Latest JRB on tour
Time has gone on, and a few more JRBs have passed*. Some for personal parties, some for public and some for original key supporters’ sheer satisfaction.
*See previous posts.
Having not attended a Nathan Richardson culinary showcase since a close friend’s surprise birthday dinner back in April, I was keen to see what advances Nathan’s skill set had made.
Now a Sous Chef at the Ship, an insanely popular gastro-type-pub on the river in Wandsworth, there are clear Nathanisms on their daily changing a la carte. However his experimental techniques are often taken to new limits at JRB, where it’s an opportunity for Nathan to play with new apparatus, menus and techniques at his leisure for our spoilt taste buds.
This particular dinner party stood apart from previous for the fish factor. Not always the most avid fan, I delight in seeing meat feature more in menus, and can quite often ignore dishes involving creatures of the sea.
Nathan was not going to let me ignore them this night, opening with a confit squid, serano crisp and smoked crème fraiche sorbet. Normally the thought of squid or octopus makes me shudder; the texture is never often nailed. Of course, not biased, Mr Richardson did, no rubbery/ flavourless qualities here. Also the serano crisp needed to be multiplied and served in packs as a premium snack. Thin slices of cured ham sandwiched between savoury biscuit, deeelicious. I shamelessly wanted to steal everyone’s. (I didn’t)
Next up was a white truffle and artichoke mousse with an apple fondant and walnut dressing. What wasn’t listed on the description was the artichoke crisp, seasoned to perfection and again demands multiplication. One just wasn’t enough.
One of my favourite plates was the next one, seafood yes, but for some reason I’ve always liked a decent scallop. We were served two on a swish of pea purée with chorizo jam and roe crackers. The sweetness of the jam was a lovely contrast with the scallop and crackers, and the pea pulled it all together. Another clean plate returned to the kitchen via our waiter for the evening.
Back when JRB began, the portion sizes were the same throughout the meal- large, and often meant we couldn’t fully get through the final courses. Now through Nathan’s career progression in hospitality, the portions were clever and beautifully presented.
An interesting little course was the chicken and wild mushroom ragu, a lovely winter dish that would have been nice as a main, although slightly over-seasoned this time. The cauliflower puree on the top, sealed the meat ragu like a cottage pie and the crispy wing on the side added interest although not sure of the link.
Did someone say duck? My absolute favourite. And it was next. And the main. Happy Welsh girl. Roasted mallard, spiced confit, carrot and ginger puree and black cabbage. 
I love the meat red, and two slices was enough to satisfy.
We switched to sweet, dipping into a shaved apple and sorrel salad, blackcurrant foam and cider gel. A refreshing palette cleanser ahead of apricot and amaretto gateau St Honore with a mint granita. Probably my least favourite course this night, but only because it was hard to match or better some of the other courses.
We finished the evening with a warm truffled brie and swilled the last of our various glasses of beautiful wines. My favourite remarkably was the less expensive Longue-Dog red, a warm subtly spiced wine. Will definitely be buying that one again.
Whose Boots Are Those Shoes? 