I could kiss Petrus Head Chef Russell Bateman purely for the brilliance of your realisation that you could take a dessert loved by just about every human being on the plant and make it even more awesome!
It’s January, the time of year when every single restauranteur is praying that January will be a better than expected in the post festive month, for dinners this signals yet another month in which restaurants will do anything they can to get you through their doors.
Unlike the pre-festive period though, when high end establishments have a waiting list as long as their arm, the first month of the year affects even the most popular of places, with many business owners having to greatly reduce the working hours they offer staff which in turn puts restaurants at risk of loosing skilled and valuable employees.
This period does however deliver a great opportunity for the savvy foodie to dine at thee most prestigious establishments for a fraction of the cost and whats more Bookatable.co.uk have made it incredibly easy for you to search for the very best deals.
A pre-planned trip to London (on a £58 bargain return ticket with Grand Central from Halifax) delivers a great opportunity to try what Bookatable.co.uk label their ‘Star Deals’, a quick search leads me to an offer at Petrus in London’s prestigious Belgravia area, just a stones throw away from the Knightsbridge Tube Station, Harrods & Harvey Nichols Department Stores.
Those familiar with the restaurant scene will identify Petrus as the flagship Gordon Ramsey Restaurant famous for serving a range of different vintages of the french wine Petrus of which the restaurant is named after.
Whilst you may be fooled into thinking anything associated with Gordon is likely to be affordable only to those with a pay packet high enough to allow them to live in one of the most affluent area’s in the capital, you’d be wrong.
The Bookatable.co.uk Petrus star deal means you only need to cough up fifty english pounds and for that your going to get a drink too!
The Petrus deal, which is just one of a bundle of deals available all across the country, includes a glass of Champagne on arrival, Canapés, Amuse Bouche, Starter, Main, Pre-Dessert, Dessert & Petit Fours as well as a kitchen tour and an opportunity to chat with Petrus Head Chef Russell Bateman, it’s an absolute bargain and one I just can not resist!
The minute you walk through the door at Petrus it’s immediately obvious that the experience you are about to encounter is going to be more than just about the food, there’s possibly more staff tendering to your every need than there are customers and don’t worry if you drop a crumb from the sourdough bread, that’s served with the most amazing butter from Brittany, there’s somebody on hand to clear up your mess instantly, leaving the pristinely ironed tablecloth which is home to my glass of Devaux Champagne, in tact.
With severn courses to get through the extremely attentive front of house staff are quick to present we with canapés.
Duck Crocket & Pumpkin Cannelloni are the first explosions of taste that signal that this dinning ride is going to be extremely pleasurable, the instantly recognisable game flavour of the duck is ever present in this little morsel as is the powerful pumpkin pleasantry in the cannelloni which is clever given the size of this introductory taste into Batemans creative wizardry.
The Amuse Bouche is all about every chef’s favourite, the artichoke, whilst it’s without doubt the very finest example of this trendy vegetable it’s the crispy ball that accompanies it which leaves me with a huge smile of my face.
The lack of cutlery at this stage leads me to believe that this little ball of surprise should be put in mouth whole, once there one bite allows an assortment of fine melted cheese, with a touch of truffle, to burst in yet another explosive moment, clever, so clever, I comment to the maître d’ as my dishes are cleared, wow!
For starters I opt for the Ox-tail Tortellini served with a roast onion broth and thyme, whilst I have made my own pasta in the past my time constraints mean it’s not a regular event, but gosh as this dish convinced me again that nothing you can purchase in a store comes even close.
Pair that with rich ox-tail and place it in a onion broth and you have a dish which is very cleaver indeed, not only does the skill involved in producing this dish impress me but so does the time invested in producing a dish like this.
I know from experience that you’re not going to get much change from 4 hours dealing with ox-tail and that’s before you’ve even started making fresh pasta and a incredible broth to go with it.
For main I opt for the Halibut, accompanied by salsify, leeks and a mussel cream. I love love love this dish primarily because of it’s simplicity in looks but also because it’s another very clever dish.
Once again Chef Bateman allows the quality of the ingredients do the talking and just at the point you become comfortable with this delicate dish he throws in another explosive element, a crispy coated mussel that once again delivers a pop of flavour that again makes you smile uncontrollably.
A grape pre-dessert cleanses the palate as you would expect but by this point my attention is firmly fixed on the dessert, I’m asked if I’d like any help choosing to which my response is “I’m a Yorkshire Man, can you guess what I’m going to choose” Yorkshire Rhubarb!
Yorkshire Rhubarb & Buttermilk cheesecake, please lets take a moment to read that again, Yorkshire Rhubarb & Buttermilk cheesecake, I’m getting emotional just re-living the moment this dish was presented to me.
I could kiss you Russell Bateman purely for the brilliance of your realisation that you could take a dessert loved by just about every human being on the plant and make it even more awesome, couple that with an ingredient found in it’s finest form in the land known as god’s own country and what’s left to say other than dessert perfection!
It’s true that shortly after this dessert I was presented with 2 little Petit Fours and yes they were awesome but let’s not detract from that dessert once again, immense!
Let me just remind you for a second, fifty english pounds, yes you read that right, fifty english pounds, 7 courses, 1 awesome restaurant, what a deal to find!!!
It’s worth mentioning that Bookatable.co.uk star deals are available all year round for a whole range of restaurants all over the UK. what are you waiting for? Go grab yourself a bargain!
