What was I doing in Cambridge?

Last week I spent a fantastic day with my friend and colleague Nancy volunteering with Teach First. I must admit, I have never been keen on volunteering with students (particularly teenagers!) and would rather spend my do good hours protecting the environment, both flora and fauna. Yet the day was going to be spent in Cambridge’s Corpus Christi college, not usually open to the public and that certainly represented a major draw. The fact that was also the location for one of my favourite restaurant, was the icing on the cake! Nancy and I tried to book Midsummer House for dinner but unfortunately Daniel was not going to be around, so we took the decision to book instead Alimentum, neither of us having been before but both very keen on trying it (especially since chef Mark Poynton worked with Daniel Clifford for years).

The day volunteering went really quickly and was, and for me also unexpectedly, amazing and incredibly rewarding. The students were bright, smart, fun and very passionate and so were the Teach First teachers and volunteers we met. The day itself was sunny and warm and Cambridge is such a beautiful place, I loved the whole experience. Alimentum concluded a really perfect day out of London!

Let’s go for dinner

The restaurant is outside of the town’s historic centre but conveniently only a short stroll away from the station. It’s modern and sleek and quite plain from the outside. The ambiance is relaxed and elegant and the service was friendly and unobtrusive.

The restaurant offers tasting menu and a la carte, which is what we opted for. The wine list is quite extensive with options to order caraffes as well as by the glass, which suited us well. The first amuse bouche was a crisp with aubergine puree and feta cheese cream, salty and mooreish, followed by a light and delicious Jerusalem artichoke foam with caramelised mushrooms.

My actual starter was very light and beautiful: Eel, Apple, horseradish and truffle. Nancy opted for Plaice Véronique, Sourdough, grape, brown shrimp, cucumber and yeast, which was just as good as mine.

I remained on the lighter side with my main, also a fish dish: Seabass, Cauliflower, langoustine, goat’s cheese and Pedro Ximenez. I loved the cauliflower both caramelised and sweet and raw and crunchy. Sultanas added further sweetness to a very balanced dish. Nancy on the other hand opted for a more substantial main: Dingely Dell Pork Belly and fillet, cabbage and apple. It looked stunning and she very much enjoyed it although the pork belly skin could have been crispier.

Before desserts, we were served a wonderfully aromatic palate cleanser: lime tonic granita, juniper powder. Delightful. Nancy’s dessert of choice was BBQ Orange, Parfait, mojito and liquorice. The liquorice was only a complement and not overpowering, and the seared orange an intense aromatic flavour to the parfait. My dessert was again on the lighter side and not only visually stunning but delicious too. Lemon Curd, white chocolate and fennel had a white chocolate rich heart, with a fennel crisp, lemon curd and lemon foam, sorbet and a refreshing fennel gremolata. A perfectly put together dish, great for those who like me, love lemon.

The bill came to around £70 each including half a liter of wine and service. I couldn’t recommend Alimentum more, it’s worth a trip to Cambridge alone!