Paris...a long time coming

Well, it's been a bit of a while since we last blogged, due to various adventures and a few mishaps. Up first we must tell all about Paris.

One ice-cold February morning we jumped onto the Eurostar for a gastronomically exciting and chilly Parisian city beak. Straight out of the tunnel we headed over to Au Passage in the 11th, which had won the prix d'amour in Le Fooding for 2011. Au Passage is a relaxed cafe-bistro open weekdays for well-priced lunch and dinners. We opted for the 4 courses for 19euros, and our starter was ceviche of squid, perfectly cured but still fresh enough to have a bite; it was a lovely light start to our lunch. We mustn't forget a tasty sourdough that provided an excellent sponge for the juices, and a very reasonably priced bottle of wine. For the main we were delivered a beautiful beef tartare, unpretentious in its presentation and brilliant in its simplicity. It differed from the usual London tartares that are mixed up dependent on the chef's taste, it was layered so as to allow the customer to decide how to devour it. George admitted he'd never eaten better. Then came the cheeseboard, as good as should be expected from any restaurant in France, although we would admit that they were slightly stingy on the chutney (we only say this because the chutney was great and we wanted more). Our dessert was a chocolate mousse with a salt caramel ganache, one of Katherine's favourites. Overall this was an incredibly priced, lovely find. We walked out 60euros, 4 courses apiece and 1 bottle of wine down and will definitely be returning on our next Paris trip.

After a bit of a wander and a lot of freshening up, we were ready for out next feast. Restaurant of choice was Gregory Marchand's Frenchie. Again, very reasonably priced with 3 courses for 42euros, we decided to treat ourselves to the pre-starter of foie gras torchon, apple and black truffle. After hearing many tales of George's foie gras expeditions through French kitchens, it seemed fitting that this one ticked every desirable box. We proceeded in sharing both options for each course (photo and menu to follow). Our favourite starter was the quail, salsify, pear and chervil, which was beautifully balanced. The flavours combined whilst allowing space for each individual taste, it was epic. This was followed by our favourite dish of the day, the veal rump with artichoke and kumquat. The kumquat puree was presented as if a hen egg yolk, which when cut poured the puree over the tender veal, a delicious combination. For the finale came the dish which out of the whole trip blew George's mind. Chocolate bread and butter pudding, salted butter caramel, smoked bacon. It sounds unusual but tastes outstanding. The bacon reminded us of the perfect Sunday roast crackling, served as a crust, elevating the rich detail of the chocolate. This was a perfect end to an exceptional dinner. If you're in Paris, it's a must!

To be continued...(featuring photos and Le Chateaubriand)

Goodbye for now,
GB x

Chocolate Plants

Last Friday we had an informal dinner party at Katherine's house. Following Katherine's tabasco-ridden disaster of a soup the night before, George showed how it was done by whipping up a delightful roasted tomato affair (thanks for rubbing it in, George). For the main course we had mouthwatering beef with parmasan and polenta, but it was the pudding that really was icing on the cake so to speak.

 George had sent Katherine on a pot-finding mission to find a bundle of terracotta plant pots to serve up the chocolate plants in. The chocolate plants are actually several textures of chocolate with a star anise caramel centre topped off with fennel to look like real sprouting plants.

Chocolate textures/star anise caramel.

Looks like soil, tastes like chocolate.

Chocolate plants putting the smiles back on Friday faces.

Definitely one for the next supper club!

This evening George is helping out Ben Spalding of Roganic at the Young and Foodish Burger Monday pop-up at Andrew's.

Young And Foodish Burger Mondays - Ben Spalding

Katherine isn't feeling very well, so is drinking lemsip and watching Clueless with her housemates.

Goodbye for now,
GB x

First post/plans

Today we've been planning our summer adventures, we want to drive around Europe tasting as many different foods as we can. Hopefully we'll be able to get to some of the restaurants on our wishlist, like Massimo Bottura's Osteria Francescana in Modena, or El Cellar de Can Roca in Spain...No matter what it's shaping up to be a pretty delicious summer holiday.

Next week we're off to Paris and determined to eat more pastries than last time. We're going to check out Au Passage, Frenchie and we've managed to get a coveted Saturday night table at the famous Le Chateaubriand, currently 9th best restaurant in the world according to San Pellegrino's Top 50.

Due to the success of his last pop-up Bulrush Supper Club at The Old Shoe Factory, Hackney, George has an exciting meeting tomorrow to discuss a new pop-up space in Dalston. Hopefully we'll have more news next week.

The Bulrush Supper Club at The Old Shoe Factory, Hackney

Goodbye for now,
GB x