Well, I'm going to start with a wow, because location wise The Cube is the wow. It is stunning in every sense
The views are amazing and to have a two Michelin starred chef like Daniel Clifford doing the cooking is just icing on the cake. This is without a shadow of doubt the ultimate pop up restaurant.
We arrived about twenty minutes late for the 12 midday start, due to very heavy London traffic no less.
Finding the "singing lift" up to The Cube itself proved not too difficult. It seemed to raise a smile with those who we asked for directions from. Indeed it does "sing", but we took the stairs on the way down so no repeat there I'm afraid.
A vision in white awaits, including the kitchen right through to the loos. I found out that a dedicated team ferry it deconstructed around Europe and on this occasion it was actually craned into position and built up on top of The Royal Festival Hall overlooking the mighty Thames, The London Eye, Big Ben etc, etc. As a point of interest the table can be lifted, by magnets, into the roof area leaving a completely clear floor space for mingling and sipping should it be required.
Before I move on to the food special mention should be made about Electrolux. A company that I knew little about until I read their profile. This mighty company sell over 40 million products per anum to customers in over 150 countries. Some of the famous names they market are Zanussi and AEG. We used AEG for over twenty years in our domestic kitchen without a problem, so can attest to its quality. On show in the kitchen were a blend of domestic and commercial equipment, including state of the art induction. It is claimed that they supply 50% of the commercial kitchen equipment of all the European Michelin starred chefs.
Before the meal started, Daniel Clifford explained to all sixteen guests the benefits of cooking with induction, and specifically cooking with Electrolux appliances.
Making good use of the fine weather everyone was on the balcony for pre dinner drinks and canapes before being ushered through to the dining area. Daniel and his team were in the kitchen and eager to get the show on the road, so to speak
Speaking to a couple of our fellow diners it appeared that they were glad we were a little late, as they were on their third glass of complimentary champagne, Joseph Perrier Cuvee Royale 2002.
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Now then, We have been fortunate to eat Daniel's food quite recently. We made the trip to Cambridge to his wonderful restaurant Midsummer House to eat his Great British Menu dishes This included the winning main course dish at the banquet, his stunning Chicken combo. Slow poached Chicken, sweet corn and spinach.
First of the five courses was Crispy Hen's egg, griddled asparagus, asparagus velute.
Daniel cooked this dish recently on BBC Saturday Kitchen. The hens egg has been poached and wrapped in potato strings made with a special turning device to produce a spaghetti type string to encase the egg, which is then deep fried. Chef believes in local wherever possible, and is firmly of the opinion that Cambridgeshire Asparagus is some of the best available. Around the rim of the plate is black onion powder. To achieve this, the onion is burnt in a pan then dried overnight in the oven to take all of the moisture out. It is then ground down to dust to what you see on the plate.
Accompanying wine Castro Valdez Albarino, Adegas Castro Brey, Rias Baixas 2011
Next up was Sauteed Scallop, apple, truffle and celeriac.
Boy was this a big scallop, it was a monster. The largest that I have ever seen and all the way from Scotland.
The jelly is made from the juice from an apple tree from Daniel's garden. The caramel on the plate is made with apple juice too, something he has been working on whilst at the Cube using a centrifuge and induction. To the right is a celeriac and truffle puree. Some truffle was grated on the plate table side by the chef. A truly wonderful dish with the prime ingredient to the fore.
Chosen wine was, Vermintino Monica di Sardenga Santa Maria la Palma, 2010
Perhaps my favourite meat next, Roast Quail, summer peas, sauteed girolles, wild garlic oil.
A big bang of aroma when it hit the table.
The quail is poached in champagne, a pea puree adds sweetness, there is a bed of spinach, a 24 hour confit leg wrapped in potato and fried for a crispy texture, beefy girolles ,oh and a lovely jus.
The chosen wine was Brackens Order Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand 2008.
Daniel Clifford explained all of his dishes in full as they were served. This gave an insight to the thought process behind them, plus of course the cooking techniques involved. Daniel also encouraged everyone to get involved by being able to visit the kitchen at any time to interact with the chefs and feel free to ask any questions that they wished.
Of some surprise a number of us (me included) were asked by Daniel personally to help plate up the next course. Its all a bit of fun really, but initially I found it a bit nerve wracking as I got the first bit of mine wrong. Everything went smoothly after that and we all sat down to eat the resulting plate of food.
A fun thing to try once in a while.
Slow Roast rump of Lamb, courgette, tomato, basil and Olde York cheese.
Again, wonderful aroma from the plate.Smokey char grilled courgette and sweet tomato. Both perfect accompaniments to the full flavoured sweet lamb. Also on the plate, under the lamb was the cubed Olde York cheese.
The accompanying wine was Chateau Moulinet, Pomerol 2007
Most appropriately the dessert looked like a cloud had floated in from outside and landed on top of the pineapple. It was in fact candy floss. Daniel had brought his candy floss machine from Midsummer House.
Caramelised Pineapple, pineapple sorbet, pineapple candy floss, indeed it was an homage to pineapple.
Thankfully we both like pineapple and by the look of the clean plates around the table so did everyone else. So no problem there.
The dessert wine was, Moscato d'Asti Piasa San Mouritzio 2011.
Tea or coffee was included along with a chocoholic dream selection as follows. Memory loss here I'm afraid. I recall pistachio and bay leaf that's all
So, I think that I can speak for everyone, or at the very least those people who were in close proximity to us. Every single one that I spoke to absolutely enjoyed the event. It was special on many levels. Eye in the sky location. Top chef with top notch food. A great bunch of fun loving people to interact with, and indeed Daniel Clifford encouraged everyone to interact with him and his staff.
Service was impeccable, totally first class. attentive and caring, others in this industry should take note.
Further details on the other chefs and how to book The Cube are here
Disclosure. I was invited to review The Cube by Electrolux.
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