Thursday 4 December 2008

The Last Supper

I WATCHED a fascinating programme on BBC4 on Monday night called France on a Plate, cataloguing the rise of French gastronomy over the last few centuries.
The programme opened with an account of former French president Francois Mitterrand's notorious 'final supper'.
Having being diagnosed with fatal prostate cancer, he decided to throw one last bash in which he dined with friends on a lavish feast including a course of outlawed ortolan songbird.
Regarded by gourmands as a tastier delicacy than foie gras, Mitterrand chowed down not one, but two, entire birds, bones, innards and all.
It got me thinking about the dishes I would serve, should I have the opportunity to hold a 'last supper'.
I'm first to admit my feast would lack the panache of Mitterrand's; there'd be no mouthfuls of slimy oysters or gut-wrenchingly rich foie gras. All these foods have their place, but my final binge would be all about the three Cs... carbs, cheese and chocolate.
And to be honest, I'd take it as an opportunity to ditch the friends, so there would be all the more for me (and no embarrassment as I shamelessly rammed it in) ...
Here are my top 10 dishes for the final supper (naturally served in unlimited amounts):
  1. A creamy, coconut-laden chicken korma, with the fluffiest naan bread
  2. Basket of French breads with lashings of salted butter
  3. Tempura king prawns drowned in sweet chilli dip
  4. Battered cod, great chips and mushy peas (Heinz tomato sauce on tap)
  5. Thin crust Margarita pizza, cooked in a wood-fired oven to a DOC recipe
  6. Mounds of warm tortilla chips topped in salsa, sour cream, guacamole, jalapenos and stringy cheese
  7. Carrot cake topped in lemony cream cheese frosting
  8. Hot Belgian waffles, honeycomb icecream and treacle
  9. Ben and Jerry's chocolate fudge brownie icecream with hot fudge sauce
  10. McVities chocolate Hob Nobs
All washed down with iced Diet Coke ...and I am fit to burst.
What is on your list to serve at the last supper? Would you share the pleasure, or not?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Emily, I have just stumbled upon your blog. I think it's excellent, and it's local as well. I shall be coming back here and have added you to my food favourites. :)

Jim said...

OH, and did you really have a nice meal at the Bartons Arms?

Shock:

Emily said...

Hi Jim
Thank you so much for reading my blog. I really appreciate your comments. Tell your foodie friends too. Do you have a blog I can read? Yes, I did have a good meal at the Barton Arms, although it's fair to say it's a bit hit and miss. Do you not agree? Have you been disappointed? When it is good I have found that it is as good as some of the meals I have had in Thailand, but when it's bad, it's merely average. Let me know where you rate!

Anonymous said...

I haven't been in there since the mid '60's Emily, which kind of gives my age away. :)

It's just that Newtown is such a rough area I'd be loathe to take my wife there.

I don't blog, but I do love my food.

Earlier you blogged about great fry ups, my favourite is Jennie's Cafe, on the Junction of Tame Road and Westwood Road, near the Villa Ground. She does a great Fry Up and other very decent food, and importantly not only is the quality good, but the prices are cheap. :)

Emily said...

Hi Jim
I know what you mean about Newtown being a bit rough round the edges but The Barton Arms is a real find. The chefs are Thai and I can honestly say they served some of the most authentic Thai food I have eaten outside Thailand. The building itself is beautiful too, apparently Ozzie Osbourne used to sup ale there too (don't know if that's a good or bad thing). The tempura prawns are to die for and the stir fries are really fresh! Glad you like your food, me too! Can you tell?