It just so happened that my 26th birthday fell on a Secret Larder night. Or vice versa. Not wanting to cancel the supper club for the sake of a fairly nothing milestone, I decided to give it a bit of a party feel by doing a Roald Dahl-themed night. Rosie and I dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Twit. Sexy, no?

Mary made an excellent oompa loompa.

Marie’s Fantastic Mr. Fox was most elegant…

….and the guests turned up variously as Matildas and BFGs and Witches, getting a glass of frobscottle (blackberry gin and tonic zhooshed up with egg white) on arrival.

I’d already done a Dahl theme for our first children’s night but changed the menu a bit to make it more ‘grown-up’. (Not much).

George’s Marvellous Medicine was a shot of sweetcorn, smoked garlic and chipotle soup with smoked garlic chips, followed by a shot of cold beetroot soup with goat yoghurt and dill.

The soused mackerel was an arguably flimsy nod to the Witches and Luke’s grandmother’s Scandi heritage, though the pickled snozzcumbers were more authentic. The mackerel was pickled in voddy and vinegar and beetroot juice, and served with fresh horseradish, pea shoots, amaranth, and olive oil.

Bird pie was braised duck leg with half a partridge and a little pastry hat. Not strictly a pie, I know, but you try doing pie for 20 and making it look vaguely presentable. It came with mash that had been run through with the smoked garlic oil from earlier, and a pinch of truffle salt.

Pudding – cider ice cream with sleepy (brandy soaked) raisins, apple cooked in calvados, and toasted (victor) hazelnuts – was a three booze affair and, just maybe, the best pudding I’ve ever made.

Last but absolutely not least, the lovely people at L’Autre Pied made some miraculous (giant) peach petit fours – a little cup of filo pastry with a peach and olive oil puree, fresh raspberry, and raspberry ‘crunch’. That was just showing off. And god it was good.

It was as happy a way to spend a birthday as I can think. Mr. Dahl will be making another appearance at the Larder.