The White Rabbit Tasting Dinner is a unique event where, each time, we discover new dishes and flavour combinations! And what was it like this time? Read on for a report on this special evening.
"Welcome to a brand new fairy tale".
To quote Piotr Fronczewski, from the radio hit "you've been waiting for this day... all year! Welcome to a whole new fairy tale", i.e. to another tasting dinner at the White Rabbit! On Friday, 19 January, we opened the doors to a very puzzling tasting dinner, served by the madcap team of Marcin Popielarz.
"Mr Kleks in Space" was the second instalment of a unique tasting dinner held at the White Rabbit restaurant. The dinner, based on the well-known and much-loved book about the adventures of the mad Ambrose Kleks, is an event that attracts more and more fans of unique combinations of flavours, textures and aromas to Hotel Quadrille every year.
"I would like to welcome you to a one-of-a-kind tasting dinner inspired by Mr Kleks and Jan Brzechwa. This is our ode to creativity. All the dishes you will receive today are prepared for the first time." With these words, Chef Patron Marcin Popielarz began an unearthly culinary journey.
This year's tasting dinner, in keeping with the title's journey into space, transported guests into another dimension of gastronomic delights. None of the dishes suggested what the chefs had prepared that day.
Guests, after being greeted with a feather-light welcome drink, were seated at tables and had the opportunity to peruse a special menu dedicated to this dinner, decorated with colourful buttons. Buttons were not the only element that transported Academy fans into a fairytale world. The aurora borealis on the ceiling, storm clouds on the tables, colourful lanterns in the windows and music straight from the movies made the guests of the dinner, for a few hours, move to another world.
On this evening, however, the kitchen played the main fiddle. And we have to admit, it was an exceptionally tasty tune!
Dinner menu "Mr. Kleks in Space"
This year's Mr Kleks series tasting dinner began with a featherlight amous bouche, or Crystal Bread served with brown butter cream and candyfloss. Delicious, light and surprising. Evoking childhood flavours, the dish was the perfect introduction to the starter, the Emperor Ming Emerald Casket. The casket was filled with coarsely chopped tuna, served with a Polish version of kale kimchi, capped with a star-shaped black sesame cracker lid.
The next leg of the journey was the second starter: the Road to the Stars AA UU AA UU. Here guests were in for a surprise - the Lornet turned out to be vodka infused with kombu algae, while the jelly was smoked trout served with horseradish mousse, dashi broth and three types of algae.
Another dish was 'Peas, Son of Commodore Max Benson', a quiche loraine served with enduja and peas in several renditions.
The dish that stunned the guests was definitely the pasta with... whey! And topped with Gruyère cheese sauce, liquid egg yolk, parmesan crisps with cinnamon and grilled fig. A veritable weapon of mass destruction!
A reference to the new version of Mr Kleks Academy was the dish - 'You've waited 40 years for this, Welcome to a Whole New Fairy Tale ' - a version of modern herring with pulses served in a dill oil ranch sauce with a touch of wasabi on top.
You ask: what about the main course? We served Bird-like Paping in Edible Plastic! To the surprise of the guests, it was guinea fowl served with parsnip royal and boletus puree, LSD mushrooms marinated in red cabbage. LSD?! At a tasting dinner? With Chef Marcin, anything is possible!
We ended our journey at Planet Magdom, the aroma of which wafted throughout the restaurant,
It was a dessert combining multiple structures like an arrangement of planets, based in the flavours of mango, passion fruit and coconut linked by a custard sauce with cardamom.
The highlight of the dinner was the Petit Four, served by our chefs together with the waiters. It was an opportunity to talk, to ask questions or simply to express your delight with the dinner. The Petit Four's consisted of small portions of desserts: Landrynka with Argo-1417, Frozen Bird's Milk Lighter than Elephant and Raspberry with Gooseberry.
During this tasting dinner, guests had the opportunity to sample exceptional wines, matched perfectly to the dinner by a friendly sommelier. This always sparks interest in how to pair wine with such imaginative dishes. We would like to thank the friendly ViniNowa.
When is the next tasting dinner?
The next, third edition of the Mr Kleks dinner will take place at the White Rabbit on 29.11.2024.
We strongly encourage you to book your seats today and meet at the table to see how the fairytale world of Jan Brzechwa's novels will be combined this time with the theme of... the future!
Photo: Weronika Granica Fotografia
Explore the account through the eyes of the Guests of the "Mr. Kleks in Space" tasting dinner on our Instagram: A BLOB IN SPACE