Pascal Aussignac (above) opened Michelin-starred French restaurant Club Gascon in 1998 Achingly cool, thrillingly authentic: Club Gascon
same model. Both restaurants have cook shops, both restaurants sell ingredients and wines and both restau- rants are true to their Gascon roots. However, the Smithfi eld crowd is a world away from the
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Shire market of Clos du Marquis. It’s a very sophisticated mix of metropolitan foodies, serious business people and well travelled families. Pascal Aussignac’s style of cooking matches and is the essence of refi nement.
of style of cooking and dining appeal, at their heart Marquis and Aussignac are both fully Gascon with a respect for the ingredients that shines through their entirely different styles. One is robustly and resolutely rooted in the country, the other is as achingly metro- sophisticated as it is possible to be. Each is achieving considerable suc- cess in these challenging times. Each appears to have the rigour and focus on quality and consistency that will stand the tests of time very effec- tively. Perhaps most importantly of all each is always full with happy diners. Success on a plate! I don’t know whether Marquis and Aussignac know each other or whether there is some secret league of Gascons who plot to deliver ever bet- ter hospitality. If there is, I hope one day I get invited to one of their meet- ings. Dissimilar in so many respects, both Clos du Marquis and Club Gascon have one wonderful thing in common – they’re always full with happy people. Surely that is the essence of success. Keep it simple, do it well, release your inner Gascon. ●
ISSUE 3 2012 © cybertrek 2012
lub Gascon in London’s Smithfi eld is about as far removed from Hampshire in both location and style as it’s possible to get, yet it offers much the
It is, however, also the essence of Gascony, with a commitment to freshness and authenticity of ingredients that is almost religious. If Pierre Gangaire outdoes even Heston Blumenthal in his weird combinations, Pascal Aussignac goes in the opposite direction, creating an intensity of fl avour which is quite remarkable from a very focused range of ingredients. Of all the restaurants I have ever taken guests to in London, this is the one that best delivers the shock of the new. Yet it does this by taking tra- ditional ingredients and presenting them with a freshness and inventiveness that remains true to its Gascon roots.
Traditional style, exacting standards: Le Clos du Marquis
mantra delivered to zealous effect by Germain Marquis in his tradi- tional restaurant in the heart of Hampshire. He is Gascon, his food is Gascon and his standards are Gascon. It is simple, bucolic, robust, rustic and pretty well near perfect. To eat his rabbit with mustard is
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to return to the blue remembered hills of the France of our youthful visits. Simple ingredients, perfectly prepared and perfectly presented. The hospitality too has that quality of commitment and nothing is taken for granted. Every day, Germain greets every diner, and his wife Glanis is a charming chatelaine. Even the restaurant manager, Garth (a bit of a ringer for Gerard Depardieu, despite the fact that he is South African) presents an aura of confi dent, all-encompassing
ow diffi cult to be sim- ple’ was the mantra of Pierre Bocuse. It’s a
Le Clos du Marquis is in Hampshire
hospitality. Their love of good food shines through every aspect of the operation.
The wine list is also a triumph
and resolutely South Western. It is a triumph because it takes this rel- atively unknown region and delivers superb quality at amazing value. Germain, Glanis and Garth have got their market dead right. They like it traditional but it must be good and it must be good value. I have never been there when it’s not been packed.
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