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Tasty tidbits – secrets of the Gourmet Dinner

We aren’t ones to boast, but the Lincoln’s Inn chefs are amongst the best in the country and the annual Gourmet Dinner is an opportunity for them to showcase their culinary creativity.

At this annual event, organised by the Inn’s Bar Rep Social and Wellbeing sub-committee, members and their guests are treated to a five-course bespoke tasting menu with wine pairings. The menu for 2022’s Gourmet Dinner was a closely guarded secret in advance of this event, but we can now reveal the mouth-watering dishes that attendees enjoyed whilst treating you to some fascinating facts about their creation.

Canapes
Cornish Cuttlefish Bolognaise, Agnolotti, Parmesan
Retired Dairy Cow Sirloin over Kentish Oak Embers, Tongue ‘n’ Cheek Potato, Roasted Parsley Root, Buttered Brassicas, Beetroot Ketchup
Rare sirloin of beef with gravy, brassicas, and other sides
Selection of cheeses
English Autumn Fruits, Chestnut Cream, Buttermilk Sorbet
Canapes: Roast Jerusalem Artichoke, Cobnut Crumb & Black Garlic (vg)
Starter: Cornish Cuttlefish Bolognaise, Agnolotti, Parmesan
Main: Retired Dairy Cow Sirloin over Kentish Oak Embers, Tongue ‘n’ Cheek Potato, Roasted Parsley Root, Buttered Brassicas, Beetroot Ketchup
Main: Retired Dairy Cow Sirloin over Kentish Oak Embers, Tongue ‘n’ Cheek Potato, Roasted Parsley Root, Buttered Brassicas, Beetroot Ketchup
Vegan Main
Cheese: Bath Soft (V) (Pasteurised Cows’ Milk) Rosary Goats' Cheese (V) (Pasteurised Goats’ Milk) Cropwell Bishop Stilton (V) (Pasteurised Cows’ Milk) Lancashire Crumbly (V) (Unpasteurised Cows’ Milk)
Dessert: English Autumn Fruits, Chestnut Cream, Buttermilk Sorbet (V)
  1. The starter used to activate the sourdough for our homemade sourdough bread (served with whipped onion butter) is the same one that Inn chef David Powell made in lockdown. It is still going strong three years on.
  2. Another bread related fact for you – the bread dough was actually proved in the HR office. The Head of HR, Nathalie, likes to keep the office nice and warm and it does the job as well as any proving drawer on Bake-Off could!
  3. The menu was created with sustainability firmly in mind. The dishes used seasonal ingredients for example cob nuts and sprout tops etc. and the flowers used to garnish the dishes were from the Inn’s garden and also foraged from the local area – even the apples used in the beetroot ketchup were excess cooking apples from the garden of a staff member. The wines were also all English wines (with the exception of the dessert wine and port).
  4. Sustainability was also prevalent in the beef used in the main course. This came from retired dairy cows in West Wales, and the provenance of each animal was provided, from when and where it was reared, to when and where it was culled.
  5. The beef preparation was a labour of love. The two senior chefs, David Powell and David Bush, brought their own much-loved Webber BBQ from home to the Inn, where it was put on a slow setting to smoke the beef over specially purchased Kentish Cherry Wood coals to give it a truly rich and unique flavour. (They tested this out at home first for the tasting ahead of the event!)
  6. It took a construction line of six people to create the delicious dessert autumn fruits dessert. In total on the evening there was a team of 28 people working front of house and in the kitchen to ensure that members and their guests left with their bellies full and a smile on their face.

Download the full menu and wine pairings here.

 

If all of these has got your tastebuds tingling, remember that you can enjoy delicious food by our talented team in The MCR – Restaurant and Bar and at Members’ Lunch in hall as often as you wish.