New College Guest Night - revisited

New College
Oxford



In our previous installment on Guest Night at New College, your reviewers panned the ability of Chef to construct a cohesive dish, and his total lack in common sense in sticking foie gras into lumpy mashed potato.



We return once more to sample what an Oxford college can provide.



A very pretty salmon starter appeared, capped with toast and paired with a baby leaf salad. Certainly an improvement upon last time, with the salmon tasting mild and creamy, balanced well by a herb dressing and a slight sharpness from the green leaves.



Mostly mild, the salad was comprised of fancy lettuces and baby spinach, but the occasional rocket leaf added some zing.



Curiously, the High Table was always served almost table-side, by a portable service unit. Did their mains get cold quicker than ours, necessitating this stainless steel display of culinary dexterity? Who knows. In our opinion, it just added clanking racket to the already bustling hall.



High Table, cloaked in darkness - could they see what they were eating?



Steak and mash - redux.



This time the mash was much creamier, although still slightly heavy. Served as an imperfect quenelles still indicated a rushed service. No real complaints, as Chef would need to plate almost 150 servings simultaneously - something few restaurants would wish to attempt.



The steak this time immediately caught our attention. Rather than the flaccid, grey splodge of the previous visit, this filet mignon was pert, caramalised, and crusted nicely with aromatic spices that at once suffused our senses in the most pleasant way.



Served atop sauteed cabbage and green beans with a simple jus, it was all done to the internal temperature to decide whether or not this meal would be sublime.





Look at that delicious spice crust. A mix of fennel, cumin and coriander seeds, the steak tasted faintly of anise mingled with the musk of cumin, which, usually served with lamb was a heady addition accentuating the meaty taste of the beef.



The vegetarian option was similar, replacing the steak with a crusted, stuffed, portabello mushroom.



Which was declared competent, but still just a mushroom, by our vegetarian friend H.



Yes! Finally, somebody left a bit of pinkness in my steak!



Absolutely brilliant - a medium to medium rare steak is certainly something I can sink my teeth into. Left to rest, the juices had redistributed. Combined with the flavours of the spices, this made for a wonderful morsel.



All washed down with a bottle of Bordeaux we had brought back from Paris.



And followed by a berry mousse topped with a tuille.



A wondered whether Chef was having a mushroom themed dinner, as the entree was also presented in this fashion. Who knows?

All in all, Chef at New has definitely redeemed himself in my books. Having just enjoyed some gorgeous steak in Paris, I could not say that this was the best steak I had eaten for a while, but it is certainly one of the best served to me in the UK - and we eat a lot of steak!