To 43 Upper Brook Street, Mayfair in my least constrictive suitings to meet Silvano Giraldin, Michel Roux and super sommelier David Galetti to select the menu and wines for our keenly-anticipated Spring Lunch next Thursday. If I had £1 for every time I've been told that I have an enviably cushy job and that this doesn't constitute proper work I'd be able to dine there more frequently and besides, people have no idea how much effort goes into making things appear effortless.

 

Le Gavroche - Upper Brook Street - London W1

 

Alongside some delicious canapés we road-tested a couple of sparkling wines and had a very clear winner in the form a Crémant de Loire rosé, whose gentle summer berry scents and flavours met with universal approval - so we will definitely kick-off with that next week.

 

Team Work!

Team Work!

 

You need an iron will to strike a well-executed Soufflé Suissesse from the race card, especially one that has found a perfect partner in the form of a young Jacquère from the Savoie, but with ruthless saing froid we rejected it in favour of new season's asparagus with parmesan shavings and a truffle dressing that had a marvellous affinity with an interesting, organic Faugères Blanc from Château des Estanilles.

 

Asparagus with parmesan shavings and a truffle dressing

Asparagus with parmesan shavings and a truffle dressing

 

If that decision was a tough one the next was harder still. After sampling various different piscine plates we ended up with a near dead heat between a garlic risotto with squid and galinette et ratatouille. The latter won the day on points as it absolutely shone alongside an on form Cassis: Clos Sainte Magdeleine 2013. Provençal Perfection - I would not have been surprised to open my eyes and find myself sitting in a cove beneath Les Calanques!

 

Galinette et ratatouille

Galinette et ratatouille

 

After leaning towards lamb with spring vegetables for our main course our heads were turned by an audacious dish of pork loin and belly served with macaroni, wild mushrooms and a green mustard sauce that romped home hotly pursued by Fredrik Fillitreau's sublime old vine Saumur-Champigny and a tub-thumping Bandol ‘Mas de la Rouvière'.

 

Silvano and Chef Michel

Silvano and Chef Michel

 

The assiette des desserts at Le Gavroche is a thing of wonder and I for one struggle to forgo the peerless and unashamedly boozy rhum baba but Silvano is a stickler for seasonality and pointed out that more sophisticated palates than mine might appreciate a delicate rhubarb and ginger panna cotta. To partner this heavenly creation we plumped for a Jurançon Moelleux from Domaine Bellegarde, packed with honeyed, orchard fruit and offset by a fine acidity this should bring proceedings to a suitably uplifting conclusion.

Writing this back in the more profane atmosphere of our office I'm already looking forward to my return visit next week!

 

 

Le Gavroche restaurant

 

Our annual Autumn lunch at Le Gavroche which takes place tomorrow is always a highlight of the epicurean calendar but this year Michel Roux, Silvano Giraldin and their team have upped the ante with a superb seasonal menu. Silvano, it has to be acknowledged, is a persuasive fellow and he had little difficulty in convincing me that, having rested it for several outings, we should open the race card with our popular, own label, Champagne Yapp. It is made by our old chum Gilles Dumangin in Chigny-les-Roses on the Montagne de Riems from a judicious blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. It is a really bright and fruity, elegant and crowd-pleasing fizz that never fails to kick festivities off with a bang. For what, I have long suspected, are reasons of pure visual theatre Le Gavroche sommeliers, under the sage leadership of David Galetti, like to serve half their audience with an additional admixture of Crème de Cassis (from Gabriel Boudier) making a plum-robed Kir Royale. Personally, although partial to cassis, I think Gilles' wines need no embellishment but the alternating golden and purple flutes do have certain fin de siècle flamboyance that you seldom see in a domestic setting.

 

Silvano Giraldin - Le Gavroche

Silvano Giraldin

 

If there is one thing I like more than a canapé it is an amuse bouche and this year we are sampling an old Gavroche standard 'Souffle Suissesse', which is definitely one of those dishes best executed by a master chef. It is made from the lightest cheese and egg mousse served on a silky cream sauce. Our wine match, which was a clear winner in a strong field, is a Savoie 'L'Orangerie': Domaine L'Idylle 2012. It is a pure Jacquère, grown at high altitude in the Isère valley, memorably described by Victoria Moore in the Telegraph as being 'Like a meadow-scented lungful of Alpine air'. An awful lot of nonsense is written about food and wine matches but this pairing is the real deal.

 

Chef Michel Roux Jr

Michel Roux Jr

 

Gurnard, which thankfully sounds much more appetising in its French 'galinette', gets a bad rep as being an ugly fish. Who cares? What it lacks in looks it repays in flavour. Michel has elected to serve it roasted with artichokes, ceps, lardons and a tarragon vélouté. Just delicious. Seafood with a clever autumnal undertone. What wine to serve with it though? Bellet Blanc: Domaine de la Source 2011 - of course. A rare Rolle from the Riviera that has heady wild herb scents, a tangy citrus-edged palate and long, elegant finish.

Bring on the main course. Roast suckling pig with confit shallots and a Marc d'Alsace sauce. Now we are talking, but a big dish needs big wines. Our first red, by common consent, will be a Lirac 'La Fermade' 2011 from Domaine Maby. This earthy, southern blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre is a real wolf in sheep's clothing. Close your eyes and you could easily be 12 kilometres further east in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Bags of warming garrigue berry fruit ripple over fine-grained tannins.

 

Le Gavroche

 

You won't find our next wine in a supermarket. Vin de Corse Porto Vecchio: Domaine de Torraccia 2010. An organic blend of Nielluccio, Sciacarello, Syrah and Grenache. This powerful, peppery, ink-dark wine has an untamed edged that betrays its roots in the Maquis. It is a chest-thumping, life-affirming red that will take the piglet in its stride.

To round things off another often overlooked classic Dartois aux Poires – a fine pear pastry. We have teamed this with what is arguably the rarest wine of the day. A Savennières Mœlleux 2009 from Château d'Epiré. This idiosyncratic, sweet, botrytised Loire Chenin has delicate orchard fruit flavours and an ethereal, gently-honeyed finish. Another match made in heaven or Mayfair to be precise.

All of which I look forward to revisiting with appreciative abandon.

There is just one problem. How on earth do we follow up that line-up when we reconvene in Upper Brook Street in the Spring?

 

Jason Yapp - Le Gavroche

Jason Yapp

After 18 months of service to Yapp Brothers I was kindly invited to their bi-annual luncheon at Le Gavroche last week. 100 guests took over the entire restaurant keen to sample great wines matched to a seasonal menu prepared by Michel Roux Jr.

Upon arriving in Waterloo we were advised by several other colleagues to pay a visit to a Hedonism Wines, a new fine wine and spirits boutique in Davies Street. Given that it might take some time to browse their entire collection, Meirion and I were given a brief yet informative guided tour - well worth a visit!

Outside Le Gavroche

Being fashionably late (as always!), I arrived at 43 Upper Brook Street just after 12.30pm and the upstairs bar area was almost full. Crémant de Limoux Brut from Domaine Collin was the chosen aperitif. This excellent Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend proved a versatile crowd-pleasing fizz belying its modest price tag!

Having become a fan of Masterchef recently, I was eager to meet Chef Michel himself. Once seated, we were delighted to be joined by Michel Roux Jnr who talked us through the delicious menu he had devised. The “amuse-bouche” of salade de homard aux truffes set the standard before commencing vinous proceedings with the white Menetou-Salon 2011 from Domaine Teiller – ripe, juicy with floral aromas and citrus flavours. Next we were served the very elegant white Brézème Côtes du Rhône, an unusual blend of Marsanne, Rousanne and Viognier which complemented Michel’s starter gratin de crabe et penne wonderfully.

The main meal of supreme de pintade roti et son jus was superb with the Lalande de Pomerol - La Chenade which was showing beautifully – crimson in colour with prominent cedar and cassis characters. Our Château Fouquet 2011 from Domaine Filliatreau, is a delightful organic cabernet franc, whose spicy, peppery flavours seemed much more enhanced when served in a Gavroche-style Burgundy glass.

Delice de fraises

A refreshing dessert of delice de fraises, glace au lait et “honeycomb” was ideally partnered with our luscious Muscat du Cap Corse: Domaine Pieretti 2011. Several guests on our table described this as having a “marmalade nose” which worked exceptionally well as partner to the fruit-based dessert.

We rounded off the event with coffee and petits fours. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and a privilege to eat at such a renowned establishment. Although officially ‘work’, sharing my table with such a relaxed group of interesting people, eating some of the finest cuisine and of course drinking some of the best wines made for a very pleasant day at the office!

Le Gavroche sign

It’s a tough job but someone has to do it. Last Friday lunchtime I met with Silvano Giraldin, Michel Roux Jnr and head sommelier David Galetti at Le Gavroche to help select the menu and wines for our forthcoming Autumn lunch on Thursday 11th October. As ever we were spoiled for choice with a succession of stunning dishes which we road-tested, with varying degrees of compatibility, against a diverse cross-section of the Yapp portfolio. Strangely my notes are less legible than I had hoped but I can confirm that we will be commencing with Philippe Collin’s inimitable Crémant de Limoux ‘Cuvée Selection’ as our aperitif followed by a salad of black truffles and lobster served with a nervy, white Menetou Salon 2011 from Domaine Jean-Jacques Teiller. The following dish will be a creamy gratin of crab meat and pasta accompanied by a rare Brézème blanc – a Northern Rhône blend of Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier. For the main course we selected braised guineau fowl with puréed carrots and mashed potatoes which saw of some stiff competition to partner Fredrik Filliatreau’s precocious 2011 Saumur: Château Fouquet and Denis Durantou’s sumptuous Lalande de Pomerol ‘La Chenade’ in the terrific 2007 vintage. To round proceeding off Le Gavroche will serve a délice des fraises, a magnificent concoction of cream and wild strawberries alongside Lina Pieretti’s ambrosial Muscat du Cap Corse.

David - Silvano - Emmanuel

David - Silvano - Emmanuel

Fully sated by what, for my money, is the finest cuisine in the country I just had time to nip into the kitchen and congratulate Monica Galetti on her victory the previous evening at ‘The Rumble in the Kitchen’ a charity boxing match organised by members of the culinerati to raise money for Galvin’s Chance – an admirable scheme to provide career opportunities in the hospitality industry for disadvantaged 18-24 year-olds. Those wishing to know more about that and / or make a donation should follow this link: http://www.justgiving.com/Kitchen-Rumble-Monica-Galetti

Monica Galetti and Jason Yapp

At the time of writing we still have a few places available for lunch on 11th October so if you enjoy fine wine, excellent cuisine and convivial company do give us a call on: 01747 860 423.

Michel Roux jr - Le Gavroche

It was a treat to be back at Le Gavroche for our annual Spring lunch yesterday playing to a full house of 100 diners keen to sample wines matched to a seasonal menu devised by Michel Roux Jr.

We kicked-off with a lively Vouvray Mousseux Brut from Domaine Aubert by way of aperitif, which guests could elect to taste with or without the addition of a dash of Gabriel Boudier’s peerless Crème de Cassis. The exercise of trying to serve canapés and drinks to 100 people in the bijou upstairs bar area at 43 Upper Brook Street always reminds me of seeing how many students can cram into a phone box. Fortunately, we have a loyal and resilient clientele and the intimacy of the surroundings definitely broke the ice.

Once seated in the comfort and splendour of the downstairs dining room the revels could commence with a fine pairing of a rare white Chinon from Château du Ligré and a weightier, oilier, organic Côtes du Luberon from Château la Canorgue – both in the newly released (and very promising) 2010 vintage. I then talked guests through the first 3 wines and Le Gavroche’s Executive Director, Silvano Giraldin, told us how the dishes we were about to sample had been selected and prepared. Kent asparagus with aged parmesan and truffle vinaigrette proved a popular pre-starter and had a terrific affinity for the white Chinon (see previous entry) but the ‘Oeuf Poche Victoria’ that followed was a veritable show-stopper. This dish is an old Roux family favourite – a poached egg served on a bed of lobster on top of an artichoke heart. There were lots of different flavours at work here and personally I thought this offering favoured the Château la Canorgue.

Our main course was a sublime collar of lamb confit served with white beans and wild garlic. We partnered this with a youthful red Vin de Corse Sartène 2009 from Domaine Saparale. The wild Maquis scents and tastes of this unusual Nielluccio-Sciacarello blend married perfectly with the tender, salty lamb so it was going to be a tough act to follow. Fortunately, Ron and Elva Laughton from Australia’s celebrated Jasper Hill estate in Heathcote were in town for the Natural Wine Fair and we indulged ourselves with their iconic Georgia’s Paddock Shiraz 2005. Ron told us about his non-interventionist wine growing philosophy and explained why he is an ardent champion of ‘dry-grown’ (un-irrigated) root-stock despite the pressures of draught and global warning.

A delicate dessert of vanilla panna cotta with Alphonso mango and ginger went down very well with Pascal Labasse’s Jurançon Mœlleux 2008. This unctuous sweet wine has a lovely palate-cleansing acidity to offset the tropical fruit flavours and I think it met with widespread approval.
We rounded off a very convivial event with coffee and Petits Fours and some stout-hearted folk even availed themselves of the digestif trolley before dispersing back into the daylight fully sated.

I am already keenly anticipating to our next visit in the Autumn because if you want to enjoy classic Gallic cuisine with superb service in elegant surroundings Le Gavroche sets the Gold Standard!

Le Gavroche - wine glasses

A couple of weeks ago, I was excited to attend our annual lunch at Le Gavroche, Michel Roux Jr's two Michelin star restaurant in Mayfair. Having become an avid fan of Masterchef recently, I was eager to see if Chef Michel himself would be in residence and I was not disappointed, finding him mid-photo shoot, as I arrived at this iconic French restaurant.

Yapp Brothers have been holding such an event for customers at Le Gavroche, once or twice a year for over twenty years. Today, we were expecting around 100 for a lunch specially devised for us by Michel and accompanied by carefully-matched Yapp wines to complete the gastronomic experience. And what an experience it was!

Our guests were greeted with a glass of Crémant de Limoux Brut from Philippe Collin, a Champenois who moved to Limoux in 1980. This excellent Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend has become a staple of the Yapp portfolio, gaining much kudos with the press and featuring in the Independent's 'Top 50 Wines for Christmas' last year.

Suitably gee'd up by the fizz, the assembled crowd moved downstairs to the restaurant to enjoy a pre-starter of Ballotine de Volaille, Celeri Remoulade et Vinaigrette de Truffes with a 2008 white Côtes du Luberon from Château la Canorgue, famous as the setting for the film 'A Good Year' starring Russell Crowe.  The wine was showing particularly well and the lemony flavours were ideally suited to the richness of this immaculately-presented dish.

Next up, Ragout de Langoustines et Pied de Cochon à la Graine de Moutarde. The sauce was so full of flavour and our white Crozes Hermitage 2008 from Olivier Dumaine lived up to it manfully.  A new wine to the Yapp stable this year, it was recently recommended by Jancis Robinson as a wine with 'explosive fruit on the palate and very fresh and mouthfilling.' The main course of Roasted French Partridge with a Brandy Shallot Jus was served with a brace of reds - Domaine Paul Misset's sublime Nuits Saint George 2002 and a Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalan Carignan 2007, from Domaine Ferrer-Ribière's precious parcel of 130 year-old vines, that is brimming over with warm, autumnal fruits making it a current favourite with everyone at Yapp Brothers.

Jason Yapp had met with the Gavroche team the previous week to do some serious food and wine matching and this was not lost on the guests on my table who pronounced the dessert, Golden Pineapple and Warm Almond Cake with Rum and Raisin Ice Cream, to be the most heavenly match for a Muscat de Beaumes de Venise 2006 from Domaine de Durban. Indeed it was,  with neither the wine nor the dish being outshone by the other but coming together to round off the meal to perfection.

After much witty repartee from Jason Yapp, a brief, insightful address from Michel Roux Jr, and the most divine menu with some superbly matched wines, our 100 or so guests couldn't fail to go away happy and nor, for that matter, could I.