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Cocktail-making at The Gilbert Scott With bartender Dav Eames Gabrielle: After some more intensive cooking classes, a cocktail
or four was well deserved. Dav taught us a host of new party tricks – it turns out shaking drinks with ice aids dilution, so James Bond isn’t such a tough guy after all. However, if we learnt one thing it’s that a balance between sweet and sour is the key to perfect cocktail: lemon vs. syrup, lime vs. elderflower and grapefruit vs. s-hhh...ugar.
Dim Sum-making at BO London With dim sum chef Darren Wun Lulu: Of all the culinary destinations on our menu, the chance to get behind the stove at Bo London to tackle dim sum was the one I was most looking forward to. The experience didn’t disappoint, but it was a real eye opener to the Julia Child adage that cooking is an art form. We tried our hand – quite literally, because dim sum has a lot to do with deft hand movements and crafty finger applications – at a few of the most popular items on Bo London’s menu, under the gaze of the unimpressed, but enduringly patient, head chef. One of our more successful attempts was the goldfish (so called for the shape they resemble). We used a mix of natural orange dye and egg yolk to paint an orange smear in the centre of a circle of potato flour pastry, followed by a smudge of cod paste on top. From there, the intricate part began: after making a parcel of the ingredients, we moulded a couple of tail fins, eyes and a back fin – et voila. From certain angles the fish likeness was tenuous, but we were proud of our creations all the same. I learnt that dim sum is a dish best approached with plenty of patience, care… and more patience.
Oh to have hand-eye co-ordination and to fit dim sum-making in before piano playing
Gabrielle: Oh to have hand-eye coordination and fit dim
sum-making in before piano playing, while wearing your hair in French plaits. The steps to a perfect dumpling involved cupping a circle of potato flour dough in your palm and folding the outside in towards the centre to make a triangular peak. A casual flick of the thumb will flute the edges, just for fun. It’s a tricky but amusing business and the team were enviably skilled– too much filling and you’ll end up with a fist full of fish paste; overenthusiastic folding and you’ll be left with a very small sandwich. Luckily, everything looks better buried in black truffle flakes.
A set lunch of four dim sum and dessert is £25 per person 4 Mill Street, W1S bolondonrestaurant.com
Lulu: “It’s a bit odd when someone comes in mid-January, brushes the snow from their shoulders and says ‘Three mojitos please’”, said Dav, as he clapped (to release the flavour) shreds of mint leaves into a glass of ice and sugar. “Mmm,” I mumbled, not willing to disclose that such a seasonally-uneducated person would most likely me – and fair enough, I justify in my head. Even The Gilbert Scott’s been rocked by the misfortune of our terrible weather: the rain was beating down outside while we made Rhubarb and Ginger Sours and A-pear-atifs. And Dav has been forced to reinstate a few wintery selections on the menu because the summer just won’t arrive. We gleaned such handy asides as using egg white to give a cocktail a softer, velvety texture and twisting an orange skin to let it sweat out natural oils. The A-pear-atif was a no-brainer, even for newbies like us: equal measures of Belvoir elderflower cordial, Hendricks gin and pear flavoured Grey Goose were thrown on top of crushed cucumber and lime juice and served in a ‘frozen’, cucumber centered glass. I say ‘thrown’, but there’s actually a lot of artful moving and shaking involved. Rhythm has eluded me throughout my life, so I’m not sure why I thought I might find it behind the bar in The Gilbert Scott, but needless to say I didn’t. “It’s like this, like this, like this…”demonstrated Dav with ease but it was all falling on deaf ears. On with the mojitos. The Gilbert Scott is open Monday to Wednesday from 10am to 12am, Thursday to Saturday from 10am to 1am and Sundays from 10am to 11pm St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, Euston Road, NW1 thegilbertscott.co.uk