Brooklyn Beckham has recently turned hand to cookery and, while he has received criticism in some quarters, he’s certainly inspired some to get creative in the kitchen with his recipe content.
For a long time, fans have only been able to see him in the kitchen as he demonstrated his chopping, grilling and sauteeing skills – but finally, they can now taste Brooklyn’s food.
For a limited time only, he has launched a pop-up restaurant in collaboration with Uber Eats, offering a selection of dishes from breakfast food to main meals – and a few party bites too.
But there was a catch: Uber Eats Hosts Brooklyn Beckham only delivers within a five-mile radius of Cambridge Heath – a trendy multicultural part of East London near Bethnal Green.
Ariane Sherine tried Brooklyn Beckham’s pop-up restaurant. Pictured, his 12-hour slow cooked Wagyu Bolognese
Now, Google Maps says my house is within a five-mile radius of Brooklyn’s pop-up joint, but Uber Eats insists otherwise.
So, desperate to try his fare and see if his food tastes as good as it looks, I jumped in an Uber to Cambridge Heath station and ordered the food on the way. I had to sign up to the Uber Eats subscription service Uber One in order to do so, which is £5.99 a month.
There were only five dishes on the menu, from four different countries: chicken tikka masala (£15), buffalo cauliflower (£10), pork and prawn dumplings (£10), pasta Bolognese (£15) and an English breakfast sandwich taught to Brooklyn by his grandma (£12).
Alas, en route in the cab, the English breakfast sandwich sold out and was taken off the menu. I’m slightly baffled as to who would want a sarnie full of eggs, sausage and bacon at 6pm, but I guess we are in the East End. I quickly ordered the other four dishes at a cost of £50 in total.
However, I then had a problem: if my cab didn’t reach the destination fast enough, I’d miss the delivery, so I urged the bemused taxi driver to go faster. I then texted my football-mad ex-boyfriend to let him know I was going to try Brooklyn’s cuisine. “Maybe you’ll get to meet David Beckham!” he enthused.
I had to disappoint him and explain that David – and indeed Brooklyn himself – were still across the pond in America, despite the East London pop-up launch. Unless, of course, David is now moonlighting as an Uber Eats delivery driver.
Buffalo Cauliflower with Brooklyn’s ‘secret’ hot sauce, pictured
Chicken Tikka Masala, pictured, is also one of the five items available on the menu
Ariane said she didn’t want to stop eating Brooklyn’s Pork and Prawn Dumplings, pictured
The Chicken Tikka Masala is served alongside a naan, pictured
Thankfully, my cab reached the station seven minutes before the food arrived – and I got a shock when it did. Instead of the usual bog-standard Tupperware-style takeaway tubs, Brooklyn’s food came in incredibly fancy glossy black bags with woven fabric handles, featuring a glamorous logo with ‘Uber Eats Hosts Brooklyn Beckham’ in white writing.
I felt as though I’d been shopping in Selfridges rather than ordering a takeaway in a slightly dodgy part of the East End. As if to acknowledge that I was going up in the world, my Uber ride back home was a brand new Tesla.
I rushed back to my house and texted my adoptive Grandad to come round, wanting to get his take on the dishes too. We opened the swish black boxes on the dining table and both tucked into each meal.
They came in inset plastic tubs – and as a climate-change friendly bonus, I think all the packaging can be recycled. Grandad reckoned the posh packaging must have cost three-quarters of the meal.
Could this new venture redeem him in the eyes of the great British public, asked Ariane (pictured)
The takeaway was delivered in these lavish bags, with Ariane noting: ‘I felt as though I’d been shopping in Selfridges rather than ordering a takeaway in a slightly dodgy part of the East End’
Here are our verdicts:
BUFFALO CAULIFLOWER
First up, the buffalo cauliflower was quite greasy but extremely flavoursome, with a real spicy kick. It came with a quite tart dairy dip in a separate little tub, and was garnished with spring onions.
These were little tender nuggets of cauliflower, fried in a little too much oil, which fell apart in your mouth. They reminded me of onion bhajis, though were unexpectedly hot – the spiciness was a bit too strong for my palate, and I’m Asian!
Grandad also said the dish was too spicy for him, and that the spice increased the more you ate. You didn’t get much for your money – this was definitely a ‘small plate’, more of a starter.
But it was also an explosion of flavour on your taste buds – you certainly couldn’t call this dish bland. Grandad wanted to know where the buffalo was – he doesn’t like veg much and would have been happier if the cauliflower had been actual buffalo.
My rating: 7/10. Grandad’s rating: 7.5/10.
CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA
The second dish was the chicken tikka masala. This was also garnished with coriander, along with bits of bacon, on a bed of fluffy rice.
The sauce was sweet, creamy and korma-like but a bit stodgy – definitely hearty fare which would stick to your ribs.
Grandad wasn’t so keen, and didn’t think the chicken was especially tender, while I thought the rice was a little dry.
We both agreed we’d be perfectly happy if we’d received this from an everyday East London curry house, but it didn’t seem to warrant the price tag of £15.
My rating: 7/10. Grandad’s rating: 6.75/10.
NAAN
The chicken tikka masala came with a soft naan, which I tried next. It was perfectly serviceable if not remarkable in any way.
It was sprinkled with coriander and was pleasantly tender and filling, with a bit too much of a hint of salt. It was nothing special, yet I could honestly have hoovered up a whole plate of these – it was a proper comfort food carb.
My rating: 6.5/10. Grandad’s rating: 6/10.
PORK AND PRAWN DUMPLINGS
Next up were the pork and prawn dumplings, a kind of ‘siu mai’ for dim sum fans. They were garnished with coriander and sesame seeds, and came with a sharply sour sesame soy sauce in a little tub.
I didn’t want to stop eating them as they were so tasty and succulent, while the sauce had a delicious tang. I love Chinese food, it’s my absolute favourite of every cuisine, and while these dumplings weren’t quite up there with the finest dim sum, they rivalled any standard Chinese takeaway. Grandad loved them and described their filling as ‘wonderful’.
My rating: 8/10. Grandad’s rating: 9/10.
BOLOGNESE
Last but definitely not least was the pasta Bolognese – wide, thick ribbons of pasta with a sweet slow-cooked wagyu beef ragu with tomato, carrots and spinach.
Apparently this took 12 hours to cook and you could really tell – the beef fell apart delightfully in my mouth, the carrots were juicy and the tomato was rich.
This was my favourite of the dishes, and was apparently taught to Brooklyn by his dad. It came with a generous tub of Parmesan. Grandad wasn’t so impressed by this dish, and thought there was too much pasta and not enough sauce.
My rating: 9/10. Grandad’s rating: 7/10.