Meeting 348

Meeting 348 -" Lunch at The Bel and Dragon at Cookham"
Sunday 11^th December 2011

       Bel & the Dragon in Cookham High Street has had a goodish reputation over the years, but became in 2010 one of three (Cookham, Windsor & Reading), soon to be four (Godalming) restaurants owned and run by Joel Cadbury and Ollie Vigors. The business re-opened in May 2011 having been given a substantial makeover, with a very interesting focus on fine wines. An excellent crowd of 28 members attended the Berkshire Branch Christmas Lunch there in early December.
       Our arrival glass of Prosecco was exactly the thing to get us in the mood for an early Christmas celebration.

       The Starters presented a choice of:

Pumpkin Soup
Hebridean peat-smoked sea trout
Crispy Cornish whitebait
Salad of duck, spring onion & radishes
       The Main Course choices were: Traditional Turkey Roast
Spit roasted suckling pig
Pan Roasted Sea Bass
Wild mushroom & chestnut risotto
       The Dessert choices were: Christmas Pudding
Vodka and lemon sorbet
Chocolate and hazelnut tart
British farmhouse cheeses

The Wines: We were given a glass of Prosecco to get us in the mood for an early Christmas celebration.
       The meal was accompanied by two house wines.
       Thewhite wine,Haut Poitou 2010, Sauvignon Blanc. A very powerful characteristic nettles and cat's pee nose combined with gooseberry on the palate, this had to be one of the best House Wines we have tasted.
       The red wine,Garrus 2010, AOP Coteaux de Languedoc was a blend of of Syrah, Grenache and Carignan was lighter on the nose but with full-bodied mature fruit, it seemed to go down very well with the full range of main courses (as well as my English cheeses. JF)

       Overall, a very pleasant lunch. The staff were efficient and helpful.

       Many thanks to Chris and Jules for organising the event.

A final note on the Bel and Dragon Wine List:
Joel Cadbury and Ollie Vigors have invested heavily in an excellent cellar which includes many wines from top Chateaux and from the best vintages. They are keen to share their love of fine wine with customers which means that pricing is extremely competitive and might allow for 4 to share a great bottle of wine for a very reasonable sum. See "From the Cellar" part of the wine list online at http://www.belandthedragon-cookham.co.uk/fooddrink.php.