There’s nothing that screams “Oxford” quite as much as the formal dinner. After all, there aren’t that many places where you can get dressed up and head over to a fancy three-course served meal – all without leaving your college. As a fresher (and someone who absolutely adores food), I think the Oxford formal is one of my favourite things about this incredible place. In the months before I arrived, I made a pledge to myself: I would try a formal at every single college in Oxford, and see how they compared with each. Welcome to ‘High Table’, where I present my findings. For the first edition of this series, I’m going to start off with my first formal, at my very own college – New College.
Classical is the first word that comes to mind when you enter the New College Hall. Its high ceilings and wall of portraits (one of which fuels a feud with Magdalen) are the perfect embodiment of the Oxford dining hall, and are a persistent reminder of the hall’s long history – the longest in Oxford. While New is far from the oldest college (built in 1379 – “New”, right?!) it does have the oldest dining hall in the University. In line with that long history, the dress code requires you to be wearing a gown… and that’s it. New College has no other dress code requirements — you could theoretically show up in joggers if you wanted — but it is deadly serious about the gowns. Historically, in fact, that’s caused some tension between the students and the college administration — most notably protests when the college introduced a fine for formal attendees not wearing gowns. This first formal was a ‘family formal’, so I was advised to dress formally — I settled for a shirt. I was accompanied by my college father — an English student (like me) from the year above, assigned to help make my first year a little smoother of a transition. He had made a trip to the New College wine cellar before the evening had begun. This is a tradition very specific to New: it’s the only college in either Oxford or Cambridge that has a fully student-run wine cellar. Run by the JCR officer with the title of ‘Wine Steward,’ the cellar is opened up before every formal so that students can pick up a bottle of wine (often locally-sourced) at no markup, resulting in much lower prices than you’d find anywhere else. Speaking of prices, a ticket to the New College formal will run you £10.77 if you’re a member of the college, and £16.85 if you’re at a different college. This puts it squarely in the middle of formal prices, much less than some others but not quite the lowest either.
After a glass of white wine (courtesy of the wine cellar) while the rest of the hall settled in, a loud banging marked the beginning of the Grace. I’ve heard that at some colleges, the Grace can last minutes — none of that here. The New College Grace is simply ‘Benedictus benedicat‘, and then the meal begins.
To start, we were served a beautifully-dressed salad of local squash, toasted pumpkin seeds, and bocconcini — little balls of mozzarella, garnished with rocket. The mozzarella was the highlight here: it was light and fresh, but the right level of filling for a first course. While the sweetness of the squash combined with the honey dressing was a little bit too overpowering, it was balanced out nicely by the coolness of the mozzarella.
The main course was garlic-marinated roast chicken served on a bed of lentils with lemon thyme sauce. This was beautifully cooked. The chicken fell apart easily without being too dry or gamey. I will say, it could have used a bit more seasoning (I couldn’t taste the lemon or garlic at all), but the gravy had a rich savoury flavour which made up for it. The lentils were unexpected. I’d never seen them served with roast chicken before, and the texture combination was a little unusual, but I think it worked. Overall, quite a sizeable main course — I was just about hungry enough for dessert after.
For dessert: chocolate and Baileys cheesecake with chocolate mousse. I actually didn’t realize this was Baileys –– I thought it was coffee. Regardless, there was a lovely flavour that wasn’t as bitter as you might expect. The chocolate mousse was light and fluffy, a good pairing for the heavier cheesecake. This was quite a standard dessert course – enjoyable, although I wouldn’t call it transcendent.
There’s an unmistakable stately feeling at a New College formal. It is, after all, a grand dinner in a massive hall whose walls are lined with the lofty faces of people who lived centuries ago. The strange thing is, though, that despite the resplendence of everything around it, the atmosphere is warm and welcoming. I felt completely at home sitting there in the golden light of the lamps. More than the food or really anything else, that’s what elevated the formal for me.
I rate the New College formal an 8/10: good food, incredible vibes.