Food and wine matching evening.
I had the good fortune to get hold of an exclusive ticket to the recent Six Course Gourmet Dining Evening in association with N D John Wines Merchants and Moet Hennessy at The New Gower Hotel, Bishopston, delightfully hosted by co-owner Linda Clayton-Evans, (Thank you Andrew Whitty for arranging my attendance!). Having not yet had the opportunity to try out their fine dining restaurant, Monroe's, since Linda and Executive Chef Mark took control of the venue, I was really interested to see what lay ahead for this special evening.
I've known all the previous owners for the last 14 years or more, when the premises was named Winston's Hotel, and I was keen to see what slant Linda and Mark had introduced to ensure its long term success. As a hotel venue it has always appeared to be a great peaceful location away from the busy main road, but as a restaurant venue past history suggests it hasn't really delivered.
The dishes were matched with a range of Cloudy Bay New Zealand wines, provided by Moet Hennessy, and the menu was as follows;
Canapes on arrival
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Sliced smoked duck with sweet pickled apple, English feta cheese, dressed with a blueberry & blackberry vinaigrette, dark chocolate shavings & fig pearls
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Hake loin on a bed of spring onion, chorizo & saffron potato salad, a roasted red pepper puree, basil dressing & squid ink smear
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Veal & smoked salmon paupiette draped in a pink champagne sauce, served with fondant baby potatoes, charred asparagus, and honey roasted chantenay carrots
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Pear & walnut tatin, pear puree and vanilla Chantilly cream
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Selection of cheeses with breads, cheese biscuits & white onion chutney
Canapes were served on the terrace with a glass of bubbly and were a great introduction for the evening.
Sliced smoked duck with sweet pickled apple, English feta cheese, dressed with a blueberry & blackberry vinaigrette, dark chocolate shavings & fig pearls
Smoked duck breasts being one of my all-time favourites was a big hit with me and the mixture of the feta cheese and the sweet pickled apple was a really nice touch.
Feta and pickled apple was a great combination and the fig pearls (akin to caviar) really sets off the dish. It's the first time I have tried the fig variety. (I have a Spanish supplier for olive oil pearls if anyone is interested!) - for me this dish was a winner and a great way to start the evening. This was accompanied by a Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir.
Hake loin on a bed of spring onion, chorizo & saffron potato salad, a roasted red pepper puree, basil dressing & squid ink smear.
This dish had a touch of the Mediterranean, with Hake (another of my favourites) chorizo, saffron, basil, and roasted red pepper, and having lived on the Med for many years this combination will always garner my full approval. The hake was cooked to perfection and the accompaniments were ideally 'summer cold'.
Veal & smoked salmon paupiette draped in a pink champagne sauce, served with fondant baby potatoes, charred asparagus, and honey roasted chantenay carrots.
This was probably the most intriguing and potentially controversial of the dishes that evening. I adore veal and funnily enough had only had a conversation with a friend a day earlier about the lack of veal on menus nowadays. For me veal is a delicate meat with an equally delicate, and defined taste. This veal dish however was closely paired with smoked salmon which has a strong unmistakably fishy taste, and my taste buds struggled to taste the veal with the smoked salmon a little over-powering. It was for sure a tenacious combination and I like the fact that Chef had the courage of his conviction to put out a dish that would get the room talking....and in fairness there were fans of the veal/smoked salmon combination. The chantenay carrots were a delight and the fondant potatoes ideal.
Dessert - Pear & walnut tatin, pear puree and vanilla Chantilly cream
Whilst not a classical French style tarte tatin, where the fruit cooks into the flaky base, I really enjoyed this combination of caramelised pear and walnuts with the Chantilly cream, and it made for the perfect dessert course for me. Light pastry, the soft and crunchy combination of pear and walnut was thoroughly enjoyable and the pear puree delicious. Dessert was accompanied by a Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc which frankly I could have happily drunk all evening.
The meal ended with a large selection of excellent Welsh cheeses and an equally large portion of cheese biscuits washed down by another Pinot Noir again by Cloudy Bay.
All in all a truly enjoyable evening, great company and great food. Would I return? Yes of course. I have yet to see the Monroe's restaurant menu but I'm sure that Executive Chef Mark will hit the stop again with some of my favourites.
