Dines Out: Spice Circuit
I don’t know whether this happens in other places but here in Brighton and Hove chefs play nicely together, they have bonded into a vibrant culinary community and in doing so have made our restaurant scene one of the most exciting places to eat and drink. Last week I saw one of our younger chefs take the bravest leap forward. Kanthi Thamma has made his name at the Curry Leaf Cafe but after a few years has decided that it is time for him to move on and explore new adventures in food. His new company The Spice Circuit is the result and a very excellent result it is. Having already done a few pop-ups and with many more planned, and a gastronomic tour of southern India taking place in the new year, Kanthi arranged to take over one of the city’s most exciting and lauded new restaurants, Steven Edwards’ Etch in Hove.
Steven’s style is modern British and the format is a tasting menu. The quality of his cooking saw him win the Masterchef professional trophy a few years back so Kanthi was not taking an easy option here, expectations were bound to be high.
Well no one needed to worry, Mr Thamma nailed it! Starting with a superb take on a porn star martini created by Sarah Thompson of Blackdown, we were in for an amazing meal. Kanthi adopted Mr Edwards’ style of writing a menu that simply listed two main ingredients at every stage. It worked wonderfully and after a cleansing amuse-bouche of a tiny poppadum loaded with a light salsa, we were off.
A coming of age menu from a culinary star
First some incredible crisp bread rolls, sheermal, served with a mace butter, an Indian bread that I have never seen but want to see again. Then fennel and mango, crisp pakora served elegantly on clean white plates with a sweet mango purée. Traditional and yet modern, the style of the evening was emerging. Next scallop and coriander, perfectly cooked shellfish dusted with coriander seed and served on a purple cauliflower cream and fried cauliflower florets, delicate, beautifully judged spicing and textures.
Paneer next, silky cheese and a punchy cardamom sauce, a step up in the spice stakes but again perfectly balanced. Kanthi might have created an Etch style menu but this was certainly his food.
The next dish was a rack of lamb, never the easiest cut to get right but this was perfectly cooked and tender as can be, the potato and spinach accompaniment heavenly and the brick red sauce lifting the whole to new heights.
The following star anise sorbet with buttery biscuit crumbs was a game of two halves, I loved the sorbet but didn’t feel that the biscuit worked or for that matter was needed, a small criticism and one that I soon forgot when the delicious broken rice and apple dessert arrived, now that did work, comforting and delightful. The wine flight prepared by the Etch team was stunning too with some real gems and finishing with a Chinese ice wine! This was a coming of age menu from one of the city’s culinary stars.
