As I’ve written many times before, The Dorchester is a hotel of huge significance to both our families; it always had a place in my heart as we used to come for family lunches at The Grill, last year Mr Silver and I had our wedding reception there and we’ve subsequently been back to celebrate Valentine’s Day and our one year Anniversary. For Mr Silver’s family the hotel had been the venue for his older brother’s Bar Mitzvah, a coming of age ritual for a Jewish boy. The hotel has such a place in all our hearts that it seemed the ideal location for the climax of Mr Silver Snr’s 80th birthday after our glorious week in Cannes.
Mr and Mrs Silver Snr had hired out the stunning Penthouse and Pavilion of The Dorchester for a very special evening for their closest friends and family. The location was totally gorgeous and we started the night with champagne and canapés on the terrace admiring a panoramic view of London.
With the night feeling balmy I chose to wear my Matthew Williamson dress which I first bought for Mr Silver’s sister’s wedding in Israel a couple of years ago.
And I mingled with Mr Silver’s parents friends who I’ve got to know well over the last few years…
And here’s the man of the hour, Mr Silver Snr, enjoying the final celebration of what had been an incredible week…
And Mrs Silver, in a gorgeous yellow Versace dress. As you can see the terrace was just ideal for a champagne reception and it was decorated with beautiful flowers and elegant seating.
Inside the Pavilion reception area was also decorated with elegance and it had a rather romantic atmosphere with candles glowing in the mirror.
An ideal place for the children to have a little dance about before dinner.
Mrs Silver had chosen a delicious selection of canapés including lobster, salmon and my favourite; the tomato and mozzarella cones.
We headed into the Penthouse for dinner and we were greeted by an exquisitely decorated table; Mrs Silver had thought of everything. She’d chosen beautiful flowers under the guidance of Phil Hammond, the resident florist at the Dorchester and she’d had bespoke menu cards printed for the day.
We settled down at our places and wine was poured all around, Mrs Silver had chosen my favourite white wine, Sauvignon Blanc, to enjoy with the meal.
Before we kicked off for the meal, Olivia, Mr Silver’s younger sister, had put together a presentation to celebrate his dad’s life from the early years. She’d sourced photos of him as child and spent hours painstakingly restoring them to put them together into a moving Powerpoint presentation. That’s a very young Mr S in the picture above too, you can tell by the distinctive nose ;). As I mentioned in a previous post, Mr Silver’s dad was the local GP for their community and he was someone loved and respected widely, his patients were sad when he finally retired but he still visits and helps them out even now.
We started with an amuse of pea soup, very fresh and delicious and served in the most gorgeous and delicate china.
And as we enjoyed our food, a soul singer entertained us with his velvety voice…I had thought a singer might not be quite right in the relatively small room but actually the mellow tunes set the atmosphere perfectly and it was one of the highlights of the night.
Starter was asparagus and a deep fried egg with a beautifully oozing yolk, it was totally delicious, rich and decadent, ideal for such a special occasion.
Next door the kids were having their own little party…
And the mini SilverSpoons had their own menu just for them…
Evening was coming in and the lights of London were sparkling…and we were ready for the main course…
Sticking to Mr Silver Snr’s favourite meal, a simple steak and chips had been chosen for the main course…
As Mrs Silver knows I’m not a big meat eater, she’s thoughtfully ordered sea bass for me, with a side of beautifully creamy mash. The food was excellent, just as it had been at our wedding.
Finally a gorgeous strawberry meringue dessert, beautifully presented and a light refreshing end to the meal which had been just perfect.
Though the meal was over, the festivities continued and the kids had prepared a speech for their beloved papa. It was so sweet how much thought had gone into preparing their presentation which they confidently read out to a room of grown ups.
The music continued for a final dance from Mr and Mrs Silver Snr as the evening came to a close; the perfect night or family, friends and good food in a beautiful setting.
