Hotfoots it to Mayfair - Mayfair Times

36 37
food & drink
The kitchens of The Ritz are startling. Gleaming, modern
and organised with military efficiency, they’re easily the largest
kitchens I’ve ever seen. A tour with executive chef John
Williams – one of the towering figures of British gastronomy –
takes a full 20 minutes.
Son of a South Shields fisherman, Williams has retained
both his Northern accent and native good humour. As we
walk through the brightly lit and spotless kitchens beneath
Piccadilly, Williams’s conversation is punctuated by the
phrase “Good laaad”, as he hands out praise to members of
the 55-strong brigade.
In one area, we speak to a chef who that day alone has
made 6,000 sandwiches. In another, Williams points to a bit
of kit and says: “That’s my truffle freezer”. In yet another,
they’re cooking chocolate cookies and fruit cake and the
smell of warm chocolate is heart-stopping. It’s a magical
place.
But we’re between lunch and evening service and the
kitchen is relatively quiet. On a busy day it produces 400
afternoon teas, 100 lunches, 120 dinners and looks after
room service and the bar as well as servicing the private
rooms. What we’re looking at here is a factory at rest.
Williams’s office is right at the heart of the kitchen; from
SOME SAY THAT THE RITZ HOTEL ON
PICCADILLY IS MORE BEAUTIFUL NOW
THAN AT ANY OTHER TIME IN THE PAST
CENTURY. AND THE FOOD’S PRETTY
GOOD TOO. ERIK BROWN MEETS
EXECUTIVE CHEF JOHN WILLIAMS
Glamour
and Ritz
LEFT: JOHN WILLIAMS AND TEAM IN THE KITCHEN
ABOVE: THE SUMPTUOUS SURROUNDS OF THE RITZ
the windows he can see what’s going on, while managing
the paperwork alongside his PA Ildiko Marcus. Bluff and
cheerful, Williams has had a brilliant career. Executive
chairman of the Academy of Culinary Excellence, awarded an
MBE for services to the catering industry, honoured by the
French with a CMA (the equivalent of an MBE), he was maître
chef des cuisines at Claridge’s before joining The Ritz in a
role he had previously been in line for no fewer than four
times.
“I always knew I was going to work at The Ritz,” he says.
“It was my dream job.” But, he explains carefully, he had to
make sure he would be allowed to run the kitchens in a way
that responded to The Ritz brand. Before he arrived, a
common complaint was that the food didn’t match up to
what some believe to be the most beautiful restaurant in
Europe. Now it is highly regarded for what Williams calls
“palace cuisine”.
The Ritz is owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who
have poured money into the hotel. “They nurture it,” Williams
says. Palace cuisine costs money. It’s an investment the
owners have been happy to make.
In culinary terms Williams is a classicist. Food has to
evolve – “it’s no good cooking what we were cooking 30
years ago,” he says – and these days everything is a little bit
healthier. But there are still echoes of Escoffier in the kitchens
of The Ritz.
Just listen to this random sample of dishes from the
autumn menu in the main restaurant: tortellini of langoustine
with cauliflower purée tout Paris; tournedos of beef
Périgourdine with girolles a la crème; and conduit of dates
and sauternes with walnut clafoutis.
Willliams may be executive chef in charge of a huge
kitchen brigade, but he still cooks. He “orchestrates”, he
says. Up and down all the time, pointing chefs in one
direction or another. “Most nights I get dragged in,” he says,
with a smile.
Williams accepts that he’s an elder statesman these days,
and many are surprised at the youthfulness of his team. He
has an answer to that, too: “They keep me young and I give
them structure.”
At one point in the interview, he begins: “I’ve got a young
kid here …” He pulls a blind to one side and says, excitedly,
“This one here. Just look at the way he cleans. See how little
he is, see how old he is. Young as anything. I have a kitchen
of 50-odd and they adore him, the enthusiasm he has.”
The teenager – he’s 17, but looks younger – is called
Spencer Metzger and has just won employee of the month in
one of the world’s most famous hotels.
Chairman of the Academy of Culinary Arts’ annual
Awards of Excellence, Williams already knows that he’s got a
handful of future great chefs in his kitchen. He knows how to
spot them and he knows how to nurture them.
So, how come – and I ask this with temerity – The Ritz
doesn’t have a Michelin star or two. “I would love to know,”
he says. “Honestly, I know at this point that our food can be
as good as any three-star restaurant in this country. I don’t
want to say it’s a miscarriage of justice or anything like that,
but we’re definitely one star or two star.”
We chat about it for a while. I say I have no clue how
Michelin works and Williams replies with laughter and without
rancour: “How many people do?”
Appetisers
PODIUM RESTAURANT at the London Hilton on Park Lane
will be offering a limited-edition White Chocolate Afternoon
Tea during Chocolate Week (October 11-17). Priced at £25
per person and available daily from 2-6pm, the menu will
include miniature fancies and cupcakes made using white
chocolate, along with scones and a selection of
sandwiches. To book, call 020 7208 4022.
RENOWNED CHOCOLATIER
William Curley will be setting up
shop at Claridge’s during
Chocolate Week, starting on
October 11, creating chocolate
cakes in the foyer daily. His
signature mousses and pastries
will feature on the afternoon tea
menu, priced at £35 per person.
On Friday October 15 and
Sunday October 17, William and
his team will be hosting a twoand-a-half
hour masterclass
(£100 per person) starting at
11am. Friday will be dedicated to
chocolate truffles and Sunday will
focus on the combination of seasalt
caramel. To book a place,
call 020 7409 6307.
FORTNUM & MASON in Piccadilly is devoting an entire
week to activities around Chocolate Week. Some of the
world’s most talented chocolatiers will be on hand in the
confectionery department to answer your questions about
chocolate. There will be tastings and demonstrations
including one from Valrhona’s own chocolate chef, Andrew
Gravett. On Saturday October 16, there will be a chocolate
tea party for kids, complete with chocolate fountain and a
chocolate teddy bear to take home. To book a place, call
0845 602 5694.
TO CELEBRATE CHOCOLATE WEEK La
Maison du Chocolat is organising a
series of sampling and tasting
sessions at its store at 45-
46 Piccadilly. It will
also be launching
a new, limitededition
chocolate
box containing two
ganaches – Caracas
and Extreme Chocolat.
Sampling is free of charge and
tasting sessions are priced at £50 for
two hours. To book, call 020 7287 8500.
FOOD & DRINK: Selma Day
selma@pubbiz.com