Last month I was invited to an ambassador’s dinner with the lovely team at Dine and what an evening it was. It was held at the Mansion in Leeds which is a gorgeous venue, it has the most incredible chandelier and a cosy dining room where we gathered with fellow bloggers, journalists and photographers. I documented the evening on my Insta Stories and I had a flurry of notifications asking me where in the world I was. The canapés came in cloches filled with dry ice and it was all very dramatic for a Thursday night and a lot more impressive than my usual gym session/bath and bed combo. The purple radish and goat cheese ones were my fave. After a fizz reception, we were ushered upstairs and course after course was revealed with a flourish. The theme of the evening was the taste test and just when you thought it couldn’t get more exciting, there was a quiz and we all had to guess key ingredients and flavours in each dish.
The table was stunning. Twisted Willow Floristry created the table of dreams with her flower displays. I’ve never once seen a full size aubergine used as a table decoration but it worked wonderfully and matched the autumnal dinner party theme perfectly. 
I mean, this is not your average dinner party menu. The chef called the menu A Walk In Autumn and I have to say it was pretty spectacular and that’s coming from someone who usually runs a mile from fussy food. The starter was crispy seaweed, oyster ravioli, scallop, cauliflower puree topped with a squid ink cracker. There’s a lot going on here but it was delicious.
I had the duck with baby courgette, pomme chateau potato, carrots and beetroot fondant for main.
The dessert was ridiculously good and of course my favourite part of the meal. Dark chocolate tart, white chocolate mousse, a vanilla creamsicle topped with apple merrangue.
Then came the sorbet taste test. We were asked to try 5 flavours and note down our guesses. They were Ginger, Peach, Vanilla, Honey & Mango. I got four out of five right and my prize was the most perfect box of Lauden chocolates. A wonderful end to a lovely evening. Dine definitely set the bar for dramatic dinner parties. Who knew I had such a knack for guessing sorbet flavours?
*Photo credit to the lovely Olivia Brabbs.
