Strictly speaking this is not Borough connected but I wanted to share this with you anyway. A couple of weeks ago I went to an evening hosted by the Sherry Institute of Spain where the brilliant Heston Blumenthal spoke of the work he had been doing with them pairing food and sherry. I am fascinated by the way he approaches food as an overarching interlocking experience about taste and texture, scents and remembrance of things past to create pleasure but also delight. He really spreads joy about his food. My serious wish for my birthday was to be given his new Big Fat Duck Cookbook - and it was a wish fulfilled.
One of my favourites of the little dishes we sampled that night was this warm fondue of gruyere and cloves paired with fino. When my friend Andrea lived in Balham we spent many pleasant afternoons sat in her garden dipping hunks of bread into a lightly bubbling cheese fondue in the sunshine, gossiping about everything and nothing, sipping a cool glass of wine. Sampling this creation reminded me of those happy days - evoking such food memories is one of this chef's driving passions. If only we'd known to add a little ground cloves.
No comments:
Post a Comment