Hedone is in Chiswick, west London, and it got it's name after the Greek word that means "pleasure". The chef and owner, Michael Jonsson from Sweden, leveraging his background as a food sourcing expert, puts the ingredients in the focus. After training as a chef many years ago in Sweden he switched career and became a lawyer, but always held on to his passion and interest for food. Besides running Hedone he also writes the influential Gastroville blog and he has advised some Michelin starred restaurants in Europe on ingredient sourcing. Hedone was recently awarded with one Michelin star. The main dining room has beautifully exposed brick walls and a very cool open kitchen, with a few seats at a bar looking into the kitchen in addition to the main dining area. We chose to dine at the bar so that we really could observe the action taking place in front of us with Michael and his team constructing dish after dish. For a foodie, it is wonderful to see how the well-organized team almost seamlessly and for the untrained eye, with little effort, put together creative plates. There is a restroom downstairs with a private dining room, and this is also where the wine cellar is located. As always, when given the option, I went with the tasting menu. The menu started with two delightful amuse bouches. Light, fresh and with a lot of flavors. The service from the attentive staff was very good already from the start, knowledgeable but also with humor. After the starters, I had a rich tomato soup with mustard, complex flavors and very fresh. A wonderful start. It was followed with poached oysters, where the fresh apple made a wonderful contrast to the creaminess of the oyster. The dish was completed by the savory taste of shallots. Well composed and cooked perfectly. Out of the next two course my absolute favorite was the Isle of Mull scallop sashimi, it was extremely creamy and flavorful. I spoke to Chef Jonsson about it, and he said that I should have been there the previous week because then the scallops were even better. It was very hard to grasp that statement, since these were some of the best raw scallops that I have had so far. I felt that the next two courses were hit and miss. The first one was somewhat of a miss. Cevennes onions that had great flavors but it was simply to much onion in this dish. It was overpowering - a smaller serving and it would have been great. The second dish was a smashing hit however. Perfectly cooked sea bass with and amazing black olive infusion. The infusion was so flavorful and didn't taste like black olives at all. I have no clue how the kitchen created this infusion but I am sure that it is a long process in order to get the different layers of flavors. The next course was a wonderful crab dish, where the foam really elevates this dish.Rich, flavorful and with perfect texture. After the crab I was served a liquid Parmesan ravioli, which worked a s fun play on a classic Italian dish. The Parmesan flavors were intense but not overpowering. The dish worked really well. The next dish was an amazing Suckling pig with beetroots, plums and radishes. Not only did it look fantastic, it tasted just as great. And the sauce...I am not sure that you are supposed to lick the plate but I just barely was able to control the urge. Another great dish from the kitchen. The final savory course was a wonderful Scottish grouse with a side-dish of some of the best sweet corns that I have had. They had a smoky flavor which really complimented the bird. The sauce was rich and definitely worked well with the rest of the dish.You are served a breast and a leg, with feathers and claw intact. The dish smells fabulous. I loved the gamey flavor of the grouse, and the other ingredients works fabulously together. What about my wife's vegan dietary restrictions? Chef Jonsson did a tremendous job accommodating her throughout the dinner. We had a long discussion with the Chef about how hard it is for a restaurant to accommodate a pure vegan and still be able to be innovate, use ingredients in a creative way and get the same kind of texture, flavors and variation that you will get in a non-vegan meal. It is even more challenging if you like Hedone changes your menu very frequently based upon the philosophy of always using the best and freshest ingredients. I must say the Chef Jonsson did an awesome job accomplishing just this. And my wife concurred, Hedone is one of the restaurants where she truly feels that she would revisit because she felt the kitchen really tried to be creative and supportive of her restrictions. Above is some of her favorite courses served throughout the dinner. I would also like to add that my wife doesn't really like black olives, but she loved the black olive infusion served with her lentils - another compliment to the Chef. The sweet section of the menu consisted of great cheeses, a fig dessert and a raspberry dessert. It was very refreshing of not ending the meal with the traditional and heavy chocolate dessert. I enjoyed this approach much more - you will not leave Hedone willing stuffed - just pleasantly full. My favorite dessert was the raspberries (I have never seen raspberries this big before) with hibiscus, coconut and cinnamon. Wonderful combinations of flavors and did I mention...the raspberries were enormous. I was very impressed with the attention to details and the quality of the ingredients. Chef Jonsson is ultra passionate about what he does he truly lives and breathes his craft. It was an absolute pleasure to sit down and enjoy our own little trip into the world of Hedone and watch the courses being put together at the bar. Being born in Sweden I was very proud to see a fellow country man put out food that can be held to the highest level. Chef Mikael Jonsson was very attentive to our needs, his staff was personable and very educated in the dishes, the wine pairings worked really well, the atmosphere is laid back and when all those things come together, you can only draw one conclusion. Something great is in the making in Chiswick and I am looking forward to the next time I will come back to London and experience the continuous evolution on one of the most exiting restaurants in London right now.
En middag att minnas, Chef Jonsson (Swedish for "A dinner to remember")!!
4 Comments
1/8/2015 04:26:48 pm
Having personable and educated staff is a great asset to a Chef. Meeting fellow country man at a foreign place is very exciting thing. I'd like to appreciate your passion for food. Great Photos!
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1/12/2018 05:32:31 am
Those photos are just wonderful. It's amazing how you managed the food look like pieces of art. How can someone eat the food which looks so good? I would watch it like, forever. I can feel I would go out that restaurant hungry)
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