Seven Course Tasting Menu near Cirencester

Pavé of Halibut with Oxtail

In case you haven't heard La Belle Assiette is at the forefront of changing the English perception of private chefs. As staying in becomes the new going out, more chefs are giving up the restaurant kitchen stove and taking the restaurant out to people's homes instead. Kind of what I've been doing for the last 10 1/2 years, though now, on occasions, I also do them for La Belle Assiette clients, as I was on this evening.
As I always say to the clients at the events I do - it's much more interesting cooking in a different place each time than being stuck in the same underground kitchen of a hotel or restaurant. And there's also a much better client - chef interaction, none more so than when you are doing a tasting menu.

This was for a joint 30th birthday in early November - so both husband and wife had a decision on the menu. I gave them 4 choices per course to choose from - this is what they chose. I talked about each dish with the guests just before plating it up.

Pork Cheek, Celariac and Watercress

Also making an appearance - romanesco which you burn with a blow torch (gives it a nice barbecue style flavour), toasted pine nuts, pickled butternut squash ribbon, beetroot coulis - all the flavours!

We do quite a lot of hog roasts through the year, and there are always some guests who are in the know and ask for the pig's cheeks & ears - they're the tastiest parts! Slow cook the pigs cheeks and they are meltingly soft. 

Roast Guinea Fowl with Samphire, Gremolata and a Honey and Lemon Dressing

I love samphire with chicken & guineau fowl - the saltiness really seems to work, Samphire has life beyond fish dishes! There was also black pudding, orange, pickled cucumber and crackling. The honey & lemon is a nice light touch to the guineau fowl - you don't want too many heavy things I've found at the begining of a tasting menu. 

The honey & lemon dressing with Guineau Fowl was something I put together once on holiday in Venice - I even cook on holiday!

The red plates were a new find earlier that week. It was love at first sight!

Pavé of Halibut with Oxtail

Fish and meat.... together? For some this might seem an odd combination, but it's really an old French classic pairing. Maybe more like a marriage made in heaven - like the couple celebrating their 30th birthdays!

Also possibly my favourite dish I've done this year! The splat is the new swoosh, but, man it's so much more fun to do! 

It was butternut squash puree in case you're wondering. With a few sprouting lentils dotted around the place. 

Hendricks Gin and Tonic Sorbet

So the birthday girl is an absolute fan of Hendrick's gin and had seen the Hendrick's Gin and Tonic sorbet I had made for another party - so this just had to go on their menu somewhere. Sorbets can seem like a cop out on tasting menus I know, but it sure went down well, and at the end of the day, I'm all about giving people what they like!

Whole Fillet of Beef Wrapped in Wild Mushrooms and Rosemary

Rosemary Roast Whole Fillet of Beef, Rainbow Chard, Wild Mushrooms, Roast Garlic and Oxtail Jus

Luckily it was just the end of pumpkin season. Well, the sale season anyway. People are so fickle - they only seem to buy pumpkins around Hallowe'en time. Then all suppliers stop stocking them because noone wants to buy them. Don't they know how good they are?

These baby pumpkins were filled with rainbow chard - also in season at that time. and there are a few shallots and baby turnips there too. Taste city!

Cotswold Organic Brie baked in Brioche

Using Simon Weaver's Cotswold Brie - I've been to the farm where they make it. You have to dress up in a white coat & hat to go in. So I put some inside the brioche buns, but also a slice on the side - can never have enough brie!

To go with it there were some caramelised oranges I made, pickled figs and pickled cherries that I picked up from Upton Smokery a few days before, and just before I left for this party I found some barberries in the local Turkish shop - their acidity works really well with the brie I found.

Hmm, cheese course or dessert course first? The French would have the cheese first, the English would have the dessert first. On the night we actually went for the English way. 

Pressed Apple with Pistachio Crumble and Blackberry Sorbet

 Like apple and blackberry crumble, but lighter. Served with creme anglaise on the side. The apples are cooked in caramel like you do for tarte tatin and the crumble sprinkled on top. Gotta roll with the times!

Rose Flavoured Macarons

After coffee and rose macarons, it was just a matter of clearing up the kitchen. Really need to work on that self-cleaning kitchen invention.........

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Cooking for a Stag party in Thrupp near Oxford

"I think we need to drink rather a lot tonight......" Oh you have to love stag parties don't you.


Main course - Grilled fillet of beef with oxtail, caramelised shallots and fondant potato
Fillet steak - perfect manfood. One of the party didn't do mushrooms though so they asked me to come up with something slightly different. I'd really wanted to try out an individual version of this dish (fillet of beef with oxtail wrapped in bacon), but some of the party apparently weren't too sure of the oxtail (till they'd eaten it that night anyway), so I served it on the side instead so the uninitiated could try it. They loved it - what a meatfest.

Oxtail was the first thing I blogged here 4 years ago when I was setting up the business and practising a few dishes. I always try and pick up oxtail when I see it at the local farm - you have to be quick around here it sells fast.
The other joy of cooking it is in the oxtail cooking liquor you have the most amazing base for your accompanying sauce. I also diced some of the carrots used in cooking the oxtail and added that to the sacue for the finished dish (I like making the most of ingredients - and they have so muich flavour).

After it had cooked in red wine for a good 6 hours I let it cool slightly before taking it off the bone. Then reboiled the bones for another stock, and the meat was cooked down a bit further (left) to serve with the fillet.

Unfortunately, as I found when I arrived, some guests couldn't make it away at the last minute due to work commitments, so I served their steaks and oxtail as seconds - I think they must have been saving up their appetites all week - all polished off.

This was their assiette of desserts as seen last week.








Related posts

Fondant potatoes
Oxtail
Their assiette of desserts

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Braised oxtail and pear and almond tart

Here oxtail sears in the pan, smoking the kitchen out. It's hard to match the toughness you feel on the outside as it sears with the flakiness you get when it's cooked. It takes at least 5 hours. By 6 or 7 hours it is a melting indulgence and tastes like something that shouldn't really be allowed....






Dessert in three stages:





1 - pears poached in syrup with fresh bay leaf and vanilla
2 - In the tart case with frangipane, before more frangipane goes on top
3 - finished tart with creme anglaise

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