I spent an enjoyable morning and lunch at Mosimann's private dining club in Belgravia today, filming a video Q&A with legendary chef-restaurateur Anton Mosimann for imminent publication on Caterersearch. The club celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year.
Before his arrival, I assumed the role of chef Mosimann, sitting in the great man's seat in order to get camera angles right. Not that passing guests were fooled - the absence of an immaculate silver moustache on my top lip and colourful bow tie around my neck gave the game away.
Anton outlined his culinary philosophy, embodied in his cuisine naturelle cooking style, and recalled the variable standard of food he encountered when he arrived at the Dorchester Hotel as its youngest ever Maitre Chef de Cuisine, in 1975. One particular bugbear of his was the excessive amount of gelatin used. Once, he said, a waiter dropped a smoked salmon terrine that he was carrying down a staircase. "The waiter fell over, the plate smashed, there was broken crockery everywhere, but the terrine just kept on bouncing up and down on the spot".