How Legendary Chef Hélène Darroze Runs a Three-Michelin-Star London Restaurant — Mise En Place

- So it's 8:00 in the morning. We have just received our beautiful Scottish prawns. So this one is extra large size. They are about 170 grams each. So we usually use this one for our caviar dish. So now we just remove the heads, the tails and prepare them. You can see that we simply removed the intestine. (upbeat music) - Two foie gras, two lobsters and a grouse. In the morning we usually like 75% of the

mise

en

place

. We need to be quite fast, we will prepare as much as possible. We'll freeze them quickly. And after the service we are going to remove the peel and use it to make a kind of tartare. - So we prepare before service, we peel all our prawns and season them just before 8:00.

Our citron caviar, fleur de sel and a splash of olive oil. So also the prawn is not chopped, it is cut but still has a little bite left. We don't want a puree. - When people come to one of my

restaurant

s and particularly to this one, for them it is like an event, you know that they will do it once in a lifetime. That is why it is a responsibility to make them happy, to give them pleasure. -And then we put together our kohlrabi, and then on top you add the mashed avocado, one on the outside, you open it a little. - So it's not about competition at this stage, no, I don't want to compete to be the best.

I just want to give pleasure to the guests and give them a thrill to create a memory they will never forget. - And we simply finished the dish with much more caviar. (upbeat music) - So today we're going to prepare some grouse. Then it will be for a Wellington grouse. For us

chef

s, it is an exciting time, a type of product that we can only have a couple of months a year. And right now it's grouse season. - Wellington is a dish that we

star

ted a few years ago. I think it was seven or eight years ago.

We cooked it for a guest. It was a special order and we cooked it with beef, in fact, the classic one. - Here you can also see all the traces of the bullet. This is proof that it is a wild animal that has been hunted by shooting. - From there I had the idea of ​​actually revisiting it a little and cooking it with the pigeon with a little foie gras inside, the foie gras of course is a touch of my origins. - So it's 8:30 and we have the entire team who are very busy preparing for lunch service.

That's why our

restaurant

is full for lunch and dinner. That's why they have to be very fast in the morning. Here we have Andrea, who is going to show you how to breastfeed the grouse. - This is a wishbone that is very important to remove when you are going to bone the breast. - Then we must be very careful, also with tweezers we must enter from the side to see the holes, this is a sign of the shot. Here you can see that it has some feathers. That is why we must be very careful and clean it carefully, delicately.

In the middle we put a nice rectangle of foie gras, and then we are going to roll it very tightly in transparent film. - I think I've made a million in this

place

. The really important step is to keep everything tight because, especially when you make something en croute, you will only know if the result is good or not when it is finished. This way when you cut it you will see the cooking, whether it is perfect or not. The layers of it, if they are beautiful and precise. Before that you don't know. So at first it's kind of exciting, you're always afraid of whether everything is going to be okay or not.

Each step is important, that has to be precise, since even the foie gras must be cut in one piece and fairly uniform. The chest must be turned upside down so that it has the perfect shape. And this is the first step in the construction of the Wellington. - So, of course, building the Wellington is a bit technical. - So these are duxelles mushrooms, which is the first layer around our grouse. And the crepe in this case is necessary to absorb the moisture from the inside of your Wellington. And this is the last layer before putting the dough, the dough. - Outside again we have this pancake or crepe, and then Andrea is going to finish with the last step where we are going to fold everything with a nice puff pastry dough.

And then we are going to brush very well with a little egg yolk, a splash of water. This will be like the best Wellington anyone has ever had. - It is very important in this step that you are going to remove all the air, because otherwise when you are going to cook it a bubble may form inside and you run the risk of the dough breaking and then that's it. It is gone. This way you can have a little trick later in case you miss any part in the air. - He's doing a good job. You know why?

Because it's Italian and when you make ravioli it's always the same, no air in the ravioli. He is the master to do that. - So this is almost the last step when you do the egg wash. And then as a last touch, we simply add our decoration, which in this case will be a braider, made with the same dough. And we are going to finish with a little bit of picked thyme, and at the end before putting it in the oven we brush it one more time and finish with the fleur de sel and ground black pepper. - Even if you are British or from somewhere else, it is always comforting to see something that is a classic of local cuisine.

But they also like to see a French

chef

embrace the local culture. Local guests, of course, are proud of some dishes and, in particular, Wellington. Of course they're happy to see that on the menu. - I think maybe it's missing... No, it's okay. It's good. (funky music) - Okay. Wait. Beautiful and fresh sardines. So this will be for one of our main

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ters. We are going to use these fresh sardines, just a little marinated, very simple, with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper. Pietro is a master at cleaning sardines and normally cleans at least

three

or four kilos a day. - In this way we cut the main bones, all the intestines, everything comes out together.

I think about a hundred and fifty bones. Because there are like

three

lines of bones, let's say about 30 per line. Yes, a hundred bones, let's say. - So here we are going to cook our octopus or one of our main dishes that we normally serve at the chef's table. Here we have a nice and cute octopus. This one weighs about four kilos. Every time I poach it first, I slowly go in with all the tentacles so that they get a nice shape, a kind of nice curly spiral. Do you see how they curl very well? We're going to cook it for... it's going to be between 30 and 45 minutes.

OK, perfect. Then our octopus is ready to cool. (intense music) We spread it with a little chipotle sauce, chipotle paste mixed with a little extra virgin olive oil. And then we'll finish roasting it very gently on the barbecue. (intense music) Guys, do we have the garnish for the octopus, please? - I wanted to finish the flambé with the special things that are named in the southwest of France. In fact, on the incandescent griddle, you put a piece of lardo and it smells like octopus and of course it gives it an interesting smoke and flavor. So effectively the dish will come only with the garnish and at the table we will cut the octopus and plate it.

We will put the piece of octopus in front of the diner along with the garnish. And then we add the sauce and the idea of ​​course is that the raw octopus comes to the table like this. That's one of the most interesting parts of this dish. - Here we have Timothée, who is one of my sous chef. So he now he's going to prepare this guinea fowl. He comes from France. We have one of our trusted suppliers. He will basically take off the heads, legs and wings. - Well, there are some in this one, we say first difficulties because it is a stuffed bird.

First, when we remove the legs we try to preserve as much skin as possible, so that when we cook it in the oven the fat does not come out. - So today is a very busy day for us because first the restaurant is full and also we are preparing some new dishes, new tastings with Helene. - Creating a dish is starting with the product. I would like them to be seasonal, and if possible local, yes. And I start thinking about the new dish based on the product I have chosen. I put all the products around that.

And also, well, what I want is for something very sensitive to come from me, a lot of my emotions. So I put all my sensitivity into the construction of the plate. - So this is the first one you saw before, with the brioche, the foie gras, the legs, the offal. Basically, what we do now is put our finger between the skin and the meat of the breast. Therefore, when we insert our finger, we must be very delicate so as not to damage the skin. Well, when the skin is open, basically after we put our fats under it, basically we already did this yesterday for Helene and today we are doing a new one for her because we had to change one or two things on the plates. - Sometimes it takes us two or three weeks to make a dish.

We do several tests, several rehearsals. - Of course it is about my sensitivity, about what I feel, but it is also about respecting some tastes, some culture, some products. So, for example, with this guinea fowl, I really wanted to introduce beer at some point into one of my dishes, UK beer. And this is what we will try to do today on this plate with the guinea fowl. - After squeezing it, the fats cannot leave the breast and the entire breast is heavily covered by fats, so it will be nice and moist. - Once I've thought about the dishes with Marco, we go around the table and then I explain it to him and Marco can intervene too and say: "Okay, but what about that?" Etcetera etcetera. - So we put our guinea fowl in the oven for a few minutes, now I'm going to quickly check the temperature.

So we still have five to ten minutes left. So we're going to finish cooking and then I'm going to plate it and we're going to do a tasting with Helene. - And you know, Marco worked with me for eight years, I think, maybe a little more. So he knows me and he knows my way of cooking. We work a lot on testing because we want everything to be perfect, the balance, the texture, the flavor, etc. That's how I love to cook. - Okay, then we'll try to complete our plate here. So I'm going to plate some onion, which we glaze with a beer reduction and a little bit of white miso.

So we have to hurry a little because Elaine will be returning to Paris soon. - I have an hour. So yesterday, actually what I didn't like was the filling that wasn't soft, not sweet, and also lacked vegetables or greens. - Maybe we need to try to give the skin a little more color. - Yes. Then the meat is much more tender. - Yes - So during cooking you may also lose the fat. - Yes - And no, I think... - Is it better? - Oh yeah. I think we should try to get more color on the skin side.

Maybe a higher temperature when we start and after we stop. - I do the tasting and then we continue. (upbeat music) - So we still have two hours left with lunch service. Then we see the boys beginning to organize their sections a little better. Here we have the boiling water ready for the lobster, which we cook just before service. This will be for one of our signature dishes, Tandoori Spiced Lobster. Let's hope the sardines are ready. Then we will check it. The first table is here, so let's start with our canapés. That's why normally our canapés are always with seasonal products.

In this case we use a fresh ear of corn, combine it with a little lardo di Colonnata, aged parmesan, and then we have this little seaweed meringue with a little foie gras parfait, toasted buckwheat and parsley. Please pass. Happens. Thanks Jose. Hello guys, we have more deliveries here. - Yes. - So as you can see we have all our tasting or canapés sections. So we usually have one person for each canapé because it takes a long time to plate and we have to be very quick, especially, you know, like the first course, when the guests sit down, we like to take a bite right away.

Service please. One new check, two guests. There will be a carrot, a tomato, two series will follow, two lobsters and a capercaillie to finish. I think we're going to try it for lunch, Helene. - Yes. Where are they from? - This is from Lorraine. - From Lorraine? - Yes. - So they arrived this morning? - Yes, right now. - So, okay, now we have a little work to wash them, to clean them. - Beautiful. - So wait until they get a nice coloration on each side. So here we are dressing our ceps. Basically with a little puffed quinoa, a little puffed spelled.

Yesterday we basically made the same dish but today we changed the sauce, yesterday Beause was not approved by Helene. That's why it will be served with a sauce made with a little burnt and smoked hay. That's why today we intensify the flavor of the burnt hay sauce. And let's see what Helene is going to say. Timo, are you ready with lobster? - Come on. - I immediately need two grouses. - Go Go. This is the garnish of the dish. Next to him you can see Timothée, who is setting fire to the hay around him. We lightly smoke the lobster before serving it to the diner. - As you can see, it's always a challenge for us to do some tastings during service because the kitchen is so busy.

Everyone moves, checks arrive, etc. So let's go see what Helene is going to say. Then we have the sunchoke pepper leaves. - Yes. And just below... - A little bit of porcini puree. (cutlery clatter) - Did you put a little whipped cream at the end? -A bit? No. Whipped cream? Do you think making it lighter? (thoughtful music) - I think I would put a little bit of this gel on it. Just, yeah, because I'm worried that... - A guest will bite into the porcini and then... - Yeah, yeah. So it is necessary. - Yes Yes Yes. - So if we have it on, the mushroom itself is also good.

Well. So, but we keep both, we keep the quenelle to the side. - No problem. - Well. - Well. Thank you. - Allez, one more scallop. - One minute. -Hey, can I have lobster, please? I love it. Wow, tasting of two lobsters. - So when I opened this restaurant, it was 14 years ago, so there were a lot of changes and evolution. - Hello gentlemen, that's it, two foie gras. - This restaurant is my second home. In fact, I have two houses, one in Paris and one in London. So I worked very hard for 14 years in this place.

I say, okay, it's a place where I feel good. I feel like myself and it's very important: guys from table one. - Yes. No, it's okay. With everything that is happening. - I really think that now we have found the way with the team, because Marco and Mirko were the leaders of the restaurant. They accepted it as if it were their restaurant too. So that, that, that is very important - Attention please, sir. Now we finish with a touch of duck fat to make it shiny and we finish with fleur de sel. This is Helene Darroze's signature scallop tandoori. - For me it is not about technique, of course you have to have the technique, but if you have the technique without sensitivity and emotion, something is missing.

I want people to leave with a memory. I think there is nothing worse than a guest who does not remember what he has eaten or what he has seen, etc. That's why I want to create memories for the guest.