The first Full As An Egg supper club, March 17th

A Thursday night mid-March and a beautiful house in Knowle were the setting for the inaugural Full As An Egg supper club, hosted by food blogger Sally (author of Plein Comme Un Oeuf). We had seen the menu in advance that had been prepared by chef Tim Moores from Redland restaurant Moreish and knew we were in for a treat. I’ll mostly let the photos speak for themselves…

The setting was an intimate dining room, with places laid for 8 diners, many of whom on the first night were friends and family…

Place settings were adorned with fresh flowers and handwritten name cards, which was a lovely touch!

A six course menu was on the agenda for the evening…but we didn’t leave feeling uncomfortably full at the end of the night. Tim had done a good job to ensure that the menu was a combination of lighter and heavier dishes, and the portion sizes were perfect. The lack of potatoes/rice/pasta was also refreshing – I think we would have struggled otherwise!

Our pre-starter was a little china cup of spicy tomato and coconut soup, topped with a coconut and cashew sambal – a spicy relish normally served as a side dish. Beautiful flavours and the spices had my mouth watering in anticipation of the next course!

A ramekin of chicken liver parfait, topped with a red wine and port jelly was served with pickles, and toasted sourdough made by baker-in-the-making John Dixon, who is aiming to launch his own Bristol-based artisan bakery in the next few months. The parfait was incredibly smooth and rich, and I’m ashamed to say that I left a little of it so I could fit all of the next courses in!

Our fish course served well as a palate cleanser thanks to the freshness of the flavours: orange-cured salmon with avocado (both sliced and pureed), an orange and fennel salad and an orange dressing. Lovely and light – I’ve never thought of combining orange and salmon before, but all plates were quickly emptied.

Our main was roasted breast of duck, served on a bed of pickled cabbage. The duck was served with a shallot tatin and shallot puree, and drizzled with a spiced jus. Great combination of flavours, the tatin in particular was lovely, with whole shallots on the top and thin slices underneath.

Before dessert itself, we were served a pre-dessert of individual, mini roasted rhubarb trifles. The way trifle should be: soft and tart fruit, boozy sponge at the bottom, and a good thick creamy top layer…made even more exciting by the hidden popping candy under the hundreds and thousands!

I was getting a little full by this point, but still managed to polish off the majority of the dessert, which contained one of my favourite sweet ingredients: salted caramel. A thick layer of the stuff coated the bottom of individual Kilner jars, and was then topped with a rich chocolate mousse and chunks of honeycomb. Absolutely amazing – and the only course host Sally didn’t think she’d be able to try as they were individually made! Luckily one diner didn’t finish hers so this was quickly handed over 🙂

For only a £25 suggested donation per head, the quality and the presentation were outstanding. Full marks to host Sally and chef Tim for an amazing evening – I’m so glad I managed to get in on the debut night! Sally’s not announced future dates yet, but make sure you keep an eye out for when she does, either via her blog or through her Twitter feed. You’d be a fool to miss out on this one!