Light Collective

©Sanna Fisher Payne

For a recent dinner commissioned by Light Collective for the launch of a range of high-quality LEDs with amazing colour rendering, made by Xicato. We served a five course tasting menu for thirty guests held at the mighty Castle Gibson in Stoke Newington (see Bees & Honey).

The dinner, based around the spectrum of primary colours, was preceded by amazing colour-changing cocktails, made by Robin Fegen of The Robin Collective, and served from a bar within the beautiful and dilapidated house/set adjacent to Castle Gibson.

Below are a few phone pictures from the kitchen during prep and service, followed by some much better images of the plates as they were sent out to the guests, taken by
Sanna Fisher-Payne

Prep
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Red Legged Partridges awaiting their dissection.

Salt-Curing Gilthead Bream, to be served with Beet Spray and Microherbs.

Wild Blueberries, foraged by Amy in the summer. They were destined for a Blueberry Whipped Cream.

Roasting Partridge legs and thighs before slow-braising.

An attempt to make a sheet of Broccoli stem by freezing overlapping slices. In the end they were too thick to adhere to one another.

Grading Viola Flowers for the purple dessert.

The Drinks
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The Robin Collective, and their array of colour-changing drinks. The PH Values of the cocktail ingredients were manipulated to add a magical twist to Margaritas with their "Bizarregarita' and Citron Pressé.

The Courses
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Gilthead Bream cured for ten hours in Rock Salt and Sugar, garnished with Apple Blossom and Amaranth (Scarlet Cress) Leaves. At the table a sauce of Beetroot and Cider Vinegar was  misted onto the plate from an atomiser.

For those not having fish, Flash-Pickled Beetroot and Dawn Apple Slices with garnishes as above.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Saffron infused Yoghurt, Lemon Pudding, Dehydrated Squash Crisps and Freeze-dried Yoghurt Powder.

Partridge breasts cooked en sous-vide with Cavolo Nero Purée and Partridge Jus, and Braised Leg and Thigh meat with blanched Broccoli and Cavolo Nero Tempura.

7 Hr Pork Belly, cooked en sous-vide and seared, with Mashed Blue Potatoes, Alkali-dyed Radishes, Mousseron and Chestnut Mushrooms and Medlar Purée.

Bitter Chocolate and Beetroot Torte with Wild Blueberry Whipped Cream, Viola Flowers and Parma Violet Powder.

The Menu
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(Vegetarian alternative)

  Colour-changing Cocktails
'Bizarregaritas' and Citron Pressé
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  Gilthead Bream | Beetroot | Microleaves
  Dawn Apple | Beetroot | Microleaves
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  Butternut Squash | Yoghurt | Saffron
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  Red-Legged Partridge | Cavolo Nero | Broccoli
   Jerusalem Artichoke | Chervil Root | Broccoli
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  Pork Belly | Blue Potatoes | Radish | Wild Mushroom | Medlar
  Hedgehog Mushroom | Blue Potatoes | Radish | Medlar
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  Bitter Chocolate | Beetroot | Viola

 Suppliers
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Fish
  Moxon's, Dulwich

Vegetables, Fruit, Mushrooms
  Pretty Traditional, Dulwich
  Franklin's Farmshop, Dulwich
  The National Fruit Collection at Brogdale, Kent

Microleaves
  Wild Harvest, New Covent Garden Market

Meat
  William Rose Butchers, Dulwich

Edible Flowers
  First Leaf, Pembrokeshire

Steve Wilson (The People's Kitchen) Josh Pollen, Mike Knowlden (Blanch & Shock)

Twitter
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  @blanchandshock
  @lightcollective
  @RobinRadio
  @castlegibson
  @sannafp

'Royal Jelly', Bees & Honey

Blanch & Shock were commissioned to create canapés for a fashion networking event at the amazing Castle Gibson in Stoke Newington. The food and drinks were centred on the theme of 'Bees and Honey', giving us a chance to experiment with a some new techniques and cooking with Honey, one of our favourite things...

The morning's offerings at Franklin's Farm Shop

Infusing Wildflower Honey with Alderwood Smoke with our Smoking Gun for a Pork Belly Glaze

Grated Frozen Bacon, about to be dehydrated to garnish Quail's Eggs

Mike with our epitomic soft-boiled egg. We tried three different Delia Smith recipes, all of which resulted in dry, overcooked yolks. Two minutes, forty-five seconds and an icy water bath proved perfect.

Soft-Boiled Quail's Egg with Dehydrated Bacon Powder, Maldon Salt, Black Pepper and Crumiel Freeze-Dried Honey.

Poaching Strawberries with Black Pepper and Wildflower Honey. We used the resulting juice to marinate hulled Dwarf Strawberries under vacuum.

For the 'Royal Jelly', we set Marinated Dwarf Strawberries into layers of Elderflower Jelly.

Marinated Strawberry, Elderflower Jelly, Bee Pollen

Due to the sudden proliferation of Elderflower in our garden, it made sense to use it to make the Jelly, which we did. Here are Elderflowers infusing in water with Lemon Peel, Sugar, Citric Acid and DH Perkins' West Dulwich Honey (see Foraging post)

Washing the Rhubarb before Juicing it for the cocktail.

After searching everywhere we could for a decent Brioche with no luck - apparently the freak hot weather makes brioche loaves go rancid too quickly, due to the butter. I can't see why they think eating an entire brioche is an insurmountable goal...After some brilliant last-minute help from Tim Franklin, who provided a Joël Robuchon recipe, 20 grams of fresh yeast, and some invaluable advice, we set about making our first loaves of bread,  eliminating one more shop-bought item from our minds...

Proving one tall and two wide Brioche Loaves

Fin

Mike showing Honey Glass, made by melting Crumiel and stretching it as it cools.

The Event

The first course, which was not photographed, was of Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce and Apple Balsamic Vinegar Reduction.

 Next was Woolesy Cheese, Damson Paste, Thyme and Onions Lyonnaise on Rough Oatcakes

Quail's Egg on Brioche Crouton with dehydrated Speck Ham (Dust of Speck) and Honey Glass.

Pork-Belly, cooked en sous-vide with Thyme and Garlic, then pan-fried with Smoked Honey and Butter, and topped with Radish Disks and Borage Flowers

Amy preparing to serve the 'Royal Jellies'

(Strawberry-Compressed) Strawberries in Elderflower Jelly with Bee Pollen

The drinks, of which we sadly failed to get pictures were:

+ Rhubarb Juice, West Dulwich Honey, Krupnik Honey Vodka, Lemon Juice, Edible Flowers

+ Juices of Bramley and Jonagold Apples and Mulberry with Fresh Mint Bubbles