Ord Ban Presents.

Over the last few weeks Ord Ban have put together some extraordinary alternative dining. Most recent (and something they are planning on making a regular thing of) was their taster evening, six of their favourite dishes from the last 18 months, a musically accompanied tribute to the chefs to have occupied their kitchen and testament to Ross and Polly's resourcefulness and willingness to experiment. If you can book for the next one I would highly recommend it

A couple of weeks back they hosted an evening of Russian cultural philosophy and vodka, or more accurately, the cultural philosophy of vodka. We ate salty or pickled Russian food, gherkins, fish and eggs (or a Scottish slant - salted chanterelles anyone?) and worked our way through a series of toasts, lots of shots, Russian music and dancing. The evening was hosted by Dmitri Morozov, the man behind the Kitezh orphanage, 40 miles outside Moscow. This was an exchange, Polly visited Kitezh in May to teach the children cooking and partly due to the vodka and partly the rhetoric, this was an unexpectedly inspiring evening. Dmitri is an unusual and charismatic individual and I have enormous respect for what they have achieved there. When he promised that by drinking just vodka we would not have hangovers on Monday that was not the whole truth.

Then there was Sue Ryder Sunday. What happened on Sue Ryder Sunday stays on Sue Ryder Sunday.