Morston Hall, Norfolk - Dinner

After such a sensational lunch I could hardly wait to sit down that evening for dinner. There's only one sitting at Morston which seems to add to the sense of occasion. Guests make their way into the various lounges for drinks at around 7pm, ready to be seated for 7.30pm. Pre-dinner drinks also gave them the opportunity to dazzle their guests with more food, some stunning scotch quails eggs. As I mentioned in my previous post Morston is the best place I've been for catering for dietary requirements. My scotch quail egg was done in polenta rather than bread crumbs which worked perfectly and ensured mine was gluten free.

The menu is pre-set at Morston, although they are happy to change dishes if there's something you don't like or eat. I really enjoy this in the same way I enjoy the restrictive choice of lunch menus. I don't find the fun in choosing, I find the fun in eating things I wouldn't normally order. When the cooking is of such a high standard it's the perfect he time to experiment.

Richard Bainbridge, the Head Chef at Morston Hall was in the kitchen for this evenings service and he just proved what an accomplished chef he is.

We started with the chef's appetizer of mackerel with radish which was beautifully presented and set the tone for the high class presentation throughout the meal. The first course was Tamworth pork belly with apple soup. A sumptuous piece of pork with small pieces of puffed up crackling and a velvety smooth apple sauce. With classic flavour combinations it's all about the cooking and at Morston this is superb.

The fish course for me was the knock-out dish and quite possibly one of the best dishes I've ever tasted. North Sea Cod, Etuvée cabbage and Morston lobster. Once again, Cod cooked to absolute perfection with a beautiful colour to it on top of a rich lobster bisque with beautiful succulent pieces of lobster. 

Main course, sirloin of Blickling Estate Aberdeen Angus with fondant potatoes and Marsham asparagus was equally as accomplished and equally well cooked. It really demonstrated the quality you can get from using high class local produce.

Finally, in this master class of cuisine, they really pulled out all the stops with a gluten free soufflé! Most would struggle to get a normal soufflé tasting this amazing but my gluten free rhubarb and custard soufflé with vanilla pod ice cream was divine and the perfect way to end a perfect day. I really couldn't recommend Morston Hall enough an absolute gem on the North Norfolk coast.