I’m not sure many of us regularly visit fancy-pants restaurants to have multi-course taster menus very often, but I witnessed the launch of the Summer Tasting Menu at Aviator’s Brasserie in Farnborough last week. The heatwave was at its height, still 30+c in the early evening sunshine, so thankfully the air-conditioning was extremely effective keeping the guests from leaking from every pore and dampening smart evening attire.
The Executive Chef, Dan Greene spoke briefly to discuss the menu in a bit more detail, explaining the provenance of the local ingredients; his passion for obtaining the highest quality produce was palpable, as well as his passion for matching flavour profiles and textures.
Before the first course was delivered, home-made breads, and home-made butter was presented, and all of which were extremely flavorsome and fresh, but I was mindful of not getting too full as we had 5 courses to get through, so had to hold back scoffing the lot.
First course was Tomato gazpacho with goat’s curd, torched tomatoes and crispy seeds. The red liquid was poured into the bowl by our waiter, and wow, a turbo-charged tomatoey taste, chilled, so refreshing and perfect for a very warm early summer evening. I’ll be honest, I was a little apprehensive of the goat’s curd element as I’m not really a fan of goat’s cheese as I find it tastes too much of the farmyard floor (I imagine at least), but I needn’t have been concerned, the cheese was extremely delicate, mild and creamy and balanced the sublime pure essence of tomato gazpacho, further enhanced by the sweet, sticky and chewy blackened torched tomatoes.
I’ll try to be brief about the remaining courses otherwise I’ll create a tome competing with War and Peace: Cured salmon and poached rhubarb, cucumber ketchup and wheat flake cracker with salmon roe – delicate, tender and enhanced by the roe. Not sure I would have recognized the rhubarb as rhubarb, but lovely nonetheless.
Sole with nori pomme anna, marinated courgette, asparagus, and champagne beurre blanc – one of the highlight dishes of the menu. The sole was cooked to perfection so the wonderfully white flakes separated under slight fork pressure, and the pomme anna was also delicate and I think the thin layer of nori seasoned the potato beautifully, and the beurre blanc had a lovely champagne flavour.
Before the main course, we received a passion fruit sorbet palate cleanser. The perfectly quenelled canary-yellow sorbet was balanced on top of a huge cube of ice; in every sense, really cool.
Fillet of beef with braised short rib and saffron arancini, truffle and bone marrow butter, and watercress mayonnaise – rich, succulent, decadent and sumptuous.
The dessert was Blackcurrant soufflé with mascarpone sorbet, lemon thyme, and oat crumb – I do love a soufflé, however, regularly slightly disappointed with the flavour as often so much effort is put into making the thing rise to the occasion, that the flavouring whether savoury or sweet, isn’t often enough. However, this soufflé not only rose superbly, a good inch and a half or more over the top of the large ramekin, but it also packed a huge blackcurrant punch that I think this fruit must have been stolen from a consignment heading for the Ribena factory. Another meal highlight.
We were lucky enough to experience the wine flight alongside the 5 courses, so a different glass of wine which had been especially selected to accompany each course. All 5 wines were absolutely wonderful, matching the tasting profiles perfectly, but I’d like to highlight the Catena Malbec (Mendoza, Argentina) which came with the fillet of beef main course was sensational, as was the Rosa Regale (Piedmont, Italy) which was served alongside the souffle dessert, a sparkling red wine, yes, a chilled red sparkling wine. It was very light, fruity and so fresh, an inspired choice.
Before each course, Aviator’s wine expert, Nathon Vinson, the Brasserie Assistant Manager described the wine that he’d chosen to complement each plate.
It’s refreshing to experience skill and enthusiasm at a restaurant, not only from the chefs responsible for the food and sommelier, but also from the table service staff, and it was a pleasure to chat with the table service staff, Jack, Owen, Beth and Ella. They all demonstrated that they had received excellent training as were attentive and knowledgeable, but also showing their individual personalities and character in conversation, and weren’t afraid to smile!
So, if you fancy a gastronomic treat sometime soon, head to Brasserie at Aviator in Farnborough and try their Summer Tasting Menu.
5 courses £75
5 courses with wine pairing £110
5 courses with cocktail pairing £124
For booking details, visit aviatorhampshire.com
Marcus Atkins
