The Alternate Valentine's Dinner @ Lewisham College

Becks

For the second year in a row we went to the Alternate Valentine's Dinner at Lewisham College, just to prove how original, spontaneous and romantic I am!

The evening is held by the Mayor of Lewisham as a fund raiser for his chosen charity. The room is mainly filled with groups out for the evening, but there were a few other couples dotted around the room too. This year we were tucked in corner, which was better than being located next to the bar like last year, however, it did mean that we didn't get to speak to any of the budding chefs.

Last year we had the second year students cooking for us. I'm not sure which group of students we had this year, but we both thought that the food was of a higher standard. The celeriac with flaky Stilton cheese straw was good, the sauce served with the chicken was a star too. However, the highlight of the night was undoubtedly the dessert plate which looked great and wouldn't have been out of place in a smart restaurant. The lemon curd with micro basil was a combination that worked surprisingly well.

Like last year the waiting staff were friendly and enthusiastic, but not the most polished. I'm not sure if you can study how to be a waiter at the college? The flower arranging students however did a good job with table decorations that we were able to take home with us.

This year had the added bonus that we won a bottle of wine in the raffle too!

Roulade of smoked salmon

Celeriac soup with Stilton cheese straw

Chicken stuffed with mushrooms and pan haggerty potatoes

Dessert plate