Tag Archives: chef

Hélène Darroze Sommelier’s Table

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I am lucky to have tasted the culinary creations of Hélène Darroze on several occasions. Her restaurant at the Connaught Hotel is renowned for its spectacular food and exemplary service. Using rich memories of her upbringing in south west France, her beautiful cuisine illustrates a love of fine ingredients and family heritage but also an imaginative spirit that means her ideas evolve as she travels more of the world.

A few weeks ago I dined at the exclusive Hélène Darroze Sommelier’s Table Supperclub, along with a group of London’s top food bloggers. Beneath the kitchens, down a discreet staircase, the chilly cellar is found. Holding an impressive collection of valuable, exceptional even, bottles of wine, this cellar is only used for the most elite meals, a special hideaway for wine connoisseurs and food lovers.

A seven course menu was designed specially by Hélène for the occasion, and master Sommelier Mirko Benzo selected unique vintages to complement each course. Sitting around the grand circular table, I felt like we had travelled back in time, a regal feast in a secret cellar. It is an enlightening experience tasting dishes with wine that balances so miraculously with every ingredient and flavour. We were invited to blind taste the wine initially, a task which I did spectacularly badly at, but one that really stirred my interest in this world.

Meanwhile Hélène’s head chef Alex Dilling was presenting plates of food that thrilled the Instagrammers round the table. Caviar with crab, radish and hass avocado looked like a dreamy garden in the bowl. Foie gras with wild strawberry, rhubarb and lemon verbena looked pretty, pink and perfect, but was complex and sophisticated in taste, the sweetest of the fruit cutting through the rich smooth foie gras. Coco bean with eel and shimeji then Lobster with asparagus, botargo and seaweed followed. The kitchen continued to wow with luxurious ingredients prepared in inventive and delicious ways.

Though I can be squeamish the Sweetbread course was a resounding success around the table, I heard whispers of ‘this is the best dish I’ve tasted all year’… which is high praise from people who eat and judge food for a living! The sweetbread was like very tender pork, paired with earthy indulgent morels, fresh seasonal asparagus and vin jaune (from the Jura region of France). It was paired with a glass of 2008 Gevry-Chambertin “Les Jeunes Rois”, Domaine Geantet-Pansiot.

For the double dessert extravaganza (courses six and seven) I had to engage my second stomach. Traditional Baba Armagnac (using the Darroze family Armagnac) was up first. A light but boozy treat accompanied by strawberries and fluffy banana cream. I imagine it would be the kind of grown-up dessert James Bond would order when out on a date. The second dessert – Chocolate with ginger and bourbon vanilla provoked childish oohs and ahhs from the team of eaters. Once all the photographic evidence of the chocolate masterpiece had been recorded, the table was silent as we consumed the delightfully indulgent pudding.

Satisfied and stunned by the array of culinary creations and magical wine journey we had experienced, we ate our final mouthfuls of French patisserie and sipped the last of the dessert wine before saying our goodbyes and stepping back into the real world upstairs.

More information on the Sommelier’s Table here, learn more about Hélène Darroze here.

Hot on the Highstreet Week 216

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I love cookbooks, even if they are most commonly used as eye candy on my coffee table. Here are a few of my current favourites, all available to buy on Amazon.

The Art of Eating Well is a revolutionary cookbook that will help anyone who wishes to feel better, lose weight or have more energy. London-based sisters Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley teach their principles of life-long healthy eating with exciting and inventive recipes that are so delicious you forget the purpose is good health and nourishment. Buy here.

Stevie Parle burst onto the London scene in 2009 with the launch of a new restaurant, Dock Kitchen, whose food AA Gill described as ‘faultless’, earning him the Observer Food Monthly Young Chef of the Year award 2010. The opposite of the usual ‘chefy’ restaurant fare, Stevie serves an eclectic mix of dishes that in their countries of origin would all be described as home cooking. Ranging from Mexico to Morocco, from Catalonia to Kerala, taking in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, here are simple, wholesome and perfectly balanced recipes for dishes that will warm the heart in winter and cool the palate in summer. Buy here.

‘Winner of two “Gourmand Cookbook Awards 2014: ” Best in the World, Historical Recipes and Best” “Local Cuisine, For Italy’Food and glass: a combination offering an authentically Venetian experience. Venetian cooking is fundamentally a simple cuisine because of the basic ingredients and methods of preparation and the time required for cooking is short, but it is also complex, giving rise to striking and unusual combinations. This gastronomic tradition is the product of a highly distinctive territory, one in which water and land closely exist. There are fish and shellfish from the lagoon and the nearby Adriatic, vegetables and fruit from the islands in the estuary, and meat and game from the mainland and spices from the distant Orient. Buy here.

The king of beautiful pub food has collected all of his best ideas into this proper cookbook, ready to warm the world on a grey day and restore the nation’s good mood. Tom Kerridge’s idea of food heaven isn’t fussy gastronomy; it’s proper ‘man food’ with Michelin star magic, including breakfasts that keep you smiling for the whole day, indulgent long lunches, teatime temptations, seasonal snacks and heart-warming suppers. In this cookbook Tom proves that everyone can make proper pub food, and the only place he wants to see a foam is on the head of a pint of beer! Over 100 recipes reveal his secrets for making real food truly amazing, including perfected dishes from his childhood and special treats he serves at his own one-of-a-kind pub. These recipes are simply the best version you’ll ever have of the dishes everyone loves the most. Buy here.

More than 100 recipes make up this stunning yet eminently approachable collection of suppers from Jason Atherton: perfect meals to share with friends and family. It is not only a showcase of Jason’s favourite things to cook, both savoury and sweet, but also a celebration of the flavours and techniques that have inspired him from all around the world. Every dish bears the hallmark of excellence on which he has built his reputation as one of the world’s truly great and most innovative chefs. Beautiful, inspiring photography by John Carey completes this collection of stunningly good suppers. Buy here.

Cafe Murano, St James’

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Murano has received rave reviews since opening… Angela Hartnett’s irresistible Italian style dishes are so very delicious and the design and ambience of the restaurants encourage diners to relax and indulge. To cater for a younger crowd, in November 2013, Angela opened Café Murano in St James’ – it is a delectable and sophisticated little eatery serving up less complex dishes but similar in style to the original Murano.

Hartnett says of her newest venture: “I wanted to create a restaurant that you could drop in and eat in every day. The menu takes a simpler approach to Northern Italian cooking and we print it every day.” No two days have the same menu, although I guarantee you’ll want to return and eat the same meal you tried on your first visit.

Don’t be deceived by the word café in the title, this restaurant is gorgeous and stylish with glossy wooden tables and romantic flickering candles. The bar buzzes with quiet excitement, as guests scoff truffle arancini whilst slouching elegantly against the pale marble surface. Parched from the walk down Piccadilly, we swiftly ordered a carafe of refreshing house white. Everything we tried was exquisite, but the pasta particularly impressed. I can still recall the indulgent rabbit risotto, and the delightfully springtime Farfalle with ham and peas, a colourful bowl of joy.  Side dishes are equally appetising, a range of seasonal fresh greenery and rich treats. For dessert we opted for a boule of ice-cream which is always available in an assortment of imaginative flavours like sour green apple sorbet.

If you have never been the type to lick your plate clean, you will be now… the creamy sauces, tasty marinades and addictive seasoning are irresistible. I can’t think of a restaurant in London where I have tasted such scrumptious Italian cooking.

More information and book here: www.cafemurano.co.uk