The make-away box specialists Finish & Feast have teamed up with BBC Masterchef 2020 winner Thomas Frake with a meal kit featuring a half kilo sirloin steak for two to share, for £82.  Half a kilo sounds a lot, but 250g per person is kind of normal when it comes to steaks.  I must confess I didn’t watch Masterchef and I knew nothing of Thomas Frake, but I was attracted by his menu. And as a bonus, £2 of the cost went to the Beyond Food Foundation, which provides support to hospitality workers in need.

The meal began with an amuse bouche of Burland Bloom Doughnut. Burland Bloom is a goat’s cheese, and a mixture of it was piped into the doughnut after it had been heated for 5 minutes. The doughnut was then topped with a large dollop of red onion chutney and grated parmesan.

This was a very unusual and interesting beginning to a meal. It was very tasty, and as I brought the donought out of the oven it’s sweet aroma brought forth memories of Japan. 9/10

The starter was “Pea Soup”, which I heated in a pan (but it tasted delicious when cold).  Once in a bowl, I added “mint dressing” and crushed toasted hazelnuts.  We had a generous portion of soup, but I really think it tasted better when cold. The mint dressing was too subtle and the nuts of course brought texture. 7.5/10

To prepare the main course I first placed blocks of millefeuille beef fat potatoes into the oven. They needed 20 minutes, and turning every 5 minutes.  The half kilo sirloin was seared on all sides for 90 seconds a side and basted with beef fat, butter and herbs, before resting for 5 minutes. The searing was a very smokey process!   Meanwhile I warmed a “creamed spinach sauce” in a pan before wilting fresh spinach into the sauce.   On the side we had a Bernaise sauce, which could have been served warm or cold. I chose the latter, to save a pan from the washing up.

The beef was a little too chewy for me, because I prefer the more tender fillet, but it had great flavour, enhanced by an amazing smoked salt which I’d scattered over the plate. I liked the creamed spinach, and thought the beef fat potatoes were lovely.  Finally, the Bernaise was very good, bringing welcome acidity to the dish. 9/10

For the St. Clement’s Tart dessert I simply piped a “St. Clement’s custard” into pastry cases, spooned whipped  milk curd onto the side and dressed with blood orange syrup.  The baby mint leaf in the photo was my own addition!

Overall this dish disappointed. We had a rich custard liquid in a ‘clumsy’ tart case. By ‘clumsy’ I mean that when I tried to cut through the pastry, bigger bits separated than intended.  The St Clement’s custard wasn’t citrussy enough and the orange syrup was too sweet.  The dish would have been much better if we’d had a set lemon tart in a buttery short pastry.  The milk curd was a very nice touch. 6/10

Overall I thought this was a pretty enjoyable four course meal which was quite easy to prepare and plate up.  I don’t know that it tells me anything about the cookery skills of Thomas Frake, but that’s almost irrelevant. 8/10