and bought a bottle. I figure that it’s my new secret weapon - if I spritz and J swoons, I might be able to get my way more often…

I’ve never been loyal to a perfume. I’m a perfume polygamist: I’ll happily two-time and can honestly say I have never felt satisfied. As far as I’m concerned, the only aromas with any real substance emanate from food. And there’s nothing like the waft of a freshly baked caramelised onion tart to make me really reminisce.

Last week, I mentioned the food props that we used for the Christmas brochure shoot and I promised to divulge where I go to indulge. When I started my business in 2005, my office in Fulham had the good fortune of being a skip from Megan’s Deli (www.megansdeli.com). This is where my love affair with this luscious tart began.

With Megan’s homemade food dished out in a rustic yet chic setting, the local sandwich shop never got a look in. Summer lunch hours were spent in Megan’s charming ‘secret garden’, feasting on their assortment of salads bursting with goodies: like cous cous with apricot, pomegranate and herbs, or lentils with feta and chilli! Winter sustenance was provided by hearty soups and oozing wheat-free chocolate brownies. As hard as I worked to build up my business, Megan’s ensured I was never running on empty.

We moved offices last year, but I get back to Megan’s for nostalgic nosh whenever I can.
And as I organised the brochure shoot, I called Selina, Megan’s daughter, to ask if they could deliver some food to be photographed. “It’s not going to look perfect, though!” she warned. But it was all the cracks and crumbles of homemade food that I was hoping for!

They whipped up a creamy strawberry cheesecake, a dozen cracking mince pies, delicate smoked salmon canapés, and for old times’ sake, the tart de resistance. Perhaps in the not too distant future, we might be able to access aromas and perfumes through our computers at a click of a button. But until you try it yourself you’ll have to believe me: the heavenly sweet smell of the gooey and crisp tart had us all swooning. Megan’s, I promise: I will always be faithful to you…

…although I have recently been introduced to a rather delightful dessert-making establishment that I can’t stop thinking about. Next week, I’ll tell all…

Scarlett Willow

Are you ready for your close up?

While most sane people are clinging on to the remaining wisps of a somewhat illusive ‘BBQ summer’, I’m chomping my way through mince pies. While others groan at the onslaught of Christmas merchandise in November, I’ve already been festive for months. To get my new Christmas catalogue ready in time I have to be two seasons ahead. Ironically, this uber efficiency does not make me a punctual person, much to the consternation of long suffering/long waiting friends and family.

The mince pie scoffing happened last week after we celebrated finishing the shoot for our biggest ever catalogue. I get so anxious in the run up to the event, I always drop pounds.
Taking a few pretty snaps might seem trivial to some but I’m co-ordinating children, food and photographs – three components not strictly within my area of expertise. I have nightmares of getting it all wrong and having a glossy brochure to remind me of all my mistakes for the next 365 days.

What I forget in the pandemonium of it all is that I do have a remarkable talent for hiring remarkable talent! Adam Ellis (photographer extraordinaire) Susannah Powell (stylist wunderkind) and my fabulous mini models (Jack, India, Willow, Molly, Emily, Felix and Helena) made the day a dream come true.

We borrowed a glorious garden for some outside shots and a supremely elegant house in Wandsworth belonging to Janine Stow for our interiors. By some miraculous twist of fate, it turns out that Janine is a seriously talented children’s photographer (janinestowphotography.com): so as the day wore on and the novelty of modelling wore off for our little starlets, Janine’s skills at entertaining and reinvigorating their flagging faces came into their own.

We had them wearing bibs and our new range of coloured personalised aprons (available for adults too!) and sitting at a table with our mats. Helena (3 ½) didn’t have quite enough puff to blow out the candles, but brought lots of enthusiasm to the party.

Emily was a last minute recruit, having come to watch events with her mum, and proved to be a complete natural. She had ‘Hungry’ written on her bib, which perfectly described her modelling work ethic. Molly wasn’t so keen to share the limelight (after all, she’d booked the job first) and just before gentle shoving gave way to Naomi Campbell-esque violence, Janine stepped in. A few rounds of childrens songs (the only one I recognised being Happy Birthday…) and a flash of her boobs (a time-honoured trick!) and harmony was restored. Molly’s pout couldn’t look more adorable in the photos – both the camera and I loved her.

We toasted our achievements by gorging on the food props, so I easily managed to pick up all the pounds I’d dropped. When you see the brochure you’ll appreciate how hard it was to resist nibbling until the end (and yes, everything tastes as good as it looks.) The mouth-watering morsels came from two places in London that I couldn’t live without. Tune in next week and I’ll divulge where they are…

Scarlett Willow