A special invitation to the Burford & Ottolenghi supper to launch FEAST by Yotam Ottolenghi.

Burford Garden Centre is nestled in the picturesque town of Burford, the gateway to the heart of the Cotswolds. A relaxing and inspiring place to while away an afternoon exploring a store full of great products, produce and experiences.

Always on the list for many to visit at Christmas, it would be impossible not to notice that the store is alive with the sparkle and joy associated with this time of year. From food, gifts and festive treats to plants, planters and everything for your home & garden, the store is full of welcoming Christmas cheer.

This year Burford are selling a fabulous range called FEAST from the celebrated chef Yotam Ottolenghi, and we were lucky enough to be invited on the 17 November to share an exclusive supper evening in their cafe to mark the launch of this special range and to celebrate the flair of this remarkable culinary star who was scattering more than a little stardust with his seasonal sharing feast.

Yotam Ottolenghi needs no introduction. Over the last two decades he has taken the world by storm, conquering kitchens with his unique flavourful style of cooking and his desire to work alongside similarly creative partners.

Accompanied by the trailblazing Belgium design company Serax, with whom Ottolenghi has collaborated to develop and manufacture this unique range of tableware, we sat down to a delicious sharing feast with 200 other guests. As we ate off the FEAST mix-and-match tableware, serveware, cutlery and glassware Yotam stood to explain that next year Ottolenghi celebrates 20 years from the opening of their first restaurant in Ladbroke Grove, and how years ago he developed an obsessive past-time scouring markets in the UK and France to find platters to present his food on. He went on to say how he loves the interaction with food, it’s environment and what it is served on. The textures, colours, patterns and scale. This passion he never thought would lead to this collaboration with Serax and his artist friend Ivo Bisignano. The plates and platters have been described too beautiful to cover with food but what he enjoys about FEAST is the way the patterns are gradually revealed as you eat. (to read more about the range).

This colourful and aptly named collection is the perfect tableware for presenting equally colourful food and the evenings feast did not disappoint. Twelve dishes were served from Smooshed Carrots with Coriander Pistachio Pesto and Pickled Onions (to paraphrase Ottolenghi, this is a recipe for carrots in their ‘most fantastic party attire’) to Masala fish koftas with Mint & Mandarin Salsa and delicious Tahini Caramel Shortbread Bars to name but a few. The brilliance of Ottolenghi's tableware is as impressive as the explosion of the evening’s flavours.

A perfect evening, an honour to be invited and an opportunity to take inspiration from the genius of flavour himself.

To recreate the feast he curated for the night many of the recipes on the evenings menu below are from his new book Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love, whilst the others feature within the rest of his collection.

Click here for the Smooshed Carrots recipe.