It was a cold and windy night in January but a warm welcome and a heated terrace awaited us at the King Street Townhouse Hotel for our Bistro night! A glass of delicious Castelnau Champagne, which is aged for a minimum of 5 years in the cellars in Reims, got the party off to a great start.
Before Dinner we welcomed two new members into the Manchester Commanderie with the ceremony of intronisation. Commander Appleby introduced the applicants in his usual entertaining fashion and the formalities were completed.
Our Dinner menu was classic and elegant, a testament to the skills of Chefs Alfonso and Giuseppe. We started with Gin and Fennel cured salmon with compressed cucumber and a fantastic tonic jelly, accompanied by G de Château Guiraud 2019, A.O.C. Bordeaux Blanc. This was a fresh and zesty wine with bags of fruit a great match for the robust flavours on the plate.
This was followed by a tender fillet steak in an unctuous red wine jus with a king oyster mushroom, fondant potato, watercress purée and baby carrots. This was a perfectly executed dish and the accompanying Château Cantermerle 2009, 5ieme Cru Classé. A.O.C. Medoc, was the perfect accompaniment! This was a lovely well balanced wine with a spicy edge and at its peak.
A generous cheese course with lovely fresh grapes was served with Château Sociando-Mallet, 2010, A.O.C. Haut-Medoc. There was a perfect harmony of fruit, acidity and tannins and it was pronounced a hit with the cheese.
Our meal closed with a light Spiced Orange and White Chocolate Carrot Cake which was the perfect foil for Château Coutet, 2014, 1iere Cru, A.O.C. Barsac. This is a wine we have enjoyed before but it continues to improve with age and it was very much enjoyed.
As is our tradition, Maître concluded things by thanking the wonderful teams from the kitchen and front of house who had made the evening so special. Marcus headed the front of house team and Chefs Alfonso and Guiseppe came forward on behalf of the kitchen team.
