An Occasion to Dine For

Nature Boy sums it up best with its perfect lyric. You know the one: the greatest gift we ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.

Mind you, food is a close second.

If you ever needed an illustration of why food is almost the greatest gift, then you should have been at Vinoteca last night for the Dine With Dos Hermanos event. Great food, great wines courtesy of Casa Leal - Douro is now, officially, my current addiction - and great company all brought together by a love of stuff on plates and the writing of those marvellous Brothers Majumdar. They've taken a hobby and turned it into a way of life and, indeed, a writing career for Simon. Best of all though? They share the foodie love, as last night's event showed.

The marvellous Vinoteca was the venue for this joining of minds and bellies, where Simon and Robin had excelled themselves in terms of food, fermented grape products and an astonishing number of goodies to giveaway from Jelly Belly Beans to an exceptional bottle of Solera 1847 Oloroso Dulce which I suspect will be coming with me to Scotland. Well, a man's got to have a little pre-dinner snifter, right?

The evening kicked off with a wine tasting from Casa Leal, before the food started rolling through. First up, a selection of shared starters, including a vibrant salad of oranges, tea-smoked duck, an exceptional squid and harissa pairing, cold meats, a delicious mutton pie, an unctuous pork belly topped with beautifully golden crackling, a cheese course, a parfait made with tea from The Rare Tea Company and a buttermilk sponge topped with rhubarb.

WIth the next event already in the planning stages - hello Casa Brindisa - I heartily suggest you keep an eye on the Dos Hermanos site or join the Dine With Dos Hermanos Facebook group. You'll thank me for it.