Racine

[Andy Lynes]

Restaurant magazine has reported today that Henry Harris has left Hush to set up an 85 cover  French restaurant called Club Des Cents opposite Brompton Oratory in Knightsbridge, London. No opening date was mentioned in the article but I have heard that it will be within a month or two. I am hoping to have some more inside info soon so watch this space.

I think I must be psychic because about a year ago, I ended my review of Hush with these words :

"Henry Harris remains one of London's best chefs, but Hush simply doesn't do his food, or the price charged for it, justice. I don't suppose that ticket from Knightsbridge to Mayfair was a return?"

Apparently the answer was yes!

[John Whiting]

Henry phoned me about this and I pointed out to him that Club des Cent, rather than being an historic Paris restaurant, was in fact a select private club which until recently had met at Maxim's and is, so far as I know, still in existence. (The original prerequisite was that a prospective member must weigh at least a hundred kilos.) So if he keeps to this name, he may find himself involved in confusion, if not litigation.

[Andy Lynes]

Provisional name I belive. I think it can be confusing to have restaurants called clubs, like Club Gascon, might put people off if they think they have to join. Or am I being to literal?

[John Whiting]

Thr trouble with an obscure historical name like Club des Cents is that its appropriateness, and the historical associations which can enrich a dining experience, will probably be unfamiliar to 99 o/o of the diners. All they will bring is their uninformed sense of the words' literal meaning. Perhaps they will think, unconsciously, that, unlike Stringfellows, it is a club for the decent.  :)

[Andy Lynes]

Whatever they decide to call the place, I think this is great news.

I had lunch at The  Fifth Floor, Henry's first restaurant as head chef,  on 30/01/93, soon after it opened.  I still have the bill which came to £69.19. A 3 course lunch was £18.00, house white was 9.50. At the table next to us was Jose Carreras, which was ironic as I had been trying to get tickets to see him at The Royal Opera House but had failed. I felt like asking him to give us a tune, but restrained myself.

In any case, I returned to the Fifth Floor on a number of occasions, both to work in the kitchens, eat in the restaurant and just to drink at the bar. Henry Harris has always been a wonderfully inventive cook and there is a joy and generosity of spirit to his food that is very infectious. Certainly his kitchen was one of the best humoured I have experienced.  

Things got really amusing when Dave Miney, Henry's sous chef, controlled the pass (which if you don't know involves calling the orders as they come in and making sure that they go out at the right time). Dave had generated a number of "call and response" routines with the brigade, so that, for example, when an order for Henry's signatue dish of Lobster Noodles was called, the entire kitchen would chant "Nooodles, Nooodles" in the manner of the crowd at a Frank Bruno fight, who would shout Brooono, Brooono.

The most suprising routine was whenever someone smashed a glass or dropped some crockery, everyone would shout in perfect unison "Who the fuck was that?" without being prompted.  

Although Hush has been another success for Henry, it sounds as though this new venture will suit his style far better and be much more about the food and the restaurant experience, which can only be good news.  

It opens in May by the way.

[tripe]

After Johns help I was able to track down the current president of the club des cent. The current president, aged 75 is very chuffed that we want to use his clubs name but has asked us very politely not to use it! They still meet for lunch every Thursday and he said he would put our request to his members but knows already that they will share the same response as himself. He also metioned that there are seven members who live in London but didn't share their identity.

  So, it is back to the drawing board to choose a name, a task that is not as straigthforward as one would hope.

[Andy Lynes]

Henry - welcome to the boards. Hope to hear a lot more from you.

Perhaps we could do a Blue Peter and get eGullet members to name the restaurant for you. On the other hand, you might end up the proud owner of a restaurant called Goldie.

[Gavin Baxter]

Or worse...

Blue Peter viewers were once asked to name a baby monkey which had recently been born at some zoo or other. The winning name, by a considerable margin, was "Spank" but of course this was quietly ignored in favour of Mickey (or some such).

[John Whiting]

Henry, I'm glad I was able to help avoid bad feeling or even litigation. In your search for a name, may I suggest the Everyman Guide called _Restaurants of Paris_? It's a history rather than a "where to eat" guidebook and it's loaded with names, photos, graphics, literary references, quotations and everything you might think of. All the illustrations are listed as to source. I don't know a single volume that's so packed with curious information on Paris dining. I think it's out of print, but it shouldn't be impossible to obtain. You should own it -- it's indispensible. The ISBN is 1-85715-846-6

P.S. I want to know when you open this holy shrine to Paris gastronomique!  :)

[John Whiting]

For a bit of further nostalgia re Club des Cent, see my memoir of Maxim's

[Andy Lynes]

I went down to Brompton Road today to see how the restaurant was shaping up and bumped into Henry. He gave me the grand tour of what is still a building site, but very much in the final phase.

The restaurant is to be called Racine, as Henry and Eric are going back to their roots! The interior of the main dining room and bar will be decked out with mocha leather banquettes and darkwood venner walls, whilst a small back room will seat around 14 on side by side banquettes (i.e. couples will sit next to each other rather than opposite) with gold painted anaglypta wall covering.

The kitchen is large in proportion to the dining room which should make for a relaxed working environment which can only be good for brigade and punters alike.

Henry plans to open after the June Bank Holiday. I dont think they are taking bookings just yet, but the number is 0207 584 4477.

[Wilfrid]

Racine?  Why not Corneille?  They should have just translated their first idea and called it The 100 Club.  All confusion solved.  

[Andy Lynes]

I have just managed to book a table at Racine for next Tuesday so they are now open for business. I will of course report back.

[tony h]

been there, done that

[Andy Lynes]

Come on then, spill the beans.

[tim young]

Alison and I had an excellent meal at Racine last night (saturday).   Given the recent discussion about chefs absenting themselves (to watch boxing?), it was good to see the man himself at the kitchen door as we sat down in a very Paris bistroish dining room.   Two house champagnes by the glass was also a promising start, as were the very reasonable prices.   Undoubted highpoints were the excellence of my poulet noir main with lentils, the anchovy sauce with my duck salad starter, Alison's fine pigeon with mushrooms in a forestier sauce, a keenly-priced Margaret River Cab.Merlot and first-class service.   Areas on which to work would be the puddings: we had the vanilla ice cream with Valhrona chocolate sauce.   This was very pleasant, but chosen partly because none of the other puddings really excited as menu items.   We would certainly go again and wish such a thoughtful enterprise good luck.

[Andy Lynes]

Sounds great. Suprised about the puds as they were always so good at 5th Floor. I know Henry was having some last minute problems with chefs so maybe he needs to track down someone for the pastry section? Don't know, just a guess.

I am going to have to delay my meal at Racine on Tuesday for a bit due to family illness but will report back as soon as I have been.

Tim - if you dont mind me asking, how did you find out about Racine, was it through eGullet or other means?

[tim young]

through egullet (to which I was steered by an article in the Telegraph magazine detailing Jay Rayner's favourite websites): invaluable!

[mrshugget]

dear andy, I have to say that tim young's post about Racine does not 'sound great', by any stretch of the imagination. It sounds okay-ish with some reservations on his part. Why do you love H.Harris so? Is there something we should be told?

[Andy Lynes]

If you look at the start of this not very long at all thread you will see a brief resume of my connections with Henry. Also, Tim said that his meal was "excellent", he noted the excellence of various elements of said meal and also stated that service was first class and that the wine was reasonable. My response to this that it sounded great was I believe appropriate in the circumstances, given that I am booked in for my anniversary meal and am pleased that I can look forward to a good time.

I have to say that although I really like Henry's cooking and that he's a very nice chap, I wouldn't go as far as saying that I love him. I think he might be as preturbed by that suggestion as I am. If you have any further questions regarding this matter I would be more than happy to respond to them.

[mrshugget]

I did read the beginning of the thread, naughty Mr A, so  I do understand how you KNOW Mr Harris and your brief history together. However, I do not understand why or how you LOVE him so. And you mentioned the L-word first!

But am not having a wild LML-type go, I am really interested in your faith in HH and why you rate him so. I remain bizarrely unconvinced by tim's post, 'promising' house champagne, excellent fowl, poor desserts or no.You both seem madly keen to like Racine, come what may. But perhaps that is an article of faith in itself? But I want to like it, too  - its near my London home - and will be there this week. Post as soon as you can after your visit!  

[Andy Lynes]

I did read the beginning of the thread, naughty Mr A, so  I do understand how you KNOW Mr Harris and your brief history together. However, I do not understand why or how you LOVE him so. And you mentioned the L-word first!

But am not having a wild LML-type go

You used the word Love, I didn't. I'm sorry this is too silly to respond to. I will however be very interested in your report.

When LML has a go, it is usually done in a very considered manner, designed to get to the heart of the matter. I haven't in the past been particularly pleased to be on the recieveing end of some of his posts, but the last thing they are is "wild".

[John Whiting]

When a chef with a proven track record sets out on a daring venture of apparent integrity -- and particularly when he attempts to preserve an endangered tradition -- he should be given every encouragement, especially during the inevitable settling-in period.

[Gavin Baxter]

Tim, thanks for the report.

Would you be kind enough to post an indication of prices at this new venture? Just the food element would be great.

Gavin

[tim young]

Sorry not to do so at the time, Gavin: my recollection is that the 3 courses came to around £30 each.   I would agree with John Whiting's comments: the integrity of the operation is particularly evident.