Hélène Darroze at the Connaught, London

Hélène Darroze at the Connaught (£185, 3/4/2022, 7- Course incl. VAT)

I have not had any fine dining in the past 2 years, can’t stop thinking of how to please my palette in my recent trip to London. I chose Hélène Darroze at the Connaught and Sketch. Hélène Darroze, being the 2nd Michelin 3-star female chef in UK, gained her 3^rd star in 2021. Chef Darroze started her career with Alaine Ducasse at Louise XV in Monte Carlo for 3 years before taking over her family restaurant in Paris and retained its Michelin star.

Chef Darroze’s flagship restaurant at the Connaught opened in 2018, gained a Michelin star in 2009, a 2^nd star in 2011 and a 3^rd star in 2021. It is located in the Mayfair section of London. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a traditional doorman, elegantly dressed in green and brown, and then directed toward the restaurant’s door before we were seated in a private room inside the restaurant. This private room/wine tasting room was surrounded by many bottles of vintage Darroze Armagnac displayed in glass cabinets against the walls. While the large dining room’s decorations felt traditional with dark wood paneling accentuated by modern fabrics, lamps, and accessories, the private room had wood paneling and bottles, and was cozier.

After reviewing the menus, I decided to forgo the 3-course lunch special and 5-course Tasting Menu. Instead, I chose the 7- course Tasting Menu. The meal began with Amuse Bouche.

Amuse Bouche

It started with consommé made with onion from Sevan and Timmur pepper from Nepal. Timmur pepper is a highly pungent, sharp tasting dried berry from the prickly ash shrub family. But chef Darroze made it not too spicy and it was instead tasty and soothing. It was served in a custom-made tableware by Ema Bodere. The artist designed an indented edge to facilitate easy holding by diners’ thumb. This pre-palette cleanser was followed by a trio of mushrooms. My server reminded me to start with the order from L to R.

1.Sea Bass Tartare and Paris Mushroom Tartelette, Bergamot

Diced raw and slightly cured fresh sea bass were filled in the tart, served with Paris mushrooms and beautifully shaved mushrooms. Sea bass was in prime quality and suitably flavored. It had a different taste from sashimi, and was lovely and refreshing. (18/20)

2. Cep Tuile, Foie Gras Parfait, Douglas Pine

Cep mushroom purée and flour were mixed to make tuile. A tuile is a baked wafer, or you may call it a gourmet chip with your desired flavor. Foie gras parfait was filled in between two slices of mushrooms adorned with Douglas pine. It had moderately richer in taste than the tartelette. (17/20)

3. Doughnut Filled with Black Trumpet Mushroom, Black Garlic

Choux pastry doughnut was filled with black trumpet mushroom and decorated with black garlic purée (in black line), delicately sliced mushrooms and gold leaves. It was pleasing visually as well as gastronomically. (17/20)

My favorite among the Amuse Bouche was the sea bass. However, they were all pleasant, especially when you had something enjoyable to munch on while you decided what to order.

1.Crab, Davrik-Cornwall, Brown and Spider Crabs, Pomelo, Lampong Pepper, “Txangurro”

Cornish spider crab, with both white and brown crab meat, was coated in pomelo mousse-foam along with sauce and crab jelly on the side. Mousse-foam was thicker than foam but thinner than mousse. It carried a very important function in this dish. It kept flavors from all ingredients well-balanced.

 

The crab dish had an excellent flavor given by the light sourness of pomelo as a contrast to the natural sweetness of the crab meat. Chef Darroze had a pop-up restaurant in Hotel Maria Cristina in San Sebastian in 2016. San Sebastian has been famous for its Txangurro (crab cake Basque style using Basque region’s spider crab). Chef Darroze has reimagined and recreated the Basque style into her Darroze style crab cake. It finished with Cedro from southern Sicily. Our server demonstrated this last step by our table side.

Cedro is a giant lemon (the size of a grapefruit) with a thick rind and hearty zesty flavor, it also has a stronger aroma than the ordinary citrus. Our server used a grater to grate the zest from cedro onto the top of the mousse-foam. At last, the mousse-foam shaped like a ball sat beautifully in a pinkish half-shell with cute and adorable micro flowers and tiny grated cedro zest on top. I would certainly not refuse another serving. (19/20)

Bread

Bread was very good, sourdough with rye flour made in the kitchen and having nice texture and acidity. Bread was served with 2 types of butter; butter was laboriously cut manually into thread thin size. (17/20)

1).Oxfordshire, salted butter

2).Espelette pepper mixed (in orange color) with salted butter from Brittany

2.Jerusalem Artichoke, Benoit Quiviger-Brittany, Guanciale, Cedrat, Kenyan Estate Coffee

Ravioli stuffed with puréed Jerusalem artichoke was served with roasted chestnut bits, guanciale slices (the lusciously and enticingly half-transparent looking), Kenyan Estate coffee (brown bits scattered in the plate) and chicken consommé infused with lemon, adorned with some amaranth leaves. On top of the raviolis, there were fresh artichoke pieces and fresh artichoke cream, then a piece of roasted artichoke. Chef Darroze has again demonstrated her creativity in preparing artichoke, she has made sautéed, roasted and puréed styles. She has provided each style with well-balanced flavor, texture and presentation. The amaranth leaves, seeds and roots that chef Darroze often chose as ingredient or for decoration were also very beneficial to our health. The amaranth family has higher protein and iron than quinoa. (19/20)

Complimentary Course:  Acquerello Rice, Tenuta Colombara-Vercelli, Squid, Parsley, Chorizo, Parmigiano Reggiano

We were offered a complimentary course which I could not refuse. Rice was from Vercelli (near Piedmont, Italy). Squid was tenderly cooked and diced, along with diced chorizo hidden at the bottom of bowl. Squid ink was pitch black with the seafood umami flavor. Different ingredients were assembled in a pin-wheel style in different colors. Red for piquillo pepper (a variety of chili having a sweet taste with no heat, from Southern France), green for parsley, white for Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. There was a piece of black rice tuile adorned by parsley leaves on the side. Parmigiano Reggiano cheese gave the dish extra kick, exactly what I preferred. (18/20)

3.Lobster, Phil Trebilcock-Cornwall, Tandoori Spices, Carrot, Citrus, Coriander

When we first saw the size of the lobster in our plate, we noticed the ½ size of the tail was so much smaller than usual. Later we found out this lobster is in the “blue lobster” family, available only in small sizes and selected locations from the Cornish coastline only. It is available from a single source supplier. They are precious because of their flavors, texture and scarcity. Blue lobsters are entirely healthy and safe to eat. Once it is cooked, its shell looks like the shell of an ordinary lobster.

Lobster was prepared with tandoori spices (coriander, cumin, garlic powder, ginger, cloves, mace, fenugreek, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom and nutmeg), and served with carrot and citrus purée, spring scallion, sliced purple carrot, coriander oil (in brown color) and beurre noisette sauce (made with brown butter, chicken stock and spring onion). Chef Darroze’s application of Asian/Indian spices was creative and discretionarily controlled spices lifting the flavor of the tender lobster and its status as one of her signature dishes. (20/20)

4.Dover Sole, Newlyn-Cornwall, Calçot, Razor Clams, Romesco

Dover Sole from Cornwall was seared and torched, and served with razor clam foam, fish skin tuile and sauce. Fish filet was sliced horizontally first to create a pocket for sandwich, and stuffed with finely chopped tomato, almond and pepper.

Calçot is a local seasonal plant in Northeast Spain available in spring time. It is almost like a hybrid of scallion and leek. I love white asparagus, especially slow-cooked white asparagus. Chef Darroze slow-cooked the white part of calçot to taste like slow cooked white asparagus – very tender and tasty.

I was reminded to pair the fish skin tuile with each bite of fish. Fish was medium-rare and tender, served with cream crudo sauce made with tomato, paprika and smoked paprika oil. It was good, but when comparing with the lobster it was not as remarkable. (16/20)

5.Pigeon, Jean-Boga – Brittany, France, Beetroot, Comice Pear, Mole Sauce

There were two styles of preparation – barbecued and torched breast, and confit leg. In addition, Mole sauce.

The mole sauce took inspiration from Mexico. A mole sauce can be made with hundreds of ingredients over a long period of time, thickened with chocolate.

Pigeon breast was barbecued and torched, and coated with cocoa bits, beetroot tuile (made with beetroot purée) and pickled comice pear (considered the best pear) bits, and mole sauce. The pigeon breast was cooked medium-rare, very juicy, tender and nicely flavored. Pigeon leg confit, coated with puffed amaranth seeds, was served with beetroot ketchup (beetroot purée + vinegar). The nutty flavor of amaranth seeds worked very well with the slow-cooked pigeon leg. The earthiness of the beetroot contrasted nicely with the richness of the meat and sauce. (18/20)

Palette Cleanser – Beignet (doughnut) of choux pastry with lemongrass cream filling and lemon cream. The texture was lovely, flavor was rich and had enough acidity from the citrus to balance the sweetness of sugar. (17/20)

6.Vanilla, Tahiti, Corn, Banana, Mango

A dessert of sliced almond cake at the bottom, came with ice cream, torched corn and mango. A vessel-shaped tuile with banana purée was the holder of this cake set. The fruit had a refreshing flavor with its acidity nicely balanced with the richness of the cream. (18/20)

7.Signature Baba, Armagnac Dorroze, Pineapple, Passion Fruit, Tahitian Vanilla, Coconut Chantilly

The final dessert was on Baba, but using Darroze Armagnac rather than the usual rum. It was served with fresh cream, coconut Chantilly and passion fruit on the side. Baba was moist with a light texture. In an unusual creation, Japanese barbecue sauce glazed pineapple was also served on the side. It was an interesting way to contrast with richness of the cream and the Armagnac.

Server recommended 1995 among two other years’ Armagnac for my Baba. I noticed the oldest vintage in the Tasting room dated 1888.

This is a real coup of a dessert when pastry chef delivered it at his/her efforts so that the restaurant could require a supplement of £22 as an extra charge. (19/20)

Petit Fours

Restaurant provided two desserts for petit fours.

1).A six leaf clover shaped sponge cake with lemongrass and cardamon cream.

2).A chocolate bar filled with yuzu and lemon parfait filling and black sesame paste, with different content of chocolate for decoration – white cocoa, dark chocolate 70% and milk chocolate tuile.

Upon departure, my server brought over a goodie bag. It was a fluted “canelé”, a Bordeaux specialty. It was a cake ideally to be soft inside and a bit crunchy outside. Chef Darroze and her pastry chef did a wonderful job in making this delicious canelé. It was better than the one that I had recently in Bordeaux.

Service was attentive throughout the meal with knowledgeable and friendly staff. It was an enjoyable meal and an extraordinary experience. The restaurant included a 12.5% service charge in addition to the listed price.

 

Septime, Paris

Septime (95€, 2/13/2020, 7- Course incl. VAT)

Chef Bertrand Grébaut started his culinary career at the three-star L’Arpège and subsequently won his own Michelin star as the opening Chef at L’Agapé. Chef Grébaut has once said “I wanted to liberate good French food from expensive hotel dining rooms”. He had his theme on making creative, plant and vegetable-focused dishes that change every two weeks. Because it is a surprise tasting menu at dinner, it is important to specify any intolerances or food allergy. English menus were not available, descriptions in parenthesis are the Google translation.

Septime is located near the Bastille area. The restaurant was decorated in a relaxed and unpretentious way, no white tablecloth, wooden tables/wooden chairs and the spiral staircase, forcing the diners to direct serious attention to the plate. It offered a tasting menu of 7 courses. I requested for an additional course toward the end of the meal. Therefore, I had an 8-course meal with extra charges.

I.Amuse Bouche

1. Bouillon de Racines (Root Bouillon) – Soup made from root vegetables including celery, parsley, nasturtium, Jerusalem artichoke. It was well-seasoned and tasty.

2. Flat Bread au Blé Ancien, Comté et Truffe (Flat Bread with Old Wheat, Comté and Truffle) – Light and crusty flat bread covered with 18-month aged Comté cheese and topped with Périgord truffles. Cheese was siphoned with air and yielded with smoother texture. It was just delicious and I wished I could have more.

II. Bouillabaisse, Seiche d’Oléron et Noisette (Bouillabaisse, Cuttlefish from Oléron and Hazelnut)

Sliced raw cuttlefish, from the island of Oléron which is the largest island on the French Atlantic coast, and al dente confit potatoes were the main ingredients. Cuttlefish, cut into ½ inch slices, was fresh and succulent and potatoes was cut in #9 spaghetti size and poached in hot water for a few second. The texture of potatoes was amazing, while it still retained its crispiness, it did not have that raw potatoes taste. Soup base was made of bouillabaisse and saffron, it was thick enough to coat the spaghetti-like potatoes. Chef also complemented the overall taste by including hazelnut oil. The superb creativity and perfectness of this dish was under estimated by its appearance.

III. Cerf de la Meuse, Chou Pontoise, Sabayon Miso (Meuse deer, Chou Pontoise, Sabayon Miso)

Venison was prepared in Gravlax style, cured with sugar and pepper then dried for 24-48 hours. Diced venison was served with miso sabayon, venison bone infused oil, and vinegar. At the very top, there was a piece of marinated Pontoise cabbage leaf covering part of venison and sprinkled with togahachi spice. Venison was tender, tasty and flavorful (probably from the extra step of using venison bone infused oil), without gamy taste. The Pontoise cabbage has been on the lands around Paris since the 16 century, and is recognizable by its curly leaves, less compact than the white cabbage and has a purplish tender center. It is particularly tender, sweet and sugary. It can be eaten raw or cooked, sold all winter long. Pontoise cabbage is also known for its therapeutic benefits, it is rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium and anti-oxidant.

IV. Potage Cressonnière, Pralin de Graine de Courge (Watercress Soup, Squash Praline)

It was sautéed spinach, sorrel and watercress; their flavor was rather unconventional. Upon inquiry, I found out Chef used infused nuts oil to sautée the vegetable. Nuts infused oil did produce a delicate and pleasant flavor. In addition, Chef also served thickened cream from Normandy, water cress velouté and roasted pumpkin seeds paste to complement the taste and flavor. Velouté is one of the five “mother sauces” of French cuisine. Using velouté to balance the richness of cream and still offer the levelness of fresh vegetables was an excellent practice by the Chef.

V. St. Jaques en Coquille, Lard Fumé et Burre Laurier (Scallops in Shell, Smoked Bacon and Bay Butter)

I have not had Coquille St. Jacques for a while. Loved to eat it again. Scallop, from St. Malow, was roasted half-raw and served with lardo (smoked bacon from Southern France), red fermented berries and fermented mushroom. Sauce was made of bay leaf butter and wine (Chenin Blanc wine from Anjou Mosse). My server informed that Chef was very particular about the type of wine used in the sauce. Chef was also very keen on using fermented vegetable to render a more sophisticated taste. Scallop was tender, and succulent. Lardo gave scallop more juice in the chewing process. Another dish of perfect taste and flavor.

VI. Poulette du Patis, Noix Pickles et Truffe Noire (Patis Chicken, Pickles Nuts and Black Truffle)

One piece of hen breast meat and one piece of hen thigh meat were broiled to golden brown on skin. Hen was prepared like doing Patis fried chicken. Patis fried chicken is a crispy and tasty recipe that requires chicken marinated in fish sauce and ground black pepper before coated in flour or cornstarch mixture. Chef did his best to minimize the coating while still kept the skin crispy and meat juicy. Hen was served with sauce made of meat juice and black truffle and pickled walnut, and mushroom purée. This was supposed to be the last savory dish. But I felt that I have not had enough yet. I, therefore, requested for one additional course which I would pay extra for the cost. Chef delightfully agreed to prepare for a seafood dish.

VII. Turbot, Sauce Moule Pimenton, Oseille Rouge (Turbot, Chili Mold Sauce, Red Sorrel)

The turbot is a relatively large species of flatfish found on menus in the whitest of the white-tablecloth restaurants. Like halibut, turbot is a highly prized species often regarded as the best of the flatfish with great flavor and firm, white flesh. Chef used wild-caught Atlantic turbot and a rarely used classic sauce made of Vin Jaune, pimento and mussels’ juice. In addition, red sorrel and smoked paprika was sprinkled on top. A few pieces of white flesh placed on the edge of plate were the meat from turbot fin which has different texture from the fish fillet. I also noticed that the fish fillet was only slightly browned, probably it was not boiled under the high heat.

Vin Jaune is French for “yellow wine” whose production is concentrated in the Jura region in eastern France. Even though it is yellow – more like a sweet dessert wine in its look, Vin Jaune is as dry as a wine can get. It has a complex and distinctive flavor marked by notes of pine resin, curry, citrus, nuts, salt and anis. Vin Jaune is made from grapes harvested in late October when the sugars have developed enough to have a potential alcohol level of 13-15% for the finished wine.

Fish was tender and with subtle taste-of-the-sea flavor (less browning made it less fishy), accompanied by the extraordinarily elaborate sauce. It was the perfect way of ending the savory dishes.

Palette Cleanser – Crème à la Feuille de Citronnier, Citron Caviar (Lemon Leaf Cream, Lemon Caviar)

Penna cotta with citrus jam, pepper, and lemon tree leaves infused dill oil. It was a light, delicious and refreshing.

VIII. Glace au Pain et Miel, Avoine et Lait d’Amande (Bread and Honey Ice Cream, Oats and Almond Milk)

The 1st one was Bread and Honey Ice Cream with finely toasted oats crumble on the side and pollen and almond milk on top. It was not overwhelmingly rich in substance, but rich in flavor.

The 2nd one was petit puff. Its outside texture was a bit crunchier than puff. Inside was filled with yummy custard, dough was made of flour and ground nuts.

Chef Grébaut’s cooking style is produce-centric and “naïve, spontaneous, balanced” as described by himself. Tastes and textures are amazingly and intriguingly playing off to a perfect way with genuine creativity. It is notoriously difficult and frustrating to get a reservation at Septime. We had to get up at 4 am Eastern time to make a trans-Atlantic phone call. We were lucky enough to get a reservation to experience such an extraordinary gastronomic satisfaction. Was it worth the hassle? The answer is a definite “yes”. Septime’s current Tasting menu priced at €95 is a true steal for a one Michelin Star restaurant in Paris.