Whilst sister Sarah was home for a few weeks, I decided to make a family outing of a night at HN’s Forth Floor for their summer food and drinks event. We couldn’t have asked for a better evening up there. A crowded event, lots of amazing eats and treats to taste and sip, and a gloriously sunny evening, enjoyed from one of the best viewpoints in Edinburgh.
Firstly, everyone was handed an HN apron to wear for the evening, which was a nice kind of leveler for all! Before moving two paces we were scoffing lemon sortbet, then a cocktail, then some fabulous Ruinart Champagne and cupcakes from Ivory Tower. Phew!
Next up we checked out the ‘edible garden’ of cute flower cookies on the terrace and grabbed some cheesy shots!
We watched a superb seafood demonstration, putting a platter of lobster, clams, mussels, sea snails, langoustines and a whole bunch of other exciting things together. We also watched some mayonnaise being whipped up in a matter of seconds , and it was delish. I then went on a ‘backstage’ tour of the HN kitchen. A remarkably small area (my chefs at work don’t know how easy they have it!), and we were shown the different spaces where the Forth Floor Brasserie, and also the fine-dining restaurant put out their wares from. Friendly chef chap showed us a neat trick of how to de-skin tomatoes without having to cook them too much.
Next up, it was cocktail hour (of course!) and we stopped by to the bar, where they were showing us how to make French martinis. We were all given a nice sample glass to try, before watching their bartender shake up the fruity drinks. Anything with Chambord in it is a winner for me, and -quelle surprise- my sister was first to shoot her hand up to get to try the ‘adult-sized’ version when it was finished. Cheers girls!
Onwards and upwards (or as the belly was getting by this stage, outwards) and time to visit the Yo! Sushi! corner. As you might know, Yo! oringially arrived in Edinburgh around 10 years ago and had a unit on Rose Street. For some reason, it all just didn’t quite work out, so I’m glad to see them firmly established in their new home up here on Forth Floor. We were shown how to make a few different types of sushi, including nigiri (the one with a big chunk of fish on top), maki (the rolled ones with nori on the outside) and Iso which is the familiar California roll style, with rice on the outside, and often rolled in tobiko (fish eggs). I’m a bit of a fraidy-cat when it comes to salmon, so I stuck with the delicious avocao maki for this one.
Wine tasting? Oh why not? I had a big run the next night, so literally just a sip for me, but we were treated to a selection of 4 (1 white, 3 red) top end Aussie and South African wines. The Red Claw Pinot Noir was a little fresh for my liking, but I also had to take into consideration what a weird mix of things we’d eaten/drank before getting to the wines. My top vote went for the AA Badenhorst Red Blend. Tones of juicy shiraz, bold as you like, but quite accessible. Would be keen to try again in a more normal dinner context.
After the wine tasting, we mosied back over to the main event, and took a wander round the other stalls, including oysters and Guinness, award-winning Stewart Brewing Company, Iain Burnett the lovely chocolate guy, and Clark’s who had brought along some wonderful cheeses including Dunsyre Blue and a tangy Isle of Mull cheddar.
In all, a wonderful night of food and drinks. Well done to HN and the suppliers, and I’m looking forward to the next one.
Hi there, I'm trying to get together some bloggers to blog about Organic Fortnight (3-17 September). If you'd like to join in you can find out more at my Crafty Green Poet blog (http://craftygreenpoet.blogspot.com) and at the Soil Association website: (http://www.soilassociation.org/Takeaction/OrganicFortnight/tabid/244/Default.aspx). Thanks!