Despite being one of the highest awarded chefs in the world, and declared a God by some critics, Alain Ducasse is an ambitious man, continually moving forward without taking his success for granted. He openly admits to closely observing the work of his competitors, whilst being determined to be the leading pioneer in culinary advances. Perhaps this lack of complacency is the greatest compliment he can pay to his diners and explains why he is one of the few master chefs to have retained the same standards since expanding his empire.
It is five years since Ducasse’s self-titled restaurant at London’s Dorchester Hotel was awarded a third Michelin star, three years after first opening, making it level with Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, the only other three star establishment in the capital and one of only four in the UK, alongside The Fat Duck and The Waterside Inn, Bray. With Jocelyn Herland appointed Executive Chef, the intention was to combine: “the modernity of Beige in Tokyo, the seriousness of La Plaza Athénée in Paris and the flavours of Le Louis XV in Monaco”. It also succeeded in judging the energy of London and the demand for an altogether new and more contemporary approach to fine dining – Ducasse’s philosophy having always been to create restaurants in total harmony with their location.
A particular highlight of the restaurant is the “Table Lumière”; a semi-private dining table in the main dining room accommodating just six diners discreetly and intriguingly shielded beneath a fibre optic curtain featuring over four thousand lights. It’s a surreal and sensual bubble allowing each member of the party to soak up the atmosphere of the main restaurant whilst enjoying a heightened level of intimacy. This exclusive dining experience also gives guests the opportunity to select their own crockery from a range of bespoke tableware designed by Hermès.
The ambiance is formal without being pompous (as so many temples of gastronomy sadly are) and the neutral colour palette and low lighting imbues a mood of tranquillity and hushed anticipation. Ordering a seven course tasting menu at Alain Ducasse can only be described as an event, and one you’ll need to allow several hours to enjoy; each immaculate dish served with ballet-like harmony by a charming front of house team, and before a salivating and respectful audience.
Having taken my seat and placed my clutch on the designated table to my right (an experience I first enjoyed at Le Cinq), my husband and I were welcomed with a glass of NV Champagne Selection Alain Ducasse shortly followed by a tempting-looking dish piled high with the famous warm gougères; airy (yet deadly) choux bon bons flavoured with cheese and black pepper, resembling the bottoms of cherubs and all too easy to nibble on whilst deliberating menus.
Choose from a la carte, the seven course Tasting Menu or the extravagant Black Truffle Tasting menu (£240) celebrating one of the world’s most prized ingredients. There is also the option to ‘upgrade’ a la carte dishes with the help of the tuber melanosporum; a waiter, donning black satin gloves, seductively proceeding to shave black truffle over any selected course. The truffles are stored in the kind of elaborate wooden box you’d expect to be filled with diamonds from Boodles, so it certainly beats being offered Parmesan cheese in the local pizzeria and could lead to a new best seller: Fifty Shavings of Black Truffle.
The first course of chilled Dorset crab featured an intense hit of dark crab meat topped with a soft set ‘gelee’ and caviar, which cleverly doubled up as a seasoning. A serenade of root vegetables served with a black truffle condiment followed – expertly partnered with a perfumed Riesling Grand Cru. By the time we reached the signature dish ‘Sauté gourmand’ of lobster, we were enthralled by the culinary artistry at work; the natural sweetness of the succulent lobster enhanced by quenelles of truffled chicken, extremely al dente tubes of pasta, so as to provide an unexpected array of textures, and finished with a glossy Cognac and shellfish bisque-like jus. In a restaurant clearly obsessed by the elusive fungi, generous shavings of black Perigord truffle provided the finishing touch to one of the stand-out courses of the evening, paired with a vibrantly tropical and unoaked Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay.
A delicate sea scallop served with sautéed cauliflower was like the birth of Venus in culinary form, but then things got a whole lot more macho and so did the wine; saddle of venison served medium-rare, beautifully married with sweet pumpkin and chestnut and glorified by a 2005 Pauillac which conjured up images of sitting in a grand library beside a log fire. Intoxicating. A 2000 Barbeito Madeira, with its soaked-fruit-cake characteristics, partnered the assortment of four French cheeses, presented in a quirky compartmentalised plate, with corresponding accompaniments for each variety.
The restaurant kindly allowed us to swap the fruit course for Baba au Rhum, a house speciality of Le Louis XV-Alain Ducasse in Monte Carlo (the first hotel to be awarded three Michelin stars in the history of the guide). Served on an elaborate silver tureen, with a choice of six premium rums ranging from white to dark, it was possibly the lightest Baba I’ve ever tasted, and the sticky exterior doused in neat alcohol was enough to round anyone’s evening off, with a rather gloating grin in the direction of those not sampling one. I can see why it’s been named one of the foods to try before you die, and now I can rest in peace.
Although Ducasse famously said that food no longer has any borders, or rather that cuisines around the world have learnt from or adopted French techniques and ideas, Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester is very much a grande dame as restaurants go. If you take away some quirky elements of the décor it’s as majestically French as you are likely to find, albeit with a respectful nod to London and it’s unique culture. If London is the city he regards as the gastronomic capital of the world, then Ducasse, just like Auguste Escoffier a hundred years before him, is ‘roi des cuisiniers’.
Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, 53 Park Lane, W1K 1QA. For more information visit the website.
