We live in central London and one of our favourite places to go, for a fun night out is to what was the Regent Palace Hotel. Just three stops on the underground, nowadays, great for a coffee in the street level small French style cafe or more likely for a drink in the seductive intimate bar, dinner in the sumptuous dining room , and maybe a show in the compact cabaret bar! All of this in one building, that was once the Regent Palace Hotel.
Just off Piccadilly Circus, the site was acquired by J. Lyon’s and Co ( Lyon’s Corner house cafes) in 1912, and opened as a hotel in 1915, with over 1,000rooms it was then the largest in Europe, and obviously required a huge number of staff.
The hotel survived two World Wars and was subsequently bought by Trusthouse Forte Group in 1977. Finally it closed as the area was being redeveloped in 2006.
When the area was finally redeveloped, the Old Regent Palace Hotel morphed into what is now BRASSERIE ZEDAL. Transformed into what is almost a decadent 30’s /40’s nightclub restaurant venue along with Bar American and the Crazy Coqs!
Jeremy Corbin and Chris King, the original owners of The World Famous IVY, were the masterminds behind this and their other upmarket restaurants. Unfortunately they themselves were bought out but the restaurants have continued and have in fact even expanded into many Mini Ivy restaurants ( these are not not my favourites, too trendy, too crowded and too noisy!
However, Brasserie Zedal, is all of the above ( trendy, noisy, crowded) but oh so much fun.
Amazingly for a central London restaurant their prices are very affordable they have. Prix-Fixe menu, 2 course for under £17 and 3 for under £20! Ok the choice is limited but nonetheless there is a choice and for a lunch absolutely perfect. They also offer single inexpensive dishes, such as Soup, Céleri Rémoulade and Quiche.
If you have never eaten Celeriac, then it is time you did! And NO it is not celery! Celeriac/ Céleri Rave/ Celery root is a winter root vegetable though nowadays available most of the year. However it is the Ugly duckling of vegetables! I don’t think it is ever sold scrubbed and shiny, whereas in the supermarket potatoes are clean as are carrots and often beetroot is precooked and vacuumed packed. But Celeriac has many uses grated into a type of slaw, baked in salt, boiled and puréed, creamed with some butter and cream and soup.
One way in which to cook this ugly vegetable is to salt bake it or simply wrap it in good quality cling wrap and pop into a microwave .
large celeriac
1 kg coarse sea salt
2 egg whites
2–3 tbsp water
Olive oil and butter to serve
Or roast in a conventional oven.Scrub the celeriac leaving the skin on and remove any roots.Heat the oven oven to 190°C (170°C fan).
Mix the coarse salt with the egg whites and water until it resembles damp sand.
Put a layer of salt in an ovenproof dish.
Sit the celeriac on top, then completely cover with the remaining salt, pressing it firmly around the vegetable.
Bake for about 2 hours, test with a skewer.
Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10–15 minutes.
Crack open the salt crust and lift out the celeriac, remove the skin. Cut into chunks and brush with good quality Olive Oil, or truffle oil and grated Parmesan, or olive oil and lemon juice.
To bake in a microwave, wash and trip the celeriac leaving, leaving the skin on. Prick several times and warp in a microwave safe cling film. Place in the microwave and cook on high from 12-15 minutes for a small one and up to 30 minutes for a large one. Leave to stand for about 5 minutes and then unwrap. Check to see using a skewer that it s cooked through, to serve, either cut into chunks or scoop out the flesh and pour over some olive oil along with some salt and pepper. It can also be simply mashed and used instead of potatoes, or puréed and made into soup.
Meanwhile, I have been inspired to make marmalade, and about to make some Lemon Curd using yes! The new Steam Oven !
Watch this space !🤣🤣
