Probably not the sort of review the Chef would be expecting or would take much notice, but I thought it would be a fun thing to write a review of what I described as “The best meal I have ever had”.
Date: 13th March 2011
Venue: The Maze Grill (Gordon Ramsey), Grosvenor Square, London
Entering through the automatic glass doors, you are welcomed at a reception where a member of staff takes your coats and checks your reservation. I felt that this area was a tad too small. The reception serves both The Maze and the Grill. We were a part of four and the space was filled and a bit cumbersome as we de-robed.
From here we were greeted by the matradee who took us to our seats.
There was a bit of wait before the menus arrived, which I felt was just that little bit too long. For someone who has had a difficult relationship with food, especially eating out, I found the wait a little bit too long and provided an awkward feel when really what was required was something to put me at ease.
Our waiter came over for the evening and provided the menus and offered us some water. After a short period of time, the theatrical experience truly began.
The resident meat specialist came over to explain the different cuts of meat along with the different types. I think for me, this was a little bit odd, but then I suppose if you were really into fine dining you would appreciate it. However for me point out the “healthier meat” was appreciated.
The time given for us to decide was perfect. I did feel a little under pressure but this came from the company I was with, not from the service.
So, we then moved on to the food.
Starter: White onion soup, Parmesan and garlic crostini
This was brought to the table in a bowl with just the crostini and some herbs. This made me feel a little awkward at first as there seemed to be no soup and only some oiled carbohydrates. But the unexpected theatrics really made the dish special. Once everyone else’s dishes had been served, a waiter returned to my setting with a small jug of the soup and poured this over the crostini right to the brim of my bowl. It was a simple, but magical, experience that added something – I’m not sure what – to the dish.
The soup itself was a perfect blend of flavors. For someone who loves their cheese it was disappointingly not a very cheesy dish, but it wasn’t overly flavored of onion either. The consistency of the soup was superb as well.
Two criticisms of the dish; The temperature of the soup was nuclear which made it difficult to taste at first, also the fresh herbs were still on the stalks and, although making the dish look quite spectacular when served, once they were covered in the soup and had become wilted they became quite stringy and awkward to eat.
Other dishes had around the table included the soft shell crab and also the squid. Both were also beautifully presented and flavored. The soft shell crab dish was quite large for a starter.
Main Course: Hereford grass fed, aged 25 days Sirloin 10oz.
Sides: Stilton Fries, Braised Carrots, Spinach with gruyere.
It was served on a wooden chopping board with a bulb of roasted garlic and herbs for decoration. The dish looked just as I would have expected.
The taste of the dish was totally out of this world. The meat was obviously a very good cut of meat and a very good produce, but the seasoning and the execution of its preparation was perfect.
Normally, when I go out for a steak, I would be battling to cut the fat off the top of the cut and trying to make sure that it was on the other side of the plate. I do this, not because of the obvious anorexic tendencies but, because it is generally very chewy and tasteless. This time around I wouldn’t have even realised that the fat was there if it wasn’t for the added flavor it provided.
The sides were all cooked to perfection too. For people who don’t like cheese do not get put off by the Stilton fries. The fries themselves are seasoned a lot better than the normal fries and the cheese is only used as a dip, which incidentally for my cheese loving palette was not cheesy enough.
The spinach came as more cheese than it did spinach and was a little bit awkward to share between a few people as the spinach wasn’t very finely chopped before being baked within the pot of gruyere.
No one around our table had a sauce with their main and it was not missed. The meat was moist enough and had flavors that would only be lost by any of the sauces. By not having a sauce we did not only save £2.50 we saved a lot more because my opinion is that it would have wasted the meat too.
Blackberry and Bramley Apple Crumble with Anglaise
I am not a pudding person and I almost was just going to choose the cheese board, but I really did want to try and do a full and proper 3 course meal. So I chose the crumble and I am more than glad that I did. The fruit had been soaked and baked in a form of alcohol that I could not place but the flavours were perfect.
One of the highlights of this dish was the suggested desert wine from the resident sommelier. I feel I should point out that I am quite a wine snob, I like good wine and I like a good match. This sommelier got it spot on! She recommended a desert wine that was mid-priced and not something I would normally have chosen. The suggestion that something a bit sweeter and with more honey flavouring would really complement the fruit was something I really wasn’t sure about but I can say that I don’t think I have ever known a match work better than this. I was very pleased to be wrong on this occasion because she was more than right!
Closing thoughts.
Over the last two years I have started to have a better relationship with food and have really started to enjoy the process of cooking, serving and eating good food. Good food to me is not all about eating it. I would much prefer to prepare and experiment with it too. For this reason I did not massively think I was going to enjoy this experience.
I am also not always great in overly pretentious and expensive environments. I generally feel like I don’t deserve to be there and that everyone there knows that I am not happy and am feeling so uncomfortable inside that it is a waste to serve good food to me.
The experience last night was something completely different.
Yes; the service was fantastic, the décor and feel of the restaurant was perfect for any occasion. But was it this that made this meal such a land-mark memorable event in my life? Sadly it was not.
When I sat down to the table I was feeling very self conscious and I was feeling a disturbing amount of self loathing. For the first time I did not use alcohol to reduce this feeling and to relax myself. I managed to use positive self talk and also opening up to my companions over dinner about why and what I was feeling at that present time.
My perfect meal was created by the following:
Fantastic Décor, Fantastic service, beautiful produce that was cooked incredibly well but also the company of family who have been so patient with me over the past three years and who now truly understand me and my illness and really just want me to be happy.
Thank you Gordon, but I would also like to thank my family too.
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