Leading London caterer, H+J transformed 41 Portland Place on 29 June for an immersive night of ‘Foraging and Feasting’, to show how native wild plants can introduce new flavours and inspire menus.
Over 50 guests attended the showcase at the central London venue, where H+J provides a complete catering and sales service. The stylish Georgian townhouse was turned into a whimsical forest, with floral and foliage decorations and leafy lighting backdrops giving guests the feeling of being at one with nature.
On arrival, guests were greeted with botanical cocktails which included foraged pineapple mint-infused gin and tonic, peach Bellini and strawberry and basil-infused gin and tonic, all served with edible flowers as decoration. Canapés of black pepper macaroons, London cured salmon with wild fennel leaf and vanilla and chervil root panna cotta and pistachio crumb were served on beds of moss.
Miles Irving, author of The Forager Handbook, enlightened attendees as to the benefits of foraging, giving an inspirational talk which discussed the theory behind foraging and the positive effect it can have on the environment. Miles also contributed to the menu on the evening by assisting Head Chef Julian Moore and his team in foraging for ingredients such as wood sorrel, dittander and wild celery.
The main menu was unveiled during the feasting hour in the Council Chamber. Named ‘Taste of the Forest’ all the dishes contained wild ingredients, from the laver and dulse seaweeds in the bread and the orpine leaves in the wood-roasted artichoke salad to the sea buckthorn truffles and wild mallow flowers that garnished the jasmine and Earl Grey marshmallows.
H+J Director and Co-Founder, Patrick Harbour commented, “It’s a very exciting time for H+J and this event at 41 Portland Place is a representation of the hard work and dedication our team is putting in every day. Foraging is a growing element in the catering industry and it’s great that we can be one step ahead by incorporating it into some of our menus. We hope that this event can demonstrate that foraging is providing food for thought and for the future by changing the way we source some of our ingredients.”