Downton Abbey Comes To Blackfish


You a fan of Downton Abbey? Or maybe just enamored of turn-of-the-last-century England with all its frills, stately manors and crippling class system? Or perhaps you just really have a taste for sweet pea veloute and a floating island for dessert.

In any event, if any of those descriptions apply to you, you’re gonna want to mark off Sunday, February 24 on your calendar because that’s the day that Blackfish in Conshohocken will be hosting an ambitious 7-course Downton Abbey-themed dinner that’s being pitched as a haute 1920’s garden party. According to chef Chip Roman: ““I want a guest to feel like an invitee to a Crawley garden party, to expect haute-service and cuisine reflective of that time, and to dine like a wealthy patron who frequented gatherings at estates like Downton Abbey. It’s about capturing the spirit of such a feast. The music, the dress of our staff, and the plating will harken back to the ‘20s, when prosperity in technology, industry and lifestyle reigned.”

Okay, that actually sounds just bonkers enough to be cool. And the menu is pretty killer, too, with at least a couple dishes represented that you might never see cooked again in your lifetime. Check out the full board after the jump.

Downton Abbey Dinner

at Blackfish

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Etiquette Lessons:

Each great house—Downton Abbey included—was expected to throw at least one great garden party a year, preferably in August or September. Invitations were sent by the hostess weeks in advance, with the promise of tennis, croquet, or other amusements. If there was to be dancing at night, it was either done in a tent or under the moonlight on the lawn, perhaps illuminated by Chinese lanterns.

Menu

 

Amuse-Bouche

Salmon toast with mustard butter and chervil

Pimm’s Cup

 

1st Course:

Cape May salt oysters with brook trout roe and champagne vinaigrette

 

2nd Course:

Mrs. Patmore’s London Particular

Sweet pea velouté with country ham and crème fraîche

 

3rd Course:

‘Downton Crabbey’

Blue crab galette with Belgian endive and foie gras

 

4th Course:

Roasted quail with frisée, lardons, fondant potatoes and Madeira jus

 

5th Course:

Slow roasted wild venison with sweet potato, cardoons, juniper, and quince

 

6th Course:

Cheese selection served family style

 

7th Course:

île flottante

Floating island with crème anglaise and raspberry coulis

 

Petits fours

 

The dinner will be $100 per person. Reservations are required. Open seating begins at 4:30. And, yes, guests are encouraged to dress up as though attending a party at Downton Abbey.

Blackfish [Official]