A (Star-Studded) Night at the Opera

Photo © Anne-Marie Minhall

Nibbles in a box, in a box.

A cousin of mine, LE, and myself like to get together to catch up on family news, eat good food & drink good wine. Now & again there's an opera thrown in for good measure.

There was a Press invitation in the inbox for the opening of English National Opera's 2019/20 Season. On the programme at the London Coliseum was Gluck's Orpheus & Eurydice.

In a nutshell - bloke gets the go ahead from those on high to rescue the Mrs from the underworld. There's a catch (#standard). For the couple to be reunited, he must lead her to safety without turning to look back at her or to let her know why he can't. The consequence? He'll lose her forever. I won't spoil the ending.

On our previous operatic outings I've ordered a picnic box & wine which get delivered to the box you'll be in, (I know, lucky girl). Veggies & vegans are well catered for as are meat & fish lovers. We've tried all three on different occasions. Contents may vary depending on the season. There's enough for two/three people in each.

MEAT £20

Beef & aubergine caviar, choux. Coppa with chutney on crostini.
Rolled Serrano, rocket, cream cheese in herb pancakes. Salted beef, emmental, gherkins, mustard mayonnaise sandwiches. Marinated olives.
Chocolate cakes, Blueberry financiers.

FISH £20

Mackerel & dill mousse, choux. Smoked halibut, lemon miso mayo crostini. Rolled smoked salmon herb pancakes. Smoked salmon, dill & cream cheese sandwiches.
Chocolate cakes, Blueberry financiers.

VEGAN (vg) £15

Radishes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots with hummus with smoked paprika dip Roast pepper, tapenade and vegan Gouda sandwich.
Pepper & aubergine roll, bravas sauce. Marinated olives.
Chocolate dipped strawberries.

The wine list is pretty good, too.

On this particular opening night, there was no need to pre-order nibbles as there were canapés galore doing the rounds for the invited guests plus flowing vino.

Quite a few celebs were on show that evening & LE & I tried not to stare & just attempted to look like we belonged there with the cool kids. It's the 'dog on the sofa' syndrome which Robert has mentioned.

And who was LE most impressed with seeing that night? I mean, she was so beside herself that she even took a sneaky pic of him.

Peter Purves!!!

AMM