We had the pleasure of attending the first (and hopefully not last) supper club by three of the five amateur Masterchef UK 2017 finalists, Giovanna, Alison and Lorna.
Conclusion: 9/10. It was a great evening, we got a chance to sample some top dishes from three rising 2017 amateur Masterchef stars! Stand out dishes included the duck liver doughnut from the main course which was incredibly moreish, and the vegetarian main of beetroot, smoked potato and goats cheese ravioli, which scored top marks for flavour, presentation and texture. The only downside was the venue was a bit cramped – but hey this goes to show how popular these ladies really are! We look forward to more supper clubs later this year – watch out for the next one in late August / early September.
Cost: £75 per person for chefs table, £60 per person for standard seating, excluding wine
Snacks: Fresh oysters, pea and tarragon arancini, torched mackerel
Verdict: We’d comeback for more, particularly the mackerel
We had the pleasure of being served more snacks than we had expected, which was a nice surprise. The standout was the well balanced torched mackerel with refreshing apples, dill oil and oyster mayonnaise. We enjoyed the fresh arancini which we heard frying from the chefs table. The pre-snack blood pudding crackers with malt butter also deserve a shout out.
Starter: Baby squid, mussels, fregola and tomato broth
Verdict: We’d come back for more
The starter was light, refreshing, and in-keeping with balmy Friday evening. The squid was perfectly cooked and tender (which is hard to find), the mussels were nice and juicy and the addition of fregola which gave the dish a bit of bite.
Main 1: Gressingham duck, smoked potato, carrots, coriander and cashew crumb, cider reduction, and duck liver donut
Verdict: We’d come back for more, particularly the doughnut
The duck main course, comprising of duck breast, smoked potato mash, carrot and a duck liver doughnut was very well presented and tasted delicious. We enjoyed the light smokiness of the potato, the perfectly cooked carrots, the succulent duck breast, and most of all the duck liver doughnut which was one of the standout dishes of the evening with its rich and creamy center. We were pleased to get some spare doughnuts after everyone else had been served, as a chefs table perk.
Main 2: Beetroot, smoked potato and goats cheese ravioli with hazelnuts and dill oil
Verdict: We’d comeback for more
The vegetarian main course had colour, texture, and most importantly bags of flavour. The pasta was al dente, with a light and smooth filing, accompanied by crunchy hazelnuts and a refreshing dill oil. We didn’t feel like we had been served up an ill conceived vegetarian dish that was an afterthought, as can sometimes be the case (memories of being given a lifeless mushroom as a main course).
Dessert: Grapefruit posset, Aperol jelly and pink peppercorn shortbread
Verdict: We’d come back for more, particularly the shortbread
We aren’t the biggest fans of grapefruit so this dessert was already on the back foot before it arrived on our table, but we were very pleasantly surprised with the subtle and non-overpowering flavour of the grapefruit posset which was rich and smooth, topped with a light Aperol jelly, candied pistachios and a meringue kiss. The standout element of the dish was the pink peppercorn shortbread which was perfectly short and crumbly and had a warming after taste of pepper.
We look forward to following these three great chefs on their food journey, and hope to attend their next event!
Veena & Sameer
buchbites 