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Posts Tagged ‘l'ortolan’

St. James’s Rose & Lychee Cocktail

Posted in Cocktails, Events, l'ortolan, tagged , , , , , , on May 2, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

St James Hotel and Club

Just a stroll away from Mayfair, Buckingham Palace and St. James’s Palace, St James’s Hotel and Club is one of London’s most desirable addresses. With its perfect location, long history, stylish and elegant interiors and a Michelin starred restaurant, St James’s Hotel has built its well deserved reputation with a formidable clientele of film stars, celebrities, authors and diplomats.

With fabulous suites and some of the best guest room terraces in London, the hotel boasts stylish, contemporary, yet elegant interiors finished with handmade silk wallpaper, black lacquered furniture, handcrafted Murano glass chandeliers and polished natural stone bathrooms.

St James’s Hotel and Club is also home to Seven Park Place, the deliciously small, but perfectly formed Michelin-starred restaurant by well known English Chef William Drabble who also oversees William’s Bar & Bistro. A comfortable, unhurried and sophisticated atmosphere, the Bistro is perfect for light lunches, pre and post theatre dinners or for supper, while the chic bar offers an extensive selection of cocktails and an impressive choice of wine and spirits.

St. James's Hotel 7 Park Place

Renowned for their exciting range of contemporary and classic cocktails, St James’s Hotel has created a special cocktail menu to celebrate the Chelsea Flower Show. Made with edible flowers this year’s floral concoctions include ‘Jasmine Buttercup’, ‘Elderflower & Basil Spray’, ‘Flower of Scotland’ and ‘Rose & Lychee Martini’.

We spoke to St James’s Hotel to find out exactly what goes into their floral cocktails – Why not have a go at creating the Rose & Lychee Martini yourself..?

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Rose & Lychee Martini

50 ml Vodka

25 ml  Lychee Juice

10 ml  Monin Rose Syrup

1 Dash of Peychaud’s Bitter

1 Rose Petal to garnish

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The Rose & Lychee Martini will available for guests to taste a week before the Chelsea Flower Show at our Day of Excellence on Friday 17th May – Register now to join us!

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Pommery Champagne: A French Revolution

Posted in l'ortolan, Wine, tagged , , , , on April 25, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

Pommery Champagne

We take a look into the history behind the prestigious French Champagne House and how the Pommery Brut Champagne became so popular…

Champagne Pommery is a French Champagne house founded in Reims by Alexander Pommery and Narcisse Greno in 1858. After Alexander’s death in 1960, Madame Pommery dedicated the business to Champagne production and began producing a sparkling white champagne instead of the classic, still red wine of the period. Her innovative crisp, dry style of “brut” champagne propelled the Champagne house into unimaginable heights, becoming one of the largest Champagne brands in the region.

Following from her success Mrs Pommery built ‘The Grand Castle’ in 1868 – The estate features a 308 acre vineyard of exceptional Grand Cru sites and 18 kilometres of cellars and chalk pits where Madame Pommery stored and aged over twenty million bottles of her innovative Champagne. Many other Champagne houses later followed suit.

Famed for being the creators of the ever popular Brut Champagne, the Pommery house still attracts more than 120,000 visitors from all around the world every year. Now owned by the Vranken company, the Pommery brand continues to maintain the house’s image of modernity and extravagance, being the only Champagne House to offer specific blends for different seasons – highlighting individual characteristics of each of their prestigious wines.

The Pommery style has perpetuated year after year; elegant but ever discreet aromas, freshness and liveliness on the palate with a long and supple finish, a light but fresh composition. Pommery is one of our most popular house Champagnes at L’ortolan, offering a wide range of Champagne blends including the Pommery Dry Elixir which is only available at L’ortolan in the UK.

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Celebrate Spring in style with our Seasonal Pommery Champagne offers…

Pommery Champagne Lunch

Three courses and a glass of Pommery Champagne.
£39 per person

Lunch only, must be pre-booked

Pommery Champagne Dinner

Six courses and a glass of Pommery Champagne.
£59 per person

Available Tuesday to Thursday dinner, must be pre-booked

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The Many Faces of Chardonnay

Posted in l'ortolan, Wine, tagged , , , , on April 4, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

Chardonnay at L'ortolanA phrase often heard from guests when asked if they would like any assistance in selecting a wine is “I’d like to have anything but Chardonnay”. This is so commonly heard in restaurants these days that there is now an unofficial industry term describing these guests as ABC drinkers. For a Sommelier this can be particularly amusing as this is often backed up with the question “Do you have a nice Chablis on offer?” -  Why does this make Sommeliers chuckle? The reason is that Chablis is made from Chardonnay.

When you enquire a little deeper, what you inevitably find is it’s not the Chardonnay grape variety that displeases the guest, but the amount and styling of Oak contained within the wine. This goes back to the late 80’s/early 90’s when Chardonnay was the wine in Vogue at the time. On its own Chardonnay can be a bit of a bland grape, but it is easily influenced which is why producers favour this grape over others, because they get to impart their own style and personality into their wine.

Some of the finest examples of Chardonnay are found in France. Here they get, in part, their rich and toasty character from the long and gentle aging given to then in French Oak barrels. Due to the expense of French Oak these barrels are frightfully expensive to make and maintain, therefore in an attempt to lower costs many producers began using a cheaper American style Oak and an alternative method for getting the oak in contact with the wine. This resulted in an overpowering, cloying and quite often boring style of wine which had its peak of popularity but has now fallen out of favour. Unfortunately this style of wine has sullied the good name of Chardonnay all over.

If you again take the example of Chablis it’s easy to see that this is nothing to do with the variety and everything to do with the production method. Chardonnay remains one of the most widely-planted grape varieties, with over 400,000 acres worldwide, ranging from the most sublime, flinty and steely wines through to those that have a warm, toasted brioche base topped with ripe but tart pineapple.

Craig Steven, Sommelier

Join us at L’ortolan to experience a selection of our Chardonnay Wines.

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The Real Wine Month

Posted in l'ortolan, Wine, tagged , , , , on March 14, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

Wine at L'ortolan

The Real Wine Month is a national promotion of organic, biodynamic and natural wines made by artisan growers and winemakers. L’ortolan is one of over 200 restaurants taking part in the celebration, so we’re taking the opportunity to showcase our diverse and renowned natural wine list.

A trend in recent years is to actually turn the clock back and look at how wines used be made before modern innovations took over. The ‘real’ wines we offer are from some of the most sought after producers, making wine in small yields either organically or bio-dynamically and with minimal intervention in the winery. No chemicals, no secret ingredients… just pure fermented grape juice crafted into something beautiful using the winemaker’s love and expertise.

We source wines working in these ways. The best wines of the past were all natural: the same could be said of today, in an elusive marriage of excellence meets ethics. As might be expected, they can be positively different from ‘conventional’ wine in appearance and taste.

We are constantly tasting and tuning our wine offering with the ever changing menu: we love to introduce the ‘fruit’ of that work. Whether you are looking for the ideal bottle to accompany your food choices from the menu, or a selection by the glass to go with each course from our tasting menus, we will be happy to guide you.

Take a look at our interview with Sommelier Craig, as we ask him what makes wine ‘natural’.

Throughout March our Sommelier, Craig, will serve guests a variety of natural wines by the glass, introducing them to their quirky, complex, and lighter textures. Craig has worked closely with Head Chef Nick to pair natural wines from France, Italy and Greece with the L’ortolan Menu.

Dine with us during March to experience a selection of our Real Wines, and don’t forget to ask Craig more about the estates and regions of these lesser known wines.

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The Real Wine Fair

Sunday March 17th (Trade & Public) 10am – 6pm
Monday March 18th (Trade) 10am – 6pm

The Real Wine fair compromises over 100 winemakers, more than 500 wines to taste, fantastic artisan products & street food, pop-up wine bar & restaurant and the Real Wine Shop.

For more information and tickets, visit www.therealwinefair.com

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Patisserie Demonstration

Posted in Cookery School, Events, Food, l'ortolan, Recipe, tagged , , , , on March 13, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

L'ortolan Macaroons

Yesterday our demo studio came to life with an afternoon tea inspired Patisserie Demonstration from L’ortolan Pastry Chef Samantha Rain. Our demonstration guests arrived to a beautifully sunny L’ortolan and introductions were made over tea and coffee in the bar. Afterwards the guests took their seats in the studio to learn how to produce a stunning selection of pastries both appealing to the eye and delicious – the perfect accompaniment for afternoon tea!

Macaroonier Sam demonstrated her perfect Liquorice Macaroons; a small light biscuit, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, made with ground almonds, sugar and egg whites. Macaroons are one of our favourite current sweet crazes so we asked our very own L’ortolan Pastry Chef for a lesson in baking the popular French confection.

Liquorice Macaroons

Ingredients:

300g Icing Sugar
300g Ground Almonds
10g Liquorice Powder
115g Egg Whites
80g Water
300g Sugar

Method:

1. Blitz together 300g icing sugar, 300g ground almonds and 10g liquorice powder and pass
2. Whisk 115 egg whites to stiff peaks
3. Boil 300g sugar and 80g water to 118°c and pour onto egg whites
4. Whisk egg whites until fluffy and add to dry mix
5. Once the Italian Meringue is cold, combine all the elements into a smooth paste
6. Pipe the mixture and leave to form a skin
7. Bake at 150°c for 6-8 minutes

Liquorice Pastry Cream Filling

Ingredients:

250g Milk
1 Vanilla Pod
60g Sugar
4 Egg Yolks
22g Cornflour

Method:

1. Boil 250g milk, 30g sugar and vanilla
2. Pour milk onto egg yolks and whisk, then place mixture back into the pan and cook out
3. Combine 30g sugar and 22g cornflour
4. Add Liquorice compound to taste

Liquorice Macaroons_______________________________________________________________

L’ortolan Cookery Demonstration Programme

9th April – 3 Course Dinner Party – Bring a little Michelin star flair to your dinner party at home with some ideas and inspiration from the L’ortolan kitchen.

23rd April – Chocolate Heaven – The perfect indulgent treat for serious chocoholics. During this masterclass you will be introduced to a variety of different chocolates including some of the world’s finest single estate chocolate.

14th May – Shellfish Masterclass – Delicious ways to prepare and cook shellfish – include a selection from lobster, oysters, clams, mussels, crab and razor clams depending on availability.

11th June – 3 Course Fish Supper – How to select and prepare the ‘catch of the day’ and cook your fish to perfection.

18th June – Summer Barbecue with the Big Green Egg – The Big Green Egg can be used to smoke, bake and slow cook as well as a barbecue. Join chef on the terrace and discover some new techniques and recipes.

To book your L’ortolan demonstration please call 01189 888 500 or email info@lortolan.com

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Surprise Dinner Party Guests with a ‘Fried Egg’

Posted in Food, Recipe, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 3, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Impress your dinner party guests with a surprise course – our Mango with Coconut Espuma.

Our ‘fried egg’ pre-dessert is often a talking point amongst diners at L’ortolan, as it adds an element of playfulness and amusement to our guests’ experience. It’s a delicious, simple dish to make and the mango even flows onto the espuma in a ‘yolk’-like fashion.

L'ortolan Mango & Coconut Espuma


How to make the Mango with Coconut Espuma

(approximately 20 servings)

Ingredients

  1. 250g – mango purée
    35g – sugar
    2-5g – ultra-tex (a starch based powder that thickens liquids and sauces). Alternatively xanthan gum may be used as a substitute (Available from many health food stores).
  2. 10g – vege gel
    250ml – water
  3. 250g – coconut purée
    25g – sugar
    ¼ – lime juice

Method

  1. To make the mango yolk blend the first step of the ingredients together (mango puree, sugar and ultra-tex) and freeze in half sphere moulds.
  2. Once frozen dip into the water and vege gel.
  3. To make the coconut espuma blend the third step of the ingredients together (coconut purée, sugar & lime juice) and pipe using a cream whipper.
  4. Garnish with black pepper and coriander.

As you can imagine, this popular pre-dessert receives countless feedback comments from our guests. Here is what a few of them say;

‘My younger son is still taking about the ‘fried egg’ of coconut and mango, his favourite part of the meal.’
- Guest January 2012

‘The “fried egg lookalike” pre-dessert was really good fun.’
- Guest January 2012

‘The food was of a very high standard and had a few outstanding surprises (e.g. the mango and foam “fried egg”)’
- Guest November 2011

‘What at first glance resembled a fried egg, turned out to be a supreme coconut espuma with a delicious mango purée centre.’
- Food and Drink Guide

‘Visual jokes add levity to the occasion, as when a pre-dessert of coconut espuma with mango purée in it is fashioned to look like a fried egg.’
- AA

Read more recipe blogs from L’ortolan

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What is fine-dining and what can people expect from L’ortolan

Posted in Alan Murchison, Food, l'ortolan, tagged , , , , , , , on May 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

For some guests fine-dining and Michelin-starred restaurants are a regular part of life or even a hobby, but for others some uncertainty still remains about quite what to expect when you visit a restaurant such as L’ortolan.  We invited guest blogger Simon Carter, Editor of the Fine Dining Guide, to give us his take on modern fine-dining and a guest’s view on L’ortolan……

“Come unto me, all ye that labour in the stomach and I will restore you.” Wrote Monsieur Boulanger, in 1765, on a sign above his restorative; an establishment that soon became recognized as the first ‘restaurant.’

It has been argued that the French Revolution prompted the start of fine dining restaurants in Europe.  Typically the aristocracy had private chefs, grand kitchens and servants to act as waiters.  It was only this class of people that enjoyed fine dining.  An objective of the revolution was to level out society and a byproduct was a surfeit of unemployed chefs, who had been forced out of their private commissions with wealthy families.

Quite quickly an aspiring class of people were offering a demand to these chefs; they wanted to experience what is what like to dine out in the style of the old aristocracy.  Where demand meets supply we have a market and so the market for independent fine dining restaurants was born.

Brillat-Savarin – the first great epicure – who once famously said ‘tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you what you are’ was an early champion of fine dining and had a great cheese from Normandy named in his honour.  Brillat-Savarin cited the Paris restaurant La Grande Taverne de Loudres and the owner Antoine Beauvilliers (early 1800s), with being the first to combine his four requisites of fine dining: an elegant room, smart waiters, a good cellar and superior cooking.

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L’ortolan Day of Excellence

Posted in Alan Murchison, Events, l'ortolan, Suppliers, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 25, 2012 | 1 Comment »

L'ortolan Reading Audi
Our ‘Day of Excellence’ last Friday was a huge success and attracted over 200 guests, old and new. A big thank you to everyone that attended and raised £800 for Hospitality Action in the raffle. We extend our  gratitude to our partners and suppliers who provided the afternoon with fabulous food and wine tasting and stunning displays.

Sommelier Craig welcomed guests with a glass of Pommery champagne and goodie bag before whisking them off on a tour around the restaurant to sample the many delights on offer. Our ‘behind the scenes’ team from marketing and reservations were on hand and enjoyed meeting  guests that they’d had the pleasure of previously arranging bookings for.

Upstairs in the bulthaup demonstration kitchen, Thermomix kept guests entertained with a rolling demonstration using their unique food processor – a favourite with L’ortolan chefs and great for anyone with food allergies and intolerances.  Cacao Barry brought their popular chocolate samples from around the world whilst Peter from James Gourmet Coffee gave visitors the chance to experience the change in coffee flavour as it progressed through the brewing process.

James Gourmet Coffee L'ortolan

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Another Successful Burns Night

Posted in Alan Murchison, Events, Food, l'ortolan, Marketing, Whisky, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 1, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Last week we welcomed a full house for our Burns Night Supper with whisky tasting.  The night is always a favourite for Scottish Executive Chef Alan Murchison and it was a huge success enjoyed by all!

We kicked off the celebrations with an afternoon of Tutored Whisky Tasting hosted by Stephen Nisbet. Stephen introduced guests to six whiskies during the afternoon accompanied by perfectly matched canapés.

Whisky Tasting Burns Night L'ortolan

Our afternoon guests enjoyed a few drams of whisky

The evening saw a selection of whisky transformed into cocktails and four course dinner with whisky paired to each course. Alan Murchison and his team served traditional favourites like the sirloin of beef, watercress, tortellini of haggis and oxtail and foie gras.  You can follow more of Alan’s tweets from the kitchen @AlanMurchison

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‘Cocktail of the Month’ – The Ginger Rumster

Posted in l'ortolan, tagged , , , on June 23, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

As the Three Course Summer Lunch Menu continues next week we welcome July’s ‘Cocktail of the Month’, The Ginger Rumster. This is a revitalising blend of Pampero white rum, bitters, lime wedges and a slice of fresh ginger, homemade ginger syrup and orange juice.

L’ortolan’s Sommelier, Jess, chose The Ginger Rumster for it’s refreshing, spiced and complex flavours. The marketing team photographed the creation of this delicious cocktail, and had the privilege of being the first to enjoy a taste! This is definitely a winner for those hot summer days.

The Ginger RumsterJess

The Ginger Rumster Cocktail welcomes you on arrival when dining on the Three Course Summer Lunch Menu. To sample Jess’s ‘Cocktail of the Month’ book a place on the Summer Lunch before the end of July. Until the end of June the ‘Cocktail of the Month’ is the ‘Vanilla and Apple Cooler’, and watch this space for the August Cocktail!

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