Andrew Kay: Cook it!
Photos: Julia Claxton
Gourmet delights at a Brighton and Hove Food & Drink Festival event
Three’s company
Autumn harvest has to be my favourite foodie time of the year, and what better way to celebrate than with three of my favourite Brighton chefs. Hosted by Drakes Hotel in their stylish restaurant, we started the evening with a great G&T made with Sarah Thompson’s delicious Sussex Blackdown Gin; my kind of a drink every day of the week.
Down in the dining room the guests were seated at large sociable tables. This was a sharing event, sharing the joy of great seasonal food, and pretty soon the room was buzzing with animated conversation, only punctuated by the arrival of a clear chicken and vegetable consomme. Perfection – crystal clear, packed with flavour and a delicious start, as were the selection of bread rolls hot from the kitchen.
Chef number one was Rob Carr, a senior member of the Hotel du Vin Bistro team on a regional basis. He revisited his International Chef Exchange starter, this time giving us two scotch quail’s eggs with a curry mayonnaise. It was a hearty start to the evening and one that went down extremely well.
Rob’s dish was served with a glass of Ridgeview Fitzrovia presented by Mardi Roberts, a member of the Ridgeview family team. This fine sparkler was served to Barack Obama on his last state visit to the UK, and Ridgeview wines were served at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations – hardly surprising, as they win medals across the globe.
Drakes’ very own chef Andrew MacKenzie was in charge of the main course, and he too took inspiration from his ICEx dinner with a main course of veal rump and sweetbread which he served with perfect turnips and a chanterelle spätzle that had me smacking my lips with pleasure. MacKenzie can always pull it out of the bag, but this dish was exceptional. With this we drank a great red from the Rhone Valley presented by Paul Milne of Enotria, a recent sponsor of the food festival.
Onward to dessert – this time, it was the turn of new star chef Michael Bremner, whose restaurant 64 Degrees was voted in at number 36 in the National Restaurant Awards after only being open for seven months. Not that any of us were suprised by this; far from it. Michael and his amazing team have been stunning us with fine dishes since day one, and right now it is one of the hottest restaurants, not only here in Brighton but across the South East. Michael opens his new 64 Degrees in London’s Pimlico this month, and I wish him the very best of luck.
For dessert he made us a dish inspired by the chef that he swapped with for ICEx – a vanilla panacotta, blood orange and cake confection that was delicious. It was an homage to chef Bas Oonk of Basaal in Den Haag, and I was lucky enough to have him and his wife Loes at my table as guests of the festival.
Enotria treated us to a delicious sparkling white, this time sweeted with a dosage of ice wine, which was an extraorinarily delicious fizz with a delicate, perfumed sweetness.
We finished with a platter of fine Sussex cheeses presented by David Deaves of La Cave a Fromage, and a glass of elderberry port, again from Sarah Thompson.
All in all, a stunning meal in good company, each course punctuated with a post-dish interview with the chef and wine maker, or presenter. I left deliciously satisfied, if a little tired from my thoroughly enjoyable hosting duties.
If you would like to know more about future Brighton and Hove Food & Drink Festival activities, visit: brightonfoodfestival.com
Participating restaurants:
Hotel du Vin Bistro, 2–7 Ship Street, Brighton, BN1 1AD, 01273 718588 / www.hotelduvin.com
The Restaurant At Drakes,43–44 Marine Parade, Brighton, BN2 1PE, 01273 696934
www.therestaurantatdrakes.co.uk
64 Degrees, 53 Meeting House Lane, Brighton, BN1 1HB, 01273 770115 / www.64degrees.co.uk
La Cave a Fromage, 34-35 Western Rd, Hove, BN3 1AF, 01273 725500 / www.la-cave.co.uk
www.ridgeview.co.uk
www.blackdowncellar.co.uk
www.enotria.co.uk
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