On the right Rhodes

A LITTLE over a year ago, Nico Ladenis retired. Before heading off to his beloved South of France, he famously relinquished his three Michelin stars. He requested that his London property, Chez Nico, be left out of the 2000 guide because he had decided to change the direction of the restaurant.

Michelin respected that request and Cheznico, a simpler, less expensive, less formal version of its predecessor, with more choice on the menu and half the previous number of kitchen staff, emerged. The dining room still looks much as it did before, and many of the dishes are the same, but diners spend £70-£80 a head at dinner, including wine, rather than the £100-£120 they would have spent in the Michelin era.

Fortunately, there has been an important constant in this sea of change. Paul Rhodes, head chef at the Park Lane restaurant for seven years and an employee for eight, has accepted these changes with apparent ease. He was involved in the year-long discussions about the new-look Cheznico from the start, so he has had time to accept the changes.

However, as any chef who has cooked three-star food for five consecutive years would agree, relinquishing the status was not easy. Rhodes says he was "devastated" when Ladenis first broached the idea.

Family connections

Rhodes's role has changed significantly. He still spends most ofhis time at Cheznico, but also holds an executive chef role at Incognico in London's Shaftesbury Avenue, run by Ladenis's daughter, Natasha Robinson. Rhodes will often do a service there if necessary - working with head chefs Tim Johnson and Richard Hugill - and help with suppliers and menu planning.

Now that the changes have bedded down, Rhodes says he is happier than ever. He is managing abigger menu with fewer chefs, and is having to be more meticulous about food costs and portion sizes, but he insists that it's less stressful.

"It's a weight off my mind," he says. "I can be freer with the food, more flexible, and use more varied, less expensive products. Before, I was scared to do anything new that hadn't been tried, tested and double-tested. We still pay attention to getting food as good, if not better than, before, but you've not got that pressure of the three stars. Doing simpler food is enjoyable."

The Cheznico menu includes 13 starters, plus caviar, as opposed to 10 previously, and 18 main courses where there were 10. For dessert, nine ice-creams and sorbets are offered alongside seven puddings, plus cheese.

Among the successful new dishes are leek and potato soup with truffle oil, made according to a recipe from Ladenis's wife, Dinah-Jane, and scallops with garlic butter and rocket. And while certain ingredients will still never be used - Ladenis is famously hostile towards sun-dried tomatoes - Rhodes is no longer bound to use only the biggest sea bass or the best Dover sole. "It's a lot more flexible," he says. "I can buy according to the market, so we get better value, and I can work with Incognico on daily specials."

Old favourites

About half the dishes have been retained from the three-star days. Ladenis's signature hot foie gras with orange segments (see recipe, page 50) will never leave the menu, and the tortellini of langoustines with lobster sauce remains one of the best-selling starters.

The same goes for the saddle of lamb with rosemary jus and Provenáal vegetables (see recipe opposite), the truffle risotto, and the lemon tart. All are made exactly as they always have been, but are now sold at about 20% less than before. It makes financial sense, because the cost of those dishes is balanced by the cost of new ones that use less expensive ingredients.

Although Ladenis has retired, he is in daily contact with the restaurant. All ideas for new dishes are put to him first, and a recent development session actually took place in the Ladenis home in the South of France.

"When we got there," recalls Rhodes, "he had done two quail with goose fat, and vegetables with garlic and herbs. He opened the lid and there were two semi-cooked quail covered in goose fat. It smelled wonderful. It was a way of getting flavour into the birds and keeping them moist when they're roasted afterwards." It has since also worked with pigeon and pheasant.

Rhodes and Incognico's Tim Johnson also brought along new ideas. "We did a smoked salmon and red pepper soup, which Nico liked very much, and Tim did poached brill with milk, onions and star anise," says Rhodes. "We did a plum tarte tatin with cinnamon ice-cream, a pear tatin with a pear sorbet and a compote of figs, and Tim did a rhubarb sorbet with liquorice, which was something totally foreign to Nico."

It is not surprising, given the number of years he has worked for Ladenis, that Rhodes cites him as his main culinary influence. Pierre Koffmann of La Tante Claire, for whom Rhodes worked for two years before joining Ladenis, is another. "Koffman gave me the strength to continue as a chef," he says. "His flavours are stronger, more rustic than Nico's. Nico is more of a perfectionist. He has an incredible nose and palate and he is truly passionate about food. He'll see instantly if an idea can be developed, and he never forgets a dish."

Trying out new ideas in the South of France sounds enjoyable, but how does it translate to Park Lane, and what do the customers think of the results?

Sergio Rebecchi, managing director of Chez Nico Restaurants, the company set up to embrace Cheznico and Incognico, says: "Covers have gone up by 18% year-on-year, which is very encouraging. Our customer base has remained the same, but breaking down the barriers of Michelin has attracted more people."

Lunch, Rebecchi admits, has been the weak point, with covers hovering around 20, compared with 60-80 at dinner. "Lunch is our Achilles heel," he says, "but we hope that will change - it's good value for money."

Rhodes sees location as the problem - Park Lane is always quiet at lunchtime. Relocation to a busier part of London is possible, but not before August 2002, when the current contract expires, marking the end of the restaurant's 30-year tenure at 90 Park Lane.

There are no immediate plans to change the look of the restaurant either. The Ladenis family will wait to see what the new owners of the Grosvenor House hotel, in which Cheznico is sited, have in mind.

What about getting some of those Michelin stars back? Rhodes admits he was at first disappointed not to have won a star this year. "But a minute later I said, ‘We've had three stars. We've been there, done that'," he says. "As far as I'm concerned, we are worth one star, if not two. I'd like to have one and maintain the standard, so that we are the best one-star in town." n