Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium sponsored Italian week at the college this year, so Nick went to school.
Westminster Kingsway is well known as a school for hospitality and culinary arts with a reputation as a feeder school for chefs who often end up working across the UK’s finest establishments, from Michelin star restaurants to the more avant garde places
A weekly changing menu theme is designed, tested and cooked by the third-year students and served to the public at lunch by front of house trainees, either in the main Vincent Room or the Escoffier Room. At £45 it’s a hidden bargain in London, because the standard is very high.
Each year the students run Italian Week in the college’s training restaurants and this year it was a 7-course Italian inspired lunch sponsored by Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium, source of the finest and totally verified parmesan in the world. The chefs are charged with flexing the flavour profiles and versatility of thisItalian hard cheese.
The Escoffier Room is beautifully done, any Michelin restaurant would be delighted to be in these opulent surroundings with its high ornate ceiling and large and gorgeous metal-framed windows which, to be honest, are not terribly good at keeping the room warm. Still the chill drops as lunch progresses
There aren’t many tables, which adds to the exclusive feel, and it’s soon full. Asking around I found most people were semi-regular, enjoying the well-priced and creative cooking, as well as helping young talent learn and grow with the City & Guilds skills required to be a waiter, runner, sommelier, barista, and host.
The front of house is run by a stone-pro, experienced maitre de’. He has the air of a stern sergeant major drilling recruits, and it’s obvious he expects every one of his team to perform flawlessly, but I sensed he is respected and liked by his trainees – his bite less frightening than his bark.
The young team are understandably visibly a bit nervous to start off with, but they’re immaculately turned out and do all the right things with menus, wine and water. There is the occasional dropped fork, or slightly clumsy manoeuvre, but I’ve had a lot worse service in far more expensive restaurants.
Seven courses means some rather good fresh-baked rolls to start served with butter infused, I am sure, with a little truffle oil. A decent Portuguese red, at a not indecent £7 for a large glass, is served. For £45 you can have a wine paired for each course
First up is an amuse, an Oxtail Raviolo Fritti which looks good. The oxtail is well braised, needs a bit of salt but otherwise a nice little nibble. Beetroot gnocchi starters proper are prettily plated, the earthiness of the root vegetable counterpointed by some parmesan freshly shaved on top at the table. Crispy pancetta is suitably saline, while goats cheese adds a tang.
I haven’t had minestrone in years, so it’s good to see it here. Presentation is elevated by the stock being poured onto the solid ingredients by a waiter. A nice challenge for them. I shovel big spoonfuls of parmesan on top because parmesan and minestrone are made for each other. I also can’t stop humming ‘Life is a Minestrone (served up with parmesan cheese’ by 10cc.
The next dish is superb, Roast Monkfish with porcini. A lovely bit of fish perfectly cooked and the porcini slippery and packed with umami. And it’s followed by Porchetta La Rustichella with truffled Jerusalem artichoke Puree. We like the crackling on the side, not teeth-breaking but still crispy, and the deep fried kale tops are something different.
The porchetta itself is a little bit more fat than meat, but I can taste those Rustichella truffles in the sauce and love the cubes of confit potato. Overall a very good dish that would not disgrace any high end restaurant.
We ended with a well-crafted Sicilian Cassata Bergamot Diplomat that carried through the attention to presentation and detail so well shown in the previous courses and some petits fours were a bit of a dated touch but still welcome.
Hats off to Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium for sponsoring Italian week, and a big well done to the students and their tutors.. This was £45 well spent and I shall be coming back for more.
www.thevincentrooms.co.uk