Peter and Jonray Sanchez-Iglesias at The Cube

Peter and Jonray Sanchez-Iglesias are appearing next week at The Cube and I was fortunate enough to be invited to a preview of what would perhaps be on offer at that time.
I have for sometime wanted to visit their restaurant Casamia in Bristol, but for one reason or another never quite got around to it. They appeared on television courtesy of Gordon Ramsay's F Word and indeed won the Best Independent restaurant award. I really liked the look of what they were doing and felt a visit was in order. Still from what you will see their cuisine is easily transportable to London but I shall still make that trip to Bristol.

So let the journey begin.

For those not familiar with The Cube, please let me explain. For those of you who are please sing or hum or whatever.

The Cube is a fabulous vehicle for Electrolux to showcase there move into the domestic cooking market. All of the appliances in The Cube are from their domestic range. This transportable pod, for want of a better description is currently residing atop of The Royal Festival Hall surely one of the most spectacular spots in central London. Prior to this it has graced buildings in some of Europe's famous Cities.
 Electrolux currently supply half of all of the Michelin starred chefs in Europe with appliances, so what better link than only to have a bevy of Michelin starred chefs to do the cooking at The Cube.

Our visit coincided with the London 2012 Ladies bike race so Central London was gridlocked. Thankfully we arrived slightly late but greatly looking forward to the meal and another ride up to floor 6 in the singing lift but it did not work. Well the lift itself worked but the audio did not.

We were greeted by the lovely Josephine and taken up onto the balcony for a welcoming glass ( and more) of  Joseph Perrier Curvee Royale 2002.
Service as always was impeccable and Christan Zucca immediately made everyone feel at home.
Canapes were offered with a teaser " Any idea what is in them?" I got cheese, although the wrong one. Tomatoes. There were actually three types, yellow, green and red. Plus an easy guess which was cucumber.
The topping is actually a Buffalo Mozzarella mousse flecked with black olives and Parmesan.

Mozzarella and Tomatoes.

Whilst everyone enjoyed their champers the Sanchez brothers Peter (left) and Jonray were busy in the small but perfectly formed kitchen. They had two helpers which was easily sufficient for the sixteen guests.

Little did we all know that apart from the feast that awaited, we were also in for a visual treat as the boys had really gone to town on the theatrics too. What followed was more akin to the fantastic presentation that the chefs displayed in BBC Great British Menu, and in my opinion took the meal to another level.

Ashton Court Picnic.

 

To get the show on the road each guest was presented with a picnic hamper. Needless to say this provoked deep joy and everyone was eager to peek inside to see what treasure lay in wait.
Jonray explained that the idea of the picnic was from boyhood memories. Of extra interest a special soundtrack was played throughout. Not of music but the different sounds of perhaps a park scene with children playing in the background. The overwhelming feel was one of frivolity and enjoyment.

So inside, we have Potato Salad, Quiche Lorraine, Coronation chicken, scotch egg.
A really fun way to start and believe me there was a big smile on everyone's face.

Accompanying wine Domaine Gavoty Rose. Cotes de Provence 2011.

Guests were very relaxed and in great spirits and we were all looking forward to the next course which was a Cucumber Chilled Soup, frozen horseradish.

This dish was inspired by the boys father's Andalucian roots. Based on Gazpacho which they ate regularly the modern twist to this classic is the "heat" from the horseradish against the cold of the cucumber based soup.

Wine served  Hunters Riesling, Marlborough, New Zealand 2011.

We could all see the plating up, and the beauty of this small intimate type of dinner party is that everyone is encouraged to interact with the staff and chefs and visit the kitchen whenever they wish. The chefs were extremely chatty and approachable, happy to explain ingredients and /or technique.


Everyone was baffled as to how the next course would be presented. Clearly it involved pebbles, but would some of them be edible?

The wooden platter was placed in front of us. On it was an array of pebbles, a jar of tartar sauce and a cone of scrumps. Last but not least was a spray capsule , which turned out to be malt vinegar.

 So Seaside Memories.
 Slow cooked Pollock, mushy peas, scrumps, tartar sauce.




Scrumps according to my understanding are something that are withered, shrivelled or dried up. In this context I assume scrumps are the little bits of left over batter and chips bits that are presumed of little value in a chip shop, but are arguable the tastiest bits on offer.

The main event was a beautiful piece of fish to complete the Fish and Chip memory. It was explained that the scrums were to be scattered over the fish and to spray the vinegar to give you the full fish and chip experience.

Accompanying wine Colli Martani Grechetto, Antonelli, Montefalco, Umbria, Italy 2011.

 Throughout the meal guests visited the kitchen to chat and ask the chefs questions. The meal was well paced allowing time to interact with other guests. Standing room only was available kitchen side and many people took advantage of this.

The final savoury course was Roast duck, summer carrots, fennel. This presented well and it ate as good as it looked. The duck was impressive. Succulent and top tasting. We both like fennel and it paired well with not only the duck but the carrots too. Some fragrant duck jus was spooned over. This was topped with crispy roast duck skin.

Wine course was Sancerre Rouge, Domaine Laloue 2010

There was a welcome break before the dessert allowing people to mingle, and  perhaps stretch their legs and talk with the chefs.
The dessert when it arrived table side was fairly simple but the presentation was theatrical to say the least.

Raspberry and rose sundae, was put in front of guests then liquid nitrogen was poured into receptacles  in the middle of the table to create an eerie cloud of mist that spread the entire breadth and width of the table.
A large glass jar of hundreds and thousands was available for guests to sprinkle over the dessert.

Wine served was Hukupapa dessert Riesling, Hunter's, Marlborough, New Zealand 2009.


 Finally the meal coming to an end some tasty chocolate crisps were offered with either tea or coffee.

So very few venues have the wow that The Cube has. This was a fabulous event enhanced by the staff, the chefs, and of course the food, and last but not least the theatrical element that elevated a special event to an amazing event. If you get the chance this really is a one off experience to try. Perhaps a once in a lifetime for most.
Having sampled Peter and Jonray's food we are looking forward to visiting Casamia in Bristol to try the tasting menu, because on this showing it promises some very special food indeed


So there you have it. A highly memorable meal for a number of reason's


Finally a few more photos for you to peruse over, and details of The Cube here