Malta Dinner

Gozo in May is really at its very best:  freshly washed by the winter rains, spring flowers blooming at every roadside and the summer sun does not yet burn. It is just perfect. As, indeed, is Ta’ Frenc Restaurant, the setting for our second dinner of 2012.

We were a slightly smaller group than usual which made for a very good and congenial atmosphere as we gathered on the lovely terrace of the restaurant for Champagne Boizel ‘Brut Ultime’ and canapés before dinner.



But soon we were taking our places in the dining room at tables prettily decorated with rose petals and candles. The first course of the feast was a delightfully fresh-tasting and light creation of salmon, sour cream and cucumber. The Riesling 2009 by Hugel & Fils was an appropriately dry and light accompanying wine.



The next course, a full-flavoured “Chartreuse aux pointes d’asperges et poireaux à l’infusion de cerfeuil” was described by my table neighbour (and our Bailli Délégué) Dr Joseph Xuereb, as ‘sublime’! The Cuvée de Conti Château “Ta’ Frenc” - Tour Des Gendres was almost equally so.

The roast of local spring lamb was accompanied by a crab flan masked with Indian- spiced sabayon:  a combination which certainly had everyone talking. The strongly-flavoured La Quintessence 2000 “Ta’ Frenc” - Château les Rigalets was a particularly good choice to accompany such a rich dish.



After the lamb, a Champagne sorbet prepared us for the most delicious lemon mousse with strawberries. To set it off, we drank some more of the lovely bubbly ‘Brut Ultime’ Champagne from Boizel.



Having thoroughly enjoyed the foods and wines in this little island for just one evening, we started to question the credibility of Odysseus’s tale of having been imprisoned by Calypso here for seven years. Is it not more probable that he succumbed quite happily to Gozitan treats of all kinds?

Candida Hasselman d’Alby-Ball, Chargée de Presse
                                                                                                                                                                                                 Views of the Island of Gozo