The Italian Job - RIP 3 May 2008

Chef Notes
Creamy feta, sweet grapes, sour balsamic and crunchy walnuts with a fresh hit of mint – despite the ambitious mix I think it worked. Portion size was an issue even for me! Was it a small plate or a big serving…








Chef Notes
Man-sized ravioli although could have done with a softer touch on the pastry – I really need to upgrade my rolling pin from the bottle of plonk… The pesto ricotta had the strongest and flavour and cut through the pastry. I loved the visual of the shafted tomatoes.





Chef Notes
The polenta base just wasn’t crispy enough for this to be classified a real pizza. Topping worked well with the salty caper tapenade but inexperience with bocconcini showed up in the lapse between ‘out of the oven’ to the ‘into the mouth’ phase.







Chef Notes
Where was the coffee? I think the cake needed a few hours of soaking in espresso to really lift to the next level. The combination of hazelnuts, coffee and strawberries seem naturally affiliated though and a little refinement could see this dessert really sing.

Never have I eaten so much dairy in a meal - my bones are happy. Credit to all those cows out there. Menus on the way…a Gourmands picnic….Canada…..the Carribean…. Stay Global. Keep Gobbling.