Cordon bleu compassion
Billed as "an exclusive evening with Albert Roux", the function held on 18 September to raise money for the Alzheimer's Disease Society promised a typically Roux menu, with quality ingredients skilfully put together. And the 100 diners, who had each paid £100 for a four-course meal with wine, were not disappointed.
To begin with, the guests at Allington Court Nursing Home, near St Albans in Hertfordshire, were presented with a layered terrine of smoked duck, foie gras, Bayonne ham and truffle vinaigrette. This dish, according to organiser of the event Roger Naylor, executive chef, Roux Fine Dining, was not only classically Roux but also "visually stunning". He says: "It is a recipe with a marbled effect - the pink of the smoked duck, white of the chicken, sandy colour of the foie gras, green of the cabbage, grey of the mushroom - and it is all enhanced with the perfume of the sage."
Naylor and Roux, who were helped by a kitchen brigade of three including the nursing home's head chef, Kate Harrison, followed this course with a warm sausage of salmon mousse, and lightly curried leeks. The mousse earned its place on the evening's menu through being a regular feature of the Roux brothers' flagship restaurant, Le Gavroche, for the past 25 years.
Another reason the dish was included, says Naylor, was to show there is still a lot of scope to use a mousse dish, which is generally considered difficult to prepare for a large function. Similarly, to prove demand for traditional home-style cooking still exists, the choice for the third course was best end of lamb, served with a herb crust, tarragon and olive jus. To finish the meal, a lemon tart and blackcurrant mousse offered the guests something light and tangy "to cleanse the palates", says Naylor.
All food and wine was donated by Roux Fine Dining suppliers, while the equipment came from Letheby & Christopher. The front of house team of 19 - which included some of the nursing-home staff - all managed by Roux Fine Dining operations manager Sue Thompson, gave their time free of charge. These contributions helped to push the total raised for the charity to about £8,000. And BUPA Care Homes, which manages Allington Court, also gave £5,000 towards the cost of the function.
To the guests, the evening appeared to run smoothly, but Naylor admits that things still went wrong even after six months of planning. "Planning the night is no guarantee that all your staff will find the way to the venue, or that you will be able to get the large electricity supply needed to run ovens." But in the end - although Naylor confesses to having grown a few more grey hairs - these problems were overcome and the evening was deemed a roaring success.
