Jason Atherton came to CriticalCouple headquarters this week with a mission to lay on a meal of some decadence for a table of ten food orientated Twitter friends. We obviously had high expectations given Jason's stellar reputation but they were exceeded in every respect (and by a significant margin). And nor was it just the quality of the cooking but the inspired originality behind it.
At the end of the evening, as the remaining night owls retired to the comfortable chairs and began to reflect on the meal, it was hard to get a word in, there was still so much excitement, so much enthusiasm for the food we had just eaten that everybody wanted to speak about just how brilliant the meal had been. Outstanding, mind blowing, talk about it being the meal of the year already, across the board, we exhausted superlatives in our praise.
The food was easily at the 2 Michelin star level and with the menu being a little taste of what's to come at his new restaurant Pollen Street Social, we all agreed that it may well be the most important restaurant opening in the UK in 2011. We personally can't wait to eat there and experience Jason's cooking once again and we know for sure that all of our guests that night feel the same way.
*****
Carlsberg used to run adverts of some scene or activity visually depicted as an ultimate fantasy of that particular event with the strap line ‘If Carlsberg did...’. In that vein, if Carlsberg did Come Dine with Me, it would look very much like the dinner party we hosted last Thursday. The reason why Come Dine with Me is the appropriate tag to use is that we invited eight ‘strangers’ to share our dinner party adventure with everyone on the list knowing each other only by Twitter. How would this experiment in new social media work out?
Let’s wind the clock back to explain how this came about. In the week before Christmas, in a festive mood, we looked in the wine rack for something very special to drink. We pulled out a half bottle of 1945 Chateau Talbot and got very excited. Tweeting to that effect, we got Tweets back of what others were drinking that night which in turn became a thread of ‘what’s the best wine/drink you have at home’ thread.
Without trying to define best, the Tweeting continued in earnest and when we popped up a pic of a couple of bottles of Petrus we had in store, there was much cooing. Never liking to see our fellow man (and woman) suffer, we invited everyone on the thread to come round to our house to share it with us. After assuring everyone it wasn’t a joke, there was enthusiastic buy in from all and a January date was set.
And with us having offered up a couple of bottles of Petrus to the proceedings, everybody else got in the same spirit and offered to bring their best bottles of wine or spirits too. In turn, everybody would get to taste a wide range of some of the best drink on the planet. This seemed very much our kind of evening: make new friends over wonderful wine.
At the end of the evening, as the remaining night owls retired to the comfortable chairs and began to reflect on the meal, it was hard to get a word in, there was still so much excitement, so much enthusiasm for the food we had just eaten that everybody wanted to speak about just how brilliant the meal had been. Outstanding, mind blowing, talk about it being the meal of the year already, across the board, we exhausted superlatives in our praise.
The food was easily at the 2 Michelin star level and with the menu being a little taste of what's to come at his new restaurant Pollen Street Social, we all agreed that it may well be the most important restaurant opening in the UK in 2011. We personally can't wait to eat there and experience Jason's cooking once again and we know for sure that all of our guests that night feel the same way.
*****
Carlsberg used to run adverts of some scene or activity visually depicted as an ultimate fantasy of that particular event with the strap line ‘If Carlsberg did...’. In that vein, if Carlsberg did Come Dine with Me, it would look very much like the dinner party we hosted last Thursday. The reason why Come Dine with Me is the appropriate tag to use is that we invited eight ‘strangers’ to share our dinner party adventure with everyone on the list knowing each other only by Twitter. How would this experiment in new social media work out?
Let’s wind the clock back to explain how this came about. In the week before Christmas, in a festive mood, we looked in the wine rack for something very special to drink. We pulled out a half bottle of 1945 Chateau Talbot and got very excited. Tweeting to that effect, we got Tweets back of what others were drinking that night which in turn became a thread of ‘what’s the best wine/drink you have at home’ thread.
Without trying to define best, the Tweeting continued in earnest and when we popped up a pic of a couple of bottles of Petrus we had in store, there was much cooing. Never liking to see our fellow man (and woman) suffer, we invited everyone on the thread to come round to our house to share it with us. After assuring everyone it wasn’t a joke, there was enthusiastic buy in from all and a January date was set.
And with us having offered up a couple of bottles of Petrus to the proceedings, everybody else got in the same spirit and offered to bring their best bottles of wine or spirits too. In turn, everybody would get to taste a wide range of some of the best drink on the planet. This seemed very much our kind of evening: make new friends over wonderful wine.
Originally we thought we might just do nibbles but we can never resist laying on a good time and the idea of a full dinner party blossomed. But not wanting to be stuck in the kitchen ourselves while others enjoyed fine wine a few feet away, the idea of having it catered came to mind. Thinking that Jason Atherton, revered former chef at Maze might have some availability before his new restaurant Pollen Street Social opens in March, we fired off a mail and were delighted when he said he could do it. Given that decadence seemed to be the order of the day, we suggested a truffle orientated menu and Jason came back with a brilliant menu that would also be a preview of dishes that would likely be gracing the Pollen Street Social menu.
With the origins being Twitter, and our Twitter friends being foodies, this was very much a group of like minded individuals. While we had a few small last minute changes, our final gathering was as follows:
@DouglasBlyde (www.intoxicatingprose.com), @winechapUK (winechap.com/home/), @bittenwritten (bittenandwritten.com), @Gastro1 +1 (dailyepicurean.blogspot.com), @cheeserus +1 and Mark Jenner (www.the-connaught.co.uk/the_coburg_bar.aspx)
With the origins being Twitter, and our Twitter friends being foodies, this was very much a group of like minded individuals. While we had a few small last minute changes, our final gathering was as follows:
@DouglasBlyde (www.intoxicatingprose.com), @winechapUK (winechap.com/home/), @bittenwritten (bittenandwritten.com), @Gastro1 +1 (dailyepicurean.blogspot.com), @cheeserus +1 and Mark Jenner (www.the-connaught.co.uk/the_coburg_bar.aspx)
Jason prepares truffles in the kitchen
On the day, things started to happen at around 5pm when Jason arrived together with two sous-chefs in a Mini no less. I've never seen so much stuff come out of a Mini before, three guys, all the food we would eat that evening, their equipment like waterbaths, pots and pans, and all the serving bowls and dishes that would be used. Gained a new respect for Minis too.
Also helping for the night was William Bonfield (@turbopow), a brilliant young waiter who won the 2008 Young Waiter of the Year Award and who can otherwise be found at The Prince of Wales in Putney (working, not propping up the bar). Last, but certainly not least, Laura, who is to be the Sommelier at Pollen Street Social was also present to look after the wines.
With a couple of hours to go before service, the aroma of truffle begins to seep from the kitchen and fill the adjacent rooms. Later in the evening as we're nosing a red Bordeaux, I comment that I'm picking up truffle on the aroma, pause, and then joke that I'm picking up truffle aroma on our bedsheets and on the furniture and the curtains as the smell has utterly pervaded the flat; we don't mind though. The truffles Jason is using tonight are Alba (white truffles) that come from the Piedmont region of Italy and the Perigord (black) truffle that derives its name from the Perigord region of France.
Also helping for the night was William Bonfield (@turbopow), a brilliant young waiter who won the 2008 Young Waiter of the Year Award and who can otherwise be found at The Prince of Wales in Putney (working, not propping up the bar). Last, but certainly not least, Laura, who is to be the Sommelier at Pollen Street Social was also present to look after the wines.
With a couple of hours to go before service, the aroma of truffle begins to seep from the kitchen and fill the adjacent rooms. Later in the evening as we're nosing a red Bordeaux, I comment that I'm picking up truffle on the aroma, pause, and then joke that I'm picking up truffle aroma on our bedsheets and on the furniture and the curtains as the smell has utterly pervaded the flat; we don't mind though. The truffles Jason is using tonight are Alba (white truffles) that come from the Piedmont region of Italy and the Perigord (black) truffle that derives its name from the Perigord region of France.
We start the evening with champagne of course, starting modestly with a Pol Roger 1998 and as people arrive bearing their beautiful contributions, open a magnum of Pierre Gimonnet 1999. Pierre Gimonnet is a small and very well thought of producer and this blanc de blanc is the Millesime de Collection, the very best of the cuvees offered by this producer.
With guests getting to know each other and Jason kindly taking time out to meet each of our guests that night, everybody is already smiling and with good reason. With food time approaching, there's real excitement in the air. Our first course is called English Breakfast: Quail egg, Bacon, Truffle, Tomato. With this we pair a wonderful Cristal 1983.
From left to right in the picture below, we had a potato pastry crisp with a truffle and mushroom duxelles with a soft poached quail egg topped with Perigord truffle, in the middle we have a cherry vine tomato that has been lightly poached in a cumin stock syrup with an oven crisp of Alsace bacon topped with Alba truffle and finally, a teaspoon with a foam of portobello mushroom rolled in bacon bits.
Egg, bacon, tomato, mushroom, a very English breakfast indeed, all here, all beautiful. My personal highlight on the plate was the mushroom foam in bacon bits. Putting the whole thing in your mouth in one go and there's a moment of salty bacon before the foam explodes leaving you to crunch the bacon bits before it's all too quickly over.
With guests getting to know each other and Jason kindly taking time out to meet each of our guests that night, everybody is already smiling and with good reason. With food time approaching, there's real excitement in the air. Our first course is called English Breakfast: Quail egg, Bacon, Truffle, Tomato. With this we pair a wonderful Cristal 1983.
From left to right in the picture below, we had a potato pastry crisp with a truffle and mushroom duxelles with a soft poached quail egg topped with Perigord truffle, in the middle we have a cherry vine tomato that has been lightly poached in a cumin stock syrup with an oven crisp of Alsace bacon topped with Alba truffle and finally, a teaspoon with a foam of portobello mushroom rolled in bacon bits.
Egg, bacon, tomato, mushroom, a very English breakfast indeed, all here, all beautiful. My personal highlight on the plate was the mushroom foam in bacon bits. Putting the whole thing in your mouth in one go and there's a moment of salty bacon before the foam explodes leaving you to crunch the bacon bits before it's all too quickly over.
English breakfast
Our next course is titled Trip to Japan: Atoro Tuna, Servruga Caviar, Cauliflower in Miso; from the title of the dish it will come as little surprise that this dish was borne of a trip to Japan, interesting though by Ferran Adria of El Bulli, who on his return served a dish of albino caviar lavishly spread across tuna served with roasted bone marrow. Taking this as his own inspiration, Jason's take presents cauliflower puree with shiso salt (dried shiso mixed with sea salt), roasted tuna, as Jason says 'a nice big slug of caviar', shaved cauliflower dressed in miso, see vegetables, dill and roasted bone marrow with crushed shiso.
For some, this will likely be the highlight of the meal for every component of the dish was simply divine. The tuna was superbly executed with huge depth of flavour and with the caviar on top the combination is simply awesome. The cauliflower puree enjoyed a smoothness of texture that pointed to a mastery of technique and the bone marrow adds that little extra. Everybody was chasing the last of the caviar eggs around the plate on this one.
We paired this dish with a Ginjo-Sake, Rashiku though no one around the table was terribly knowledgeable about quality sake.
For some, this will likely be the highlight of the meal for every component of the dish was simply divine. The tuna was superbly executed with huge depth of flavour and with the caviar on top the combination is simply awesome. The cauliflower puree enjoyed a smoothness of texture that pointed to a mastery of technique and the bone marrow adds that little extra. Everybody was chasing the last of the caviar eggs around the plate on this one.
We paired this dish with a Ginjo-Sake, Rashiku though no one around the table was terribly knowledgeable about quality sake.
Trip to Japan: Atoro tuna with caviar
Our next course is a slow cooked hens egg (it's been cooked in a waterbath for two and a half hours at 60 degrees), baby organic leeks inside of which are slowly roasted chicken oysters, on top of that black Perigold truffle, then layered with Iberico ham topped by white truffle. Chicken juice infused with smoked mussels is poured round and Jason explains that the smoked mussel infusion will enhance the Iberico ham.
One sensed that Jason loved this dish because of the sheer quality of ingredients that it's comprised of. The hens egg was remarkable with the whole egg (including the yolk) neither runny nor hard but an in between 'gooey'. The Iberico ham was gorgeous too and a small amount of surplus ham had a short lived spell in our fridge until I snacked on it early next morning by just placing it in my mouth and letting the fats dissolve on my tongue - so little chewing required. With the chicken oyster too (round pieces of dark meat on the back of the chicken near the thigh) and the chicken juice together with both black and white truffle, this was a wonderfully indulgent dish presented as a beautifully layered parcel of deliciousness.
The wine pairing here is from magnum, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru-Clos de la Mouchere 2006 Domaine Henri Boillot.
One sensed that Jason loved this dish because of the sheer quality of ingredients that it's comprised of. The hens egg was remarkable with the whole egg (including the yolk) neither runny nor hard but an in between 'gooey'. The Iberico ham was gorgeous too and a small amount of surplus ham had a short lived spell in our fridge until I snacked on it early next morning by just placing it in my mouth and letting the fats dissolve on my tongue - so little chewing required. With the chicken oyster too (round pieces of dark meat on the back of the chicken near the thigh) and the chicken juice together with both black and white truffle, this was a wonderfully indulgent dish presented as a beautifully layered parcel of deliciousness.
The wine pairing here is from magnum, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru-Clos de la Mouchere 2006 Domaine Henri Boillot.
Iberico ham, leeks, egg, truffle and chicken juice
What came next was possibly the star of the evening and certainly the most talked about after the meal. So original, so clever and so damn tasty; possibly genius. On the menu it's called Back to Front Risotto: Squid Risotto, Black Truffle, Ink Puffs, Roasted Squid Consomme. Here, the risotto is 'back to front' because you would normally expect a rice based risotto with squid added into it. Here, there's no rice in the risotto, instead there's squid, but rice is in fact crisped up and served with the squid risotto.
I'll explain some more. Risotto rice is used to extract starch in the form of starch water. Baby squid meanwhile that's been frozen, tenderised, diced and is then quickly cooked in the starch water; Mascarpone cheese and Parmesan are added to complete the back to front risotto. With the left over risotto rice, it's blanched in squid ink and made into 'ink pots' that sit under the truffle. With the spare ink they make squid paint (six parts olive oil to one part squid ink) and then a squid consomme is poured around the bowl.
The no rice squid risotto is unbelievable. The squid has been diced to a size that resembles puffed risotto rice and so the no rice risotto looks and tastes like a brilliantly made with rice squid risotto. Then adding the rice back as a crispy squid ink puff gives the dish a new textural dimension that seems also wonderfully playful. So well executed and so memorable.
Another Puligny Montrachet was paired with the risotto, this time round Etienne Sauzet Les Combettes 2004 Premier Cru.
I'll explain some more. Risotto rice is used to extract starch in the form of starch water. Baby squid meanwhile that's been frozen, tenderised, diced and is then quickly cooked in the starch water; Mascarpone cheese and Parmesan are added to complete the back to front risotto. With the left over risotto rice, it's blanched in squid ink and made into 'ink pots' that sit under the truffle. With the spare ink they make squid paint (six parts olive oil to one part squid ink) and then a squid consomme is poured around the bowl.
The no rice squid risotto is unbelievable. The squid has been diced to a size that resembles puffed risotto rice and so the no rice risotto looks and tastes like a brilliantly made with rice squid risotto. Then adding the rice back as a crispy squid ink puff gives the dish a new textural dimension that seems also wonderfully playful. So well executed and so memorable.
Another Puligny Montrachet was paired with the risotto, this time round Etienne Sauzet Les Combettes 2004 Premier Cru.
Jason and team plate the risotto
back to front risotto
Our main course is named Escoffier Style 1900 45 day old Cote de Boeuf. Jason explains that this will be a Cote de Boeuf for two on the menu at Pollen Street Social with the garnish arriving on the plate and the beef being set in the middle of table; here' he's done it for ten and we're thrilled. The dish is a deconstruction of Tournedos Rossini (the original recipe was apparently given by Rossinin to the chef at Cafe Anglais). Indeed, Gioacchino Rossini had a love of food as much as he had a love of opera and once said 'To eat, to love, to sing, and to digest; in truth, these are the four acts in this opera bouffe that we call life, and which vanishes like bubbles in a bottle of champagne.'
Here we have the foie gras, potatoes cooked in duck fat, slow cooked beef (at 65 degrees), black truffle, curly kale and for the onion Jason prepared a burnt onion mayonnaise 'that never splits' and truffle jus. Artichoke has been used instead of croute as Jason feels the croute always goes soggy in the Rossinin dish and he's not a fan.
You can tell from the pictures below that this piece of beef was a little piece of heaven. The slow cook really does it justice and the look, the taste and the texture were just all immensely pleasing. Spoon on some foie gras and it's heaven squared. A modern take on a classic, we predict this will be a massive hit for Pollen Street Social and a good reason for going in itself.
A massively ambitious three wines are served with the beef: the Petrus 1987, the Vega Sicilia Cosecha 1994 Unico and a Chateau Latour 1953. Both the Petrus and the Vega Sicilia were loved but the Latour stole the show. While we had concerns ahead of opening the bottle given a mid shoulder fill level, all was well and the 57 years of bottle age shone through with the complex leathery cigar box notes that we so love of old Bordeaux.
Here we have the foie gras, potatoes cooked in duck fat, slow cooked beef (at 65 degrees), black truffle, curly kale and for the onion Jason prepared a burnt onion mayonnaise 'that never splits' and truffle jus. Artichoke has been used instead of croute as Jason feels the croute always goes soggy in the Rossinin dish and he's not a fan.
You can tell from the pictures below that this piece of beef was a little piece of heaven. The slow cook really does it justice and the look, the taste and the texture were just all immensely pleasing. Spoon on some foie gras and it's heaven squared. A modern take on a classic, we predict this will be a massive hit for Pollen Street Social and a good reason for going in itself.
A massively ambitious three wines are served with the beef: the Petrus 1987, the Vega Sicilia Cosecha 1994 Unico and a Chateau Latour 1953. Both the Petrus and the Vega Sicilia were loved but the Latour stole the show. While we had concerns ahead of opening the bottle given a mid shoulder fill level, all was well and the 57 years of bottle age shone through with the complex leathery cigar box notes that we so love of old Bordeaux.
Escoffier Style 1900 45 day old Cote de Boeuf
Our palate cleanser was a Sangria, Beetroot and Blood Orange. Refreshing with the blood orange granita as the base, any residual fats lingering in the mouth from the Escoffier beef were washed clean away. A glass of Coutet 2002 was perhaps not strictly necessary with this dish but little we've consumed tonight was strictly necessary.
Sangria: Beetroot and Blood Orange
Truffle desserts are not common but Jason lists on the menu that we are to enjoy a Alba White Truffle Tiramisu. We're completely taken aback though when the plate arrives and is unrecognisable as a traditional Tiramisu. Another deconstructed dish: aerated chocolate dressed with white truffle, chocolate ganache, olive oil gell (the yellow pastille looking bit), chocolate disc, silver leaf and Marscapone ice cream.
We've said in various blog posts over 2010 that desserts have been widely quite dull even in restaurants that should do better so it was fantastic to have something on the plate that was different, original and in many ways unique. Yes there's the sweetness of the chocolate that will satisfy the sweet tooth but with several workings and non chocolate components, the dish never risks relying excessively on a single note. The white truffle too worked so well fusing earthy elements in with the sweet mix allowing the dish a much better balance. The only thing we all debated was the role of the silver leaf and whether it should be used in smaller quantities so that the dish doesn't look like one that's been wrapped in foil.
This plate was paired with Les Vignerons de Maury, Solera 1928 Maury which Jancis Robinson describes as 'the finest co-op wine in the world', and one that, unusually for wine, pairs well with chocolate.
We've said in various blog posts over 2010 that desserts have been widely quite dull even in restaurants that should do better so it was fantastic to have something on the plate that was different, original and in many ways unique. Yes there's the sweetness of the chocolate that will satisfy the sweet tooth but with several workings and non chocolate components, the dish never risks relying excessively on a single note. The white truffle too worked so well fusing earthy elements in with the sweet mix allowing the dish a much better balance. The only thing we all debated was the role of the silver leaf and whether it should be used in smaller quantities so that the dish doesn't look like one that's been wrapped in foil.
This plate was paired with Les Vignerons de Maury, Solera 1928 Maury which Jancis Robinson describes as 'the finest co-op wine in the world', and one that, unusually for wine, pairs well with chocolate.
Alba White Truffle Tiramisu
With the menu now finished, chocolates were brought to the table and after dinner drinks poured: Cognac and Armagnac seemed to be the order of the day with whisky taking a back seat. Jason and his two sous-chefs Alex and Mark came through to the dining room to a round of applause and a standing ovation. As the first taste of what the new Pollen Street Social might offer when it opens its doors in March, there was no doubt amongst us that it will offer one of the most exciting and innovative dining experiences in London in 2011. Given the constraints of transport and working in a home kitchen, to have produced such a sophisticated meal was an incredible achievement. With an all new kitchen at Pollen Street, we're already excited at the prospect of the food that will be produced there.
We wish Jason every luck with the opening of Pollen Street Social, though with food this good derived from his own talents, luck hardly seems to enter the equation. We've pretty much decided already on the basis of this meal that Pollen Street Social will be our go-to restaurant this year; we doubt we'll be alone in that decision.
Finally, on a slightly more personal note and beyond the food, Jason and his team were delightful from start to finish. Jason seemed a 'straight down the line' sort of guy, totally genuine and someone you'd be happy to see succeed; we thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent talking to him.
We wish Jason every luck with the opening of Pollen Street Social, though with food this good derived from his own talents, luck hardly seems to enter the equation. We've pretty much decided already on the basis of this meal that Pollen Street Social will be our go-to restaurant this year; we doubt we'll be alone in that decision.
Finally, on a slightly more personal note and beyond the food, Jason and his team were delightful from start to finish. Jason seemed a 'straight down the line' sort of guy, totally genuine and someone you'd be happy to see succeed; we thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent talking to him.
Pollen Street chocolates
The team after a successful service
After dinner drink
With the 'formal' part of the evening now concluded, everybody set about enjoying themselves across a wide variety of drink. Mark Jenner got pressed into service and was forced to make everyone a Martini with a twist while the Bordeaux was also enthusiastically attacked with Mouton '98, Margaux '85, Leoville Las Cases '83 and a Pichon Lalande '90 all enjoyed. The highlight of the after dinner entertainment though was a demonstration by @winechapUK of sabrage.
While we wouldn't put it past anyone as well turned out as @winechapUK to carry his own sword, on this occasion he was without weapon but on seeing that we had a sword tucked away in the corner, offered up the demonstration. Too good an offer to turn down, we assembled on the balcony and after a couple of let's call them trial runs, the cork and collar parted from the bottle. Hats off to Tom, this was a pretty impressive demonstration.
While we wouldn't put it past anyone as well turned out as @winechapUK to carry his own sword, on this occasion he was without weapon but on seeing that we had a sword tucked away in the corner, offered up the demonstration. Too good an offer to turn down, we assembled on the balcony and after a couple of let's call them trial runs, the cork and collar parted from the bottle. Hats off to Tom, this was a pretty impressive demonstration.
The following day, still feeling a little worse for wear and without the energy to clean up the 100 glasses we got through in the night, hair of the dog seemed like a better option. Douglas Blyde remained our partner in crime. A bottle of Billecart-Salmon 1998 that had previously escaped attention was popped. What's more, the food treats that we had so much enjoyed the night before kept on giving as Jason had left all unused ingredients with us. Mrs CC thinly sliced the sour dough bread, toasted it, layered it with the mushroom and truffle duxelles, quick grilled it, layered it with foie gras, another snap under the grill and then topped with a shave of white truffle. Delicious.
We popped open Dom Perignon 2000 and made a classic champagne cocktail with the Hine Antique. Douglas wittily renamed it Dom Perigord and Hine Antics, and after this was finished, thought we'd follow through with a taste test of the 2000 versus DP OEnotheque 1993. These are both very nice was about as sophisticated as we got. We also restocked our plates with scrambled eggs on toasted sour dough with white and black shaved truffle.
Finally, and this is quite 'shameful', as dusk came and the question of dinner was raised, we could do nothing better with our sorry selves than to order in Domino's pizza. We did however bless it with another shave of black truffle (and wondered if we were the first people in the world ever to add Perigord truffle to Domino's) and to round out, we opened a Chateau Angelus to wash it down. Shortly after, we returned to bed.
We popped open Dom Perignon 2000 and made a classic champagne cocktail with the Hine Antique. Douglas wittily renamed it Dom Perigord and Hine Antics, and after this was finished, thought we'd follow through with a taste test of the 2000 versus DP OEnotheque 1993. These are both very nice was about as sophisticated as we got. We also restocked our plates with scrambled eggs on toasted sour dough with white and black shaved truffle.
Finally, and this is quite 'shameful', as dusk came and the question of dinner was raised, we could do nothing better with our sorry selves than to order in Domino's pizza. We did however bless it with another shave of black truffle (and wondered if we were the first people in the world ever to add Perigord truffle to Domino's) and to round out, we opened a Chateau Angelus to wash it down. Shortly after, we returned to bed.
How then did our experiment work? Fabulously well we think. We met some fantastic people and came together over fantastic food. It is likely that this will prove the most memorable dinner party of our lives for all the right reasons. Everybody we think had a good time - you can check their blogs to confirm the fact - and many stayed to the early hours. It was a night of decadence and a night of treats but totally worthwhile. Should we make it to old age, this will be one of the nights of our lives that we'll look back on and remember with the biggest of smiles.
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