Christopher's Grill

I thought I would post my first review on a restaurant that I have very fond memories of as it is where I started my career in the kitchen, head chef Francis Agyepong and Sous Chef Barry Crawford taught me a hell of a lot!

I took my girlfriend there just before I started this blog but felt that I should put a review up, why not document past food memories?!

For those that don't know, Christopher's is in Covent Garden in a great Victorian grade II listed building with amazing views over Waterloo bridge and the strand. Its a large restaurant with a beautiful candle lit spiral staircase that takes you from the reception up to the restaurant. With an nouvaux American menu sitting alongside modern European and Asian dishes.

We arrived slightly earlier than our booking so were taken to the martini bar which was extremely busy, but not so much that you couldn't move or drink without getting some down your chin(you all know what I mean). We decided to have a couple of their champagne cocktails, I had a Bellini, whilst Laura went for a passion fruit cocktail, which although was very nice it did come with the hazard of getting seeds stuck in your teeth!

We were soon shown up the grand staircase to our table, this was the first time I'd been in the restaurant before so was a new experience for me being on the other side but the memory of the dishes was still fresh.

Our waiter came with a selection of breads and surprise drinks from the chef.

Now to the food, I had a Confit of duck salad with crisp lettuce, Charleston slaw & tamarind sauce

The salad was crisp adding a crunch to the perfect confit duck leg and the pickled cucumber was fresh and cut through the richness of the duck.

Laura had seared scallops with chervil root puree, balsamic glaze and chervil crisps, 3 scallops seared and seated on a bed of chervil root puree which was well seasoned and very smooth. The balsamic glaze added a sweet touch to the dish.

For our mains I went for a Christopher's speciality, surf 'n' Turf Steak, this is a 1/2 lobster grilled in a herb butter served with buttered spinach, a 10oz rib eye steak and a choice of sauce, I went for Bearnaise...I love the stuff! The steak was treated simply with the natural flavour of the extremely tender meat shining through, I had mine medium-rare and it was cooked perfectly.

Laura had a Lobster thermidor which was accompanied with creamy mash potato and a cobb salad, She loved every mouthful...not sharing much either it was so good. The meat was perfectly cooked and pulled away from the shell with ease and the creamy mustard filling mixed with the natural juice of the lobster made the dish extremely aromatic and delicious.

After two lovely courses and various champagne cocktails we were getting full so opted to share a dessert the desserts at Christopher's are an all American show with baked New York cheesecake, Brownie, Pecan Tart and peanut butter pudding being the dishes that stood out the most. Both being chocolate fiends we finally decided on the warm chocolate fudge brownie with vanilla ice cream, shaved chocolate, chocolate sauce and almond praline, it was huge and every rich chocolaty mouthful was well worth it!

Sitting there soaking up the atmosphere completely satisfied sipping our cocktails was the perfect end to a long week. Am I being bias?? maybe but everyone I've introduced to Christopher's has rushed back before and I shall be doing the same, so next time your in the west-end catching a show pop in and give it a try I guarantee you will be joining us in becoming frequent visitors.

Don't believe me? then check out for yourself here

Wild Salmon with Cucumber Spaghetti

Lovely simple dish, if you can get hold of wild salmon I urge you to do so because it truly is something you need to taste, farmed salmon just doesn't compare!

Cut the salmon at an angle to get nice long thin slices to make cooking even simpler and extremely quick.

First off to make the spaghetti, take 1 cucumber and peel it, the use a Japanese mandolin to slice it into spaghetti, ensuring not to use the watery centre as this won't cook very well. If you don't have a mandolin then cut the outsides of the cucumber into ribbons and then julienne them to form spaghetti.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and blanch the cucumber in the water for 30seconds, remove and refresh the cucumber in ice water, this brings out the colour intensifying the green of the cucumber.

To make the sauce whisk together 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1tablespoon of Dijon mustard, whisk in 1/4cup of olive oil slowly to emulsify the citronette, season with salt and black pepper, add 2 tablespoons of finely chopped chives and 2 tablespoons of warm water of stock to serve warm.

To cook the salmon season the fish with salt, pepper and olive oil and grill the Salmon on both sides until the inside is translucent (still rare, us English cook everything to death...don't salmon should be served translucent!!) this will probably only take about 1min on each side but this depends on how thick you have cut your portions.

Sautee the blanched cucumber in a drizzle of oil at a high heat.

Serve this immediately place the salmon in the middle of the plate and spoon the spaghetti onto and drizzle your warm citronette on to the fish and plate.

This is an extremely simple and delicious dish, hope you enjoy.




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Veal Stock

So I've been gone a few days now been working hard, been extremely busy at work learning a new section in the kitchen so its all go at the moment!

Last time I posted I said I would post a veal stock recipe so here it is.

This makes 1 litre of stock/gravy which ever you would rather call it, the technique applies for most gravies and the bones could be swapped for beef or lamb to match whichever meat it is you're serving up.

2.5kg Veal bones
2 Bay Leaves
2 Sprigs Rosemary
2 Sprigs Thyme
Parsley Stalks
150g Carrots (1/2 length ways)
100g Onions 1/2
50g Tomato Puree
500g Chopped Tomato
7.5litre Water
400g Calves Feet (split)
225ml Red Wine

Split the calves feet and chop the veg. Blacken the veg in a frying pan with minimal oil.
Roast the bones in the oven until they are golden brown.

Place the bones, veg, aromatic herbs, tomato puree, chopped tomatoes and water into a large pot and cover with the water and bring the pan up to the boil, once the stock comes up turn the temperature down and simmer until it is reduced by 1/3. Skim the stock regularly to ensure the fat doesn't boil back into the stock.

Pass the stock through a chinoise into a new pan, add the calves feet, and simmer until the stock reduces to a nice sauce consistency, this will take a couple of hours but needs to reduce by a further 1/2.

Reduce the red wine by half in a separate pan.

Once the desired consistency is reached pass the stock through a muslin cloth. Add to the reduced wine and correct seasoning.

This can be used immediately or could be cooled and refrigerated for another time.

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Calves Liver with Cheddar Mash and a Parmesan Crisp

This is a great simple dish that I used to do at my old restaurant, very popular and easy to do at home too!

First off make your mashed potato, boil up your potatoes in salted water until thoroughly cooked, if you have one pass the potatoes through a ricer twice (to make sure its smooth) with diced butter to ensure its nice and rich. finish in a pan with grated cheddar and milk to make it lighter.

To make the parmesan crisp get a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle some grated cheese thinly into a triangular shape (or however you fancy) and bake in the oven for 2-3mins until golden and bubbling. leave on the side to cool and it will crisp up. Serve cold.

Line 2 slices of pancetta per person on a parchment paper and cover with another sheet of parchment and a tray ontop to keep them flat. Bake in the oven for 5mins until cooked and leave to cool.

Next place some basamic vinegar and a pinch of sugar in a pan and reduce to a thick glaze ( you can buy this already made from your supermarket) the sugar ensures the balsamic vinegar retains its sweetness.

The best sauce for this dish is a nice veal stock, again this can be brought for the supermarket but its best home made but a bit expensive. I'll give you the recipe separatley as it is fairly long winded. Stir the newly reduced balsamic glaze into the veal stock to taste. This should result in a nice sweet but rich sauce. Keep warm.

Season your liver portions with sea salt, black pepper and some chopped sage. Heat a frying pan with a splash of oil and get very hot, place your liver in the pan and sear on each side for about 2mins, depending on the thickness of the liver. Liver is best served pink.

Serve on a clean white plate with a quenelle of mash, a crisp, pancetta slices and your pan-fried liver. Lightly cover with the balsamic sauce and a drizzl of olive oil.

'Best Ever' Chicken Tikka Masala

So I was cleaning out the other night and came across a lost cookbook full of Indian superfood recipes its a book by Gurpareet Bains who specialises in healthy food.

Any way I was having a browse and came across a dish labelled the best ever chicken tikka masala...I was obviously curious because like the majority of the rest of England I love a chicken tikka, so I made it tonight!

I served it up for dinner for the family and it went down very well. Its billed as being a super healthy version without cream and replaced with coconut milk instead and providing you with 235%+ RDA of antioxidants which is impressive.

If you fancy ago too you'll need:

1 teaspoon cloves
15 green cardamon pods slightly crushed
1 onion thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground ginger
3 tablespoons tandoori masala powder
5 tablespoons tomato puree
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons peeled ginger grated.
2-4 green chillies chopped
500g chicken breast chopped
800ml coconut milk.

heat the oil and cloves and cardamon together until aromatic on a low-medium heat then add the onions and cook until brown for about 5mins. Add the garlic and cook until light brown.

Sprinkle in the ground ginger and tandoori masala powder and cook for 20secs. Then add the tomato puree, sugar, fresh ginger and chillies, mix well and cook until the puree is heated through, 1-2mins.

Add the diced chicken, mix well and cook until sealed all over. Pour in the coconut milk and mix well. Simmer uncovered for 25mins stir occasionally.

Season to taste and garnish with some chopped coriander.

Hope you can find the time to give this recipe a try its very simple and healthy!