Review round-up - April / May / June 2014

As i'm sure is the case for most people, I find myself eating out several times a week - often just a quick check in at places to prioritise whether they're worth going back to for a full review or should be written off altogether. Some of these quick bites don't warrant a full blog post but are still worth discussing, so below is a journey through various smaller meals or snacks out i've had over the past few months.

Fu-Schnickens - Street food from Leeds
Popped down to the northern heats of the British Street Food Awards at the back of Granada Studios which was pleasantly busy early evening. A well laid out venue for this type of event, with traders spaced out around the courtyard outside and an indoor bar area. I'd eaten from most of the vendors before and was in a rush so headed straight for Fu-Schnickens as there'd been a fair bit of hype about their steamed buns on Twitter ahead of the event. I tried a couple of the pressed pork belly pork steamed buns - the buns themselves were fairly disappointing in all honesty, they were very small and too doughy for me. Size wise they were certainly smaller than similar style buns i've had from Yum Bun and Bao before in the UK. In terms of filling the pork was good and sufficiently tender and the carrot and mooli added some needed crunch but the sauce was so incredibly salty it almost completely overwhelmed the flavours.
Yum Bun and Bao have been successful in London for a while now and in a straight comparison this was a smaller portion of worse quality food for a higher price. I'm used to waiting on street food but over 15 minutes for these buns was really pushing it, I saw a guy that'd cracked a book open to start reading he'd been waiting so long. Pretty underwhelming stuff overall.

Yuzu - China Town, Manchester
I popped into Yuzu for lunch on a miserable Friday needing some hot food to pep me up for the afternoon and immediately knew I'd made a good choice - the room is fairly small, with space for around 40 covers and it's a great looking place, retaining a Japanese theme throughout decorated with bottles of sake and with wooden benches and seats at different angles to make the best possible use of the space. I started with the chicken kara-age - deep fried chicken thighs, still piping hot and just full of flavour. The ponzu sauce on the side added a lovely light citrus edge. Definitely no exaggeration to say these went straight into the top 10 things I've eaten this year.
For my main I had the prawn goyza lunch which came with rice, miso and cucumber. All accompanied with a Hitcahino Nest Ginger Brew from Kiuchi Brewery, an 8%er that was worryingly potent for a lunch hour! I can't recall the last time I went in with little to no expectations like this and was so utterly impressed by a place - i've been raving about it ever since to anyone that'll listen to my ramblings. I've already been back to dig into their offering further and the quality of food across the menu seems to be similarly high, Yuzu is definitely one of the finest restaurants i've been to in Manchester and is wholeheartedly recommended.

Panchos Burritos - Arndale Market, Manchester
The Arndale market is a hidden gem for street food type fare for lunches, whilst not the most visually appealing place to spend time there are some solid food options tucked away if you take the time to investigate. The one place I find myself going back to time and time again is Pancho's Burritos. It's very difficult to miss in the Arndale as despite the food court having around 20 food stalls, Pancho's actually occupies two. It does confuse me slightly why you'd ever have two of the same still in spitting distance of each other but I'd imagine this is down to the good reputation they've build up and the popularity they always seem to have small queues at most times of the day. On this occasion I had the new lamb burrito to take away, and as ever it was all prepared with the same attention as usual - generously stuffed with meat, cheese, guacamole and beans. It's cracking value for lunch - with a main, tortillas and drink for £6.

Bold Street Coffee - Liverpool

I feel a little bad for Bold Street Coffee as I went here after I'd been Baltic Bake so was on a high from finding a new favourite so it was up against it to impress me before I'd even wandered in. A fairly typical third wave coffee shop inside with the usual white walls, classic wood tables and art prints on the walls. As you'd hope, the coffee is taken ultra seriously and as a result it's definitely not a place to drop into if you're in a rush. I had a 10 minute wait for a coffee here and there was only a couple of people in the queue in front of me which pushed my patience slightly but I can't argue with the quality of the final product. I had a sandwich to takeaway for the train home and went with the vegan option of the day which was "garam masala hummus" with carrot, raisins and pea shoots. The masala was extremely mild but worked well with the savoury flavours from the hummus. The carrot and pea shoots added some much needed crunch. Overall a decent experience and if I found myself in Liverpool with some time to kill it'd be high on my list of places to sit off in.

Mughli - Manchester
This was my second time at Mughli and it definitely delivered on all fronts, no niggles with service at all on this occasion. I started with the sweet potato chips which seem to be popping up everywhere at the moment - these were flavoured with a hit of chilli and lemon though which worked really well with the sweetness of the potato. The deep fried Halloumi Menander on their own were fairly flavourless but the mild fruity dipping sauce bought everything together. Farfars were great, this time I was fully prepared for the chilli and enjoyed them all the more for that knowledge. The lamb keema samosas kept the high standard, perfectly formed crispy outer and lovely flavoured lamb tucked away inside.
Really this was all just build up to the main of the mixed grill which was just fantastic, the generous serving of mixed meats all sat on top of a lightly toasted pitta. The show stopper was the lamb chop, up there with Tayyabs in London for me. By the time I'd worked my way through the meats the bread was soaked with spice and fat and grease but held together so it was still edible and not just a big dish of mush. Such a great idea and whilst I dread to think how bad it was for me it was absolutely delicious.

Manchester Central Library
I visited the extremely impressive new Central Library on opening day (and on numerous occasions since) and immediately noticed the cafe just the other side of the main lobby. Needing a break from the office and somewhere peaceful to spend the afternoon, I headed down and took the opportunity to grab some lunch and see what the food offering was like.
It's a fairly standard cafe layout, collect a tray and grab whatever food you fancy from the counter - sandwiches are either in supermarket style triangle packets or larger ciabattas that come accompanied with a couple of sides. On this occasion I went for the cumbrian ham and smoked cheddar ciabatta with Lancashire tomato chutney and baby spinach which I had served with vegetable crisps and a 'crispy side salad'.
The sandwich was good, the ham and cheese were fine and the tomato chutney gave a real tang to the sandwich. I have a weakness for vegetable crisps and these were heavy on the parsnip and light on the beetroot but made sense as a side along with the slightly watery coleslaw side salad. The generous slab of carrot cake was also decent - the sponge was moist and packed with raisins and carrot and plenty of icing. The sandwich with sides plus the cake and a strong black coffee it came to a shade under £10 which i'd say was slightly pricey but the ambience in the cafe was pleasant and i'd definitely return.
I've also been in for breakfast and had the yogurt and granola which certainly didn't scrimp on the topping and was an enjoyable and filling way to start the day for a couple of quid.

Home Sweet Home - Manchester
Finally enjoyed the Home Sweet Home 'signature bake' - the apple pies baked inside a cake. The amount of calories this must contain is terrifying, The pie was a sweet pastry Mr Kipling style pie with those ultra sweet pieces of apple and the thick rich apple sauce all baked within a sponge cake baked to the usual high standards of Home Sweet Home. The thick red icing (just look at how much there is in the middle!) and various sweets on top all added to a pretty ultimately over the top brilliant cake. They tweeted me afterwards mentioning that they sell these cakes whole if you order in advance, what a treat that'd be.

Penelopes Kitchen - Media City, Manchester
I went over to the Imperial War Museum for the morning and had a quick wander around Media City to see what was about. I noticed a board advertising Penelope's and recognised the name from Twitter so decided to drop in and see what they could offer me for brunch. Easily up there with one of the finest decisions I made that week, the menu had plenty of great sounding food on it and I treated myself to their bacon pancakes. It came as a stack of four nicely sized light pancakes, with a rasher of bacon hidden in the middle all covered in lashings of maple syrup and with tiny crunchy bacon pieces covering the top - all held in place with a skewer to stop the mountain of food collapsing. It was a fantastic plate of food, all the individual parts were just as you'd want them and it worked together really really well - definitely up there with the best brunches in the city in my view. I also had a coffee, which was traditional diner style filter - I was given a cup and could have as many top ups as I wanted (a dangerous game to play).
Penelope's is fairly well hidden away but well worth tracking down, if this was my work canteen i'd be the size of a house by Christmas. There was nothing about Penelope's I didn't enjoy, it's a great place to sit and spend time - the canteen is decked out with all sorts of random props and lights that look like they've been donated by studios. There's even a huge map where they list the various ingredients and which local supplier they come from. I did see some chat recently about possibly opening on weekends, in the meantime i'll have to wait until my next trip to Media City in the week where I fully intend to eat my way through as much of the menu as possible.

Meatwagon - Trinity Kitchen, Leeds
Receiving a text message saying "The Meatwagon is in Leeds!" is a pretty great way to start any day. I've been having a not so secret love affair with MeatLiquour burgers since they opened their first temporary restaurant in New Cross and started this entire burger craze over the past few years.
They were serving a super stripped down menu with a choice of three burgers and no sides or drinks. I had a dead hippie and it was just as great as the first one I ever had, the mustard fried patties just heaving with flavour and fatty grease. I could honestly sit and eat these all day if my body would let me without giving in on itself and the good news is this was just a taster ahead of them opening a place in Leeds permanently so i'll soon have the chance to eat these magnificent burgers again on the regular. I foresee plenty of trips on the Trans-Pennine Express in my near future.

Duck and Waffle bar, Heron Tower - London
Despite the fact I was living in London when it opened, I have to shamefully admit that this was my first trip to Duck and Waffle. The bar and restaurant live on the top floors of the Heron Tower, I know someone that works there and constantly argues that it's the tallest building in London at 40 floors - the shard doesn't count as it's "south of the river". Londoners, sigh. The journey up to the 38th floor in a glass lift on the outside of the building is alone worth making a visit to Duck and Waffle - some of the views are just breathtaking.
This trip was sandwiched in between lunch at Antidote and an evening meal at A Wong so I didn't get stuck too heavily into the snack menu but did enjoy a tray of oysters and an ox's cheek doughnut as well as a Marmite black velvet (champagne, Guiness reduction plus Marmite). I'm an absolute fiend for Marmite so couldn't resist the latter, it was really odd drinking boozy Marmite at first but after the initial oddness it became really enjoyable. Oysters were generously sized and came with the typical sides to add flavour. The ox cheek doughnut was the real winner in all of this, a generous fat round ball of dough rolled in spicy paprika sugar and served with a pot of apricot jam for dunking. The ox cheek hidden away in the centre was juicy and tender with a little kick of heat to it, combined with the soft doughy body of the doughnut and warming outer sugar it all worked together perfectly.

Kimchi Princess - Berlin
I'd had Kimchi Princess on a list of places to try in Berlin the last few times I'd visited but a;ways never made it somehow. I'm glad to have finally made the effort.
I had the Bibimbap for my main, which was the first time I'd enjoyed the Korean classic so I can't categorically state whether it was a strong example or not but I enjoyed it very much. A deep bowl filled with various elements including rice, marinated beef, various traditional vegetables and with a perfectly ripe to burst fried egg sat on top. There was chilli and kimchi also hidden away which added some deeper heat flavours to the whole dish.
I also had a side of 'Sexy Chicken' wings, which I felt like an idiot asking for but was worth that pain. 6 chicken wings in perfect crispy batter and with soy garlic sauce poured over, the remainder of the sauce pooled in the bottom of the bowl for dipping as I went along. The chicken was really well flavoured and this made a great side, great value for a few Euros.
Bizarrely the side of kimchi I ordered was probably the weakest part of the meal - I love kimchi and could sit and eat it all day with no fear for how much I'm going to stink later as a result. This was nowhere near as strong tasting or foul smelling as I'd hoped for, I still polished it off but wish it'd had more of a kick to it. 

Kosmonaut - Manchester
I ended up in Kosmonaut early evening on one of those "let's have a few drinks" days that turns into a right session and I'll be honest by the we left the bar and grabbed a table I needed carbs pretty badly so looked for the heaviest sounding item I could find on the many. I've read numerous negative comments about the pizzas in Manchester aside from Honest Crust, who have disappointingly decided to settle in Altrincham rather than the city (at least they'll be easier to track down now!). So I start this review with a disclaimer that I was 6-7 beers deep by this time but this Neopolitan pizza (with the traditional toppings of anchovies, capers and black olives) accompanied with a half of Brooklyn summer ale was absolutely banging. It came with a nice thin crust, charred on the edges and cooked well enough throughout that it held together and didn't get soggy in the middle. It was clearly less than a minute out of the oven as it was served as the cheese was still in that perfect moment whereby it's hotter than the sun and dribbles everywhere as you try to pull slices away from the pizza. I really enjoyed this and will definitely head back sober in the future to try again and check out the wider menu. As a quick side I also had one of my favourite beers so far of the year in here, Wu-Gang Chops the Tree by Pressure Drop. A pale, light and fresh herby wheat beer - absolutely cracking and worth hunting down if you're a beer fan.

North Tea Power - Manchester
I'd been craving cold press coffee since I had one at The Barn in Berlin early spring and as soon as NTP tweeted they were working on some I was watching closely for them to perfect the recipe and get them bottled. Their take on the cold brew was spot on, I was impressed that it came in what has to be one of the coolest looking bottles I've seen all year. It was served over ice and tasted exactly how I was hoping, like a chilled strong black coffee with well controlled sweetness so the proper coffee flavours were the focus. It was certainly a very intense hit of coffee. I also had a toasted reuben, I know I had a slight whinge about my experience last time with take out but I have no complaints at all this time, not even the wonky tables could get me down. Definitely my favourite spot to sit off on a summers day at the moment, I hope they keep the cold brews coming.

Beef and Pudding - Manchester
So I did it, I finally did it - I rounded up 3 unsuspecting friends and convinced them that we HAD to order and defeat the Manchester Meet head on. For those not in the know, the Manchester Meet  is a giant beef rib joint that weighs in at a 'minimum' of 7lb (approx 3.2kg) and comes served with sides of peas, carrots and beef dripping chips. I can definitely confirm that this was the first time my main has arrived accompanied with a full sized carving knife! Fortunately I had the common sense to be sat with an ex-chef who carved it pretty successfully and saved us having to hack away at it like Neanderthals. The best thing about this whole meal was that the meat was so well flavoured that at no point did it start to get bland - from the perfectly charred edges through to the beautiful red meat and fat in the middle it was a never-ending joy to eat. Aside from the ribs it was pretty much all meat with a perfect layer of fat throughout. I'll be honest, we almost broke towards the end and didn't manage to finish, the unexpected delivery of a top-up of chips half way through was pretty brutal but we powered through - the unlimited sauces (Béarnaise, au poivre and 'proper gravy') definitely helped me a whole lot. The plan was to go on for a night out afterwards but we were all utterly ruined and just needed to drink a lot of water and feel very sorry for ourselves.
The highlight was the waiter mentioning that we were the first table he'd seen that had actually finished one. On that basis I'm proud to report, that in the battle of Hunger Jams vs food: Hunger Jams won.

  

Lunya - Liverpool

I decided to leave the confines of Manchester city centre for the evening and took a short train journey to visit Lunya in Liverpool. It sits just on the outskirts of the Liverpool One shopping centre and consists of a deli, restaurant and bar. The deli is absolutely jam packed with cheeses, wines, hams, pates and spanish beers and that's just scratching the surface - i've included a few photos down at the bottom to show off some of the range. The other half of the downstairs area of the restaurant features a bar along with a few smaller tables to enjoy food and upstairs is a large dining room area. It's a pretty much perfect setup and all fits together really well, they even have a seating area outside which is cracking if the rain ever lets up for a moment.  

The owners are clearly not short of ideas to keep the customers coming, hosting a regular series of special event nights such as suckling pig roasts, sherry tasting, ham carving and the 'Tastes of the Sea - Gourmet seafood night' which I attended on this visit. The concept for the evening was "a specially prepared gastronomic menu reflecting the influences of the sea in modern Spanish cuisine" with a "tour of the coastlines of Spain with a take on classics and some wonderful new recipes showcasing fabulous ingredients". They'd certainly set themselves one hell of a high target to hit with that brief.

This evening they had arranged two long banquet style tables against the far wall upstairs to keep everyone close together. This really helped aid the introducing of each course by the chef and owner of Lunya, Peter Kinsella who came across as exceptionally passionate about this style of food and the ingredients he'd hand selected for this menu. It was great to listen to him set the scene and then watch him scurry back into the kitchen to get on with the cooking. Each course was also accompanied by a glass of wine which is always a pleasure, each drink was introduced with a brief history lesson and an explanation as to why it'd be chosen at that stage of the meal and how it would compliment the course to follow.

"Potted Southport bay shrimp, Catalan style" - An excellent starter of potted Southport bay shrimp, main flavours of Paprika and mace. A lovely slightly gritty fatty topping with bread to dig into the potted shrimp with. It was my first taste of mace (to my knowledge) and the comparison to nutmeg definitely made sense, it added a gentle warming sensation to the dish.

"A taste of Galicia; Percebes (Gooseneck barnacles), samphire salad" - Certainly one of the strangest things i've ever eaten and a nightmare to try and describe, it was essentially a tiny stretchy tube stuffed with seawater attached to a piece of rock on one end and what looked like a dinosaur claw at the other. The chef introduced this dish advising that they're one of the most expensive ingredients he buys as human life is literally at risk due to the specific areas they can be harvested and the danger the collectors have to go through. To get into the 'meat' of the dish, I had to twist the rock from the bottom and then separate the mussel from the claw section. The tube had seawater trapped inside meaning I was getting sprayed with seawater by complete strangers, it was completely unavoidable and a lot of fun - a great talking point. The barnacle itself was delicious, a tiny very chewy piece of seafood - the water they were trapped inside had infused them with a rich salty flavour. Almost completely unique, I was left absolutely wanting more. The Percebes were accompanied with an enjoyable little side of samphire, a well seasoned bit of bulk to add to the satisfying but not filling main event.

"King prawn & mussel ravioli with langoustine bisque" - This dish consisted of a single generously sized ravioli, the twist here was that no pasta was involved as it was entirely made of prawn which had been crushed together to form an outer layer which was stuffed with seasoned mussels and a hint of tomato. Another extremely fun course and something i'd not experienced before, the prawn outer was as similarly filling as pasta but with a really meaty prawn texture. Another dish that I could've eaten a tray of and feel like I couldn't possibly have gotten bored. The giant battered langoustine and bisque would have been highlights on many menus but were completely overshadowed by the raviloi. Another fantastic plate of food.

"Crayfish, Palamos prawn and lobster fideua" - Fideua, which was introduced as another traditional Catalan dish, this was essentially paella but in this case made with Angel hair pasta instead of the traditional rice. Crayfish and lobster were cooked through the Fideua in crab stock giving it an exceptionally sweet and rich seafood flavour and it came served with a huge naturally red Palamos prawn, the background story was that these were another rare treat, this time harvested from the ocean shelf 5km off Costa Brava. A huge dollop of Alioi which certainly didn't go easy on the garlic (in a good way) mixed into the pasta to make everything lovely and creamy.

"Chocolate ganache torte with salted caramel sauce" - A delicious dark chocolate ganache torte was served as dessert, when done correctly a tart like this can be a thing of astonishing beauty and this torte was taking no prisoners. I was expecting it to have a salted caramel layer hidden away somewhere but this was actually dotted around the outside of the plate, it pulled no punches on the salt either, very much to my taste and a perfect end to the meal.

I had to rush for the last train back to Manchester so unfortunately didn't get chance to fill a shopping bag in the deli but i'll be back. I've got a dream day in Liverpool starting to line itself up - Baltic Bake, Camp and Furnace, onto Bold Street Coffee and then Lunya for an evening meal and a bag of treats would be one hell of a day. 

They do these nights every few months and they are definitely very highly recommended.

Baltic Bakehouse - Liverpool

I arrived into Liverpool on a particularly miserable Saturday morning and headed towards the Baltic Triangle on the hunt for Baltic Bake. As the heavens opened I was starting to doubt whether the trudge was going to be worth it but i'd been drooling over their photos on Twitter and Instagram for weeks and I breathed a huge sigh of relief as soon as I opened the substantial wooden door into Baltic Bake;  it was love at first sight. Freshly baked loaves line the exposed brick walls, a counter jam packed full of various pastries, with the cafe pleasantly full, buzzing with chat and with a genuinely authentic rustic feel to the place. The smell of the baking coming from the ovens in the back was heavenly. One of the best first impressions I having in a new space like this for some time and somewhere I was immediately looking forward to spending time in.

I had to show real restraint when it came to the range of cakes as the buns, croissants, tarts and loaves all looked of a very high standard. I took a window seat, ordered at the counter and the food was bought over very quickly. I had a great view to watch people drive up, pop in and grab a few loaves for the weekend and then head off. I spotted more than one child accompanied by their parents holding onto loaves as if their lives (and not just their afternoon sandwiches) depended upon it. Given Baltic Bake isn't in the most convenient location (approximately 15-20 minutes from the city centre on foot), this speaks massive volumes about the high quality on display and good reputation they've cleared earned in the city.

Food wise I ordered the following:

Granola with yogurt and banana: this was perfect, the granola was crunchy and substantial but not too sweet - the yogurt and banana bought everything together so well. 

The bacon sandwich was spot on - two thick slabs of well-buttered fresh sourdough with a generous helping of bacon and sauce.

The salted caramel chocolate tart was a thing of incredible beauty. Pastry that was so delicate it crumbled at the lightest touch of a knife, lovely warming deep chocolate with a thick layer of salted caramel at the bottom. One of the finest cakes I can remember eating.

Everything had been so good that I went back for a croissant, a decision I definitely didn't regret. Pastry was the same high standard as all of the previous treats.

This was all washed down with a large french press coffee which provided enough for two cups.

The icing on the cake was the ridiculously good value for money, the price paid felt low for the quality and amount of food received. £15 for the baked goodies, the bacon sandwich, the granola and large coffee for two and I left absolutely stuffed. My only regret was not buying a loaf or two to take away but I knew it wouldn't have made it as far as the train based on the quality of everything else I tried. I'm already planning another weekend in Liverpool just so I can make a couple of visits to Baltic Bake, you can definitely count me as a major fan.

 

Stripped Back - Ben Spalding at Camp and Furnace, Liverpool

Ben Spalding was accidentally responsible for one of my favourite meals of 2012. I'd booked for his taster menu at the John Salt in Islington before Christmas and it was cancelled at exceptionally short notice (as in the same day) which lead to an over-indulgent night in Goodman where I spent the evening drowning my sorrows with steak.

I'd been waiting to give him another chance as well as being after an excuse to head over to Liverpool and give Camp and Furnace a try, so when Stripped Back was announced I booked my tickets immediately. Wandering through what's become known as the 'Baltic Triangle' in the dark probably didn't give me the best impression of the rejuvenation that's going on but I definitely spotted a few shops that piqued my interest for another visit in the future.

With it being just that little bit out of town (ie 15 minute walk / 5 mins in a cab) I had expected it to be relatively quiet but Camp and Furnace was absolutely heaving. The venue itself is really impressive, with a small bar in the entrance before you enter an absolutely huge warehouse space lined with tables and with bars and street food vendors (it was a Food Slam night). There isn't really anywhere like it in Manchester, the recent Guerilla Eats evenings opposite Salford station are probably the closest but nowhere near as successful as this.

I didn't explore the other food options but did spot Barnhouse Bistro and Fire and Salt BBQ serving their wares. I tried a rosemary gin cocktail from one of the bars that tasted like a straight gin and tonic (so no real complaints), minus points for having to choke down a piece of rosemary that found it's way up my straw.

Back to the main reason for the visit - Ben has previously worked at numerous high end restaurants including the Fat Duck and Roganic. He takes influence from the chefs he's worked with but with very much his own twist of personality. To my slight disappointment, it dawned on me that there wasn't going to be a separate room to eat in but we'd be sat in the corner of the warehouse having a fine dining meal in the middle of an early 2000's indie / pop-punk disco. Think Blink 182, Jimmy Eat World, classic Pulp and so on. 

The concept remained the same as I'd seen advertised at the John Salt, laid out like a train route menu with each of the 'stops' being a course - being taken on a journey by the food for those that need it spelling out. As a disclaimer I should apologise that these photos aren't the greatest - I was sat in a dark corner of a warehouse between two particularly bright spotlights, far from ideal conditions for photography.

Snacks to start - pig skin with a powerful kick of the tom yum mayonnaise and 'Japanese spices' was a powerful tasting yet generally underwhelming start, the pig skin wasn't crispy enough more the consistency of a prawn cracker. Salt and Vinegar celery was much better, sharp crunchy celery filled with a very neutral tasting thick spread (I believe celery but it didn't have the harsh celery kick) and then with very tasty extremely salt and vinegery crisps.

The following bread courses were a highlight - baked sourdough following a Hackney Wild recipe, which was so fresh that steam was rising from the slices as it was served. This was accompanied on a shattered tile by some Lincolnshire Poacher cheese, mixed with oil and served with large crunchy granules of salt and sugar giving a very enjoyable sweet and savoury taste.

A second bread course was one of the more imaginative dishes of the evening and was served by the chef squirting a dollop of bread mousse onto my hand from a stainless steel cream dispenser and then being told to lick it off quickly before it broke down into a pool of liquid. A taste that I would compare to that of a thick creamy bread flavoured yoghurt.

The chef I was sat in front of had been preparing scallops for the past few minutes which was a total tease. They were served with blue cheese mousse, a wipe of nettle sauce and dotted with tiny pickled cubes of butternut squash and a taste of buttermilk. I'm a huge seafood fan and this scallop was absolutely perfectly cooked, almost melt in the mouth texture wise.

I was sat with a great view of Ben who had been preparing one of his famous dishes - the 40 ingredient salad, since the time we'd been seated and this was the next course to be served.

We were very kindly provided with a list of ingredients - 6 month cured bacon crumbs, adzuki beans, apricot, basil salt, beeswax, black death, broccoli, butter beans, cabbage oil, carrot, cracked black pepper, crispy puffed barley, dried tomatoes, farmino lettuce leaf, grape syrup, green algae powder, green apple, hazelnut praline, hemp seeds, lime zest, linseeds, miso dressing, monkey nut dust, nasturtium leaf, nutmeg, orange reduction, original beans, parsnip caramel, pickled celery, pine nuts, pinto beans, prunes, red onion jam, senla oil, sesame oil, shredded wheat, sunflower seeds, sweet corn puree, sweet potato puree, yoghurt.

This single plate was like a meal in itself with a vast array of flavours, pastes, consistencies, powders - I don't have enough adjectives to explain just how impressive a plate of food this was. Clearly incredibly well thought out and balanced, one of the most memorable courses I've eaten in the past few years.

Next up was a generous lump of goats curd filled with liquid basil, served in a hot Vimto soup and with a mound of biscuit crumbs. The savoury cheese and basil was a very odd combination with the sweet Vimto and biscuit. My first taste was overpowered by the basil and sweet amaretto biscuit but as the ingredients mixed it became a very enjoyable combination, essentially a extremely savoury cheesecake.

Cured Salmon belly in cucumber juice with preserved grapes was probably the weakest dish for me. Thick chunks of the salmon belly were mouthwatering on their own or with a slice of the grape but the cucumber juice was exceptionally sweet. My dining partner absolutely loved this one, it was certainly very refreshing - almost a pallet cleanser ahead of the desserts.

Next sub-course was a bottle of Holy Fuck sauce, made famous by The Rib Man in London was circulated for a taste - as I have a stash in the fridge at home I passed on this occasion.

Final course ahead of the desserts was pig cheek with crispy wild rice, shallots with thyme a granita with an exceptional dry flavour, almost like the after-taste of a shot of vodka.

The dessert course was titled 'Rainbow' - a very beautifully presented plate to share made up of a large smear of plum sauce and numerous dots of lemon, wasabi, sea buckthorn and orange then sprinkled with M&M's, pieces of plum and chunks of sponge cake. The sweetness of the various ingredients was very challenging with the wasabi, but overall was a pleasant combination which brought about recollections of funfair treats from my childhood.

By this stage of the meal live band karaoke had started at the far end of the room and as I'd mentioned, with it being just one giant warehouse there was nowhere to hide. I'll forever be haunted by the memories of drunken men screeching Muse covers as I ate.

So to sum it up for the money paid (£37 per person for 10 plus courses) it was exceptional value for money and I doubt I will have many meals food wise this year that I will enjoy more. Every course had it's own very strong identity and ideas but I just wish it had been at a more appropriate venue, the highly informal venue certainly made it memorable in more ways than one.

Ben Spalding - not to be missed. Camp and Furnace - I'll reserve judgement this time (but will definitely be heading back)