‘Are you afraid of the dark?’

Friday 27 October, 2016, Private dining experience, Birmingham

‘Are you afraid of the dark?’ was commissioned as a birthday dinner, to coincide with the weekend of Halloween.

The event was produced without the prior knowledge of the guests for the ultimate surprise. A specially designed set in an underground cellar provided a terrifying backdrop, and an opulent table nestled in the subterranean detritus and cobwebs.

Three performers, enthralled by the flesh of the diners, served and surrounded the guests; close and sensual, they conjured a heightened sense of fright and delight.

Video by Jack Buck.

 

BONES – Amuse Bouche
Chicken wing lollipop, beetroot mayonnaise, porcini powder; Spiced pumpkin croquette, bone marrow and toasted marshmallow

EYES – Welcome Drink
Lychee juice, lychees, gin, absinthe, blueberry juice

FLESH – Starter
Steak tartare, deep fried capers, chicken liver parfait, cured egg yolk, cornichon, rye crumbs served along the hollow of veal bones

DIGITS – Fish
Squid ink linguini, smoked fish cigarette, seaweed, salt and kampot pepper squid, shallot rings, squid ink mayonnaise

BELLY – Main
Pork Belly braised in five spice, glazed in ketjap manis, pearl barley and black rice, black pudding, roasted aubergine, onion ash, ‘stitched’ pig skin

BRAIN – Dessert
Chocolate ganache, cake, blackberry parfait, beetroot and blackberry gel plated on white plate with a beetroot blood splatter

SPIRIT – Petit-four
Bite-sized black toffee apple, calvados and apple puree on bones

WISHES – At the end of the event the diners were given a gilded chicken wishbone to commemorate the event.

‘Are you afraid of the dark?’ was curated and produced by Kaye Winwood; Food by Chris Hughes; Production Assistants – Jessica Barber and Rico Johnson-Sinclair; Performed by Jessica Barber, Cat Butler, Rico Johnson-Sinclair; Videography by Jack Buck.