287 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
287 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
sponsored
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offers
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best-deals-of-the-day
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8371839
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-----
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# Soho's French fancy: L'Escargot reinvents the snail
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## Head Chef, Joseph Croan, explains how Marco Pierre White's hidden French
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gem helps to supply Soho with its sparkle.
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![The main dining area in L'Escargot][1]
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Image 1 of 3
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The main dining area in L'Escargot Photo: L'Escargot, Soho, London
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![One of the delicious desserts on offer at L'Escargot][2]
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Image 1 of 3
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One of the delicious desserts on offer at L'Escargot Photo: L'Escargot, Soho,
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London
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![The ground floor restaurant in L'Escargot][3]
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Image 1 of 3
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The ground floor restaurant in L'Escargot Photo: L'Escargot, Soho, London
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6:50PM GMT 09 Mar 2011
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We begin the interview sitting beneath a huge, gold-plated Oligasaurus, whose
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giant teeth are encrusted with row upon row of Swarovski crystals. The
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creation by Mauro Perucchetti, who was also responsible for placing the famous
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Jelly Baby Family in Marble Arch, is only one of the many pieces of artwork
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that set the restaurant apart from others.
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![Mauro Perucchetti's gold-plated Oligasaurus][4]
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Mauro Perucchetti's gold-plated Oligasaurus
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Joseph is keen to show off the rest of L'Escargot's extensive art collection -
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and we are not disappointed. We move into the Picasso Room, L'Escargot's
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private dining area. Upon entering, it immediately materialises why the room
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is so-called: original Picasso ceramics fill shiny, glass cabinets, while the
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walls are lined with a series of striking sketches and paintings. The room is
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immaculate and is clearly a defining feature of the restaurant. Its owner,
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Jimmy Lahoud, is a keen art collector, Joseph explains, which really gives the
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venue its edge. Downstairs in the main dining area, the story is the same.
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Artwork by Miro, Chagall, Warhol and Matisse attracts customers as much as the
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menu, often becoming a talking point for those new to the restaurant.
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Back under the Oligasaurus, Joseph reveals how he came to be L'Escargot's
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highly-acclaimed Head Chef. Originally from Edinburgh, he first became
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interested in cooking through his parents' fish company. "My father used to
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bring home lots of fish and I would potter about, trying out all sorts of
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different things with them." A little bit of experimentation from the age of
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12 inspired Joseph to take things further and turn a pastime into a successful
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career. "My first ever job was at The North British Hotel in Edinburgh [now
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The Balmoral] and I started working here at the age of 18."
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After two and a half years in Edinburgh, Joseph was offered a variety of
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positions in some of London's best restaurants but finally settled on The
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Savoy, where he stayed for a year. The Connaught then beckoned and he spent
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seven years as a Sous Chef in the five-star hotel. "I've got a good
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relationship with the chef there, Michel Bourdin."
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From here, Joseph got to know Marco Pierre White: "Marco is a great lover of
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Bourdin and the French classics. This is what gave me the chance to work with
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him. After finally managing to prise myself away from The Connaught, I was
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introduced to Marco Pierre White and have been with him more or less ever
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since."
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Throughout the interview, Joseph continues to surprise with a long list of
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achievements that have previously been veiled by the chef's humility. It is
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only upon further prompting that Joseph reveals he spent three days in Claudia
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Schiffer's home, where he cooked for the supermodel. The strength of his
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friendship with Marco is evident: "This was a present from Marco. I've got a
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great relationship with Marco, which is very important." Other clientele have
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included Madonna, Kevin Spacey, Matt Damon, Sean Connery and Ben Affleck. He
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has even prepared toast for Guy Ritchie and the screenwriter's son.
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The conversation turns back to the restaurant and Joseph's inspiration behind
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its new menu, which debuts on Monday 14 March 2011. "L'Escargot is obviously,
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as you'd expect from the name, predominantly French so therefore we have to
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keep it French. Fortunately this is an area I've always been interested in. I
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think if you ask any chef they would tell you that the foundation of cooking
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is French. You cannot build anything without a decent foundation and I think
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anyone who gets into this industry should try and follow this route. Then, if
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you eventually want to try different styles, that is fine. Fundamentally you
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have to learn that basic style and L'Escargot is a great place to achieve
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this."
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We discuss the menu and Joseph's cuisine. "The food is simply done and
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everything is fresh each day, from the bread to the preparation of all the
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dishes. For the new menu, we've gone back to doing a classic lemon tart, a
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classic roast chicken, a wild mushroom risotto, all without adding too many
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'chef twists'. Essentially we've gone back to basics, which I think is
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important." This emphasis on tradition and simplicity helps to preserve the
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quality of L'Escargot but also makes it stand out from other restaurants,
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which are adding twists that sometimes over-complicate the menu.
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Ever since it opened in 1927, L'Escargot has continued to make its mark on
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Soho. Its popularity, particularly at weekends, keeps the brasserie buzzing,
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while the three function rooms remain a preferred choice for private-party
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venues.
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In his three years at L'Escargot, Joseph has discovered exactly what it is
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that keeps the restaurant so vibrant: "We have regular people who know what
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they want and know what they want to pay. At the end of the day, it's not
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about massaging the chef's ego, it's about happy customers. That is the most
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important thing. People know exactly what they are getting and can rely upon
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us to give them what they expect, especially with the menu du jour. Like the a
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la carte, there are substantial, well-sourced dishes on the menu du jour and
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we've always kept it that way at L'Escargot."
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Joseph has an enviable CV, riddled with success after success. Eager to glean
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some advice for others embarking on a culinary career, we ask Joseph for a few
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words of wisdom. He highlights that once you master the basics you can go on
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to do anything: "Go classic, French classic. Try and get into big hotels,
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where you can get an apprenticeship. Afterwards you can branch out and do
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other things. I would certainly tell 16-year olds to go to college and learn
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that way. There are too many balsamic swills round plates and not enough
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people who know the classics."
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Before leaving, we are lucky enough to sneak a peek at the new menu.
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Everything sounds delectable. Unfortunately, however, there is only one way to
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find out exactly how delicious it tastes, so we depart with every intention of
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making a return visit in the very near future.
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[1]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01844/The_main_dining_ar_1
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[2]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01844/One_of_the_delicio_1
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[4]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01844/Mauro_Perucchetti__1
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