We most certainly had a very busy day here at One Moorgate Place, with the main course round of the Great City Chefs competition.
The theme of the day was the best of British, celebrating ICAEW Members in the United Kingdom and the ingredients definitely reflected that. The tasting began with slow confit of old Gloucester pork belly, compressed watermelon, heritage beets and baby watercress salad; a beautifully light summery dish.
Next to be presented was the Duck supreme with asparagus, triple cooked chips and an orange gel. As exquisite as it was in its presentation our guests main concern was that at a banquet guests can be particular about how their duck is cooked so it may be a bit difficult for the kitchen to cater to individual preferences. The vegetarian option for the banquet was a goat’s cheese risotto, a creamy and luxurious treat, but it may not be quite banquet worthy.
The clear winner, however, was the Roast Beef Fillet, Heritage Carrots, Summer Faro, Scottish Girolles and a thyme jus created by Edward Bolton. The star of the dish was the faro, many of our guests had never tried faro, it was a real revelation! Edward celebrated the meat itself, by delicately roasting it and mixing with robust seasonal flavours the meaty taste was brought out handsomely. The judges also felt that with the tomato starter and king crab fish course a real meaty main would sit well in the mix.
Just one more judging round to go – the dessert round, and by looking at our Instagram feed (@onemoorgate) you can see we really push the boat out with our cakes!
