That’s a direct quote from @lizbonlinewhen speaking about Simon’s fondant potatoes. They may be slightly old fashioned but my god, they are so tasty. To be honest, drown anything in butter and stock until soft and creamy and it will be tasty. But, let me stop starting in the middle of the meal and start at the beginning!

Tonight’s theme was French food and after Liz’s delish Japanese extravaganza the other day and Matt’s Spanish menu, we knew we were in for a treat.

First up – amuse bouche of Goats cheese rolled in panko breakcrumbs and deep fried. Amazing. Delicious. Soft and warm goats cheese with a crispy breadcrumb outer crust.

Goats cheese in panko breadcrumbs (Perroche from Neal's Yard Creamery)

And then a different presentation of the goats cheese – small balls rolled in chives. A lighter, fresher way to taste them.

Breadcrumbs goats cheese and chived cheese

Breadcrumbs goats cheese and chived cheese

And then a second amuse bouche of Matthew Everrett’s parmesan and gruyere gougeres. Little puffs of cheesy heaven. They are almost the equivalent of savoury profiteroles or cheesy choux pastry. mmmm!

Gougeres

Gougeres with chived goats cheese

Gougeres with chived goats cheese, and wine (Springfield Sauvingnon blanc)

And then we moved on to the starter. Which was a chicken liver and pistachio pate – livened up by the addition of Cointreau and pink peppercorns served with home made red onion chutney/marmalade. This was basically tasty, smooth, creamy and buttery pate with some delicious crunchy and spicy bits all mixed up in your mouth. Delicious.

The block of pate!

Pate, marmalade and french bread

And then, we moved onto a main course to die for. Canon of lamb coated in porcini powder and topped with a Madeira sauce. Served with fondant potatoes (rich, creamy, amazing), tourne carrots (retro and really quite nice this way), green beans stuffed into a ring of courgette and deep fried leeks – for a little bit of crunch.

Canon of lamb with porcini powder with fondant potatoes and veggies

Toffee souffles with banana and lime ice cream

And then, Toffee souffles with banana and lime ice cream. This was the perfect complement to an amazing meal and now I feel like I have died and gone to heaven. Or perhaps the Rapture did happen but it was in our kitchen.

Crackingly good cooking by both Simon (the amuse bouches, the starter and the main course) and Matt (dessert) and excellent wine choices by me and Liz. This is what all our plates looked like after we finished each course.

And we're done

And for some additional photos of my lovely dining colleagues and various bits from around the room. (I might have gotten a little over-excited with the camera FLASH FLASH FLASH)

Liz

Slightly stressed Chef

Hungry looking Matt

Le menu

Flowers and candles on the table

How the hell am I going to top this in two weeks time? Advice on a postcard please….