Adam Handling Photo By; ‘G & G Goodfellows’ & ‘Duncan Davis’
At only 27, young chef Adam Handling is proof that passion, creativity and skill really does come at any age. With a series of accolades and awards under his belt, Handling’s career is one that some chefs can only dream of. Pursuing his passion of cooking from the age of 10 and eventually finding himself a finalist on Masterchef: The Professionals, Handling now shares with us his imaginative and awe-inspiring creations using themes from his own life in his new menu now launching at restaurant Adam Handling at Caxton. With two tasting menus to choose from, a seven course and an eleven course, I can only scratch the surface when describing the utterly show-stopping dishes which follow each other harmoniously and it’s very clear that Handling has perfected the art of Gastronomy and channeled this with great creativity.
Photo by; ‘G & G Goodfellows’ & ‘Duncan Davis’
Each dish is nothing short of an experience, a menu for real foodies, it’s clear that this menu was created by someone who loves food and the food here is clearly derivative of memories, experiences and places. Don’t let the thought of eleven courses send you into food coma dread, everything here is well thought out, balanced and finely tuned.The first few courses are smaller appetizers ‘Pork & lovage’ and ‘Beetroot, beetroot and more beetroot’. Both of them transport you to a garden with beautifully fresh and seasonal flavours which compliment each other in succession, yin and yang at it’s best.
‘Beetroot, beetroot and more beetroot’
We then start to embark on complete indulgence and sensory overload, ‘Liquid gold’ is every bit as decadent as it sounds, two golden cubes of olive oil butter wrapped in white Chocolate and 24 carat gold which are presented filled with Caviar finished with a truffle on top. Now this was the one I was most hesitant to try, fish, chocolate, truffles and gold? This is certainly a brave and ambitious dish to execute but Handling miraculously balances some of the most distinct and powerful flavours with ease, flooding our tastebuds with a flavour of the ocean and leading us nicely on to our next course.
‘Liquid Gold’
‘Crab, apple and Sea Herbs’ is presented on a bed or seaweed and immersed in liquid nitrogen, for once, theatrics in this case is most welcome with the liquid nitrogen flooding the table with a delicate perfume of the sea, it’s incredibly welcome to enjoy the taste of the sea whilst flooding your nose with scents of the ocean.
Key to ‘Mother’
‘Mother’
The theatrics then continues as we are presented with a box which you must open with a little tiny key, in it is our next course; ‘Mother’. The showpiece of the menu, Mother is another dish which demonstrates the skill and fine balancing of quality flavours and ingredients. Slow cooked egg yolk is encased in shavings of apple and combined with celeriac puree, truffle cream and dusted with seaweed powder and truffle crisps. This dish is a delicate dance on the tastebuds and is incredibly satisfying. The texture, taste and temperature get your senses firing on all cylinders. Presented in a bespoke wooden box, this dish really is spectacular in every sense and something which is clearly very special to the chef himself.
Stunning Turbot Dish
‘Beer, beef, chilli, yolk’ is a smaller dish but a welcome interlude presented on a cracker this is probably one of the more relaxed courses but certainly demonstrating just as much skill and flavour. The next dish of ‘Turbot, Limestone and Radish’ was perhaps the more simpler of the dishes in terms of how it is served but definitely the best. This dish needs no introductions, Turbot served on a bed of perfect creamy mash potatoes and radish is a winning combination in my book. ‘Burnt Beef’ really is something to marvel at, and a lesson to anyone who wants to know how to plate a dish in an impressive way.
The final two desert courses almost seem to merge into one as they were devoured with much pleasure, ‘Nitro Tiramisu’ and ‘Chocolate, caramel and blackcurrant’ are every bit as appetising as they sound and my resounding thought was that I could have eaten it all over again even after the nine previous courses. Every course really does take you on a journey and transports you somewhere. To the sea or a garden or in the case of ‘Mother’, to Heaven itself. The work that has gone into such a thing can only be the brainchild of a culinary genius and the acute balancing of every flavour really is the most remarkable feature.
Not only has Handling nailed every flavour combination which you’re faced with when digging into his well-versed 11 courses but every course is presented with creativity, flair and adventure.
When it comes to the restaurant itself, the best thing about The Caxton was that it was so easy-going and how un-pretentious it was. The service was second to none and every member of staff was well informed and a pleasure to talk to. It says something about a place when the other diners are all genuinely having a good time and completely relaxed and this is somewhere which has no airs or graces about it. Just the promise of excellent service, sublime food and ultimate satisfaction. If you love food and you love flavour, this is really an experience like no other, full of wonder and inspiring cookery. Something to share with company you enjoy and somewhere to be adventurous this is certainly one of the best value tasting menus in London priced at only £50 for seven courses or £66 for the eleven course (without wines). Bravo Adam Handling, thank you for my amazing dinner, P.S, how do we create Liquid Gold at home?
For further information or for bookings, please visit: Caxton Grill
