Lunch with Trenchermen's, And what a team.

It’s been a while.  A fantastic summer has passed and so much happened.

But the highlight was earlier this month.  On Monday, the fifth, with MC, the master of ceremonies, we hosted The Trencherman’s Autumn Lunch.  The Bath Priory kitchen was a buzzing hub of focused activity.  Twenty five chefs worked heads down with great determination and prepared a seven course lunch for the eighty five guests who were en route from all over the South-West of England to celebrate the launch of

‘The Trencherman’s Guide 2011-2012’.

In our kitchen there were four teams of chefs:

Nick Brodie

                                                   

Simon Hulstone 

Simon Hulstone and his team from the Elephant restaurant, Torquay, Devon, took charge of the starter: Textures of Occombe beetroot, With Vulscombe goats cheese and elderflower curd.

Nick Brodie from The Queensbury Hotel, Bath, Somerset, with help from his sous, took care of the main course:  Roast mallard duck, crown prince squash puree, bilberries and game jus.

Paul Ainsworth & John Walton

Paul Ainsworth, Number 6 restaurant, Padstow, Cornwall, finished the lunch with his Head Chef,  John.  Pre-dessert; ‘Kid in a Sweetshop’ (Strawberry sorbet ~ refreshers ~ bubblegum, followed by Cheese cake ravioli, raspberries, white chocolate mousse.

Me & the squid in the background

Myself and the Bath Priory brigade took care of the intermediate fish course: Truffle poached Turbot; braised ox cheek, cepe sauce.  Team BP filled in the gaps.  Canapés were organised  by Juaca, Niall and Romaine.  Allister took care of the amuse bouche: roasted sweetcorn veloute and saffron onions.  And, of course, Jon and Emma made all the breads and produced some wonderful petits fours.

Chicken wing and Foie sandwich

The busy morning quickly turned into the start of service.  Plates of canapés were laid up.  Anca and her team moved in.  Pick up! Pick up! Then swiftly passed the kitchen doors, down the corridor to our bustling lounges, and ready in place to greet the arriving guests.

    

Jauca & Allister 

Plate 1. Braised chicken wing, confit lemon puree.  Foie gras & apple sandwich. Confit Tamworth rillette, apricot chutney.

Plate 2. Fish and chips, tartar sauce. Tempura chillli squid;  Smoked haddock brandade.

Plate 3. Quail egg & onion confit tartlet; Sun blushed tomato risotto, basil oil; Cauliflower pakora, lemon mayonnaise.

Jon and his rolls 

The last plates of canapés rolled out, the guests moved from the lounges to the restaurant and were seated.

Tomato and olive bread was sliced and baguettes and pain de morvan, piping hot, filled the bread baskets, which quickly landed on the tables, followed shortly after by the amuse.  The meal had started.

Simon and his team finished their gargantuan task of plating the beautiful beetroot dish with a delicate dusting of beetroot powder and the starter was ready.  What a fantastic way to start!

Turbot on the line 

Turbot up next.  Gently poached at 60o C and with 2 minutes left on the timer I was in the restaurant introducing the course and a quick thank you to Phil for providing the Turbot.  Back in the kitchen the line was in full swing.  I took my place and sauced and the plates headed to guests.  Well chuffed.

Mallard on the line 

Nick and his sous chef worked on the last bits of the main course.  They quickly carved the mallard breasts and crisped-up the confit leg pancakes.  Then in a line led by Nick, we pushed out plate after plate of handsome looking food.

Pre desserts 

The cheeky grin that Paul wore all morning then disappeared for a moment as he focused on bringing together his playful pre-dessert.  John piped the sorbet while Paul added the espuma and we topped it with the Candy and crackles.  Then it was grins all round as we all tucked into a shot glass of his pre-dessert.  It was impossible not to smile as you ate it!

Ravioli

Ravioli filled on each plate, crumble added and the final touches to the plate were complete.  The dessert was served and the menu finished.  What a lunch!

Jon and Emma laid up the petits fours as the restaurant team prepared the coffee to finish.

In the restaurant, handshakes and congratulations aplenty confirmed that a fantastic day had been had by all.

The West Country is the best country.

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