Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road

[SamanthaF]

WOW!

It is interesting what you say about the quails egg with the fillet. I had this dish in April this year, and my quails egg remained untouched (until Tony or Simon ate it ), as I thought that it was surplus to the dish.

Thank you lxt for a wonderful text.

[Carlovski]

One large, plump ravioli with a wrinkled and medium-thick perky skin, looking like a ballerina’s tutu or a cheerful sunflower

[lxt]

WOW!

It is interesting what you say about the quails egg with the fillet. I had this dish in April this year, and my quails egg remained untouched (until Tony or Simon ate it ), as I thought that it was surplus to the dish.

Thank you lxt for a wonderful text.

Samantha, I agree with you regarding the quail egg. It certainly made the dish look appealing, adding color to the mostly brown-reddish tone, but like you, I thought that the egg didn’t add anything else to the dish, unless it was intended to be eaten separately from the meat. Had it been beef tartare, then the quail egg would’ve been nice.

[lxt]

One large, plump ravioli with a wrinkled and medium-thick perky skin, looking like a ballerina’s tutu or a cheerful sunflower

Carlovski, I am glad you enjoyed my description.

[mogsob]

Ramsay’s clear and unpretentious approach, with its inherent qualities of harmony, symmetry and balance, where the dissonant always resolves into the consonant and dishes are never strident and bring out the flavors of each ingredient to its ultimate, lent calmness to our senses and steadiness to our minds.

Ironic that Ramsay's cuisine is so unlike Ramsay the man.

[paulbrussel]

Is it (still) true that they have two settings for dinner? I heard that those who have reserved for the first, must hurry quite a bit with their meal, especially when they take the tasting menu.

When I was at Ramsay's for lunch last year, that was the reason why I didn't order the tasting menu, but afterwards there was no need to hurry at all...

[lxt]

Ironic that Ramsay's cuisine is so unlike Ramsay the man. 

Mogsob, your comment reminded me of a thought I had at the Matisse/Picasso exhibition. It was then when I was struck by the contrast between the personalities of the artists and the temperaments of their creations.

For a man with insatiable curiosity, boundless ambition and a notoriously difficult but fervent temperament; for a man whose passion was formed by landscapes of startling contrasts between breathtaking scenes of indescribable beauty of beaches and mountains of his home-town Málaga; for a man giving full rein to every impulse of his passionate temperament in his personal life and who once said that, “Every time I change wives, I should burn the last one. That way I’d be rid of them. They wouldn’t be around now to complicate my existence. Maybe that would bring back my youth, too. You kill the woman and you wipe out the past she represents,” Picasso's tendency of expressing his talent through perfectly calculated, restrained, mathematically arranged multidimensional images, through lines and shapes was always a mystery to me.

On the other hand, slow and methodical Mattisse, with an analytical and measured temperament, enjoyed round forms and ardently bright colors. Perhaps every talented man expresses in his creations the subconscious, the other side of himself that was never revealed to the outside world, in his restless and repetitive efforts to re-create himself.

Edited August 11, 2003 by lxt (log)

[lxt]

Several days ago, I said, “au revoir” to another year of my life. Unfortunately, circumstances did not allow the family to celebrate my “achievement” out, so I cooked dinner based on recipes from Gordon Ramsay’s “Gordon Ramsay. A chef for all seasons” at home.

I am always curious to experiment in my own kitchen with recipes provided by chefs of the restaurants I have visited to see how close I can get to the real thing and how well my outcome will reflect the spirit of a restaurant. I must say that we certainly relived our Gordon Ramsay experience.

We had:

Spinach velouté soup with goat’s cheese quenelles.

The vivaciously green, smooth soup thickened by potato and cream was full of subtle spinach sweetness, lacking the bitter notes the vegetable sometimes lends. A ball of goat cheese mixed with chives, positioned in the center of the plate, upon melting, left lusciously creamy lines on the warm liquid. Fresh and delicate, the soup needed to be seasoned carefully without overpowering the spinach flavor, while still relieving the blandness of the vegetable. The fresh goat cheese, when combined with mascarpone, lost its goaty aroma and lent a pleasantly sour and nutty flavor. What a simple and elegant dish!

Pepper and tomato soup with crab cocktail.

Since the broth seemed too strong, overpowering the delicate sweetness of the crab, I therefore rearranged the accent of this dish to stress the crab, using the pepper and tomato broth only as a sauce.

A cylinder of seafood cocktail, the bottom layer of which calmed the eye with brightly green avocado serving as a podium for the tenderly pink shreds of crabmeat moistened and topped with pale-pink, mayo-based sauce, rested in the dazzlingly orange, thick, pepper/tomato sauce. It was a nice progression of flavors from the smooth, buttery avocado to the distinct flavor of the crab and finally to the mildly sharp, lime-sour, slightly bitter, thin layer of the mayo-based sauce. The crabmeat was mixed with apples and this combination, which seems to be favored by chef Ramsay and which reminded us of the lobster bisque we had at RHR, worked just wonderfully. It was sweetness that was in the center of the dish: the tender, oceanic sweetness of crab; the light and gentle, earthy sweetness of apple; and the strong, penetrating sweetness of fresh, ripe tomatoes and peppers. It was a symphony of colors and flavors; the dish was complex and simple at the same time and tasted just superb.

Fricassée of scallops and girolles with lettuce sauce.

I changed this dish slightly to reflect the ingredients that were available to me at the time. Girolles were replaced by a bouquet of wild mushrooms, and the lettuce sauce was enriched by bits of smoky bacon, which according to the recipe should’ve been discarded.

Several plump scallops rested on a bed of sautéed mushrooms encircled by the lettuce/bacon sauce. The scallops were extremely sweet and curry powder gave them a slightly pungent hint. It was the sauce that really bound all components together. The smoky taste of bacon along with the freshness of the lettuce was powerful, but didn’t seem to overwhelm the scallops, rather stressing their sweetness. It melded with the mushrooms and the dish was best appreciated when all the elements were taken together.

Does anyone know whether the above dishes were ever on Gordon Ramsay’s menu or were they designed to satisfy home cooks only?

Edited August 11, 2003 by lxt (log)

[paulbrussel]

Last time I had lunch there (I do admit, august 2002 - but I am planning to go there again this year) I had the following:

Salad of roasted John Dory with crab cous-cous, grilled English asparagus and sauce vierge

Sautéed fillet of wild salmon with crushed garden peas, new season girolles and a creamed horseradish sauce

Pan-fried breast of black leg chicken with herb tagliatelle, leek fondue and a raosted onion velouté

Roasted baby peach with a clear caramel and warm vanilla rice pudding.

But I do have the impression that all those books offer less complex dishes then served in those restaurants.

Edited August 12, 2003 by paulbrussel (log)

[Gavin Convery]

I have just booked GR@RHR for dinner and was gratified at how easy this was assuming you follow the strict guidelines of booking exactly one calendar month ahead - I booked for the 12th of September today. If you wanted the 10th you would have to phone yesterday as they are obviously not open on Sunday. Then you must start phoning at 9am precisely and keep hitting redial until you are connected. I was offered, 7, 7:30, 9 and 10pm - 8 and 8:30 had both gone by ten past nine. But I also booked yesterday for the 11th of Sept. as a fall back and was offered all times. No mention was made of turning tables.

[Gavin Convery]

Dinner last Friday for my 10th Wedding Anniversary. Last time we had eaten at a Gordon Ramsay was at Aubergine back in the good old days. Unfortunately this experience suffered in comparison...where has the passion gone?? This was tasty food albeit very simple and some benchmark dishes such as the pannacotta and canon of lamb, but I just felt there was something missing, some risk taking, some daring combinations. Not bad value at £80 for the gastronomic menu but if I think back to my two recent meals at Pied a Terre there is no comparison.

Is it just me or does anyone agree??

Edited September 18, 2003 by Andy Lynes (log)

[Gary Marshall]

i would have loved to have tried the cooking at aubergine, i'm sure you are correct, in order to win initial stars risks were taken.

now in order to retain the 3 i think its certainly more evolution than revolution and they cook a 'greatest hits' of what people expect from RHR

gary

Edited September 16, 2003 by Gary Marshall (log)

[Winot]

Dinner last Friday for my 10th Wedding Anniversary.

...where has the passion gone??

Sorry Gavin, can only help with food queries here.

[Gavin Convery]

Dinner last Friday for my 10th Wedding Anniversary.

...where has the passion gone??

Sorry Gavin, can only help with food queries here.

Nice one....

...but not necessarily true...

[paulbrussel]

Is it really fair to compare your meal of years ago with that one you had now? I suppose you, as well as he have evolved quite a lot. To be surprised / impressed will be for you much more difficult. And although it should not happen at a three star restaurant, there could have been simply a day off, and then, compared with you high expectations?

Go back to Pied a Terre for your 20th wedding anniversary... I will be very curious what you will say then [i won't talk about the passion Winot is talking about.]

[Gavin Convery]

Within the body of work of any artist, I don't suppose it is irrelevant to compare different periods. You could argue that I can't remember enough about the event years ago - in fact it made enough of an impression that I could sufficiently to feel that Ramsay is now not at the heights he was then. Maybe this reflects the demands of Michelin more than anything. And given that back then he only had 1 star versus 3 now one would hope that that would indicate progress rather than regression.

I also mentioned Pied a Terre to point up a more contemporary example and also mentioned that it may be just me. I would be interested if you had any recent experience of Ramsay's versus other restaurants and how you felt about the comparison. As with all these threads, they are just personal experiences and you always have to compare with your past experiences even if these are more than a couple of years ago.

[paulbrussel]

Unfortunately, my one and only experience at Gordon Ramsay was in August 2002.

And I do fully agree, what else could you do then compare with your previous, other and recent experiences elsewhere.

My experience at Ramsay's was not one that reminded me of innovative cuisine, but more personal, slightly modern, excellent cuisine based on more classic cooking.

Probably I will go to London next month, but since I heard about Pied a Terre as well, I could perhaps better reserve a table there.

Although I do like the innovative cuisine more, I can highly appreciate the more modern cuisine based on classic cooking.

[Scott]

2 of the best 3 best meals I have had this year have been at Pied a Terre.

I enjoyed both more than recent continental ventures to Don Alfonso 1890, Lucas Carton, Le Cinq, and Laurent - for reference.

They are turning out stunning flavours, strong, clean, fresh and well balanced. The fresh flavours of the Aussie chef (Shane Osborn) are really brought out and enhanced by classical french technique. Best of both worlds, or at least best of any one doing such in UK at the moment - imho.

I particularly favour the spice crusted tuna.

Pretty good value for money also.

They do not have the facility infrastructure for 3 stars, but the food quality must be bolt upright at the higher end of 2 star quality. Also they do some pretty good Burgundy deals, look for rapier like Dauvissat Chablis 2000 & 1996 Dugat Py Gevry VV as some fair values.

[Gavin Convery]

I like their tasting menu which covers most of the bases and can be had with a glass at each course for £100, but forget the Muscat...I think I reported in detail elsewhere. Also I seem to remember that lunch is phenomenal value for menu....here it is and it's £24

http://www.pied.a.terre.co.uk/lacarte.htm

[MobyP]

I've decided, of late, that I know two things to be true.

Firstly, that the pop band Boney M were without doubt secretly being run by the politburo, through the KGB, as a means of controlling the fragile yet impressionable minds of the decedent West's young. They wanted us all to be anarchists. They wanted assassins. And Boney M is how they did it.

The second, is that Gordon Ramsay is not a genius.

Although I could be wrong about Ramsay.

See, when I was eight years old, and one day walking down the street, change jangling in pocket, my feet metronomically dividing four into four and then eight into eight, a series of words flew at me, as from nowhere, which were so calamitous, so devestating, that I'm haunted to this day.

"Ra- Ra- Rasputin, Russia's greatest Love Machine!"

I stopped, and so did the words. I resumed, and like someone plugging in a juke box, so did they. I tried running, but the words just sped up (rararasbuttonrussiasgreydestluvmunchin), chasing after me like an insane chihuahua trying to hump my leg.

It took me years to get over it. Although Boney M split up, they had completed their mission. They returned to their Soviet handlers, were rolled up in afghany carpets and smuggled out of the country in the back of a transit van. But ever after I had that Ra-ra-Rastputin hole. My monkey. I was a plant, a mole, ready to be reactivated by the KGB at any moment. If ever I heard that song again, I was ready to kill someone - and surely this was the point. Of course, the KGB don't let you go that easy. They tested me every now and then, just to make sure - C'est Chic! - anything by Lionel Ritchie - even the Police, occasionally - and then one day it was gone. Years under the yolk, and then freedom. Ah, I almost wept.

Until now.

On Tuesday, I was walking down the street, and it came to me: "Gordon Ramsay is not a genius." I tried to throw it away, or scrape it off my boots, but it just stuck. It kept repeating, over and over. I'd had lunch there the day before. It was good. It was really, really good.

But it wasn't that good.

So - either it's true, and Ramsay's not a genius, or the KGB wants me to kill someone, and it's all because of Boney M.

I know where I'm placing my money.

[Blondie]

I keep hearing: "MobyP is probably the funniest sonofabitch on eGullet"

[Andy Lynes]

Nice report Moby, but I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting a bit more detail:

which street?

what make of boots?

[MobyP]

Yes yes - responsibility and all that. There I was, dealing with the trauma of being a Russian Stooge, but no, a fat lot you care. Details, he says. What make of brassiere, he says. And was it really an allegorical chihuahua, or were you just making it up?

Ah, it was a great lunch.

As for the road - well, Royal Hospital (french pronunciation), obviously, as is cunningly disguised in the title.

We were there (3 of us), as I mentioned, for my wife's b-day. The Maitre d' kept throwing different menus at us - Lunch specials - Prestige - a la carte - but he said to my wife that if she wanted to mix and match, they were sure they could work something out. She said "no thanks very much, I'll just have the three courses." I said "thanks very much, I'll have the 7 course Prestige and can I substitute just about everything?"

Very graciously, after some tantric yoga involving his generosity and the chef, he agreed.

So:

Amuse of Pumpkin Soup with truffle oil, and small dice of melting parmagiano.

As good as you would expect. Cheese dissolved on the tongue in a manner reminiscent of Spasky's opening gambit against Karpov in '73.

Roasted Foie Gras with caramelised endive, and something else - as we can see - entirely forgettable, with a sauterne sauce.

Two large, thick slices of foie gras, crispy on the outside, pure custardy pleasure in the middle. It was like the best creme brulee you've ever had - except it wasn't. Not in the slightest. Every creme brulee is complete rubbish compared to this, and I'd suggest we throw them all away, and spend the rest of our lives committing atrocities to ducks, and sending the resulting livers to Gordon so he can fry us up some lunch.

Raviolo of wild mushrooms with perigord truffle and a light veloute/vinagrette sauce.

This was superb. I had this instead of the Langoustine raviolo - and was right to do so. The langoustine raviolo was merely very, very good, but to its detriment tasted nothing like a mushroom. This however, and in what can only be described as in 'stark contrast,' tasted exactly like a mushroom. Left me smiling like a goat who's exceptionally happy, for whatever reasons goats have. Which of course, no one has any idea about.

Roasted Veal Sweetbreads

Had this instead of roasted Baby Turbot. The great advantage of the sweetbreads was that everyone else at the table hated them. They were perfectly cooked, of course, and it left me free to castigate loudly the terrible devastation done to Turbot stocks when the little fishies are torn away from their mums, all for the insensitive bastards who demand their roasting, and then stuff themselves at haute cuisine restaurants. Unlike the baby veals, who frankly have no idea what their sweetbreads are actually for, and frankly can't get rid of them quick enough - so long as you offer enough dosh.

[Edit to add - my roast sweetbreads had a fried quail's egg on them (I think it was quail), and I was amazed at how the yolk of the egg blended with the meat of the sweetbreads. Great dish. Shame about the poor baby turbots.]

Roasted Cannon of Cornish lamb with confit shoulder, Provencal vegetables, and thyme juice.

This was very good, and so the let down of the entire meal. The restaurant staff were quite excited however, because it was actually on the menu, which as far as they were concerned, was a big improvement.

Selection of cheeses

A fantastic old farmer's bike of a cheese trolley, arranged very clearly. Cheeses were wonderful, right temp and ripe as ripe can be.

Pineapple Granita on yoghurt with (I think) some compote on the bottom.

And a crumpled, frozen coriander leaf on top that would have had Loufood roll her eyes, and then kick her sofa through a window.

Tarte Tatin (for 2)

Ordered this after Tarka gave it a rough 17,000 out of ten (insisting to me that she smelled truffle in the pastry), instead of a Parfait of something with something poured over something else in the menu. Oh - and here I should mention wine. With this course we ordered a Bulgarian Tokaji (a classic sweet dessert wine, for those not in the know).

The two together - half a pound of butter, half a pound of sugar, burned to a tongue-singeing caramelised perfection, a few apples, and a glass of this Bulgarian nectar - well, I think one would have to consider removing ones clothes, and swan-diving Tarzan-like naked into a three ton tank of melted vanilla ice cream with several similarly dis-robed members of Olympic Swedish massage team (middle weight ranking - opposite sex, preferred), in order to experience the savage hit on the pleasure centres that this gives you.

After-bits

Chocolate truffles filled with liquid caramel - These were - Moriarty-like - fiendishly clever. I must have shoved 48 of them in my mouth before I realised they might have the unforeseen side-effect of killing me stone dead from the 18-wheel truck of sugar heading for my adrenal glands. Pulled back just in time for the:

White chocolate truffles, filled with Strawberry ice cream.

Which were jolly nice too.

We could have left there for under 100 quid a head, I promise (if only I'd managed to suck the moisture out of my napkin). (Un)Fortunately, we were with someone who knew their wines, and has a much, much better job than I do. Anyway, the joys of being a debt-slave are few - but this was one of them. Not including my substitutions, or the wine, the Prestige (lunch) menu comes out at 80 smackers.

On a personal note, I’d just like to add: Will now sing Christmas carols for money....

Edited December 4, 2003 by MobyP (log)

[Andy Lynes]

I had one of those cannon of lamb jobbies at Petrus a few years back, although with a different garnish, and found it somewhat lacking.

The ice cream filled petit four are spectacular though. Didn't he borrow the idea from somewhere - Guy Savoy maybe?

[Andy Lynes]

The second, is that Gordon Ramsay is not a genius.

If he was, how might that manifest itself on the plate?