Right Place, right time?
Tristan Welch whose rise to the top at Petrus was meteoric, now has total control at revamped, relaunched Launceston Place. We went to see how it was all kicking off
Launceston Place, the place, is one of the nicest little roads in London. Traffic noise is completely absent, the air smells of cut grass and the houses radiate comfortable wealth and British ease. So it’s perhaps no surprise to see Lord Snowdon a few tables down as we take our lunch places in the eponymous restaurant, not that we can see him clearly. There’s not a square corner in this old building, which after refurbishment and a makeover still has the slight vibe and feel of the pub it probably once was. Of course now the emphasis is more fine wine than best bitter and the chairs and banquettes with their dinky cushions are clearly greeting a better class of bottom.
Downstairs, viewable on the plasma screen in the private dining room, and visible in the flesh as he pops around the tables is the new chef Tristan Welch. His intensity and passion show on his face but when he sits down for a chat later, a flash of Union Jack sock shows he isn’t above a sense of fun. This though is a serious business, his first restaurant entirely under his command after three years of Head Chef at renowned Petrus, where he progressed from junior sous chef to head chef in less than 18 months. He seriously wants this to work but already there have been a few critical comments, some more negative than others. As the most recent was only a few days ago, I’m obliged to ask him straight off if it’s been a cause for concern? He stretches out a languorous leg, fiddles with a salt cellar and stares off into space for a second before replying.
“No, I actually liked XXX’s review, it was funny and his articles are always entertaining,” Tristan laughs. “I do read reviews and I do make changes as a result. Although XXX ate here a few weeks ago when we were just starting his points were valid, well a lot of them were anyway. The portions were too small when we started, absolutely!” What about the comments that the style of food was outdated? Tristan isn’t so keen on that criticism.
“No, no,” he shakes his head , “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with food that’s old-fashioned, not at all. Not at all, but I don’t think it is necessarily old-fashioned, the cuisine we do here. I like to think it’s British food without the stodge really. That’s what we’re trying to achieve, and hopefully in a couple of months we’ll be 100% British. Produce too.”
Well, I say, I hear a lot of chefs say that but let’s face it there isn’t much useful variety British produce around outside of summer is there? “Well,” he agrees, “that’s the challenge and I’m looking forward it and hopefully it might create a unique style of cuisine, because if you follow the seasons religiously, it could start something new, a new style of cuisine, which I’m looking to do.”
In the dishes we had just eaten, the seasonal angle had resulted in some beautiful rhubarb, not once but twice. “Forced rhubarb from the ‘Rhubarb Triangle’ up North he explains, we used it with the foie gras and also of course in the Rhubarb crumble. At this time of year it’s so sweet, later it gets tarter and more acidic of course. Now is its optimum time.”
“In fact,” he continues, “the reason why I have the foie gras on the menu is to use the rhubarb, not the other way around!” He explains that he has no ethical problem using foie gras, which he gets from Nantes and in the smaller sizes. “Actually I don’t buy 600 gram livers because they are the result of serious over feeding, instead I buy the 350 gram livers, and they are absolutely perfect. They taste how foie gras should taste, they have the texture of foie gras, and they’re not over-buttery, and over oily like the big large livers are. But as I say, I’d like to stop using them completely, because I really want to go down the route of 100% British.”
My sea bass, which was superb, had come with slippery leaves of Spring Cabbage, a humble British vegetable but bang in season. “At the prices I’m charging I can’t afford anything else but cabbage, “ he laughs, but of course he wouldn’t serve anything if it wasn’t what he wanted.
Talking earlier of the Rhubarb Crumble had made me think inevitably of Gastro Pub and Tristan is not uncomfortable with that interpretation. “Yeah, yeah, definitely, that’s a part of what we want to achieve. We want to do British cooking with a gastronomic edge, but then again we don’t want all the airs and graces of gastronomic cooking, you know, the fancy service. Well, it is a bit fancy, the service,” he relents, “but I’m really working to try and streamline it a bit, and I want it friendly. It’s got to be friendly and relaxed.”
All a bit different from the previous job at Petrus? I venture. He agrees this is so, “It’s more my personality, ‘he stresses. “I just wanted to do something different from Petrus; I spent almost three years there as head chef, and I just wanted a breath of fresh air and some different style, cuisine at a different angle. My standards are still very much the same and I’m still insistent upon them. I just want to develop my style a little bit more. I want to lose some of the French and put a bit of British into it and a bit more of my roots, and a bit more of my history, you know?”
I mention Lord Snowdon, who unbeknown to Tristan, has just been wheeled past the window giving our photographer a cheery wave as he goes , the camaraderie of the lens cap no doubt. “Yes he’s a local he’s been in a few times. Some of the locals around here though, they don’t like the change. They don’t care about the food; it’s the décor and the way it looks now. Mind you, they never used to come and eat here before, because it was shocking, the food was pretty horrendous.”
Faced with potential backlash he is happy with the support he’s getting from D&D, the new owners of what was once the Conran group. “They’re behind you, but they’re not in your way. They’re only there if you really, really need them, and they’re just happy to leave you to get on with it, to be honest. They want each restaurant to have a personality and be individual. I think that’s the key to sustainability and prolonging their life.”
Down below in the reasonably large kitchen, Tristan points to the few gadgets he has; the induction heat rings which only generate heat within the pan, so keeping the kitchen temperature, and thus stress levels, down. A couple of sous vide cookers " a helping hand. " he stresses, "not a crutch. They help with consistency but are only a tool for a chef to use or misuse like anything else." On a shelf I spot loads of antique egg cups of different designs, the same as used to serve our delicious little pre-dessert earlier. "I got them all off eBay," Tristan explains. " I like them because they are all different and some are silver and valuable and some cost just 99p. They're fun, people like them and they're a little talking point."
So that's Launceston Place, fine dining done differently and with panache.
Words : Nick Harman
Pics: Al Stuart
