There was no paté de campagne with cornichons on the menu at the restaurant on the 39th floor of "The Gherkin".

I forgot to check if they were serving pints of Foster's in the bar under the apex of the amazing glazing on the floor above.

A fixed price of £47.50/£55 plus service for three/four courses at lunch in the restaurant announces that here be elaborate corporate dining.

The most mesmerising view of London is reserved for employees of the offices at 30 St Mary Axe and their guests and those willing to spend £1,000 to become an individual "member" of the building (£2,500 for group membership).

I was lunching as a guest of Searcy's, who manage the catering. They have just lost chef Brian Hughson to Gary Rhodes's new fine dining restaurant at The Cumberland Hotel, which opens mid-May. New head chef is Michael Lynch who has apparently developed the menus with the help of Richard Corrigan of Lindsay House and Bentley's.

Cassoulet as a first course; there is the hand of that broth of a boy, Richard Corrigan, I thought. In fact, the slice of terrine made with traditional cassoulet ingredients was quite delicate.

Another first course of sweetbreads with new season morels and poached quail eggs was also something Beatrix Potter's Hunka Munka might have found in the kitchen of the doll's house. Had I had my lawyer with me I might have invoked the Trades Description Act as there was only one quail egg, but the whole assembly was delicious.

There was no doubting the Irish influence on the main course entitled Pork, which gathered together cured fillet, crisp belly, braised crubeen (pig's trotter) and choucroute. A jus flavoured with vanilla and aniseed was a fancypants detail.

The current fashion for cooking sous-vide, long and slow, can result in meat that is "done" but looks unappetisingly crude. Such was the case with squab pigeon with cannelloni of celeriac, so I crashed my companion's pork party.

A cheese trolley sporting a proud showing from the British Isles, served by a knowledgeable waiter, seemed more tempting than the fiddly desserts. At 30 St Mary Axe the view is the thing and it also gives a vivid snapshot of other tall and taller buildings in the making.

At the recent Canaletto exhibition at The Dulwich Picture Gallery, the artist's 18th century London scenes had only church spires reaching above the houses towards heaven. I have to say, I felt nearer to Mammon than God in The Gherkin.

To become a member contact Elodie Mevel (elodie.mevel@30stmaryaxe.com)