Updated
June, 1999

Food, Glorious Food

From now on it seems only appropriate that I (Mike) should take over this section of the web pages. At this stage, I am sure you will be interested in what you might expect from dining with us and perhaps more importantly, what are my credentials for preparing and presenting it.

First, I have no formal training but then neither did Raymond Blanc. Second, I love food. Always a good basis for a cook. Third, I have been cooking since I was ten. Alright, it may only have been Viota packet cake mixes that always turned out flat (mainly because mum was always cooking the Sunday roast at the same time) but shortly after that I became addicted to cooking programs on TV (post Fanny Craddock and Zena Skinner). Fourth, I have travelled a bit and experienced first hand, many cuisines of the world. Happily, I seem able to re-produce the flavours and also to mix and marry the old and the new and the east and the west (not so much fusion these days as an essential part of any menu).

If you throw all this into a melting pot, add a touch of Derry Clarke, Restauranteur and Patron of L'Ecrivain (to whom I am greatly indebted for taking a complete stranger into his fold for a short period of time) and Val Petit, Derry's Pastry Chef, I think I make a reasonable job of turning out decent food. As luck would have it, to date, so do my dinner party guests!

What might you expect when you visit us? Well, let me give you two menus I recently prepared for friends.

New Year's Fare

Roasted Pepper Soup accompanied by home baked tomato bread and home baked walnut bread (bread compliments of Val Petit)
Warm salad of King prawns with a Thai pesto dressing followed by
Citrus fruit sorbet as a refresher
Roast Haunch of Venison which had been marinated for a week
Brussels Hotels For pudding, a selection from
Grand Marnier
Crme Brulee,
Seasonal (Christmas pudding)
Parfait or Chocolate
Tort Selection of Cheeses
followed by Coffee

Unfortunately, we did not seem to get around to the cheese!

Sunday Lunch with my new good Neighbours, Ken and Dorrie

Curried Parsnip Soup
accompanied by the same bread and followed by
Apple, Spinach and Ginger sorbet as a refresher
Roast Rib of Beef with all the trimmings
hotel rooms Gdyna Pears poached in cardamom syrup, served with a chocolate amaretto cream
Selection of cheeses (which again nobody got around to) followed by coffee

We also offer a decent selection of wines. Although the wine list is small, it has our seal of approval because we would not sell anything we do not enjoy ourselves! I think you will find something to your liking to accompany dinner.