La Noisette

[Andy Fenn]

At RHR or la Noisette? Happy anniversary! What did you have, and what were the standouts?

Knickerless fur coat brigade eh? Hopefully if I go again, Lindsay Lohan will be on the table next to mine.

[howardlong]

OK so I haven't posted for a while.

Did Noisette last week, and did the inspirational menu. Food was well executed, except for some awful tasting middle eastern cream cheese with the bread sticks to start and a totally uneven spread of rock salt over the venison. One end, that I started with, was hugely over salted but the other end had none so I couldn't taste it. School boy error (on my part of the chef's?).

Wine list was done by grape. Now a few years ago I'd have said "Yes" but now I say "No". I've spent enough on my palette now to realise that if you buy wine only by grape in a restuarant, then get the Sommelier to choose for you. For me it's like going into a pub, asking what wine they have, and, if they answer "Red or White" you take a pint of Fosters.

Worst things?

o Chef coming out to shave white truffle on my macaronio cheese - trying to engage in conversation was disasterous. 35 quid for a very difficult 30 second exchange, but to be fair an awful lot of white truffle was shaved.

o Not being able to know what the food is on the inspirational menu so can't choose wine. I let the Sommelier choose for me (see above!).

Best things?

o Not being able to know what the food is on the inspirational menu so I let Sommelier choose very cheap wines.

o Foodwise, an almost complete middle finger to the Ramsay formula, bar the obligatory vegetable soup amuse bouche.

o Booze "find of the week" was a prunette liqueur done with small prunes with the stones still in, so it gives this sweet taster an almond feel. Bloody yummy.

Question...

Is it true Chef was sacked from the Greenhouse after failing to achieve a 2nd Michelin star he'd promised to get to his backers in exchange for £150k pa? Is that old news?

Cheers, Howard

[jayrayner]

OK so I haven't posted for a while.

Did Noisette last week, and did the inspirational menu. Food was well executed, except for some awful tasting middle eastern cream cheese with the bread sticks to start and a totally uneven spread of rock salt over the venison. One end, that I started with, was hugely over salted but the other end had none so I couldn't taste it. School boy error (on my part of the chef's?).

Wine list was done by grape. Now a few years ago I'd have said "Yes" but now I say "No". I've spent enough on my palette now to realise that if you buy wine only by grape in a restuarant, then get the Sommelier to choose for you. For me it's like going into a pub, asking what wine they have, and, if they answer "Red or White" you take a pint of Fosters.

Worst things?

o Chef coming out to shave white truffle on my macaronio cheese - trying to engage in conversation was disasterous. 35 quid for a very difficult 30 second exchange, but to be fair an awful lot of white truffle was shaved.

o Not being able to know what the food is on the inspirational menu so can't choose wine. I let the Sommelier choose for me (see above!).

Best things?

o Not being able to know what the food is on the inspirational menu so I let Sommelier choose very cheap wines.

o Foodwise, an almost complete middle finger to the Ramsay formula, bar the obligatory vegetable soup amuse bouche.

o Booze "find of the week" was a prunette liqueur done with small prunes with the stones still in, so it gives this sweet taster an almond feel. Bloody yummy.

Question...

Is it true Chef was sacked from the Greenhouse after failing to achieve a 2nd Michelin star he'd promised to get to his backers in exchange for £150k pa? Is that old news?

Cheers, Howard

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I have absolutely no idea but I would say this: the laws of libel apply equally on line as to print. I would therefore not publish a question like that in a newspaper unless I was secure in the answer before doing so.

[Jon Tseng]

that story strikes me as strange given they had just got an espoir for a second star.

[Matthew Grant]

There are a few rumours associated with this but the 2nd star one doesn't ring true with me. A highly rated restaurant with 1 star and an espoir, good reviews etc. He could hardly be expected to have done more in the short time he was there and sacking him was certainly not going to help them gain a 2nd star any quicker.

[howardlong]

Hello Matthew

There are a few rumours associated with this but the 2nd star one doesn't ring true with me. A highly rated restaurant with 1 star and an espoir, good reviews etc. He could hardly be expected to have done more in the short time he was there and sacking him was certainly not going to help them gain a 2nd star any quicker.

←

The story I was told was that he was so exceptionally sure of himself when he took on the Greenhouse that he had promised to gain a second star by the 2006 Guide, and as such he could command such a high remuneration. Of course, being word of mouth, this anecdote could be a case of "send three and fourpence we're going to a dance", but it was from a reliable source. Certainly as far as I'm concerned it's good enough for me to be confident enough to present it here as a discussion point.

Still, I agree that I would have thought that being a 'rising star' at the Greenhouse even without the 2nd star itself is surely a pretty darned good testament. Not quite in the bag, but very close.

Cheers, Howard

[Matthew Grant]

FWIW I had one meal with him at the helm at the Greenhouse and aside from a dish that utilised some extremely dodgy truffles it was worth 2 stars. When did he take charge of the kitchen at the Greenhouse?

Edited November 30, 2006 by Matthew Grant (log)

[Jamsie]

OK so I haven't posted for a while.

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Where have you been? i realised the other day that i missed your tales of extravagant dining and caning the wine lists

Did you have that Aubergine £5k meal?

[howardlong]

OK so I haven't posted for a while.

←

Where have you been? i realised the other day that i missed your tales of extravagant dining and caning the wine lists

Did you have that Aubergine £5k meal?

←

Well, I find that the amount of time I spend on discussion forums is proportional to the amount of time I have on my hands!

Regarding the £5k meal, no, I couldn't justify it, well not unless I wanted to suddenly become single at any rate. Sadly, a member of egullet who is also a journalist (sic) mischievously decided to allow their colleague bastardise and misrepresent the event for use in a gossip column. The event was held but it had to be rescheduled. There were also other repercussions from the event's publication in that gossip column that have left a very nasty taste in my mouth. Never trust a journo unless you know them to be pucker.

Cheers, Howard

[Gilb3rt]

Went there some weeks ago, and i was absolutely impressed by the food and service and also compared to the price it's all worth it.

It is place that i will come back to more then twice if they continue in that area of food and service.

It is a place that Maze need to learn so much from if they like to stay open..

[algy]

journo .....pucker.

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oxymoron

[howardlong]

journo .....pucker.

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oxymoron

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Dangerous! There are people on this very forum right now who are journalists who I would consider to be "pucker".

Cheers, Howard

[algy]

journo .....pucker.

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oxymoron

←

Dangerous! There are people on this very forum right now who are journalists who I would consider to be "pucker".

Cheers, Howard

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"The top ten most respected professions, listed in order, were - doctor; nurse; teacher; fireman; paramedic; Army/Navy/RAF; scientist; ambulance driver; police officer; care assistant.

The top ten least respected professions, listed in order, were - MP; estate agent; government minister; lawyer; journalist; footballer; advertising executive; car dealer; company director; accountant."

puckerness is in the eye of the beholder

[rjs1]

[quoteNever trust a journo unless you know them to be pucker.

[Tim Hayward]

Never trust a journo unless you know them to be pucker.

Pucker? Pukka, innit?

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Pucker: Noun. Sl. Anus.

Edited December 4, 2006 by Tim Hayward (log)

[confiseur]

....I hear La Noisette is looking for a pastry chef...7am to 12pm...( straight shifts )...23k per year...wonder why there having difficulties finding anyone ?

[Schneier]

When I was in London two weeks ago, I fought off sleep and went to La Noisette. The restaurant is real hard to find. There's only a small sign on the wall, and a very non-restaurant-looking lobby area.

The restaurant is upstairs, and reasonably pretty. Nice and friendly service.

I had the winter tasting menu.

The amuse bouche was a white asparagus cream with pistachio and parmesan. Good, but I wanted more asparagus flavor.

First course: Braised pork belly -- rich and almost caramelized -- with watercress sauce, pork jelle, toasted nuts (I forget which kind), and coconut foam. This was good; the light flavors worked well with the pork.

Second course: Scallop carpaccio, served with sea urchin, Beluga caviar, and "sea urchin vinaigrette." I liked the delicate crunch of the sea salt -- actually, all the dishes crunched in some way -- but the salt and the sea urchin flavors overpowered everything.

Third course: Tiny souffle with a warm egg yolk inside and dotted with black truffle, served with a baby leek salad. Good. I couldn't taste the truffle, though.

Fourth course: Broiled red mullet with braised oxtrail, clementine bits, and olive tepenade. This was real tasty. On the plate was a gnocci with parmesan cream, which didn't really go at all.

Fifth course: "Baklava of king quail" -- basically, quail wrapped in spinach and then phyllo -- served with a rhubarb marmalade, frisee, and a pistachio dressing. Delicious all around.

Sixth course: Lemon sorbet with lemon foam and a bit of citrus vodka. Also delicious.

Seventh course: Apple millefeuille, served with a glass of apple jelle, Calvados, a marshmallow, pistachio, and basil. Very good.

And that was it. I really liked the various textures; most dishes had something that crunched. I liked the commonality of flavors between dishes. But there are better meals in London, and certainly for 60 pounds.

[MobyP]

  But there are better meals in London, and certainly for 60 pounds.

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After my last visit I was thinking he was one of the few haute chefs in London who can actually cook. No, the food isn't innovative, but he's serving high level serious modern cuisine, and sourcing ingredients at a degree above I would say all but one or two in London.

Out of interest, who would you rate as better?

Edited March 4, 2007 by MobyP (log)

[Andy Lynes]

I was thinking he was one of the few haute chefs in London who can actually cook.←

Which begs the question, which chefs do you mean when you say "haute" and what are your reasons for saying they can't cook? Just all the names, blow by blow accounts of meals, any first hand experiences you have of seeing them at work in their kitchens plus any scurrilous rumours would suffice.

Edited March 5, 2007 by Andy Lynes (log)

[Jon Tseng]

Which begs the question, which chefs do you mean when you say "haute" and what are your reasons for saying they can't cook? Just all the names, blow by blow accounts of meals, any first hand experiences you have of seeing them at work in their kitchens plus any scurrilous rumours would suffice.

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A little tetchy this morning Andy?

I suspect Moby was using hyperbole... One shouldn't always be so literal about such things. He' a playwright remember. Gotta give the poor boy some artistic licence sometimes...

On the subject of Bjorn Van Der Whathisface I had a so-so meal at Noisette in the summer (since trumped by a couple of meals by Bonnet at the Greenhouse), but given his track record and recent reports looks like it might be worth a second chance now he's bedded in. The Winter carte which Bruce dined off looks like its got some quite interesting dishes on (jasmine-steamed brill, scallops and sea urchins, cod and crispy pumpkin gyoza).

The other thing I'd say is that that this carte really stands out from the other menus in the Gordon Ramsay stable, which are on the whole characterised by perfect, preperations of pampered proteins, limned by classical garnishes and a complete lack of soul. Clearly Bjorn has a lot more of a free rein to "do his stuff", although the disadvantage is that it looks like the a la carte still keeps its complete cacophanous arrangement of starters, mains, winter classics and whatnots.

Interesting.

J

Edited March 5, 2007 by Jon Tseng (log)

[Andy Lynes]

A little tetchy this morning Andy?

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Actually, no. I just think if you're going to make statements like that you should be prepared to back them up.

[Andy Lynes]

La Noisette closed today "unexpectedly", despite rumours of its imminent demise circulating since autumn last year.

[chrisp]

La Noisette closed today "unexpectedly", despite rumours of its imminent demise circulating since autumn last year.

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Oh, that's interesting. It was on my bus route into town and I was going to pop in one of these days.

Ah well, will have to make do with the Cadogan over the road.