I held my 60th Birthday week celebrations at Lunga in August. Not only was this an incredibly special occasion as I was reaching this unbelievably ridiculous age! but also it was the first time we had got together 22 members of our family, spanning 3 generations.
The highlight of the week was my birthday Dinner Party which was held in the beautiful dining room. Carole presented the most fantastic shellfish buffet which had people gasping in awe at its beauty, before they even dived in to the wonderful food.
As fantastic as they are, it’s quite hard to make a shellfish spread different, but Carole succeeded; the platters were spectacular and included the finest quality and best cooked langoustines, crab claws, clams and a platter of juicy oysters. The teenagers were bowled over by the Lobster and King Prawn Lollipops and the Little Pea Panacottas perfectly complemented the seafood. We all loved the pearl barley, lime and orange salad- so unusual. And my birthday cakes were actually three separate delicious cakes- lemon, chocolate and Guinnes and Victoria sponge- I had a piece of each – wonderful! (note from me - these were made by my lovely daughter Kirsty of The Hidden Lane Tearoom.)
Carole’s style is really laid back, informal and friendly. She explained all the dishes in the spread to us and then left us to help ourselves and just enjoy ourselves. We felt really comfortable, well cared for and beautifully fed. I couldn’t recommend the experience of Carole’s cooking and presentation style more highly.
Louisa Stobbs
