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Day 3
Updated: Aug 31
The Engagement
September 2004 and Bob whisked Ali away to London for a surprise weekend to celebrate her 30th birthday. A meticulously planned itinerary of foodie delights: it was Ali’s idea of heaven.
Lunch at the River Café was a definite highlight followed by a visit to a wine “museum” experience called Vinopolis on the south bank of the Thames that is sadly no longer open. For the (quite frankly) absurd price of £20 we travelled around the world indoors sampling sixteen wines from various countries and discovered a trove of information about grape varieties, optimal growing conditions, bottling, maturation and the flavour profiles that present in your nose and on your palate. For the additional steal of £5 we included three champagnes from the French region, a tutored tasting, two gin cocktails in the pop-up Bombay Sapphire bar experience and a flight of absinthe. We thought we were doing quite well until the absinthe humbled us and we spent the rest of the evening trying to remember the name of our hotel and wondering if we would ever see land again.
The morning of Ali’s birthday arrived, and we gently made our way to a new branch of Carluccio’s that had opened in Smithfield. The meat market was already at the end of its day’s trading having been up and at it since dawn. The final trucks were being loaded, shutters clattering down, pavements being hosed and there was more yelling and shouting than we felt was entirely necessary given our fragile state.
But turning the corner to where Carluccio’s was located, opposite the Smithfield Rotunda and the Peace Memorial Fountain, we left the hubbub behind and took the welcome opportunity of an outside table for some restorative fresh air. The “cioccolata Fiorentina” came highly recommended by the waiter: a cup of thick, glossy hot chocolate made from shavings of the finest Italian chocolate and accompanied by a freshly squeezed orange juice and a pain au chocolat the size of our head, we graciously decided that we might, actually, make it through the day.
The evening’s location was still a mystery but when the taxi pulled up outside Jamie Oliver’s restaurant “Fifteen”, Ali knew she was in for a great night. Jamie Oliver had launched his own training academy that took fifteen homeless young people off the streets to put them through a year of training in the world of hospitality. It was the subject of a Channel 4 documentary series and naturally had its ups and downs. The opening of the restaurant marked the pinnacle of the team’s training and it was our first experience of a “tasting menu”. A number of dishes were presented over the course of the evening, but the memorable dish was the very first one. Scallop Crudo – a Chinese soup spoon holding a pristine, raw, seasoned scallop, topped with blackcurrant puree and shiso leaf. One simple bite that simply blew your mind.
Ten courses later and we were merry, flushed of cheek and absolutely stuffed. Just as the waiter appeared to offer the bill and Ali was rubbernecking in the kitchen to catch a glimpse of the man himself, she turned around and noticed a small box in the middle of the table. The simple words of “will you spend the rest of your life with me” and the presenting of a ring, rendered Ali a blubbering mess. Bob did well. A carefully chosen ring from a range by Swarovski until such times as Ali “chose her own”. This lad knew what he was getting into right from the start! The two ladies on the table next to us joined in the tears and as we stumbled out the door that night, little did we know what lay ahead of us as a newly engaged couple. And yes, he asked Ali’s dad beforehand because Bob knew that she was a daddy’s girl first and foremost.
This is Day Three in our series sharing 31 Food Memories for the 31 Days of August.
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