The Lab 2013

Last night, I was very lucky to be at The Lab, a incredible event from the creators of Taste Festivals bringing together the best chefs from around the world to share exciting new ingredients, flavours and techniques. There was a great buzz about the place, perhaps from the moody dim red lighting, but more likely the anticipation of Monday's news: The World's 50 Best Restaurants.

After a warm 'ciao' and hug from Massimo Bottura, I watched Alex Atala as he finished preparing dishes at the AEG Experiment stage. The food looked stunning, with coconut apple and seaweed brought over from Brazil where his restaurant D.O.M. is located, and an oyster fried in brioche crumbs and served in a little Japanese sauce dish with a soy sauce emulsion, tapioca and roe.

I then went on to try a couple of 'The Dishes'. The mackerel tartare was wonderful: beautifully fresh mackerel well seasoned, with a touch of caviar bringing out the flavour, and combined with crispy bread and beetroot made for a treat.

I really liked the Lukas Pfaff's (of Sartoria) asparagus risotto - it was very creamy but had a slight citrus tang cutting through from the mystery ingredient, Bergamot (which my mum guessed!). The quail's egg melting on top also added an interesting dimension to the dish. Unfortunately it wasn't served very warm, so I didn't have long to savour it!

Roasted rice from Kolkata Street Food was perhaps the best, with sevpuri, mung beans, chickpeas, cucumber and spiced with Indian onion, chili, coriander, lime and tamarind, all combined before me and served in a paper cone.

The highlight of the evening, however, had to be taking part in the 'Noma Flavour Test', for which my mum managed to secure only a single ticket (they went in a flash) which she generously gave to me!

Lars Williams, head of research and development at Noma, talked about the excitement of discovering a new flavour combination, comparing it to an artist discovering a new colour and the ways in which Noma is changing, from re-designing their kitchen to be more dynamic to employing a full-time forager. 

We were lead through several ingredients - Danish-grown seaweed which was dried into a thick crunchy crisp tasted distinctively like soy sauce. There was barley, some fermented and used to flavour potato like a sweet sauce, some colonised by mould which released amylase enzymes and could rapidly age cheese. My favourite were woodland ants (not sure if they were alive) which tasted exceptionally sharp and acidic - I'll be looking out for them in the supermarket (... or not!).

Bennett Oyster Bar & Brasserie

I had a great evening last night at the "friends and family" pre-opening evening at Bennett Oyster Bar & Brasserie (which opens fully on 8th March). Ray, who owns the restaurant was charmingly welcoming and so too were his 1950s-clad waiters. The music was upbeat and jolly, and there was a great atmosphere.

The bread, which they made there, and served in cute little flower pots which reminded me of René Redzepi's flowerpot dish, was delicious - really fluffy and light.

I was very impressed with my starter, the red mullet soup with Gruyère, rouille and croutons. It was a really rich, deep red colour, and the fishy taste matched that intensity - exactly what you want with a fish soup. The rouille, which is made from garlic and olive oil, gave a good kick to the soup, and the saffron flavour was nice and piquant. Together with the crunchy croutons, and one of my favourites cheeses to sprinkle on top and watch melt, I was wary of sharing it!

For mains, I had pollock, which is a great alternative for cod and is much more sustainable, and probably tastier as well, especially how this was done. It had a crusty top, and was cooked perfectly through, so it flaked away easily. The potatoes could have been more crispy, but they tasted fine. I loved the mustard velouté - the velvety and creamy sauce went well with both the fish and the potatoes.

Finally, after two delicious courses came dessert. I was hardly ready for the generous portion of sticky toffee pudding! Unfortunately, it wasn't served quite warm enough and I found it a bit dense, but I liked the toffee sauce, rich and sugary, of course, and the vanilla ice cream was fine.

So, all in all, a very impressive meal, especially for only their second evening running. And I'm sure I'll be going back, if just to try their other fish soups, and maybe even to taste some of their other produce which they sell, like fresh fruit & veg, and home-baked bread and cakes.