Blindtasting in Fenn's Quay

Wow, what a night. 21 people came together on Tuesday night and had a fabulous time. The food was outstanding and friendships have been formed. Headchef and owner of Fenn's Quay, Kate Lawlor' has put a lot of time and effort in creating this wonderful menu for us. She took inspirations from Heston Blumenthal's at Home cookbook.

Home-smoked salmon

That Kate loves cooking is no secret if you have ever been in Fenn's Quay. An un-pretentious restaurant with excellent food. And Kate and her team proved to be the right choice for our blindtasting. The menu was interesting, balanced, creative, attractive and absolutely yummylicious. Every item on the menu was prepared directly on the premises - from the brioche to the smoked salmon. Yes, Kate cured and smoked her own salmon with Jasmine tea.... sounds odd - go and try it for yourself. The salmon was delicious, soft and delicate. Kate promised that she will cure and smoke all her salmon now, so you can find it on the fish platter. Attention to detail was outstanding and every dish coming out of the kitchen looked as handsome as the quality of the dish deserved.

Butternut Squash Soup

It was a pleasure to see the enjoyment of the guests. People who have never met before, chatted away like old friends - new friendships have been formed and it warmed my heart to see that food can bring people together. The tables were laid out to support the convivial feel of the evening and it worked perfectly. The chatter was hard to interrupt to announce the next course.

Eating with your eyes closed is a new experience and you need to use your smell, taste and touch instead of your eyes. It is more difficult than you think - textures can be the same in fish & meat, smell can be different for the same dish etc.
The wine served with the dinner was Pinot Noir 2010 Moreau & Fils for red and Waterside unoaked Chardonnay 2010 from South Africa for white.

The menu

• Chicken Liver Parfait on toasted Brioche with a caramel chard
• Jasmine tea home smoked salmon with goatsbridge caviar, pickled cucumber & creme fraiche
• Butternut Squash Soup with hazelnut & rosemary powder
• Beef Tagletelli with rocket & parmesan, lemon dressing, horseradish & pomme puree
• Shot of pimms topped with cucumber foam
• Goats Cheese with olives and honey crumble
• Lemon tart with mascarpone cream and popping candy

Chicken Liver Parfait

Butternut Squash Soup

Beef Tagletelli

Shot of Pimms with Cucumber Foam

Lemontart

Kate & Sarah

If you are drooling right now - understandable. The food was outstanding and the service was brilliant. A big thank you to Kate and her team - well done guys