Arenkha/Avruga Caviar, 55g

Product Information

We managed to bag a midweek table, which was no mean feat. Since restaurants have been allowed to trade, Harborne Kitchen has literally been full every single night. Still, there are surprises to be had in Kasim’s degustation presentation. A burrata whipped with honey and verjus served in a caviar tin then covered in thin slices of green grapes and Canadian uni is one of the dishes without sturgeon roe. Acting as a palate cleanser almost, it’s a creamy pudding of salinity, sweetness and tartness. We offer a wide range of highly affordable and delicious holistic pet foods for cats and dogs, but British Banquet is for those few insanely rich pet owners to whom money is no object,” he said.

The next course, allium, was exceptional, a 10/10 dish that could grace any menu in any restaurant across the Michelin-starred Second City. Both visually appealing and a treat for your taste buds, Arenkha (Avruga) Caviar is a fantastic way to ‘wow’ your guests during dinner parties, and also a brilliant gift for the food connoisseur in your life. Well-known as a luxury food with the rich and famous, caviar was first eaten in the 15th century. It is traditionally the roe or salted eggs from sturgeon but the edible eggs of other fish such as salmon are also sometimes rather confusingly referred to as caviar. Russia and Iran are the world's main caviar exporters, with most of the caviar producing sturgeon originate from the Caspian sea. About two weeks after the salting stage, Kaviari’s purchasing team, led by founder Jacques Nebot, visits the farm and tastes each tin to finalise the selection. Only tins approved after tasting are stamped ‘ Kaviari' and air-flown from China to Paris where caviar master Bruno Higos personally sees to the maturation of the sturgeon eggs through a process called refining.Fortunately there’s some champagne to wash it down. The drinks list is pretty expansive, offering a reasonable selection by the glass such as NV Champagne Legras & Haas Intuition Brut and Johnnie Walker Blue Label. Whereas the list of bottled champagne lean into the older vintages, the likes of a 2006 Krug Brut or the splendid 2003 Dom Perignon P2 Brut. To prepare: Caviar is best served well chilled so keep it in the fridge and remove just before serving. Desogus is operating at an elite level while being ably supported by an engaged, professional supporting cast, who operate at the highest standard. Good company.

We see it appealing to celebrities, managing directors and CEOs, ambassadors and other VIPs who wish to give their cats the finest things in life. For the caviar connoisseur, Ong’s establishment could well be the playground they’ve been looking for. After all, you can be sure the man knows his product having been a supplier of premium seafood for eight years. The entire spread of caviar, in their tin containers of various sizes, is put on display along a shallow ice trough by the open kitchen where the chef’s table resides. Located in one of Birmingham’s more affluent suburbs, it has a discerning clientele who have been eager to enjoy the work of Desogus and co. The pace slowed as we transitioned to dessert with a British raspberry course featuring buttermilk and wild nettle before Desogus completed his bravura performance with a passion fruit meringue with scintillating coconut ice cream. Sharp and sweet, creamy and delicate, it was a perfectly balanced dessert, gone in just a moment. Harborne Kitchen Guests are invited to wait in a small lobby before sanitising their hands as they enter the restaurant. They are politely asked to follow a few simple rules, in essence, showing care for other guests by maintaining social distancing and hygiene. Staff are transparent, charming and clear.Good food. Good hospitality. Good value for money. Harborne Kitchen justifies the hype. Sample menu Angels danced on our tongue. The main followed, a perfectly tender rump of Salt Marsh hogget with a crisp round of slowly rendered belly alongside lovage and courgette. Deep, rich and intense, the flavours and textures showcased a rare skill.

My friend has eaten at Harborne Kitchen on several occasions and bent my ear about just how good it is. Happy to report, she’s right. All in all, it’s a pretty decent debut for a young team. But, Caviar has some ways to go before truly grasping how to showcase the delicate differences between the different sturgeon roe (and I don’t mean just accentuating the flavours). With more practice and research, hopefully the team gets more confident in execution and presentation, particularly crucial given that they’re in full view of guests at the counter who are paying top dollar for the experience. Harborne Kitchen is one of the region’s most exciting kitchens, well led by a chef-patron with enviable skill. It’s ahead of the game in our post-pandemic age, already putting into practice measures that others are only now contemplating. In line with Food Information Regulations 2013 allergens are now highlighted in Boldwithin product ingredient information and nutritional information will be soon be added alongside.A Loch Duart salmon dish was elegance itself. Beautifully cured and served with wild horseradish, sea herbs and Arenkha caviar, it raised our dinner to a higher level. What Google failed to show me though, was how very different the interior is. I believe the new head chef Jamie Deans has something to do with that.

It’s the little things that count as customer confidence is rebuilt and customers start to relax in the post-pandemic world. The post-Covid dining experience has been carefully considered. Instead of printed wine lists, drinks of available using a QR code to avoid the risk of many hands touching one menu. Three of the most well-known varieties are available belgua, sevruga and oscietra and they are produced from different species of sturgeon. A more economical alternative to sturgeon's eggs is lumpfish roe which is mainly produced in Denmark and has a similar appearance to caviar. Lumpfish roe and caviar are both sold in tins or jars. Once the eggs of the female sturgeon are deemed to be mature (in terms of colour and size) following a biopsy, they are manually extracted, weighed, strained, washed, drained and, most importantly, salted.

The verdict

Opened by Jason Ong, who’s also responsible for Uni Gallery, the fine dining restaurant offers up to eight types of caviar such as the beluga, sevruga and oscietra varieties as well as the Chinese-produced Kaluga Queen. It’s incorporated into dishes, served on a pearl spoon, or with six shots of premium vodka but ultimately, there’s no mistaking it’s the pièce de résistance. During maturation, the tins of sturgeon eggs are chilled at an optimum temperature of minus three degrees celsius,” explains Macouin. ”They are turned every two weeks to ensure an even spread of oil and tasted by the caviar master every week.” If you are on the lookout for Caviar alternatives, why settle for just any replacement when you can get your hands on a gourmet alternative? Dr. Eric Dougherty, Feline Veterinarian and Medical Director of The Cat Practice in New York City, doubts it. “Cats are obligate carnivores, so foods like asparagus, quinoa or saffron are not necessary at all,” he said. Moreover, contrary to popular belief, cats don’t particularly fare well with a seafood diet.