SOMETIMES, an image drives you mad to actually taste the dish. Let’s call it an Instagrammatic urge. Award-winning, entrepreneurial bloggers like Freda Shafi have it down to a tee.
Still, as they say, the proof is in the pudding, as we’ll find out when we tackle this Indian kheer with cardamom, pistachio and crystallised rose petals on Friday, August 30 at Harvey Nichols.
It’s the main dessert in a six course dinner from Leeds-based guest chef Freda, showing hands-on that there’s more to her talents than the one million Instagram followers generated by The Feed Feed website she edits.
Freda’s tasting menu kicks off with okra fries (above), followed by seared scallops in chilli garlic butter on a lentil gravy. Then comes a crisp veg samosa, served with bhel, beetroot chips and a mint/coriander yoghurt sauce; tandoori seabass with gunpowder potatoes; lamb cutlets with wild mushroom pilau rice, vegetable crisps and tamarind chutney; classic dark lentil dish daal makhani with fluffy naans.
A palates cleaning mango sorbet precedes the kheer (a kind of rice pudding). To finish, chai tea served with a traditional Nankkhati a sweet and spiiy shortbread biscuit. A summer cocktail on arrival and canapés complete the experience, which costs £45 a head.
Second Floor Bar and Brasserie, Harvey Nichols, 21 New Cathedral Street, Manchester, M1 1AD. Friday, August 30, 7pm. To book, call 0161 828 8898 or email [email protected]
