An illusive evening with the Delirium Dining Club

It’s an experience that’s as deceiving as it is delicious. What appears to be a sweet English treat tastes like a savoury Welsh classic. What looks like toffee could be gravy, and what is inside that familiar cuppa isn’t tea, but a broth so flavourful, you’ll happily sip that instead. 

The Delirium Dining Club is run by Chef Ricky Evans, who prepares mind-bending dishes in pop-up locations across London. Each series he hosts represents an international cuisine from his travels, ranging from Mexico to India, but for series nine, Evans kept it quintessentially British within the private dining room of The Gate London City Hotel. Each dish on his nine-course tasting menu was a clever deception. Savoury dishes were sweet. Sweet were savoury. All were phenomenal. 

“I’m trying to create something that captures people and their emotions, ” Evans said via Zoom. “I wanted to showcase Britain, and autumn is the best time to do it. [We chose The Gate Hotel because] The Maddox Gallery curated the space and artwork, so it’s a little more unique. “

We began with a coronation chicken sandwich, simple and inspired by the afternoon tea. It certainly looked like the yellow-hued, curry-seasoned classic, but after taking a closer look, the filling was a smooth, rectangular slab. Biting into it was cold. It was a coronation chicken ice cream sandwich.

“We used an authentic coronation chicken sauce for the ice cream, a simple, soft and fluffy, white farmhouse bread and Maldon salted chicken skins,” Evans said. “With the previous series, I’d travel to the country, get inspiration and find suppliers that we can work with within the UK, but for the British series, 99 per cent of the produce is local.”  

Take the scampi fry pomme soufflé, packaged brilliantly in an English snack staple, a Smith’s Scampi-flavoured Fries bag. The single souffle slides out of the bag, golden-brown and crisp. After cutting into this hot, steamy, fried, little pillow, you’d have found a smooth Scottish langoustine mousse. If these were sold in stores, I’d buy the whole stock. 

Whether it’s my affinity towards Wales, my love of cheese or both, the third course was my favourite. On the plate was what very much looked like sticky toffee pudding. There’s a dense-looking, rectangular bread base, a thick, brown sauce and a perfect scoop of ice cream on top. But foiled again! The bread was a toasted focaccia. The sauce was rarebit gravy, and the ice cream was a black bomber cheddar cheese gelato. Comforting and divine. 

“Visually, this is one of my favourite desserts, and it’s combined with my favourite Welsh snack. I grew up on Welsh rarebit,” Evans said. “I love to showcase Welsh dishes and artisan suppliers, like Snowdonia Cheese Company and Caws Cenarth Cheese, and this was the perfect dish to do that.”

After an autumn, venison broth “tea”, a duck confit “trifle” and an English retired dairy rump with duck fat confit potatoes disguised as a Black Forest Gateaux, we were served British fish and chips in a classic takeaway chippie box. Inside the box was exactly what you’d expect. A beer-battered “fish” served with a bunch of thick, yellow chips, and a dollop of red sauce on the side. But again, after the first bite, you’ve delightfully realised you’ve been duped again.

The beer-battered “fish” was a beer-battered poached pear topped with lemon verbena sugar. The chips on the side are actually apple chips with vanilla sugar and a side of quince and cranberry gel. 

“It’s great to see the guests’ eyes light up. They really resonated with it.,” Evans said, eyes also lit and smiling through the screen. “It’s probably the simplest dish we created this series, but also the most effective. It’s the one that gave everyone the most satisfaction.”

Evans has no culinary training. He started a career in food marketing and within a few years, transformed himself into a chef – his first illusion, one might say. 

“The competition in London is huge, particularly in fine dining. I’m not coming from a trained background, nor do I have the accolades that many chefs do, so I lean on friends who are chefs. There’s also YouTube, and so many books and resources available. As long as you put the time in for what you want to do, you’re going to get there.”