Gourmet Night!

The wife and I were invited by Forgandenny's own Lord Lucan and his good lady, to join them at a gourmet night being run by the Acanthus Restaurant at the Parklands Hotel, in association with Perth's best deli, Provender Brown. We had a great night, sampling some really well prepared, creatively cooked, interesting food. This was a very different dining experience for us, for a couple of reasons. Firstly everyone booked in for the gourmet night had the same food (there were about 25 folk there) and secondly instead of having most of the food in one large course - here we had loads of tiny courses, enabling us to sample lots of different flavours and cooking styles in one night. Another nice touch was that they had selected wines to go with each course - and because so many people were having the same that didn't equate to a bottle per table per course. The only thing I missed out on was the wine, I'd had a headache all day and was preparing to preach at church on the Sunday, so I managed a sample sip of each flavour and demolished a bottle or two of mineral water instead!

Along with the good food and company, the many small courses with time in between them meant that it was a great format for hours of leisurely conversation, rather than the bolt and rush atmosphere in so many restaurants. There were only two downsides to the evening, the coffee was too weak and the bill!

The menu was as follows:

Organic Pumpkin and Truffle Veloute with a corn grissini (Vida Organica Sparkling Chardonnay: Argentina 2004)

Cepe Ravioli, Foie Gras blanc and peppered rocket puree (Tokay Pinot Gris, Jean Baptiste Adams: Alsace 2003)

Grilled Halibut with a Lobster and Saffron Risotto, panache of vegetables. (Chardonnay, Sherwood Estate: New Zealand 2003)

Roast Saddle of Lamb stuffed with McSween's Haggis, pommery mustard and shank faggot, cannelloni beans and an apple and rosemary jus. (Rioja reserve, Remelluri: Spain 2001)

A selection of cheeses, with savoury confits. (Cockburn Vintage Port 1991)

Lemon Tart,with organic blackcurrant sorbet. (Botrytis Semillion, Bewlitt Springs: Australia 2005)

Petit Fors and Coffee