marvin lowe photography

Some weeks ago, I had the pleasure of working with Janice, Michelle’s cousin. It was a private catering gig for a company function. It was held at the client’s place and was for a party of 26pax. Janice a budding chef and if you noticed, she might look a tad bit familiar to you. That’s because she was a contestant in Ch 8’s Super Chef competition. Janice did very well and was the only girl that made it into the finals. She has since started a venture in private dining and will be opening her own cafe soon. She’s someone with great passion for cooking and great courage too. Upon graduation from NUS, she packed her bags and did a stint at Le Cordon Bleu, learning from some of the finest chefs in the world. The above pictures gives us an insight on what goes on behind the scenes.

Foie Gras Pate with Lumpfish caviar on toast

This was one of the two pre-meal Canapes item available. Very simple, straight-forward dish that looks good and tastes good. The tiny pieces of bread were toasted to a crispy biscuit state before the Foie Gras was applied onto them.

Bouquet of Grilled Prawns, truffle mayo

I can proudly say I helped skewer ALL the prawns for this dish, yet another Canapes item. It was real fun doing this as I did not really expect to do any real kitchen work. I think the presentation of this dish was really cute and caught the attention of all the guest. By itself, it’s yet another simple dish. However, the presentation that Janice did here was really creative and attractive. In fact, the set up is pretty simple too. She had a small plastic tray, filled it with sand, stuck in wheat grass and then skewers.

Watermelon, Smoked salmon, Feta Cheese

This is yet another attractive dish. The contrast in colors between the watermelon and the Feta Cheese does not show how well the cheese goes with water-melon. It seems like an unlikley combination, to have cheese with water-melon, but it does go well together.

Prawn Bisque Cuppuccino

The prawn bisque was fantastic! It was rich in flavour and a very heart-warming soup. I manage to sneak a cup for myself and it was really gorgeous. From what I saw, there was a constant cooking of the prawn heads and shell for a very long period of time. This makes the broth really rich and luscious.

Lime and basil Granité

This is a palate cleanser. Strangely, the guests asked for 2nd servings, which is always a good sign. Clearly, they loved it very much.=)

Pan-seared Black Bass with Honey vinaigrette dressing, Sautéed fresh beans

This was one of the 2 mains available, the seafood course for the night. The sea bass was fresh to start with and was done to perfection. The honey vinaigrette complemented the fish immaculately. The slight tinge of sweet and sour of the vinagrette worked really well with the fish.

Chicken with Honey vinaigrette dressing and garden salad

This was an alternative course to the people who could not eat fish. It went just as well like the fish. The chicken had a nice wholesome taste, making it a great alternative to the fish.

Duck with Truffle mash, lingonberries, Vine Tomato stuffed with pilaf riceI love tomatoes very much and I literally popped the whole tomato into my mouth, pilaf rice and all. The duck was done to perfection and was well accompanied by the mash. Perhaps the mash outshone the duck. The guests clamoured for more mash and we had to bring the whole pot up. The guests lapped it up and duly cleared the whole pot of mash. Amazing.

Roast Beef with Truffle mash, lingonberries, Vine Tomato stuffed with pilaf rice

This was the alternative to the duck. Somehow, i preferred this to the duck. Perhaps, I am more of a beef eater, but this really struck a chord with me. It was done till medium rare, allowing the juices of the meat to naturally flow out with ease. Simply lovely.

Coconut crème brulée, Carpaccio pineapple, mandarin orange in rum

This was the first of 2 deserts and it was Janice’s interpretation of a Pina Colada. I loved the way she used the blow torch on the creme brulee. It was wicked! The pineapple carpaccio was really sliced till wafer thin. Pretty amazing! I helped myself to the pineapples which was really nice.

Unfortunately, the dinner took a little longer than I had expected. I had to leave slightly earlier, missing the last desert, only to be an hour late for my movie with michie and mohmoh. Overall, it was a great experience for me and I really had fun. I can’t wait for the next one to come!