MAGGIE JONES CRUDITES (FROM TASMANIA)

I am trying out a new veggie supplier this week: Tasmania Fresh, the clue to whose provenance lies in the title. While not organic, they are grown in volcanic soils with artesian water and a natural landscape which is free of "many" pesticides. Indeed their website claims to be "better than organic". 

I didn't want to murder by cooking such a wonderfully crunchy set of crudités so I decided to recreate the hors' d'oeuvres I used to love in London's Kensington restaurant, Maggie Jones, which is quite simply raw veg and a damn good vinaigrette. I used David Lebowitz's recipe for the latter who insists a minced shallot is key to its success as well as Dijon to be the mustard de rigeur and a sherry or red wine vinegar. Balsamic is strictly off limits for being too syrupy. You can read his recipe for quantities but I believe, as does he, that it's very much to taste.

My next task was to set the scene of the restaurant, who used mismatched tableware with a lot of willow patterned china. Thankfully my grandmother owned a lot of this and passed it down to me. More surprisingly is that I have not smashed it all yet...