Lunch at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons

Today, my brother-in-law and I visited Raymond Blanc's elegant country hotel for the launch of his new Malaysian garden. We left home early at about 7.30 AM and arrived at the hotel in good time.

Le Manoir is situated a few miles outside of Oxford, near the village of Great Milton. As soon as you arrive and approach the rather grand looking entrance, you instinctively begin to realize what is in store. Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons is everything you might anticipate and probably more. If you park in the side car park, the reception and main entrance to the hotel are reached by a short walk through gravel paths, lined by rows of flowering lavender, gently perfuming the warm summer's air and attracting occasional butterflies and other insects. You are greeted at the main entrance at least once and from here on, service is impeccable. Nothing is too much trouble.

We joined about 100 guests for the launch of Le Manoir's Malaysian Garden, as it returns from its award winning success at the Chelsea Flower show. From 11 AM guests begin to take their seats and mill around the lawns at the back of the hotel, where we enjoyed champagne or freshly squeezed orange juice and some delightful canapes, including a marinated crab claw, tempura of frog and baby aubergine with a spicy tomato sauce. This was accompanied by a live performance of traditional Malaysian dance and music. Following the reception, Tom Lewis, General Manager, welcomed everyone formally and introduced Monsieur Blanc (who probably needed no such introduction).

Following this, we were guided through an open gate which revelaed the main herb gardens. Blanc spoke about his interest in Asia and his motives for creating a unique, oriental garden in the heart of Oxfordshire. He spoke passionately and generally without refering to any notes, except to make mention of certain people he wished to thank. Raymond Blanc is the sort of man you instantly warm to and who seems to pocess a charisma and charm that appears natural and far beyond his almost celebrity status in the world of food. He said, 'no longer are the French in their berets and garlic breathe, or the English buttoned up, with their emotions fastened inside...I am a modern French man..'. He spoke about food and plants and his wish to create a 'voyage of discovery'. He reiterated several times that Le Manoir would continue to serve French cuisine, but that these dishes would be 'enriched' and influenced widely by other cultures. Following his remarks, we heard from a representative of Malaysian Airlines, who sponsored the garden and a member of Malaysian Tourism. After Raymond Blanc had hurridely planted a tree and smiled for photographs, we proceeded to lunch in the hotel's restaurant, but not before Blanc insisited on eating some of the soil, remarking on how good Malaysian earth was!

'Blanc insisted on eating some of the soil..'

We enjoyed lunch in a small room extended on to the main dining areas. The menu began with a chilled essence of tomato served in a small espresso cup with a baby plum tomato placed on a coctail stick and balancing on the saucer. The slightly coloured essence was..interesting, but to be honest not really to my liking, or anyone else's on our table for that matter. To me it resembled what I would imagine the remainders of an opened tin of plum tomatoes to taste like, when the tomatoes have been discarded and you are left with only the juice. Okay, it was a refined flavour and probably masterfully created, but it was not doing anything for me. I must admit that I took a few painful gulps and was forced to leave the rest.

The next course was a sald of fresh Cornish Crab with lemon grass jelly, curried yoghurt, citrus dressings and mango. This was a masterpiece to look at and equally impressive to taste. Every unique flavour could be appreciated and married perfectly together. I less enjoyed the pan fried foie gras with caramelised pinepapple which followed, but it was still perfectly presented and simply probably just not to my taste.

The main course was a small fillet of monkfish served with citrus leaves, on a bed of wild rice with alomds, cinamon and lemon confit. This was by far my favourite course. The monkfish was delicate and perfectly cooked, accompanied by the lemon dressing, wild rice and green beans. The colours reminded me of late spring and early summer, with beautiful pale green beans and pak choi.

'this was by far my

favourite course'

For dessert we enjoyed summer fruits in cabernet sauvignon with Vietmenese mint and basil, with pink champagne. However, due to my guest and I being teetotal, Blanc's team had kindly provided an alternative to the set menu, of pinepapple parfait with a pineppale flower and several fruit sauces. Both desserts were again incredibly presented and we reluctantly buried our spoons in to the work. I say reluctnatly because we did not want to ruin the canvas, but as soon as it touched our mouths, we felt little further guilt for our indulgence. Dessert was followed by coffee and petit fours and another gentle stroll around the grounds.

Monseiur Blanc made a point of thanking each guest personally as we left and I could not help but think that this hotel restaurant was worth every penny we spent and is entirely deserving of its many awards, including two reverenced Michelin stars.