The Top Floor Flat

“Radishes – dug up from the earth, crispy soil”
“Wild garlic with its flowers warm and cold. Vegetable ribbons”
“Cauliflower – Apple air”

No, I’m not taking up creative gardening, I’m standing in a loft in Hackney inspecting the menu I’ve just been handed by 1/8 of the team responsible for tonight’s event, Evocative Foods: Vibrancy. The room is buzzing with bemused chatter as small plates of the delicacies are passed around. Before I have much time to ponder what might be meant by “apple air,” I’m handed a plate of sprouting broccoli, egg yolk spheres and warm mayonnaise, a spoon and a cocktail and my food adventure begins.

Asparagus textures, cooked and raw, gelee and granite with garnishes

Evocative Foods is the brainchild of eight Masters students from Central St. Martins as their response to a class project which required them to conceive, create, promote and sell a completely new service, product or event in just under eight weeks. Inspired by the ways that food affects both body and mind, they set out to create an event that would explore food that induced feelings of vibrancy.

I snag a plate of young carrots – crispy chopped and marinated whole with airy foam. Tonight’s food offerings are not simply emotive, they defy all expectations in presentation as well; the onomatopoeia of food one might say, as vibrant in style of preparation as in evocative of the same emotion. The carrots are a perfect example with one side of the plate devoted to soft and warm whole marinated baby carrots while the other contains the finest chopped carrot shavings served so chilled that they might be carrot-flavoured ice flakes. A light, nutty foam covers the two and brings the carrot dishes together and the experience of eating is just as much about exploring the textures of the food as the taste.

Chef Nuno Mendes

This is also true of the cauliflower, served with couscous both pickled and pureed as well as the enigmatic apple air – a substance you might imagine created from blowing bubbles through the lightest apple syrup. In fact every dish challenges the way tonight’s visitors think about food. In no dish is this more true than in the final course of the evening, strawberries and rhubarb with hazelnut powder and reduced milk. The reduced milk sits heavily on the plate, a solid cube of dairy with the flavour of milk and the texture of tofu. The rhubarb puree and strawberry garnish suit it perfectly.

Strawberries and rhubarb with hazelnut powder and reduced milk

By far the most intriguing dish of the night is the radish and crispy soil. The soil itself seems to be fried and it’s a bit like eating the outside bits of a fried fish but much earthier. Although I can’t say I’ve ever been a fan of radish, somehow the two complement each other quite well.

Overall it’s an interesting evening. I can’t necessarily say I feel energised or vibrant after the food but I certainly have discovered a new way of thinking about the preparation and variations of many of the foods that I have sampled. It’s quite a feat of planning and execution on the part of the 8 CSM students who have hosted tonight’s event and I wish them my sincerest congratulations on what was a successful and most of all uniquely interesting and highly enjoyable evening.