Cook It! Food Lab

And now for the science bit … ah, science be jiggered – this was artistry pure and simple!

I was hopeless when it came to sciences at school. I had no grasp of physics, and although better at chemistry (well, in a way it is much like baking cakes) I was banned from the lab because my hair was declared to be a fire hazard.

When I saw the proposal for Food Lab I was at once excited and scared. In recent years, the amount of science in the food world has gone a bit crazy, what with fluid gels and spherification; what a load of b…
In truth, some of it leaves me pretty cold, and I get most excited when dining at the deft hands of a chef who understands flavours and how they work together.

When it came to the event I am delighted to say that flavour was king, and although there was some evidence of science, enough to justify the word ‘lab’, there was more evidence of artistry that demanded the word ‘studio’.

We started with a stunning dish from Alun Sperring of Chilli Pickle who had been paired with Ridgeview sparking English wines; pairing chefs with producers was the name of the game, and this paring gave us a ripping start with a Pondicherry seafood curry, pancake of rice flour batter fermented with the wine, a spicy fried oyster and shot of the fizz with mango and ginger. Simply breathtaking, delicious, and setting the bar precariously high.

Matty Bowling of Terre à Terre maintained that height with his cappucino of oyster mushrooms, sultana and pine nut bun and pickled Jerusalem artichoke. Working with the Espresso Mushroom Company paid dividends in this fine dish.

Jimmy Gray, of Jeremy’s of Borde Hill, stunned us with a piece of brill marinated in Sarah Thompson’s impressive Blackdown gin. Jimmy gave us some science, but not in a scary way, and his presentation was exquisite. Again the bar held high.

Next was patissiere Julien Plumart working with David Deaves of La Cave a Fromage.

I expected something heavenly, and I got it.

A stunning melted blue brie on toasted brioche, a crisp tart of savoury pastry filled with aged balsamic stewed autumn fruits, and a mind blowingly good blue cheese ice cream, all topped off with an architectural shallot crisp.

It was clear that there would be only one winner – and that was the audience

Desserts next, from Seb Cole of Boho Gelato teamed with Sarah Payne from Cocoa Loco, two of my favourite sweetie makers. A rose chocolate cup was filled with a sorbet of Ridgeview rose with a hint of rose oil, and coupled with a beetroot, blackberry and liquorice sorbet, and a Cocoa Loco ice cream filled chocolate brownie sandwich that left all other brownies in the shade. It was amazing to eat, but suffered a little from the intense heat in the confines of the small but perfectly formed 64 Degrees, who acted as hosts.

Finally, Michael Bremner of 64 Degrees had teamed up with Edmund Jenner of Harvey’s Brewery, in what might have been the hardest match. Especially as Michael chose to go sweet with a fluffy cake, malt caramel, hop sugar tuille and malt ice cream float in a coupe of Harvey’s Russian Imperial Stout.

A real show stopper.
Guests were asked to vote for each course across three categories, but by the end of the afternoon it was clear that there would be only one winner – and that was the audience. As we sat around groaning with delight, the word at the pass was that this was the meal of a lifetime. Seriously great produce put together by seriously great chefs with no down points what-so-ever.

I have been writing about food now for over 20 years, and I can number on one hand the meals that matched, or even came close, to this experimental event.

Food Lab was a winner, and I have little doubt that Brighton and Hove Food & Drink Festival will be repeating the experiment again and again. I suspect that food lovers will be fighting for tickets, and chefs and producers fighting to take part. Watch this space.

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