What a Feast! Comfort Eating @ The London Cooking Club

Brilliant idea by fellow Brazilian Luiz Hara, The London Foodie, who has been living in London for the last 18 years.  It’s very simple and curious concept: one house, 10* unknown guests, a themed menu consisting of 12 dishes and 12 bottles of wine to accompany them. 

* - 11th person: Luiz, 12th person: Dr. G. (the hosts)

The London Foodie (Luiz) @ Gula Magazine

From the second Luiz opened the door of his house, I knew it was going to be an enjoyable night. He made us feel very comfortable and welcome. Everything was splendidly planned.  Luiz introduces everyone, he goes through the menu over a glass of bubbly and canapés in the drawing room… we then move on to the dinning room – I never seen so many lovely cutlery in my life! The themed menu this month was 'Comfort Eating':

Canapé: 

Fresh figs and Blue Cheese by Janine

Starter:
Mini lamb meatballs with pistachio and apricot Labhne  by Razi

Soup:

Sweet Potatoes and ginger by Gill

Japanese Spicy Pork and Seafood Nabe by Luiz

Fresh Figs

Soup

Show Stopper: Japanese Nabe

Main Courses:

Dr G’s Roast Cod Surprise by Gerald - Jamie Oliver's recipe 

Roast Chicken with shallots, lemons, cloves and Lillet *(pronounced lee-lay) served with Moroccan-style carrots by Coralie

* - Lillet is a French aperitif wine. It is a blend of 85% wine and citrus liqueurs made from a variety of oranges. Lillet is matured in oak casks and available in red and white versions  

Lamb Bobotie (pronounced: Ba-boor-tea) by Tracey

Flavoured orange, prunes and apricots beef Tagine  by me!  sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds, almonds and coriander.
 

Accompaniments:

Baked Beans with smoked chilli by Elizabeth & Hugh

Green Cauliflower Cheese by Kavey and Peter  

Green Couscous by Luiz

Main Courses and accompaniments

Cheese Board:

Selection of cheeses of your choice  - all 
Deserts:

Pear and Almond Frangipane Tart – Elizabeth and Hugh

Lemon Posset – Kavey & Peter

 

Pear and almond Frangipane

Posset

Each guest brought a bottle of wine that matched their prepared dishes.

In between courses we had about 15 minutes break to clear up the table for the next dish. We moved places around the table so there was a lot of interaction. We also, team up with another guest to help out with last minute cooking and dishing out the plates. 

We eat lots; it’s supposed to be a sample portion of each dish, but there was a huge amount of food as everyone was extremely generous with their dishes.  

The night was so much fun, great company, fantastic hosts, last minute cooking, anecdotes, laughter, networking, recipes exchange, drinking and eating galore.  Needless to say,  I didn’t feel the need to eat the next day.

Last minute preparations

Lovely guests

Ahhhh...

If you would like to take part in the next feast contact Luiz @TheLondonFoodie for availability.
Thank you everyone for a fantastic experience, especially Luiz, for the invitation and welcoming hosting skills.  As Luiz would put on his reviews:

Dislikes : Nothing to dislike!

Likes: Everything!

I will be back!

For some of the recipes click here.
Have a look at Coralie's  review and lovely pictures (much better than mine!)
Thanks to Luiz for letting me use some of his images!