Cocktail

Last week I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend the relaunch of Cutters Wharf Bar in Stranmillis. Wayne Collins, star of UKTV Food, was on hand to mix cocktails to go with the food. Wayne is Maxxium's in house mixologist (perhaps a slightly disingenuous title; by that token surely builders would be brickologists?), and winner of the Drinks International Cocktail Challenge. He certainly knew his stuff, and did a good job of playing to the crowd.

The first course was Char Sui pork and prawn spring roll (nice enough), and was accompanied by an "Asia Daisy": Plymouth Gin and Bols Lychee shaken with crushed lime and a splash of ginger, which was lovely: because it contained some of the spices used in oriental cooking it went well with the spring rolls

The main was baked hake with basil and mozzarella crust, fresh ratatouille and basil glaze (the ratatouille had ketchup added, the potato and carrot and parsnip purées were cold and lumpy). The white fish got a white wine cocktail accompaniment, the "Thompson Martini": crushed seedless grapes shaken with Absolut Citron, elderflower cordial and Sauvignon Blanc. Another superb cocktail; the grape and wine combination seems so obvious now.

A somewhat clichéd cheesecake was for dessert (too much butter in the base- you could hear spoons clanging off plates all around the restaurant), vanilla with passion fruit sauce. "Chocolate Flip" was the dessert cocktail: Remy Martin Cognac shaken with Bols Brown Cacao, Ruby Port, vanilla and fresh egg yolk. This emulsified into something resembling a chocolate milkshake, which was delicious, but unfortunately it felt like you were eating two deserts; the cocktail alone would have been enough.

But it was all great stuff and all for free! You don't just 'exist' when you're unemployed!