Day 5 - Celebration

My fourth contribution to the Mini Challenge is "Celebration". This is the Champagne ice bucket in the comfortable reception area of Simpsons.

No - I wasn't celebrating any particular occasion but I had gone for a wonderful lunch at probably my absolute favourite restaurant in Birmingham. Simpsons, in Edgbaston, won a Michelin star or two and has managed to avoid the astronomical prices that usually follow (well, for the set lunch anyway).

I went along with a good friend who is also a fan of "MasterChef" and we discussed the final and sampled a really imaginative and interesting menu.
The "amuse bouche" was a "deconstructed cauliflower cheese" - which looked like a strip of cappucino in a small glass. I'm not totally swept away by this kind of cuisine. It was pleasant but did raise for me the question "why". A lot of work had gone into this rather posey experiment.

My starter was stunning - crab, with smoked salmon and caviar and various skilled smudges of things like avocado puree.

My choice of main course was the most perfect cod I have ever tasted.
Cod with Indian spices and yellow dahl, with caulilflower florets three ways
Cooked in a water bath (of course), it was so delicate and absolutely perfect.

Pre-dessert was a "deconstructed tarte tatin" - a smudge of apple bits in a sauce with a bit of biscuit. Nice but again, it didn't set my world alight.

My dessert was pure theatre.
Turron
This was how it arrived, looking like a Christmas tree decoration (or a Wesley Bob as we learned they are called in Yorkshire). The charming waiter poured the sauce - hot raspberry etc - and it completely melted away instantly....

Petit fours
Double espresso
And some peanuts coated in peanut butter and then dipped in Valrhona chocolate dust !!!!!!!!

Well, perhaps it was a celebration - a celebration of brilliant cookery techniques.