Words & Photography by Marina Benjamin and Luiz Hara
Richard Davies is the third Michelin chef
in as many weeks to take over the kitchen at Selfridges’ The Corner
Restaurant for the #MeetTheMichelins dinner series. This is a fabulous initiative by Selfridges giving some of the most talented UK chefs a platform to demonstrate haute cuisine from outside London. With a beautifully balanced
six-course menu (priced at £75, with an
additional £35 for the wine flight), Richard Davies treated us to a taste of Wiltshire
– not least its tasty locally-reared pigs.
Before the meal began Davies popped out of
the kitchen to meet everyone – he informed the assembled foodies that he hoped
we’d like the pork belly dish he’d selected as a main course. As he talked, lines of waiting staff emerged
from behind him with plates of curling prawn crackers and boules of lightly
whipped taramasalata, they meandered around the tables pouring glasses of the store’s
own-label Adami Prosecco. This was distinctly peachy, and a wonderful companion
to the intensely-flavoured crackers and salty roe. You could feel diners relax,
and the volume of chatter rose accordingly.
At the Bybrook Restaurant at the Manor House Hotel (part of the Exclusive Hotels Group) near Bath, Davies has become known for his French-with-a-twist
leanings, and for his lightness of touch. These qualities were in evidence here
in spades, beginning with the loose heap of finely chopped beef tartare – which
came with asparagus shavings, a quail’s egg, and smoky charcoal mayo.
It was
melt-in-the-mouth delicious, and so summery and light that the sommelier paired it
with a medium-bodied white wine, a blend of viognier and sauvignon
blanc by Montesco Verdes Cobardes. It worked a treat and retails for a snip in the store (£16.99).
Staying with terroir, we moved onto duck –
slices of smoked breast meat and a croquette of duck leg confit cooked with pickled
shiimeji mushrooms. The textures were fabulous, when combined with crunchy
candied macadamias and yielding vanilla-poached pears.
We drank a perky
Beaujolais (Moulin a Vent Thibault Ligerbelair) that gave off banana on the nose and was riddled with liquorice and
redcurrant (£26.99).
The mackerel dish that followed didn’t
quite hit a high note for me. Though the fish was succulent and sweet-cured,
the watercress velouté lacked bite and the celeriac remoulade made with horseradish
instead of mustard needed more heat. The
flavours melded harmoniously, but I was after a marriage of opposites.
The
accompanying Austrian Hirtzberger Riesling Federspiel however, was flawless (£49.99).
Davies’ pork belly did not disappoint. It
was succulent and full-flavoured, and a super-intense celeriac purée and apple
compote really made it sing.
Heritage carrots completed this wonderful dish, as
did the complex and deep-flavoured 2012 Quadratur from Coume del Mas, Cote de Roussillon (£34.99).
After a refreshing yoghurt and blackcurrant
palette cleanser, the menu was rounded off with a Valrhona Chocolate tian, with
cherries 3 ways – boozy in the middle, jammy in the obligatory smear, and with
a few marinated halves for contrast. It was heaven on a plate, and a perfect
end to the meal.
Selfridges’ in-house sommelier Dawn Davies pulled yet another
rabbit out of her hat with a delicious chilled Spanish dessert red from
Mataro Alta Alella, that was neither cloying nor fortified, but had enough strength to hold
its own against the powerful cherries (£27.99 for 500ml). Excellently judged
wines lifted this meal to really superlative heights.
I strongly suspect that dinner bookings at
the Bybrook Restaurant will be in sore demand from Londoners with a newfound
zest for Wiltshire’s best.
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