Michelin must pull back the curtain on this delight
superchef Yannick Alléno who has a somewhat tyannical reputation. (I had a rather strained lunch with him in his restaurant in Marrakech where the food was a kind of tortured take on North African). For Brian, having also cooked for plenty of billionaires on their yachts, the confidence doubtless comes naturally.
Our Friday night box kicked off with milk buns and, as instructed, we wrapped these in foil and popped them into a hot oven to warm through. Soft, savoury and comforting, they were a kind of butterfest, and who doesn’t like that? Sweet honeyed butter smeared on top, the four buns were split and devoured with the savoury butter of the week (failing to identify the flavour due to wolfing it in jig time).
Brian kindly gave us a sample of his terrine (below left) which will appear on another menu soon and it was seriously impressive. Dense and chunky, thoroughly piggy with chunks of delicious fat, a classic rustic terrine that would have commanded a respectful silence even in La France Profonde. This was served with sweet candied walnuts and a thrillingly sharp and distinctly unsweet purée of – I think – apricot with passionfruit.
The main act was chargrilled monkfish, very cleverly prepared and par-cooked so as to need just 12 to 15 minutes at 180ºC, along with its wedges of white turnip. Sushi rice was ready in the same amount of time and then it was just a case of gently heating through the yuzu beurre blanc in a saucepan.
The Glass Curtain will add a wine chosen for your menu for between €15 and €20 and these look like very safe bets. Readymixed cocktails are available too. The monkfish would work well with the seafood-friendly
Granbazán
Albariño Etiqueta
Verde from RiasBaixas (€18 from
Bubble Brothers in the English
Market) or the
Dr Loosen
Riesling (€15 from
O’Donovan’s).
The really decadent but stunning combination would be with
Tesco Finest
Grand Cru
Champagne 2012 (a bargain €34.43 from Tesco), cheaper than many a middle of the road wine on a restaurant list in normal times.
€13.99, MOLLOY’s
A winter warmer from the South of France, combining Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Carignan, dark, smooth and spicy with ripe blackberry, liquorice, pepper and a touch of vanilla spice. Quite a lot going on for the price. I had it with braised beef cheeks and celeriac mash.