I recently attended a La Belle Assiette validation dinner cooked by Masterchef Tony Rodd, one of the 2015 finalists. For those of you who haven’t heard of La Belle Assiette, it is a private chef service company, with the chefs registered on the website being available for hire to cook in your personal home. The chefs take care of everything: shopping, cooking, serving and cleaning up. But before the chefs can become available for hire, their skills are certified during a Validation Dinner where the chef cooks a four-course meal reviewed (and validated) by panel of judges.

On the night of Tony’s validation dinner we managed to get two masterchefs for the price of one. Assisting Tony was Luke Owen, himself a finalist of Masterchef 2014. Both gentlemen were lovely and so much fun to chat to. I love a little bit of harmless gossip, and they shared with us some of the behind-the-scenes action at Masterchef.

The validation dinner was held at the lovely south London home of London-Unattached.com, the acclaimed food blogger. We started the evening with a dish called Textures of Beetroot. This consisted of beetroot served four ways – roasted, pickled, pureed and raw. The dish was lovely, and lightly dressed with a refreshing vinaigrette. Helping to boost the salad were some broad beans, feta cheese and walnuts which gave the dish more texture and dimension.

Tony Rodd – La Belle Assiette – Textures of beetroot

The fish course was Sea Bass and Figs, a dish that Tony cooked in the final of the 2015 Masterchef. This dish was truly delicious. A beautifully seared sea bass came with some figs for sweetness and some Parma ham for added seasoning and flavour. There were also some yummy porcini mushrooms, a creamy sweet potato puree and a well-made fish jus.

Tony Rodd – La Belle Assiette – Sea bass & figs

Rabbit with spinach and mushrooms was yet another accomplished dish which contained many complex elements. Firstly the rabbit was served three ways with braised legs, a roasted rack coated with herbs and a stuffed loin. The legs were soft and the loin was tender. However the weakest element was the rack as this was raw, although I can imagine it is very difficult to get everything perfect the first time you walk into a new kitchen. Accompaniments included a creamy and buttery pomme mousseline, a mushroom puree, spinach crisps and a decadent and intensely reduced mushroom sauce which I adored.

Tony Rodd – La Belle Assiette – Rabbit three ways

The dessert was Chocolate and Pear – a chocolate cup filled with chocolate mousse alongside a pear poached in spices. There was also some tasty ice cream and a scrumptious layer of chocolate soil. It was a generous dessert with many elements, all of which accomplished. This dessert showed flair and all of it came together nicely.

Tony Rodd – La Belle Assiette – Chocolate & pear

It was a really brilliant evening filled with delicious food, lots of wine and the opportunity to talk to not just one, but two masterchefs. Tony and Owen not only did a great job with the food, but also with serving us and cleaning up afterwards. The portion sizes were also extremely generous. What let the food down slightly was that the fact that the plates hadn’t been heated, meaning the food turned cold rather quickly. But apart from that it was a truly marvellous experience.

Food rating: 4/5

Website: La Belle Assiette