My very own sweet sixteen – dishes from a higher plane
The 16-course tasting menu at Cardinal is a bit of a marathon, but the food is sensational and the finishing line is well worth crossing, writes Gaby Soutar
The longest ever tasting menu was created by experimental food artists Bompas & Parr, and consisted of 200 courses over 24 hours.
Spanish restaurant El Bulli, which had three Michelin stars, used to serve 22- or 30-course dinners, and, before it closed, threw a 50-course feast as a last hurrah. Those are the ultramarathons of food. Usually, I prefer a sprint, but I was keen to try Cardinal’s offering, mainly because it’s owned by Tomás Gormley, one of the young co-founders of Edinburgh’s Michelinstarred Heron, and Skua in Stockbridge, both of which are excellent.
For £110pp, the newest venue offers an evening tasting menu that consists of, gulp, 16 courses, some of which, at either end, are canapé or petit four sized, so don’t panic. They’re also offering a 13-course lunch menu, at £75.
These are the highlights of our three-hour-long ride.
Oyster, Alexander Lake Garda olive oil – this was course number two, and was a palate-cleansing slurp, with a drizzle of greentasting oil that was made on a staff member’s family farm. It worked beautifully to connect the bite of duck liver and beetroot croustade before, and the crisp Belhaven crab tart that came afterwards.
Waffles, crème fraîche, fried chicken, caviar – we folded the shammy grid like a calzone, with the precious hot nugget and tangy salty condiments snuggled inside.
Cherry smoked Belhaven lobster, pink fir potato, Hollandaise, chive was as lush as Lana Del Ray’s eyelashes. It was an upmarket take on a prawn cocktail via Cullen skink, with tiny cubes of nutty potato and soft smoked lobster.
Iberico pork cheek, maitake, fermented girolles – I admit, I was hitting a bit of a wall at this point, as we were eight courses in, and had just taken delivery of a bread course of beremeal loaf and cultured butter, and another dish of taramasalata, egg yolk and ramson that came with a fist-sized doughnut. Still, I found space for this swooningly melty dollop of meat with maitake (or hen of the woods) mushrooms.
Market fish, vin jaune, Wye Valley asparagus – the fish of the day on our visit was a char-edged piece of turbot, with a frothy light sauce and nibs of asparagus.
Free Co beef, peppercorns, tallow, shallot – a Bordelaise sauce was poured onto the slices of dry aged retired dairy cow, which came with sweet sheaths of shallot. Magic.
Neapolitan ice-cream – three rochers of vanilla, strawberry and chocolate, each the best of its genre.
Lavender caramel – good grief, can I have ten of these? These cubes, which were served with ultra fruity hibiscus and rose pastilles, had the granular texture of treacle toffee, with a bit of salt and a floral hit that made me think that bumble bees would start to appear.
Sea buckthorn Jammie Dodger – almost too cute to eat.
We rolled out of this place feeling as if we had passed a finishing line. I think it might even have woken my dormant love of tasting menus. Maybe food sprints are overrated?