Heston Style Feast

Last night a small group of us were treated to a Heston style feast at Hayli and Marc's, courtesy of the lovely couple and soon to be ex-pat Ben. It was Ben's farewell Australia meal and it seems only fair he should slave over a hot stove all day to cook it.

These guys don't do anything by halves, so we knew it would be good. I ate nothing but hommus and carrots all day to make sure I had enough room for what was to come. Starting with soup, I had the Thai pumpkin as I'm not a huge seafood fan. I believe the official word in the industry for this level of consistency and flavour in a soup is amazeballs.

Main was cooked to perfection pork belly with baby vegetable salad and pureed pees. These aren't your pie floater mushy pees you get from a pie shop in Hackney, they were creamy and delicious and quite frankly, should be served on everything.

For dessert Miss Hayli Ryan served individual red velvet jar cakes, a layered concoction of cake, cream and white chocolate cream cheese frosting. I love a good cake, so I got in there with my little wooden spoon like I was mining for gold. Still hungry for more sugar, we got into the frosting on its own once we were done with our cakes. Not surprisingly I departed for a lie down before the plateau de fromages was wheeled out (but not before Miss Ryan read Kelly and I a nice story and recapped the latest SVU episode).

Recently I've found myself disappointed with contemporary restaurant food. I've had some nice meals, but nothing that has made me really excited or desperate to go back. I rarely go out for breakfast anymore because I know I can cook something just as good in the comfort of my own home. Do not even get me started on how pissed off I am when I have to pay $4 for a watery, tasteless coffee.

The thing is, I don't love cooking. I'm not the worst cook out there, I probably won't poison you, but I don't have the passion for cooking my friends have. Their food is always great and they cook for us often, but they really outdid themselves this time. Maybe it's the love that goes into the food that takes it from amazing to exceptional.  Maybe it's just being able to completely relax with friends, make as much noise as you like and have inappropriate conversations without offending fellow diners. Maybe it's age. I'm just enjoying intimate dinners with friends a lot more than over priced restaurants these days. This was the best meal I have had in a long while and with quality like this, why would you dine anywhere else.