Tom Aikens: Art on (many) a Plate

As much as I love food photo taking, I needed a night off from surreptitious snapping at the dinner table. It didn't quite work. Especially when plate after plate of exquisitely arranged morsels arrive and you're at a restaurant no lesser than Tom Aikens. I had been gifted a cheese and wine pairing at the restaurant as a present last year, but as the restaurant could not guarantee when the next class would be at the time I rang, they offered to convert it into "spend" at the restaurant. Good move.

Whilst the Big Boy camera stayed at home, I was grateful that my baby compact (always at handbag reach away) captured these highlights...

From the word go, beautiful little things were presented for our delectation. The cep bread reminded me of a French fleur-delys, and the buttermilk roll had delicate olive oil and sea salt flavour.

Who would have expected a trio of amuse bouches? An olive "sphere" was pure olive essence, with tiny bits of crunchy olive on top, and burst in the mouth with salty aplomb. Ferran Adria anyone? The duck liver sabayon was deep, smoky and full of body given that it was basically a foam. My favourite was the parmesan beignet. A savoury doughnut in bite-size form! Genius!

Sometimes I think these fancy chefs deliberately give simple names to dishes, to amaze you when it turns out to be far from simple. My "Crab and Avocado Salad" was more like the Garden of Eden. Sweet crab, creamy avocado and slight bitter crunch from the endives. All punctuated with herbs and micro-veg. Gotta throw a cheffy phrase in there.

For the fashionistas in the crowd, doesn't this stunning composition invoke a dreamy Erdem dress, oh so Spring 2010?

Images from style.com

I was still in Eden with the red mullet and pistachio risotto for my main. I'm a sucker for beautiful fish and this was no disappointment. I was taken by the silky fish, earthy pistachios and extremely decadent piles of greenery. Can greens be decadent? They can be at Tom Aikens. 

If there was a prize for a dish inspired by a Christmas carol, the partridge with pear and a truffle mash could have taken number one. Rich and superbly cooked game.

By the time these gorgeous petit fours came along, I was ready to get liposuction. We tried the Earl Grey, Jasmine and Armagnac truffles from the chocolate selection and the Lemon & Thyme financier and doughnut from the cakes. Doooughhhhhnuutttttt, Homer Simpson style, is all I can say. 

Probably one of the most decadent meals I've ever had, with finesse at every step. It's a slick operation with your-wish-is-my-command type service. You can't have this every day, but you can certainly have it once in a while. And definitely when you need to feel special. 

Fish Tasting & Demonstration @ Tom Aikens

I have the best friends. THE bestest friends EVAH. My magnificent bunch bought me one of the best presents for my birthday this year, and I can't express enough what an enjoyable and interesting experience it was.

I was gifted a fish tasting menu at Tom Aikens' flagship restaurant in South Kensington, cooked and demonstrated by the Bad Boy of the London restaurant scene himself. Remember the incident, where he accused a customer of stealing a spoon from the premises after she'd spent an arm and a leg over dinner? I half expected an airport scanner when I rocked up.

However, our Tom was as geezer-like and non-plussed as you like. Not appearing to have celebrity airs and keen to get on with the day's demonstration, he got to it when all attendees were present. Five of us descended into the kitchen beneath, where we instantly got told what the dishes of the day were going to be. No fancy welcome or marketing spiel about how he was the greatest. Hot oil was on pans, and he was determined to do what he does best, cook like a demon.

The whole premise of the day was to show four fish dishes that were achievable, practical and impressive to serve. What was also useful was that all the ingredients were fairly easy to acquire.

Scallops on Pork Belly with a Balsamic Reduction: this dish required Tom to have prepared quite a bit the day before, but not much on the day itself. A whole piece of belly had been boiled and flavoured in a broth previously, and laid in the fridge between two trays in order to flatten it. It is then cut into even pieces and pan-fried with hand-dived scallops. Meanwhile, there was chicken stock bubbling in the background (Tom had a ready-made one too). Shallots, butter, bay-leaves and thyme are sweated down in a pan, where the stock is added to to conjure up a jus. Some aged balsamic vinegar is added to the jus, which gives it a mean, sticky edge.

The pork was surprisingly moist, and even had a crust to it from the pan-frying. The jus was rich, sweet, and despite the amount of butter used (these Michelin boys love their butter, eh?) wasn't at all greasy or sickening.

Turbot in a Pea Broth with Pea Shoots: Summer on a plate. Shallots and peas were sauteed in a pan, fish stock added (again this was quickly demonstrated out of principal with a ready-made on stand-by), to be whizzed in a blender to get a pea "broth". It was placed back on the heat, fresh peas and broad beans added. The turbot poached on the broth, and before serving, some chervil went in the pan. You don't often hear of chervil, but it's a great addition to fish and almost chive-like.

An extremely achievable dish by "normal" kitchen standards. The turbot still had spring and bounce whilst being meaty, it almost had a "grain" like meat when cut open. I loved the liveliness, bright colour and flavours of the green against the white fish.

Baby Artichoke Hearts and Dover Sole: an awesome flavour combination which was new to me. Tom prepared the baby artichokes, explaining the process whilst scraping away the tough green outer leaves to reveal the prized chokes. Pan-fried, seasoned with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Dover Sole was added to the same pan, stock again used to create a little sauce. Artichokes added a roasted, black pepperry flavour to  the more chewy sole. I am convinced that a drizzle of stock is the way forward in adding depth and punch to cooking!

Roasted John Dory with Squid, Red Peppers, Courgette and Capers: we were treated to a fish-filleting demo here. Out Tom came with a big momma of a John Dory (they have scarily huge mouths when pulled out!), and proceeded to fillet it and de-skin. These were then seasoned and placed in the oven to roast. On the hob, squid rings were flash-fried, set aside and the diced vegetables friend one after the other. Everything was then tossed in the same pan and re-fried to bring the flavours together. The secret in this was no over-cooking. Minimal dressing and a sprinkle of coriander leaf.

The slightly serious and down-to-earth character before us was in contrast to the Iron Chef reputation and the gangsta stories on the street. Given his stature in the London scene (the youngest UK chef to earn two Michelin stars), the demo showed the basics of great cooking: preparation, patience and willingness to source good produce. I felt invigorated and inspired to try all the recipes we received, and came away feeling I'd also got a little insight in some tricks used in the professional kitchen. Dear friends, I truly enjoyed this birthday gift, can I dare to dream what happens next year?!

Yes, Chef!