Only the second of its kind, the Food and Drink Society pulled off another fabulous foodie night with their annual “Feast”, again held in the beautiful Smock Alley Theatre, with tickets costing €45. Greeted by the friendly committee upon arrival, a glass of Prosecco nudged us upstairs to the main event where there was already bread on the tables, carefully decorated with white linens, green floral arrangements and candles in glass jars. Accompanying the suet bread were three unlabelled jars that took some guessing as to what was inside. One seemed to be a pea purée, another with venison, and the third left us baffled. Along with that was a bowl of salty vegetable crisps and anchovies, which were a big hit on the table. None of this was on the menu card, so it was trial and error that worked out well for the most part. The canapé was then served around 8pm: quinoa with crabmeat for the majority, and quinoa with courgettes for vegetarians. While the grains were quite plain, the seaweed added a salty dimension, and both toppings were enjoyed, and their serving on a small wooden board with what seemed to be the society’s crest scorched onto it was an effective touch.
The next course was a piece of white fish, with a lot of black pepper and even more bones, while the vegetarians had a mushroom broth which consisted of different wild meaty varieties; a welcome change to see expensive ingredients for the vegetarians as well as the carnivores. Around 9pm the mains began to arrive; soft pink venison served on pearl barley in a creamy brown sauce. The vegetarian counterpart to this was the same base and sauce, but with more mushrooms and root vegetables. Some of the vegetables were unfortunately undercooked leaving them hard and inedible, but the parsnip crisps were a crunchy salty delight. A compliment must go out here to the caterers, Sett Food Club. Sitting beside a vegan who requested at the start of the evening that her main course come without sauce, her meal arrived first and they had remembered and delivered on her request, despite feeding upwards of 200 people.
Very soon after the main course was cleared away, dessert arrived and while it did not match the dessert on the menu, there were many clean plates. A large marshmallow was sitting in a puddle of chocolate mousse, with three chunks of chocolate cookie dough; a rich, sure-fire way of making sure no one left the feast hungry. Just when the seams were fit to burst, a cheese board was brought out. Sufficiently smelly, sufficiently mouldy, it was enjoyed by the table, before heading off down the road to Workman’s. While the menu confused us a little, the emphasis on seasonal spring foods provided a continuity and a roundedness throughout the courses that was a reflection of the careful planning and general foodie appreciation of the Food and Drink Society.
