Christmas with my family is the same every year. The girls spend endless hours cooking an array of dishes, we all 'over eat'and drink and pass out in front of the T.V. This year was no different. By the 29th however, we were all out of leftovers and I remembered there was some foodie event and so off I went to the GET Arena for Chef Fregz Special.( okay I didn't just remember, I had this circled on my calendar for months)
The Chef:
So I had read quite a bit about this French trained chef and to be honest I thought he was going to be super snobbish, so I was kind of ready not to like him. To my surprise he was really nice, like REALLY nice. He took time out from the kitchen to say hello to guests and make sure everyone was satisfied. So even if the food wasn't so great (the food was amazing), I would love it either way.
The Menu: The Menu had a musical theme with dishes named after the hottest Nigerian songs of 2013. Three main meals named So le? Eminado and Pull over. My least favourite song out of the three is Eminado(sorry Tiwa) so I tried out everything except that.
The Food:
SO LE? : So le was described in the menu as chicken pieces marinated with lemongrass, whole spices and a touch of efirin leaves. A yellow coconut curry formed the lake which surrounded a very generous island of fried rice. Despite the attractive presentation, I thought the answer to the question So le would be Ko le. But there I go judging the dish without tasting it. This dish was off the charts. One of my tasting buddies almost licked the plate clean.
The curry sauce was fiercely flavourful and the touch of efirin leaves was a perfect combo of gourmet meets local cuisine. So le? O le gaan.
PULLOVER: Now singing ' Park! Baby o pullover ,' as the smiling waitress brought out the second meal.
It was smoked beef fillets with cranberry salsa sauce and cheese wrapped in a soft freshly made tortilla.
The abundance of black beans and rice(and duh the tortilla) reminded me vaguely of a Mexican taco. The sweet cranberry with smoked beef wasn't really cutting it for me, but the burst of cheese right in the middle made up for it.
DESSERT:
XO: I think I died and went to heaven when I had the XO which was a strawberry cheese cake with fresh strawberries in it.
 |
| I could eat this for the rest of my life |
 |
| imagine an engagement ring hidden in this. just a hint fellas! |
So the cake didn't quite set so it ended up being a bit of a custard but it was undoubtedly the most delectable dessert I've had all year. The crunchy crushed biscuit with the creamy strawberry was just decadence on a plate.
Delivery Time: The meals came out about twenty minutes after the orders were placed, and the dessert in less than five minutes. For the presentation and taste, I think that was pretty fast.
Being the 12th Edition of Chef Fregz's Special, Chef Fregz is clearly not a novice and knows exactly what he's doing. He's been able to tailor his French culinary skills to suit the average Nigerian's palate and create dishes that are impeccably michellin starred restaurant standard and yet not too pretentious. He's definitely one to watch out for.
* Chef Fregz is available for events. Send an e-mail to info@cheffregz.com.
Happy Holidays Everyone, see you in the new year.
