Mickael Weiss is the head chef at Coq d’Argent, perhaps London’s highest restaurant. Two and a half years into his tenure delivering Terence Conran’s
brief ‘Simple French food served superbly’ his restaurant at the top of 1, Poultry in the City is gaining more and more praise every passing week. We went to see him to find out a bit more about what makes a great French restaurant.

Getting into the restaurant is an event in itself. Two discreet glass walled lifts, that only go to the restaurant, glide with enormous acceleration up the sides of the ‘chimney’ that is the centre of 1, Poultry. Emerging from the lift onto the flat roof of the building is dramatic – classic Conran design melds into the most remarkable terrace area where great wooden beams support a network of grape-filled vines. With the early morning sun splashing through the foliage and a small army of staff polishing glasses and preparing tables for the lunchtime rush, the effect is of a very smart, very exclusive hotel in the Mediterranean. Until, that is you look over the side and realise you are at one of London’s highest points with fantastic views in all directions with the terrace and brasserie taking full advantage of the location with space heaters in cooler weather. I go to look for Mickael in the kitchen, located in the back of the restaurant proper. Inside all is calm order, the staff are multi-national. There is a conversation in Italian taking place and I can hear some Scandiwegian too. People are preparing their mise en place, vegetables are being peeled and chopped and there’s a staff member who throws a bucket of soapy water around my feet until my shoes disappear under the surface. I move away to the other side of the kitchen and a few minutes later the same thing happens again. I take the hint and wander out again.

Mickael arrives from another kitchen a few floors down. ‘That’s where we do a lot of the initial preparation’ he explains. ‘Everything here with the exception of the bread, is prepared on the premises. The big prep goes on downstairs and up here is the where the bulk of the cooking takes place.’ His enthusiasm is palpable and his appearance belies the stereotypical French chef. Young and good looking and certainly not fat, his English accent is impeccable even down to a few estuary English vowels.

He was born and grew up in the Loire, beloved by the English for its endless chateaux and it is his sense of what French food should really be about that must have endeared him to Conran ‘Oh yes’, he laughs, ‘he loves French food, his brief was to never lose sight of traditional French cooking.’ That’s why Mickael frequently has dishes like ‘Coq au vin’ on the menu, winter and summer. But isn’t that like prawn cocktail? A bit 70’s ? A bit Abigail’s Party?’ I’m not sure Mickael knows who Abigail is, but his defence is spirited. ‘It’s a great dish. People love it, it’s a very popular item indeed. We do frog’s legs and snails, too. These are not clichés, they are classics. Although we cut down on the garlic for the snails at lunchtime, most of these people are returning to their desks. You’ll find Bouef en daube and Confit de canard on our menus as well.’ He warms to his theme. ‘It’s all about the ingredients. We do suckling pig on the rotisserie and its first class. It’s not swamped with some mango chutney. We don’t bring lamb to the table with a burning sprig of rosemary stuck into it either. The simpler the better to bring out the true taste of the food.’ I venture the opinion that if you want to find real French cooking these days you have to come to London. Mickael agrees reservedly, ‘It’s true that it’s harder than ever to find classic, country cooking in France. Expensive restaurants feel the need to justify the cost with elaborate sauces. Lemon grass, chilli those sort of things turn up more and more. I may use such exotic ingredients but only as subtle seasoning, they are not predominant or even mentioned on the menu.’

Michael is very much in evidence in the kitchen at all times, working a position in the centre of the line and air traffic controlling the dishes as they go. Is he here every day? ‘Except my days off and I am also a consultant chef at The Royal Exchange so I have to also visit there on a regular basis.’ So the last question, one that’s been on my mind since arriving, is how do they keep the vines up here growing so well? What about the frost in winter? Mickael performs a deep Gallic shrug. ‘I don’t know, but it’s very beautiful isn’t it?’ It certainly is. Go for the food, stay for the view.