Deeper into Waste. French Win French Cooking Comp. Hit at Roe. Critics & More.
Tim struggles to book. Nick basks in Basque. Ellis hates Dad. Jay goes to heaven.
Welcome everyone. I hope you had a fabulous weekend. I finally made it to Josephine Bouchon on Friday night, and it was fantastic. Full review to follow soon.
A week from today, Michelin will launch the new UK & Ireland Guide for 2025 and announce which restaurants have earned new stars. Because not a single person asked, I’ll publish my own star predictions the morning of the ceremony. In the meantime, what do you think? Which place is sure to earn its first star? And which might go straight in a two? Tell me in the Comments.
Lots of interesting topics to tackle this week. Let’s start with rubbish.
The Fine Line Between Food and Garbage
Last week, in my review of The Ninth, I spilled quite a few words raving about the joys of turbot head. I admired the restaurant’s clever use of fish bits that would otherwise be waste.
As extreme as serving fish heads might seem, there are other chefs pushing even further with the concept of zero waste cooking.
Douglas McMaster is one of these. He started his restaurant, Silo, in Brighton a few years ago and brought it to London in 2020. McMaster is undoubtedly a talented chef. He is also a gifted campaigner. His communications strategy leads with his food, then follows on with a heavy dose of insight and common sense.
Last week, I had the chance to try his cooking at a special dinner in the Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. (We bought tickets via an Instagram ad, proving they do occasionally work.) Across four courses, we experienced delicious food that would have been excellent in any context, but was even notable for its adherence to McMaster’s principles.
Nothing whatsoever goes in the bin. Indeed, at Silo, there are no bins at all.
The highlight for me was the first course. “Smoked princess pumpkin, pumpkin skin marmalade, cultured cream, furikake.” Wonderful flavours. Rich, bright sweet pumpkin was balanced by the marmalade and the furikake — a Japanese seasoning mix. Seabass ceviche was pleasant and acidic.
The main — “pork collar, pinto beans, sea vegetables” — had a lovely, smokey quality, but was the only miss of the evening thanks to lack of sauce.
McMaster’s journey to zero waste was inspired by an Australian artist and builder who observed that there are no bins in nature. In his restaurant, he has banned single-use materials and created an internal glassworks which allows re-use of glass. He and his team are pushing the boundaries of fermentation techniques.
Interestingly, McMaster is not a vegan. “There’s no such thing as veganism in natural system,” he explains. “Even insects are consumed, and the system is stronger with the inclusion of animals. Culling animals by consumption makes the system stronger.”
McMaster is self-aware that his way of doing things isn’t exactly trending, hasn’t really caught on, and is unlikely to do so. It’s just too hard and inefficient for most kitchens to emulate his approach. Still, he hopes more chefs will try harder to get closer to zero waste. I didn’t get the chance to recommend the set lunch at The Ninth, but it seems many already are.
French win, UK Scores 5th in Bocuse d’Or.
Newsflash: Masterchef is not the world’s top culinary competition. Neither is that horrible Gordon Ramsey show in the U.S. Nor is the Roux Scholarship, Iron Chef, or Culinary Class Wars.
The grandest culinary battle of all is the Bocuse d’or, held each year in Lyon, home of culinary legend Paul Bocuse, who founded the competition and lends it his name.
It’s an Olympic-style tournament, with competitors selected by national juries to represent their country at the global final, held every two years since 1987.
Unsurprisingly, France has history on its side. But not lately. After winning 6 of the first 10 events, the French had only scored one victory since 2013, with Denmark and Norway dominant during the period.
But last weekend, the culinary order was restored, as French Chef Paul Marcon edged the Danes to secure the gold.
The UK team, led by Restaurant Story’s executive chef Tom Phillips, finished fifth. The Times and The New York Times have more details.
Update: Menu Calorie Counts Don’t Work
A few weeks ago, I delved into government regulations mandating that calorie counts appear on certain menus in England. A new academic review of similar efforts around the world concludes that such counts have zero impact on diners’ behaviour. Oh well.
Hits & Misses
Mini-reviews of places that were either (a) good, but not quite good enough to do a full review and add to the Guide, (b) had a flaw or two, or (c) that I revisited following a prior review.
Hit: Roe (Again)
I did a full review of Roe shortly after it opened a few months ago, but I was eager to return for dinner and a chance to dial up the red meat and red wine.
I’m so glad I did.
Meat was the theme. So we opened with skewers. Venison was tender and earthy. So good that I wrote down “F*** me. The venison skewers.” There were pork skewers, too. Also excellent, but overshadowed by the venison. Cuttlefish toast and crab flat breads showed off Roe’s cleverness.
Then the main event. More venison, in the form of a mixed grill. Haunch. Loin. And an incredible homemade sausage.
We added a sirloin on the bone an a couple of side for good measure, and paired it all with a selection of excellent red wines.
The addition to detail in everything was fantastic. That platter may look like a bunch of meaty bits thrown a plate. But each cut was treated differently, with great thought and respect. That care and cleverness came through in every bite.
Then dessert. A carmelised banana parfait was actually deconstructed so you could effectively build your own.
I’ll do Michelin predictions next week, but for now, I’ll just say that if Roe doesn’t get a star, I’d be shocked. And if you haven’t tried it, I urge you to book now before the list of new stars is released a week from today.
And to the foodiest of my readers, I offer this controversial view without further comment: Roe is better than Mountain. The food is more clever and better prepared, and the atmosphere is more fun.
Critics Wrap-Up
✍🏻 indicates a review that you should read for the writing.
🍽️ indicates a place that sounds excellent and is probably worth a try.
✍🏻 Grace Dent (Guardian) tries Krokodilos, a new Greek spot in Kensington. “I was at fault for ordering the prawn saganaki – not because it wasn’t delicious, but because I was wearing white, and foolishly imagined that I’d be able to eat this generous and heady tomato, feta and prawn stew and emerge unsplattered.”
✍🏻 David Ellis (Standard) heads to Don’t Tell Dad, a viral place in Paddington. It wasn’t good. “We came and went in 90 minutes, experiencing what you could call concertina service, of elongated waits and then everything crammed in at once, and discordant throughout. The bill arrived with prices listed in dollars. Not quite right, then.”
🍽️ Tim Hayward (FT), after struggling to get a booking, finds his way to Ambassadors Clubhouse in Heddon Street. “The Ambassadors Clubhouse is an incredible place, a phenomenal evening, a matchless restaurant experience. I can only recommend you book it immediately. I just don’t have the faintest suggestion how you could effectively do it.”
Charlotte Ivers (Sunday Times) opens her review of Khao Bird, a fusion spot in Borough Market, thusly: “I did not throw up after eating at Khao Bird, a trendy new Thai restaurant full of pink neon decorations and shiny young professionals.”
Nick Lander (jancisrobinson.com) reviews Ibai, the meaty Basque spot in the City. “Ibai is memorable: but the beginning and end of any dining experience are memorable too and in this instance both could have been improved.”
Marina O’Loughlin (independent critic) reports from La Palombe, a French joint in Kensington. “If you found this in Paris, you'd be smug af. Go, go, GO.”
Tanya Gold (Spectator) nibbles her way through the Dining Hall at Harrod’s. I can’t read it though, as the Spectator’s firewall has gotten more robust, and I’m not eager to subscribe.
Simran Hans (Vittles) loves Daquise, the longstanding Polish restaurant in Kensington. “One of our party, Michaël, who lived in Warsaw for six months, was struck by the smell – a nostalgic, happy hit of dill.”
🍽️ Gavin Hanly (Hot Dinners) test drove The Prince Arthur, a new Basque-focused pub in Belgravia that replaced the long-running Ebury. “A loving redesign of the pub has brought it back to its very best, it works well whether you're drinking or eating and the Basque food menu offers something genuinely different.”
- (Braise) reviews Delaterra in Islington. “That lamb is absolutely the order at lunch, but there’s an excellent brothy seafood rice if you’re after something lighter.”
The Picky Glutton has a fantastic run-down of 54 Chinese places all over London. “There has been a very modest boom in eateries serving siu mei, also known as Cantonese roasts” and he surveys them all.
Nick Harman (Foodepedia) tries the January set menu at Chotte Matte in Soho. “It’s the kind of place that really comes alive at night, with a hedonistic vibe and all those sharing plates for couples and groups.”
Alex Larman (The Arbuturian) enjoys Firebird, a “Mediterranean” place in Mayfair. “Firebird is truly, if you’ll pardon the pun, firing on all cylinders, being intimate and friendly and serving truly five-star food.”
“Christina” (LOTI) checks out Dove, Jackson Boxer’s new sehllfish-focused spot in Notting Hill. “The menu alone should be enough to tempt you.”
Giles Coren (Times) ventured to Kent for the Michelin-starred Fordwich Arms. “I was very, very impressed. This is a wonderfully situated, friendly local restaurant with an absolute master in the kitchen.”
Jay Rayner (Observer) heads to Yemen Heaven in York, which he describes as “the product of one woman’s determination to maintain her family’s traditions; to free the country of her birth from a single narrative of war and hardship, however overwhelming that narrative might seem right now.”
William Sitwell (Telegraph) travelled to Nottingham to try something called Alchemilla, which sounds more like disease or arachnid than restaurant, but found “a mesmerising, highly enjoyable and great-value triumph of flair, confidence and professionalism.”
Tom Parker Bowles (Mail on Sunday) eats mediocre steak at Upstairs at the Grill in Chester. “It has also been sitting on the pass too long, meaning the meat is on the cooler side of lukewarm and the fat has congealed.”
Lilly Subbotin (Independent) surveyed the dining scene on the Isle of Skye. She loved “the untamed natural beauty, fairy pools, wild sprawling landscapes, ancient mountains and a sky that, at certain points, broadcasts the northern lights.”
Thanks for reading Professional Lunch. I hope you found something interesting in this week’s update. Please do subscribe if you haven’t already, and let me know what you think in the Comments.