Special birthday dinner party catering in Blockley, Gloucestershire.

Sunday, January 10, 2016
Surprise! You're not going out to the local pub tonight - we're here too cook for you!

Always good when you can surprise the birthday guest!


Homemade Bread Rolls

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Smoked Salmon Scotch Quail Egg Lollipop

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Potted Lobster with Toast, Gem Leaves, Crème Fraiche and Lemon

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Fillet of Beef with Potato Puree, Caramelised Carrots, Marrowbone, Bacon, Cognac, Garlic, Thyme and Greens

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Assiette of Cheeses;
Cotswold Brie
Single Gloucester
Oxford Isis
Shropshire Blue
Celery, Seedless Grapes, Dried Fruit, Chutney and Biscuits
[Kitchen Note; cater for 4 and split between 6 to fit with budget]

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Autumn Russet Tart Tatin with Cream


I was actually using the menu they had created themselves, but it turned out rather well.  To keep the smoked salmon scotch quail eggs runny in the middle I had to take along my deep fryer as well to cook them at the last minute - it was all quite a tight fit in the modest sized holiday house kitchen. Luckily there was no rain, so we were working half in the kitchen, and half outside the kitchen door - when you're catering for events you have to be adaptable to whatever environment you find yourself in!

The secret to the potted lobster is to cook it as close to the time you're going to serve it as possible, so the lobster meat stays soft, rather than going rock hard, which is what you find in supermarket lobsters. These babies were still alive an hour before I left!

This was also the night I discovered flowering sprouts - they're definitely my new favourite thing.  

Cheese before dessert or after? It's always a thing people dither over. The French normally have cheese before dessert. I always suggest having cheese last, otherwise people enjoy it too much, then don't want to have dessert. The other way round however, and if you can't manage cheese after dessert you can always have it for lunch the next day, which is not so easy to do with the dessert. Maybe we should have switched it round for this party too!

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