As a Sussex boy, seawater runs through my veins. Throughout my career, I’ve had a not-so-secret penchant for fish and seafood, so my final meal would start there.
Naturally, my first course has to be a plateau de fruits de mer, with everything on it, including razor clams, Dublin Bay prawns, brown shrimps, cockles, whelks, mussels, native lobster, cock crab, and oysters – preferably native. I’d get the teams at Sheekey and Scott’s to prepare it and have the wonderful Serge on hand to shuck the oysters! We source all our fish and crustacea within the British Isles (with the exception of some of the rock oysters).
I’d want to get down and dirty with this platter and all those enjoying it – a sort of culinary rugby scrum. I would be with my family. I have twins – Jamie and Rebecca – and an older boy, Will, who’s just started working in the kitchen at 34. The great thing about the fruits de mer is the theatre and the complete absence of patience.
My gorgeous French wife, Sophie, is averse to most seafood, so I think a suitably French dish would be up her “rue”, like a savoury souffle or perhaps even some escargots à la bordelaise.
I consider myself pretty low-maintenance, I wouldn’t mind washing it down with a cool glass or two of Puligny-Montrachet.
Goodness, I nearly forgot my cocker spaniel – Lucy – the third woman in my life. She’d definitely be on the guest list and I’d prepare a little something for her, like steak tartare.
We’d be at Chanctonbury Ring on the Sussex Downs. On a clear day, it offers breathtaking views of the south coast … you can even see the outline of the Isle of Wight.
We would build a barbecue and I’d get some local meat including Southdown lamb and Sussex T-bones, because I think they ooze flavour and succulence. I’d put these together with some wonderfully fragrant salads, using local produce like broad beans, peas, beetroots and Kentish cobnuts.
A red wine to go with this course? A Sassicaia might be just the ticket – it’s at once fine and full bodied, and would really bring out the flavour of the meat.
I have a real soft spot for cheese; this cheese board would include tomme de savoie, emmental and an aged comté. I’d serve it with a ficelle and an endive salad with a tangy dressing on the side.
Pudding is very simple: fruit. I’m a fiend for berries – blueberries, blackberries, loganberries, late raspberries and strawberries. With a large dollop of Jersey cream.
Tim Hughes oversees the kitchens of the Caprice restaurant group, which includes 34, Daphne’s, J Sheekey, Le Caprice, Scott’s and The Ivy
