We've recently collaborated with the guys behind Bookslam, an awesome literary night out, and have been planning an event in a central London school. The date is fast approaching, ie this Saturday 26th October.
Many people have asked, well what is it? is it actually going to be school dinners, ie shit?!
No, of course its not going to be, it's going to be a chance to spend an evening in an amazing building in central London, steeped in history and also nostalgia, whilst being wined (by Hugo), dined (by me and team) and entertained by the likes of Ben Goldacre, Sophie Heawood & Mark Grist
There's also a entertainment only ticket available for those not wanting to dine, who are these people?? I dont know....
Below is the menu and some little notes I wrote about it, attempting to explain the thought processes, not that I feel I need to, more that I think its worth sharing ideas
Snack on arrival
Cereal milk foam on milk parfait with crunchy nut biscuit
I thought it would be fun to start the meal with something that intensely reminds me of childhood and that is the milk in the bottom of my cereal bowl in the mornings, slurping it out and eating toast! So the idea here was to re create the cereal milk a la childhood, make it into various textures and serve it as a rather interesting canapé/snack.
Lunch box sourdough breads with butters
I was never a lunchbox person, I queued up like the rest of them, waiting for my fried/overcooked/lumpy plat du jour. But whenever a school trip came around my mum would get up at 4am (ish) to make mountains of sandwiches for us to take in, it was crazily brilliant, inches of that wafer thin ham, jam, banana and choc, so much!! Loved school trips!! Anyway, the point being I plan to serve an array of sourdough breads (which we make in our little bakery) and serve them in a lunch box with a selection of butters, no wafer thin ham this time!!
Starters
Salmon & beetroot; salmon tartare, pickled beets, salmon and beetroot parfait
I love fish and I love beetroots. My childhood and school memories of these were appalling, over cooked, over pickled and generally unhappy which meant my love affair with these ingredients really didn’t come to fruition until adult life. Lots of fresh herbs, hints of fragrant sweet and sour pickle, a delightful way to start the meal I think!
Fennel & soft cheese salad, green beans, olives, capers, dill, mustard (v)
Mains
Free range Creedy Carver chicken breast, elderberry glaze, confit leg ‘twizzler’, crown prince squash puree, buttered kale & wood sorrel
Fantastic free range Creedy Carver chickens from Merrifield Farm in Devon, slow cooked and roasted to finish producing a wonderfully succulent and flavor some breast, glazed with some of the local elderberries I’ve been hoarding recently, a “twizzler” made from the confit leg and thigh meat with ample shallots and garlic. Accompanied with kale, squash and sorrel; Autumnal heroes and absolutely delicious.
Roasted squash & salt baked beets with a braise of borlotti beans, leeks, kale & pearl barley (v)
Cleanser
Green apple sorbet ‘icepop’
After school treats on a warm Summer day, so incredibly refreshing and just what you want to cleanse the palate and leave you ready for dessert/afterschool football match
Dessert
Quadruple chocolate brownie with plantain ice-cream, toasted pecan nuts, and a sweet & sour caramel sauce
Memories of chocolate concrete and lumpy banana custard were the inspirations behind this dish. Chocolate has always been a love of mine, I think its such an amazing ingredient so creating a multilayered and textured brownie is an awesome way to a) make me happy & b) provide our guest with a real ‘showstopper’ of a dessert. Plantain ice cream, sweet & sour ice caramel and toasted pecans, well they are just downright delicious, all together or on their own, in big bowls with a spoon, or just your fingers when no ones around…..
EDI BIBI DIDICI
I ate, I drank, I learned
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