An engagement set in the wilds of the Scottish Highlands; snippets of South American travels; family ties to North America and a general love of Asian food. Elle and James’s wedding menu speaks quirk and charm and a creativity which was stylish, cool, personal and playful.

Starting with a casual chat we heard what Elle and James had in mind for their overall vision of the day, the priorities and the preferences. Seemingly we had similar ideas on food which was a pretty nice starting point.

So we sent them some tried and tested plated menus to get going. They spied a shot of one of our desserts on insta and we drafted a tasting menu. The ideas were global: a Japanese sushi starter, a Mexican main and a European dessert; which makes for some exciting flavours and not your average/safe/standard wedding menu.

Encouraging Elle and James to go for a menu which they love; which reflects them and doesn’t dilute their spark for the sake of pleasing each and every single guests’ preference; we were all on board for a fusion menu….. but a fusion menu with cohesion. So whilst the sushi and the broken taco were great- we all felt there needed to be a bit more of a link. Al gets stuck into a mountain of recipe books and comes up with a South American inspired langoustine starter (we learnt that after their engagement Elle ate a LOT of these as the perfect antidote to the worst that the Scottish weather can rustle up…) and the menu was taking shape pretty nicely. It was modern and fresh, exciting and a little more cohesive- the continental shift of the starter created a little more flow- and most importantly, still very much reflected elements of Elle and James’ story.

Their big day was nothing short of spectacular- so many personal details and touches, set against the incredible backdrop of Boconnoc Estate. The candles, colours, homemade hand died silk runners and napkins; all creations of Elle and family and friends. Becca from The Garden Gate Flower Company worked her seasonal and unique flower magic;  The Buffalo Bar was set up majestically on the courtyard; and Debs Alexander was able to capture it all on camera so perfectly.

Oh and the menu went like this :

Canapes

Taiwanese chicken bao buns

Black pudding scotch quails eggs

Treacle cured salmon on malted pumpernickel

Sesame seared tuna with soy and mirin gel

Vegetable allotment with sauce grebiche

Tikka paneer on naan bread with aubergine chutney

Starter

 Langoustine and Amarillo chilli thermidor, prawn ceviche with pisco sours gel, prawn tequenos. Confit tomato, fermented baby peppers and herb salad

Veggie starter

Cauliflower and amarillo chilli croquettes, sweet potato ceviche with pisco sours gel. Confit tomato, fermented baby peppers and herb salad

Main

Broken taco, seared duck breast, chipotle, burnt gem, roasted peppers, chimichurri, carrot puree, corn, confit duck leg and black beans

Veggie main

Broken taco, smoky pulled jackfruit, chipotle, burnt gem, roasted peppers, chimichurri, carrot puree, corn, avocado and quinoa fritter and black beans

Dessert

Pistachio parfait, salted caramel doughnut, rhubarb marshmallow, rum jelly

Cheese boards

Westcountry cheese, artisan crackers, fruits and quince paste

Evening food

Buttermilk chicken bun, green slaw, chipotle mayo