A Science Date!

On Thursday my husband and I went on a science date. No, it wasn't a tour of his lab (done that), or a trip to the Science Museum (done that too), or even to view the stars at the Herstmonceux Observatory (on the 'to do' list). Nope, we went out for dinner. But it was dinner with a difference.

Menu for the evening

February is the month of the Brighton Science Festival. A range of science themed events are held in the city and surrounding area throughout the month, and especially in half-term to inspire kids to be more interested in the subject. My husband had already been to an exciting talk on neutrinos which I had bailed on, not being much of a physicist and all, so the thing we decided to do together was go for a date at the restaurant, Due South, for on an evening named 'Weird Science', where we were promised an "evening of edible theatrical delights" - "deconstructing  flavours, taste and textures using the latest in cooking technology and technique" (Brighton Science Festival 2012).

We both smartened ourselves up and headed down on the train, enjoying the unusually mild temperatures as we walked down to the seafront. Being the nerds that we are we were the first to arrive for the evening. We were greeted by the head chef preparing apple and basil mojitos in liquid nitrogen. We were passed our little frozen blobs in a paper cup and momentarily stood there entranced, unsure how we were supposed to eat them. The chef advised us just to "pop them in our mouths in one go", which we did, and my, what an explosion of flavours! I got a temporary cold burn on my tongue, but it was worth it because it was delicious.

We were then led upstairs to our table by the window, where we had a perfect view of the sea, the crests of the waves only just visible against the nighttime blackness. We ordered champagne as it was the first time we had been on a proper date in ages, and who doesn't want to celebrate science anyway? We supped and chatted happily, watching the late evening runners, cyclists, and skateboarders zoom past on the promenade below, as the rest of the restaurant filled with other eager science foodies.

The next course was beetroot jellied, pickled, and coffee-roasted served with capers and creme fraiche. I don't like beetroot but I decided that this was the evening for trying new things, so I tucked in until I couldn't eat any more and had to discreetly shovel the rest onto my husband's plate, who thankfully found it delicious!

Beetroot prepared in three different ways

The next course more than made up for it, however: mackerel and shiitake mushroom ravioli served with horseradish snow and anise foam. The mackerel was the best I have ever tried, really fantastic. It was so tasty it was like I hadn't tried real seafood until that evening!

Next up was pheasant served with squash, blue cheese, pear, and sage, as well as a generous side dish of crunchy greens and rosemary potatoes. All of it was scrumptious.

The mouthwatering pheasant dish

Then the puddings began. The first of these was an apple sorbet served with a frozen pastry stick, powdered butterscotch, and cinnamon jelly. It was experiencing an apple pie in a whole new way, and very yummy indeed.

And as a chocoholic the final course was probably the best (followed very closely by the mackerel in my opinion). It was a chocolate brownie served with an incredibly light hazelnut sponge. It was gorgeous. This also came with chocolate cream that had been frozen in liquid nitrogen, like the mojito, and a hazelnut biscuit that had been made using the Maillard reaction (non-enzymatic browning).

This was so good I'd already begun to demolish it before I remembered to take a photo!

We finished up with a good old hot beverage before making our way home. Our bill was accompanied by fizzy lemon jellies, another tasty explosion of flavours in the mouth!

It was a lovely evening. As food lovers it was fantastic, and eating a meal where the science of the cooking and preparation methods, however gimmicky, were explained to us made it all the more enjoyable. It was a fun little adventure, and we'll definitely be keeping Due South in mind for future dates!

Photos my own.