Caviar Dinner at Wiltons, London - My Favorite Restaurant in London - Missed this years event, but there is always next year.

                                         The Caviar Dinner 11 May 2011
The Dinner will be hosted by Laura King from "Kings Caviar" who is a well known caviar aficionado. The night not only promises to be a gastronomic delight but an education into this wonderful food.
Bollinger with canapés
 To Start
Smoked sturgeon parfait
Rio Frio Spanish Naccarii Sturgeon
The only Sturgeon indigenous to Europe farmed in Andalucia. Subtle in taste a little like a mild Osceitra
Complimented with Pouilly-Fumé “Les Cornets” 2009 Domaine A.Cailbourdin
 Intermediate
Carpaccio of Rose Dutch veal, goats cheese “Angels Delight” with truffle and pickled salsify
Farmed Sevruga caviar from Bulgaria
 A delicately small egg with a taste of salt and the sea
 Complimented with
Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru 2008 Domaine Vincent Dancer
Pre-main
Gratin of langoustine, asparagus, basil and tomatoes
Farmed Osceitra from Belgium
 Large egg with golden tones, subtle flavours with a hint of brie
 Complimented with
Meursault “Les Vireuils” 2007 Domaine Dupont-Fahn
Main Course
Cornish turbot and Dover sole with bacon, onions, mushrooms and red wine sauce
Farmed Beluga Caviar from Bulgaria
 The largest and most opulent egg, walnut and creamy in flavour
 This is The King of the Caviars  
 Complimented with
Chablis Grand Cru “Les Clos” 2008 Domaine Christian Moreau
Dessert
Raspberry Pavlova iced soufflé with tapioca and mango pearls
 Complimented with
Dom Pérignon 2002
 Coffee and sweetmeats with chocolate caviar
                          HOW MUCH YOU ASK?

You know the old saying 

             " If you have to ask, you can't afford it"

Cooking is a long march that never ends....Temps Perdu

This past weekend I was laid up with the flu ( that seems to be everywhere these days) and so, when I do occasionally get ill, my prescription is always the same, I take to my bed with a cup of hot Assam tea and lemon, several good book, my IPOD and two to three plumped pillows. This weekend, I did the same, turned on my IPOD and listened to Rachmaninov’s Piano concert #2 (a favorite of mine since childhood) and pulled out some favorite restaurant menu’s for days past. As I lay there, dreaming of past delights, I was reminded of a line from Evelyn Waugh’s “Brideshead Revisited”,
“Just the place to bury a crock of gold," said Sebastian. "I should like to bury something precious in every place where I've been happy and then, when I was old and ugly and miserable, I could come back and dig it up and remember."

These menus’s I have saved for the years, and when revisited, truly make me happy. Dinner in my day was when people would dress up and use the restaurant as a stage, a setting for a night’s entertainment. Today, they just eat out for convenience, and then rush off elsewhere. For me, eating out was like going to a theatre. I prepared for what I was going to eat; I dressed up certainly and wished to spend at least 2 hours, if not more, enjoying the, meal, the service, and the atmosphere. To me, it was like going to church.

One of my fondest memories of dining was in London at the wonderful (now not so wonderful) Edwardian Hotel, The Connaught. That hotel, up to recently was like stepping back in time. Retreating to some safer, cozier era when ladies worn hats and gentleman wore suits. The big draw for me was always the Restaurant and Grill room. Here the low hum of conversation ( that is gone now world wide in restaurants), the genteel clink of polished silver on old china, waiters in tails exuding an a air of quiet efficiently and old fashioned servility. The atmosphere, of course was always clubby, exclusive and stuffy. An menu of mixed English comfort food and classic French cuisine and all under the eye of maitre-chef Michel Bourdin. M. BOURDIN retired (sadly) in 2001 and that began the fall of one of the best restaurants in the world. ………………, Please check back for more on this greatest of chefs and greatest of dining rooms.