For a Scottish, Italian Feast #1, in pictures.

Despite our first ever group cancellation this week and thanks to some enthusiastic diners joining us last minute, Friday's supper went ahead with all the usual verve and reminded us happily of how our supper club started at the original Charlie and Evelyn's Table. The guests and flavours were vivacious and we hope we transported their taste buds to Italy with some fine Scottish produce. Here are my pics.

To welcome Caledonian blue cheese mousse, homemade oat biscuits.

Pea and pecorino smash, toasted ciabatta.

To amuse Pappa al pomodoro.

To start Venison carpaccio, garden salad (thanks Hannah), orange.

 To follow Pan-fried cod, tomato farro, green beans, salsa verde.

Fig, nectarine, Tallegio, homemade crackers.

 To finish Ricotta and white chocolate cheesecake, strawberries with basil, walnut and date shards.

With coffee Chris's homemade chocolate truffles.

80

The weeks have flown by since we celebrated a very special friend's, very special 80th birthday. We created a feast of his favourite things, he brought some delightful friends and family and some excellent wines and asked us to cook but also unusually to join the diners for dinner. It was such a happy celebration with a room full of love and laughter, old memories shared and new ones made. 

Would you like to see?

Prepped.

All flowers bright, sunny and beautiful.

The new Charlie and Evelyn's Table by candle light.

To welcome: Stilton gougeres.

Soft-boiled Quail's eggs with asparagus tips, bacon and hollandaise.

To amuse: Prawn and fennel bisque.

To start: Scallops, pea puree, snow pea shoots and pancetta crumbs.

To follow: Pan-fried duck breast, confit duck leg, beetroot dauphinoise, wilted spinach, buttered mushrooms.

To finish: Classic creme caramel, braised rhubarb and vanilla cream.

2012, part one.

Looking back on 2012, months just raced by, jam-packed and as another January comes around, we're very grateful to be enjoying our not so new kitchen one year on and to be cherishing time together before our trio becomes a quartet. Thank you all for reading, for your greatly appreciated support and for dining with us. Wishing you all a very happy 2013 filled mainly with delicious food, happy memories and new adventures. Here's 2012 at a glance.

January

We hibernated and braced ourselves for the upheaval which would see our kitchen look like this for weeks. As the transformation (part one and part two) took place, we moved out.

February 

Amid the renovations and away from home, the only thing on our menus were simple suppers and new adventures in weaning and crawling. We made our first appearance in Sainsbury's magazine and at the inaugural Burgher Burger.

March

As work in the kitchen continued, we headed south to create a bright and beautiful Spring wedding and watched the kitchen we'd long dreamed about take shape.

April

We were grateful for pretty and delicate blossom to distract us from the seemingly endless dust at home. We celebrated moving home for our precious girl's first birthday and with news of wonderful engagement. There were weddings of dear friends (and we weren't in the kitchen), a private supper to ease us back to hosting and more birthday celebrations for a lovely lady's special birthday and then a room full of four year old princesses.

May

Time to enjoy the new kitchen, welcome sunshine, fresh flavours and for supper featuring the baby, the dog and other guests. We also ventured away from home to prepare a feast. It was also a month to picnic and we even carried our Table to a secret garden for a fine-dining affair which later appeared in Red Magazine.

 June

Flags waving for The Queen's Jubilee, daisies between little toes, a little lady took her first unaided steps in the sunshine, great cakes and time at last to officially return to hosting with a series of sell out Summer supper clubs, rainbows, reunions and Olympic fever.