A Spoonful of Sugar

We began our evening of gastronomic decadence with drinks on the lawn. I'm really not an outdoors person, but it was such a balmy evening that I really couldn't find any reason not to. After confirming that we did indeed wish to have the Tasting Menu, we were brought a beautiful plate of Hors d'Oevres. Salmon tartare in a tiny chilled cucumber cup; guacamole on a sliver of spicy toast; a warm Parmesan and marscapone tartlet; a sweet pepper and anchovy slice; and I am ashamed to say that neither of us can remember the fifth. These were all arranged on a glossy, fresh banana leaf.

I must confess at this point that I have no idea what wines we drank with the various dishes. After staring blankly at the wine list (I have never encountered such a large wine list before!), I decided to put us in the capable hands of the sommelier and let him bring us a glass of what he felt best suited each dish. I fear the amount of wine we consumed has clouded my memories a little too. Happy days!

Once our table was ready, we moved indoors to the restaurant which was very simple and charming. Our waitress arrived with a bewildering array of breads from which we chose Maple Pecan Bread and a small roll fragranced with bacon. I do seem to remember that there was also a rather nice looking sourdough roll, beer bread and a herbed bread. I do regret not trying more of the breads but I didn't want to run out of room.

Before the first course arrived, our waitress brought us a Chef's Appetiser of Gazpacho with Sicilian Tomatoes. This was presented beautifully in a small square glass tumbler with a tiny confit tomato drizzled with balsamic vinegar nestled beside it on the plate. The gazpacho was very smooth and sweet. A world away from the rough and bold soups that I'm used to. A revelation!

Following this, we were presented with Fois Gras terrine with rhubarb confit and toasted ginger brioche. The fois gras was so smooth and flavoursome. The creaminess was cut nicely by the acidity of the rhubarb confit. The slice of ginger brioche made the perfect partner. I was surprised at how well it went with the fois gras (obviously it went very well with the rhubarb too - classic combination). I can only dream of making brioche this buttery and delicate!

The next course of risotto of spring vegetables with marscapone herb cream was quite unexpected. I didn't expect to find an Italian dish on the menu but it was beautifully done. The rice had a nice bite to it, and the garden-fresh vegetables were bursting with flavour. I've resolved to only buy the tiniest courgettes from now on. Soooo tasty!

The fish course was a fillet of monkfish, marinated in citrus leaves served on a bed of wild rice with broad beans, almonds, apricots and citrus dressing. This was amazing. The citrus flavour was so subtle in the fish but really quite punchy in the rice. I must confess that for me, this was more spectacular than the lamb. There were so many bold flavours in the dish; enough that you would think that it would be too much and very discordant but it was really a symphony. I'll be trying to reproduce this, or at the very least trying to do something creative with monkfish sometime soon...

The meat course arrived next (amazingly, we weren't flagging yet): Saddle of lamb served on crushed garden peas with mint, fondant potatoes, roasted garlic and spinach. This was my least favourite course. The meat was very succulent and had excellent flavour. However, it was overpowered by the vast amounts of mint in the crushed garden peas. Also, my fondant potato was not meltingly tender all the way through, which was disappointing as this is my absolute favourite way to prepare potatoes. Still good though, just not perfect.

Following the succulent lamb, we had the pre-dessert: Pear slices poached in Sauternes with its own granite. This was absolutely tiny and a joy to behold. The pear was poached to perfection and served in a pool of the poaching juices with a granita made from the same juices perched on top. I could have happily eaten this all day. So very delicate!

Next up was the grand dessert: Fondant of chocolate with pistachio ice-cream, pistachio sauce, almond sauce, candied almond slivers and cocoa nibs. This was exquisite. The fondant was the very best I've ever had, oozing smoothly with a nice crisp exterior. The pistachio ice-cream was rather strongly flavoured but provided a nice foil to the fondant. Dave declared that this was the best chocolate dessert that he'd ever had. I must admit that I was slightly less entranced. In a complete reversal of the normal state of affairs, I found myself longing for more of the pre-dessert. That's not to say that there was anything wrong with the dessert, it was very good *waves hands wildly*

To end this gastronomic extravaganza, we had some very strong and rich coffee with Petits Fours.... a tiny lemon macaron, crisp shelled chocolate, a tiny slice of warm, gooey chocolate tart (adorned with a fleck of gold leaf), and a very tiny pistachio souffle topped with a miraculously smooth raspberry.

After lingering over the coffee, we thanked our waitress and sommelier and tottered happily back to our suite. A very memorable meal and a very memorable wedding anniversary. Onto year two!