Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester
offers a contemporary French fine
dining experience, within one of the
most beautiful hotels in London. The
whole experience is brought together
with a seamless and elegantly
informal service and run by a young,
industry-leading team including
Executive Chef Jean-Philippe Blondet,
Restaurant Director Damien Pepin
and Head Sommelier Christopher
Bothwell.
Each restaurant in the group tells a
different story, providing a sense of
place or different taste experience.
The restaurant Alain Ducasse at The
Dorchester is a refuge away from
the buzz of London; its interiors are
influenced by the magical greenery
of Hyde Park which neighbours the
restaurant, with wrap around windows
of the view. Alain Ducasse at The
Dorchester is a taste of the finest French cuisine in London, it is the
whole fine-dining experience, with a modern and relaxed attitude,
headed up by an extremely talented team full of energy and passion.
A modern, light and elegantly informal setting complements the
restaurant’s forward thinking approach to haute cuisine and its
focus on seasonality. The duo Jouin - Manku was responsible for the
interior décor of the restaurant. Their designs are often inspired by
nature and they have included ingenious and beautiful references to
Hyde Park, which the restaurant overlooks. These touches include
sprays of silk buttons covering the walls and the stunningly unique
Table Lumière, a table that seats six, located in the centre of the
restaurant and framed by more than 4,500 fibre optic lights.
It is so difficult to choose – the menus change regularly and are
continually innovating.
A signature dish to always choose is the ‘Sauté gourmand’ of Lobster
and truffled chicken quenelles – which is beautifully fragrant and
delicate. The Rum Baba has not left the menu at Alain Ducasse
at The Dorchester since the opening in 2007 and is always a firm
favourite with their customers. The original Baba was introduced
into France in the 18th century via
Alsace and Lorraine by the exiled King
of Poland and the current Rum Baba
on the menu has developed from the
version Alain Ducasse created for Le
Louis XV-Alain Ducasse restaurant in
Monaco. Pastry Chef Angelo Ercolano
serves his version with a choice of five
different rums. Diners tell him they
forget the time and place and get
completely caught up in the moment,
which is wonderful to hear. The
restaurant is warm and inviting, whilst
the service is as skilled as you would
expect from a three Michelin stars
restaurant. We hope you will leave the
restaurant having tasted flavours that
have surprised and delighted you.
“I am always learning!” – says Alain,
with the restaurants operated by such
experienced and talented chefs in their
own right, new recipes are developed
in a collaborative way. It is important to him that his Executive
and Head chefs experiment and develop their own unique vision
and interpretation of his cuisine. It is important to keep moving
forward and Alain embraces innovation and new ideas. He meets
with his teams in each restaurant at least once a month, and
corresponds with the executive chefs sometimes several times
a day – so there is a constant flow of communication. When
a recipe is decided upon, before it is included on the menu, the
management team of the restaurant trials it, and collaboratively
decide on the wine pairing and any serving suggestions.
Alain Ducasse team is highly motivated because they are all
extremely passionate and committed about what they do. The
restaurants operate successfully from having a close-knit team,
most of whom have been with Alain Ducasse Enterprise for a
good many years. “I am very conscious of ensuring that the next
generation of chefs and front of house feel the same excitement and
sense of adventure that there was in the industry when I started.
Inspiration and training are so important; once you have the skills,
you have the tools to make anything happen.” – says Alain.
WORLD’S FINEST RESTAURANTS
ALAIN DUCASSE