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to date and, although he admits to a
touch of sadness that half his week will
be spent in London and not on the farm,
he couldn't be happier. 'When Gordon
and Claridge's announced that they were
parting company every chef wanted to go
in there. I always thought it should go to a
British chef - even if it wasn't me. And then
I thought, hang on a minute: what British
chef has achieved the most over the last
two or three years? Well, that was me. I
wanted to be asked and Claridge's wanted
to be courted. In the end, they asked me.'
But Fera won't just be a London version of
L'Enclume. 'We want people to be con� dent
in the fact that they are very di erent
restaurants and menus. There'll still be a
strong Cumbrian accent, but we'll be serving
a whole new repertoire of dishes.'
The same Lake District craftsmen who
make L'Enclume's tableware are supplying
Claridge's but Rogan says that the overall feel
will be 'more blingy'. As well as a 90-cover
dining room, there will be a private dining
room for 12 people, plus in time a chef's
counter for eight where diners will be the � rst
to try a bespoke menu of dishes currently
in development. Meanwhile, part of the wall
around the main kitchen has been removed
so that diners will be able to see what's going
on. And as at L'Enclume, customers will be
encouraged to enter the kitchen to chat to
the chefs, including Rogan, who will be 'there
to p our and serve, to make myself seen'.
Empire strikes
But as Rogan is the � rst to admit, if he's
making himself seen at Claridge's, he won't
be elsewhere in his empire. 'Of the six
restaurants, there are only three that are ever
going to see me for a real amount of time.
That's L'Enclume, Claridge's and The French.
The other three will have to look out for
themselves - the menus are still developed at
L'Enclume but as for me working in them, it's
absolutely impossible. I haven't got any time.'
What, then, will Rogan be spending his
time on? He is refreshingly frank about the
fact that it bothered him that The French was
overlooked for a Michelin star in last year's
red guide, and of his ambition to win a third
star for L'Enclume - as well as break on to
the s.pellegrino 50 Best list with Claridge's.
Again, the chef says that L'Enclume's location
has been as much of a help as a hindrance
in winning Rogan international acclaim. 'It
annoys me that L'Enclume hasn't got on the
50 Best list and I don't think that it ever
will, because of where it is. I really want to
achieve that with Claridge's.'
In the end it all comes back to Cartmel.
When I ask Rogan what his proudest
achievement of the last 12 years is, he says:
'I'm most proud of how the village of Cartmel
is now. There's a cheese shop, a bakery, a
wine shop and a hotel that have sprung up
and there's no doubt that L'Enclume has
been the catalyst for that. We're all going
in the right direction.' But no one is going
further than Simon Rogan.
Fera opens on 6 May at Claridge's, Brook Street,
W1K 4HR; 020 7107 8888; claridges.co.uk/fera
ON THE MENU AT FERA
Marinated sturgeon, burnt bread,
caviar cream
Raw beef and smoked broccoli cream,
scallop roes and acidic apple juice
Brill braised in whey avoured with
Alexander seeds, blewitts, whelks
and sea asters
Baked muscovado yoghurt, pear poached
in verjus, calamint and muscovado crisp
Iced beech leaf, nitro sweet cheese
and apples, syrup of sweet brackens
From the 10-course, £95 tasting menu
'I thought, hang on a minute: what British
chef has achieved the most over the last
two or three years? Well, that was me'
Good egg: L'Enclume's cod
yolk, salt and vinegar
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