May you join us…

“To invite people to dine with us is to make ourselves responsible for their well-being for as long as they are under our roofs.”

– Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

This quote sums up our supper club perfectly – I have long been a fan of french gastronome and food philosopher – his aphorisms  have often rung true on so many occasions. This is no more so than the one above…

For our May event we will feature those in season foods such as Asparagus, Lamb and Strawberries with some novel combinations and some well tried marriages.

We will kick the evenings off with welcome drink and seasonal nibbles and then start the meal with a risotto made with fresh local Asparagus, Gorgonzola cheese and toasted  hazelnuts – creamy and unctuous.

The main course will be roasted lamb served with a foraged wild garlic crumb, the new seasons jersey royal potatoes, peas and charred lettuce all bought together with a redcurrant jus.

Our cheese selection will reflect what is best and in season and finally what could be better than a soft chewy meringue topped with cream and fresh local strawberries that will be well and truly coming into season.

We hope you will come and join us and we welcome old and new customers to come and sample what “Covert” dining will all be about…

Please complete the booking form below, we will then email you an invoice to confirm your reservation with a small deposit that can be paid securely online.

Dates: Saturday 19th May

Time : 7:30pm Welcome Drink & Nibbles

Dinner: 8:00pm prompt

Price: £30 Per Person (service not included)

Menu:

Asparagus, Gorgonzola and Toasted Hazelnut Risotto

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Roasted Lamb Rump, Wild Garlic Crumb, Jersey Royals, Charred Lettuce, Peas & Green Beans, Redcurrant Jus

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Hari’s Selection of Cheeses. Porridge Oat Biscuits

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Fresh Local Strawberry Pavlova

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Coffee, Tea & Petit Fours

Menu subject to market purchases and ingredient availability

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The Long March…

I always like to give my monthly events something of a title and a theme and as the years go by it seems to get a little harder to come up with something pertaining and relevant.

This time for me the month of March sees the beginnings of the end of a long winter as we head into Spring and also we see the clocks spring forward as we head into Summer.

So “The Long March” will see us opening for two nights on the 16th and 17th of the month. The 17th is St Patrick’s Day and we thought shall we go all Irish with the menu but have decided just to in places on the menu have the odd nod to the Emerald Isle.

We will kick the evenings off with a welcome drink and some seasonable nibbles. We have no idea what as yet but we normally serve a soup shot, one cold and one hot “ameuse bouche” so will start researching some ideas.

To kick the meal off we thought we would start with a starter we have done before many years ago… a custard set chilled Cauliflower Terrine. This time we propose to serve it with some freshly poached King Prawns that we will then dress with a sweet chilli dressing and a sliver of roasted cauliflower. The earthiness of the cauliflower should marry well with sweet prawn and dressing. It will also have quite some “eye appeal” as well so a great way to start our food march!

For the main course we thought we would do a roasted pork tenderloin/fillet served with our veritable green beans and the addition of some Chinese Pak Choy. A sauce made with dried apricots and a red wine jus will be a great marriage.

Garnished with some crispy “Pommes Dauphine” a mix of potato and choux pastry that is deep fried will give it all a desirable textural element and something to soak up that sauce.

We traditionally serve cheese following the main course (the French way) and here we hope to introduce an Irish element ! We have also been experimenting recently with some new style biscuits – a totally gluten free version using a mix of ground seeds including hemp, chia and linseed. We of course will also have our now much sought after Porridge Oat biscuits as well.

Finally to complete the meal we will serve a very much in season fruit – Rhubarb as a pastry slice married with the classic combo of custard. This will complete a fun night of good seasonal food with some classic combinations.

Coffee and Petit Fours will finish it all off along with your comments on the event in our guest book or as a review on our Facebook page.

Dates: Friday 16th & Saturday 17th March 2018

Arrival: 7:30pm – Welcome Drink & Nibbles

Dinner: 8:00pm 

Suggested Donation: £35 per person  – a £5 per person Reservation Deposit by emailed invoice with a secure credit card payment link will secure your places.

We then request the balance of £30 cash per person on the night  (N.B. service not included)

Water & Glasses provided on the table – guests can bring their own drinks to consume with their dinner. 

Menu

Welcome Drink and Nibbles

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Cauliflower Terrine garnished with Poached Prawns in a Sweet Chilli Dressing

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Roasted Pork Fillet, Apricot Jus

Pommes Dauphine

Haricots Verts & Pak Choy

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Hari’s Cheese Selection with Porridge Oat Biscuits

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Rhubarb & Custard Cream Slice

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Coffee & Petit Fours

Menu subject to market purchases and ingredient availability

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Review of 2017…

Well it has been a hectic year at “Covert Towers” during 2017 with a variety of dinners and an assortment of functions throughout the year along with some pretty impressive dining out experiences as well as the odd humdinger as well! Less said about them the better!

We kicked the year off with a new concept for our dinners where we did a “Pot Luck” menu where we literally decided the menu at the last minute and suggested a minimum donation of just £10 per person. We were amazed over two dinners and one lunch we managed to serve a total of 48 diners – a record for us and a great way to kick the year off.

Next up was our Game On dinner where we featured some amazing Game – from venison Pigeon and then Guinea Fowl and this was quickly followed by what we termed our Quirky Dinner as we were deemed a “quirky” food venue on the newly launched Quirky Kent website.

May saw us do an event in a new venue for us on the “Mountain of Crowborough” in the Community Centre where we took over their cafe for the night and popped up with a special four course menu.

We were back there in the summer when we also did another night where we served up our infamous Paella from a single large pan! In fact during this year we managed to serve up Paella a number of times with the biggest challenge, doing a party of 100 using some four separate pans.

Other private functions saw us doing Moroccan Chicken in the pans and even one where we did bubble and squeak so we could serve up Sausages with an onion gravy to about 80 guests enjoying the Tom Carradine Cockney Sing-a-Long. If you are are planning an event in 2018 check out our Man with a Pan service or our @yourhome offer as well.

We also saw events in the Autumn period ranging from our “End is Nigh” dinner to our “October Fe(a)st” and finally just before Xmas our “Ding Dong – Ho Ho Ho” events – one pair of stalwart guests who came along each month commented in our guest book “Turned up trumps again and consistently excellent… delicious food as ever” … makes it all worthwhile for us – thanks David & Brenda!

Our own dining out high has to be the WasTED pop up in Selfridges back in March 2017 whilst we really enjoyed a lunch at Adam Simmonds year long pop up in Soho “The Test Kitchen” and then a new discovery of an Asian Fusion place located in the heart of St Katherine’s Dock run by chef Neil Wager called Dokke – a meal literally just before Xmas was awesome in so many ways – I will return and post a review soon in 2018!

Now we are busy planning 2018 dates and themes. We are already excited about a week long gig in the French Alpes in early February for a long standing Hari customer.

We also have something a little different planned for April – we will publish details soon and we are also hoping to persuade some other guest chefs to join us during 2018 so you can all experience some different styles and unique experiences. We are also hoping to offer a special charity night at some stage as well.

Our first event of 2018 is a joint venture with wine tasting guru Rowena Hawtin so check out the Discover the Vine and Savour the Curd Event for more details… we only have limited spaces left so be quick and reserve your places now.

What a great year 2017 was and wishing you all the very best for 2018…

Cheers

Hari

Pot Luck 2…

We had a highly successful event earlier this year when we ran a sell out series of dinners and a lunch where we decided the menu subject to market purchases. The menu was only revealed when diners sat down to eat.

We also set the minimum donation of just £10 per person and suggested diners pay what they thought it was worth.

With Christmas fast approaching and everyone thinking about the festive season and counting their pennies, we have decided to repeat this offer next month.

We hope we can tempt you all to come and try us out.

We have some exciting food ideas and plan to serve a seasonal three course dinner. This time cost will be £5 per course (making it a minimum of £15) with customers able to decide what they feel the meal is worth! – a great way for you to experience what our supper club is all about!

So if you are feeling brave and want to partake of this event then please do complete the booking form below.

Please note this will be very much a “first come first served” on the booking front so do not delay in booking. You can, at that time, let us know if you have any major allergies or dietary requirements as this will help us in the planning of the whole menu when we come to make our purchases.

So who is up for a bit of “Pot Luck 2” secret dining? If you have never been now is your chance to be surprised!

To reserve your places just complete the form below and we will contact you within 48 hours to secure your booking by taking a credit/debit card payment deposit.

Dates: Friday 17th & Saturday 18th November

Arrival: 7:30pm 

Dinner: 8:00pm – A three course menu will be served

Suggested Donation: A £5 Reservation Deposit per person secures the first course.

We then request a minimum £10 cash per person on the night will ensure you get the other two courses  – we will happily accept more if you think it has all been worth it. (N.B. service not included)

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Fancy a dinner on us?…

It has been sometime since we have held a competition so we thought we would have one now.

It is very simple to enter, we want your recipe for your favourite Autumn dish.

What for you epitomises this lovely season? It can be anything you like.

To enter all you need to do is email us your recipe at covert.hari@yahoo.co.uk with the phrase Recipe Competition in the subject line.

We will then look at them and test the best ones and then pick a winner which we will share with you all in our November Newsletter.

All entrants will then go into a free draw to win a free place at our next event in November where they will be invited to attend and have  their dinner on us!

So simple – just send us your recipes as soon as possible

Closing date is Friday 20th October at 5pm

You can also send more than one recipe and increase your chances!

 

October Fe(a)st…

Well, we thought for our October event we would highlight a few of our favourite dishes and try something a bit different as well.

It will take place in our home venue only on Saturday 14th October so spaces are limited.

We will kick the evening off with a welcome drink and some seasonal nibbles… We love the challenges of providing something tasty and topical to our diners and seeing them explore some new flavours or experiences!

Bang Bang Chicken Salad

We will, for our first course,  do a classic Chinese inspired starter… Bang Bang Chicken Salad. This is cold poached shredded chicken that is dressed with a peanut butter and sesame dressing. My friend Chef Kam Po But has taught me well (Please watch this space – for a return visit from him… we are working on it)

Next course is a bit different…instead of our normal cheese course we thought we would serve a fish course so will be serving a pan fried salmon fillet garnished with roasted beetroots and a beurre blanc (butter sauce) flavoured  with horseradish – a simple combination that should provide some great complimentary flavours!

Beef Olives

The main course will then be a dish we have done before – a classic beef olive… a slowly braised, rolled & stuffed top rump steak served in a rich stout sauce. We will serve this with some creamed potatoes and a classic braised red cabbage – a truly comforting flavour combination with the beef olive!

Finally, an Orange Polenta Cake served with Greek Yoghurt and runny local honey will be the way to round off what will be a great autumnal feast.

We do hope you will join us for what we are calling our “Fe(a)st” and we will also have soon our plans for November and December to complete yet another year of “Covert” dining.

We are now taking bookings and request a £5 deposit per person to secure your places with a balance of £30 per person required on the night.

We just ask you to complete the form below and we will call you within a 48 hour period to take your booking deposit over the phone and confirm your places.

Time : 7:30pm Prompt for welcome drink and nibbles

Dinner: 8:00pm

Suggested Donation: £35 per person service not included

Menu

Welcome Drink &  Seasonal Nibbles

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Bang Bang Chicken Salad

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Salmon Fillet with roasted beetroots and a horseradish beurre blanc

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Slow Cooked Beef Olive with Stout Sauce

Creamed Potatoes

Braised Red Cabbage

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Orange & Polenta Cake with Greek Yoghurt & Local Honey

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Coffee or Tea with Petit Fours

Menu Subject to Market Purchases and Ingredient Availability 

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Just 99 days left in Twenty Seventeen…

So for our September pop up event we thought we would do just the one night as we have had a mega busy month so far and well we need to recharge our energies a tad.

We will do just the one night on Saturday September 23rd which believe it or not will then be just 99 days away from the end of 2017… where has this year gone we hear you all say.

We will kick the evening off with a welcome drink and some seasonal nibbles and then our first course will be a autumnal favourite of a freshly made risotto with roasted butternut squash, goats cheese and some toasted Kentish cob nuts.

Main Course will be another firm favourite of a pink roasted Barbary Duck Breast served with a plum sauce and served alongside a classic Gratin Dauphinoise and some ubiquitous Haricots Vert…

Cheeses

Next in true Hari tradition a selection of cheeses… our infamous porridge oat biscuits and some chutney (we have been making a few recently and will see which fits the bill best)

Finally to finish another autumn classic an – Apple Tart Tatin served with a generous dollop of creme fraiche and we will also include a snifter of Muscat de Rivesaltes – our stalwart dessert wine from the south of France!

Tea or Coffee will finish it all off with a Petit Four (or five) …

We are taking bookings now and request a £5 deposit per person to secure your places with a balance of £25 per person required on the night.

We ask you to complete the form below and we will call you within a 48 hour period to take your booking deposit over the phone.

Time : 7:30pm Prompt for welcome drink and nibbles

Dinner: 8:00pm

Suggested Donation: £30 per person service not included

Menu

Risotto of Roasted Butternut Squash, Crumbled Goats Cheese & Toasted Cobnuts

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Magret of Barbary Duck with Plum Sauce, Gratin Dauphinoise, Haricots Vert.

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Hari’s Cheese Boards, Porridge Oat Biscuits, Homemade Chutney

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Apple Tart Tatin,  Creme Fraiche & Glass of Muscat de Rivesaltes

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Coffee or Tea, Petit Fours

Menu Subject to Market Purchases and Ingredient Availability 

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End of the world is nigh…

Well it seems Monday 21st August is a total eclipse of the sun in the USA and a partial one in the UK/Europe so we thought for our August dinner we would host an end of the world dinner!

The plan is to gather together like minded individuals who wish to celebrate what historically was sometimes seen as an omen or good portent for the future.

Wars stopped, some even thought it was the end of the world… well in this case it will just be the end of another Hari Supperclub dining night and we would hate for you to miss out on it…

It will take place on Saturday 19th August in our home venue (all will be revealed to diners once you have booked) Diners will be served some simple seasonal nibbles with a welcome drink on arrival and then as a first course we thought a simple salad of summer leaves along with a garnish of freshly grilled squid and king prawns in a garlic butter dressing.

Next we will serve a Teriyaki marinated and baked fillet of fresh Salmon with a garnish of rice noodles and Chinese Pak Choi. A light summery dish that we hope will match the summer mood.

Finally the dessert this month will be a summer favourite – Jelly & Ice Cream but one with a bit of a twist. It will be made using our local Elderflower Vodka from Anno, local fresh raspberries and some homemade Strawberry Iced Parfait served with a warm homemade shortbread biscuit.

Finally we will serve freshly brewed Coffee or Tea with a homemade Petit Fours

We trust it will not be the end of the world after the upcoming eclipse but why not come along and enjoy a sunny supper with us… booking can be made via our booking site from Monday July 31st 9:00am  so do not forget to set those clocks /alarms to make sure the end is not nigh!

Date: 19^th August 2017

Time: 7:30pm Arrival with Welcome Drink Dinner from 8pm

Venue: Hari Covert’s secret home venue  (diners will told a week beforehand where to come to)

Cost: £10 Reservation Deposit via our Ticketing Site Here  £15 Balance payable on the night (service not included) cash preferred.

Drinks: Bring your own drinks to consume with the dinner – water and glasses will be provided on the tables.

Menu

Assorted seasonal nibbles with a welcome drink

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Dressed Summer Salad leaves with Grilled Squid & Prawns in garlic butter

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Teriyaki Marinated Baked Salmon Fillet with Rice Noodles & Pak Choi

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Anno Elderflower Vodka Jelly with Kentish Raspberries with Iced Strawberry Parfait, Butter Shortbread

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Coffee or Tea with Petit Fours

Our next dinner event…

Well with only just less than a week left to book your places for our July Pop Up we thought we ought to explain a little bit more the thinking behind this dining event.

Back in late March just before it finished I joined up with chef Peter Pickering and a few other chefs for a lunch on the roof of Selfridges in London where we were to sample the WastED concept by Dan Barber where the menu highlighted foods that were wasted inspired.

From cod’s heads to kale trees, broccoli stems to reconstituted stale bread or juice bar pulp it was a feast made out of food that would have been wasted and was totally thought provoking.

So fast forward to now and our plans for the upcoming dinner. Hari & Peter are busy sourcing products of waste to put together a menu to delight the diners.  We have just 30 spaces and we need all these spaces sold to proceed as it is a mammoth task that will take a great deal of planning and creativity to excite you all.

We have plans for those cheese scraps in everyone’s fridges, overripe fruit that goes in that compost bin to even the whey from a local cheesemaker that gets fed to their pigs or is just flushed down the drain… If you are intrigued as to what we are going to be serving up just reserve those places as  soon as possible as without those reservations we cannot start making those commitments to the suppliers and put the final touches to the menu. It will be a veritable feast that will we are sure be a real equally thought provoking and hopefully get you all talking about food in a new light…

We might even have the odd bottle of HP Sauce to embellish it all and make it that bit more palatable… #justkidding

More details and Book Here

 

Flaming June…cooking with fire

So we must be a bit mad in the height of summer moving our Pop Up concept to Rochester and the showroom of The Stove Hub where we will be converting their showroom space into a Pop Up space for two nights!

On June 16th & 17th we will be using their Charnwood wood fired stoves to demonstrate their cooking potential as well as cooking alfresco in the front of the showroom over our gas fired pans as they have no kitchen for us to cook with! We do so love a challenge.

We will have to rent in tables, chairs and crockery to set this dining space up so it will be a major undertaking but we think something a little different…

To kick the evening off we will welcome all with a complimentary drink and some simple seasonal nibbles – some of which will be cooked on the wood fired stove top!

The first course will be a simple salad that will be topped with a piece of marinated fish (that we will cook on top of the wood stove)
Next we will then serve up a dish cooked alfresco in our large paella pan… Moroccan Spiced Chicken will be married to some green olives and home preserved lemons and served with some minted cous cous and bowls of dressed salad leaves… All will be prepared before your very eyes to ensure it is all fresh tasting and in true pop up style with an element of theatre!

Next we will then serve our little individual cheeseboards with a selection of cheeses and our now infamous porridge oat biscuits.

To complete the meal we will then serve up a classic summer dessert of Eton Mess… homemade meringues with Kent strawberries and cream… a perfect summer pudding.

With the coffee we will then griddle some shortbread biscuits on top of the stoves and garnish with a dollop of homemade lemon curd and a fresh raspberry… a great way to finish what we think will be a truly unique event in a very “quirky venue”

Guests are invited to bring their own drinks to consume with their meal and we will provide glasses, ice buckets and water on the tables.

You can reserve your dining places via our ticketing site here

Dates: 16th & 17th June 2017

Where: The Stove Hub, 86 King Street, Rochester, Kent ME1 1YD

Time: 7:30pm Welcome Drink & Nibbles

Dinner: 8:00pm Prompt

Suggested Donation:  Early Bird Tickets before May 30th £30 person after this date -£40 per person (service not included)

Menu

Griddled Marinated Fish with Dressed Salad Leaves

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Moroccan Chicken, Green Olives, Preserved Lemons

Minted Cous Cous

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Hari’s Cheese Selection with Porridge Biscuits

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Eton Mess with local Kent Strawberries

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Coffee or Tea, Griddled Shortbread with Lemon Curd

Menu subject to market purchases and ingredient availabilty