Crunch and Co

When its rainy, cold and gray, apart from umbrellas what do we all want? Something warm, comforting and delicious to warm us through. And what's more warm and cozy than a simple toasty with some soup?

On the 24th of January every year, I try to make a better version of this. I upgrade the ingredients every year until I can make the ultimate dish. I do this in memory of my dear friend Ami who passed away on this date and toasties were a huge part of the last year of her life. It not only makes me feel comforted but is a way to honor her memory.

Having said that, I've not actually had the chance to have a decent toastie out and about, let alone with a tasty soup, until now!

The weather in Brighton a few weeks ago was not only abysmal, it had a complete tantrum. But once it chilled, we ventured out for a chilled day out in town hoping that it wouldn't lose all its marbles again.

 I was STARVING when walking through the lanes and all that was on my mind was I NEED a loaded sandwich, stat. Through the cloud of hunger fogging up my thoughts, I was desperately rattling through my brain to remember where this sandwich shop was. No idea of the name, or location, just that it was black and on the side of A road, helpful I know :) 

A few wrong turns later, we found it, and it was not the shop I thought it was gonna be. Instead of my loaded sandwich dreams, that bubble was replaced with something hotter and more glorious. Toastys,

We stepped inside Crunch Co, this tiny little shop packed a whole lot of choice, so many toastie options as far as the eye could see. We got a Classic and a sun dried tomato toastie, along with their soup of the day, Tomato and roasted pepper. The sky was yet to have another strop so we sat outside and waited a few short minutes ( with a hungry brain it felt like YEARS) and were then presented with the most beautiful sight, our food. These toasties were un-real. It was like eating italy in a sandwich, and having been to italy back in august, i feel like we can identify its presence in food. 

Creating a toastie with lashings of bechamel made this so much more indulgent than a regular, just cheese toastie. When I make them for myself, I add some bechamel but it’s just a small amount which I will no longer do because as this sandwich proved, more is more when it comes to bechamel. This, along with the cheese just made eating this wonderful toastie such a mouth watering experience, I mean, just look at it and tell me you don't want to reach in and bite this glorious cheese filled beauty. Plus, the added flavor from the previous toasties of the day just enhanced it so beautifully.  Thinking that I could not possibly make myself any happier, I tried the soup.  My goodness the soup! 

I am not usually a fan of tomato soup because to me, it's just sauce. 1 big bowl of sauce, but with a toastie this sauce, this sauce, was devine. It was so full bodied and just paired so well with the toastie when dunked. It held its shape and texture even after being dunked which was very impressive.

We were so blown away by these toasties that if it wasn't for being completely stuffed with bread, cheese and soup, we would have gotten one more sandwich to experience pure toastie heaven for a few more bites.

I have never had a toastie this good, my friend would have flipped her lid if she got to try one. If you have a Brighton trip on your to do list this autumn season, please, I implore you to stop off at Crunch and co, to add something extra wonderful to your day. A Toastie and a decent portion of soup for £10 is such a good deal, I’m already thinking of my next visit.

I’m really excited for soup season and now I'm just thinking about all the different tootsie pairings I can do with them! 

With all the pressures that just existing can have, it's always nice when something as simple as a toastie and a warm bowl of soup can just pull you away from everything. I love that food can give us time to pause. Whether you're cooking for one, or many, getting a takeaway after a hard day, food has the ability to relax us and make us happy.

It’s how I show my love for people. And this toastie… oh boy do my friends know that their next trip to see me in this beautiful coastal town will either result in a trip to Crunch and Co or a short walk to my kitchen where a toastie and a warm bowl of soup will await.

Till next time,

Jade