“Somewhere over the
Pennines, way up high (above Flannels)
There's a restaurant I
heard of, once in a lullaby
Somewhere over in Leeds,
there’s a menu
Where the dreams that
you dare to dream, really do come true.”
Named
as obvious nod to the Great and Powerful Oz character in The Wizard of Oz, the The Man Behind The Curtain is a flamboyant,
magical restaurant that you won’t have to be a “friend of Dorothy” to enjoy.
There’s
no yellow brick road, munchkins or
flying monkeys (that I saw) but the food I ate showed proprietor Michael O’Hare to be a chef with ‘heart’, ‘courage’ and, most importantly, a ‘brain’.
All
chefs talk about how they cook with ”passion” and from their “heart” (which do become
redundant unless they are also cooking with seasoning and control). A quick
post meal chat with Michael O’Hare proved that he is no different. He also talked
to me about wanting to “switch a younger generation onto fine dining” this was
after I had jotted in my notes how, to me, TMBTC was “fine dining for the MTV
generation”… the venue and menu is a fast paced, bombastic, musical, colourful
attack on the senses.
To
move his progressive food from the relatively small Blind Swine in York to a
3000 square foot former art gallery (and the formal Anthony’s at Flannels) is
courageous in itself; to then decorate the with graffiti style artworks, the
visually charged space becomes further proof of O’Hare’s courage.
Although
unfounded, the having a ‘brain’ was the part I was concerned about before
visiting… all too often I have eaten disappointing meals by deluded chefs who think
that by owning a copy of Modernist Cuisine, investing
in some kitchen gadgetry and teaching themselves some new tricks combined with
ad hoc flavour combinations they will become the next Heston on René Redzepi.
O’Hare
trained under Redzepi at Noma but also learnt his craft with the likes of John
Burton Race. Fortunately (in most cases) and despite appearance of the food (and
himself), the cooking showed enough restraint. If anything, some of the
flavours could be a little bolder to compete with the vibrant presentations.
Although
as a paying customer and not invited by the restaurant or PR company, they did
know I would be joining them for lunch. As such, I was offered the opportunity
to dine “Omakse’ style (Chef’s choice), order the Tasting menu or the 3 or 5
course lunches. Naturally, I decided to allow Chef to exercise creative freedom
and ended up with dishes from both menus and well as some off the cuff riffs.
The
meal started with a series of snacks – Raw
Razor Clam in a mussel consommé with dill oil, which was a delightfully
subtle dish; a Squid Ink Mussel,
which was crisp and had a lovely smack of salt; a Chicken Skin Wafer with a Thai chicken pate and petals and a Foie Gras Magnum, which was the only
disappointment due to it’s gluey texture and nuts which had lost their bite.
The
Rye and Sourdough breads with butter selection.
‘Pea Soup - Hot &
Cold’ proved to be a summery dish featuring a pea sorbet
and steaming soup – the simple flavours were completed by crème fraiche and
more petals.
Next
up, on a shiny black platter, Michael sent two dishes in one – the Langoustine sashimi, lavender and lardo di Colonnata
dish was from the evening tasting menu, whilst the Smoked Salmon with horseradish crème, ice plant and oyster leaf was
part of the lunchtime offering. Both were good but it was the control and
balance of flavours of the former that really impressed.
The
next dish ‘Black Cod’ was without
doubt the sexiest of the lunch -concept and flavour working together. On a
sleek black Perspex ‘plate’, a white flaky piece of cod had been topped with
squid ink sauce, cod skin dashi, crisp shards of potato and shallots before
being veiled underneath a fine squid ink powder.
More space age Perspex ‘crockery’ saw the arrival of slow cooked Ox
Cheek with a gently enriching foie gras and sherry
sauce, Ken Holland’s clever beet leaves and puffed salt ‘n’ vinegar flavoured wild
rice which brought seasoned the dish and delivered acidity.
For me, the next dish, ‘Secretos d Ibérica’, was not perfect. The
main elements of Ibérico pork (served delightfully pink) and boquerones
were perfect bedfellows but I’d like the garlic flavour of the ajo
blanco to be ramped up a notch and I’m not a fan of the purple potatoes,
especially when served cold as these were.
Turning sweet, Mini Cup Cakes made from white chocolate with a
liquid passion fruit centre were delightful. They came topped with a silky Italian
meringue, freeze dried passion fruit, raspberry and pistachio powder. Oh, the
‘paper’ cup was edible too!
The next dish was a light Black Garlic Cake with milk ice cream
and sorrel. This was good but it was the theatrics and flavours of the Thai
inspired final dessert that really wowed. With the One of the best dessert
dishes I’ve had all year!
To
sum up, The Man Behind The Curtain is a wonderful place to
eat… to me, Michael O’Hare has proved unequivocally that he is the most rock ‘n’
roll chef since Gino D’Acampo stole Paul Young’s guitars.
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WOW....What stunning colours and presentation. I`m going without a doubt. Thanks for the heads up.
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