It’s pouring with rain the day I visit Hélène Darroze. Not long landed from the sunshine and beautiful beaches of Mallorca where I’d been a weekend wedding guest for a stunning inter-continental couple, instead I arrive at The Connaught Hotel looking less Mediterranean goddess, more soggy someone as I quickly flutter through the revolving wooden doors to escape the Big Smoke’s finest.
After drying off in the quite sumptuous ladies’ loos, where obliging attendants monitor your every entry and exit (I was attempting to dry my hair), I make it out still five minutes early to arrive into the quiet cloisters that house Hélène. From the decadence of the hotel and the Connaught bar that we’ve all visited (but not nearly as often as we’d like) for one of the best-made Martini’s in town, today is my first time dining here.
Swathes of warm ochre that colour the walls here immediately warm the ambience, along with conversation from my charming dining partner as we chat about the menu that is on offer and the grande dame who oversees its curation.
Hélène Darroze has had her name above the door here since 2008, a first foray beyond her native France and her original coveted restaurant success in Paris, Hélène arrived here to offer London and its visitors a flavour of her creative culinary mind. The reception of the restaurant launch led to a Michelin star just six months after opening, added to by another three years later in 2011.
As a fourth generation member to a family of chefs, learning from her roots, her home region of Landes in South Western France, she graduated to work alongside professionals such as Alain Ducasse in Monaco in the famous Hotel de Paris, gathering impressive personal accolades as she moved on to found her own projects both on and off the kitchen floor ever since.
I am impressed most by Hélène’s keenness to champion women in all that she does, and chuckle when learning she was the inspiration for the character Colette in Pixar’s 2007 film, Ratatouille – since used as one of 14 new barbie dolls in 2018 by Mattel to honour “women who have broken boundaries in their fields and have been an inspiration to the next generation of girls”. Action meant this also translated into co-founding charity association “La Bonne Etoile“, which helps disadvantaged children.
With the Spring menu in front of us, what I instantly love about it is that it is inspired by Hélène’s own travels. Choices arriving at three courses on the set menu begin with a signature broth to cleanse the palate, are followed by options that dance around the British Isles and neighbouring Europe. Snacks arrive to get the juices going: red seam bream with fresh peas – a season I adore, and wasabi; Beetroot, rose, golden cross (an English goat’s cheese) and horseradish, and then seaweed served with white asparagus and Amalfi lemon. The sea and the sunshine call to us through their respective groves before we take a left turn and head north to Scotland.
Here, in starter form, I go with the Isle of Mull Lobster – a must-try, not only as this is a signature dish of Hélène’s but also because Mull nods to the original seat of clan MacLean – rugged and brooding but quite beautiful when calm. This is served tandoori style, where mouthfuls laced with citrus and coriander are matched with a Hungarian Furmint, from producer Szepsy – a dry white from this country otherwise known for making its delicious desert wine Tokaji. The flavour combination is bright and elegant.
Not quite yet grouse season, our next course offers something subtly game-led. Pigeon, from Jean-Jaques Boga in Brittany, is served with fresh wasabi, black garlic and kiwi. To accompany, sommelier Benjamin pours a 2017 Aglianico from prestigious estate Bocca di Lupo in Italy’s heel, Puglia. Here the savouriness of what is often dubbed the ‘Barolo of the South’ perfectly accompanies the more pronounced flavour of the pigeon while both still landing with venue-appropriate finesse and an artist’s palette of rich colour.
We interlude, French style, with a smattering of cheese – a thrill to see the trolley be wheeled over (I remember dining at Chez Bruce of similarly excellent cheese-trolley-fame during the pandemic when such things were prohibited, staring forlornly at the dish in front of us, sad for the loss of ceremony that such a variety of cheeses rightfully deserves). This is matched with a heady 2017 Arbois Savignan, from Domaine Tissot in France’s Jura. A nuttiness complements the saltiness of the cheese – served in a trifecta of texture.
A final course of ‘Strawberry’ hails from Saint Malo in France, lifted by a sesame crunch. The presentation is stunning. Our final pairing here is a South African dessert wine – Kika from Miles Mossop – balanced to be both rich and bright, ensuring you want to go back for another sip. Visual artistry continues with final cups of coffee presented in stunning cerulean blue Hermès espresso cups (the ceramics throughout our meal from independent artist Ema Pradere).
Culinary magic happens for a variety of reasons, but one of these is clearly aided through the art of the wine pairing. “It must be structural to keep the mouth happy,” says Benjamin when questioned on how he chooses wine to match each quite different dish. There are five pairing menus to choose from – three wine based. One dominates with Champagne ‘A tribute to Hautvillers’ with wines available from Krug that date to the 1950s; another is seasonally alcohol-free. Some of the world’s most famous wines from similarly exceptional vintages are available by the glass for a supplement.
In a side room is a unique personal collection of Armagnac – one labelled as 1888 sitting next to 1918, 1923 and upwards – quite the history time capsule and visual feast. We are offered a quick tour of the wine cellars. No less than 30,000 bottles are stored here in the building, earning the moniker of one of the most impressive lists in London, but the reality is there are far more besides these, lurking (in mint condition), elsewhere. An impressive view for those in the know, and a cavern of discovery, aided by the crack-team of six somms, led by Lucas Reynaud Paligot, for those keen to explore.
With the cuisine almost the show girl, the wine matching is where the real choreography lies. Few restaurants can boast such symphony of moves on equal counts. The curtain keeps rising.
Weekday lunch is £125, Taste of the Season (lunch and dinner) is priced at £225 per person. Accompanying wine pairings begin at £145. Exclusive wine dinners are also held on occasion, attracting guests from across the globe. For more information, please visit www.the-connaught.co.uk.
