Being 30 in itself is fairly fabulous, especially for someone as talented and special as Ellie, but what could make it even more fabulous? Lunch at the Waterside inn, of course my favourite restaurant in the world. Ellie’s birthday week (yes, I did say week) consisted of Cliveden, lunch with friends, the special appartment at Louis Vuitton, Sophia Coppola and lobster and chips at Randall & Aubin and that was just the highlights, the lowlights weren’t at all bad either but on the day of days, a surprise trip to see Alain Roux was definitely in order.
Luckily, it was a beautiful day and we took the Hummingbird up the river to the restaurant where we had pre-warned them to expect us by river. We started our lovely lunch with a bottle of their house champagne which is always a delight, along with some of their signature canapes. The pastry with the anchovies and stuffed olive is one of my favourites and very easy to make (I’ll show you soon). 
Choosing from their light summer menu is probably one of my favourite forms of torture, because basically, I want everything I chose “Flaked duck set in a subtle jelly with a quail egg and oscietra “Royal Belgian caviar”, crisp black radish and tender leaves”. The incredible part about this, is that when you cut in to 
the delightful jelly, the quail’s egg is still soft and delicious. Alain is a genius. Katy chose a simple starter (under the salads) of poached eggs in hollandaise with asparagus and to be honest with you, we were all rather jealous as it was absolutely lovely. Generous soul that she is, we did all get substantial tasters thank goodness. The others 
were tempted by the delights of the “Pan fried scallops and octopus slices with coriander, served on a bed of celery puree, coconut emulsion and tamarind sauce”. The octopus in this dish was honestly like nothing you’ve ever tasted before along with the biggest, juiciest, sweetest scallops you can imagine. I am practically 
salivating, just thinking of them now.
On to the main courses: I had the “Pan fried medallion of farmed veal with carrots and a crispy calf’s head fritter, white wine veal jus”, which I have to confess I have had before, which may not 
have been very adventurous of me, but then I’m a sucker for a calf’s head fritter! Jim shared the succulent duck, one of the waterside’s specialities, wich is served pink and carved at the table, with a confit of the leg and thigh served on the side.
Katy and Ellie went for “Pan fried fillet of Angus beef, served with a foie gras and wild mushroom kromesky fritter, verjuice sauce with sultanas” which again, did not disappoint, the beef was like butter and I could cheerfully have mugged them for their foie gras.
To complete out lunch, Chef Alain had arranged a special birthday cake for Ellie, which was a combination of a light sponge, fruit mousse and white chocolate.
Happiness, is a birthday lunch at the Waterside Inn.
The Bombay Boys 
I could weep with joy just thinking about it, basically.