Come Dine With Me Grand Finale

The long awaited round three of CDWM took part last month, and it was the turn of the Coopers to host. I think it is safe to say that Mrs Cooper wasn't quite as excited as Mr Cooper at the prospect of the mammoth cooking challenge, and it was Mr Cooper who led their stage of the challenge. I believe quite a few souffles were tried and tested before the last menu was revealed, and what a menu it was:

Cod and samphire dressed in a lemon, butter and caper sauce topped with prawns
Rack of lamb with fondant potatoes, spring vegetables and lamb jus
Chocolate soufflé and raspberry ripple ice cream

 

The gauntlet was firmly laid down with this spectacular menu and Mr C was in it to win it!

Now the Cooper's didn't just have a menu to stun, the location of their house also impresses. Nestled under the arches of the Forth Railway Bridge you have views across the Forth and also can sneak a peak of the new bridge being built. A wee photo opportunity whilst the canapes were served up (yes...canapes on top of that delightful menu).

If the canapes were the taster of things to come then I was looking even more forward to the menu. Risotto balls and haggis balls with accompanying dips. Yum!

Onto the starter...

Then the main (this had to be my favourite course of the evening)...

...and finally desert (yes they did rise!)

We finished off a delicious meal with cheese and homemade crackers (sadly not wheat-free but to be honest I was pretty stuffed anyway!).

As expected the Coopers were delightful hosts and coupled with the Storrars we had some cracking company for the evening. Food and good company, what more could you want for? Oh yes, the CDWM Champions title would be nice so onto the scoring!

Scores were tallied and big drum roll.....drrrrrrrrrr....we won. Won by only half a point! 

For me who is so passionate about food and puts so much love and care into every meal that I cook (not just in a competition) this was a very big deal. The standard of all three meals was exceptional and to come out on top was a lovely feeling. Apparently we scored an extra half a point by Mr C for our oven disaster, lucky he did! I was disappointed to only score a seven from one of our guests, but I guess it gives a taste of what it must be like for professional chefs when food critics analyze a menu and give feedback on it. Your palette may not actually suit everyone's taste. 

This was another wonderful culinary adventure to put alongside my Britain's Best Dish adventure and River Cottage adventure. What next?