Cooking the Books - fifth

Bread and Flowers Pop Up.  1st April 2023.  St Giles House.  Wimborne St Giles.

We have a spectacular treat for all our lovely pop up regulars, and non-regulars this Spring.  We’re hosting our next Pop Up at St Giles house, home to Lord and Lady Shaftesbury.  It’s a magnificent venue, at which we have been preferred caterers for the last 10 years.  As stately homes go, I like to think it’s a bit more Rock and Roll than most.  It’s a 17th century masterpiece, which has been lovingly and painstakingly restored over a number of years to award winning standards.  An exquisite mix of contemporary cool, with a dash of old masters, centuries old pedigree and a nightclub in the basement.

 Guests are invited to arrive 6.30 – 7.00pm for a welcome drink and a few canapes, whilst they wander through the state rooms at a leisurely pace, glide out across the terrace to admire the bucolic views, before taking a seat in the library to enjoy a classic, Bread and Flowers, Cooking the Books menu.  The first course is served at 7.45pm, followed by two more courses and coffee.  Carriages are advised for 10pm, although accommodation is available on site for the more indulgent amongst you.

 I’ve been working with my head chef, Mark Riorden, to come up with some new ideas we’ve been trying out over winter, getting ready for the 2024 season, you read that right, 2023 is practically sold out so we would love to share a few discoveries with you.  I’m really excited about the vegan first course, we’re using a delicious ‘Superstraccia’ from Julienne Bruno.  It tastes like the inside of a rich burrata and we’re teaming it with butterbeans, pan fried courgettes and green sauce, a bit like a salsa verde but without the anchovy.

 I’m also loving the roast venison main course.  We bone out the leg, take off the outer membrane on the meat, then separate the individual muscles, before trimming up and marinading in our secret rub.  The muscles can be cooked separately according to size and weight, perfectly pink and perfectly pretty on top of the celeriac puree and dotted with roast shallots and crispy kale.  Then just so you know, the chantenay carrots are cooked in equal parts chicken stock and butter, with caster sugar and star anise, the result is indescribable, so I won’t even attempt it, taste them for yourselves and let me know.

 We’re finishing off with a Nathan Outlaw classic, dark chocolate mousse, stout cake, milk ice cream, blood orange.  It’s rich, indulgent, both sweet and sharp, looks lovely on the plate, tastes warm, soft and punchy on the tongue.

We really hope you can join us for this event, St Giles is the loveliest, most serene environment and we’ve really pulled out the stops on the food, as always, so we think you will be delighted with your experience, one to dine out on for the rest of the year.