When you are having a bad day, there is always a silver lining. For me yesterday was the chance to gather with smashing company and try new food made by Sophie Mitchell herself, at Pont Street, Belgravia. Tasting a range of different flavours and food types whilst meeting new bloggers was the perfect solution.
We all gathered around 6:30pm, all dressed to impress with an exciting evening ahead of us. Whilst we introduced ourselves and mingled amongst one another, we were greeted with a welcoming cocktail. The waiter expressed that these cocktails were one of a kind and had been specially made for our night, so I helped myself to a ‘Winter Alexander’. A gin based cocktail, with milk and other secret ingredients in it…
We continued to mingle, getting to know one another. It was nice to hear that a lot of people had seen or heard of my blog!
A blog meet up is not complete without some pictures together! Thank you to the lovely waiter who agreed to take some of us together.
We then proceeded to the kitchen, where Sophie Mitchell was going to give us a demonstration of how to make ravioli. As you can tell, us foodies were more than excited to see Sophie in action.
This was the start of the process, where the dough was rolled out manually.
The lovely Angie from Silverspoon London had a little go too!
It is amazing how thin the dough had to be, so fragile yet Sophie handled it so well – a Michelin star chef for you!
Sophie then went on to talk about her filling, which was slow roasted butter nut squash with parmesan cheese mixed in – delicious!
A food artist at work, beautifully creating her small ravioli parcels.
The lovely Zoe from Love And Limoncello had a go too!
After a lovely demonstration and some delicious red wine, we all decided to get a group picture together with Sophie.
We then went back upstairs ready for our sit down three course meal made by Sophie. Exciting!
Out came a selection of starters for us all to share…
To start I had a soft crusty bun along with some soft salted creamy butter, which was heavenly.
To follow, I had a taste of the beef carpaccio which had truffle cream, parmesan chips and was garnished with turnip and watercress. The beef just melted in your mouth, with the these and turnip offering two alternate textures and flavours. It all worked well together though.
Next, was Crudité baby seasonal vegetables with a Belgrave’s dip. Something I would not have thought to serve as a starter. None the less it was a perfect, having something crunchy to accompany the other softer starters.
As pictured above was the Pork belly that had a maple and bourbon glaze. I didn’t try it because I cannot eat pork but from the ladies around me that tried it gave positive feedback on it.
These burgers were absolutely delicious. I was so fond of the fact that a food that is normally served as a main had been transformed into a tasty starter. They tasted just as good as they look – this was probably one of my favourite starters of the night!
Lastly, I tried the Superfood salad, which contained Quinoa, mint, pomegranate, radish and pistachio. Packed full of different flavours, it was a truly delicious and well thought out dish. It was a winner on our side of the table!
Sorry if I have made you guys hungry already, but there is still lots more to come.
It was time for the main courses…
Angie and Lucy had the Seared Tuna Steak with caponata, capers and pine nuts.
Ella had the Lobster Trofie in a bisque sauce which had lobster and bone marrow inside too.
Zoe had Lemon Sole with Dorset cockles, sea astor covered in Bottarga butter.
My camera made it’s way around the table, so I could show you all the range of different mains that were on offer. Some really delicious looking food!
Down our end, we had a taste of each others. I am not a huge fan of tuna but the tuna steak was delicious, soft and tender without a fishy smell or taste – it went down a dream. I had a bit of Ella’s Lobster Trofie which was very tasty, considering I am not a huge lobster fan myself.
Finally, my dish. The roasted label Anglais chicken which was served with celeriac gratin, heirloom carrots and pickled cherries. Overall, a well put together dish. The chicken was soft and juicy with a nice crispy skin on top. The carrots sported a lovely herb flavouring but I have no admit I was not so happy with the celeriac gratin, there was a lack of flavour and it was a tad soggy. On the whole though it was very good!
As you guys can tell, by this point we were extremely stuffed but they gave us a breather before the array of desserts were released.
We used this time to grab some shots of us at the table…
Ella from Little Brown Book and I
Miho from MihoWTW, Ella from Little Brown Book & I
Zoe from Love and Limoncello, Angie from SilverSpoon London and Lucy from Diamond In The Ashes
Kimberly, decided to join the ladies in this photo!
And Serena from Into The F World join us too.
Before we knew it, it was time for the desserts…
First out was the flourless chocolate cake, which had a fluffy moose consistency but with the ability to hold itself together too. It had a crunch nutty topping which just topped it off. A small sweet a guilt free dessert – a winner!
We then had a lemon curd with a soft cake side. I have to admit, this wasn’t one of my favourites. I absolutely love lemon, but this was just far too strong and had an unappealing lavender aftertaste.
Finally, to finish off the evening. We had doughnut balls and a light vanilla milkshake. Yummy!
As the evening came to an end, we started to say our goodbyes, exchanged hugs along with Twitter handles and we went rolled our separate ways back home.
All in all, a fantastic evening with great food and company. Loved every minute of it and hope to do it again soon.
Thanks for reading,
