Take one bawdy wench, one tipple expert called Sebastian Hamilton-Mudge, 60 hungry diners and a 6-course meal paired with glorious gin cocktails - and you have one extraordinary evening. And possibly a sore head the next day.

Yes, The Larderhouse in Southbourne, Bournemouth, has been at it again with another of its crazy-wonderful showcase evenings where James Fowler and his team pair specially designed libations with fantastic food.

This time it was gin. And if you weren’t there, poor you.

I don’t imagine many other restaurateurs would get away with having customers greeted at the door by a ‘syphilitic’ potty-mouthed jezebel swigging loudly from a leather flask. But this wasn’t cod-panto. Rather, it was a witty allusion to William Hogarth’s famous etching Gin Lane, depicting the effects of gin-drinking on London society.

It was a brilliant way to start the evening and for reasons that are probably self-evident, I didn’t take any more notes from this point on. But I can tell you about the best bits.

Beefeater Gin’s brand ambassador, the aforementioned Mr Hamilton-Mudge, treated the assembled crowd to a potted history of gin while deftly handling bawdy heckling from the gin wench (and the attentions of numerous drooling women). I can’t imagine there’s much he doesn’t know about gin and cocktails.

The gin wench really did deserve a gong for her performance, which turned the whole evening into a kind of performance art. She was eventually carried out of the restaurant over James’ shoulder and deposited some distance away on Southbourne Grove. Any resemblance to the barman’s elegant mother who later joined us for dinner is, apparently, purely coincidental.

The drink. All the cocktails were wonderful and provided proof, if ever it were needed, that cocktails do indeed work well with a meal. At one point, martinis were delivered to the tables under glass cloches in which miniature street lamps lit up flavoured smoke to resemble London’s historic fog. It does sound like I had one too many. But here’s the evidence.

The food. Highlights were all of it. But the slow-cooked lamb (roasted in the wood fired oven over the course of days) was pretty special, as was the gin sorbet and the trifle. But the best dish of all for me was the ceviche - deliciously flavourful fillets of gilthead bream ‘cooked’ in a magical, citrussy marinade.

For those who weren’t able to attend this showcase, The Larderhouse chef has very kindly shared his ceviche recipe with me and if you nip on down to Love Fish Julia can provide the fish fillets.

But do yourself a favour and don’t miss The Larderhouse’ next showcase. It’s no ordinary night out.

The Larderhouse gilthead bream ceviche

• 50g green chillis, finely sliced
• 100ml cold green tea
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon grapefruit juice
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 8g coriander seeds lightly crushed
• 1/4 bunch fresh coriander, chopped
• 2 tablespoons pomace oil
• 2 gilt-head bream, or other similar fish, off the bone
• 1 heaped teaspoon dried wakame seaweed

1. Combine all the ingredients except the fish and the seaweed in a shallow bowl and then add the fillets. Turn them over in the marinade to coat well, and add a little more liquid (juice or tea) to almost cover. You can add extra flavourings like ginger if you like.

2. Leave to marinate in the fridge for several hours - at least a couple - turning the fillets over now and then. I left mine overnight and it was delicious.

3. Place the dried wakame in a large bowl of cold water for 6 minutes, or until the seaweed swells up. Drain well.

4. Serve the ceviche with a little wakame and some of the marinade spooned over.