FERDIESFOODLAB

Simon Fernandez, the man behind ferdiesfoodlab, burst onto the supper club scene some seven years ago, with his then legendary fernandezandleluu supper club. His latest pop up being a project sees him in collaboration with the London Kitchen Project in Battersea. A non-profit community centre that started life about six months ago, the London Kitchen Project seats 40 and devotes itself to food, sustainability and the use of 100% renewable energy.

The collaborative project sees ferdiesfoodlab running a series of pop up dinners at the London Kitchen Project approximately every four weeks, serving a six course-tasting menu priced at £45. P and I popped along recently and found the dinner to be well considered and cleverly constructed. The first course was a 5hr slow roast rib of lamb, pulled, pressed, cubed and coated in breadcrumbs, served with garlic Turkish bread and a dip of fresh herbs and lime. The lamb was delicious, moist and moreish, and went swimmingly with the accompanying bread and dip. But the crumbing on the lamb could have been crispier which would have really elevated the dish.

Ferdies Food Lab – Slow cooked lamb

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Reinstoff is a highly acclaimed two-Michelin starred restaurant located in the Mitte district of Berlin. The restaurant has also been bestowed with 18 Gault & Millau points with Head Chef Daniel Achilles holding the accolade of Gault & Millau Chef of the Year, 2014. Chef Achilles has trained with some highly acclaimed stars of the culinary world including the likes of three-Michelin-starred Juan Amador and Christian Bau. Victor’s Gourmet Restaurant by Christian Bau is one of my favourite restaurants of all time, and it was easy to see Bau’s influence of exactitude in Chef’s Achilles food as well. At Reinstoff the modern style of the food was executed with precision and can be best summed up by the name of the restaurant itself. In German rein means pure and stoff means matter.

Reinstoff is housed in the historic Edison Courtyard and The Courtyard is so named as it was here that the first light bulbs in Germany were manufactured in 1883. Reinstoff has stayed true to the history of the building. The original brickwork has remained as has the tall glass windows. Also in view is the Prussian vaulted ceiling from which 240 silver glass balls hang to give Reinstoff an elegant effect.

The Reinstoff menu consists of two degustation options, a ‘Quite Near’ menu which focuses on locally sourced ingredients, and a ‘Far Away’ menu which utilises ingredients more international in flavour (five courses – €100, six courses – €120, eight courses – €160).

We went for the Far Away menu, but first to the canapés. A mustard ice cream with marinated walnuts providing an interesting contrast between the sharp flavour of the cold ice cream against the nuttiness of the walnut. Marinated trout with kohlrabi and a piece of crispy fish skin was slightly fishy in taste and it was therefore less appealing even though the skill with which it had been prepared was evident. We thought highly of the shrimp with its accompanying dried, intensely sweet red berries and wonderful horseradish cream, but the highlight was the mushrooms crisps with crunchy coffee for it was gloriously rich in flavour.

Canapes

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