Le Champignon Sauvage, Cheltenham restaurant review

My life has always revolved around food.  However, during my formative years my tastes weren’t so lavish.

My earliest childhood memory is growing cress in primary school. Of course, we then used it make egg sandwiches.

As a brattish 10 year old my mum often placated my tantrums with the promise of a Wimpy Bender-in-a-Bun.

And, as a naive 18 year old, a lads’ holiday to Faliraki was spent making excuses to leave the night club early so I could visit the kebab shop. 

However, it was only after meeting friends at university who hailed from London that I realised there was a universe beyond Gregg’s cheese savoury stotties.

A trip to Le Champignon Sauvage with these same friends nearly 10 years ago gave me one of my first experiences of the cooking techniques, flavour combinations and *extra* courses served at some of the country’s swankiest restaurants. Why had I only ever experienced starter, main course and dessert? Why had no one ever told me about canapés, amuse bouches, pre-starters, pre-desserts and petit-fours?

Last week, Mrs G and I finally returned to Cheltenham to revisit Le Champignon Sauvage.

David Everitt-Matthias, chef-patron of Le Chamignon Sauvage, is a breath of fresh air in the age of the celebrity-chef. Having never missed a service in over 25 years, he’s amassed a collection of accolades including 2 Michelin stars and a Good Food Guide score of 8/10.

And, with his wife Helen Everitt-Matthias, overseeing front of house with an air of warmth, humour and passion, Le Champignon Sauvage is a place of pilgrimage for many foodies in the UK.

As is par for the course, Mrs G and I ordered the tasting menu, the Menu Gourmand, at £85 for 9 courses. 

We also picked an unremarkable bottle of house Viognier (£27), lacking the expected floral notes, from the extensive and well priced wine list.

A trio of canapés would have impressed individually but as a trio they knocked the ball out of the park – a cube of parmesan mousse coated in a smokey chorizo powder, a warm sweetcorn & bacon muffin and crackers served with a basil & goats cheese mousse were all faultless. 

An amuse bouche of a light salt cod mousse hidden beneath a layer of epically fresh gazpacho was the perfect opener to this summer eve's blowout.

Le Champignon Sauvage’s famous bacon brioche was just as memorable as the last time I visited.

Dexter beef tartare and an unctuous tranche of corned beef were accompanied by texture balancing croutons and richness moderating wasabi cream, pickled shimeji mushrooms and onions. The only criticism - the dexter beef used in the tartare was a little lacking in flavour.

Perfectly caramelised hand dived scallops were accompanied by blobs of mizo glaze, sesame puree and the ultimate sesame snap. This was a triumph of oriental flavour combinations.

Like our recent trip to The Square, the best dish of the meal was the oft-underrated mackerel. Meaty fish fillets were accompanied by a gayette (mini burger) of pig’s trotter and whelks, crunchy seeds, ribbons of cleansing pickled mooli and cardamom infused yoghurt.

Perhaps the richest dish of the evening was surprisingly almost entirely vegetarian – tender, earthy heritage potatoes were combined with delicate buffalo milk curd, sweet caramelised onion puree and a couple of slices of turkey prosciutto. This was another sublime dish.

In contrast the meat course, a dish of roasted wood pigeon, felt at odds with the season. In spite of this, it was still completely frigging lush. Blushing pink pigeon, roasted and pureed parsnips, a burly black pudding puree, meaty jus, caramelised fig and crisp mixed seeds were all faultless.

Pre-dessert was a light & creamy gooseberry fool sprinkled with a spiced biscuit crumb.

Continuing apace, dessert number #1 was a trio niftily balanced flavours – a fragrant cylinder of bergamot parfait, gently potent liquorice cream and intense orange jelly.

The final dessert was another standout in the evening’s stellar line-up.  Salty chicory mousse, reminiscent of the Camp coffee I used to drink at my grandparent’s in my early childhood, sat atop a layer of vanilla cream cheese and a soft biscuit base. It was paired with a refreshing yet rich in equal measure bitter chocolate sorbet.

One of the lasting memories of my previous visit to the Champion Sausage was receiving the wisdom that ordering tea or coffee in a Michelin starred restaurant is essential.  

And so, a plate of petit fours was brought forth...

Ethereally light syrup sponge, a mini battenburg, coconut and almond macaroons, chocolate toffee and the ultimate chocolate brownie were some of the picks – I really could go on.

Our meal at Le Champignon Sauvage was gobsmackingly brilliant and its status as one of the focal points of UK gastronomy is without doubt justified. In fact, it’s a bloody delight to know there’s somewhere this fantastic an hour and a half’s drive from Cardiff. 

The details:

Address - 24-26, Suffolk Road, Cheltenham, GL50 2AQ

Telephone - 01242 573449

Web - http://www.lechampignonsauvage.co.uk

The Gutsy Goose, Crwys Road, Cardiff restaurant review

This heat wave is seriously messing with my eating habits.

No longer am I craving meat and 2 veg, chocolate, chicken tikka masala or spring rolls.

Instead it’s all about Soleros, Cornettos, Magnums, takeaway sushi and unnaturally large portions of charcoal coated meat.

On one of last week’s swelteringly hot evenings, we ditched the salad and headed to one of Crwys Road’s newest openings -The Gutsy Goose.

The Gutsy Goose has the kind of crowd pleasing, all day menu which is perfect for a neighbourhood restaurant. Anywhere that serves eggs Benedict and American style pancakes for brunch, fish finger sandwiches, burgers and pie and chips for lunch, and pork belly and steak for dinner is ok in my book.

Service was friendly, if a little nervy, and this manifested itself in an incorrect starter being served (thankfully deducted off the bill) and the waiter subsequently checking all our main course orders were correct.  Furthermore, empty drinks glasses weren’t cleared throughout the meal. Both these oversights were annoying, but perhaps understandable, as we were part of a large group of 12.

A pre-dinner Mojito (£6) was pretty lame – a lack of sugar and a meagre amount of mint meant it tasted almost exclusively of rum and soda. My freshly squeezed orange juice (£2.50) in contrast was lush. 

A complimentary amuse bouche was a nice gesture. However, the fresh Mediterranean flavours of the mini bruschetta were masked by the presence of a fiery chilli jam and an intense balsamic reduction.

Things picked up with starters.

Goose liver pate (£5) was soft and smooth: sour cherry compote balanced the richness of the meat.

Warm scallops and smoked bacon (£7) were unexpectedly complimented by a scattering of tangy pomegranate pearls.

A tasty “smoked fishcake” (£5) had a crisp exterior and an un-stodgy texture. However, the predominant flavour was smoky chorizo and not the unnamed fish, which I’m guessing was salmon. An accompanying runny yolked poached egg and rich hollandaise were both well executed.

For main, Mrs G ordered the rib eye steak (£13). Whilst it was cooked a perfect medium rare and the accompanying béarnaise and fries were on the nail, the steak itself was disappointingly lacking in flavour – perhaps unsurprising for its price and generous size.

I ordered beer battered fish (£8). Light, grease free batter, flaky white fish and crisp fries were all praiseworthy. A pot of tartare sauce, however, had the pungent vinegariness of shop bought stuff.

Tender pork belly with smooth creamed potato and richness piercing, slightly sharp cider jus (£11.50) was described as very good.

It goes without saying we ordered desserts.  

Sticky toffee pudding (£4.50) actually turned out to be a syrup sponge. However, it was no worse off for its identity crisis. Light, moist and syrupy, the excellent sponge was balanced by an enjoyably tart smear of raspberry coulis and a scoop of run-of-the-mill vanilla ice cream.

Mrs G’s white chocolate and raspberry Eton mess (£4.50) did everything well too – light whipped cream, slightly sharp raspberries, creamy white chocolate and crisp meringue pieces all combined effectively.

However, the cheesecake of the day, a caramelised orange variety, (£4.50) was crying out for the presence of its headline flavour. The crisp biscuit base and sweetened cream cheese topping were all that could be discerned.

Stuffed and suffering from the meat / summer sweats, there was only one logical conclusion to the meal... a complimentary round of limoncello.

On the whole, our meal at Gutsy Goose was good, and there’s a load on the menu to make me want to go back. It’s just a shame that some overwrought presentation of the food (wooden boards really aren't as good as plates and smears are just a little bit Masterchef final) and slightly patchy service let things down a bit.

The details:

Address - 145 Crwys Road, Cardiff, CF24 4NH

Web - http://thegutsygoose.co.uk

Telephone - 029 2022 8523