THEATRE OF FOOD TALK OF THE TOWN

Doors start to reopen at city favourites

THE best meal I ever had was in Le Bernardin, an extravagant procession of dishes created in the three Michelin star New York kitchen of Eric Ripert and served in a dining room straight out of the movies. Before the meal, I met Eric in a wine bar across the street from his restaurant – a tall, calm figure with a broad smile, instantly recognisable from his television appearances, often alongside his great friend Anthony Bourdain.

In the face of my nervous stare, he began chatting, and I became embroiled in a conversation about the things that make a great restaurant.

Then came the point for me to say something. “It’s not the food, it’s the atmosphere I always remember”, I blurted out to one of the most famous chefs in America.

My Scottish accent seemed to hang in the air above the collection of refined Manhattanites at the bar before disappearing. A pause, a laugh and a slow nod. “Well to me, the food matters most but you will see my world tonight. It’s what I created. You step off the street and you are in my world” Eric said and glided away to get back to the kitchen.

Lockdown revealed Glasgow’s streets and buildings and let us have a hard look at our surroundings. Ultimately, a city without people populating the streets is a joyless place. The same applies to empty restaurants. They are built for social interaction and play host to a familiar, reassuring performance. We need to find a way back to that finely crafted world.

The theatre of food is the sense of anticipation before a meal, the way we dress to go visit our favourite tables, the interactions with staff, the buzz of the dining room and the experience of the dishes themselves. How a restaurant can display a part of the personality of a neighbourhood. In Glasgow we have our own worlds that have been built up over time. Places you won’t find anywhere else and that wither on the vine without our company.

What’s on your plate or in your glass may provide the building blocks of your night but the atmosphere, the people you are with, the way a meal can elicit a particular feeling – that is what defines the experience.

Takeaways, dining at home kits, packaged up pasta, cakes or burger ingredients. It’s increasingly a part of our lives and the last few months have tested the potential of the hospitality industry to adapt. It’s a way to reach a new audience, replace missing revenue.

While visors, reservations, one-way systems, distancing, separation, job fears and health considerations hold us back, the atmosphere that we create when we get together remains a powerful thing. We saw it again for the first time over the past week. It’s not the same, it won’t be for the foreseeable future. It can be quite bleak at times out there, but you will find a glimmer of the sense of camaraderie that makes Glasgow.

You can’t box up what it feels like to walk into a beautiful bar and trade stories with your pals, to escape the day for a moment with a sandwich and a view out the window in a quirky cafe, or to make a connection on a Friday night while discovering your new favourite cuisine. A Deliveroo city is efficient, but it lacks soul.

SPANISH TREAT

MY lunch on Saturday was a set menu at The Spanish Butcher.

Our table tackled cured Iberican meats, chargrilled squid and jamon Iberico croquetas to start then their abanico Iberico de bellota signature dish served with ratte potato, hazelnut, black truffle and capers, alongside a huge portion of baked seabass fillets with green beans, Jerusalem artichoke and smoked paprika.

We dipped into churros and a Santiago almond tart for dessert. We quickly adjusted to the new regime and it was a buzz to be back in familiar surroundings. Two courses for £17, three courses for £21. Don’t forget to order the Manchego mac and cheese as a side.

• Cottiers Theatre have opened up their main venue space for restaurant bookings.

They’ll be serving their existing menu in impressive surroundings with dishes including chicken schnitzel, steak sandwich, beer battered haddock and caramelised short ribs.

As people continue to search out wide open spaces for social distancing, the converted Hyndland church will have room for 17 tables, seating up to eight guests.