A Visit From A Private Chef With Project Dinner Party
Published On Thursday 1 Dec 2022 by Sticky Beak
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His Nibs and I have been fortunate enough to have a Private Chef come to Beak H.Q. before, but when we were approached by Project Dinner Party it seemed all the more special in the midst of the recession, cost-of-living, gas, and electricity crises. There is only so much doom and gloom you can take, isn’t there?
After a bit of back and forth as to menu ideas/dietary requirements it was decided that Chef (Ash) would cook a seven course tasting menu for me and The Man, plus four of our friends; six is a nice size for a cosy dinner party, and fairly representative of what ‘Joe Public’ would ask for. Other than the broad outline, we didn’t get to know the finer details of the meal until quite close to the time, which upped the excitement stakes for us all.
Our house is pretty easy to find on our road (it’s the one that’s triangular shaped as you look at it from the road – I call it the Dairylea house!), but not if you’ve been given the wrong number! Luckily, Elise, who was to be our server for the evening, gave The Man a quick buzz and he went outside and flagged them down. Cosily ensconced in our kitchen and with all his boxes unloaded, Chef set to work and we waited for our guests to arrive. Elise talked us through the outline of the evening and asked where we’d like the Canapés to be served: at the dining table or in the lounge where we’d planned to have arrival tipples; we opted for the lounge.
Once everyone had arrived and had a bit of time to settle in, Elise came through with the wooden platter that was laden with Confit Chicken and Pistachio Bon Bons on skewers and beautifully jewel coloured Beetroot and Goats Cheese Crostini. As we bit into the wonderfully crunchy outers of the Bon Bons the noise level crashed dramatically; good food has that effect! Underneath the crisp outer was a very moreish combination of smooth, creamily mild chicken breast and lightly textural pistachio with their hint of sweetness. In contrast to this light, almost easy-breezy canapé was the altogether deeper pairing of earthy Beetroot and tangy, musky Goats Cheese, both perched on thin, super-crispy Crostini. If Chef Ash had set out to impress his guests from the get-go, he certainly succeeded.
Elise was happy to be receiving such positive feedback from us all and said that she would let us know when Chef was ready to serve the Amuse Bouche to us through in the dining room. In the meantime, we all settled back into our seats with glasses of bubbly and caught up on all the gossip; one pair of friends I hadn’t seen since summer, which is far too long, I’m sure you’ll agree!
Our Amuse Bouche was Chestnut Mushroom Cappuccino with Vanilla Foam, Truffle Oil and Parmesan crisp pieces and I grinned happily, thinking that my luck for double portions would be in – you all know The Man has an aversion to Mushroom. Served in pretty teacups, we all took a moment to appreciate their beauty before starting to slurp (in my case!) the cups’ contents. All of us loved the light Vanilla foam; it was delicate on the palate and allowed the character of the finely blended Chestnut Mushroom to shine in the mouth. A splash of Truffle oil added oomph to the flavour profile and the Parmesan crisp bounced brightly. To my absolute dismay, His Nibs had taken a tentative sip and discovered that he actually really liked this; no seconds for me, then – boo, hiss.
One hit I can take, but two; surely my luck was in with the Fish course? Crispy Skinned Salmon (and a beautifully large piece at that!) was served with Ruby-esque cubes of Pickled Watermelon at the plates’ edge, nestled on a bed of sweet Tomato Confit and topped with verdant fronds of Samphire. There was no way The Man was going to eat that...except he did, the swine!! I can’t fault him though; the Salmon was cooked to perfection, revealing the moistness of the flesh and its subtle taste, and partnered with the crisp notes of the Samphire, the pickled Watermelon and the tempering sweetness of Tomato, this made for a superb dish.
The beauty of having a private Chef is that you can tailor the menu to your party’s requirements; ours had an allergy and an intolerance to deal with, both of which Ash took in his stride. All of us tucked into pan-roasted Fillet Beef Medallions next, apart from one person who was served with Chicken Supreme. Both varieties came with Candied Shallot, Fondant Potato and were topped with Mushroom Duxelles (which His Nibs demolished in double-jig time). Again, Chef had nailed the presentation of all our meals and the flavours were just sublime! A couple of guests commented on how much they enjoyed the Candied Shallot - simple but effective - and the Fondant Potato had that wonderfully ultra-fine crisp outer that, when cut into, showed itself to be superbly seasoned. Although the Mushroom Duxelles was meant to partner the Fillet Beef, it did also go really well with the Chicken Supreme and we all succumbed to its dark, earthy charm.
We consider ourselves truly blessed to have a remarkable circle of friends and although we couldn’t invite them all, we did toast Mr and Mrs TreeHugger as we broke open the bottle of Sancerre that they had given to The Man Bird for his birthday earlier in the year; always in our thoughts guys, even when we’re not together. Along the way, bottles of Chardonnay, Malbec and the Millstone Solaris white from Amber Valley Wines got cracked open, so we were sort of having our own wine flight with the tasting menu...albeit a totally mis-matched, hit ‘n’ miss one – we all enjoyed it though, which was what the evening was all about.
To cleanse our palates properly and prepare us for the dessert was the pre-dessert morsel, Campari and Orange Sorbet. There’s no denying that Campari is an acquired taste; its bitter tones wallop you straight in the mush, waking up those taste buds from their pre-prandial slumber like any good aperitif is meant to do! Personally, I love the stuff and its gentler cousin, Aperol, so I knew what was to come but one of my guests wasn’t prepared for its ardour and pulled the funniest, gurning face I’ve ever seen: where is your camera when you need it most? I could’ve earned £250 on ‘You’ve Been Framed’ or whatever it’s called now Harry Hill presents it! Campari has notes of Orange, Cherry, Clove and Cinnamon within it so it would clearly harmonise with the Orange Sorbet served with it in a stylish glass, and the sorbets’ sweetness was the perfect balance to it.
With our palates efficiently cleansed, Elise removed the empty glasses and returned with generous dishes of Autumnal Eton Mess. Now, I will admit that my heart sank when I read this on the menu; I love Meringue, it doesn’t love me. At all. His Nibs was rubbing his hands together gleefully, like Scrooge about to take every last penny off some poor unsuspecting soul, at the thought of having double helpings of one of his fave desserts. Mother Karma was clearly thinking “not on my watch, sunshine”, taking pity on the fact that I had been cruelly denied double helpings not once, but twice, and she had directed Chef’s hand in the design of his sweet course.
At the bottom of our bowls was an assortment of autumn berries and coulis that was layered with an indulgently rich, thick cream concoction and topped with large pieces of Meringue that I could simply remove and enjoy the rest of the dessert. All of us enjoyed the balance of the sharp, tart berries and the gorgeously silky cream. I decided to play nicely and passed my Meringue round the table to The Man; see I am a good wifey....sometimes!
His Nibs had set the coffee machine away brewing as Elise deftly cleared the table, and poured the hot liquid into cups as she returned with the Petit Fours: a platter of fine Cocoa-dusted Chocolate and Orange Truffles. The truffles might have been the smallest item we’d had all evening, but by crikey, they packed an intense flavour punch on the palate that provided the perfect conclusion to our wonderful feast. Even better, there were dinky pieces of orange embedded within the decadent ganache – yum, yum and yummier!
As promised by Project Dinner Party, there was literally no clearing away or washing up left for us; Elise and Ash took care of it all and came through to say goodbye before they left. All The Man Bird and I had to do was keep the drinks and conversation flowing, not a problem when we’re with our friends. His Nibs channelled his inner Tom Cruise and shook the cocktail shaker to make Long Island Iced Teas, Cosmopolitans and Espresso Martinis!
Our friends were heaping praise on us for a superb evening but in all honestly, the credit belonged to Ash (and his mad Chef talents!) and the lovely Elise who ensured his creations arrived to us in tip-top condition. Project Dinner Party offers a wide range of menu options and can cater for larger groups than ours; they also supply all the cutlery, crockery and linens, though we opted to use our own cloths and napkins. All Chefs have Rosette- awarded restaurant experience and have honed their craft in the very best establishments. You don’t have to have the Tasting Menu that we had; there are lots of options to choose from: a more conventional Dinner Party, Afternoon Tea, or perhaps a BBQ, Buffet or Breakfast is more your thing?
Whatever you want, Project Dinner Party can accommodate you; as a general guide, 3 course dinner parties start from £45.95 per person, an 8 course Tasting Menu will cost from £95 pp, BBQ’s are from £25 pp, Afternoon Teas from £19 pp, and a Buffet will cost upwards of £15 pp. You can also have cocktails or wine to pair with your menu! There is a £60 charge on all bookings as well as the per person price, so to find the perfect, bespoke package for you give George a buzz on 07802 700092 or visit the website www.projectdinnerparty.co.uk
Hot Wings happily given to this great company and personal thanks to Chef Ash and Elise, our server extraordinaire. Thank you, George for inviting us to sample your services and food; everyone had a wonderful evening!
***All prices correct at time of publishing ***
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