When you hear the name Goodwood, we all tend to think of the phrase ‘Festival of Speed’ or ‘Goodwood Revival’ and neither of these were on offer at a press event yesterday, along with horse racing or motor racing. No, it was 200 years of Goodwood cuisine we were celebrating – a menu fit for kings and including everything from coronation chicken to Earl Grey bavarois – with a modern twist of course. Along with staff from the Telegraph and The Daily Mail we were privileged to be sampling a tasting menu ahead of the upcoming Qatar Goodwood racing season.
We began with a visit to the main Goodwood house – home to the current Duke of Richmond and Lord of March – for a tour of this impressive house, complete with rare Canalettos of London, portraits of Charles I and George V, plus Napeoleon’s military battle planning chair and a wonderful collection of Sevres China.
The Goodwood farm on the estate is a prime example of organic farm-to-fork food. They specialise in small-scale, high-quality breeding of cows, pigs and lambs for meat, which is sold by the estate for burgers and sausages to major events around the UK and to places as prestigious as The Ritz and top-class caterers such as Rhubarb, at the Skyline in London.
The special summer menu was devised to encompass food from the last 200 years and included a new take on dishes – such as coronation chicken canapés with spiced apricot purée inside, and kaffir lime prawn cigars. Among the courses was a shaved raw and dehydrated vegetable salad, while other more well-known meats had additions such as veal popcorn, burnt lemon jam and lovage purée to add a new dimension.
In all, a meal fit for a king – with plenty of inspiration for the foodies among us. Other delicacies included Charlton cheese custard – from cheese made at the dairy on the estate – and tiny toasted squares of Guinness soda bread with seaweed butter – an indicator of just how far event catering has come, and that leaves us all wanting more.
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