Join us for a special evening with guest speaker Dame Prue Leith and a menu designed and prepared by renowned chef Ollie Dabbous.
We are delighted to launch an exciting series of ‘An evening with...’ events. Come together with Fellows and friends for insightful perspectives, fascinating conversation and delicious food and drink in the inspiring setting of RSA House. Each event will feature an eminent guest in conversation with Andy Haldane, our CEO, accompanied by a meal curated and cooked by a celebrated chef.
Our series will run as follows:
3 October 2022 - Guest speaker: Dame Prue Leith, DBE | Chef: Ollie Dabbous
22 November 2022 - Guest speaker: Gary Kemp | Chef: Will Bowlby
24 January 2023 - Guest speaker: Inua Ellams FRSL | Chef: José Pizarro
8 February 2023 - Guest speaker: David Olusoga OBE | Chef: Mark Greenaway
12 June 2023 - Rt Hon Lord Mandelson (Coming soon)
On Monday 3 October, we welcome guest speaker Dame Prue Leith. Prue was Chair of the RSA from 1995 – 1997, when she led the campaign for contemporary sculpture to be exhibited on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. Perhaps best known currently as a judge on the Great British Bake Off, Prue’s career has also included running her own restaurants, catering and cookery school businesses. She has published eight novels, a memoir and 14 cookbooks, and chaired the School Food Trust among many other roles related to food, education and the arts.
The event will begin with prosecco or soft drinks on arrival for all guests, before moving to the historic Great Room for a meal specially curated by chef Ollie Dabbous.
Ollie Dabbous opened his first restaurant ‘Dabbous’ in 2012 to unprecedented critical acclaim, soon gaining a Michelin star. He released his cookbook two years later. In 2017 he opened ‘Hide’ restaurant. Ollie says:
“The food I cook is entirely product-driven, taking the very best ingredients, questioning why we like them, and then highlighting those qualities in the most organic, restrained manner. It is food you can't recreate at home, but it is also food that respects the integrity of the ingredient and the toil that goes into producing them.”
Menu
White bean soup with toasted green beans, chicken liver parfait and shaved hazelnuts
Paired with Malvasia ‘La Belle’ Cantina Orsogna, Abruzzo, Italy 2021, biodynamic
Roast lamb with crushed marigold, baked aubergine, late-season tomato and Graceburn
Paired with Corvina Veronese, Agricola Gorgo, Veneto, Italy 2019, organic
Fig and brown butter cake with meadowsweet honey; chilled almond milk
Coffee and Petits Fours
A vegan option will be available for each course, and dietary requirements and allergies will be catered for.
Places are open to everybody, within and beyond our Fellowship community. Numbers are limited and tickets must be booked in advance.
Image of Prue Leith, credit to Geoff Pugh.