This restaurant has introduced a new way of burning your money in exchange for a few minutes of gustatory joy. They recently treated foodies to a three-course menu marrying two of the most luxurious items —Japanese steaks paired with a selected top-shelf Scotch…indulge

Faith Kyoumukama @martkinel

Foodies, you know those days when you are trying so hard to stay away from the wheat, but then there is a party at Maggie’s, Sheila is throwing a potluck and Catherine is having a wedding at the same time, and you can’t just miss that slice of cake?

Well, that’s what happened to me a week ago, then I walked into Local Grill at the Village Market and the no-wheat gloves were off!

Singleton Whisky held a foodie feast, which was the introduction phase of food pairing with this single malt whiskey brand.

The table runner with white and turquoise blue flowers with a curated menu on charger plates was enough clue that it was a full feast.

Not forgetting the guests, who comprised quite a number of foodies, that love to dine.

The idea pairing of food and libation is practically based on either complementary or contrasting flavours.

When it comes to food pairing, it is almost like playing matchmakers, and the result we seek should be able to create harmony.

Whisky is one of the easiest alcoholic beverages to pair with food, especially since you can use it to make a wide variety of dishes.

It is considered to be the ultimate chef companion, because it can be used in glazing, frying, marinades, even during sautéing methods, such as flambé, a cooking procedure in which alcohol is added to a hot pan to create a burst of flames.  

Most luxurious meat

The starter, shall we? We had Wagyu Boran Capaccio for the starter, Wagyu is a special Japanese breed considered to be the world’s most sought-after and luxurious steak, Wagyu cattle produce meat that has intramuscular fat, giving the meat a marbled appearance.

What makes it so special you may ask, is because of how the cattle have been reared, to ensure that their cows develop evenly marbled fat deposits and do not build tense, tough meat.

This often means a bit of extra pampering…long lesson? I thought you should know.

The Wagyu Cappaccio, as the name suggests, came raw with parmesan cheese shavings and flavoured sauce.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was tender, palliative and the perfect pair for the CoCo B Vardia cocktail, which is made of 12-year-old Singleton, vermouth and coconut ice ball.

The moderate to medium character goes well with grass-fed beef, like in this case the Wagyu. 

Self-cooking

For the main dish, we had beef steak,  with a plot twist, you had to make your rub. I love it when chefs put you to work.

You are given ingredients of different spices that you feel will be perfect for your steak during grilling, this is where your kitchen skills are tested using a  mortar.

You then put it in a jar and give it to the chef with your name tagged on it for your main dish.

The aged rump was served with Ugali, French fries and onion rings that were worth craving for (remember the no wheat gloves).

My steak was well balanced, and I loved the fact that I went for a medium to well-done option, which I downed with a 15-year frozen singleton.

Then came dessert, with two selections, spiked doughnuts and Whisk milkshakes.

The doughnuts came in two flavours; passion fruit citrus and strawberry cream. Tempting, but worth every bite and sugar rush.

If I could choose between the two, passion had to be my favourite… the tanginess that cuts through the sweet cream.

Then came the milkshakes, which were quite a first for me, I have never had a boozy milkshake before and this was quite different,  it contained oat milk, coconut milk and maple syrup.

Foodies were also able to make their own old cum new-fashioned, with our ingredients guided by Arjun Sahi who curated the menu for the day in collaboration with the chefs at the local grill restaurant.