We’d arrived to a glass of Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Champagne, to sip before and during the demonstration, and pretty soon after Jun Tanaka was setting about the creation of five ‘simple’ dishes, in his words. They were: scallops baked in the shell with lime, chilli and yuzu; rosemary-smoked mackerel with horseradish crème fraiche; blackened spiced salmon with cucumber and yoghurt dressing; red mullet ‘en papillote’ with chorizo, paprika and baby cherry tomatoes and mussels ‘en papillote’ with wine and herbs.
Jun had invited us to ask questions as he cooked, so his having mentioned that he had ‘brined’ the salmon before cooking, I asked him how he did that. He explained that he made a solution using 10% salt and 2% sugar to the volume of water, which he said also works well with meats like chicken, adding that if you were to brine a whole chicken you should do so for 24 hours before cooking and this will tenderise it beautifully. And as for the simplicity of the dishes, yes, Jun was right, they were quite straightforward, all you need is a little confidence and the ‘know how’, oh and some decent weather wouldn’t go amiss. I’ll certainly try a few at home when the opportunity arises.
The red mullet was sweet and given great flavour by the chorizo, the salmon flaky with some good spiciness, the mackerel was perfumed by the rosemary smoke rather than deeply flavoured and the scallops deliciously sweet if given a hint of heat from their lime chilli and yuzu bath. All were very good and we supported our meal with a nice crisp Sauvignon Blanc, which worked very well.
We’d also heard that the bar at Pearl had created a range of salad cocktails for the summer, so while we were there we each decided to try one. The Greek was an interesting fusion of gin with tomato consommé, fresh tomato and cucumber ice cubes that was served with feta cheese and olive on a stick, a lovely savoury drink. The other was The Thai, made with chilli infused cachaça fresh mango, papaya, lime and palm sugar syrup and served with a fine Thai noodle salad and crushed peanuts, the heat from the chilli infused cachaça balanced marvellously with the fruit juices in the cocktail, it was excellent.
Tickets for each of these Sunday events are £45 and this includes a glass of Champagne, the seafood demonstration and lunch. Spaces for the demonstrations are limited, so if you would like to attend one you should book early to avoid disappointment. To book into one simply call 020 7829 7000 or you can e-mail to register your interest or having booked into a demonstration to forward on a question for Jun ahead of it.
For more information about the restaurant go to the Pearl website, you can also read our review of Pearl and there are several other related articles on site.