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My 50th birthday bash at Benares 04 May 2008

Posted in Life.

Atul Kochhar

On Saturday evening two of my oldest friends, Francis and Craig Walton, took me to Benares restuarant to celebrate my 50th birthday. I know, it was in January, but it was the first time we were all free and I couldn't resist as Craig was paying! This was by sixth 50th party so far; might as well milk it...

Angela, Craig, Francis and my eldest son Jim, took the train to London from Harpenden directly to he beautifully refurbished St Pancras station. In the morning Jim had driven the three hours from Lympstone, where he is in the final stages of training to become a Royal Marines Commando.

We arrived at the station, swiftly making our way to the Victoria line and on to Oxford Circus. Deciding to walk the few blocks to the restaurant, we passed the Apple store on Regent Street. I think store is rather an inappropriate word actually, 'iTemple' would be more appropriate as we were jostled by the throngs of disciples / people worshipping the product.

Benaries is right next to Jack Barclay's Bentley dealership right on Berkeley Square. Atul Kochhar, the founder of the restaurant (pictured above) at the age of 31 became the first Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin star for his original style. We were looking forward to something special. Our group was greeted and then escorted up the stairs to the bar. The restaurant wasn't full but had a good buzz.

With the exception of Jim, everyone ordered cocktails. As per usual Angela chose the best: a Mumbai Martini. This consists of a Smirnoff 'Black' vodka poured over ice and bruised curry leaves with grated root ginger, lemon juice, sugar syrup then shaken (not stirred) and poured into an iced Martini glass. Terrific.

The big, round table was near the door and a bit rickety; Craig asked if we could be moved into the centre of the main room. The maître d' came over and apologised. "I am afraid the restaurant is full this evening". Two minutes later a waiter appeared with glasses of champagne in compensation for our poor position. Good stuff.

When we go to a great place to eat we usually plump for the degustation menu which allows you to taste small samples of the restaurants best dishes. At Benares this is known as the 'grazing' menu and was accompanied by appropriate wines per course. The food and wine kept coming, each course providing a very interesting take upon Indian flavours. Many of the combinations were quite new and refreshing to the palate.

The menu

  • Amuse Bouche

With a glass of Wickham Special Release Fume 2006: England

To start
  • Salad of Prawns Pickled with Indian Five Spice
  • Terrine of Confit Duck Leg with Crisp Fennel Bread
  • Curry Leaf and Tarragon Infused Crab Rillet

With a glass of Clos Du Val Chardonnay Carneros 2005: USA

Then
  • Mustard Flavoured Monkfish Tails with Tamarind Glaze
  • Tandoor Roasted Quail in Red Chilli and Yoghurt Marinade
  • Spiced Minced Lamb Skewer with Mint Chutney

With a glass of Ermitage "Le Reverdy" 2002: France

Moving onto
  • Cilantro Chicken on Masala Basmati
  • Gujons of John Dory in a Crisp Gram Flour Batter
  • Roasted Rump of Lamb on Rosemary Chickpeas

With a glass of Muddy Water Pinot Noir 2005: New Zealand

And finally
  • Sorbet
  • Allspice Infused Dark Chocolate Brownie
  • Lavender Scented Steamed Yoghurt Cake

With a glass of Riesling Paul Cluver Noble Late Harvest 2006: South Africa

To sober up...
  • Coffee and Petit Fours

It was all really good but table favourites were the Crab Rillete, Rump of Lamb and the Cilantro Chicken. I have to say the quantity of wine dispensed was considerable and therefore when we all left quite pissed (for you Americans, that's intoxicated not annoyed)...

Following the meal, Jim decided to meet up with his mates Vicky and Ryan who allegedly attend St Martins College of Art and Design. I was told that they headed off to a string of clubs in Shoreditch... I picked him up from the station at 1000 on the Sunday following an all night session :-)

Rather than just hanging around Berkeley Square waiting for our car, we fired up the road for a quick beer at Claridges. As I approached the bar I noticed the well used defibrillator. I thought at first it might be for the armies of octogenarian squilionare's who had their blood pressure raised to stratospheric levels by the shortness of some of the 'Chelsea set' skirts and/or excessive display of cleavage that you could park your **** bike in.

After further inspection, and more worrying, was the credit card machine firmly attached to the unit. There you would be, fibrillating away and they ask you for your PIN number. Ah, capitalism at its best: God bless America. I soon discovered that the life saving machine was not for them but mere mortals like myself that had to pick up the tab. I didn't want to buy the bloody hotel, just a round of drinks. Anyway the amusement factor made up for the 'Abramovichistic' price tag.

We bumped into an Californian from San Diego called Ted (hereinafter known as 'San Diego Ted'). Tanned and besuited, Ted was here with his wife who was an employee of Drafus, a large American mutual fund, out on a transatlantic jolly in London. He was obviously bored stupid with the talk of hedge and sinking funds and needed his life spicing up. I quickly put him right suggesting they needed a set of 'Stihl' hedge cutters and a large rubber bung. This would enable them to see over the bloody hedge the stop the economy sinking further. Clearly amateurs.

Fortunately the car arrived before I had to buy another house (oh, sorry, round).

Snoring in car, home, litre of water, bed, 50th birthday celebration #6, done...

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