Dinner Invitation

If you have been invited to dinner then the information below may be helpful.

  • Directions to our house are at: http://raintown.org/directions
  • Unless you specify otherwise I assume you will eat anything. Some people, when asked, say they will eat "anything". Some of the things served at our dinner table include sheep’s head (including eyes, tongue, brains), offal (in sausages, haggis etc.), fried pig’s blood, cute animals, raw fish, very very spicy food and various shellfish. If there is something you are allergic to or really dislike I would like to know as soon as possible. I do not cook insects.
  • You can get an idea of what might be for dinner by looking at http://raintown.org/menu as well as our menu playlist which lists dishes we like a lot or look at the cooking log to see what we have been cooking recently. I am open to suggestions.
  • If you want to bring anything then wine is very much appreciated and we find that about one bottle per person is the typical level of consumption during the evening. Do not worry about colour or type of wine for dinner. I am a fan of new world wines.
  • Please arrive no later than 7:30PM. Arriving earlier is usually not a problem and you may be put to good use in the kitchen or you may be adopted by the kids. Dinner typically starts at around 8:15PM and runs quite late so do not expect to be done before 11:30PM.
  • We no longer fingerprint and photograph American guests.
  • Arguments about sex, politics, religion etc. are encouraged.
  • We have a buzzer on the right hand side of the door which is painted black so it might be hard to see at night. Since the default arrival time is roughly at the same time we put our kids to bed please use your mobile to call us (01223 327345) if we don’t answer the door promptly.
  • I maintain a cooking log to record how well the food turned out and how well the guests behaved. If you say you liked something I shall make a record of it and cook it for you again. If you don’t get on with the other guests I shall make a note in my incompatibility matrix and make sure to schedule you with different people next time.
  • It’s traditional to have a whisky at the end of the night and we have a reasonable collection of Scottish single malts (unless Byron has been over recently and we’ve not had time to re-stock).
  • I am terrible at making sure your wine glass or water glass is kept topped up. Please grab the wine bottle and help yourself and please top up water yourself from the fridge’s ice and water dispenser.
  • Please dot not try to wash up or load the dishwashers. This usually ends in tears when our very nice knives or our very nice crystal or silver or non-stick pans are damaged.
  • Please do not drink too much and drive home. You are very welcome to spend the night at our house in our spare room. A taxi ride to anywhere in Cambridge and a bit beyond costs very little so please consider leaving your car at home. Panther Taxis: 01223 715 715
  • Please do not arrive drunk: we’d rather get drunk with you.
  • Please do not bring any food (unless you have been specifically asked to contribute food). This is not a pot luck dinner. However chocolate etc. is fine, thank you.

Here is a list of good wine shops. You can tell the staff at these wine shops what kind of food you are eating and give a price range and they will make very good suggestions that will almost always beat random selection. All of these shops are a much better bet than Oddbins or the other usual suspects.

  • Noel Young Wines. An outstanding collection of new world wines and my favourite Cambridge wine shop. http://www.nywines.co.uk/
  • Cambridge Wine Merchants. An excellent local wine shop with stores opposite King’s College, on Mill Road and on Bridge Street. http://www.cambridgewine.com/
  • Bacchanalia. A very good local wine shop with stores on Victoria Road and Mill Road. http://winegod.co.uk/store/
  • Waitrose. It might be a supermarket but they have a pretty good wine selection although you probably won’t get good service.

Some people ask for wine suggestions to match Indian food. In general, fruit forward, low acidity, a touch of sweetness and low tannins are desirable qualities for wines that match Indian food. If it has to be red forget Merlot and go for Shiraz instead. Here are some suggestions.