Birthday Dinner at The Orangery

The Brief

A relaxed summer party in the park, laid back Italian sophistication meets high class West London style. A warm, friendly greeting and champagne reception, a seated dinner with informal and impromptu toasts throughout, coffee, cake, cheese and digestives in the marquee on the lawn and cocktails  and conversation into the night.
The Menu
Canapes
  - Rare roast fillet of beef on watermelon cubes with pickled ginger and coriander
  - Chorizo and Cumberland sausages with roasted red pepper ketchup
  - Ricotta cakes with slow roasted vine tomatoes and basil wafers
  - Smoked salmon, poached quails egg on brioche croute with hollandaise
  - Mini bagels of smoked salmon and cream cheese

Start 

Home cured salmon, fennel carpaccio, pink grapefruit with purple shiso and radish salad

Great seeded granary sour dough bread

Main

Breast of guinea fowl filled with spinach and ricotta, confit of leg, smoked garlic mash, wilted greens and tarragon jus

Desert 

Retro Trio of chocolate profiteroles, strawberry and blueberry pavlova and a Sicilian lemon cheesecake

Cheese

An elegant grazing station full of delicious and yummy cheeses

Drinks

  - Champagne

  - Peroni

  - Apple Fez (soft cocktail)

  - Bottles of Russian Vodka at the table for shots

  - Gavi di Gavi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortese_di_Gavi

Late Evening Cocktails 

  - Express Martini

  - Amaretto Sour

  - Lemoncello fizz

Here is the thank you from the grateful ospite...

"Well it is now one month since the big event at The Orangery and I have been travelling quite a lot since then so I have not had the chance to email you, but I do want to say that it really was the most FANTASTIC evening.  It took me at least two weeks to recover from all the fun.

The tent worked brilliantly for pre and post dinner drinks, so glad we had it.  The food was wonderful...everyone has commented on this, and the late evening cocktails were VERY popular.  And the beer and champagne were COLD. And there were no olives or capers to be seen anywhere !!!

The organiser for the evening, Tony, was excellent and so accommodating...

Thanks again for everything...Bovingtons are THE BEST"

BW