Game of Thrones cake by Planet Cake
Three suckling pig’s heads sit in a bowl while wait staff sweep past wearing long black robes with fur collars. Black wrought iron candelabras hold glowing wax candles lighting up an incredible silver cake with knives and swords embedded in it. I feel right at home here. No, it’s not my Halloween party but a dinner at the acclaimed restaurant Gastro Park to celebrate the upcoming release of Game of Thrones on DVD. It was a pairing of three of my favourite things: food, tv and a theme. And this is not just a one off – should you be a fan of the series, from March 7 to April 7 you will be able to order your very own “King’s Landing” feast!
To create the feast Grant King watched the first series and based the entire menu on it and as the pig heads suggest, the menu is decidedly carnivorous. “Sordid medieval fantasy, royal gluttonous feasts and battle scenes oozing with gore, all set against a stunning backdrop – what more could a creative chef ask for from a brief?” he says.
Fallen eyeballs and bleeding stag
I can attest that when you bring a display of eyeballs and arrow speared flesh that people will coo and giggle with delight and every camera will come out. OK perhaps this is not the reaction you would have in Westeros but here they certainly did. We’re served a log (chopped down by King himself on a property three hours outside of Sydney) with arrows sticking out of it impaling seared venison pieces with “dripping fake blood dressing” made from bonito, soy and ginger. I could have easily had much more of this the venison tender, succulent and full of flavour. There is a deliberate lack of cutlery and plates here as King wanted everyone to eat with their hands much as they would have in Westeros.
On top was the olive and bread “soil” dressed with white balsamic vinegar dressing, roasted vine tomatoes, French breakfast radishes and eyeballs. The soil has a savoury flavour very much like Vegemite and goes well on the buttered bread. And eyeballs? Well they’re not actual eyeballs and at first we thought that they might be mini mozzarella balls or bocconcini but instead the eyeballs hold a surprise inside. The outer shell made of cocoa butter resembles a super thin unsweetened Lindor ball shell and inside is filled with a liquid mozzarella which resembles whey. The eyeball’s iris and pupil detail were actually finished by a make up artist to complete the look. Alas the eyeballs will not be featured on the regular menu and were just a test for that evening.
A Soup of Crushed Skills and Raven Feet (photo by Dan Boud)
“I was obsessed with the ravens” King says to us when explaining the next dish. In the show the ravens were trained to deliver messages between the castles and the seven kingdoms and would “bring dark wings and dark words.” Here the raven motif is represented with claws which are squid ink battered piquillo peppers cut into a raven claw shape and deep fried until crispy. It is served with a garlic potato galette shaped into a small skull and a “raven broth.” “To be honest ravens are illegal to kill” King says, so he used quail and hare in the mushroom based consomme instead. The raven’s claw and skull are delicious and stay quite crispy and the consomme is rich and deep in flavour.
Chunk of wild cooked pig served on Godswood log
The pig’s heads on the nearby table were a hint of the main to come and it is with a flourish that we were served the pork. It was a leg of pork with a wood patterned rind, a generous separate chunk of crackling served with a split log, moss and roasted fruit. The pork is divine and forget the throne, the crackling is the hotly contested prize. We’re given two Laguiole knives to hack into it. He also wanted us eating this course with our hands which I did to give it the Game of Thrones experience. And to accompany this simply roasted pork is a range of roasted fruit including roasted yellow peaches, blood plums, white figs and red and white grapes (which by the way are incredible, must do this at home!).We take our time with the leg and we even see some people having theirs wrapped up in foil to take home.
The inspiration for the dessert was the “A Golden Crown” episode and this is the most dramatic course of the evening. It starts with King coming out with seven of his staff, each of holding either a trowel, an ornate jug or a basket. Each takes their turn dramatically depositing their portion of the dessert onto the square slate plates. King says that he intends to serve the dessert at dinner with similar dramatics if time permits.
Textural dessert of the Land with Dragon Eggs and Liquid Gold (photo by Dan Boud)
On one side there is edible earth aka dark chocolate ”mud”, a rich velvety chocolate pudding, three golden honeycomb nuggets (a fourth would have been good to avoid bloodshed fighting for them 
), crumbled buttery soft chestnut shortbread sand and ginger cake soil. Liquid gold is poured all over this which is actually a liquidy orange curd and a dragon’s egg is gently placed atop. And this isn’t your run of the mill dragon’s egg – if there is such a thing. This is filled with two oozing layers of passionfruit curd and vanilla custard in a beautifully thin layer of white chocolate which was sprayed with metallic edible paint.
On the other side there is also a vanilla and buttermilk nitro rock made by placing a vanilla and buttermilk panna cotta in liquid nitrogen and cooking it in minus 190C temperatures which King calls “negative deep frying.” This sits on top of a white chocolate and French black truffle clay which caused quite a sensation at some tables for it’s sexual aroma – well you know they do say that truffles smell like sex! And this has got to be the most fun dessert I’ve had in a long time as we all dig in and claim bits of the dessert, the contrasting textures and myriad flavours making it compulsive eating.
And there was even a spare dragon’s egg which I took home to Mr NQN!
So tell me Dear Reader, are you a Game of Thrones fan? And what other tv shows are tickling your fancy?
P.S. Look out for a Game of Thrones Season 1 DVD giveaway coming up!
Chef Grant King in cape (photo by Dan Boud)
NQN dined as a guest of HBO and Warner Bros
Gastro Park
5-9 Roslyn St, Potts point, Sydney NSW 2011
Tel: +61 (02) 8068 1017
The Game of Thrones dinner is available from March 7th-April 7th, 2012 and is available for a minimum of four diners and must be ordered when making a reservation. The price per person is $100 excluding drinks.
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71 Comments | Add your own
OOOO that’s seems like an interesting dinner
I like how they’ve made everything look so ‘real’ lol like the eye balls!
I’m so intrigued by the dessert would LOVE LOVE LOVE to try it! Lucky Mr NQN he got to try the dragon egg
I’m kinda embarrassed hehe but I haven’t watched Game of Thrones before but I love watching so many other shows hehe I’m such a girl I love
- Desperate Housewives
- Greys Anatomy
- Suburgatory
- Switched at Birth
I did like the Game of Thrones, and then I went on to read the books. Definitely a series where you do not want to get too attached to the main characters. What an extraordinary dinner to have attended.
What a medieval feast! You must have been beside yourself with joy!
Omg… my kind of ‘theme’ dinner!
how wonderful! My husband LOVEs these books !
What an incredible feast! I really loved the look of the dessert, not sure about the eyeballs in the first course, they are very realistic! I have a list of shows I am dying to watch this year: The Office, Modern Family, Game of Thrones and of course, True Blood!
I love Game of Thrones! This feast looks great. Can’t wait for S2!!
What a great idea. I do love how the food is set out like decorations and that wild pig’s leg is such an eye-catching colour. I do hope the restaurant had good air-conditioning otherwise I’d be feeling very sorry for the waiters wearing all that velvet and fur.
WOW! What an amazing feast! amazing…3 pig heads first thing in the morning…whoah!
OMG. This is the most outrageous displays of food yet. Just fascinating. Am sending it right now to my son, who is a huge fan. The cake! The incredible cake! It is hard to imagine someone could actually create it, much less that it was edible. Fascinating. All of it.
I like Game of Thrones, but am truthfully more of a Downton Abbey kind of a gal.
I just finished watching the series this weekend. I love game of thrones and can’t wait for next season to start.
J loves Game of Thrones, but I have not watched it. Loving Revenge and Homeland at the moment.
What an awesome evening! Themes are so much fun, but even better when fully followed through. Wow, talk about commitment! I want to go too!!!
What a great idea for a theme dinner – great show, but I’m only half way through Season 1…better finish watching it before the season 2 comes out.
Oooh that dessert looked good!
Nope not a game of thrones fan here. At the moment I’m loving Grey’s, Desperate Housewives, Private Practice, Modern Family and New Girl. I think I might watch too much TV!
Wow! Forget the dinner, it a show! great post!
We’re anxiously awaiting season two and this feast is whetting our appetite!
I count more than three suckling pig’s heads in the bowl. If it was meant to be 3, you could have hid one in your purse and no one would have noticed
What an unusual night of theatre! Certainly imaginative, very different and well-produced, but not quite my cup of tea
! Somewhat ‘playing around with food’ methinks, but then I largely think that of the famous Heston Blumenthal efforts also! Have never seen ‘Game of Thrones’ – watch a fair amount of TV living in the quiet countryside, but the choices range more from ‘Q&A’ to ‘Dateline’, ‘Insight’ and ‘Foreign Correspondent’ 
!
Wow! What a carnivorous feast! The dessert sounds deliciously decadent.
Loved the books, thought the tv show was a great interpretation and want the dragon egg dessert!
I’m a big fan and tried to obtain a booking, but sadly its already all booked out.
Hi Mel-Oh no, already!
Hopefully they extend it, it definitely sounds like there is lots of demand for it!
What an experience that must have been! Those eye balls would be so great for halloween!
Top marks to the Chef Grant King, this is an enormous task and he seems to be doing a great job. I haven’t watched Game of Thrones but it seems like one would get hooked immediately. Fantastic cake by Planet Cake and I would love to try the Dragon Eggs dessert.
I’m watching and liking Alcatraz and Person of Interest at the moment.
Quirky INDEED! TRUE!
, LOVE theme party foods!
Has everyone talking Games of Thrones Season 1 on DVD too!
As you know
Whimsically different and adds to the ambiance mood!
I actually don’t think I could eat those eyeballs – I have a “thing” about eyeballs and they would just freak me out!
Stopping by for the first time to find a most unusual couple of features.
I noticed your comment on another blog and just had to come by and meet you since we share our first names.
You do have a lovely place here and it has been a delight visiting!
Kindly, Lorraine
I am a massive fan of Game of Thrones. Its such a good series. I am counting the days till the next round. The dessert looks stunning. I would love some dragon eggs. YES PLEASE.
So excited to see your write-up of this dinner. It looks like an amazing evening. I am green with envy! I loved season one of Game of Thrones and am hanging out for the season two.
How fun & creative! Looks like an amazing dinner!
The pigs head and dragon egg dessert looks particularly yummy!
I love Game of Thrones; cant wait for season 2…
LOVE a good theme with food to match!!
What a glorious feast! I love the Game of Thrones
one of the better series I’ve seen in a while.
Holey Dooley Lorraine…this is AWESOME…love the capes with the fur…Wow wow wow…and the food!!!
I have tried your Easy Pear Tea Cake…it’s pretty good!!! Thank you so much for that recipe…Enjoy the Oscars…I’ve got them on now too…Dzintra
This looks amazing! I loved Game of Thrones. I cannot wait for season 2!!!
Never seen the show, but someone recommended the book to me, so it’s waiting to be read in my bookshelf (among almost literally about 600 others – I have a fetish…). That is one of the most astonishing feasts I’ve ever seen. Good on the production companies for going to town with it
Game of Thrones dinner LOL! Panu loves Game of Thrones, I thought it was boring shhhhh. But what a cool idea for a dinner! Lots of great and ghastly dish concepts going on. I still haven’t been to Gastro Park but am buggin the bf to take me!!
themed dinners!
*squeal*
Oh geeze! Now this is DINNER to top all dinners. Was it hard to contain yourself from taking pictures rather than soaking it all in?!
You had me at the pic with all the pig’s heads LOL
Moo is OBSESSED by it. I have all the books on my Kindle but I confess, I am really not that interested.
Dessert would be the only thing I could have stomached, but Moo would have devoured the lot grinning from ear to ear.
LOL! I was freaked out at the sight of that pig head and eyeballs!!
I’m such a wuss, and you are totally the opposite
SOunds like a great and interesting evening. So I am wondering Lorraine did you get dressed for the occassion. Who would have been your G.O.T style influence? Lady Stark or Daeneyrs Targaryen? Or the evil Cersei Lannister?
Hahaha wow! What an event to come to.. my bf loves game of thrones, it would have loved this themed dinner!!
Massive Game of Thrones fan. What an awesome dining event, extremely jealous Lorraine!
I’ve never seen this show! WOW! It’s so interesting! I should look for DVD then. My favorite shows are Greys Anatomy, Good Wife, Modern Family, etc… I cut down on my TV time a lot, but I won’t miss those.
I’ve never watched or read Game of Thrones but this dinner sounds like so much fun – all that food is so inventive although the pigs’ heads look a little scary!
I am a Game of Thrones tragic… Love love love the books and the TV serries, hanging for the next season. I have a 30th birthday coming up.. Just decided what I want for my pressie!!!!
*claps with glee* OMG SO AWESOME! I love Game of Thrones and eating with my hands, so this gets a huge thumbs up
I love Game of Thrones! I haven’t read the books, but the TV series is great. I can’t wait to see the next season.
And this dinner looks amazing, especially that dessert! Yum! What an experience.
Now THAT was utterly unexpected and unusual! I was particularly startled by those edible eyeballs!
What an awesome idea! I love the eyeballs! And the dragon eggs are fabulous – GOT is such a brilliant show and this night looks like it was really well executed by the chef!
OMG this would have been a dream come true for you! I love that your placecard says: Lady Lorraine Elliot
What a feast! Gotta love theme nights – hope you dressed up! I haven’t watched Game of Thrones, I’ll wait for the dvd to come out. I’m watching Spartacus at the moment though..
That cake is insanely good! I love the whole theme of the dinner, they did really well, especially with that dessert.
Hi Lorraine!
Amazing!I love the serial and I couldnt believe that I had to wait so long now for the 2nd season ( yes i know the book is there).
The idea is fascinating! Very creative chef! I always wanted to recreate medieval dishes. Their banquets were lavishe, absolutly incredible.
do u know the serial the turdors Lorraine? its renaissance a not medieval, but there is a scene were king henry got rid of his boleyn wife and they serve him a swan pie.
I love these photos! They’re so whimsical…even a little scary.
And the cake OMG! Planet Cake is SO good at what they do!
Something very strange with this post, Lorraine I was not able to see any of the photos at home, I have a Mac (same one as work) and use Firefox. Sadly I am not a fan of this type of game. Those pig heads are jarring.
How cool! Very neat ideas for all the courses, especially the ‘crown of gold’ course…love it!
How much fun this looks! I covet the dragon eggs with liquid gold. I have never heard of this show – epic fail?
i never read the books and usually don’t go for shows like that, but i LOVED game of thrones! i can’t wait for season 2, even though they killed off one of my favorite characters…
When I first heard of this dinner a few weeks ago I thought it was brilliant! I am LOVING Game of Thrones – we watched the whole season 1 a while ago, and I’m about 1/3 of the way through the first book now.
The liquid gold dragon egg is brilliant
Wow this looks like a feast….
What a wonderful idea….
Love it.
Wow! Thats fantastic!!! Heston eat your ♥ out!
I have recently become obsessed with Game of Thrones. I definitely want to check this out!
That all looks incredible, though I think the fake blood sauce would have put me off.
I shall dream of cheese eyeballs tonight, which is a strange image and I want you to forget it.
Awww your experience looked amazing! Was yours opening night?? When we went we didn’t get all that jazz & glam!
Is this restaurant still open for dinner? If so when and can I book.
4 Trackbacks/Pingbacks
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