Blow Up Food

The Ledbury - 8 course vegetarian tasting menu

(Saint Nectaire on toast)

Tasting menus used to seem to me to be something designed for meat-eaters -  opportunities for chefs to showcase their butchery skills, their meat cooking techniques and to introduce new types of animal bits for diners to try. No ta.

However, this seems to be seriously changing. I’ve been to several places in the last few years that not only provide full vegetarian tasting options, but publicise the menus on their website - it always makes me relax to see a meat free menu in advance.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I see Noma as leading the way on this, and have eaten some of the most incredibly exciting and challenging vegetarian offerings there - whilst feeling that the menu was not just a concession to my dietary choices, but a big part of the wider ethos of Noma. It’s very pleasing to see other restaurants doing the same. 

As I was working in London a few weekends ago, we decided to book The Ledbury after seeing their veggie menu proudly sitting on their website. We were a bit nervous before hand, as although I’ve been to a fair few Michelin starred restaurants I’d never been to one in London - I figured with my Northernness and crap hair (my straighteners have bust), I’d stick out like a sore thumb.

And yeah, it was full of a lot of bankers and rich people but I started to realise something after the amuse bouche came out - good restaurants don’t care if you’re rich or posh. They just want you to be engaged with the food and to enjoy yourself. I relaxed quickly as I munched this lovely thing:



Matching wines also helped.

The food was pretty wonderful. Brett Graham cooks with an Asian slant on his food - not in a gimmicky ‘fusion’ way, but in a way that introduces Asian flavours and ingredients with perfect balance. It’s not evident in every dish, but the ones that did introduce some Asian flavours (gnocchi with lemongrass and ginger; aubergine with black sugar and shiso) were definitely the strongest plates.



One of the highlights of the evening was when the waiter brought out a beetroot baked in clay and tapped it open in front of me. 



He then whisked it away to plate it up into this magnificent thing:



I was really pleased that they made the effort to bring something out to show to me, as this is what they’d done with a meat dish that @topfife was having. Places that make sure vegetarians don’t miss out on any of the experience are really special and worth spending your saved-up money on. I’d definitely want to go to The Ledbury again, just for that. Oh and the cheese. I’d go back for the cheese:



Oh and eucalyptus chocolate petit fours. Can these be shipped in bulk to Sheffield?

Full pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/topfife/sets/72157631614849805/with/8020871524/

Being a Vegetarian at Noma

Somehow @topfife and I have been lucky enough to go to the world’s best restaurant Noma three times. It’s been a mixture of daring and luck, but I suspect it’s something to do with the fact that we’re young and excitable and clearly not rich, as I spotted this lovely quote from Rene Redzepi recently. When he was 18, he saved up for months to eat at the three-Michelin-starred restaurant, Arzak:

“We were shitty customers — we didn’t buy wine, just a glass of water. But opening a door to a restaurant like that when you’re young … I was just totally blown away. You might have to live like a tramp for six months, but it’s worth it. It’s something we always remember whenever young people are eating at Noma — we usually give them a little extra something.” London Evening Standard, 1st May 2012 

Normally, asking for a vegetarian menu at a top restaurant, coupled with avoiding alcohol (it was the day after our wedding - I was feeling a little tender) would have made me feel like I was being awkward or a nuisance, but Noma presented me with 20 meat-free (and largely dairy-free) dishes that were beyond incredible, using vegetables and herbs in a way that challenged my palette and had me giggling with joy. Yes, I really am that much a vegetable nerd.

Going alcohol free also meant that I could order the juice menu. It was bloody lovely, and had all the Noma-esque flavour tricks that crop up in the food - pine, juniper and earthy, northern vegetables. It really was worth skipping the booze for, as I don’t know anywhere else doing something that interesting for non-drinkers/ those with a bit of a post-wedding hangover.

Most top restaurants these days are coming around to providing full vegetarian menus, and I think Rene Redzepi is leading by example - he is never rude or dismissive about vegetarians and even seems to support it as a way of looking after the planet. The only advice I’d give when eating out at a top restaurant is to get in contact well in advance to let them know you’re a veggie - they might have to create a menu for you, but they’ll appreciate the heads-up and you’re likely to get something really special and thoughtful.

All of the pictures from my meal at Noma are on Flickr. Have a look here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/topfife/sets/72157630162911880/