Award winning seafood restaurant One-O-One recently held a three day event showcasing head chef Pascal Proyart and guest chef Dominic Chapman’s culinary skills across three specially crafted tasting menus.
Located within the five-star hotel, The Park Tower Knightsbridge – a Luxury Collection Hotel – One-O-One holds three AA rosettes and was listed as the third best London restaurant by The Sunday Times Food List 2015.
The tasting menus incorporated elements of both chef’s distinctive cookery styles and my dining partner, Adam, and I were lucky to be invited to taste this wonderful menu.
On arrival we were seated in the restaurant and noted how the atmosphere was serene and civilised. A low hum of diners’ conversations mingled with the low music being played in the background and the waiters and maître de glided seamlessly between tables.
There was a choice of four, six or eight petit plats, with an accompanying wine flight. We both chose six plats and I decided to try the wine flight, while Adam, who was unfortunately not feeling well, stuck to soft drinks.
Once seated we were brought a selection of rolls with two different butters which were served on a piece of slate. There was an unsalted butter and a fabulous seaweed butter, which both Adam and I loved; it was deliciously salty, tasting of the sea, and it accompanied the breads well.
Our first course was poached River Loddon rainbow trout with green beans, potato, radish and a quail egg. This dish was so wonderfully light and was scattered with dill and a delightful green coloured dressing. The quail egg was perfectly runny and the fish tender and moist. The wine to accompany this was Sauvignon Blanc de Touraine, Loire Valley, France 2014, which was light and fruity and complemented the fish perfectly.
Next up was scallop, langoustine, foie gras laque, carrot, citrus, vanilla and salty fingers. The dish looked beautiful, served on a large pottery bowl. All elements were cooked perfectly but the salty fingers did get a bit lost in the dish. The ‘vanilla’ was a foam, which Adam didn’t enjoy but he isn’t a foam lover! The foie gras was delicious and I especially enjoyed the scallop and langoustine. This was served with Gewürztraminer, Spy Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2014 and had lingering flavours of jasmine, white peach and aromatic spices.
We were then served Dominic’s signature dish of Wild Rabbit Lasagne, wood blewits mushroom and chervil. The dish looked remarkably simple but tasted heavenly and was Adam’s favourite of the evening. The pasta was thin and coated in a rich rabbit sauce, covered by a wonderful cream sauce with little pieces of ham. Adam, who is not a lover of mushrooms found them very subtle in the dish and we both felt that it was truly outstanding. The wine with this course was Chardonnay, Tangley Oaks, North California, USA, 2013 and was a very good Chardonnay.
Next was my favourite dish, Pascal’s signature dish of Royal king crab, native lobster, Surrey farm beef, asparagus and Pinot Noir. Having grown up by the sea I have always been spoilt with delicious, fresh seafood but this dish did not disappoint. The beef was tender and flavoursome and the lobster was cooked perfectly – a fabulous take on surf and turf! This was accompanied by Pinot Noir, Carmel Road, Montery, California, USA 2013, which was a medium-bodied Pinot Noir with bright, fragrant red berry tones.
Next was Tumworth Camembert with a fig chutney, celery leaf and sultana bread. This was served on a piece of slate and was truly delicious. The bread was sweet with sultanas, which complemented the fig chutney and soft Camembert beautifully. Accompanying this was a 10 year old Tawny Port, Corney & Barrow, Barao de Vilar- Vinhos, Portugal and worked perfectly with this dish.
Finally, we had dessert. There were two choices on the menu, so we tried one each. I had one described as, ‘white chocolate raspberry, junipers, lemon, gin tonic, sable, ice cream.’ It was presented beautifully, with bright raspberry colours and a white chocolate curl. The star of this dish for me was the gin and tonic cube of jelly – perfect for a gin and tonic lover like me! The ice creams were delicious also and overall I really loved this dish. This was served with Eclat, Botrytis Semillion, Valdivieso, Chile, 2011, which tasted of honeyed grapefruit with a hint of lemon and was very light and refreshing.
Adam had summer strawberry Gariguette trifle and it looked gorgeous – he loved the rich custard and fresh strawberries, and said it was a perfect end to a perfect meal.
After dinner the chefand s came out to meet us and so we were able to compliment them on their menu. Pascal told us that the seaweed for the butter had come from his native France and I said how wonderful the gin tonic jelly was and he promised me the recipe! The chefs have collaborated before and clearly work wonderfully together. Overall, it was a fantastic meal in a fabulous location.
Address: The Park Tower, 101 Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7RN
