Heat the honey until it is a pale caramel colour, then deglaze with the cider vine- gar. reduce by half. Add the citrus fruit juice and then reduce the liquid again by half. Add the chopped garlic. leave to cool.
Roll up the duck breasts and fix with a cocktail stick. put aside. sauté the duck breast fillets in a non-stick frying pan until golden all over. Half way through add a small amount of the marinade to give a lightly caramelized glaze to the duck.
Cook the brown sugar until it is pale gold in colour. Add the cider vinegar and reduce by half. Add the citrus fruit juice and reduce by half. Add the veal or duck stock. Reduce by a third. Beat in the butter. check the seasoning.
Soak the dried fruit for a couple of hours (the dates, dried apricots, figs) to allow them to soften. cut each fruit in half and heat them gently in a little of their soaking water. Dry fry the walnuts and almonds with a little sugar in a pan then remove from the heat and add salt and pepper and chilli.
Prepare the mandarin, orange, grapefruit and lemon segments. Warm the citrus fruit under the grill.
Carve 4 potatoes into a cylindrical shape. Slice each cylinder into equal rounds. scoop out the inside of the other 4 potatoes to make 4 containers. In one dish cook the potato containers in the cream and milk infused with garlic and seasoned with salt and pepper keeping them firm. leave them to cool before handling them. In another dish cook the potato slices in the milk and cream used to cook the containers. When the containers are cool, fill each one with the potato rounds. Reheat gently in the oven.
Remove the cocktail stick and arrange three duck fillets to one side of each plate. Add the citrus fruit segments and the dried fruit and nuts. Position the potato gratin in its container on the other side of the plate. drizzle a light coating of sauce over the duck fillets.