As I sat down at the 12-seater table, like Jesus himself at the last supper, I realised this was going to be a meal like no other. Indeed, the anticipation had grown to fever pitch throughout the last couple of weeks. A companion said to me “Dylan, I think this is the best idea you’ve ever had”. Turducken – A chicken, in a duck in a turkey – is the kind of meal that elicits as many positive responses as it does negative ones. They tend to range from “That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard.” to “That is the best thing I’ve ever heard”. With 11 men at the table that night, there was clearly a gender bias as well.

Christian, our cook, had been agonising all week about the garnish and the preparation for 12 of us. In the end, in order to ensure we each got equally layered and weighted servings, he created 2 long Turducken “tubes”. These were then wrapped in the skin / fat layers from the 3 birds creating a beautiful crispy outer layer. It meant that as they slow cooked in the oven the 2 turkeys, 2 ducks and 2 chickens had been transformed into something that looked like a giant, meaty elephant penis.

When it was served a collective “ooh” was heard from the guests and the waitress said “The cook wanted to let you know that the sauce was made from the bones.” That may have sounded off putting to some eaters, but not the 12 we had gathered. We licked our chops like hungry bulldogs. We toasted this fine culinary display of carnivorousness, swilled our wine and began eating. “This is the perfect meal,” I said, “There aren’t any vegetables!”. Of course there were, but they were mere decoration compared to the meat monolith we were all massacring.

Turducken was everything I thought it would be. Of course, my standards began with a can of turkey spam so perhaps my expectations were low. Belongil Bistro and Christian Poulsen had not only executed a turducken, they’d made it into an amazing dish. Tender, delicious and exquisite. When he came to join us at the table, we welcomed him with a hearty round of applause and were rewarded further with creme brûlée and more wine than we should have imbibed.