"Whilst the style is technical and the presentation elaborate, the food itself is not intimidating, having its roots in familiar classical themes. The textures, flavours and ingredients complement each other rather than jostling for position on the tongue" (taken from an exert about Michael on the Pennyhill Park Website).
And so the evening began...
Canapés
Taramasalata, Tuna nori, Parfait with cocoa, and bresaola crostini
Thoughts: Prawn crackers with diced toppings, baby shrimps and cream were combined to create the flavour of taramasalata - brilliantly done. The Tuna nori was pleasantly flavoured and not overpowering, the crostini unmemorable and the parfait cigars had great crunch and oozed creamy parfait - yum!)
Mackerel
Cornish mackerel, edamame and English wasabi, cuttlefish film, compressed cucumber, Belgian Oscietra caviar, Portland crab, confit lemon
Thoughts: Delicate mix of flavours with a sense of calmness, intensity in the cuttlefish film and great flavour in the compressed cucumber, wasn't wowed.
Celeriac
Salt baked celeriac, compressed and nitro apple, chilled pea juice, home made ricotta cheese
Rabbit
Poached loin of Loire Valley rabbit, white polenta, braised Scotch oats, salsify, brilliant truffe, crisp milk skin, shaved summer truffle
Hake
Cornish hake poached in single estate olive oil, cassoulet of summer beans, charcoal and scallop emulsion
Thoughts: This dish was cleansing and fresh and had subtle hints of flavour. The beans provided a crunchy texture to offset the soft scallop and fish.
Piglet
Slow cooked and roasted Lancashire suckling piglet, dehydrated cep scented pork fillet, sweet and sour sweetbreads, barbecued 'hen of the woods' charred spring onion
Thoughts: This dish was smokey and delicious, it enticed you in with its smell and presentation and was full of flavour with each mouthful - one of my favourites!
Savoury
Doddington diary Baltic, organic feta, beetroot, rye beer bread crisp, pickle spheres, atomised vinegar
Pimms
"Our way"
Thoughts: Michael Wignall's take on Pimms was bright and foamy, the chunks of fresh fruit and cucumber made this dish refreshing and cleansing.
Cherry
English cherries, Tahitian vanilla custard, almonds in different forms, vanilla dough, milk ice cream
Raspberry
Raspberry namelaka and jelly, micro cocoa sponge, aero chocolate, nitro yoghurt rocks and mint
Treats to take home
A mixture of macaroons, nougat and chocolates
Thoughts: We were so full after the experience that we did not devour these treats straight away, in fact they ended up going in the pantry and we completely forgot to eat them!!!
Overall a fantastic evening with great service and a delightful way to start the week! We would have enjoyed if Michael had come out to introduce each dish a bit more but nevertheless the waiters were well informed and it made no difference to the meal. I would certainly recommend visiting Michael's restaurant at the Latymer in Pennyhill Park, Surrey, United Kingdom.
Canapés
Taramasalata, Tuna nori, Parfait with cocoa, and bresaola crostini
Mackerel
Cornish mackerel, edamame and English wasabi, cuttlefish film, compressed cucumber, Belgian Oscietra caviar, Portland crab, confit lemon
Thoughts: Delicate mix of flavours with a sense of calmness, intensity in the cuttlefish film and great flavour in the compressed cucumber, wasn't wowed.
Celeriac
Salt baked celeriac, compressed and nitro apple, chilled pea juice, home made ricotta cheese
Thoughts: This was very tasty, the intensity and richness of the ricotta were offset by the pea puree and nitro apple.
Poached loin of Loire Valley rabbit, white polenta, braised Scotch oats, salsify, brilliant truffe, crisp milk skin, shaved summer truffle
Thoughts: This was a very delicate dish, the rabbit melted in the mouth, and was complemented with the intensity of the truffle, just delicious and went very well with the Argentinean Bodegas Chacra, Barda Pinot Noir wine match
Cornish hake poached in single estate olive oil, cassoulet of summer beans, charcoal and scallop emulsion
Thoughts: This dish was cleansing and fresh and had subtle hints of flavour. The beans provided a crunchy texture to offset the soft scallop and fish.
Slow cooked and roasted Lancashire suckling piglet, dehydrated cep scented pork fillet, sweet and sour sweetbreads, barbecued 'hen of the woods' charred spring onion
Thoughts: This dish was smokey and delicious, it enticed you in with its smell and presentation and was full of flavour with each mouthful - one of my favourites!
Savoury
Doddington diary Baltic, organic feta, beetroot, rye beer bread crisp, pickle spheres, atomised vinegar
Thoughts: This dish had a lot of texture going on which I enjoyed. I loved the feta and pickles resting on the crisp bread. This was served with an interesting Atlantic Pale Ale from Brixton Brewery which was a very disappointing accompaniment.
"Our way"
Thoughts: Michael Wignall's take on Pimms was bright and foamy, the chunks of fresh fruit and cucumber made this dish refreshing and cleansing.
Cherry
English cherries, Tahitian vanilla custard, almonds in different forms, vanilla dough, milk ice cream
Thoughts: This dessert dish was interesting, there was a lot going on but I loved the mini doughnut with the variety of vanilla.
Raspberry namelaka and jelly, micro cocoa sponge, aero chocolate, nitro yoghurt rocks and mint
Thoughts: This one I was so excited about I forgot to take a picture before hand! The aero chocolate was fun, and the mint rocks made for an element of surprise. The raspberry was the perfect tartness to compliment the varieties of chocolate.
A mixture of macaroons, nougat and chocolates
Overall a fantastic evening with great service and a delightful way to start the week! We would have enjoyed if Michael had come out to introduce each dish a bit more but nevertheless the waiters were well informed and it made no difference to the meal. I would certainly recommend visiting Michael's restaurant at the Latymer in Pennyhill Park, Surrey, United Kingdom.
