A Night to Remember

Prep time (all photos courtesy of the talented Barry Craig)

Apologies for the delay in finishing my supper club story, the time to contemplate, mull over, and basque in the glowing feeling that it brought hasn't made itself available until now. 

So, where was I? Prep - I don't wish to bore you with the intricacies of slicing paper thin pieces of beetroot to save them from a nearly untimely end, or the countless scales that Tom scraped off our lovely namesake, but needless to say there was plenty of chopping, boiling, rolling, filet-ing, and raucous laughter during those few hours before our guests arrived. Barry snapped plenty of shots of our prep time, so here's a smattering of action shots for your viewing pleasure...

Every good chef needs a glass of wine and an
iphone in their hand...

Hard at work frying things (I think)

I may or may not have arranged everything on the
counter by ingredient and course order...

The moments flew by and before we knew it, our first guests were arriving. They were greeted with a hug and a teacup cocktail of Bison Grass vodka, sparkling elderflower and cucumber and the sounds of the evening's soundtrack. Mingling in the entrance and watching us cook was somewhat daunting, so we soon pulled back the curtains to reveal their dining area for the night... 

Our found wood, mismatched chairs, cutlery and china came together thanks to some brilliant photo studio lighting by our guardian angel Barry. With a centrepiece of strewn ropes, fresh flowers, and candle filled jars, we did our best to set the makeshift mood for the night's culinary antics. 

The room filled, our guests chow down

The Menu

A little hand-drawn pictogram menu by yours truly

Right, enough faffing about, let's get down to the grub. The kitchen was a different world to the dining room, as Tom and I whirled around the space in a sort of pas de deux, cranking out five courses at what felt like warp speed (and helped by a shot or two of Bison Grass vodka along the way...). Miraculously, there were no major faux pas, the food came out relatively on time, and we even managed to make it look decent (although sadly don't have any pictures of the food itself - definitely a lesson for next time!). With five courses on the table, our guests scarfed down on:

First

Seared scallops with roasted beetroot and asparagus, crispy bacon and basil pesto

Second

Pan fried sea bream with sauteed shaved fennel and grilled oranges

Main

Duck three ways - confit, honey roasted and ravioli, with roasted butternut squash puree, sauteed kale and wild garlic, and a lingonberry jus

Dessert

Almond and fresh fig tartlets with honey and clotted cream

Surprise

Home smoked cheese with red onion marmalade and buttermilk rye bread

I'm not sure how we did it, but for the first time, we delivered 5 courses to 14 people with only a little bit of spilled duck fat along the way (our kitchen became a veritable ice rink half way through...). 

During the cheese course, we were able to sit down briefly with our guests, raise a glass and thank them profusely for being our first guinea pigs in this whole supper club experience. We also asked them to nominate someone they thought deserved a feast, and the nominee will be invited to a future dinner to celebrate them being a great person!

As the guests left and clean up began, the buzz of the evening set in and by the time we wandered home at half past 1am, my legs barely able to carry my body anymore, I still managed to feel like I was floating. The whole experience was even more exhilarating than I anticipated - it was the feeling you get when you've exerted yourself beyond the point you thought yourself capable of, beyond the ability to think, until your muscles and memory simply take over (sorry, I'm getting over-zealous...). Needless to say, the whole thing was brilliant and well worth the severe exhaustion I felt for the next few days afterwards. 

We definitely learned some things from this first supper club - we will probably go for slightly simpler menus in the future, avoid having to lug a huge piece of wood up four flights of stairs, and interact with our guests better (we lost ourselves in the kitchen this time), but I'm still amazed that we managed to turn a chance idea into a real-life, successful supper club in just over 2 weeks. 

The best bit? This appears to be the first supper club of many. We've already been asked to host a dinner party for our of our guests (!!!), and we have plenty of crack pot ideas for future dinners. So watch this space, it seems The Bream Team are only just getting started... 

Former Foreword

Just came across this, the foreword to my dissertation, "Are We What We Cook?: Self-Identity and Judgement in Come Dine With Me*" (yes, you read that right... I wrote my dissertation on Come Dine With Me). Seems somewhat appropriate considering the recent turns of events in my life, so thought I'd give it a post... 

I don’t feel someone truly knows me until I've cooked for them.  Cooking has been a strong part of my life for as long as I can remember – sneaking down with my father early Saturday mornings to make pancakes; kneading and twisting challah with my mother on rainy winter days, the smell of yeast and honey hovering in the air; lining up at the age of eleven, the youngest in line by a good two decades, in anticipation to meet my favourite TV chef, Jacques Pépin.  

Cooking is much more than a necessity to me, and when I invite people over for a meal, I want to express that in my food. Just as artists express at least a small part of themselves within their work, the same can be said for my cooking. When I pass a plate of my food to you, I'm not just offering you something to eat; I'm giving you a little taste of my passion, my history, myself. And, just as an artist waits with anticipation and anxiety for reactions to their work, don't be surprised if you catch me watching your reactions from the corner of my eye… waiting to see if you understand who I am a bit better after the first bite.

*If for some crazy reason you are interested in reading my dissertation, do get in touch!