Return to Planet Ducasse

Rules of Survival …

If you want food and drinks, being LOADED is essential.

If you don’t consider yourself moderately well-off, stick to the food and ask for still water!

If you are budget conscious but want to be wow-ed, go for the set menu at lunch hours.

If you constantly panick about credit card bills and mortgage, the Planet Ducasse is NOT for you.

I happen to be relatively well-off, meaning taking the RULES into account, I can’t order alcohol at ease on this Three-Michelin-starred Ducasse Planet at the Dorchester Hotel. The fact that I don’t drink much works on my favour. And so it works out, I am one of the regulars at Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester. Ducasse is my hero chef really. I tasted his food in Paris and in terms of satisfaction and quality I felt nothing (apart from Hof Van Cleve) came close to it. The Dorchester is, more or less, the compromise; I can’t afford Plaza Athenee often.

The cuisine by Jocelyn Herland has been consistently great. There are some odd dishes that don’t work as well as others, but overall, he’s an amazing chef who re-interprets Ducasse’s cooking. The not-so-great thing about the Dorchester menu is that it rarely changes–perhaps it is some sort of a 3-star quality control.

Last week, to my delight, the Autumn menu was introduced and I was among the first people to sample the new dishes. Having ordered and waiting for the dishes to arrive, we killed our time slurping this amuse bouche of Cauliflower, Raw Vegetables and Olive Tapenade. The flavour was mild but fresh. Smooth panna cotta-like texture of the cauliflower layer was given crunches by the vegetable pieces. The light taste was soon taken over by the intense black olive puree. It was good.

For my starter, I ordered the Steamed Langoustines, Lemongrass and Ginger Ravioli, Thai Green Mango and Spicy Consomme. It was an retouch of the old amuse bouche of Lobster Ravioli, Ginger. The langoustines were fresh and succulent; the consomme was much like a mild Thai sour and spicy soup, yet million times more refined, showcasing the brilliant understanding and execution of the chef. These little green parcels of ground lemongrass and ginger were some good mouthful of explosive flavours, too.

My other bib went for “Saute Gourmand” of Lobster, Girolles, Truffled Chicken Quenelles, Homemade Pasta, which was a refined version of Dorchester’s signature dish of Chicken and Lobster. This edited version was a lot lighter but still carried the same creamy, meaty satisfaction. The combination worked, in my opinion, for those liking heavy food, and only in the cooler seasons.

We moved on to the fish course. I had Seared Sea Scallops, Cep Mushrooms, Potato Gnocchi. The scallops were ones of the best of its kind, juicy and very plumb! The gnocchi was light and the cep added aroma. Flavour-wise, it was intense, though lacking the je ne sais quoi. Well, most of the fish dishes at the Dorchester were decent but never ever blew me away. This dish was, all in all, a well thought out dish but not necessarily one of the groundbreaking.

The same applied to my other bib’s gargantuan dish of Turbot “Matelote”, Jerusalem Artichokes, Country Bacon. It was very nice–the portion, considering we were going for a five-course menu, could have been trimmed down for the sake of the diners’ health. The red wine just enhanced the flavour of the meaty turbot and was paired well with the salty, crunchy bacon. But, seriously, the director’s saying that they loved being generous with the portion didn’t make sense. Who on earth could have eaten all this and two more courses without getting sick?

Fortunately, there was a pause between our fish course and our meat. I had the chance to slow down my heart beat, raging blood pressure and soaring choresterol level. I might need a trip to BUPA–sorry I didn’t do NHS–after this.

And here they arrived, our meat courses. My other bib’s well chosen Rib and Saddle of Venison Grand Veneur, Pumpkin, Quince and Salsify was out of this world. The meat cooked medium rare was the most tender, with some very gamy aroma. The jus was intense and the vegetables were just heart-warming. I had this dish before and I believed it’s one of the very best from the Dorchester kitchen. The portion was sensible, too.

My dish, by contrast, was just beyond human eating capability, big enough for a one-course meal and containing, I was certain, enough calories to last me half a week! Thank goodness I burned 1000 or so calories on the treadmill that day! The dish was “Pithiviers” of Duck, Fondant Chicory, Rouennaise Sauce. The pithiviers was filled with minced duck meat and foie gras. The latter added not just moistness but grease into the duck meat. The pastry was nice and crisp. The chicory was perfectly cooked, soft and without much of the bitter aftertaste. Yet, I must say, I didn’t feel this dish was refined enough. It’s like a shameless gourmand’s food, for somebody who enjoyed eating but not tasting. I just couldn’t bring myself to like it. If it were just an inch smaller, it would totally get a different reception from me.

I managed to eat up the Pithiviers, feeling like I might be wasting money on leftover food rather than enjoying the dish, and the thought of pudding was morbid and horrifying!! But, looking at this tempting descrition of the Pistachio Variation, my mouth seemed to water again. Before that? We had a mountain of pre-desserts: chocolate and assorted macaroons. The chocolate ganache here was the best I’d had, even better than ones in Belgium. I was arguing with myself if I should sweep them all in my bag and save them for later, say, after I cleansed the duck pithivier out of my system?

My desserts arrived. They were Pistachio done in three ways: tarlette, mousse cake and ice cream. The tarlette with a bit of Pistachio caramel on top was soul warming, with a very thin and crispy base, nutty and chewy filling. The cake didn’t wow me. I found it on the bland side, perhaps the flavour of the tart did overpower this mousse-filled cake a bit. The ice cream was lovely and mild. No more, no less.

My other bib ordered the Souffle with Poached Pear. It had risen like a cloud and very airy. The better pudding of the night, in my opinion. Interesting, my other bib found the Duck Egg Souffle and Chocolate Soldiers at Gauthier Soho a much more exciting dish.

That’s what you’d get on Planet Ducasse, an Everest mountain of gastronomy. Looking at the sheer portion could make, say, my mum feel stuffed before she even started the meal. Price-wise, it was worth it if you could manage all the dishes. Flavour-wise, it was borderline three Michelin stars, though some dishes weren’t particularly bull’s eye hits. The service was knowledgeable and efficient, but after the departure of our beloved Christain Laval, the vibe in the dining room changed a bit. Impersonal and less charming, I must say. I always say the service could make all the difference and I was feeling it that night.

Enough said,

My head rating says, “8 out of 10″.

My heart rating says, “8 out of 10″.

ALAIN DUCASSE AT THE DORCHESTER

The Dorchester Hotel
Park Lane
London
W1K 1QA

Tel. 0207 629 8866

www.alain-ducasse.com

NOTE: If you’re not a big eater, don’t ever ask for a 4-course meal, and even if you are, starve yourself half a week to make the most of this!