Supper clubs are enjoying a bit of a revival – after all, in a tight economy, places where you can take your own booze, enjoy a fantastic meal on a lower budget than most restaurants and still feel more than satisfied, what’s not to like?
I’ve been lucky enough to go to the Joy of Pork with Dineinout and Iain Devine (watch out for a review of Flock and Roll soon) and to Fire and Salt BBQ last year, but since meeting Lex Smith, aka Lady Nom, it seemed only fair that I visit her supper club too. In the interests of research of course.
And as the next one was to be an (un)birthday special with the assistance of Ernst van Zyl I was more than happy to pay my pennies.
Accompanied by my friend Simon (we were both spouseless for the evening) we headed to a beautiful house in a leafy part of Altrincham. Meeting Lex we were escorted to a room downstairs set up with the Alice in Wonderland theme. From the homemade lemonade labelled ‘drink me’ to the beautiful placemats and place cards, it was all delightfully staged.
Introducing ourselves to the lovely Carol (a fellow veteran of Mr Devine’s) and Pamela, we were duly interrupted by the arrival of the aperitif – hot and cold tea. This was a lovely rich blend of Earl Grey tea and peppermint, resulting in a sweet hot yet cold tea, with a thick mouthfeel (the drink had been created using gels), giving you a tingle of peppermint at the end.
Suitably prepared, it was time for the first course. A dainty cup and saucer was placed in front of us, filled with little cubes of beef fillet, and tiny pieces of swede and turnip. A change from the original menu (this was scheduled as the second course), Lex then proceeded to pour out ‘tea’ from a large teapot – a rich beef broth. The broth was rich and warm, not overly salty or strong, and the tiny cubes of beef tender. with the crisper vegetables, it was a delightful start and many of us requested a top up.
Our now second course was originally the first – and when it arrived on the slate we were suitably impressed. Duck and orange lollipop, scallop and truffle toast sandwich, and pine sherbet dip, with vanilla ‘liquorice’. Oh this was heavenly. The duck was rich and meaty, the scallop toast – well I could have eaten a plateful they were so lovely. And the pine sherbet was lovely – not quite as pine rich in flavour as we’d have liked, but the vanilla went surprisingly well with the sweet and sour sherbet All together a fabulous course, both in looks and flavour.
Onto our main, of chicken ballotine, ‘shrink and grow’ mushrooms – dried (shrink) and placed onto a stunning celeriac purée to rehydrate (grow). With crisp potatoes and vegetables and dusted in rocket, this was a wonderful main. The chicken was tender and moist, the rocket added a peppery edge and I can happily still imagine the taste of the celeriac purée.
It was around this point that the lovely Ernst visited and, encouraged by Lex, popped by to receive his own round of congratulations from the diners on such a fabulous meal.
Finally to our dessert – ‘EAT ME: DRINK ME’. A bowl placed in front of us with a round ball of chocolate, atop a bed of ginger crumb, a warm vanilla custard was poured ontop to melt the chocolate and reveal a cherry sorbet. This had been Lex’s own idea and one of which she should be proud. The sorbet was… well I could have happily eaten a bowl of it on it’s own, but in this, every flavour combination worked – altogether or paired, it didn’t matter they were perfect. Bitter chocolate hardening with the cold sorbet and softening with the warm custard, the the ginger crumb absorbing both the cherry and the vanilla, it was the perfect finish to the evening.
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