The one with an unexpected sweet treat…
Of all the places we were set to visit during our York trip, Le Cochon Aveugle was the one I was most excited about. I’ve been on their mailing list forever, just waiting for the right opportunity. And this was it.
Le Cochon Aveugle and it’s sister site, Cave du Cochon, are in a part of York that echoed Manchester’s Northern Quarter for us. What the NQ used to be like, anyway. A ‘good’ charity shop sits nearby good restaurants, a brewery tap – lots of lovely independents doing what they do best. They even have a bar with questionable karaoke booming down the street. It was almost home from home.
The restaurant itself is small but well formed – they’ve worked well with the space they have, and even better for food geeks like me, when you book there’s the option of overlooking the kitchen.
Which obviously we booked. Hi kitchen.
The menu is simple – there’s kind of no choice. You’re served a selection of dishes, using fresh seasonal produce, with the option of a cheeseboard, and wine pairing (or soft options). As echoed throughout our stay in York, we ended up with no room for the cheeseboard. But next time, if there is one, I’m taking tupperware, and taking it home. It’s always when you get back home, and have a nightcap (or cup of tea in my case) that you suddenly find you fancy the cheeseboard.
Before I get into the food element of things, I need to mention the staff. Not only were we looked after impeccably (as was everyone), but I loved watching the team at work. Different personalities showing themselves in subtle ways, from the frustration shown by one at the batter for the madelines, to anothers intense concentration on plating. It showed us the care that the team have for what they produce, which you don’t see when you can’t see them at work.
But enough waffle. Time for food. I hope you’re sitting comfortably.
We began with a selection of amuse bouche delights. Smoked cods roe made another appearance, this time whipped, light and creamy. And it was soon followed by crispy chicken skin, pickled walnut ketchup (yes, I’ll need to figure out how to make this too) and chicken liver parfait. Think crispy, buttery richness, with a soft nutty acidity cutting through.
Our third, has perhaps spoilt me for macarons. You see with a venue like Le Cochon, you need to let go a little. Relax. Be open. Put yourself in their hands, and most of all, trust them. It might sound odd. It might also be the best thing you’ve put into your mouth all year.
Like the boudin noir macaron. Yes. Black pudding on a macaron. It was just gorgeous. Meaty, sticky, rich and sweet. It may have caused me to exclaim in a Facebook post that I was ruined. I stand by it.
Then came the hot and cold egg. The recommendation is to dig deep to get the contrast between the two temperatures, and it was worth it. The richness of the yolk, the gentle bite of the curry spices (vadouvan, somewhat similar to garam masala) and citrus, made a delicious contrast in the mouth.
Our final titivative treat (shush, I know it’s not a word) was a smoked oyster, served on a little pesto, with a seaweed granita. Soft, fresh, clean with a little warmth from the smoke and a gentle citrus.
Palate definitely awakened, along came the bread and butter, with sea salt made using seawater from Whitby.
One thing to perhaps note here, if you can, save some for dishes later. Maybe don’t eat a slice totally slathered in the buerre noisette dusted with a little sea salt, just because it’s like some sort of savoury, bready Chorlton Crack (salted caramel). However, if you do, note that they will give you more bread, but you definitely won’t be able to manage the cheeseboard.
Learn from my mistakes people, learn from my mistakes.
Remainder of the bread shoved to one side so I didn’t eat any more right that second, our next courses arrived. Peas and nasturtium, sunflower seeds and crisped rice, served with nasturtium ice cream and pea veloute. Fresh, and green, with a nutty sweetness, this was just lovely. I’m gaining a new appreciation for sunflower seeds.
Our first of the seafood courses, was served fresh from the shell in front of us. Big, juicy scallops, prepared and then cooked in the shells, with sea urchin roe. Remember the bread? This is where you need it. The natural juices from the scallop and the flavour from the sea urchin roe is something not to be missed out on. And yes, you can have extra bread if you need it. Yorkshire understands the need to not waste a drop.
This was followed by pollock cooked confit in lardo, with dainty mushrooms, charred onion and a vin jaune sauce. Aside from the ruination via boudin noir, this was one of my favourite dishes. The fish was cooked so gently, so delicately that I’m still sighing about it now. The texture was just… I’m running out of adjectives. If I were a piece of pollack, this is how I would want to be cooked. Just gently bathed in a pan of smoked pork fat.
Our last savoury course beckoned gently. Properly pink lamb, served with a navarin sauce, and courgette flowers stuffed with ratatouille. The lamb was tender, the fat melt in the mouth. I refrained from picking up the bone and nibbling from it, but was tempted. But you know, these people don’t know me. They might be expecting more refined manners, than a fat redhead nibbling flesh from a bone.
The ratatouille was delightful too, and I noticed my husband enjoyed it a lot too. He doesn’t enjoy my ratatouille that much. I obviously need to up my ratatouille game to National Restaurant Awards level.
Ahead of our desserts, we had a little pre-dessert treat. And I loved this little toasted marshmallow, because beneath it’s sweet toasty top, it hid a lemon acidity. Like a good lemon meringue – fluffy sugary sweetness, followed by sharp bite of citrus.
The first of two desserts featured wild plums, foraged locally. A buckwheat cream hid beneath a wild plum and Umezushi (plum sake) granita, whilst alongside it, a Brillat-savarin cheese sat encased in more wild plum. This felt like a nod to autumn. That soft fruity roundness that you get from plums (before the bite of the skin kicks in), the sweet/savoury notes from the sake – which was also served as our wine pairing. I loved how the nuttiness of the cream brought out those nutty savoury notes from the sake.
Look familiar? The mirror image of our hot and cold egg, this is the sweet version. Inside the shell sat a baked Sauternes custard, which was topped with a bitter caramel. Layers of flavour from the Sauternes, the caramel pulling out slightly marmaladey flavours from the sweet wine.
I genuinely love Le Cochon. Classic techniques, with an openness that you don’t often see in this style of food. There’s no barrier to you talking to the team. We could ask questions, querying elements of the food, or how it’s done. And thanks to Josh himself for asking had we enjoyed it. Of course, this may have been because I was social media-ing the tits out of it. But I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t.
Until next time.
