Based on the experience of November 2011, the best way to kick off a weekend of football and beer in Hereford is to first take a detour to Cheltenham for dinner at Lumière. Having written about a previous meal I was in two minds whether to before this visit but the standard of food made the decision for me. It also helped that the constantly evolving menu offered many new dishes, with some familiar components. The major change since November is that the ancient wheezing kitchen equipment has been turfed out and replaced with fresh ranges together with a complete renovation of the kitchen.
There was no need to look at the menu. Why go for the à la carte option when there is a seven-course tasting menu on offer?
On a second visit, it was possible to pick up on some of the nice touches within the restaurant. Tables for one or two diners were wider than they were long similar to Eleven Madison Park. It was impossible to feel crowded like that and it helps makes everything more relaxed.
There was no need to look at the menu. Why go for the à la carte option when there is a seven-course tasting menu on offer?
On a second visit, it was possible to pick up on some of the nice touches within the restaurant. Tables for one or two diners were wider than they were long similar to Eleven Madison Park. It was impossible to feel crowded like that and it helps makes everything more relaxed.
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There were very few remnants of the menu from nine months ago, although the smoked cheese scone with truffled cream cheese with beetroot jam was a deliciously familiar way to start things. This was accompanied by lightly breaded lemon sole fish fingers with homemade tartare sauce. This was another mouth-watering taster.
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Bread followed the tasters and was a delicious brown roll with pickled onion accompanied by butter and coarse salt.
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The main amuse bouche combined heirloom tomato jelly, Innes goat’s curd, puffed potato and olive oil foam. The fried potato puffs were dusted with tomato powder and basil leaves were added as a garnish. The dish was full of bright fresh flavours with the tomato and goat’s curd combination the standout.
The diver caught scallops was one of my standout food courses from 2011 and seeing a photo is enough to make me nostalgic. The presentation has changed recently with the addition of salty bacon crumbs and pork scratching. All of the components that made it such a wonderful dish such as the tender sweet scallop, the rich pork belly, the sweet and spicy puree and the crunchy caramel are still there in spades and it was every bit as good as I remembered.
It was interesting to note that around 80% of the other diners ordered the scallop and pork belly starter so there seemed to be a constant parade of them through the dining room. This is an item that is likely to stay on the menu for a long time to come. A classic.
It was interesting to note that around 80% of the other diners ordered the scallop and pork belly starter so there seemed to be a constant parade of them through the dining room. This is an item that is likely to stay on the menu for a long time to come. A classic.
The next course was fantastic to look at and another superb combination of flavours. River Severn wild sea trout was served with quinoa, smoked eel, cucumber and keta. The bald description doesn’t really give an indication of the invention in the dish. The pan-fried sea trout was a superb centrepiece to the dish with its crispy skin and delicious flesh. The smoked eel was prepared in a cream and served in a cucumber jelly wrapper on top of the trout so the bright cucumber contrasted nicely with the smoky eel. The piquant sauce around the trout was unbelievably good. Finely diced cucumber, and tomato sauce was poured onto the quinoa so some of the juice was absorbed. This meant that the quinoa added substance to the dish but was not crunchy as you’d expect. Overall this was excellent.
The buffalo mozzarella sorbet and accompaniments provided a refreshing next step to the meal. It was served on a layer of pistachio crumbs with smoked watermelon, avocado, chorizo, julienned apple and a mint garnish. The watermelon was compressed in Chase smoked vodka so it acquired a real depth of flavour. The chorizo was presented as a jam in a kohl rabi cannelloni. The whole dish was lovely with the chorizo jam, sorbet, pistachio and watermelon providing real highs.
Based on presentation, the ham hock and rabbit terrine was the least innovative of the courses so far but was right up there in terms of flavour. A thick slice of terrine was served with liver parfait, watercress, piccalilli and homemade salad cream. The parfait was smeared on sour dough crisps and the piccalilli included a mix of pickled courgette, mushroom, cauliflower, onion and mustard seed. The tart piccalilli mix was perfect with the coarse terrine and the smooth salad cream was excellent. Another great dish.
The meal paused with the tequila slammer palate freshener. The tequila sorbet and lime sphere are a blast on the taste buds.
I’ve been lucky to be able to travel all over the world and have sampled some wonderful foods this year but the pigeon at Lumière stands out as the best dish I’ve eaten in 2012 so far. The dish was listed as squab pigeon with truffle, girolles, black pudding and sage but this does nothing to describe the superb elements that combined for a truly wonderful whole. The juicy, tender pigeon breast was served on mixed cabbage and onion while the spicy pigeon leg was served breaded. The truffles were layered with potato in strata to give a savoury terrine that was a perfect foil for the meat. Small girolles and baby turnips provided rich, deep mushroom flavour and crunch to the dish, respectively. Fried sage leaves provided crunchy savoury while pickled onions added refreshing acid to counterbalance the rich meat. Another highlight was the black pudding purée that provided mildly spiced rich pockets of flavour that elevated all other components. This was an utterly brilliant dish.
At this point it was time to move on to desserts. The first option was Wye Valley blueberries, lemon, amaretto and gingerbread. A glass of wonderful lemon mousse was topped with plump blueberries. The topping of amaretto cream complimented the mousse well although it could overwhelm the other flavours. The blueberries also contained cubes of amaretto jelly for intense bursts of almond flavour. The brandy snap style gingerbread was a great addition.
The shipwrecked cheesecake was a dessert with a story. First glance showed apple balls, apple sherbet, blackberries, blackberry sorbet, crumble, jelly and purée with Somerset cider brandy cream in a sugar tube. The dish was garnished with apple blossom.
The barrels used in fermentation of the cider brandy in the cream were washed up on Branscombe beach following the grounding of the MSC Napoli in 2007. Their actual destination was supposed to be a winery in South Africa. As part of the dish the apple balls were poached in wine from the South African winery to help close the loop between the ingredients. This was a lovely dish with the refreshing sorbet, the cider brandy cream and apple balls the main standouts.
The barrels used in fermentation of the cider brandy in the cream were washed up on Branscombe beach following the grounding of the MSC Napoli in 2007. Their actual destination was supposed to be a winery in South Africa. As part of the dish the apple balls were poached in wine from the South African winery to help close the loop between the ingredients. This was a lovely dish with the refreshing sorbet, the cider brandy cream and apple balls the main standouts.
Final dessert was a rich chocolate based dessert listed as “Tiramisu”. The small cubes of sponge were soaked in coffee and dark rum. Mascarpone mousse was piped on the plate to complement the chocolate ice cream while lemon curd, chocolate and caramel dots were also distributed round the plate. The coffee was included as crumbs and the small cubes of jelly. There were some moments of genius in this dessert such as the coffee jelly, the mascarpone and the lemon curd but, compared to everything else that preceded it, this was the dish that least appealed to me. This is no criticism. It still illustrated the skill and imagination of the kitchen.
Petit fours were brought to the table to close out the meal. These included a raspberry redcurrant jelly, vanilla fudge, cherry marshmallow, salted caramel and milk chocolate aero. The highlights were the lovely gooey fudge and the cherry marshmallow but best of all was the raspberry jelly that had a wonderful raspberry flavour with a very satisfying tart edge.
Overall verdict.
This was a superb meal with no mis-steps. Jon Howe is constantly developing his menu and the attention to detail shows him going from strength to strength. Every course had multiple components but all were vital to each overall dish, including the seemingly minor details and garnishes. Helen Aubray and her front of house team are very engaged too so the whole experience is wonderful. Cheltenham truly has a gem on its hands. If Lumière was based in London I could only imagine that its profile would be huge.
Would I revisit Lumière?
In a heartbeat (again). I’ve now been twice and I can’t wait to go back. Jon seems like he is on top of his game but given the improvement between the two visits I have to think Lumière will be driven to get even better.
Overall Rating - 5/5
This was a superb meal with no mis-steps. Jon Howe is constantly developing his menu and the attention to detail shows him going from strength to strength. Every course had multiple components but all were vital to each overall dish, including the seemingly minor details and garnishes. Helen Aubray and her front of house team are very engaged too so the whole experience is wonderful. Cheltenham truly has a gem on its hands. If Lumière was based in London I could only imagine that its profile would be huge.
Would I revisit Lumière?
In a heartbeat (again). I’ve now been twice and I can’t wait to go back. Jon seems like he is on top of his game but given the improvement between the two visits I have to think Lumière will be driven to get even better.
Overall Rating - 5/5
