Sketchnote from Ray Tallis - Aping Mankind @ RI

If I haven’t said it before, then I’ll say it again, the RI — Royal Institute of Great Britain — in Mayfair is one of my favourite venues for talks - great venue, fantastic speakers and always thought provoking.

This week I went to a talk by Professor Raymond Tallis, who has recently written a book called Aping Mankind - Neuromania, Darwinitis and the Misrepresentation of Humanity, the talk was on the same subject. Although the talk was very fast paced, it was very insightful, although some of the questions were rather interesting. 

If you haven’t been to the RI, definitely check out their programme of talks. As usual, my sketchnote is below - Enjoy!

Le Gavroche, Mayfair - Tasting Menu

We ended up going to Le Gavroche again after Ella, who is one half of a couple of foodie mates, wanted to surprise Ross with a meal at a restaurant he’d not been to before. Meeting at the Connaught Bar for cocktails (tough life!), Ross arrived to find us waiting before we took a taxi onto the mysterious destination. To say that Ross was pleased with this turn of events was a bit of an understatement!

After opting for the nine-course Menu Exceptionnel with Les Vin (£158) We started with a selection of amuse-bouche, of which I can only remember the ham and celeriac remoulade and not the creamy number at the back. We started with one of the signature dishes, a Cheese Souffle Cooked on Double Cream. This dish was well executed but I find it very hard to get excited about a souffle due to my previously mentioned aversion to egg. Still a winner with the rest of the table.

Next up was the Classic Lobster Salad, Marie-Rose Flavoured with Brandy and Truffles. Now Ross doesn’t like Marie-Rose sauce at all but I love the stuff. In fact, I’m pretty sure my next dinner party might be a homage to kitsch dinner party classics like this. The one thing I didn’t like about this dish was the truffle stuck around the edge of the class, it just seemed a waste and didn’t add anything to the dish.

The Pressed Terrine of Cassoulet, Smoked Sausage and Foie Gras with Confit Chicken Wing followed. I found the cold terrine to be overwhelming rich but I loved the confit chicken wing. It was like deep-fried chicken done well and I probably could have polished off a handful of these. 

Another two seafood dishes followed, first was Scallops and Squid Ink Tapioca, Parsley and Lemon Zest and then Gurnard with Artichoke, Cep Mushrooms, Aged Basque Ham, Cumin and Tarragon. Although I loved the meaty scallop and combined with the fresh parsley sauce, I didn’t like the addition of either the tapioca or squid ink. I find the black residue to be rather off-putting when eating. The honey-comb shaping crunchy crisp that sat atop the gurnard looked wonderful and the fish combined brilliantly with the slightly charred ham. The only minor flaw was that the cumin was a touch overpowering.

The main meat course of the evening was Roasted Lamb from The Pyrenees, Potatoes Garlic and Thyme Jus. This would have to be one of the best pieces of lamb I’ve ever eaten. The meat was so tender and just melted in your mouth yet it still retained that little bit of crispiness on the outside. When they serve the lamb, they usually cut off the first end which is lovely and crispy and Ross requested whether he could have the end. They misunderstood the request and gave him the whole leg, which you can see him tucking into below. 

The lamb easily was the highlight of the meal and the accompaniments it was served with were spot on. 

Onto Le Gavroche’s famed cheese trolley for a Selection of French and British Farmhouse Cheese. It took me two photos to capture the entire thing that is how much cheese they have on offer. 

I can’t remember the particular cheeses that I had on the evening but they were all very good quality as you would expect. The selection of accompaniments consisted of crunchy flatbreads, chutney and celery sticks. Some crispy oatcakes wouldn’t have gone astray but I’m just nitpicking.

One of the problems of multi-course tasting menus and matching wines is that you get to the end of the meal and you are often rather worse for wear. Especially so if you have had a couple of glasses of champagne before you have even started eating. By the time we got to the dessert, I was, to put it delicately, hammered, as you can see from the picture above. Oops. As such, the Rich Amedei Chocolate Truffle, Puffed Rice, Praline Biscuit Rumy Jelly and Bitter Chocolate Sorbet doesn’t seem to register in my mind. It’s a shame because it sounds delicious and I’m pretty sure it was delicious but I can barely remember it. 

After our dessert, we had coffee and a selection of Petit Fours, plus some Chocolate-covered Oranges and Nougat. No visit from Micheal Roux Junior either which was a shame but probably for the best, given our state by then. The bill was around £185 a head including food, drinks and service. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the meal, I felt that tasting menu was a little hit and miss in places and enjoyed the food more on our visit where we ordered from the a la carte. 

Le Gavroche
43 Upper Brook Street
London W1K 7QR
Phone: +44(0)02074080881
www.le-gavroche.co.uk/

La Gavroche, Mayfair

Holidays were certainly limited this year, given we were using most of our holidays over December for the wedding. We decided to take a Monday off in early September to give us a long weekend and Brad treated me to lunch at Le Gavroche in Mayfair.

We started off with an aperitif at the upstairs bar, where we were also given a small taster of what was to come. From the upstairs bar, we saw what seemed like a parade of regulars arrive, given the treatment from the rather exceptional front of house staff. We were also given a chance to peruse the menu, although only Brad’s contained any prices. I can’t find any anything on this practise but I assume it relates to the standard etiquette — the host pays.

If I recall correctly, the first amuse-bouche which we received with our drinks was lobster bisque and curried smoked bacon tart. Both were amazing, in just the right size not to be overwhelming as both were strongly flavoured and rather rich. On being shown to our table downstairs, we were given our second amuse-bouche, smoked salmon with salad leaves although I can’t quite remember what the yellow sauce was — nothing as eggy as I expected.  

Onto the starters, the thing that impressed me the most about Le Gavroche was that the food was both accessible and generous in portion size for a Michelin-starred restaurant. I always judge restaurants by whether my parents would feel comfortable dining there and my starter above passed with full marks. The Hot Wild Duck Pie with Pistachios and Roasted Endive Salad was amazing. I love pies, especially ones as good as this.

Brad opted for the Hot Foie Gras and Crispy Pancake of Duck Flavoured with Cinnamon which is one of Le Gavroche’s signature dishes. Brad raved about this dish and the little taste I had was very good but overall, I found the icing sugar dusted over top in combination with the rich sauce and foie gras made it a little too sweet for a starter. To be fair though, if I had of ordered the dish, I still would have left the plate clean!

Onto the mains, my choice of Roast Rib of French Veal, Creamed Morel Mushroom Sauce and Mashed Potatoes looks incredibly impressive when they brought it out to carve up and serve, although did put the fear in me regarding how I was going to finish it all. The combination of the meat and creamed morel sauce was just out of this world. The sauce is the kind you want to mop up with bread, not wanting to waste a precious drop. The mashed potatoes were perfect — smooth, creamy and a good foil to the other richer elements of the dish. 

As Brad’s dish isn’t on the menu on their website, I don’t have the official title. From what I can recall it was Scotch Fillet of Beef with Foie Gras, a Port Jus, Crispy Potatoes and a Fried Bay Leaf (?). The Crispy Potatoes were quite the marvel, each individually cooked, then placed onto a cooked potato stick so they sat in the shape of a normal potato. The dish was faultless and Brad was rather happy with the double Foie Gras combo, even if the ducks were not. 

Dessert was next, already quite full, I was apprehensive when my Hot Passion Fruit Souffle with White Chocolate Ice Cream dessert arrived. It was MASSIVE! I have to admit this was the least favourite of my courses as I found the Souffle to be a little too eggy and perhaps needed just a fraction more cooking. 

When we go to restaurants, usually one of us gets carried away and wants to order something ridiculous. This time, it was Brad’s turn as he opted for the Selection of Desserts, despite me suggesting perhaps something more restrained. As you can see by the picture above, there is quite a lot there. The two chocolate desserts towards the front came in for particular praise although the Rum Baba at 12 o’clock was almost pure booze and a little strong. In Brad’s defence, he did manage to finish all of them. 

We ordered coffee, where we were presented with a selection of Petit Fours - Madeleines, White Chocolate Macaroons, Physalis Dipped in Caramel and Sesame Tuiles. We did our best to finish them off, my favourite being the Macaroons but it was a real struggle at this point.

Brad was presented with the bill and they also brought us some fresh plums, which aid digestion as we had both been complaining of being rather full. The bill came to £380 including all the courses above, service and drinks. Not quite the Fat Duck but certainly the best restaurant I’ve been to in London.

Le Gavroche
43 Upper Brook Street
London W1K 7QR
Phone: +44(0)02074080881
www.le-gavroche.co.uk/