Debut (Surf and Turf Night), Norwich

I have previously done a review on the City College's Debut Restaurant on this blog and sung their praises, not only for the excellent food which always seems to leave their trainee kitchen, but also the service, which I find adds to the charm of this restaurant in droves. We are becoming regulars to Debut now after having sampled their Christmas menus twice and also been to their evening tasting menus too, but this visit was slightly different. This particular night was a one off 'themed menu', one of a number of evenings, where the set menu followed a particular cuisine, food fad, or indeed movie (in the case of the Willy Wonka night!).
We opted for the Surf and Turf night mainly because the set menu looked incredible, but also because the last time we had beef in the restaurant it was outstanding.

Debut Restaurant

If you didn't know already Debut is part of the city college and trains up students for a career in hospitality and front of house, or the kitchen; therefore you must go expecting slightly disjointed, and occasionally slow service, but excellent quality food and a brilliant experience. This evening was slightly different to the nights we had previously experienced, whether it was because we visited later on in the academic year, or because they had been able to study and remember the one off menu off by heart, the front of house team had enhanced professionalism and the food was (as always) outstanding.

Breads

First the bread is bought to your table, with an oil and vinegar dip to wet your appetite - we polished off the bread pretty quickly, but they were more than happy to bring another board out to keep us going. Our one and only problem with the evening actually was with this course, and that was that the oil bowl was far too deep so it was very difficult to reach the balsamic underneath. A tiny inconvenience for us, and one which could be rectified in no time at all - testament to the quality of the rest of the evening in my opinion.

Smoked Salmon Blinis

The next course always consists of a small canapé, and this was a smoked salmon blini with horseradish and dill cream. This melted in the mouth, and was much lighter than I imagined, possibly due to the lightness of the mousse. What I love about Debut is that you know each component of each dish will be hand-made; from the mousse and blini on this dish, to the sorbets and sauces on the other plates you know they have been lovingly crafted as well as providing someone with the knowledge to take that skill into their career.

Crab Soup, Crispy chicken skin

Next was their soup course - a tiny bowl of crab bisque with crispy chicken skin, and a crispy crab fishcake. The tomato-y soup had bags of flavour and the sweet chicken skin complemented the acidity of the soup very well. The fishcake was an unexpected but welcome addition which added depth, but also texture to the dish.

Twice baked cheese soufflé

Next followed our second course of indulgence - a mini cheese soufflé. I had tried their cheese soufflé before, and last time it was a total winner so I was really excited for this course, and hoping with such a tough skill to master that the kitchen managed to pull it off. We were not disappointed at all, it had all the necessary elements, with a fluffy texture and a rich creamy cheese sauce, the noises coming from our table certainly suggested we all loved it - I know I could have had 9 courses of that alone.

Belly pork, Langoustines and Cauliflower

As the next course arrived we were knew the meal had kicked up and into the next gear. The slow cooked belly pork just fell apart and the crispy crackling on top tasted divine when coupled with the tender langoustine and sweet creamy cauliflower puree.

Lager and Lime sorbet

As always with Debut prior to the main event you get a small glass filled with sorbet to cleanse your palette. This night was no exception, and being a surf and turf evening a lager and lime sorbet was perfectly fitting. Much to my surprise this was my big 'wow' moment of the evening, it was outstanding, the distinct flavour of a cool beer accompanied by a slice of lime bought back instant memories of the past Summer for me and made everyone on our table smile and want the recipe for the Summer to come.

BBQ sirloin, buttered lobster and béarnaise sauce

The main course then arrived and it looked as pretty as a picture - a pink medallion of sirloin steak complete with smoky BBQ flavour was served alongside buttered lobster with a creamy béarnaise sauce, spinach, carrot puree and roasted carrot. This was all finished off with a rich meaty gravy swirl which tied the whole dish together. Again we couldn't wait to tuck in and we loved the dish, each ingredient was handled with care and cooked brilliantly - certainly not the kind of dish you would naturally expect to come out of a kitchen manned predominantly by young students.

Deep Fried Brie, Apple chutney

The final savoury course to come to the table was a small cube of deep fried brie which when cut into oozed yumminess into the sweet apple chutney underneath. Again the small bowl delivered on flavour as well as presentation and left you desperate for some sweetness in the form of the dessert which was to follow.

'The Irish Coffee'

The final course to arrive was layered much like an ice cream sundae and was supposed to emulate an Irish coffee, with Coffee brulee, milk ice cream, a layer of chocolate crunch and topped with a whisky and baileys foam. This was a real treat for any coffee lover and completed the meal perfectly. The foamy mousse on top zinged with the sweet flavour or Baileys and the warmth of whisky, which was cooled down by the creamy milk ice cream. This was further enhanced texturally by the chocolate biscuit crumb and the creamy coffee brulee. Eaten together (if your spoon could find a piece of everything!) it made me both smile, and 'ooo' with sheer enjoyment.

Salted Caramel Chocolates

To finish the meal, coffee and petit fours were bought to each table and the selection this time was a milk chocolate shell which contained a gooey salted caramel.
Debut had undoubtedly delivered again...and faultlessly this time - from the presentation of the plates, to the service we received and the complexity of flavours which were delivered with each and every course we left very happy customers.
I genuinely believe this is Norwich's hidden gem, and one which everyone should know about not only for it's excellent value but as one of the county's best fine dining restaurants!

http://debut.ccn.ac.uk/