Gravy is so underrated yet it adds so much. A Sunday roast wouldn't be the same without lashings of rich gravy over the meat and mash. And who doesn't love chips and gravy... but it's the chips that steal the glory and gravy is once again the underdog.
So we were intrigued by a Nottingham restaurant making gravy the star of the show. Pieminister is offering a gravy fondue after a post went viral on social media.
The owners promised to serve it in the restaurants if the TikTok post had 50,000 views. Well it's now had more than 2.3 million views which have quite rightly earnt it a place on the menu.
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We're big fans of Pieminister's pies anyway. We love a company that does one thing, and does it really, really well. Plus there's a strong Nottingham link to the company since one of the founders met his future wife at university here and teamed up with her brother to start the pie firm.
We didn't need to think twice about trying the gravy fondue. Fondues were popular in the 1970s and have stood the test of time. We've dunked baguettes and meat in gooey stringy cheese and fruit and marshmallows in rich silky chocolate but a gravy fondue is a new one on us.
The sharing fondue, which costs £15, comes with the choice of three sides or small plates for dipping. We choose honey and mustard mini sausages, parsnip and kale fritters, and patties with chick peas, spinach and sweet potato. We could also have had pork scratchings, halloumi, onion rings, fries or broccoli spears.
Everything arrives on a wooden board. A tealight is lit underneath the fondue to keep it warm by the waiter. It takes a few minutes to get my head around the fact that the pot of brown goodness is savoury, and I'm not about to dip a mini sausage in sweet chocolate.
Does it live up to the TikTok hype? There's no doubt about it - the answer is absolutely. All the dippable delicacies are delectable in their own right but they're even more delicious dunked in gravy. It's thick, rich and sticks to everything we dip in rather than sliding off.
It doesn't get much better than a honey and mustard sausage coated in luscious flavoursome gravy. The veggie fritters and patties are tasty but gravy makes everything better. For once gravy gets the attention it deserves.
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