The night our ten gourmets galloped
The ten Evening Standard readers who won a place on the Gourmet Gallop, now in its second glorious year, assembled in the agreeably louche lounge bar of Nobu Berkeley in Mayfair on Monday night. Taittinger Rose Cuvée Prestige Brut was poured and executive chef Mark Edwards super-vised an array of canapés which exemplified the Peruvian inf luence on Japanese classicism for which Nobu is famous.
Anticipating a meal of three more courses at three more restaurants, it was thought felicitous that many of the delicious bites were based on raw fish. Suddenly Nobu Matsuhisa himself was among us. He was visiting the London branch of his worldwide operation and said it was the second time he had been involved as the answer to quiz questions.
Time to retrieve coats and umbrellas and our gang, which included an architect, a film distributor, a magistrate, a Customs and Revenue project manager, the producer of Little Britain and Alan Partridge, a property developer, a free-lance writer and author, and an IT salesman scurried along to the Michelin-starred Indian restaurant Benares, where chef Atul Kochhar had designed an assembly of four first courses in his evolved Indian style.
Crisp John Dory in a carom seed-infused chickpea batter on garlic mushy peas was voted best down my end of the table, closely followed by terrine of confit duck leg with orange star anise jelly and roasted aubergine caviar. On a credit-crunch Monday evening the joint was jumping.
Jason Atherton's newly opened Maze Grill in nearby Grosvenor Square was our next destination. The first high-powered broiler to be imported into the UK gave the Casterbridge grain-fed, 21-day-aged rib-eye the sort of crust that a truly great steak should display. Slender green beans with shallots, French fries and a range of sauces were the accompaniments. Some of the group who preferred to eat fish were served Brixham sole with sea urchin butter scattered with brown shrimps.
Could we manage more? We crossed the square to Upper Brook Street and Le Gavroche, where Michel Roux Jr was waiting for us with an incredible array of desserts, each one different for a party of 14 people in total. This is our sort of marathon, I said to Michel (his time in this year's race was 3:28:27), a brisk trot between courses. It had sharpened my appetite to the extent that I couldn't resist finishing the confection featuring my favourite flavour of salty caramel, nor trying the brandy snap in the selection of petits fours which added yet another layer to an extraordinary meal.
The taxi driver who picked up my colleague Charlotte Ross outside Le Gavroche asked her: "Were you on that Evening Standard Gourmet Gallop then?"
THE GOURMET GALLOP QUESTIONS ANSWERED
DID YOU KNOW THE ANSWERS TO OUR TRICKY CULINARY QUESTIONS?
1. What cooking method is exclusive to Nobu Berkeley in the trio of Nobu restaurants in London?
A: Wood-fired oven.
2. Nobu Matsuhisa has said about his restaurants that "the cooks, the staff and the customers make ......." Fill in the blank.
A: Music, or "an harmonious ensemble".
3. Which flower petal does Atul Kochhar, chef of Benares, use in his braise of lamb?
A: Rose.
4. At which restaurant was Atul Kochhar awarded his Michelin star?
A: Tamarind.
5. Which chef — for whom he worked — started Jason Atherton of Maze thinking about the way a conventional meal is constructed?
A: Ferran Adriá of Spanish restaurant El Bulli, which holds top position in Restaurant magazine's best restaurants in the world chart.
6. True Kobe beef from the black Tajima-ushi breed of Wagyu cattle is raised in which prefecture of Japan?
A: Hyogo.
7. At the age of 16, to which master patissier was Michel Roux Jr apprenticed?
A: Maître patissier Hellegouarch.
8. Which birthday has Le Gavroche recently celebrated?
A: 40th.
