We love to meet our readers! Over the last couple of years we’ve made new friends and met lovely people in our quest to see the best of York’s food scene, so putting on events with restaurants we like where we can meet more lovely people is a real privilege. When we attended the Cut & Chase launch party a little while ago and noted the neat private dining space tucked away upstairs, we couldn’t resist proposing a collaboration with them, something that bore fruit last month as we gathered together a lovely group to eat, drink and make merry.
With only 14 seats this was always going to be an intimate evening so we decided to forego conventional starters and, instead, have our guests arrive to an arrival drink downstairs while they were served canapés based on the selection of starters available on the new winter menu. As everyone got acquainted, the sage and clementine cocktails went down very as the canapés were delivered, the Whitby crab cakes and rabbit confit going down particularly well, and conversation flowed as I started to become anxious about my perhaps vague instructions on commencement time. Thankfully it didn’t take too long for the full complement of guests to arrive and after a bit more munching, we were on our way up the stairs to the private dining area to start the main courses.
If you’ve ever heard me speak in public, you’ll know the first sentence is generally “don’t worry, I won’t speak for long as I hate public speaking”. While one day I may feel comfortable enough to dispense with that disclaimer, this was not that day so I got my bit over with before passing across to Will, who in his capacity as director, was better positioned to talk with passion about the local sourcing policies and desire to provide a unique drinking experience to York’s residents.
Of the main courses the game fricassee and baked coley fillet were most popular, justifiably so in both cases. My fricassee was generously portioned with game and good reports of the coley came from around the table while lentil and nut roast received praise too for being a well considered and interesting vegetarian option.
As we rounded off with the dessert course, there were well cleared plates in evidence and the general murmur of the well-fed. The lemon and poppyseed cheesecake was presented perfectly and the poached pears went down very well. After the chef was kind enough to pop his head around the door and receive appropriate plaudits, we bade goodbye to friends new and old then made our way into the night. Our huge thanks to the guys at Cut & Chase for hosting a lovely evening!
