Tuesday, February 22, 2011

They just keep getting better!

Our 4th dessert degustation evening was held on Saturday night and the feedback has been incredible!

Our team are hitting their strides and upping the ante each and every time!

The pictures say it all.....


Apple ravioli, apple sabayon, apple caviar
Chocolate marquee, olive oil powder, salt lavoche
Marscapone, berry salad, lemon sable, mint film 
Pyengana Cheddar croquette, picallili, mustard cress
Mauri Bontazola Dolce Latte brulee with fig, fennel salad, sangria jus
Brie de Nangis Croque madam
Pommegranate ice, blood orange and Campari sorbet

“Lemon Meringue Pie” 
Valrhona Granita, double vanilla bean ice-cream, Sauternes poached pears, blackberries
Oh so much more to tell, but that should whet the appetite, non?
Degustation # 5 is scheduled for Friday March 11th....

Thursday, February 17, 2011

The menu for Desert Degustation # 4


Saturday, February 19, 2011
Dessert Degustation
Apple ravioli, apple sabayon, apple caviar
Chocolate marquee, olive oil powder, salt lavoche
Marscapone, berry salad, lemon sable, mint film
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Pyengana Cheddar croquette, picallili, mustard cress
Mauri Bontazola Dolce Latte brulee with fig, fennel salad, sangria jus
Brie de Nangis Croque madam
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Pommegranate ice, blood orange and Campari sorbet
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“Lemon Meringue Pie”
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Valrhona Granita, double vanilla bean ice-cream, Sauternes poached pears, blackberries
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Chocolate coated raspberry jubes

Fiori plunger coffee or loose leaf tea

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Red! Red! Red!

The art of menu writing is something this chef has never been too great at.  You just can't be too wordy, verbose or flamboyant - there just isn't enough room on the menu, nor do you want your guests pulling out thier spectacles, putting their feet up as if settling down with a good book.

No!  you want to hit them quick, then deliver the goods! In other words, you give them just enough information so they make the right decision then get the order into the kitchen where the chefs are ready to bring those words to life, and to the watering mouths that ordered it.

It is so often just plain disappointing after all the intense planning, consideration, effort and bloody hard work that goes into all elements of a whole plate to then condense it to a one-liner! 

Here's exactly what went into this dessert ......



Strawberry and black pepper puree
Fresh raspberries filled with white chocolate
White chocolate crumbs
Black cherry jubes




Black cherry parfait
Fresh pitted black cherries
Micro mint

Raspberry and Sloe gin sorbet
Coconut foam

How could we possibly print all of these components that made up this amazing dessert?
They all took hours of preparation, how could we choose which would feature on the menu, and which would end up on the cutting room floor? Or even, the sticky pastry kitchen floor [which, incidentally is RED!].

"A good rule of thumb when writing the descriptions of your menu items is to keep it short and simple."


So we called it, quite simply, Red! Red! Red!
It was the star of the show at our last Dessert Degustation evening.