The Restaurant Marco Pierre White
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The Restaurant Marco Pierre White, also known as The Restaurant, Restaurant Marco Pierre White and later Oak Room Marco Pierre White, was a restaurant run by chef proprietor
Marco Pierre White Marco Pierre White (born 11 December 1961) is a British chef, restaurateur, and television personality. He has been dubbed "the first celebrity chef" and the ''enfant terrible'' of the UK restaurant scene. In January 1995, aged 33, White became ...
. The Restaurant was opened at the
Hyde Park Hotel Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London, is a five-star hotel, located in the Knightsbridge area of London, owned and managed by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. Housed in a historic, Edwardian-style building, the hotel originally opened in 1908 as th ...
, London, on 14 September 1993, after White left his previous restaurant, Harveys. Following the move, the kitchen staff was more than doubled in number, and White used
Pierre Koffmann Pierre Koffmann (born 21 August 1948) is a French professional chef. He was one of a handful of chefs in the United Kingdom to have been awarded the coveted three Michelin stars at his restaurant La Tante Claire in London. Until December 2016 he ...
's
La Tante Claire La Tante Claire (''The Aunt Claire'') was a restaurant in Chelsea, London, which opened in 1977 and 1998. Owned and operated by Pierre Koffmann, it gained three Michelin stars in 1983, and held all three until the restaurant moved premises in 199 ...
as a template to pursue his third Michelin star. This was awarded in the 1995 Michelin guide. White then moved the restaurant to the
Le Méridien Piccadilly Hotel The Dilly Hotel is a historic 5-star hotel located at 21 Piccadilly in London, England. History The hotel opened in 1908 as The Piccadilly Hotel. It was bought by Le Méridien in 1986 and renamed Le Méridien Piccadilly. In 2010, Starman ...
, London, in 1997, taking on the
listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
Oak Room as the main dining room. He sought a further rating of five red forks and spoons in the guide, to gain the highest possible rating for the restaurant. It gained this award in the following guide. When White retired in December 1999, he gave back the Michelin stars, but under Robert Reid, The Restaurant won a single star again in the 2001 and 2002 editions of the guide before closing later that year. During the course of The Restaurant's two locations, White sought to develop the techniques used in the dishes and expand the range of food on offer. The space used at Harveys was inadequate for his plans, but with the Hyde Park Hotel location he was able to add elements which were
braised Braising (from the French word ''braiser'') is a combination-cooking method that uses both wet and dry heats: typically, the food is first browned at a high temperature, then simmered in a covered pot in cooking liquid (such as wine, broth, coco ...
or made
confit Confit (, ) (from the French word '' confire'', literally "to preserve") is any type of food that is cooked slowly over a long period as a method of preservation. Confit, as a cooking term, describes when food is cooked in grease, oil, or suga ...
. At the Oak Room, both chickens and lamb were cooked each day just for pressed juices with which to make sauces for other dishes. The Restaurant was critically acclaimed, with critics such as
Michael Winner Robert Michael Winner (30 October 1935 – 21 January 2013) was a British filmmaker, writer, and media personality. He is known for directing numerous Action film, action, Thriller films, thriller, and black comedy films in the 1960s, 1970s and ...
, A. A. Gill and
Jonathan Meades Jonathan Turner Meades (born 21 January 1947) is an English writer and film-maker, primarily on the subjects of place, culture, architecture and food. His work spans journalism, fiction, essays, memoir and over fifty highly idiosyncratic tele ...
praising the food served, as did
Egon Ronay Egon Miklos Ronay (24 July 1915 – 12 June 2010) was a Hungarian-born food critic who wrote and published a famous series of guides to British and Irish restaurants and hotels in the 1950s and 1960s. These guidebooks are credited with raisin ...
, who gave the restaurant a maximum three stars in his restaurant guide.


History

Having won two
Michelin stars The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...
at the restaurant Harveys, chef
Marco Pierre White Marco Pierre White (born 11 December 1961) is a British chef, restaurateur, and television personality. He has been dubbed "the first celebrity chef" and the ''enfant terrible'' of the UK restaurant scene. In January 1995, aged 33, White became ...
felt restricted in the size of the premises as he sought to challenge for a third star. He was introduced to
Rocco Forte Sir Rocco Giovanni Forte (born 18 January 1945) is an English hotelier and the chairman of Rocco Forte Hotels. Early life Born in Bournemouth, the son of Charles Forte, Baron Forte, and his wife Irene, he was educated at St Peter's Catho ...
, chairman of
Rocco Forte Hotels Rocco Forte Hotels is a British hotel group that was established in 1996 by hotelier Sir Rocco Forte and his sister, Olga Polizzi. Their 14 hotels are located in European cities, as well as beach resorts in Sicily and Apulia. Sir Rocco Forte is Ch ...
, by actor
Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
. Forte had begun entering into arrangements with Michelin starred chefs, with Nico Ladenis holding stars at Chez Nico within Forte's
Grosvenor House Hotel ] JW Marriott Grosvenor House London, originally named the Grosvenor House Hotel, is a luxury hotel that opened in 1929 in the Mayfair area of London, England. The hotel is managed by JW Marriott Hotels, which is a brand of Marriott Internationa ...
in
Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...
. After meeting with Caine and Forte, White was taken to the grill restaurant at the
Hyde Park Hotel Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London, is a five-star hotel, located in the Knightsbridge area of London, owned and managed by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. Housed in a historic, Edwardian-style building, the hotel originally opened in 1908 as th ...
. Forte was interested if White could transfer the Michelin stars from Harveys; White was open to this since
Raymond Blanc Raymond Blanc OBE (born 19 November 1949) is a French chef. Blanc is the chef patron at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, a hotel-restaurant in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, England. The restaurant has two Michelin stars and scored 9/10 in the ''Good Fo ...
had previously transferred two stars to Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons when he moved his restaurant from
Summertown, Oxford Summertown in North Oxford is a suburb of Oxford, England. Summertown is a one-mile square residential area, north of St Giles, the boulevard leading out of Oxford's city centre. Summertown is home to several independent schools and the city's m ...
. Following the agreement of Michelin, White left Harveys in July 1993; The Restaurant was opened at the Hyde Park Hotel less than two months later, on 14 September. The interior was decorated with paintings from White's own collection. upMarco Pierre White in 2012 The Restaurant was the first time White had a kitchen staff organised into traditional brigades such as he had worked in while at
Albert Roux Albert Henri Roux (8 October 1935 – 4 January 2021) was a French-British restaurateur and chef. He and his brother Michel operated Le Gavroche in London's Mayfair, the first restaurant in the UK to gain three Michelin stars. He helped trai ...
's
Le Gavroche Le Gavroche (''The Urchin'') is a restaurant at 43 Upper Brook Street in Mayfair, London. It was opened in 1967 by Michel and Albert Roux at 61 Lower Sloane Street, its premises until 1981. Albert's son Michel Roux Jr is the current chef pat ...
. At Harveys, White had eight chefs under him on average, which was expanded to a team of about 20 at The Restaurant. Five of the chefs moved from Harveys to The Restaurant with him,along with a former Harveys chef and several others who joined from other Michelin starred restaurants from the UK and France. This enabled White to adopt a structure with himself, a head chef, a team of four or five
sous chef A sous-chef is a chef who is second in command in a kitchen; the person ranking next after the head chef, usually the more hands on manager with regards to training staff and organising the kitchen. Duties and functions The sous-chef has many re ...
s and teams on fish, meat/sauce, larder and pastry. Each of those sections was then broken down into a
chef de partie A chef de partie, station chef, or line cook is a chef in charge of a particular area of production in a restaurant. In large kitchens, each chef de partie might have several cooks or assistants. In most kitchens, however, the chef de partie is ...
heading the team, and then
commis chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...
s under them. By 1994,
Éric Chavot Éric Chavot (born 1967) is a French Michelin starred chef. He was working the head chef at the Bob Bob Cité and Bob Bob Ricard restaurants in London until January 2020, as well as the consultant chef at the Royal Albert Hall's Coda restaurant. ...
had joined the brigade as head chef under White. He left the following year to open the restaurant Interlude de Chavot, with White's assistance. The chefs were initially surprised at how busy they were at lunchtimes; Harveys had been based next to
Wandsworth Common Wandsworth Common is a public common in Wandsworth, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, south London. It is and is maintained and regulated by Wandsworth Council. It is also a Ward of the London Borough of Wandsworth. The population of the ward ...
and so the typically slow lunch service was used to give the chefs a break. Now based near
Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...
, they had four or five times the number of covers for a lunch service than before. White remained determined to gain his third Michelin star, and to achieve this, he sought to emulate and surpass the food and service at
Pierre Koffmann Pierre Koffmann (born 21 August 1948) is a French professional chef. He was one of a handful of chefs in the United Kingdom to have been awarded the coveted three Michelin stars at his restaurant La Tante Claire in London. Until December 2016 he ...
's three Michelin star restaurant
La Tante Claire La Tante Claire (''The Aunt Claire'') was a restaurant in Chelsea, London, which opened in 1977 and 1998. Owned and operated by Pierre Koffmann, it gained three Michelin stars in 1983, and held all three until the restaurant moved premises in 199 ...
. White worked 14/15-hour days for six days a week, expecting similar hours from those chefs under him, with the restaurant only closed on Sundays. After White won his third Michelin star in 1995, he found a new obsession. While 54 restaurants across Europe had three stars at the time, there was a further rating system used by Michelin called the knives and forks. They were awarded for elements such as ambience and aesthetics, and came in two colours – the basic black awards and the superior red awards. White wanted his restaurant to be the undisputed best restaurant in the UK, since La Tante Claire, the
Waterside Inn The Waterside Inn, located in Bray, Berkshire, England, is a restaurant founded by the brothers Michel and Albert Roux after the success of Le Gavroche. It is currently run by Michel's son, Alain. The restaurant has three Michelin stars, and in ...
and
Le Gavroche Le Gavroche (''The Urchin'') is a restaurant at 43 Upper Brook Street in Mayfair, London. It was opened in 1967 by Michel and Albert Roux at 61 Lower Sloane Street, its premises until 1981. Albert's son Michel Roux Jr is the current chef pat ...
had each only gained four. With these in mind, White moved the restaurant from the Hyde Park Hotel to the
Le Méridien Piccadilly Hotel The Dilly Hotel is a historic 5-star hotel located at 21 Piccadilly in London, England. History The hotel opened in 1908 as The Piccadilly Hotel. It was bought by Le Méridien in 1986 and renamed Le Méridien Piccadilly. In 2010, Starman ...
, closing at the initial location on 16 August 1997. White took the
listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
Oak Room as the main dining room of the restaurant, opening there two weeks later. This had become available after
Granada plc Granada plc (previously called Granada Ltd, Granada Group plc, and Granada Media plc) was a British conglomerate best known as the parent from 1954 to 2004 of the Manchester-based Granada Television. The company merged with Carlton Communica ...
bought the hotel group, and White was suddenly contracted to a company with a wider range of hotels. In addition to the new location, new touches were made to the service. If a female diner had a handbag, a small side table was placed beside her so that she did not need to place the bag on the floor. Money was not reused; change was only given in new notes and previously unused coins. The kitchen staff were expanded further to around 25, with Robert Reid as the head chef under White. The front of house staff were also expanded to six
sommelier A sommelier ( or or ; ), or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, normally working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food pairing. The role of the wine steward in hau ...
s, four
Maître d'hôtel The ''maître d'hôtel'' (; ), head waiter, host, waiter captain, or ''maître d ( , ) manages the public part, or "front of the house", of a formal restaurant. The responsibilities of a ''maître d'hôtel'' generally include supervising the wa ...
s and two head waiters. In 1998, ownership of the restaurant transferred to MPW Criterion, a holding company created by White which also owned the
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...
restaurant. Following White's retirement, the Oak Room continued to operate under Reid, albeit with a new menu where the prices were reduced by between a third to a half. The majority of the staff remained with Reid, with Jeff Galvin installed as the new head chef, until he left to run the restaurant L'Escargot in May 2000. MPW Criterion was wound up on 11 September 2001; by which time planning was already underway to close the Oak Room, which took place on 15 February 2002. By this time, there were 15 other kitchen staff, and a further 15 front of house staff. There was some added difficulty for calculating the redundancy packages for the staff since none of them had written contracts, and were only calculated from the period when the restaurant was owned by the MPW Criterion company; this reduced Reid's total service from nine years to four.


Menu


Hyde Park Hotel

One of the reasons White sought to leave Harveys was that the size of the kitchen was insufficient to allow him to expand the range of techniques in the dishes he served. With the move to The Restaurant, he added dishes with techniques such as
confit Confit (, ) (from the French word '' confire'', literally "to preserve") is any type of food that is cooked slowly over a long period as a method of preservation. Confit, as a cooking term, describes when food is cooked in grease, oil, or suga ...
,
braising Braising (from the French word ''braiser'') is a combination-cooking method that uses both wet and dry heats: typically, the food is first browned at a high temperature, then simmered in a covered pot in cooking liquid (such as wine, broth, coc ...
and en vessie highlighted. The move also saw an expansion to the number of different options served; while Harveys may have had a handful of main courses, this was increased to around 15 or more at The Restaurant. White's concept for the food was simplified versions of classical
French cuisine French cuisine () is the cooking traditions and practices from France. It has been influenced over the centuries by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to the food traditions of the re ...
. The Hyde Park Hotel, now known as the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park White was in the habit of creating new dish concepts late at night, sometimes drawing sketches of the plating directly into the pages of French cookbooks he had picked up during the course of his career, or at other times selecting a protein and writing a long list of potential accompaniments. These concepts would then be handed to his
head chef A chef de cuisine (, French for ''head of kitchen'') or head chef is a chef that leads and manages the kitchen and chefs of a restaurant or hotel. A chef patron (feminine form ''chef patronne'') (French for ''boss chef'') or executive chef is ...
in the morning, who was told to copy them out for future use. Dishes served included the favourite pigeon, served with
foie gras Foie gras (, ; ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a duck or goose. According to French law, foie gras is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by gavage (force feeding). Foie gras is a popular and well-known delicacy ...
, wrapped in cabbage and served with a potato
purée A purée (or mash) is cooked food, usually vegetables, fruits or legumes, that has been ground, pressed, blended or sieved to the consistency of a creamy paste or liquid. Purées of specific foods are often known by specific names, e.g., apples ...
. Another popular dish was lobster grilled and served with
truffle butter Truffle butter is a compound butter made with butter combined with other ingredients, including truffle A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, predominantly one of the many species of the genus ''Tuber''. In ...
. White also brought dishes from his previous restaurant as well, including his Koffman inspired
pig's trotter A pig's trotter, also known as a pettitoe, or sometimes known as a pig's foot, is the culinary term for the foot of a pig. The cuts are used in various dishes around the world, and experienced a resurgence in the late 2000s. Description Pigs' t ...
, served with
sweetbread Sweetbread is a culinary name for the thymus (also called throat, gullet, or neck sweetbread) or pancreas (also called stomach, belly or gut sweetbread), typically from calf (french: ris de veau, es, hígado) or lamb (). Sweetbreads have a rich ...
s and Périgueux sauce (a
white wine White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without skin contact. The wine color, colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured Juice vesicles, ...
and truffle sauce). The menu itself was accompanied by a quote from
Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...
, "At six I wanted to be a cook, at seven
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
and my ambition has been growing steadily ever since." The dessert menu featured a quote from French
gastronome Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. One who is well versed in gast ...
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (; 1 April 1755, Belley, Ain – 2 February 1826, Paris) was a French lawyer and politician, who, as the author of ''The Physiology of Taste'' (''Physiologie du Goût''), gained fame as an epicure and gastronome: " ...
, "To know how to eat well, one must first learn how to wait." These quotes were later spoofed on menus in his other restaurants. Another element featured on The Restaurant menus, were the years of the creation of each dish. The cheese course was served by a Maître d'hôtel on a trolley. White's rules dictated that after lunch, the cheese was reviewed to ensure that a sufficient serving was left to present for the dinner seatings. One incident recounted in White's autobiography, was that upon being unsatisfied with the remaining portions of cheese as the Maître'd was attempting to take the trolley into the dining room for the evening service, the chef threw each cheese in turn against the wall of the kitchen while berating him for not replacing them. Due to the ripeness of the cheese, they remained glued to the wall for the rest of the service. When a diner ordered potato
chips ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The serie ...
off-menu, White hand cut them himself and charged the surprised diner £25 for the portion. He remarked "For me to cut those chips perfectly took time. They became a cheap portion by the time you calculate my hourly rate".


Le Méridien Piccadilly Hotel

Following the move to the Le Méridien Piccadilly Hotel, the menu and wine list were expanded once more. White sought to have a far wider range of wine than at other three Michelin star restaurants; one example given was that while a different restaurant might have four or five bottles of Pétrus, the Oak Room list had more than 70 different vintages. There was a collection of
Château d'Yquem Château d'Yquem () is a '' Premier Cru Supérieur'' ( Fr: "Superior First Growth") wine from the Sauternes, Gironde region in the southern part of the Bordeaux vineyards known as Graves. In the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, Chà ...
listed over five pages going back to 1850. By November 1997, the wine cellar was valued at £1.5 million, with an average weekly taking on wine alone between £25,000 and £30,000. The menu was changed to include more
table service The foodservice (US English) or catering (British English) industry includes the businesses, institutions, and companies which prepare meals outside the home. It includes restaurants, school and hospital cafeterias, catering operations, and many ...
, such as meat carvings. The other courses and side dishes were carried from the kitchen on silver platters. The idea that this would provide entertainment for all diners, even if they did not order a course with table service. Further changes were made to the techniques used. Each morning, 36 chickens were roasted for their juices rather than the meat being used on the menu. Each chicken was pressed in a
colander A colander (or cullender) is a kitchen utensil used to strain foods such as pasta or to rinse vegetables. The perforated nature of the colander allows liquid to drain through while retaining the solids inside. It is sometimes also called a past ...
to ensure that all the liquid was expressed. These juices were mixed with those from the roasting trays after they had been deglazed with
Madeira wine Madeira is a fortified wine made on the Portuguese Madeira Islands, off the coast of Africa. Madeira is produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry wines which can be consumed on their own, as an apéritif, to sweet wines usually consumed ...
and then added a small amount of
veal Veal is the meat of calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, however most veal comes from young male calves of dairy breeds which are not used for breeding. Generally, v ...
stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...
. The actual roasted chickens ended up being too dry to serve following the process, and so were used for staff lunches or were discarded. These 36 chickens produced enough juice for the sauces to accompany 30 chicken dishes. Similar processes were conducted with lamb shoulders, where they were pressed only for the creation of sauces.


Reception


Restaurant critics

Michael Winner Robert Michael Winner (30 October 1935 – 21 January 2013) was a British filmmaker, writer, and media personality. He is known for directing numerous Action film, action, Thriller films, thriller, and black comedy films in the 1960s, 1970s and ...
visited the restaurant a couple of days after opening for ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' while dining with Michael Caine. Winner found that the hotel's entrance to the restaurant was still under refurbishment, and that the service was sub par with items being dropped by their waiter. Once the food began to arrive, his opinion changed immediately with a dish of
vichyssoise Vichyssoise ( , ), also known as potage Parmentier, velouté Parmentier, or crème Parmentier, is a thick soup made of boiled and puréed leeks, onions, potatoes, cream, and chicken stock. It is traditionally served cold, but it can be eaten hot. ...
with oysters and
caviar Caviar (also known as caviare; from fa, خاویار, khâvyâr, egg-bearing) is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or a spread. Traditionally, the ter ...
showing that White was "on brilliant form". He called his main course of pot roasted pork accompanied by a
cuvée ''Cuvée''Or Cuvee on some English-language labels. () is a French wine term that derives from ''cuve'', meaning vat or tank.J. Robinson (ed), ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'', Third Edition, p. 218, Oxford University Press 2006, winepros.com.a ...
vegetables and potatoes with
parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to the central and eastern Mediterranean region (Sardinia, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, southern Italy, Greece, Por ...
, "as good a main course as I have ever eaten, and I had the sense to be born to extremely rich parents, who kept me gloriously fed from childhood." He called the desserts "to die for", and stole Caine's dessert to eat in addition to his own.
John Lanchester John Henry Lanchester (born 25 February 1962) is a British journalist and novelist. He was born in Hamburg, brought up in Hong Kong and educated in England; between 1972 and 1980 at Gresham's School in Holt, Norfolk, then at St John's College, ...
dined there for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', on the second night following the opening, but complained of the cost of the meal, which at £60 for three courses including
cover charge Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...
and
VAT A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...
, he thought made it the most expensive in London. He said that the starter of
ravioli Ravioli (; singular: ''raviolo'', ) are a type of pasta comprising a filling enveloped in thin pasta dough. Usually served in broth or with a sauce, they originated as a traditional food in Italian cuisine. Ravioli are commonly square, though o ...
of seafood with
sauce vierge ''Sauce vierge'' ( French; in English: literally, "virgin sauce") is a French sauce made from olive oil, lemon juice, chopped tomato and chopped basil. Frequently, crushed coriander seed is added, and variations may include the addition of ot ...
was "good but not dumbfounding", while the lobster salad suffered from the lobster being slightly chewy. He called both main courses "the business". They were a saddle of rabbit served with a herb
risotto Risotto (, , from meaning "rice") is a northern Italian rice dish cooked with broth until it reaches a creamy consistency. The broth can be derived from meat, fish, or vegetables. Many types of risotto contain butter, onion, white wine, and Par ...
,
leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...
s,
asparagus Asparagus, or garden asparagus, folk name sparrow grass, scientific name ''Asparagus officinalis'', is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus''. Its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. It was once classified in ...
and a
rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native plant, native to the Mediterranean Region, Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was kn ...
au jus ''Au jus'' () is a French language, French culinary term meaning "with juice". It refers to meat dishes prepared or served together with a light broth or gravy, made from the fluids secreted by the meat as it is cooked. In French cuisine, cookin ...
. The other course was
ham Ham is pork from a leg cut of pork, cut that has been food preservation, preserved by wet or dry Curing (food preservation), curing, with or without smoking (cooking), smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. Lo ...
wrapped sweetbreads served with braised lettuce and cep confit, which he added were "stupendously good". He referred to the desserts as "red-fruit heaven".
Jonathan Meades Jonathan Turner Meades (born 21 January 1947) is an English writer and film-maker, primarily on the subjects of place, culture, architecture and food. His work spans journalism, fiction, essays, memoir and over fifty highly idiosyncratic tele ...
ate at The Restaurant for ''The Times'' in late 1993, and noted the evolution of some dishes and sauces from White's days at Harveys. These included making the pig's trotter dish more "delicate", and only using the white part of the leeks in a pressed leek and
langoustine ''Nephrops norvegicus'', known variously as the Norway lobster, Dublin Bay prawn, ' (compare langostino) or ''scampi'', is a slim, orange-pink lobster which grows up to long, and is "the most important commercial crustacean in Europe". It is n ...
starter. Meades also noticed that White had "tempered" the sauces served with meat and fish, referring to their previous versions as "assault courses". He praised a new roasted salmon and tapenade dish, calling it "of breathtaking quality", and the work of
pastry chef A pastry chef or pâtissier (; the French female version of the word is pâtissière ), is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bi ...
Roger Pizey. Meades later listed The Restaurant as the second best in the country at the end of 1994, placed only behind Phil Vickery, having recently taken over from
Gary Rhodes Gary Rhodes (22 April 1960 – 26 November 2019) was an English restaurateur and television chef, known for his love of English cuisine and ingredients and for his distinctive spiked hair style. He fronted shows such as ''MasterChef'', ''Mast ...
, at the Castle Hotel, Taunton. He gave both restaurants an equal nine stars out of ten. When
celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in printed publications. While television ...
Keith Floyd Keith Floyd (28 December 1943 â€“ 14 September 2009) was a British celebrity Chef, cook, restaurateur, television personality and Gastronomy, "gastronaut" who hosted cooking shows for the BBC and published many books combining cookery and t ...
listed his five favourite restaurants for ''The Guardian'' in September 1994, he included The Restaurant in third place, saying "The food is exquisite. He's a difficult bastard, but I like him. He came through le Gavroche, through
Albert Roux Albert Henri Roux (8 October 1935 – 4 January 2021) was a French-British restaurateur and chef. He and his brother Michel operated Le Gavroche in London's Mayfair, the first restaurant in the UK to gain three Michelin stars. He helped trai ...
, and he's developed on from there. Along with Albert, I think he's one of the finest cooks in the country. Last time, I had a bean and langoustine soup which was sensational, outstanding." A. A. Gill reviewed the restaurant for ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' after the move to the Oak Room in late 1997. He summarised his visit by saying that "If you are interested in the pursuit of excellence, then a table at the Oak Room is as high as you can go in this country, and close to as high as you can go in the world." He recommended the starters of
red mullet Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...
soup, the
ballotine A ballotine (from French ''balle'', 'package') is traditionally a de-boned thigh and/or leg part of the chicken, duck or other poultry stuffed with forcemeat and other ingredients. It is tied to hold its shape and sometimes stitched up with a truss ...
of salmon, and the chicken
oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...
served with a
celeriac Celeriac (''Apium graveolens'' var. ''rapaceum''), also called celery root, knob celery, and turnip-rooted celery (although it is not a close relative of the turnip), is a variety of celery cultivated for its edible stem or hypocotyl, and shoo ...
remoulade Rémoulade (; ) is a cold sauce. Although similar to tartar sauce, it is often more yellowish, sometimes flavored with curry, and sometimes contains chopped pickles or piccalilli. It can also contain horseradish, paprika, anchovies, capers and ...
. He called his main course "utterly simple and completely perfect"; it consisted of roast partridge with
choucroute garnie ''Choucroute garnie'' ( French for ''dressed sauerkraut'') is an Alsatian recipe for preparing sauerkraut with sausages and other salted meats and charcuterie, and often potatoes. Although sauerkraut/cabbage is a traditionally German and Easte ...
. He called the interior of the dining room "soft and thick and luxurious", adding that a painting by Mark Gertler and three bronzes by
Rembrandt Bugatti Rembrandt Bugatti (16 October 1884 – 8 January 1916) was an Italian sculptor, known primarily for his bronze sculptures of wildlife subjects. During World War I, he volunteered for paramedical work at a military hospital in Antwerp, an experie ...
were "worth the entrance fee alone".


Restaurant guides

In the 1994 Michelin Guide for the United Kingdom and Ireland, The Restaurant retained the two stars transferred from Harveys. White also became the first British chef to win stars at two restaurants, with a Michelin star being awarded to his restaurant Canteen under Stephen Terry in addition to The Restaurant. Later that year, The Restaurant was awarded a full three stars in
Egon Ronay Egon Miklos Ronay (24 July 1915 – 12 June 2010) was a Hungarian-born food critic who wrote and published a famous series of guides to British and Irish restaurants and hotels in the 1950s and 1960s. These guidebooks are credited with raisin ...
's ''Guide to British Eateries''. The following year, The Restaurant was awarded three Michelin stars. White claimed to have become the youngest chef ever to have won a third star, but this was later disputed by Heinz Winkler. The same year, Ladenis also won his third star at fellow Rocco Forte hotel based restaurant Chez Nico. The media response at the time was to criticise White over the fact that despite his restaurant serving French cuisine, White had never travelled to France. White had actually travelled through France on trains, for family holidays in Italy with his mother as a child. Four months after moving the restaurant to the Oak Room, the listing for the restaurant was updated in the 1998 Michelin Guide to feature five red knives and forks in addition to three Michelin stars, the highest possible rating available in the guide. Following the decision to retire, White gave back his Michelin stars as of 23 December 1999 and asked not to be featured in the guide any more. In doing so, he praised Michelin's faith in him, saying "Even during my wilder years they ignored press reports and simply judged me on my cooking." A year later, and the Oak Room was named a one Michelin star restaurant under Reid. In response, he said "Of course, I think we deserve two stars but you have to be seen to go from nothing to one to two. I don't think it's politically correct to be given two stars straight away." It retained the single Michelin star in the following edition of the guide, prior to the closure of the restaurant.


Legacy

The Restaurant was later seen as the start of a movement in London wherein high-end restaurants were moved into hotels. This was followed in 1999 by Koffman moving La Tante Claire from its
Royal Hospital Road Royal Hospital Road is a street in Chelsea, London, England. It runs between Chelsea Embankment on the north bank of the River Thames to the southwest and a junction with Lower Sloane Street, Pimlico Road and Chelsea Bridge Road to the northeas ...
location into
The Berkeley The Berkeley is a five-star deluxe hotel, located in Wilton Place, Knightsbridge, London. The hotel is owned and managed by Maybourne Hotel Group, which also owns Claridge's and The Connaught in Mayfair, London. History 1800s and early 1900s Lo ...
hotel. The Restaurant's location in a hotel was thought at the time to have changed the mantra of not eating in a hotel-based restaurant to one where it was more openly acceptable.


Annotations


See also

*
List of French restaurants This is a list of notable French restaurants. French cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices from France, famous for the rich tastes and subtle nuances with long and rich history. France, a country famous for its agriculture and indepe ...


Notes


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Restaurant Marco Pierre White European restaurants in London Michelin Guide starred restaurants in London 1993 establishments in England Restaurants established in 1993 1993 in London 2002 disestablishments in England Restaurants disestablished in 2002 Defunct French restaurants in the United Kingdom Defunct restaurants in London