Manchester House – Feb 2015

Despite undoubtedly serving some of the most skilfully created, artfully presented and ambitious food in Manchester, it has been ten months since I last visited Manchester House.

The reason for this comes down to the fact that, no matter how good chef Aiden Byrne’s food can be, something about the whole ‘Living Ventures’ restaurant experience has never quite ‘sat right’ with me.

Mercifully, thanks to my recent lunchtime visit, I think I’m finally over whatever has been bugging me. With an all round more relaxed feel and maturity, the place seems increasingly slick and, quite frankly, “less up its own arse”. Even the front of house staff now appear as if they have been hired for their skills and not just for how good they look in their jean and waistcoat combo.

With that out of the way, let’s get down to the best thing about Manchester House… the food! (I opted for the six course lunch with the ‘extended a la carte’ option.)

Turnip soup, chestnut mousse & confit chestnut with Goats cheese brioche, whipped goats butter and shaved chestnut – I loved this, resembling a cheesy ‘fondant fancy’ for grown ups, the dinky Goats cheese brioche with its whipped goats butter centre was both flavoursome and playful.   

Warm Comté soup, pear purée & barbequed blackberries – the Comté ‘soup’ with blackberries was a interesting flavour combination that I enjoyed; the accompanying ‘black pepper meringue’ however was less successful, it was far too cloyingly sweet, which made worse by the pear purée.

Deep fried frogs legs, parsley & garlic – I loved this creative and quirky dish when I had it previously, and it’s still a favourite; with flavours and textures that work so well together, it’s a real joy to eat.

Oysters & caviar, Vichyssoise & potato – the components of this dish were good. I enjoyed the bursting liquidity of the spherification and the flavour of Vichyssoise but was not convinced that they fully flattered the oysters and caviar; the dish lacked a little acidity for me, which the salty, richness of the caviar would have enjoyed.

Crisp langoustine & suckling pig with seaweed salad – as in the frogs legs dish Aiden’s classical skills shine with the suckling pig elements of this dish; the puffed rice and use of seaweeds show the clever contemporary edge which is ever evolving as Aiden strives for Michelin stars.

Cured duck, foie gras mousse, celeriac, sourdough & pennywort – the next dish was a cleverly textured dish with deftly balanced layers of flavours – the petri dish married blackberry, celeriac and pennywort with a foie gras mousse and smoked foie; the duck fat toast bore more foie gras mousse, a fine dice of celeriac and duck ham with delightful morsels of duck, including tongues and caramelized wings.

Monkfish tail, white onions, anchovies & wild garlic – mainly thanks to the acidity of the anchovy fritters, this, was my favourite dish of the lunch. Enrobed in Jabugo ham, the monkfish had been delightfully cooked.

Longhorn beef sirloin & cheek, new season truffle potato soup – although not as creative as some, this dish featured prime ingredients and flavour that packed a punch.

Beetroot, hibiscus, rhubarb & Greek yoghurt – a visually stunning dish with flavours to match.

Walnut ice cream, pear, orange & fennel – another beautiful dish with innovative with combinations of flavours and textures; I particularly enjoyed the fennel.

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#RestaurantWars: The Battle for Manchester

For those that haven’t seen or heard of it, ‘Restaurant Wars: The Battle for Manchester’ is a BBC2 (8pm Mondays) behind-the-scenes documentary series which aired its first episode last Monday.

The programme’s main protagonists are Two Michelin starred chef Simon Rogan and former starred chef Aiden Byrne.

Filming follows these Culinary Commanders as they rally their troops and fire food at their targets throughout the planning and opening stages of the ‘battling’ The French and Manchester House.

The French by Simon Rogan: historic setting 

Making a brief background appearance on the show at the opening night of The French and having eaten at Manchester House during opening week, I visited both restaurants once again this week to see how ‘the battle is developing’… yarbles did I!

The French at The Midland: new life from Simon Rogan 

I visited both restaurants because I’m on half term and wanted somewhere good to eat in the city.

Manchester House: open kitchen and army of chefs

It would be all too easy, tiresome and predictable to continue prattling on giving you tedious war puns; talk about how each chef may or may not have been portrayed and edited differently from their usual day to day personalities and comment on the use of the phrase ‘funk button’ by one of Manchester House’s ‘branding gurus’…

Manchester House - turning up the funk buttons

Instead, I’ll share with you the best thing about these restaurants opening in Manchester… the food!

Dinner at The French by Simon Rogan:

Rye, mackerel, lovage – a crisp rye cracker topped with mackerel tartare, lovage emulsion, salt ‘n’ vinegar powder and mustard cresses.

Baked potato with cheese – an 'innocent' looking baked potato filled with rich, creamy cheese centre and set into malt; simple sounding, yet incredibly tasty.

Celeriac and apple – the most striking of the canapés, what looks like a large pearl set in the oyster shell is actually a celeriac cream coated in an beautifully iridescent layer, decorated with sea herbs, apple puree and a ‘sea water’ gelée. 

Trotter, ham fat cream, sage – my favourite of the canapés, unctuous pieces of pig’s trotter encased in a crisp crumb with shredded crispy sage leaves and indulgent ham fat cream.

Quails eggs in brassica, kale, leeks, mustard – a classic Rogan inspired dish, technical elements but pure at heart.

Breads: Buttermilk brioche, French stick and Manchester Ale – all breads were good… the buttermilk brioche was outstanding.

Swede dumplings, duck yolk sauce, onion, nasturtium – lazy writing I know, but see the quails egg comment.

Ox in coal oil with pumpkin seed, kohlrabi and sunflower – on Thursday I ate at L’Enclume where they serve the similarly presented but completely different ‘venison tartare’. Both are exceptional dishes but I’d like it noted for the record that, after much deliberation, I prefer The French’s ox… I’m keen to taste what Simon Rogan’s Fera at Claridge’s version will taste like.

Caramelised cabbage, scallops, coastal herbs, smoked roes – this dish is one that has remained on the menu for quite some time; a perfect marriage of flavours – the sweet cabbage and scallops with caramelisation for added flavour and texture; smokiness of the roes; salty grassy notes from the sea herbs all caressed in light frothy scallop sauce. 

Roasted hake with seeded breadcrumbs, roasted cauliflower and crispy elvers – a piece of hake which had been given just the right number of seconds cooking to whiten its flesh but leave it silky; texture coming from the seeded crumb and crispy elvers. Elvers from Glass Eels were once popular on menus (probably around the time of The French’s heyday) but dwindling numbers pushed their price up to beyond that of caviar… hugely increased populations over the last couple of years have once again made them sustainable and viable for restaurants.  

Reg’s guinea hen, bacon fat potatoes, turnips, hen of the woods and rosemary – perfectly cooked, excellent quality meat served with rich, indulgent potatoes, discs of and grated salt baked turnip, butter fried hen of the woods mushrooms and a classically prepared sauce where you can taste the bones and hours of work.

Forced Yorkshire rhubarb, crab apples, Douglas fir oats, yoghurt ice cream – I love rhubarb but that crab apple jelly really is something special.

Sass ‘n’ Soda – the usual end to another great meal at The French.

Meanwhile, across the city… Lunch at Manchester House:

Parmesan and onion brioche – the dinky brioche is very good and I liked the creamy espuma topping on the onion consommé but it would be interesting to know if the ‘consommé’ is made in the tried and tested classical way or with some fancy pants distillation machine from charred onions as the main thrust of ‘flavour’ seemed to come from smoke and charred onion powder as opposed to onion. 

Duck confit, watercress and turnip – this is a dish that I very much enjoyed; with the rich duck confit and smooth watercress purée there was a hint of Armagnac in there and a spark of acidity from a tiny dice of pickled turnip. Delightful.

Red pepper, rose and nasturtium – another enjoyable canapé; the tempura batter on the nasturtium flower was perfectly crisp. Also good, although appearing in numerous technical forms, the flavour of red pepper remained relatively pure. I particularly enjoyed the burst of caper that came from a spherification (but the question remains, would an actual caper have delivered the same?)

Salt cod mouse with almonds and broccoli – a mousse, delicate in flavour with a light airy texture buoyed by the crunch of nuts, crumb and brassicas; despite this being what owner Tim Bacon would call a ‘feminine dish’, it was the one I enjoyed the most.

Breast of duck, baby figs and smoked foie gras – a simple dish of classic flavours enhanced by a pan d’épice crumb. 

Braised lamb breast, wild garlic, lamb fillet tartare and young leek – a visually stunning dish; the braised lamb breast with its rich sticky glaze was delicious and I enjoyed the wild garlic powder and the citrus burst from the purple oxalis. The element that did not work for me was the leek cannelloni in which the subtlety of the lamb fillet tartare and diced sweetbreads was lost under the weight of the charred powdered coating.

Iced malt parfait, whiskey, dark chocolate sorbet – I’ve always found the desserts at Manchester House to be very good and this was no exception. The flavours chocolate flavours were strong without being too bitter and were well balanced with the whiskey and malt. One slight tweak I feel could be made to perfect the dish is to use less soil / crumb as the final couple of mouthfuls were somewhat ‘gravelly’.   

Macarons – the lemon one is my favourite every time.    

Whatever ‘Restaurant Wars: The Battle for Manchester’ goes on to show in the next two episodes and whether Michelin decide to play ball and award either or both places a star… one thing is for sure, the food offerings in Manchester have greatly improved since Simon Rogan and Aiden Byrne came to town.

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"Best of the rest" March

It’s been a funny old month for my blog and twitter.

Along with @hollowlegs, @McMoop and @Tweat_Up, my twitter account @hungryhoss was suspended on March 10^th for retweeting a screenshot of an email from a London based blagger to Gauthier, Soho, asking for a free meal in exchange for a “positive review”.

Unknowingly, as I only read the main body of the email, it contained the charming fellow’s phone number and we were subsequently reported for breach of the data protection act, or some such.

The marketing director for Gauthier, @Jameslewisland, who posted the original tweet, has since had his account reinstated. Despite following the appeal process which should “take a few days”, at the time of writing, other accounts seem to be in twitter limbo or are permanently suspended, who knows?

Not being on twitter, which I see as an extension of the blog, I thought it was finally time to hang up my camera and notebook. An idea I had been toying with for quite some time. After a few days I had the ‘urge’ to write up me meal from The French by Simon Rogan’s first birthday.

On a roll, also posted pictures and a few words about the Michelin starred Adam’s in Birmingham.

Here is the pick of the other places I visited in March, with pictures of some of the foods I ate:

The Church Green, Lymm

I’ve eaten several meals at The Church Green over the years but this was my first since chef / proprietor Aiden Byrne moved to Manchester House.  Young chef, Ben Chaplin heads up the kitchen these days and I experienced no decline in the quality of food or service since my previous visits. 

The star dish was undoubtedly the 25oz Wing Rib of Beef – we selected: Cauliflower mornay, Parmesan and truffle fries, Roasted onion mash, Braised ox cheek and crispy onion and Pickled red cabbage as sides; and Béarnaise and Port and Stilton sauces. The pot of Ox cheek was fabulous – hearty, full of flavour and crisp crispy onions!

Also very good was the Sunday Roast of pork loin with apple sauce, crackling and all the trimmings and my starter of Roast celeriac and black garlic risotto with scallops.

We also ate: Soup of the day with crusty bread; a large Smoked haddock fishcake with a rocket and caper salad and Berry parfait with lemon and meringue for dessert.

Peacock at Rowsley, Derbyshire

With 3 AA rosettes, the Peacock at Rowsley is a highly rated restaurant and boutique hotel (listed on Mr & Mrs Smith). We went for the 3 course set lunch but added an extra starter to create our own ‘tasting menu’.

Head Chef Dan Smith started out his career under John Burton Race and Alan Murchison at L’Ortolan. Later working under John at the two Michelin starred Landmark and for Tom Aikens. As you’d imagine his food has a firm grounding in tradition.  We ate:

Goat’s curd, beetroot, poached pear and hazelnut salad, rowan berry syrup / Chicken liver parfait, red wine shallots, pickled raisins / Grilled mackerel, fennel, lemon puree, nori mustard, rocket

Fried duck egg, home made baked beans, sausage meat croquette / Beef, ale & Cropwell Bishop Stilton pie, buttered kale / Gnocchi, wild mushrooms, salsify, Old Winchester cheese

Trio of desserts: Dark chocolate ganache, kirsch cherries, rhubarb Pannacotta & crème brûlée / Rhubarb, vanilla and ginger sundae

Bollington Packet - a ploughman’s lunch on the idyllic Cheshire waterways.

Chef Ashley Clarke, head chef at All Star Lanes (ex Mash and Air) has recently bought the Bollington Packet Canal Boat Restaurant, moored at Bollington, near Macclesfield.

He is offering a wide range of bespoke cruises for up to twelve people – serving afternoon teas, lunches and traditional 3 course fayre at very reasonable prices. He will be serving local produce, including excellent bread from local artisan bakers Flour Water Salt.

Recently, myself and some shipmates were invited on board for Ashley’s maiden voyage – he has plans to replace the modernise the kitchen galley, so give him a follow on twitter (@BollyPacket) and bear the “Bolly Packet” in mind for something a little different.

V-Nam Cafe, Manchester

An old favourite, V-Nam Café (opposite Wing Yip on Oldham St) is a highly regarded café / restaurant, serving homely Vietnamese cuisine. I ate:

Gòi Ngó Sen (Lotus Root Salad), Cua Lột Sốt Me (Tamarind Soft Shell Crab) Chim Cút Nướng (BBQ Quail) and Gà Bọc Lá Dứa (Pandan Chicken) – all dishes are freshly prepared and tasty and made me extra eager for my trip to Vietnam in the summer.

Mama Flo’s, Stockport

Another homely place, Mama Flo’s on the A6 in Stockport is a Jamaican restaurant and takeaway, formerly located in Gorton. It’s only been open a couple of months but has already built up a loyal local following – I have had more word of mouth recommendations for here more than any other place recently.

I have had takeaway on a couple of occasions, including their fish dishes and Ackee and Saltfish. Eating in, I recently had their Jerk Chicken - it may not be the best jerk in Manchester but Mama Flo’s has undeniable authentic charm.

Nutters, Rochdale

From a jerk to a Nutter – for her birthday, my wife gave me the simple brief of taking her “somewhere with a tablecloth”. Not many places these days afford such luxuries but Nutters is the perfect place for old school indulgencies with a modern twist.

At £42 for six courses at dinner, his surprise ‘Gourmet Menu’ provides almost unparalleled value. We had: Canapés, Butternut Soup, Brill, Salmon, Peppered Limousin Beef, Cheese or The Dessert Medley (or one of each to share) as well as Coffee & Petit Fours - plus a baby clementine soaked in Grey Goose Vodka! 

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