ROUX AT THE LANDAU
THE LANGHAM HOTEL
1C PORTLAND PLACE
LONDON
I had heard about the film ‘Burnt’ but only saw it long after visiting the elegant Roux at the Landau Restaurant at the Langham Hotel.
Having found a handsome black and white head shot of Bradley Cooper in his chef whites I immediately felt I recognized him from some London kitchen I regularly visited but couldn’t quite place him. I pushed it to the back of my mind assuming one day he and I and the truffles would be reunited one day in a sea of grey reflective stainless steel below ground. Nothing had ever felt more natural.
Several months after being in Roux restaurant and sitting down to watch the film in France I realized who Bradley Cooper was, connected up the dots and exclaimed to the person next to me what I had previously assumed.
He looked over, never said a word and thought I must be deeply stupid or just very protected from the actual world.
The Langham was always a good hotel in an amazing position but partnering with a Roux chef really put it on the map because the restaurant shines with grace, style and expectation.
It has its own street entrance, and a short elegant corridor leading into a stunning high ceiling, curved windows in a room of soft colors hung together with gold’s and aristocratic celadon green.
The interior designer David Collins who managed to combine fair, style, elegance, colour, atmosphere and dignity into an historical room that felt permanent. Quite masterful.
Some doorways beckon you in, some prohibit, others are a nuisance but this restaurant entrance halts you like an invisible beam, so the staff greet you personally.
I handed over my business card and was escorted across the room of guests finishing off full English breakfasts and into the kitchen. It was like going into the Vatican, past the tourists and straight into the Papal chambers.
“I’m in and I’m staying in-forget about the outside world; this now has my full attention.” I thought to myself as I wove between the silver steel furniture looking for the most important person in the place.
A very tall pale-faced young Frenchman and I got deeply involved in conversation, he gave me a fresh apple juice squeezed on the Denham Estate in the English countryside and we talked about famous chefs he had previously worked with.
Not only had the outside world disappeared so had the rest of the kitchen and everyone else in it as we bonded with our enthusiasm and shared passions, but I had a bag of truffles and had to meet the Executive Chef Chris King.
Abruptly the young Frenchman disappeared into the ether as did the apple juice and I was face with the commander in chief himself. He was precise, direct, isolated in his importance, bold and unfaltering and almost military.
“Well that snapped me out of my romantic reverie” I thought looking at him for the first time; Chefs always surprised me as individuals.
Was it the tiny and important measurements of ingredients chefs had to deal with? Was it the heat and temperatures they need to control? Was it the addiction to constant perfection on every dish or the risk of losing their stars and reputation if a dish failed to impress? What made chefs so different?
I once watched a chef measure out precise ingredients for a salad dressing and realized I had never measured out a single ingredient; I didn’t even bother to read recipes- all I needed was to taste a dish.
He peered at me through finely ground German lenses devoid of fingerprints and apologized for some small detail to which I replied it was “no trouble”, after which he re explained his sentiments. I let it go. I was in his kitchen as a guest and if he wanted the last word it was fine.
Like a good lawyer he wanted to make sure we understood each detail exactly. He must have been amazing to train under, be part of his team, inner circle or partnered with as this was a man who chose everything carefully. He was a scientist of food. This was almost alchemy but the results ended up on a plate for the lucky to consume.
People like that were not on the same wavelength as people like me, who shook oils & vinegars in bottles, poured them over salads, and hoped for the best.
Could he see that in me? Was he saying inside “ah there goes some fool who can’t balance up the oil and the vinegar; who hopes for the best; who think they can taste their way through cooking?
Did he see all my imperfections through those spotless lenses? Suddenly I wanted to disguise myself but there was nowhere to hide amongst all that polished steel.
As the minutes past I felt he was counting each second and weighing, itemizing those moments of his life on some mental Excel sheet in his head, so we kept to the point and I did not chatter.
We concluded our meeting in the most cordial polite manner, worthy of a presidential matter then fleetingly I caught a glimpse deep in his eyes retina, amplified by those spotless lenses, and saw him delete all memory of me in a millisecond.
Where was sexy Bradley Cooper?
The film ‘Burnt’ was released in august 2015 by The Weinstein Company it had a few critical reviews and initially only grossed $5 million dollars but did eventually get a return of $750 million worldwide against a $20 investment. The whole cast was much more than a BC’s performance as an individual and I am sure he would be the first person to agree.
He had called his restaurant ‘Langham’ in the film so was I talking to the ‘John-Luc’ character -his mentor - or ‘Tony’ who was running the hotel?
The man I stood in front of was controlled, mature, measured and acclaimed not like ‘Adam’ the main character in the film who was a crazy, over emotional, young chef with an ego problem (Bradley Cooper)
On the way out I met a white haired gentleman, sitting on a low chair and holding a huge ledger doing the wine inventory with two male helpers. With very serious expressions they took out each precious bottle from behind two heavy metal framed glass doors of a gigantic wine cabinet and check it against an oversized book.
“I’m here for the tasting and I suggest we start at the very top with the vintage champagnes,” I said bending down to peer onto the list with an authorities air.
He held his pen mid air, stared and blinked at me trying to place who, what, why and what the hell I was talking about.
“Oh yes! You are just in time I was just about to open one of the magnums would that do? He got up and we laughed together while his assistants stood open mouthed in horror.
I flashed them a generous smile and said to him “you are my kind of man but I must rush so lets take a rain check?” And headed for the exit thanking God someone still has some humor in this world
The breakfast crowd seated under huge arched windows had gathered their belongings, mobiles, signed the checks and spilled out onto the London streets, leaving the elegant room empty.
Hesitantly I cast my eye around the stunning walls, lovely solid chairs, bay windows and breath taking flower arrangements for one last time and stopped in the ‘Postillion’ private dining room, which seated about 18 around a long table, interior high ceiling painted with cherubs.
The word comes from the 16th Century describing the rider on the front horse leading the team near the coachman.
I made a mental note to one-day host a lunch there so I might stare up at the wonderful romantic murals, tease the staff and savor Chris’s exquisite food of ingredients measured to perfection performing alchemy on a plate.
-----------