Planning A Dinner Party? This New Concept Has Got You Covered

We all love a good dinner party; it gives us a chance to socialise with a select group of our nearest and dearest, we have the place to ourselves so we don’t need to worry about trying and failing to get the waiters attention, (or that irritatingly loud group a few tables along), but best of all we can take our own alcohol along and avoid being stung with that surprise bill at the end (who ordered that bottle of red!?)

This is all great, however someone has to cook, someone has to clear up, and we all have to pretend that we absolutely loved the food…enter Source. Cook. Eat and head chef Paul to solve all of your dinner party woes and serve you up with a supper club you won’t forget.

The premise is pretty simple: Paul loves food, he works as a food buyer and he loves to cook – so he is inviting you to come round for a dinner party where he gets to cook for you. All you have to do is bring yourself, some friends you don’t mind spending an evening with, some drinks and some chat (optional) and Paul will take care of the rest.

We were lucky enough to sample one of the trial runs before this concept takes off and the best way for us to showcase the exquisite experience is a run down of the menu.

Before we begin we should probably explain what a pluot is

Each month Paul uses his knowledge and connections as an experienced food buyer to search out the month’s must have ingredient. For our visit, the pluot was the fruit of choice. The pluot is essentially a cross between a plum and an apricot, which takes the best characteristics of each to create a super sweet fruit with intense colour and flavour. 

We thought he’d lost the proverbial pluot…

… when he started talking about this plum / apricot hybrid, but he went on to tell us that he first came across the fruit in Spain in 2010 whilst visiting a grower and explained that he hasn’t been able to forget them ever since. In order to showcase the versatility of the fruit, Paul based his July menu purely around the pluot. For the full story behind the fruit visit the website.

I’ll have my Pluot Old Fashioned please

What better way to sample the fruit whilst you mingle with your friends than with a pluot infused Old Fashioned? Whilst this is a Bring Your Own affair, Paul will knock you up a drink or two to sample the flavours and get everyone in the mood.

A starter at a dinner party normally involves some crisps and dip…

… not here. Our first (yes first) starter was an egg yolk ravioli with pea puree. When was the last time you saw someone take this much care over a starter at a dinner party? We can confirm it tasted as good as it looks.

And just in case you were wondering how it’s made…

The pluot returned in another appetiser course…

… made up of seared king scallop, crispy manchego crown, jamon and pluot flesh.

Whereas some appetisers leave you a little full or bloated before the main has even arrived, the portion sizes and quality of ingredients here leave you the perfect combination of satisfied and wanting more.

The layout is perfect and Paul is cooking away whilst you are free to enjoy your drinks and catch up in between courses. 

Cotton candy grape granita…

… never heard of it before? No we hadn’t either. At first we thought Paul may just have been getting fancy with his namings, but this refreshing course actually manages to make grapes taste like cotton candy.  The course works to perfectly cleanse the pallet before the next course comes (we’d lost count of courses by now).

Ribeye beef with king oyster mushroom, beets & greens, pluot & red wine jus…

…just re-reading this this title makes me want to eat this all over again. You’d think with all the courses that came before, the ribeye beef may tip you over the edge into a food coma, but such is the quality and attention to ingredient detail that this excellent course slips down a treat. The jus and mushrooms compliment the beef perfectly. 

By now wine is in full flow and Paul is always on hand to answer any questions around the dishes should you have any.

Vittoria grape granita…

…which was another refreshing grape course, followed the beef. Again this worked a treat in between main and dessert to freshen you up.

And the Stone fruit table festival…

… what a game changer! Not only did this taste incredible but we ate it straight off the table. Yep, you heard – do away with your place mats immediately, get the disposable table cloth out and try this. We aren’t sure why but eating like this made it taste even more spectacular. 

(Note – you may need your place mats in the future so maybe don’t chuck them out completely…just put them in a drawer).

Since moving to Dubai dates have been a revelation for me…

…but I’d never tried fresh rotab dates and I’d also never tried covering them in shiny, bitter dark chocolate and flaked with sea salt. Luckily Paul had and now I can confirm that it is an excellent idea. For reference, fresh rotab dates are like the dried date’s softer, more delicious cousin.

So if you’re thinking about throwing a dinner party but can’t face the stress…

… this is definitely a really cool concept and combines the delights of a dinner party with fine cuisine and zero stress. Along the way you are likely to learn a bit, try something new and, as long as you take the right friends, have a damn good time doing so. It’s a thumbs up from us.

For more info…

Visit the Source.Cook.Eat site here for enquiries and sample menus.

And be sure to follow on Instagram for updates.

Also, we didn’t mention the view over the Dubai marina – it’s not bad.