Marco Pierre White Steakhouse, Newcastle - Paul Amer Tasting Menu

We all know how much I love food. It's not exactly a secret how often I find myself rolling out of restaurants around Newcastle and, if there's one thing I love above all else, it's feasting on a tasting menu that allows me to have five courses instead of the usual three.

Roll up your sleeves guys this is going to get heavy!

I was recently invited to Marco Pierre White Steakhouse in Newcastle to try chef Paul Amer's taster menu. The menus at MPW offer customers a wide variety of dishes - there's a lot more to this Steakhouse than just steak and I couldn't wait to see what Paul was preparing for us in the kitchen.

Our evening began with a Rillette of Smoked Mackerel with light pickled vegetables.  Beautifully presented it was a little larger than I was expecting and I knew straight away that this taster menu would be a challenge even for a pro like me! I'm a huge fan of fish and really loved the beautiful flavours, the perfect start to our meal.

Despite knowing that I still had four courses to go I couldn't help but have a little pick at the bread basket on the table. When I say pick I really mean devour, I lost count of how many slices I had but wow the bread was so fresh and tasty and if you can't indulge in bread slathered in butter when you're out then when can you?

I'm sure you wont find many food bloggers who dedicate an entire paragraph to the bread basket but when it tastes this good I can't resist sharing.

Feeling slightly full on bread (I'll never learn) our next dish was a huge bowl of Slow Roasted Tomato Soup with Basil Pesto. It was so indulgently thick and creamy and the addition of the pesto helped to make it one of the most delicious soups I've ever tried.

It took every inch of willpower to put my spoon down before the end but I knew that if I kept on going I'd never be able to fit in the other courses.

Next on the tasting menu was Lightly Curried Smoked Haddock Risotto. Curry is something that, until recently, I really didn't get on with.  Thanks to my hubby's patience over the last few years my tastes have really changed and now I really enjoy a curry so I was curious to try Paul's dish. The subtle curry flavour worked so well with the haddock, I just about stopped myself from picking up the plate to lick it clean - so delicious.

Next came the main event, Slow Cooked Belly Pork, Vale of Mowbray black Pudding, Pommes Puree, Roasted Cauliflower and Caramelised Cauliflower Puree. I'm not usually a fan of pork and I'd never order it in a restaurant as so often it's served too dry, but this dish was a game changer. The meat was so tender and full of flavour. I loved the rich gravy that covered the dish and the potato was so deliciously creamy.

The dessert arrived in a flurry of beautiful colour.  Raspberry & Passion Fruit Panna Cotta served with Mini Meringue and Raspberry Sorbet. I was feeling pretty stuffed by this point but when a dessert looks this pretty there was no way I could resist. It was the perfect end to our meal - light and fruity with the perfect mix of sweetness from the meringue and sharpness from the raspberries and berries.

Our evening at Marco Pierre White ended with us all feeling like we'd gained at least one dress size. The food was delicious and it was an absolute honour to have the talented Paul Amer cooking for us. I can't wait to go back to MPW soon.

Marco Pierre White invited us to enjoy a complimentary meal and share our thoughts.