Settling onto the sofa for my Sunday afternoon browse through the papers, I found a familiar face looking up at me from the cover of the colour supplement. A rather striking photo actually, taken in black and white but with startling bright blue eyes. This is of course, the Age of the Chef and the guys (and they are mostly guys) have emerged from the kitchen to appear in magazines, on Desert Island Discs, in autobiographies, or pursuing a noble goal to improve school food or encourage regional ingredients.
So Marcus Wareing is instantly recognisable, not least from his appearances on Master Chef. I even spotted him among the celebrities posing for the Great Britons Dinner. And now he has a double page interview in which he talks about his family, his wife, his kids, their meals. I learn that, like me, he has a 14-year old son, although his child is blessed with siblings whereas in my household the Power struggle is just between the two of us.
Marcus Wareing has a new book “Marcus at Home”, recipes of the family, by the family and for the family, comforting, informal and for sharing, exemplified by the golden roast chicken he is holding on the cover. So in the spirit of Family I decided to try one of the recipes, Roast Chicken with Herb, Pistachio and Sourdough Citrus Stuffing. Running my eye down the ingredients, I found I had everything listed except the tarragon. I didn’t have a chicken either. But I had a guinea fowl and decided a slight sideways step could be forgiven.
But my particular interest in Marcus Wareing stems from the phenomenal lunch I had had just days before at the 2 Michelin-starred Marcus at The Berkeley, which is a quite, quite different experience.
It was one of those very warm days we had at the beginning of September, so I was glad of the light air-conditioning and glass of cold champagne that greeted me. The bright airiness of the room, with its slightly clubby leather furniture and bold artwork on the walls, felt refreshing too, pleasant, spacious, full of light. My guest, Yvette was waiting for me and I slid along the leather seating to take my place beside her.
We were handed The Taste of Autumn Menu which consists of 5 courses, but in fact we were treated to eight (or was it nine?). I love seasonal – particularly autumnal – the earthy smell of mushrooms and root vegetables, the heady scent of truffles, bright orange of pumpkin and corn. They were all in there. All we had to choose was the main course, venison for Yvette and veal for me.
Yvette made an interesting observation: I think a set menu is a really good idea. When you’re having a business lunch, you’re generally short of time and you want to get down to business. So looking at the menu and deciding what to eat is a bit of a distraction. So is choosing the wine. But if you know it’s going to be good and you trust the restaurant, you can go for the set menu and start talking straight away.
And soit began, one dish after another laid before us, each with a glass of wine to match, a series of exquisite arrangements on the plain white of the plates. Little Miro paintings, circles and dots, filaments and threads.
After our champagne and canapés (all gorgeous), came a dish of sea trout with peppers. The wine was a Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley. It is one of the most delicious I have ever tasted. It was like a river, it was like a silk scarf, it was intense and citrusy, smooth and flowing. I don’t have the words to describe it: I’m not an expert on wine. It’s hard enough to find different words to describe the food. But this is where your sommelier comes in having both the knowledge and the words. He talked us through each glass, explaining why he’d chosen it, why it would go with the food, speaking with both expertise and enthusiasm. And a great deal of charm.
Definitely my favourite dish was salt-baked celeriac with truffle and hazelnuts. What a combination – the firm texture of the celeriac, the scent of truffle creating a rich warm background and the gentle crunch of hazelnuts. Heavenly. It was accompanied by a Spanish white from Galicia which was served in a large wide glass “to help develop the aroma”. Sometimes according to our sommelier, white wine can be served too cold…….
I’m not a huge fan of cod, I have to say. When the Offspring and I go down to Hastings on a sunny Sunday, for a round of crazy golf and fish & chips, we tend to choose haddock which has more flavour. This cod came with a sweetcorn sauce, which wasn’t a marriage made in heaven in my opinion – too much contrast. Having said that, I ate it all. It was perfectly, perfectly nice, the fish falling neatly into soft white flakes.
In fact I ate every single thing they offered. My veal came in little pink and tender nuggets, decorated with a mad swirl of beetroot and a mustardy sauce. Yvette’s venison was skewered on a tiny Christmas tree sprig, sprinkled with pine nuts. We did an ungainly swap – a chunk of veal for a lump of venison. All gorgeous, although I think my veal was the winner.
Slipped between the cod and the veal came a little coracle of delicious pumpkin pasta, brilliant orange against white. Our wine too was orange. Well, I’d have described it as rosé but the sommelier referred to it as an “orange wine, from Australia”, to go with the richness of the pasta. A wine he said that we used to make a century ago. What a lot we learned and once again Yvette had an interesting take on it: I’d definitely recommend this place. The quality of the information is fantastic: the learning experience of the food and drink, the pairing and the intelligence that goes with it.
Before our pud, we had a pre-pud: iced tea sorbet (and it really was tea – Earl Grey and camomile, amazingly refreshing) with tiny blow-torched discs of lemon curd. And then our real pud, the one on the menu, which was a soft, warm square of frangipane, topped with deep pink damson ice cream, the real autumn flavour of the fruit emerging as it melted just slightly into the cake.
And then suddenly we realised we’d been lingering over our meal for two hours. We refused coffee and the maître d’ kindly put our THIRD pudding into little boxes for us. We asked to see the private dining space, The Salon, which occupies a corner of the main dining room over-looking Wilton Place so it’s full of light and very elegant. The oval table seats up to 16. There is also a semi-private chef’s table which seats 10 and gives you ringside seats onto the kitchen where you can watch the chefs at work – and occasionally ole blue eyes himself.
And the roast guinea fowl with stuffing? Super! Love the citrus.
The Verdict
Yvette: I would definitely recommend this place for a business lunch where privacy, good food and attentive service are guaranteed. A very memorable and leisurely fine dining experience – and I wasn’t over-full. Such a shame I had to rush back.
Minty: As for my CEO, he’ll LOVE it! Exactly the kind of thing he likes, exquisite food, excellent wines and reassuring white linen. I think Yvette is right: being able to get straight down to business without the hassle of choosing what to eat, is probably a big plus. Plenty of space all around to have a private conversation without whispering. I might even suggest it next time our Chairman, Sir Kit, comes to town. He’s a bit of a red-meat-and-plenty-of-it type, but he would have to be impressed.
Love, Minty
Marcus at The Berkeley
The Taste of Autumn menu is £49 for five courses.
There is no hire charge for The Salon and Chef’s Table, but there is a minimum spend, which varies according to season.
To Book: 0207 235 1200 or reservations@marcuswareing.com
