332. Summer Rain (4. Tipping And Deeley At Simpsons)

 

  And the rain, the rain it fell mainly on the Birmingham plain. And, it appeared, rather heavily in Edgbaston.

  Off to Simpsons to dine at what was promising to be a rather happy evening, despite, the endless summer rain, of a collaboration of Simpsons’ Head Chef, Luke Tipping, and his former Simpsons pupil, Stuart Deeley whose food I have eaten, with pleasure, in the past at The Wilderness, at a collaboration in Craft Dining Room, and of course at Smoke at Hampton Manor. 

  Let us not dwell on the rather long wait to order an aperitif for everything then snapped into gear and the service was faultless, all remarkably spot on. 

  Through the dining room window, both chefs could be seen preparing to deliver their prize exhibits and all around them their entourages seemed to be functioning as one would hope to see in a well-ordered kitchen such as you would expect at the city’s most venerable dining establishment. 

  The starter, a Simpsons dish, was excellent - a lovely oriental-style scallop tartare with apt strips of chicory. Then, from Deeley, a gorgeous tomato gazpacho, sparkling with peppery heat and sweet with tiny tomatoes. This was served with a generous ball of burrata stationed like Rockall transported to the Red Sea and which was not really needed since the dish was delicious enough without the blandness of the cheese.

  I liked the Simpsons’ next dish of Loch Duart salmon uncontroversially paired with horseradish snow, which needed a bit more oomph to it, and pickled cucumber and the inevitable nasturtium leaves. This was a very safe and unexciting dish - though enjoyable - but hardly cutting edge. Dishes like this tend to date Simpsons to times past rather than gastronomic opportunities to come.

    Next came a T bone steak, West Country cote de boeuf, barbecued to perfection by Stuart Deeley, but a more enormous portion than I felt comfortable with (as a single diner I had double the portion for which I felt grateful but rather guilty).This was served with what might be called in modern culinary parlance, “dirty” boulangere potatoes, gruesomely delicious but clearly wicked as hell, with truffled barbecued baby gem and hen of the woods.

  The predessert was unexciting - set strawberry yogurt and strawberry sorbet with strawberry fragments (which were not the most strongly flavoured I’ve had this year) - mainly because the flavours were not powerful enough to refresh the mouth after the meat and before the waiting dessert.

  Deeley returned the meal to an even keel with an exciting looking and tasting play on Black Forest gateau with the flavour of cherries successfully hitting the diner from all parts of the plate - the relaxed cheeriness of the sorbet working with the chocolate and cherry mousses in the cake.

  A fine evening rounded off by an appearance by Andreas Antona to thank the chefs. Deeley’s talents were nicely demonstrated.