For those who have been following James Martin’s French Adventure on ITV, and for whom a trip to Burgundy or Lyon is slightly out of reach, a trip to his restaurant, inside the Manchester 235 casino, may be just what you need to quench the desire for classic French cookery.
Despite the location and the slightly odd journey to get to the restaurant, past the poker tables and roulette wheels, once you make it up the stairs and in to the restaurant, you can totally forget about the casino just below.
We attended ‘Lunch with James’, where Martin took us through a menu of French-inspired dishes. It included a roasted onion consommé with cheddar and comté beignet; hand dived scallops with celeriac and shrimp butter; salt-aged Magret duck breast with confit leg, chicory and blood orange; and, a rather more British, Yorkshire Rhubarb, ginger and vanilla delice.
Martin’s plates are attractive and clean, taking a few key ingredients and letting them shine. There’s clearly a lot of clever cookery involved; however, Martin does like to play down the fancy nature of his food. ‘The difference between consommé and a clear soup … is 40 quid,” he jokes.
The focus is on the quality of ingredients and big flavours. He speaks of 16-mile-long cellars full of Comté cheese and Himalayan salt lined fridges to salt-age meat (in this case Magret duck). But he doesn’t use exclusively French ingredients or French recipes, blending in British produce or dishes where appropriate. The scallops, for example, are from the west coast of Scotland – the best place for scallops, according to Martin. And it has been adapted to British tastes, the duck is not served as rare as it would be in France, for instance.
The James Martin’s French Adventure Cookbook is packed full of classic French recipes from the series, 80 of them. They are simple and easy to follow and the book itself has loads of gorgeous photos of the dishes, as well as the produce and the French countryside from which it comes.
There is now a £30 5-course tasting menu available at James Martin Manchester (£47.50 with paired wines). The seasonal menu which will change regularly depending on the Chef’s selection, is available Monday to Thursday until 31st March.
Sample Menu
It’s great value and only available for a limited time so it’s worth trying while you can!
Book Here