No other better Xmas dish than at Meikles

Immaculately dressed in brilliant white kitchen attire, Chef Gonzo welcomed his guests to the Livingstone Room, adjoining La Fontaine Grill Room, and in the manner of a performance artist described the dishes on offer. There are no fewer than five courses, with a variety of choices designed to please carnivores and vegetarians alike.
A Christmas theme runs through most of the menu, but instead of the star in the east announcing the birth of Jesus, we had ‘Festive Hors d’oeuvres from the East’.
I generally do not like to blunt my appetite with starters at Christmas, preferring to concentrate on the roast turkey and side dishes, but last week I was tempted by a ‘melon cocktail smothered with Port wine and chopped fresh mint.’
Other choices were smoked fish mousse, or an original sounding Yorkshire pudding with ginger flavoured ham and mushrooms. George was very impressed by the Yorkshire pudding starter, and found it delicious.
From two soups available from the ‘Wise Men’s’ Steaming Kettle’ I chose clear oxtail soup, a consommé full of flavour, served with two crisp cheese straws. George declared the festive ham and pea soup, served with croutons, to be very good.
‘Joseph’s Candle Light Catch’, the next course, was herb-crusted fillet of tilapia, served on a bed of garlic-flavoured mashed potato, with perfectly made white wine butter sauce.
The main course, or ‘Feast in the Manger’, was either roast turkey or Beef Wellington. Most of the guests chose turkey, which is what one expects to eat at Christmas, but the gentleman on my right had the beef speciality, which looked beautifully prepared and presented.
The turkey was served in a tower with sliced ham and chipolata sausages. I was disappointed to be eating sliced turkey roll rather than meat carved from a bird, and I hope Chef Gonzo has placed an order for whole turkeys, which will arrive in good time for Christmas.
At this point, the kitchen had run out of poetic licence, and mushroom strudel with chickpea dhal was described simply as ‘vegetarian option’. What about Gabriel’s Delight’ or ‘Shepherd’s Treat’?
Traditional Christmas pudding and pannacotta with chocolate mousse, instead of being referred to as ‘desserts’, might have been described as ‘Angelic Afterthoughts’. It was probably too taxing to come up with an appropriate name for a festive cheese platter, mince pies or coffee.
The Livingstone Room is a great venue for an intimate dinner or lunch party for thirty or so guests. Last week, the staircase leading up to the Livingstone Room was garlanded with golden ivy and the tables were decorated with golden Christmas crackers and beautiful red and gold flower arrangements.
Two Christmas trees gleamed in opposite corners, and the sommelier stood by to offer us delicious Dutoitskloof Shiraz and a well-chilled white wine. I did not manage to identify the white wine, being too busy listening to a guest from Algeria as he described the five different colours of couscous available in his country.
This hearty Christmas fare will be available at Meikles over the festive period. Be sure to book yourself in to the restaurant of your choice, whether The Pavilion, the Stewart Room, or La Fontaine Grill Room.
And remember that the under-12s can work off their excess energy on the jumping castle on Meikles Hotel’s the roof garden, while you enjoy just one more mince pie with another glass of Shiraz.
The Livingstone Room at La Fontaine
Meikles Hotel
Harare
Tel: 707721
– Comments to cmalakoff@gm ail.com