Choccywoccydoodah and Terre a Terre - 08/09/2012

After a typical student afternoon of lying on the sofa watching back to back episodes of Choccywoccydoodah Tegan and I decided that we HAD to go to the shop itself.  So that was it, we booked train tickets to Brighton so we could go and taste a Choccywoccydoodah milkshake and a piece of their much talked about cake.  

We couldn’t have picked a better day for our visit as the sun well and truly had its hat on. I managed to go for a quick paddle in the sea but unfortunately we didn’t have time to take full advantage of the sunshine by the seafront as we were only in Brighton for a few hours. We’d specifically come to visit Choccywoccydoodah. That was our mission! My parents thought we were mad going all the way to Brighton just to eat some cake but I had a feeling it would be worth it. How wrong I was!

We found the shop and our excitement soon vanished and turned into disappointment as the cakes on display were nowhere near as impressive as they looked on the television. Nothing in the shop really took my fancy other than a huge white chocolate popcorn bar which was too big to carry and probably would have melted. I decided to buy some truffles which included; gin, white rum, mocha, champagne and strawberry, cherry and marzipan and hazelnut praline. I was expecting them to be put into one of their nice red boxes displayed in the cabinet but instead got given them in a poxy little plastic bag. Tegan and I played the truffle guessing game on the train on the way home. None of the flavours were particularly definite. I have had a lot nicer truffles. Yet another disappointment!

We were hoping to be more impressed by the café which is just down the road from the shop. There’s lots to choose from; milkshakes, hot chocolate, chocolate dipping pots, sundaes and of course cake. I went for a Belgian chocolate truffle milkshake and Tegan opted for a peanut butter milkshake. They were okay but again not the best. Tegan couldn’t have any cake as none of it was gluten free. I decided to go all out on the chocolate front so chose the white chocolate truffle cake. A huge slice of cake appeared in front of me served with ice-cream, chocolate sauce and raspberry coulis. The cake was dry and sickly and the ice-cream and sauce was just unnecessary. I ended up leaving half of it.

After having visited Choccywoccydoodah I really don’t understand what all the fuss is about.

We decided to shake off our discontent by finding somewhere nice to have lunch. We stumbled upon Terre a Terre. You could easily walk straight past this wonderful little place which is exactly what I did. However, luckily Tegan spotted it. It’s a short walk from the seafront near The Lanes. It’s a vegetarian restaurant and the majority of their dishes are also gluten free which was perfect for Tegan. I’m not opposed to vegetarian food and I was intrigued to put myself in Tegan’s shoes and see what it was like to experience a completely gluten free meal. We managed to get a table in their tiny but lovely outside area.  They had an interesting  cocktail list from which I ordered a rhubarb gin and tonic and an 'elderbubble'. 

Reading the menu was a little like reading a shopping list. I felt out of breath by the time I’d finished reading. I didn’t understand what half the ingredients were but everything sounded fantastic and I was left feeling intrigued and excited about the food we were about to eat.

What appeared in front of us was fresh, creative and delicious vegetarian and gluten free food!

For starters we ordered ‘Delicious Double Dunkers’ - kalamata krush (smashed kalamata olives blended with capers and basil and extra virgin olive oil) hummus, zhuganoush (smoked aubergine) and smoked tomatoes with hibiscus, amchur, nori salt dusted puffed rice seaweed crackers. The smoked tomatoes were delicious and the crackers were really tasty. They made a nice change to bread and were just as nice if not nicer.

For mains Tegan went for ‘Terra a Tiffin’ - cauliflower and ginger bhaji with fresh coconut green chilli curry leaf chutney, tamarind relish with channa rasam, deep fried chick peas served with nimbu bhat cardamom brown onion lemon saffron baked basmati rice, confit brinjal pickle, chilli slivers, tangy lime and Mumbai mix spice dust dressing.

I went for their 'Hilbeh Hash Rosti' – crispy fried potato, onion and garlic rosti topped with Sussex Slipcote sheep’s cheese, Moroccan mince of almonds, sultanas, green olives, parsley, dill and mint. Finished with butter bean, wine, thyme arthichoke liquor sauce, pomegranate sumac spice oil and fenugreek hilbeh hash. It was such an unusual dish. I don't think I've ever had anything quite like it. It was just over-flowing with so many incredible flavours.

We also ordered a portion of their 'Truffle Chips' which were seasoned chunky chips tossed in grated Grana Padano, truffle oil and leaf parsley with lemon garlic herby mayonnaise. They were incredible chips! We couldn’t finish them all so they kindly boxed them up for us and we took them home and ate them cold later. They were just as good!

I wish I hadn’t bothered filling myself up with the piece of Choccywoccydoodah cake and had instead left room for pudding at Terre a Terre. They all sounded yummy and a little bit different. I especially liked the sound of their 'Frangipane Sizzle Dates' with mint tea granita and lemon and mint pomegranate gazpacho as well as their 'Salt Caramel Chocolate Churros'.

I’m not vegetarian and I’m not gluten free but I really want to go back to Terre a Terre. If you’re a vegetarian you simply must go.