Le Vacherin in Chiswick might bear the name of a famous French cheese, but it’s more than just a cheese restaurant. It’s a cosy, intimate French Bistro with a flair for a touch of the Parisian. The man behind it is Malcolm John, who also runs another well known French bistro in Croydon, Le Cassoulet.

Le Vacherin plays host to a number of gala dinners during the year to celebrate all manner of things, including the start of the vacherin season. But it was the annual truffle gala dinner to mark the beginning of the truffle season that we attended last week.

The gala truffle dinner consisted of a six course truffle tasting menu with matching wines for £85. Truffles in every course – what could be better? Truffles are heavily prized, and I adore the fragrant, pungent aroma, and the nutty, fungal taste.

To kick things off was an amuse of scrambled hen’s egg with perigord truffle and Alsace bacon (matched with NV Crémant de Bourgogne Rosé). Essentially, an egg mousse with compressed air injected into it, it was clever, but perhaps a touch too airy. But the wonderful intensity of flavour coming through from the crispy bacon was fantastic, and the truffle shavings were lovely.

Scrambled hen’s egg & perigord truffle

(Continue reading her story…)

Morton’s Club occupies an impressive spot on Berkeley Square in Mayfair. Housed in an elegant Grade II listed Georgian building which dates back to 1823, it has a lavish history, and was once the private residence of a Chancellor of Exchequer. The famous Bentley brothers also played here during the 1920s.

Morton’s Club entered the MARC (Marlon Abela Restaurant Corporation) fold in 2001 when it was purchased by its multi-millionaire Chairman Marlon Abela. It underwent extensive refurbishment and was finally reopened in 2004. The décor is lavish, and world class pieces of art adorn the walls. Morton’s Club consists of a snazzy ground floor bar, an intimate night club in the basement area, and an intimate restaurant on the first floor which has views overlooking Berkeley Square. Sister restaurants include the Michelin-starred The Greenhouse and Umu, both in Mayfair. So it is therefore unsurprising that the restaurant at Morton’s supports a lovely classical French menu.

I dined as a guest of Morton’s. To kick off our meal, we had amuse bouches of wild mushroom soup, marinated salmon and quiche Lorraine. All were tasty.

Amuse bouche

(Continue reading her story…)

I was lucky enough to be invited to sample the new limited edition Laurent-Perrier champagne pairing menu recently launched at The Greenhouse for the festive season. The House of Champagne Laurent-Perrier, founded in 1812, is one of the most recognisable and famous champagne brands in Europe. The Greenhouse is a one Michelin-starred restaurant in the heart of Mayfair and is well known for its Asian-inspired French cuisine.

The menu matches five of Laurent-Perrier’s most prestigious and pioneering champagnes with a selection of dishes created by head chef Antonin Bonnet. Each course is designed to enhance the lightness, freshness and elegance of each of the Laurent-Perrier champagnes in the menu. Antonin Bonnet is a protégée of the famous three Michelin-starred chef Michel Bras, and this influence shows in his elegant and refined cooking. I have been to The Greenhouse several times and I adore the food (my last blog post for The Greenhouse is here), and this evening had the makings of a glorious affair.
The evening kicked off with a salmon canape followed by an amuse of runny hen’s egg. This was followed by our first course of a refreshing apple cider marinated mackerel with horseradish snow and pickled black radish. The zingy acidity of the cider was a wonderful match against the oiliness of the fish, and the freshness of the snow added a touch of spark to the dish. The accompanying champagne was Laurent-Perrier Ultra Brut which had lovely hints of citrus.

Apple cider marinated mackerel

(Continue reading her story…)

A couple of weeks ago I attended the opening of One Blenheim Terrace in St John’s Wood. This is the first restaurant to be opened by Head Chef Ed Shaerf who previously worked at Gordom Ramsay at Claridges and The Ivy. To hand is a wealth of knowledge as David Moore acts as a consultant for One Blenheim Terrace. David is well known in the restaurant industry as owner of the Michelin restaurants Pied à Terre and L’Autre Pied, and as an inspector on the BBC2 TV series The Restaurant.

For the occasion of the opening, the dining room had been removed of most tables and chairs to allow the guests to mingle freely. It was therefore difficult to know how the restaurant is normally laid out. Nevertheless, One Blenheim Terrace appears to be an intimate space with a lovely al fresco eating area outside which would come in handy during the summer.

On offer were a canapé selection of items from the menu paired with drinks for our tasting pleasure – starters with beer, mains with wine and desserts with sweet wine. These included an oak smoked salmon (matched with Purity Pure UBU, Warwickshire) which was beautifully smokey. Served with dill, dill emulsion, crispy skin and salmon roe, the salmon was lovely and sweet, and the dill and crispy skin worked a treat.

Smoked salmon

(Continue reading her story…)

The French Laundry at Harrods

The French Laundry at Harrods, the 10-day pop-up restaurant by six-Michelin starred Chef Thomas Keller (3 stars at The French Laundry, 3 stars at Per Se) was a project that was 18 months in the making. The idea was conceived in April 2010, and every detail has been meticulously planned, including the timing of the harvest at The French Laundry Yountville garden to ensure that the vegetables that were brought over for the pop-up would be perfect. Yes, lots of ingredients were flown in from the US to recreate a true French Laundry experience, but let’s not judge the food miles but the meal alone.

The pop-up restaurant occupies part of the Georgian Restaurant on the fourth floor of Harrods. Much has been done to recreate the feel of the original, from the sign at the front door to the clothes peg pinned to our table napkins. Crockery came from The French Laundry Yountville, and a number of the chefs and the service team were made up from a cross section of chefs and waiting staff from within The Thomas Keller Restaurant Group including The French Laundry and Per Se.

(Continue reading her story…)