Kicking off

December is here and the streets are hustling and bustling full of shoppers trying to buy that special gift for their loved ones.........................Did that in November!!

Heres some plates...

Pan roasted loin of venison, Valrhona chocolate and raspberry ganache, warm leek terrine, poached salsify, port sauce

Loch Duart salmon and Jon Dory mosaic, pink grapefruit, fennel, ginger, Bormano olive oil

Merry Christmas everyone : ))

Valrhona and raspberry vinegar ganache

200ml good quality raspberry vinegar (reduced to 50ml)

60g butter

50g 70% chocolate

Over a double boiler, add the vinegar. Melt the butter into the vinegar reduction until fully incorperated. gradually add the chocolate until fully incorperated. Control the heat to make sure it does not get too hot. Pour into a container and chill.

This weeks du jour menu

New Forest venison carpaccio

pickled mousserons, pine nuts,smoked Lyburn cheese, sorrel, smoked pepper,

juniper sour cream

This is a very delicate starter. It is a dish that needs a balance of flavours and good seasoning. The oak smoked pepper works well with the venison and the smoky tones of the cheese help it along. The mushrooms lift the acidity of the dish as venison is quite rich. The juniper sour cream refreshes the palate with an aromatic twist.

Wild seabass poached in vanilla oil

crispy black lobster, honey wine sauce spiked with chervil

This is a light course with sweet flavours. The bass is poached at 55C in a grapeseed oil infused with Madagascan vanilla bean, for about 7 minutes. The lobster tail is coated in a tempura batter coloured with squid ink. The sauce is a cream sauce which is made with Riesling and honey wine, fresh chopped chervil is added just before saucing.

Beef three ways, seared fillet, braised short rib, crisp tongue

roasted root vegetables, liquid cepe gnocchi

This dish is strong with an Autumn feel to it. It showcases the different textures and flavours that come from one animal. The fillet is seared, roasted and sliced. The shortrib is braised through beef jus for 3-4 hours until falling off the bone. The tongue is poached in a court bouillion for approx 3.5 hours until tender, chilled, diced, brushed with dijon mustard an coate in herb breadcrumbs. The gnocchi are made using a cepe gnocchi dough, rolled and cut out, then filled with a cepe veloute set with gelatine and folded over, poached and fried in nut brown butter.

Espuma of Cerney goats cheese

dried fruit compote, oak ash

For this course i wanted a light tasty cheese mousse. I chose Cerney goats cheese for its fromage frais style texture and slightly citric notes from being so young. It is normally dusted in oak ash, which i find is a shame if ever its creamed or whipped because you have to scrape off the ash or the colour is very unappealing. So here we took 1 cup double cream and 1 cup whipping cream and 130g cerney. Boil the creams and add the cerney and blend in until smooth. Season lightly and add to an espuma gun charging it twice. Rest in the fridge for a good couple of hours and shake well before use. I made some oak ash to dust the top of the mousse to finish the dish and give the cheese back some of its identity of how it comes and should be served. It worked nicely and tasted great!