Elounda Mare (Gourmet Chick in Greece)

I have become a bit of a hotel junkie.  I can’t get enough of the gleaming bathrooms, the buffet breakfasts and having someone make your bed every day. It’s all just so much nicer than the real world.  I think though, as a hotel junkie I have found an ultimate fix at Elounda Mare in Crete.

The amazing private beach front at Elounda Mare

Perched on the edge of a beautiful, desolate peninsula at the most Eastern point of Crete, the Elounda Mare literally has its toes dipped right into the bright blue Mediterranean sea.  There’s a pool which you would expect, but there is also beautiful sandy beach front and the room options include individual villas with their own private pool.  The villa I stayed in has all the standard hotel features that I love so much and then a lot more.  There were deep, beautiful baths with air jets, huge flat screen televisions, wifi, antique furniture, local art and lashings of high end toiletries.

Club sandwich - the ultimate hotel test

Elounda Mare is a Relais and Chateaux property and so of course the food is sensational.  So good in fact that we did not venture anywhere else on Crete for our three nights there.  Shameful I know.  The test of any hotel is of course the club sandwich and Elounda Mare’s version while steeply priced (€20) delivered in spades with warm toasted bread, tender chicken and an accompanying serve of crisp french fries.

Not one, not two.. but six lamb chops per serve.  Thanks very much.  

For casual fare there is the Deck restaurant.  The seafood risotto (€30.50) was stonking, packed with seafood that literally popped with freshness and six (now that's generous) perfect lamb chops (€30.50) were juicy with a memory of pinkness inside.

The setting for our Welcome Cocktail night - outside Elounda Mare's own white washed church

Every Friday there is a "Welcome Cocktail" night that all guests are invited to,  held on the village square at the hotel which is bordered by a tiny, white washed Greek church where they hold weddings and a couple of shops which I was too scared to enter for fear my credit card would spontaneously combust.  The cocktail is followed by the Fisherman’s Evening  at the Yacht Club restaurant which has a seafood buffet for €60.  After two weeks in Greece I had become accustomed to great seafood but this was great seafood in ridiculous abundance.  There were bowls of salty and intense fish soup, huge plump mussels cooked in a creamy sauce and delicate slivers of citrus flavoured ceviche.  After the buffet main course arrived, a plate of sword fish and sea bream fillets grilled simply and eaten sitting out over the ocean with the water lapping at the base of the restaurant.

Two words - seafood buffet! 

The seafood frenzy was followed by a dessert buffet, and if there are two words more dear to me in the English language than "seafood buffet" they are clearly "dessert buffet".  The table was groaning with chocolate drenched profiteroles and wodges of trembling almond cake.

And more seafood buffet - check out that ceviche...

However, the highlight of our stay was dinner at Elounda Mare’s Old Mill restaurant.  The restaurant is open air and faces out on to the sea with a grand piano in one corner setting a romantic mood.  The food on offer is grown up and never over wrought.  To start, the tartar of sword fish (€17.50) was light and zesty and accompanied by a perfectly dressed herb salad.  A prawn "cappuccino" (€22.50) turned out to be a cup of velvety foam dotted with tender chunks of crustacean.

Amazing desserts at the Old Mill restaurant

Tuna fillet defied the fish’s tendency to tough meatiness and crunch was added with a hazelnut crust (€41.50).  Not as assured was the Cretan rabbit (€37.50) with walnuts in a honey sauce which erred on the side of being too dry.  However, the sweet end of the meal here was strong with an ordinary sounding chocolate brownie arriving as a sliver of rich, fudgie brownie topped with red fruit mousse and teamed with vibrant green tea sorbet (€13).  Cretan cheese cake (€13) would not recognise itself in its "reinvented" form of cherry and lemon sorbet balanced on thyme flavoured biscuit and topped with rich cream cheese.  It was a sensational dining experience and one worth travelling for even if you are not staying at the hotel.

Breakfast of Strapatsatha - proving it is never too early in the day to have fetta

For those who are guests, the breakfast is certainly worth getting up for with a buffet of fresh fruit, cereal, pastries, meats and cheese and hot food cooked to order ranging from Strapatsatha, a Greek breakfast of scrambled eggs with fetta and tomato, to a stack of pancakes drizzled with maple syrup.

Our own private pool outside our room - true luxury

A few nights at Elounda Mare allows a little piece of what feels like paradise.  Everything is perfect here from the service to the food.  The catch is the price, this is an expensive kind of paradise and getting the ultimate hotel fix does not come cheaply.


Gourmet Chick was a guest of Elounda Mare.


Essentials
Details: Elounda Mare Hotel, 72053 Elounda, Crete, Greece (Ph +(30) 28410 68200)
Damage: Budget Breaking.  Rates start at €290 a night.  The two bedroom villa we stayed in with a private pool starts at €700 a night for four people.
9/10

How to make carrot cake

I have a guilty addiction in the form of the carrot cake from Pret.  Now that I have actually left London, as predicted, it is one of the things I really miss.  For mass produced cake it is actually quite dense and moist with a rich, buttery layer of frosting.  The problem is that one little plastic packet of Pret cake is never quite enough so for those times when you want an actual hearty slice of carrot cake (or even the whole cake itself).  This is my take on a classic carrot cake recipe with a creamy sugary frosting hit.  The secret here is to make the frosting while the cake is baking as the frosting needs to be chilled in the fridge before topping the cake with it.

Take that Pret! 

Ingredients
300g self raising flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
100g dark muscovado sugar
100g brown sugar
4 eggs
250ml rapeseed oil
1 orange, zested
200g carrots, grated

Mixing the cake

Frosting

2 tbsp dark muscovado sugar

2 tbsps golden syrup

250g cream cheese
75g butter

The finished cake (minus one rather large slice!) 

1.  Heat the oven to 150c.  Line a 22cm deep cake tin with baking paper.

2.  Sift the flour, cinnamon and baking powder and stir in the sugars.  Mix well.

3.  Beat the eggs with the oil and orange zest.  Stir in the carrots and then fold this and the rest of the ingredients into the flour mixture.

4.  Spoon the mix into the tin and level the surface.  Bake for 1 hour 25 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.  Cool in the tin.

5.  For the frosting beat the butter sugar and syrup until soft and then beat in the cream cheese until smooth.  Chill until it is smooth but spreadable and spread a thick layer over the cake.

Inspired by a few places including Pret but mainly an Olive Magazine carrot cake recipe. 

Last Weekend in Paris (Gourmet Chick in France)

I'm currently trekking in Nepal (more on that to come) but I have saved a few good posts on our final farewell to Europe.  Saying goodbye to London sadly meant saying Au Revoir to Paris as well.  Visiting Paris from London is all too easy (as my credit card statement will attest), just a quick hop and a skip on the Eurostar and you are there.  I managed to squeeze in visits a few times a year, for a weekend, for a language course, for the sales or just because, hey it’s Paris.  Sadly now I will be based in Melbourne it will be a lot more difficult to get to Paris.  That whole 24 hours of flying thing really takes the shine off it as a weekend destination, so I realised my weekend in Paris was Au Revoir, while not forever, at least for a while.  

Rodin's Garden - my favourite museum in Paris

Pressure was high for where to eat and what to do, and the pressure was compounded by the fact that I had my parents in tow so I wanted to find destinations they would love as well.  I ended up visiting some old favourites and squeezing in some new places as well that I wanted to share with you:  


Bouchiere Rouliere
It’s all about the meat at Bouchiere Rouliere with giant black and white photographs of cows lining the walls of this quaint little bistro in the St Germain area of Paris.  The meat theme started with the complimentary slices of saucisson and radish which were brought out to start the meal, and continued with the perfectly constructed terrine of beef (€7.50) dripping with a glossy, dark sauce.  Lamb chops (€21.50) were pink and tender Greedy Diva tipped me off about this place and said the steak frites and bone marrow was also to die for.  Not one for vegetarians.

Essentials
Details: 

24 Rue Canettes, 

75006 Paris, France (Ph 

01 43 26 25 70) Metro: Saint Suplice

Damage: Reasonable.  

Our bill for three came to €74 for three including a “pot” of the excellent house red.

9/10


La Taverne L’arbre Sec
For a classic bistro meal La Taverne, a spot recommended by blogger and former Parisian Miss Devour, is hard to beat.  Located centrally near the Louvre tables spill out onto the street corner and the bistro is always packed with Parisians eating and drinking away.  The carpaccio of beef was picture perfect with round, thin slices of rare beef which were so tender they almost melted away.  The piecé de resistance though at La Taverne was the Cote de Beauf, a huge hunk of meat for one complete with dripping bone marrow and a side order of cheesy scalloped potato.  

Cote de Beauf

Essentials
Details: 109 Rue Saint Honore, 75004 Paris, France (Ph +33 (0)1 08 99 78 6169) Metro: Chatelet
Damage: Reasonable
7/10


Hotel du Nord
Hotel du Nord, lining the edge of Canal St Martin, has such movie star good looks that it has  featured in a famous French movie of the same name.   Black and white tiles line the floor, there is a zinc topped bar and candle light creates atmosphere.  The menu features modern French food which seemed to entail classic dishes with some puzzling accompaniments.  A crispy skinned fillet of seabass was teamed with a huge serving of slow cooked fennel while an entrecote of beef was equally bizarrely paired with beans.  The waiters managed to forget one of our tables mains entirely so we left feeling that while Hotel Nord looked the goods it did not deliver food wise.  Given it was recommended by my friend Adina who loved the place it is possible we just hit it on an off night.  

Dessert at Hotel du Nord

Essentials
Details: Hotel du Nord, 102 quai de Jemmapes, 75010 Paris, France (Ph +33 (0) 1 40 40 7878) Metro: Jacques Bonsergent
Damage: 
5/10


Au Gourmand
One of my favourite new discoveries on this trip to Paris was that of a rather old restaurant, Au Gourmand.  Au Gourmand offers classic fine dining complete with white linen tablecloths, amuse bouchés and presentation so perfect that you want to frame photographs of the food and place them on your bedside table.   An amusé of smoked salmon was served with a potato and leek purée spiked with musty truffles and hints of olive to add depth.  To start, crayfish tails surrounded a plate heaped with shredded rabbit rillettes and dressed with edible flowers.  A different game course is on offer most nights at Au Gourmand and I tried the grouse which was pink and succulent and matched well with beetroots which were able to compete with the strong flavour.  Of the desserts, the chocolate egg was the show stopper with its extraordinarily seductive texture of fluffy meringue encased in rich, silky chocolate and its very grown up taste.  

Crayfish tails at Au Gourmand

Essentials
Details:  Au Gourmand, 

17 Rue Molière, 

75001 Paris, France (Ph 

01 42 96 22 19)  Metro: Pyramides

Damage: Budget breaking our bill for four with wine came to €240.
8/10


Le Mouton Noir
This tiny little bistro ("the black sheep") oozes charm alongside some clever cooking at bargain prices.  A plate of creamy polenta (€8) topped with slivers of Parmesan was unadorned but astonishingly good.  Easily the best polenta I have ever eaten in my life and I loved the simplicity of serving it as a complete dish by itself.  

Dessert at Le Mouton Noir

Fat juicy prawns were drizzled with delicate orange blossom and served with puréed potatoes (€18).  The prawns were excellent but there was far too much potato on the plate.  Dessert of a chocolate tart (€7) with a silky smooth top and crunchy biscuit base was served with passionfruit for tang and biscuit crumbs to add crunch.  It was accomplished and, most importantly, delicious.

Essentials
Details: Le Mouton Noir, 65 Rue de Charonne, 75011 Paris, France (Ph 01 48 07 05 45).  Open Mon-Sat.  Metro: Charonne.
Damage:  €35 for one for three courses and a glass of wine.  Any three courses from the menu are €29.

Gourmet Travel Tips

• The Eurostar is by far the best way to get to Paris from London and starts at £59 return.

• For my last weekend in Paris I revisited the Louvre (there is always more to see) and my favourite museum in Paris, Rodin's Garden.

• I followed Greedy Diva's lead and stayed at Hi Matic hotel, a brand new hotel that opened only three months ago and is very design led with each room comprising a box with a futon on the floor that can be rolled up during the day to make more space.  It is all very funky with primary colours, ipod sound docks and rather space age looking organic breakfasts but the design is actually quite poor and you can't help but feel that you are staying in a youth hostel for grown ups.   Unless you are on a very tight budget I would avoid this one.

Details: Hi Matic, 71 Rue de Charonne, 75011 Paris, France (Ph 01 43 67 56 56)
Damage: €120 a night including breakfast.
6/10

For more on Paris see my previous posts on 48 hours in Paris and Eight Cheap Eats in Paris. 

Odette's

"I truly believe Welsh lamb is the best in the world."  It's a big claim by chef Byrn Williams at Odette’s in Primrose Hill.  However, Williams puts his money where his mouth is and Welsh lamb is a constant on the menu at Odette’s apart from when it is sold out, in which case he takes lamb off the menu altogether rather than serve up anything else but Welsh.

Lamb ribs 

As an Australian I of course have a soft spot for Aussie lamb, but I still could not resist an invitation to Odette's for a special lamb lunch hosted by Eat Welsh Lamb and cooked by Williams.  The restaurant is tucked away in a street adjoining Primrose Hill itself and the place is small but smart with leather banquette seating, rich fabrics and white linen clad tables.

Lamb koftas

We started with two appetisers which were dishes that Williams serves up for the staff dinner at Odette’s, lamb spare ribs and lamb koftas.  All I can say is lucky staff! The lamb spare ribs were a revelation, similar to the more common pork spare ribs in taste and burnished to a sticky caramalised state in the oven.  Lamb koftas were served as mini burgers topped with a yoghurt sauce and sandwiched in small buns.  The meat was densely packed and well flavoured with spices and seasoning.

Lamb fillet with cous cous

Williams wanted to show us that lamb was about more than just a Sunday roast, so after the appetisers, the first dish on the tasting menu was slivers of lamb fillets topping a lemon scented cous cous.  The quality of the meat shone through in this simple treatment.  Similarly Welsh lamb chops were unadorned and teamed with chick peas cooked in the meat juice so they had absorbed all the flavours.

Lamb chop with chickpeas

The best dish though was Odette’s take on the traditional lamb Sunday roast.  Williams slow cooks a leg of lamb for three hours over finely sliced potatoes which are flavoured with the fat from the meat as it drips down as they cook.  The lamb was incredibly tender and the potatoes had a great depth of flavour. "This is what I do for friends and family at home because it is in the oven and you forget about it," said Wiliams.

Slow roasted lamb

At Odette’s the food is underpinned by a timely philosophy, good produce, treated with respect.  What we at was not fancy, it was just simple, honest cooking.  Williams claims his love of Welsh lamb is not just patriotic,  "I don’t use it because it is Welsh, I use it because it is good," he said.

I think he may just have converted me to the cause.

Gourmet Chick was a guest of Eat Welsh Lamb

Essentials
Details: Odette’s, 130 Regents Park Road, Primrose Hill NW1 8XL, United Kingdom (Ph 020 7586 8569) Tube: Chalk Farm
Damage: Pricey.  We had a special menu which we did not pay for but usually a tasting menu at Odette’s is £50.
9/10

48 hours in Burgundy (Gourmet Chick in France)

Vin rouge, vin blanc, whichever way you like your vin, the wine in Burgundy is legendary.  Around the world wine country is always beautiful and Burgundy is no exception with its gently rolling hills of vineyards and golden leaved vines just starting to colour for Autumn.  We discovered the food was equally as stunning as the surroundings although probably our best meal of the trip was a picnic lunch of baguette, cheese and saucisson eaten by the side of a vineyard after a morning spent cycling through the region.  For once we had actually "earned" our meal and cycling also meant no arguments between MTV boyfriend and me about who was designated driver during the wine tastings.

View of the vineyards from our hotel, Villa Louise

Brasserie le Béléna
In a recurring theme of this trip which may relate somewhat to a certain amount of “spontaneity” (read disorganisation) our preferred restaurant in Beaune was fully booked for Monday lunch so we decamped to the closest reasonably full restaurant.  The decor at Brasserie le Béléna was stuck somewhat in the 1980s but it did offer a menu for €21 featuring Burgundy classics.  Burgundy escargot, were served in their shells, dripping with garlic and parsley butter.  They were fat and juicy and lived up to their name as the Rolls Royce of the snail world.

Burgundy escargot

However the other signature Burgundy dish, Beef Bourguignon, disappointed with a grey gluey sauce and an absence of fried lardons and shallots.  Desserts of chocolate fondant and apple tart fulfilled my sweet tooth cravings but were not particularly well executed.

Beef bourguignon

Essentials
Details: Brasserie le Béléna, Place Madeleine 1, 21200 Beaune,  France (Ph 03 80 22 12 25)
Damage: Reasonable
4/10

La Ciboulette
A decent restaurant open on a Sunday night is something of a godsend in Burgundy and so we booked in as soon as we could to La Ciboulette on the basis of a glowing recommendation from American in London.  A simple Michelin Bib Gourmand place, La Ciboulette nevertheless delivers well cooked, classic food.  Jamon Persille Maison, a meaty terrine flecked with parsley, kicked off the €26.50 menu.    Slow cooked leg of rabbit was tender and teamed with a rich, creamy sauce while salmon fillet was served on a cloud of fluffy mash with an assortment of local vegetables.  The menu included a trio of local cheeses and a dessert of Iles flotantte, a chunk of feather light meringue floating on a pool of Créme Anglaise and flecked with nuts.

Jamon Persille Maison at La Ciboulette

Our waitress recommended and excellent bottle of Roux Pére & Fils Santenay from the epic wine list, proving that in Burgundy even when the food is homely and basic the wine is anything but.

Essentials

Details: 69 Rue Lorraine 21200 Beaune, France (Ph 03 80 24 70 72)
Damage: Reasonable
9/10

L’Oree De Bois
During our stay at the amazing Abbaye de la Bussiere we spent a day cycling to the picturesque town of Chateauneuf perched on a hilltop in the heart of Burgundy.  A simple lunch of a charcuterie board (€12.50) complete with local cheeses, terrine and cornichons was a veritable feast while the Ardechoise salad (€8.80) topped with crusty baguette bearing oozing goat cheese was revelatory.  Eaten outside in the sunshine and teamed with a glass of crisp sauvignon blanc (€5) it was the sort of simple lunch that you look back on as a highlight of the whole trip.

Ardechoise salad at L’Oree De Bois

Essentials
Details: 21320 Chateauneuf, France (Ph 03 80 49 2532)
Damage: Such a bargain my mother would approve.  Our bill for two with wine came to €30.
8/10

Our room at Villa Louise

Gourmet Travel Tips

• You can catch the Eurostar from St Pancras International to Dijon in 4h40 mins. Eurostar offers return fares to Dijon from London from £89 return. We drove which is not quite as environmentally friendly (or as stress free!).  

• Accomodation does not get better than Abbaye de la Bussiere which I reviewed earlier but for those on a tighter budget Villa Louise in the village of Aloxe Corton just 5 minutes drive from Beaune is a great option.  The hotel backs right onto the vineyards and is great value with a swimming pool and a boutique feel to the place right down to the fluffy dressing gowns in the rooms.  

Essentials

Details: Villa Louise, 9 Rue Franche, 21420 Aloxe-Corton, France (Ph 03 80 26 46 70) Damage: Reasonable.  Rooms from €110 a night.  8/10.

Wine tasting at Couvent des Cordeliers €8 to drink from lots of bottles worth €79 - bargain! 

• We particularly loved the tasting at Couvent des Cordeliers in Beaune which is €8 and includes four glasses of excellent wine and an engraved glass.  You can have a look in their cellar and the setting is lovely in a convent just down the road from Beaune's famous Hospices.  

• We spent a day cycling around the vineyards and hired bikes through Detours in France/ Bourgogne Radonnées.  They drew up a route for us and told us where to buy picnic supplies and which chateaus were worth visiting.  

Essentials

Details: Avenue du 8 Septembre, 21200 Beaune, France (Ph 03 80 22 06 03)

Damage:  Reasonable. €18 for a day's bike hire.  

10/10.

Texture

I could sum up Texture in two words.  Bacon popcorn.  Need I say more?  I think those two words alone are probably all you need to know.  Order a drink to start your meal at Texture and you will be served up toasty warm popcorn flecked with skerricks of dried bacon as a pre dinner snack.  Simply sublime.

I suppose you may also be interested in the fact Texture just retained its Michelin star, that it has 110 different champagnes on offer on the wine list and that it is a rather swanky, "special occasion" sort of place.  The restaurant feels quite formal which is slightly at odds with the playful nature of the food on offer.  It is attached to a (horrors) Best Western hotel after all and has the high ceilings, plush finishes and air of anonymity which seems to go hand in hand with being a hotel restaurant.

However, the menu does not play it safe at all.  The food on offer is quirky and inventive with influences from chef Agnar Sverrisson’s Icelandic background in there along with a focus on British and seasonal ingredients.

The Anjou quail- spot the bacon popcorn in there

The bacon popcorn featured again in a starter of delicately deboned Anjou quail (£16) which was served with the popcorn alongside chargrilled sweetcorn, shallots and a drizzling of red wine essence.   Native lobster (£22.50) was sweet, fresh and enlivened with hints of ginger and lemon.

Pork Belly

At times the food hit every note perfectly, Welsh lamb (£31.50) was pink and tender and teamed with some "very Noma"  wild Icelandic herbs.  Even more compelling was the suckling pig (£29.50) comprising tender slow cooked cheek alongside a fatty, crisp topped belly with peach for sweetness and cabbage to mop up the juices.

Almond cake

However, occasionally there was an overabundance of ideas with one dessert featuring a uniquely unpleasant combination of white chocolate mousse, dill and cucumber in one concoction.  A better option was the almond cake which came served in its own tiny tagine and was dotted with fresh cherries.  We also loved the sweet but sophisticated suggested dessert wine of Noble One 1007 Botrytis Semillon from De Bortoli in Australia (£15.50 a glass).

Despite the occasional misfires Sverrisson delivers accomplished cooking finding just the right balance between texture and taste. As for the bacon popcorn... it had me at hello.

Essentials
Details: Texture, 34 Portman Street, Marylebone, W1H 7BY (Ph 020 7224 0028) Tube: Marble Arch
Damage: Budget Breaking
8/10

London Michelin Stars 2012 - The Winners and Losers

The latest batch of Michelin stars were shot out into the sky yesterday (6 October) and this years list is probably best described as Same, Same but Different.  The top of the list stayed the same but there was some movement around the one and two star mark. It's easy enough to say that the Michelin system is too French and too outdated.  Chef Marcus Wareing said: "It's a system.  It's about knowing the rules", but still the annual announcement always comes complete with sharp intakes of breath in the London restaurant world.

Michelin star dining at Maze

At first glance there appears to be little change this year in the Michelin ranks.  There are no new three Michelin star restaurants in the UK and all restaurants from last year have retained their stars.  Where it gets interesting is at the one star and two star level with a few new and exciting additions and a couple of restaurants which have been dropped.

The big news is the inclusion of Heston Blumenthal's Dinner and Jason Atherton's Pollen Street Social both in their opening years.  I was a huge fan of both restaurants this year and if you have not been I would suggest getting your skates on before the prices go up!

Some of Brett Graham's team at The Ledbury

There was some disappointment for Pied a Terre and Tom Aikens which both lost stars in this years guide*, although after a meal at Pied a Terre this year which I felt "lacked the wow factor" I was not totally surprised by the downgrade.  Personally, I would have loved to see Brett Graham at The Ledbury get a third star as I think his food is in that realm, maybe next year...

I've reproduced the full list below including links to the restaurants where I have reviewed them.  It's only a handful as lets face it eating at Michelin star restaurants is an expensive pastime, but I am always interested in the Bib Michelin guide which is the cheaper alternative and highlighted some stonking new places this year including the much loved Koya, da Polpo, Brawn and Opera Tavern all as new additions.  The full Bib Michelin and UK wide Michelin star list is available on Chef Hermes blog.

2012 Michelin Guide

Three Michelin star restaurants in the UK 
Alain Ducasse at The Dorcester, Mayfair
The Fat Duck, Bray, Berkshire
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Royal Hospital Road, London
The Waterside Inn, Bray, Berkshire

Two Michelin star restaurants in London
The Ledbury
Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley
Le Gavroche
Hélène Darroze at The Connaught
Hibiscus
The Square
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon

One Michelin star restaurants in London
Chapter One
Hakkasan Hanway Place
Pied à Terre
Club Gascon
Rhodes Twenty Four
Harwood Arms
River Café
La Trompette
North Road (New 2011)
St John
Rasoi
Kitchen W8
The Glasshouse
Petersham Nurseries Café
Viajante
Galvin La Chapelle
Chez Bruce
Amaya
Apsleys (at Lanesborough Hotel)
Pétrus
Zafferano
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
Benares
Galvin at Windows (at London Hilton Hotel)
Greenhouse
Hakkasan Mayfair (New 2011)
Kai
Maze
Murano
Nobu (at The Metropolitan Hotel)
Nobu Berkeley St
Pollen Street Social (New 2011)
Semplice
Sketch (The Lecture Room and Library)
Tamarind
Umu
Wild Honey
L’Autre Pied
Locanda Locatelli
Rhodes W1
Texture
Seven Park Place (at St James's Hotel and Club)
Arbutus
Gauthier-Soho
Yauatcha
Quilon


Happy eating...

*It has been pointed out to me by PhilD (who is always a wealth of knowledge on Chowhound) that Tom Aikens has lost a star as the restaurant in question has closed.

48 hours in Lake Annecy (Gourmet Chick in France)

France is hardly an undiscovered country but I felt like a genuine pioneer woman when I came across the Lake Annecy area.  Why had I never heard of this stunning region of France before?  Nestled away in the Haute-Savoie region of France, a friend tipped me off about the lake where she said the French went to enjoy la plage without the crowds of the Riveria.  MTV boyfriend and I promptly added it in to our French road trip and I suggest you do the same for your next trip to France.  The scenery is jaw dropping with the brilliant blue waters of the lake ringed by soaring cliffs.  The food ranges from hearty mountain fare to refined Michelin star cuisine, and is all delicious.

The cheese board at La Ciboulettte

La Ciboulette

Michelin star restaurant La Ciboulette is oh so chic, oh so French and not too ridiculously expensive if you order the four course “menu” for €48.  In a little back street in the old town of Annecy there is a quiet terrace area for outdoor dining or two dining rooms with soaring ceilings and well spaced tables and chairs.  La Ciboulette offers the usual assortment of amusés and petit fours but the meal started properly with an incredible entrée of foie gras which had been roasted to an almost caramelised state.

  

Squid at La Ciboulette

Fillet of Royal Dorade was cooked to a crispy skinned state of perfection and teamed with puréed aubergines and olives.  The highlight was the cheese course served from a cheese trolley groaning with local specialties including a creamy Reblochon.  

Fillet of Royal Dourade at La Ciboulette

Essentials

Details: La Ciboulette, 10 Rue Vaugelas, 74000 Annecy, France (Ph +33 (0)4 50 45 74 57)

Damage: Budget Breaking

10/10

Chalet la Pricaz
Situated on a mountain pass high above the lake the view from Chalet la Pricaz is so amazing it is almost surreal.  The lake is dazzling, the mountains awe inspiring and bells peal in the background from the grazing cows.

Gazpacho starters overlooking Lake Annecy from high above

The simple wooden chalet serves food made only from locally sourced organic ingredients.  A complimentary amusé of gazpacho was superbly fresh and sweet.  The tartiflette (€18), described by the New York Times as the “nirvana” of tartiflettes, oozed with tangy Reblochon cheese, a whiff of onion and lashings of salty diced bacon.  An amazing experience.

The nirvana of tartiflettes

Essentials
Details: Col de la Forclaz, 13km south of Annecy, France (Ph +33 (0)4 5060 7261)
Damage: Reasonable
9/10

Chez Ma Cousine
Another location with to-die-for views, at Chez Ma Cousine you actually sit at tables on the lake, the sound of the water lapping against the yachts moored nearby the only distraction.  Unfortunately, unlike Chalet la Pricaz, the food at Chez Ma Cousine did not match up to the views.  I was distinctly underwhelmed by my stringy bavette steak (€26) although the accompanying frites were crisp and golden.  There was some redemption in the form of a decadent dessert of Vacherin (€11) but this was the one disappointment of our dining out in Lake Annecy.

Great views and drinks at Chez Ma Cousine - pity about the food

Essentials
Details: Chez Ma Cousine, 2036 Route Annecy 74210 Doussard, France (Ph +33 (0)4 50 32 38 83)
Damage: Reasonable
5/10

I recommend paragliding over Lake Annecy - foot modelling by me

Gourmet Travel Tips

• Don’t stay in Annecy itself but rather stay in one of the villages on the North East side of the lake which have the sun for as long as possible in the afternoon.  We stayed in Talloires which was beautiful and about 10 mins drive into Annecy. 

• The weather was stunning so we went for the budget option and stayed at one of the lakeside campsites.  The La Chapelle Saint Claude Campsite had wifi and a private beach area on the lake but unfortunately there were no BBQ or cooking facilities.  €20 a night.

• Lake Annecy is one of Europe’s top paragliding locations.  We took to the air on beginners tandem flights (€85 for 30 mins) to get a birds eye view of the lake and cliffs.   

The Northall

When two black cab drivers had not heard of the five star hotel that The Northall restaurant is based in, I started to worry about what had happened to "The Knowledge" in London.  I shouldn't have feared, it turns out The Corinthia which houses The Northall is one of London's newest hotels, housed in an old government building right next to Embankment tube.   Those civil servants had a good deal as the hotel is in prime position although I doubt it was quite so swanky back in the day of cardigans and nine to five.  Acres of marble, polished wood and  glittering lights have been deployed with extravagant flower arrangements in every corner.

Dressed crab

The Northall is housed in the corner of the hotel in a huge high ceilinged room which looks out over the Thames.  The setting is opulent and spectacular but with only a few other diners it did feel strangely sterile.

The menu focuses on traditional British dishes listing ingredients like potted shrimps, cockles and razor clams alongside details of each supplier.   My friend Kate and I decided to start with two classics, the potted shrimps (£12) and dressed crab (£15).  The potted shrimps were a bit disappointing as they were not served in a pot and were also lacking the lashings of butter which are characteristic of the dish.  The dressed crab was a better option with lots of flakes of the tender, sweet white crab meat alongside a rich homemade mayonnaise.

Lamb short loin chops

Onto the main dishes, the serving sizes were absolutely enormous.  It is probably best to order one main to share they are so big or else go with a very, very big appetite.  Lamb short loin chops (£24) were almost comedy sized but despite the huge amount of meat, they were perfectly cooked to a sweet pink state with a great char to the fat.

Similarly, the fillet of lemon sole (£28) actually comprised two large fillets both accompanied by steamed razor clams and a light tomato and basil sauce.  The fillets were simply cooked which was perfect as it let the quality of the seafood shine through.  We finished with a classic pavlova to share, crisp but fluffy and dripping with a rich berry sauce.

Pavlova 

There are no fireworks at the Northall but the food is good and the setting impressive.  All it needs is a little soul and some customers.  Since Kate and I both directed our cab drivers to the restaurant, at least two of London's black cabs now know where The Corinthia and The Northall are.  It's a start I suppose.

Essentials
Details: The Northall, The Corinthia, Whitehall Place, London SW1A 2BD, (Ph +44 (0)20 7321 3100) Tube - Embankment
Damage: Pricey
6/10