Gardeners' delight
French chefs do not usually give vegetables precedence over meat, but this is exactly what Bruno Loubet has done on his lunchtime Menu du Jardinier at the Chelsea Hotel, Knightsbridge. Loubet took over as executive chef in April and his role (as one half of the B&B - Bruno and the Baron - partnership) is to overhaul the Millennium & Copthorne hotel's food and beverage operation.
"I wanted to make things lighter and get away from the big chunk of braised lamb and mashed potatoes type of dish," he explains. The challenge in creating this £22.50 three-course set menu, he adds, lies in focusing on the tastes and textures of vegetables while keeping the flavour of the small amount of meat or fish he does retain in some of the dishes.
A typical Jardinier starter would be potato gallettes with shallot marmalade, cèpes and foie gras sauce, while main course choices might include tabbouleh salad with carpaccio of salmon and scallops and Oriental relish.
The weekly changing, seasonally influenced Jardinier menu offers three choices at each course and often reflects Loubet's interest in what he calls "forgotten" herbs. For instance, a lovage pesto served with a terrine of artichoke and roast pepper might appear as a starter, while lavender or hyssop might put in an appearance as constituents of a dessert or main dish respectively.
Currently, the Jardinier menu is proving popular with the Chelsea's customers. But diners in the 90-seat eaterie can also choose a meal from a second set-lunch menu (two courses, £16.50, three courses £19.50) or an à la carte menu, which operates both at lunchtime and in the evening.
The former, offering a two-dish choice at each level, is drawn up by Loubet's head chef, Adam Gray, on a weekly basis. Gray cites a pan-fried sardine main dish served with aubergine caviare and roasted peppers as a personal favourite.
Gray, who heads a kitchen brigade of 14, also has an input in drawing up the seasonally changing à la carte menu, which offers a choice of eight dishes at all three course levels. Prices range from £4-£6.50 for starters, £10.50-£16.50 for main dishes and £5-£7 for desserts.
Fish dishes feature heavily - crab, tuna, salmon, sardines, monkfish, bream and haddock all appear regularly - and, confirms Loubet, sell well. He pinpoints a fresh crab and corn risotto with fried garlic, ginger and chilli; and salmon tartare on a potato waffle (both £6) as current best sellers.
Loubet's signature dish of roast scallops and black pudding on mashed potato, garlic cream and parsley coulis (£8.50 or £16.50) also remains popular.
In keeping with the theme of lighter dishes, the 80-plus wine list - drawn up by the Chelsea's food and beverage manager Sergio Noci (ex-Four Seasons) - favours light, fruity wines, mostly New World, such as a 1996 South African Chenin Blanc (£11). Among the reds, a 1994 Bonny Doon from California (£20.50) is a best seller.
Noci's front of house team of seven are currently serving between 25-30 lunchtime and up to 40 evening covers at the Chelsea - spend per head is holding at £25 for lunch, £35 in the evening.
And Loubet sees himself as staying at the Chelsea until Millennium & Copthorne terminates the B&B consultancy. "Obviously I will do other things - I want to open my own restaurant again - but for the moment I am trying to do this correctly," he says firmly, admitting with a smile that the Jardinier concept will probably travel with him.
The Chelsea Restaurant, The Chelsea Hotel, 17-25 Sloane Street, London SW1X 9NU.
Tel: 0171-235 4377 (extension 6330)
