Dock Kitchen

When I travel, I work with this really awesome trip-planning service I’ll have to discuss in more detail later called Trufflepig. The guys there are into creating tailored, bespoke travel experiences. In any case, they put me on to this site, A Small World, which is where I found out about the restaurant Dock Kitchen.

The story behind Dock Kitchen is really interesting. The chefs, Stevie Parle and Joseph Trivelli, met while at the River Café. But it’s Stevie’s story that was intriguing to me: he started off by going to culinary school in Ireland. And then just travelled all over the world to cook – Tokyo, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Mexico. He’s also spent time at the Spotted Pig in NYC and Moro (also fantastic) in London before the River Café.

The restaurant started off as a series of pop-up supper clubs (apparently they are everywhere out here) called the Moveable Kitchen and now taken up (semi) permanent residence at the Portobello Dock in Ladbroke Grove. The space was very cool, loft-like, and I’m really kicking myself for not taking better pictures.

The cuisine is an homage to the chefs’ global travels. The food is seasonal, with a lunch menu that changes daily and a dinner menu that changes periodically based on inspiration. My eyes grew big when I saw a chaat on the menu, and influences ran from Indian, Sri Lankan, to Lebanese and Italian. Rainbow food – I love it. The chaat, I have to admit was tasty with fresh mangoes, curry leaves and chickpeas, but lacked the characteristic black salt. Lusciously tender octopus simply seasoned with oil and parsley on thick toast was delicious as were the tomatoes with sumac and fresh za’atar.

I have to admit I was a bit disappointed by the rabbit biryani. Biryani is a food I literally grew up on. And I’m (clearly) all for twisting and turning tradition on its head, but the flavors have to be there, have to represent. I just didn’t get this one. The Cornish mackerel with Lebanese freekeh was tasty as was the roasted trout. None of this matters though because the menu has moved on.

The space and food are definitely worth visiting. I think it’s amazing when a restaurant approach is minimalist and comes from a place of passion and inspiration. And their inspiration for menus does run the gamut. The guys there are doing a Claudia Roden (one of my favorite cookbook authors!) series next – wish I could transport myself there just for that one.

Elliot’s in the Park

In all the times I’ve visited or stayed in London, I have never had the opportunity to check out Victoria Park in East London. And it’s quite stunning. It has a section for the Old English Garden, a deer enclosure, and a serene lake with a fountain surrounded by ducklings and swans. A beautiful setting for a fantastic evening.

A few weeks back, some friends of mine invited me to join a group at Elliot’s in the Park. Elliot’s was a pop-up restaurant that was hosted at the Pavilion Café in Victoria’s Park every Friday this summer. The chef recreated the five-course menu weekly, using locally-sourced and seasonal ingredients. The full-time restaurant will be opening in October in Borough Market – a spectacular wholesale and retail food/green market (top 5 in the world). This pop-up restaurant was a cool way for the chefs to do a little pre-marketing, and it worked: they were booked solid.

The evening started with some “fizz”, as they call it, and canapés on the deck – oat crisps, spiced popcorn, and chicken oysters in pine salt. Bottle Apostle provided all of the wine pairings (one with each course) and had some incredible selections. The fizz was one of the best champagne’s I’ve tasted – Champagne Gallimard Brut Réserve N.V. It’s made by a small champagne house and is exclusively from Pinot Noir grapes. Dangerously good – fruity with rose-lychee undertones. I’ve asked my local wine guy to find out if we can get it; he said no one imports here because of how small the purveyor is but is on the case! It retails for the equivalent of $30 in the UK, which makes it even more dangerous. Fingers crossed.

After canapés, we made our way over to the communal tables for dinner. It began with English asparagus with mussels and tarragon butter. Bright and yummy with edible flowers and paired with a German Sauvignon Blanc. The next course was my favorite – a crispy Cornish mackerel served with Celtic mustard and dill pickled cucumbers. It was paired with a deliciously floral and green apple Austrian white – Anton Bauer, Gruner Veltliner “Gmork” 2009. This was followed up by braised Old Spot pork shoulder with broccoli and spring onion that paired with a deep Portuguese red.

Two desserts! A goat’s milk mousse with blackberry jam and Belgian speculoos. What the heck are speculoos? They are Dutch/Belgian/French shortcrust biscuits (I must try to make), and here they were crushed on top for texture. This was followed up by English strawberries with sour cream and elderflower. Beautiful. The dessert wine was spectacular, and we all snuck in a second glass. It was South African, Paul Cluver Weisser Riesling Noble Late Harvest 2009 and reminded me of some I brought back from South Africa from the Simonsig winery. Dessert wines from South Africa are generally delicious and always really well priced.

The night was really spectacular – nothing beats a novel experience with great friends. Local people in the know have a lot to look forward to when Elliot’s restaurant opens up in the fall!

A Day @ Hélène Darroze

I looked up the word serendipity to make sure I am really using it right. “Serendipity is a propensity for making fortuitous discoveries while looking for something unrelated.” Yes! That sufficiently describes being able to spend a day in the kitchen of Hélène Darroze at the Connaught in London.

But first, a little background. I am a godparent to a little bundle whose parents are dear friends of mine, extraordinarily sweet …and also not exactly the plan-ahead-kind-of-folks. So I found out, with about two weeks notice, that they would love if I could come to my godchild’s christening…in Bolton, England, the father’s hometown. Where IS that exactly. About 20 minutes outside Manchester, and it took planes, trains, and automobiles to get there!

Needless to say, I used this excuse to spend a little time in London. I am a GOOP reader, and Gwyneth's endorsement of the Connaught was all I needed to book a room there. They have both traditional and modern wings, and the rooms were stunning (I’m a modern gal, myself).

Another great friend of mine who lives out there and is seriously on the pulse of the London lifestyle declared the Connaught Bar “brilliant!”, which it was. Amazing bespoke martinis and a room that oozes elegant, glittering sex appeal. Like the Blue Bar at the Berkeley’s sophisticated older cousin. A few pics that don’t do it justice

So the serendipitous part. The restaurant at the Connaught happens to be none other than Hélène Darroze. She, herself, is iconoclastic – a Michelin-starred chef who left her family’s traditions to start her own. She trained under Alain Ducasse during a time when female French chefs were scarce (they still are) and has a restaurant in the Left Bank in Paris and this one at the Connaught. BOTH hold Michelin stars…

Hélène and her awesome Chef de Cuisine, Raphael, spent some time at Per Se while I was there, so I gave Chef Raphael a quick call asking begging him to let me come trail for the day. And he agreed! He was so kind and accommodating, and the kitchen there is such a complex operation. I left totally amazed and impressed.

Only 6 chefs work in the fine dining kitchen, and they quickly turned out dishes for service like the escabeche-style marinated mackerel with warm potatoes with pesto and pimientos del piquillo (yes, that’s one dish) and duck foie gras from les landes with a seasonal fruit chutney and grilled country bread (another).

You’ll notice in these pictures the lighting is different. That’s because they are plated on the “pass”, which is the area of the kitchen where dishes get their final touches; this one has a warming light. The line-caught calamari ravioli with Swiss chard, confit tomatoes and capers from Pantelleria, black ink reduction, and Parmigiano Reggiano emulsion looked amazing as did the poached, soft-boiled egg with white asparagus and truffles.

The Chef also showed me the Sommelier’s Table, which is a super-cool subterranean (I think! The place was a maze, and we took an elevator and some stairs to get there.) private dining room adjacent to a temperature and humidity-controlled wine room. The wine room is built from some imported, French stone that is supposed to be the best material for maintaining the room’s ideal conditions. The concept behind this dining room is that the patrons choose specific wines from the vault, and the chefs design (on the spot!) a bespoke menu for the evening’s dinner.

It was an incredible day. I feel so fortunate to have had this opportunity, so thank you to Chef Hélène and Chef Raphael for allowing me a glimpse of a brilliant restaurant.

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Dock Kitchen

Elliot’s in the Park

A Day @ Hélène Darroze