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Catering within tent: Koffman’s top table is under canvas
Jonathan Prynn, Consumer Business Editor08.10.09
London's most sought-after restaurant tables this autumn are inside a tent. There is really no other word for it. A seriously upmarket version perhaps, dripping with gilt-framed rococco mirrors and commanding views that sweep from Canary Wharf to Crystal Palace — but a tent nonetheless.
Chef Pierre Koffmann makes his return to the London culinary stage tonight with the Michelin-starred equivalent of a Calor Gas ring at his disposal.
The former Tante Claire maestro, whose final manic dress rehearsal for his three-week run on the roof of Selfridges was last night, suggested that the oven laid on for his performances was simply not up to the job. “It is hard when you are used to an Aston Martin and you have to make do with a Renault,” the 61-year-old Frenchman said. But if the kitchen, lifted by crane to the top of the Oxford Street department store, fell short of his expectations there was little indication of it in the finished product. The 240 covers a day at Pierre Koffmann Restaurant on the Roof have long been sold out in the evenings with just a handful of slots left at lunchtime, and it is not hard to understand why.
The dining room is a long narrow marquee dressed in a unique style that can only be described as the confused love child of Scottish baronial and Belgian surrealism.
The opening marks the starts of London's inaugural Restaurant Festival, which runs from today until the end of the week.
Demand for M Koffmann's “pop-up” restaurant has led to its stint being extended twice — and with requests for bookings still pouring in, it may be again — but as every camper will know, tents are far less fun in winter.
Yesterday's steady rain brought threatening “damp spots” if not outright leaks in the canvas while the intrusive noise from the heaters was one of the few blights on the evening. It will also be interesting to see how the structure stands up to a strong gale.
But whoever said that food cooked outside always tastes better probably did not have in mind pan-fried foie gras with a potato galette and sauternes jus.
Reader views (2)
I had lunch on the first official day, and it was sublime. The pistachio souffle topped off a wonderful menu, and a unmatched meal from food to service.
- Monica, Hounslow, UK
Every bit as good as the food at Tante Claire, please come out of retirement.
- Roy Walker, London
