Neil Sowerby Valentineâs night. Hearts pounding. Is it romance? Or is it the dread youâre merely coughing up for the candlelight? The smoochy soundtrack? Your food of lurve will be overpriced and sadly detumescent. This cynical interloper adjusts the single red flower in its jug and awaits his dining companion. She, like him, is here to judge the quality of Deanna Thomasâs cooking. Guestrant at Electrik just happens to be on February 14 and the (mainly young) couples are gazing longingly... at their starters. Rightly. They look rather enticing.
The waitress delivering our merlot has a heart-shaped red smudge on her t-shirt. Is this symbolic? âNo I was clumsy opening a bottle and dipped my boob in it,â? she tells us disarmingly. The Cusumano Merlot, a touch of spice, a lot of stewed plum, is as fruity as a flirt but, at 14.5 per cent, this Sicilianâs ultimately a tiring companion. Deanna Thomas makes the introductions for each course. Her day job is 10 minutesâ walk away at the North Star Deli (418 Wilbraham Road, Chorlton M21 0SD. www.northstardeli.com). Most guest chefs at the regular Guestrant nights trek from further afield. Tonight, though, itâs the Wilbraham Road-show.
Itâs a challenging gig â ensuring you pack all your ingredients, acclimatising to an alien stove and, in this case noticeably, co-ordinating the service. Our starters are among the last to come out, with our mains we are front-runners. The starter is worth the wait. A hot and cold English breakfast salad featuring Bury black pudding and smoked black bacon from the Cheshire Smokehouse. Maybe the smoke dominates but it is a crisp salad composee. Homely deli food well matched to the homemade vibe Electrik carries off.
Impeccable sourcing is de rigueur in Chorlton. Butchery, you know Frostâs are going to be involved. They provided Deanna with a haunch of Tatton Park red deer, hung for three weeks. Lovely, tender meat, rare but not throbbing. The sauce slick and slightly sweet. Deanna tells us it is infused with Cheshire Chocolate Porter, made in Stockport at Robinsonâs Unicorn brewery. It would be apt if the gnarled root behind the melting celeriac mash came from Chorltonâs Unicorn grocery. A Valentine marriage of true unicorns! But I forget to ask. What mars the dish is the venisonâs excess of seasoning. An encrusting of juniper and black pepper is classic stuff but this roars round my throat.
My lack of fascination with the third course, a rich Belgian chocolate tart, is just a personal thing. I donât like chocolate in tarts. Deanna trained as pastry chef with Andrew Nutter and the casing is delightfully crisp. The filling cloys. Still I loved the Guestrant experience. Jostin and Luke Unambomber have created a real community hub here with fine cask ale and a cracking juke box. And offering such a three-courser for £25 is a real antidote to the Great Valentine Rip-off. But then they werenât trying to crack that market, were they?
Electrik, 59a Wilbraham Road, Chorlton M21 0AE (0161 881 3315, www.electrikbar.co.uk). Deanna Thomas is an accomplished food blogger and the founder of North Start Deli. Check her out here.
