Blueys Of Alfreton Re-Open Their Restaurant With An Exotic Meat Tasting Competition.
Published On Friday 19 Aug 2016 by Sticky Beak
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Just as the path of true love never runs smoothly, so every business faces bumps in the road, and Blueys Aussie Bar and steakhouse in Alfreton is no exception. Recently they have endured a few kitchen equipment faults and then their original chef Dan has moved on to pastures new, but they have now got a new chef in called Shane and decided to introduce him with a couple of “guess the meat” evenings ahead of the official kitchen opening night tomorrow (August 20th, 2016).
The Man Bird and I decided to have a stroll over to them seeing as it was such a lovely summers evening and after walking the couple of miles we were delighted to quaff down a cold pint of Peroni and an equally cold pint of Cider.
There were a few bods in already enjoying an after work drink, so by the time 7pm came around there was a good crowd in to participate in the fun competition. The format was nice and simple; meats or fish were brought out one at a time and you simply had to try them and then write down what you thought it was from a list of 43 (!!) different exotic meats and fish that are available at Blueys.
It amazes me how differently we all perceive texture and flavour; some people would say “ooh that tastes beefy” when to me it tasted more like Pork, but I guess that’s what makes us all unique. When Bluey gave the answers at the end, no one had got all of them right, in fact I think the best result was 2 correct answers, but from the vast choice I thought that was a pretty good effort to be honest.
Number one, to me, had quite a delicate flavour and a firmish texture and I liked it a lot, although I didn’t recognise what it was. There were some pretty amazed faces when all was revealed - Python.
Number two was very tender and juicy and tasted “beefy” to me. I think my taste buds need a telling off, it was actually Camel! I have to say though, that it really was a lovely meat, not at all what I would have imagined.
Meat number three had a stronger taste than meat 1, but a lighter taste than 2, and both the Boy Wonder and I really liked the texture of it. Bluey revealed that it was in fact Wild Boar, and it has a fairly unique flavour and texture because of the diet of the Boar.
The final meat had a “twang” to it, not gamey but definitely a hint of something and I had a few thoughts as to what it could be before settling on Zebra. I was dead chuffed with myself when Bluey said that it was indeed Zebra.
Everyone was saying how surprised they were by the fact that they’d liked all the meats, but had they known what they were, probably wouldn’t have chosen them. Just goes to show how many pre-conceptions we have about what we will and won’t like and how wrong those ideas are. It’s nice to have a place like Blueys that offers such a great range of choice to allow you to expand your culinary experience.
Leonie and Shane were whispering about something and it wasn’t long before Shane was bringing out a trio of Fish cakes for us to try; Swordfish and Coriander, Red Snapper and Red Chilli, and River Cobbler and Cod. As with the meats there is a vast difference in taste and texture between fish species and you could really appreciate this when trying them alongside each other.
Shane makes all the fishcakes himself and you can tell that a lot of effort goes into them. Swordfish is quite a delicate flavour and there was just enough Coriander to taste without it overpowering the fish, and the flakes were a good size too. A little squeeze of Lemon juice gave a zippy edge to the fishcake which was really nice partnered with the Coriander.
The Red Snapper fishcake was lovely and chunky, with just a nice heat from the red Chilli slices to wake the palate up without dominating the dish. I’ve never had River Cobbler before, but it goes very nicely with Cod and you could discern both fish from each other. Parsley, salt and pepper seasoned the fishcake nicely, and again Shane had kept this one nice and chunky; he really had thought about each fish and its characteristics and how to showcase that to best advantage.
Knowing what a chocoholic His Nibs is, Leonie had got Shane to make some Truffles up; Milk Chocolate and Coffee, and Dark Chocolate and Orange. Both of them were moreish with just nice amounts of Coffee and Orange accents to compliment the Cocoa content of the different Chocolates. Never mind having them as truffles, just gimme the bowls!
It’s been a while since we’ve eaten at Blueys, apart from having the famous Bluey Burger when we go to Comedy Nights which run on the last Tuesday of every month by the way, but we’ll be back soon to try out Shanes menu creations, no doubt about it.
If you like a bit of fun and have an open mind, then pop down tonight, Friday 19th August 2016, for the second “ Guess the Meat” competition. There will be four different choices to last night’s variants, and there is a fantastic selection of Wines, beers, ciders and spirits to enjoy too whilst you’re there. If you can’t make it tonight, remember the kitchen is officially opening tomorrow night, so why not book a table and see for yourselves what’s on offer :)
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