We had another assessment this week. In an attempt to impress Chef, I cooked with a wee bit more butter, probably more than I would normally. Of course this wouldn’t matter if the food never passed my lips. But invariably it does, and although it makes all the food very tasty, surely cannot be a good thing for my waist. I also find that butter is making its way into my home cooking more and more as well. And that too, cannot be a good thing either.

For the assessment we made chicken holstein, potato marquise and courgette provencal. I was quite happy to make the chicken again, seeing as I’ve discovered what a fan I am of crumbed chicken, fried egg, anchovies, capers and beurre noisette. My courgette provencal was fine, although I wrestled with the marquise potato as I can’t say I’m a big fan of piping. It’s far harder than it looks, and I have no patience for such things. My turned out like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I have also decided presentation is not one of my strong points. I have no artistic flair to speak of, so I wonder if posting photos of what I cook on my blog works for me, or against me.

Chicken holstein, etc

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Note: this restaurant has now closed.

Amuse bouche of goat’s cheese croquette & cod brandade

I lamented the closing of Lundum’s last year, a Danish restaurant which previously occupied the beautiful red-brick Edwardian building at 119 Old Brompton Road. It was a lovely spot – luxurious and comforting. The food was delicious, and the dining room with its cream walls, charming staff, and candle-lit tables, set the scene for cosy, intimate dinners. However, good things must sometimes come to an end. But in its place has opened Ambassade de l’Ile, the London outpost of Jean-Christophe Ansanay-Alex, a Chef who owns the 2 star Michelin restaurant in Lyon of a similar name (Auberge de l’Ile), and who was once the personal chef to Christina Onassis.

Ambassade de l’Ile opened to some unfavourable reviews from certain members of the written press. Although it’s not unheard of for such negativity publicity to kill off a restaurant no matter how good the food, it has managed to hold on and earn its first Michelin star earlier this year, seven months after it opened. It has also won praise from certain food blogging camps that I follow, and with that, it felt like high time that I went off to explore.

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I have been following the TV programme ‘Great British Menu‘ avidly. I absolutely adore how the judges often disagree with each other – nothing like a bit of controversy and some infighting! And Oliver Peyton – how great is he?! Kind of like the Simon Powell of the food world. Now wouldn’t it be great to be a judge? Could there possibly be a better job than tasting all that fabulous food?

But my biggest beef (and I just felt like a rant, seeing as tonight is the last night of the programme) is the fact that public votes make up 50% of the final score. Huh? How can you judge food unless you taste it? It’s not like the BBC need the money…

Foie gras with dark caramel sauce

I have been eyeing up Launceston Place, a Modern British restaurant, for a little while, ever since Tristan Welch accepted the post of head chef in November 2007. After five months of planning and refurbishment, the restaurant reopened in March 2008. Tristan was previously at the two star Michelin restaurant Pétrus (which has now been renamed Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley) where he worked his way up from the position of junior sous chef to head chef in less than 18 months. With stints at Le Gavroche, and L’Arpège in Paris as well, it’s hard to overlook his culinary pedigree.

The restaurant is tucked away in the backstreets of Kensington, and is housed on land which was once part of the manor of Earl’s Court. The original structure of the restaurant (actually four houses joined together) was built circa 1839 and adds to the building’s sense of history. The façade is undeniably charming, but the interior of dark charcoal coloured walls and floors is austere, and rather harsh for a setting intended to exude old world charm.

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A couple of months ago I blogged about attending the filming of the BBC programme ‘Put Your Menu Where Your Mouth Is‘ at The Mercer Restaurant. Well, it finally aired last night with a revised title of ‘Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is’. The chefs were Nick Nairn and Aldo Zilli.

I have to say, it was quite amusing to watch the finished programme and to reminisce about that evening, especially as two of my friends were interviewed and appeared on TV! My only comment – don’t believe the guests who said the food was good. It wasn’t.

Here is the link to the show on BBC iPlayer. It will be available to view for another 6 days.