A couple of weeks ago Emily and I went on a bit of a culinary adventure. Bespoke Offers, a discount site run by Barclaycard (think Groupon but much better), had teamed up with Bompas and Parr, creators of crazy food and drink experiences, to host a 200 course meal over 24 hours. Each set of 20 courses was colour themed, so we went along for the Red Party Time session, which ran from 10-12pm. Except it didn't quite.... They were running a bit late. We arrived at the venue (which also happens to be where Dragon's Den is filmed) just before 10pm, and took a seat downstairs where our glasses were kept full and we were entertained with egg healing practice (don't ask!) and trying to chop the top off a magnum of champagne with a sword. Minutes, then hours passed, our drinks were drunk and refilled, and finally, at 1am, we sat down to eat a 20 course meal. I'll talk you through what I remember, though I won't lie, three hours of drinking champagne had me slightly blurry before we even started.
We went upstairs and joined four troupers who were in it for the long run, eating 200 courses over 24 hours. Three of them were journalists, the fourth a (un)lucky competition winner. They all looked jaded, despite the in house medics' best efforts to keep them awake and able to carry on eating.
As we were there for the Red Party Time, all 20 courses were red themed. Having somewhat lost my appetite before we'd started eating (it was after midnight), I struggled to finish any of the courses, and while some of them were delicious, there were others it was easy to pass on. Also, my photos are rubbish. The whole event was being filmed, so the table was covered in spotlights, and I couldn't get a single photo that wasn't covered in shadows. But considering all the bubbles we drank, just be glad I managed to get photos at all!! And excuse the mucky tablecloth in some of the piccies, it all got a bit red!
My absolute favourite dish of the night, which I did eat all of, was the carabinero red prawn with lobster stock. The chef (Tom Whitaker for this course - he cooked the first five, then Tim Yates cooked the remaining 15 dishes) had cooked the prawn meat, but also deep fried the shell of the prawn, so we ate the entire thing, and it was absolutely delicious. The lobster sauce was delicate and light and let the prawn take centre stage.
We went upstairs and joined four troupers who were in it for the long run, eating 200 courses over 24 hours. Three of them were journalists, the fourth a (un)lucky competition winner. They all looked jaded, despite the in house medics' best efforts to keep them awake and able to carry on eating.
As we were there for the Red Party Time, all 20 courses were red themed. Having somewhat lost my appetite before we'd started eating (it was after midnight), I struggled to finish any of the courses, and while some of them were delicious, there were others it was easy to pass on. Also, my photos are rubbish. The whole event was being filmed, so the table was covered in spotlights, and I couldn't get a single photo that wasn't covered in shadows. But considering all the bubbles we drank, just be glad I managed to get photos at all!! And excuse the mucky tablecloth in some of the piccies, it all got a bit red!
My absolute favourite dish of the night, which I did eat all of, was the carabinero red prawn with lobster stock. The chef (Tom Whitaker for this course - he cooked the first five, then Tim Yates cooked the remaining 15 dishes) had cooked the prawn meat, but also deep fried the shell of the prawn, so we ate the entire thing, and it was absolutely delicious. The lobster sauce was delicate and light and let the prawn take centre stage.
