I had a difficult decision to make for graduation dinner. You know, what the French term cuisine classique. The result is a shimmering curtain, like a white cloud which encircles you. The small catch is that you will have to choose the menus in advance AND pay for it in full. Now, a bit of a rant.
I have no problems with picking a menu in advanced — they after all claimed that this would allow the chef adequate time to prepare for the event! Guess what? They changed it on the night. I was not even warned about this the day before via e-mail or even a simple phone call.
No explanations were offered on the night either. Moreover, substituting a dish which was exclusive to the ridiculously expensive menu printemps with one readily available on the A la Carte menu is simply not on.
Dinner began with a bottle of Taittinger Comtes de Champagne to celebrate my success and some of the canapes on offer. Having arrived slightly late, I was rather annoyed that the restaurant had already brought out the canapes to the guests meaning that they were lukewarm by the time I got to eat them.
Nevertheless, they quickly saw sense and brought us a new serving, piping hot and fresh from the kitchen. I have already talked about the cheese goujeres during my last visit and they were as good as I remember them. Light, airy, salty, sharp with a little spike of heat from the paprika and black pepper these were a joy to eat, especially when washed down with some bubbly.
