A selection of canapés

It was that time of year again, yes, my birthday. I decided against organising a large celebration this year, instead listing a couple of things that I most wanted to do with a few close friends. First on that list (yes you guessed it) was a good meal, and second was a nice spa afternoon. The latter I duly accomplished in fine fashion, but to the nice meal…

My choice was The Square, a two star Michelin restaurant. It’s been many years since I have been, and I was craving something with great finesse. The chef and co-owner is Philip Howard, who after spending a summer cooking in the Dordogne region in France, went on to work under Albert Roux OBE at the Roux Restaurants group for a year. This was followed by another year long stint with Marco Pierre White at Harvey’s, a restaurant that was situated where Chez Bruz now is, and then a similar amount of time under Simon Hopkinson at Bibendum.

The Square has won many awards along the way since it opened in 1991, and arguably Philip Howard, who is known for his elegant, classical French cooking is one of the best chefs in the UK today.

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Shane Osbourne

If you are a fish lover such as myself, you probably can’t help but be alarmed by the ‘S’ word – sustainability. A doubling of global fish consumption since 1973 has led to overfishing, leading to some fish species becoming endangered. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations estimates that more than half of all fisheries around the world are being overfished. The issue of fish sustainability was further highlighted in the recent release of the film “The End of the Line”. Based on the book of the same name by Charles Clover, a former Daily Telegraph journalist, the documentary argues that unless the fishing industry is regulated, the world will run out of seafood around 2048, which would lead to starvation for 1.2 billion people. Furthermore, it shows that 50% of the cod fished from the North Sea is caught illegally, and that the waters of Newfoundland, once fat with fish, have also almost run out of cod.

But whatever the facts, the subject matter is poignant. Current rates of fishing is unsustainable. It was therefore positive to hear that as a consequence of this film, Pret A Manger and Marks & Spencer have announced that from now on they will only source sustainable tuna. There have also been calls for Nobu to drop the use of the endangered bluefin tuna.

This week I was invited to a lunch prepared by Shane Osbourne of Pied à Terre where an Australian farmed kingfish imported by the Australian company Clean Seas was being featured on the menu. I missed cookery school to go, so there will be no blog post on school this week, but it really wasn’t difficult trying to choose between slaving away in a kitchen and eating a meal prepared by a two star Michelin chef. But more importantly, I was curious to find out more about this product which Clean Seas claim is sustainable.

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Baked oyster with gooseberry granite

I found it mildly amusing to read what had been written on the ‘location tab’ of The Sportsman’s website, a one Michelin starred gastropub situated in Kent. It goes something like this:

“A common theme in many write-ups and reviews is that The Sportsman is remote, bleak and a bit of a dump. Equally, many regulars find this point of view shocking as they love to arrive early, go for a walk on the beach and then have lunch or dinner.”

I suppose the view of the former group was not easily dispelled for me, seeing as the day of our visit was a rainy, bleak day in June. Who would have believed it was summer?! And the long journey from London (a tube ride to Victoria Station, a 1½ hour train ride to Faversham, and taxi from Faversham to The Sportsman) further confirmed the assertion of remoteness.

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Tea for 2

I love the odd spot of afternoon tea. There’s something so quintessentially English about this culinary art form, working your way through the sandwiches, the scones (with all that gorgeous clotted cream) and then the cakes, all washed down with tea. I remember up to about four or five years ago, some of the 5 star hotels in London would serve an opulent all-you-can-eat affair of unlimited quantities of sandwiches, scones and cakes. This doesn’t seem to be the norm anymore, which is probably better for my waist line, but is being sorely missed by my greedy little foodie disposition.

Having eaten at Sketch before, at both The Lecture Room and Library (the one star Michelin restaurant), and The Gallery (the less formal dining room), I thought it might be time to try out The Parlour, the third of the dining areas at Sketch. The patisserie on display look delectable, and there is a long list of amazing sounding concoctions on their cake menu such as the ‘Gariguette Tartlet’, (strawberry and black pepper cream tartlet, strawberry and tomato tartare, loukoum-rose water and strawberry icing); the ‘Red Pepper and Manjari Tart’, (manjari ganache with a flourless chocolate biscuit filled with preserved red peppers on a sweet dough base); and the ‘Hojicha éclair’ (pâte à choux filled with hojicha cream, hojicha fondant). All of these are priced at £5 each.

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Note: This restaurant has now closed. It was really bad anyway…

Scallops over mushroom puree

My latest lunch adventure was at Aubergine Restaurant, which is perhaps most famous for the fact that this was where Gordon Ramsay won his first Michelin star in 1995 and a second in 1997. A desire to own his own restaurant coupled with differences with the owners resulted in Ramsay leaving shortly thereafter to open what we now know as Gordon Ramsay on Royal Hospital Road. In Ramsay’s place stepped the current Executive Head Chef, Billy Drabble. He too soon attained a star which he has managed to hold onto ever since.

So I came to Aubergine with an element of curiosity, inspired by its history more than anything else. But under Drabble, Aubergine has also collected its share of accolades. Since 1998, along with its Michelin star, it has also continuously held onto 4 AA Rosettes. And in 2006 it won the ‘Grand Prix of Gastronomy’ as awarded by The British Academy of Gastronomes.

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Creamed egg with chive oil & views over Laguiole

I once swore that I would never go back to Rodez.

It happened in July 2006 when I was due to fly to Toulon in Provence on Ryanair. Missing my flight by the skin of my teeth, I weighed up all my various options, these being to change my flight to an alternative destination, or to come back the following day for the next flight to Toulon. Faced with the daunting prospect of having to travel out to Stansted Airport again, I decided that an element of adventure and daring was called for. And so I decided to fly to an unheard of destination in Southern France, somewhere I thought would be close to Toulon, and make my way overland instead.

Well that particular destination was Rodez. Standing at the Ryanair customer services counter and peering into the destinations map, the distance between Rodez and Toulon did not appear so far. But as I was to find out soon enough, maps on walls can be rather deceptive.

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This restaurant has now closed, and will be replaced by Heston Blumenthal’s new restaurant Dinner.

Pork belly with macaroni cheese, spiced pumpkin & black pudding

Having been to French based Foliage on two previous occasions which I thoroughly enjoyed, I came to consider this restaurant as a worthwhile destination. My first visit was for dinner on the à la carte menu, and my second, some nine months ago, was on the set lunch menu at £29, which to my surprise I found to be as good as the à la carte. The portion sizes over the four courses were also very generous, and considering the price tag, was incredible value. That and the fact that you are assured views of Hyde Park during the day made me question why anyone would consider dining at Foliage for dinner when lunch is such a fantastic option. Therefore, when fellow blogger Loving Annie suggested that we lunch at Foliage a few weeks ago, I jumped at the chance to revisit what I had always considered to be a little gem.

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A note from A Girl:
After finally conceding a couple of days ago that ‘A Boy Has to Eat Too’, I thought it might be time for a girl and a boy to eat together! This time it would be with another boy blogger, Gen.u.ine.ness. But after the eating, must come the writing, so to read our collaborative blogging effort on Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, just scroll down the page…

Pigeon from Racan

Hélène Darroze is one of the leading female chefs in the world. Her restaurant in Paris, Restaurant Hélène Darroze, holds two Michelin stars, and she gained a further star for her restaurant at The Connaught in 2009. This 41 year old single mum’s career as a chef started later than that of many other chefs as Darroze never aspired to be a chef until her mid-twenties. Initially deciding to follow in her father’s footsteps, she trained to become the general manager of their family-owned Relais & Château hotel and restaurant in Villeneuve-de-Marsan in Southwest France. It wasn’t until 1990, when Darroze began working for Alain Ducasse at his three Michelin starred Le Louis XV in Monaco, that her path took a turn.

“There is a place for a girl in the world of gastronomy, and you are the one.” – Alain Ducasse

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