sped98

Er.......staying at L`enclume cheers Alan

As I understand, Tarka is dining at L'Enclume on the 29th so I would not want to ruin it for her. All I will say is there is a double meaning to the course in question, one being so obvious after you have sampled 14 courses plus, and another unknown to me but personal to Rogan. The latter seems to be a secret but I was told a tongue in cheek response to a third party. I will let Tarka do the honours and see if she can enlighten us on the hidden meaning!

You are quite correct Milla, Rogan has made no secret of the fact that Veyrat was the guy to float his boat originally although his style in food has evolved since my first visit over a year ago. To understand menus like this one has to try it and only then will explanations follow. I personally love the nonconformity of it all and the sticking up of two fingers at those with the preconception of how a menu should read. One should not be ridiculed for having an active imagination and a sense of humour. Chocolate mayhem, no more voices... I now know exactly what it means

INTERMEDIATE MENU AT L`ENCLUME. What a fantastic start to christmas , it`s certainly set everything off with a smile.My wife and I had the pleasure of sampling Simon Rogans intermediate menu last night , 14 wonderful courses. I believe that the new menu for the new year is well underway so I`ll hopefully get to hear what treats are in store and keep you all posted just as soon as I hear anything. Last nights highlights .....and lowlights were. Highlight of the night was, once again " cubes from land and sea , eucalyptus hollendaise" a little taste of heaven , cubes of lobster , scallop and chanterelle in the most unusually flavoured light hollendaise. I also got to find out from my kitchen spy where Rogan gets the eucalyptus from , so hopefully there`ll be a few xmas experiments going on. Lowlight of the night was the phone call we got after our 2 hour journey to say that Max ( our 7 year old terror) had discovered the xmas presents whilst being nosey , and found out exactly what santa is bringing him tonight......kids eh ? Anyway , here`s the menu from last night.Hope all of you have a wonderful xmas and a happy new year....oh and hope you all sample the delights yourselves during 2005. Lakeland slate of five winter contrasts to get you going 2004/2005 (an assortment of lenclume appetisers to play on the senses of sweet , sour , astringent , bitter , and umami. Perilla and parmesan broth ,lip smacking crispy pizza (deconstructed) Gorgonzola french fries , lovage and apple dipper. Cubism in foie gras ,two cold ,one hot, cantaloupe,fragrant myrrh,almond cake. ( pate , hot bon bon with black truffle, foie gras parfait ,) Half soft and scrambled eggs,soy,wasabi and smoked cod froth. Flaky crab,curried avocado,parmesan yoghurt sorbet sea scallops , bacon polenta , cauliflower crunch , passion fruit , hibiscus sweet. cubes from land and sea,eucalyptus hollendaise. John dory , bergamot aromas , bitter caramel. Loin of lamb,grains of paradise,aubergine,butternut confit,cumin bouillon. or Mr littles beef fillet , waberthwaite air dried ham,apple,juniper berry juices. Monsieur Rabauds cheeses. Burnt asparagus cream pot ( with no cream) raspberry turkish. Melting fig fondant,cassia bark ( cinnamon) icy fennel , spice. chocolate mayhem.....no more voices. ( an assiette of chocolate )

LATEST FROM L`ENCLUME Fantastic write up on L`enclume by Giles Coren in the Times 18th december 2004. L`enclume scored 10/10 FOR SKILL 10/10 FOR JUDGEMENT 10/10 FOR WIT OVERALL SCORE 10/10 To read Giles Corens full report on his two visits to L`enclume -Click here

Lenclume latest

STOP PRESS LENCLUME FANS. Bit of inside information on the new Lenclume menu from my Cartmel spy. The menu is due to start next week and has some favourites from the menus throughout 2004 alongside some adventurous new dishes. Here are a few dishes that caught my eye from Simons new 20 course gourmand menu - Cubism in foie gras , two cold , one hot ( likely to be a bon bon with a hot melting foie gras filling,a pate , and a parfait/ice cream) these will be accompanied by cantaloupe , fragrant myrrh , and almond cake. Sea scallops , bacon polenta , cauliflower crunch , passion fruit , hibiscus sweet. Cubes from land and sea ( lobster , scallops , chanterelle , eucalyptus hollendaise.(my favourite dish .....ever) Roasted langoustine , long slim puffs , galangal foam , blobs here and there (work that one out) Brill fillet cooked in clay with girolles and wild coltsfoot milk "Tuber shaker" wondrous fizz from nature Loin of lamb , grains of paradise , aubergine , butternut confit , cumin bouillon Burnt asparagus cream pot with rasperry turkish Melting fig fondant , cassia bark , icy fennel , spice And......as a finale , how about........ Chocolate mayhem , no more voices. Cant wait to try the menu, I`ll be putting it on my website www.sped98.freeserve.co.uk just as soon as it hits the tables in the next week or so. Cheers Alan

Tarka , most of what you`ll eat on your visit to L`enclume will be enjoyably different and hopefully a new experience for you.The dish that stood out on my 23 course as my most enjoyable was "cubes from land and sea, eucalyptus hollendaise" .A fantastic flavour to add to a classic sauce.Very difficult to re-create at home as I`m finding eucalyptus impossible to source.

Sounds like you all need to take a few days off work , come to sunny Cumbria and sample L`enclumes food for yourselves then you might qualify yourselves to give an opinion on the place.I`ve been five times now and I have no desire to waste money eating anywhere else.The restaurant breathes fresh air into me and fills me with inspiration to go forth and create and experiment for myself.Chef is working flat out to try and make a go of the business so pay a visit , enjoy yourselves and help put the place on the map.For me it couldnt be any better, having a place like L`enclume an hours drive away......what an absolute treat. Anyone wants any info I`ll only be too pleased to help if I can.Check out regular L`enclume updates at www.sped98.freeserve.co.uk ( my homepage) As for molecular gasronomy ?????????????