I had a difficult decision to make for graduation dinner. You know, what the French term cuisine classique. The result is a shimmering curtain, like a white cloud which encircles you. The small catch is that you will have to choose the menus in advance AND pay for it in full. Now, a bit of a rant. I have no problems with picking a menu in advanced — they after all claimed that this would allow the chef adequate time to prepare for the event! Guess what? They changed it on the night.
I was not even warned about this the day before via e-mail or even a simple phone call. No explanations were offered on the night either. Moreover, substituting a dish which was exclusive to the ridiculously expensive menu printemps with one readily available on the A la Carte menu is simply not on.
Dinner began with a bottle of Taittinger Comtes de Champagne to celebrate my success and some of the canapes on offer. Having arrived slightly late, I was rather annoyed that the restaurant had already brought out the canapes to the guests meaning that they were lukewarm by the time I got to eat them.
Nevertheless, they quickly saw sense and brought us a new serving, piping hot and fresh from the kitchen. I have already talked about the cheese goujeres during my last visit and they were as good as I remember them.
Light, airy, salty, sharp with a little spike of heat from the paprika and black pepper these were a joy to eat, especially when washed down with some bubbly. A second nibble, one not present during my first visit, were barbajuans — a bit like fried won-ton parcels stuffed with spinach and ricotta. Perfectly crisp, yet virtually greaseless, these little treats were well balanced with the flavour of the spinach coming through very well and the ricotta adding an element of richness to each bite.
