complete history of food

attended the fabulous bompas and parr's complete history of food last night at a mansion in Belgrave Square. the event was sponsored by Courvoisier as part of their future 500 (supporting inspirational young innovators) and was truly a feast of the senses.  on arrival you are taken to see "the doctor" who diagnoses your particular "humor" (from the four humors: black bile (melancolia), yellow bile (cholera), phlegm (phlegma), and blood (sanguis) and we were led in small groups via gang plank, over eel-filled waters, to the hull of a ship from the Medieval era for an alchemical cocktail cure...as a sanguine character i was given a melancholic concoction to rebalance me: lemon sorrel popsicle in a courvoisier, pear and cardomom sidecar...mmmm...licious...but very sharp....

next we were squeezed into a tiny ancient lift (the name of the makers being Porn & Dunwoody!) and transported to the roof terrace for the contemporary era and served a classic champagne cocktail and...eek...a foie gras, caramelised almond and gold leaf nibble.  i had decided, as a veg-aquarian (non-meat eater) for the past 20+ years that the experience would be a "one night only" eat meat fest as i didn't want to miss out on anything, so this was an historic and brave undertaking.  i nearly didn't make it cos the waiter who served these told me he had been a vegetarian all his life...i waiverd...but decided to submit to the meat!

 

next stop mid 20th century TV dinner - a scratch n'sniff experience ...which was clever but not very pleasant...followed by a bounce in an inflatable stomach...brilliant...followed by a wander down 'shroom alley..

next stop Victorian  fine dining - recreating an actual dinner party that occured on new years eve 1853 we sat inside a huge "iguanadon" surrounded by huge green pot-plants, william morris table cover...and ate a plate of duck confit, puy lentils in a black champagne sauce...deeeeelicious....and a summer punch of Courvoisier, green tea, apple juice and elderflower cordial (which i will def be re-creating).

 

final stop was the Renaissance banquet of candied orange & iris jelly with ambergris possett and surrounded by fabulous sugar sculptures....and a jumping table (you put your finger in a slot and it made the plate of jelly on top of the table leap in time to your heartbeat!)...

when we'd finished and filled our boots on all the food - we headed to the Courvoisier bar for a few more sidecars before heading home...totally courvoisiered out!  another great night for the gadabout girls (me & Noreen - who supplied the fab photos)....can't wait for the next one!