The AliKats 7-course menu for New Year’s Eve: Kat’s best moment to date!

When Kat said to me she was going to be offering a 6-course menu for a special AliKats New Year’s Eve dinner, I sarcastically replied: “6 is too easy. Do 7”. So she did. She has achieved a lot of amazing things in her life but serving 7 courses to 22 people (including 1 vegetarian, 2 no fish and 1 nut allergy) has got to be up there! So, here is a quick breakdown of the menu and the thinking behind it…

• Champagne and Canapé reception. The champagne was actually a specially bought Rosé Cremant de Bourgogne which won the pink bubbles award last year and has a lovely light sparkle and gentle flavour that perfectly accompanied the pesto pinwheels. This got the taste buds going before sitting down for the 1st course
• 1st course – Smoked duck appetizer. A simple but delicious dish of smoked duck on a cucumber and sesame salad. Nothing too big or heavy to start, just enough to further tease the tastebuds
• 2nd course – Smoked trout starter. Served with a shot of watercress purée and chopped on a slice of freshly baked wholegrain bread.
• 3rd course – Frozen green tea, mint & lime pallet cleanser. Cold, refreshing and preparing the way for the main course…
• 4th course – Fillet mignon of pork. With a chorizo stuffing and served with apple sauce made from apples from the AliKats garden.
• 5th course – Bellini jelly pallet cleanser. A champagne jelly with peaches and raspberry designed to clear the pallet again ready for the dessert
• 6th course – Hazelnut meringue and chestnut purée. Served in an Eton Mess style with raspberries and a hot chocolate sauce and accompanied by a shot of home-made toffee vodka to kick the party off
• 7th course – Cheese and Port. The cheese was a perfectly ripe Vacherin Mont d’Or and the port was actually a local French version which we picked up at the beginning of the season from a passing wine merchant!

This paved the way perfectly for the fireworks display at midnight, organised by one of our guests Jesper, which everyone watched from the balcony of the chalet.

Having served 154 plates of food, plus canapés, in 1 meal – the rest of the season is looking quite relaxed in comparison!