victors tapas tasting at London cooking project

I kicked off my bank holiday weekend at a chefs tapas tasting event with Di, one of my biggest foodie friends. Victor , the chef has held a number of these over the years. I went to a private tasting event he hosted 3 years ago and really liked it, so I try to keep an eye out for his events.  He held this latest event at London cooking project, an open plan kitchen and dining area for hire in Battersea. It seems like you can fit up to 40 people in there , so it was good to see social distancing in place when we entered.

The pic below was taking right at the start , so it was a bit more busier than this by the end

We had a 8 course menu that costs £50 quid for early bookers , and £60 for late ones like us. The menu had dishes such as Jollof rice , plantain tortilla, fishermans choice , crispy chicken thighs , chocolate mousse etc

We were offered a free cocktail / mocktail or prosecco at the start.

Smoked Jollof rice , black tiger prawns and cherry tomatoes : This combination definitely works. The juicy tomatoes brings a different texture to this dish. Jollof rice is one of my fave dishes and something have cooked a few times on my blog.

This plantain tortilla , Suya beef brisket , guacamole , sweet corn salsa and aioli was voted as being the best dish on the menu. The flavour combinations ( sweetness of the plantain and corns along with the spiciness of the Suya brisket ) was well balanced. I hope he keeps this on a menu if he moves to the Talking drum restaurant at old Kent road

Fisherman’s choice , Bombay potatoes , curry veloute , roasted okra and pickled shallots has an Indian and Nigerian vibe to it. I liked this, but wanted a bit more of the curry veloute .

korean fried pork belly, yam and sweet potatoes , kimchi slaw : This combination didn’t really work. The yam was a bit dry and bitter. The pork belly wasn’t crispy or flavourful. The only thing I actually liked was the slaw..and that’s weird for a carnivore like myself.

Crispy chicken thighs , Guinness wild mushroom sauce and mushroom ketchup : The chicken was soft and flavourful. All in all a solid dish

Chocolate mousse , banana , praline , malt ice cream and Jameson’s whiskey caramel dessert was one of the stars of the evening. I lapped up the bowl and wished for more. The only thing I would add to this is more pralines or even some cornflakes ( and salt flakes ) to give it some added crunchiness.

The spiced doughnuts , roasted plum and yoghurt sorbet was a nice finish. That said the malt ice cream dessert needs to be the one that stays on the menu

I had quite a good time at the event . The Jollof , plantain tortilla and malt ice cream desserts really stood out. Keep up the good work Victor .