hedone

hedone is extremely memorable, and the ravioli, the pigeon and the deserts are dishes i won’t forget for a long time. i also like the simplicity of hedone, it does not over complicate things but with their ingredients and just by being simple and creative they create fascinating dishes that surprise you how amazing they taste, as i did not ever think simple things could taste so good

the story behind hedone is a rare one, if not completely unique. swedish-born mikael jonsson pursued his “borderline obsession” for ingredients of the highest quality by training as a chef in his early years. but his severe allergies to a variety of food put on hold any dreams of opening his own restaurant and instead, he forged a career as a lawyer.

during this time, jonsson authored a food blog, gastroville.com (now closed), demonstrating great understanding and in-depth analysis of food, whilst also advising chefs and restaurateurs where to find the best ingredients. at the age of 44, he discovered a paleolithic diet which did not aggravate his allergies, and was finally able to make the transition from food critic and blogger to restaurateur. it was the first time the self-taught chef had worked in a commercial kitchen and after just one year, it received a coveted michelin star.

jonsson’s brazen confidence to dare even hope for success as an amateur chef in a city that was just starting to then (hedone opened in 2011) - and is, still now - reeling from a culinary big bang, is enough to draw the curious alone. add to this almost instant recognition and his unfiltered passion for ingredients (but minus the somewhat awkward chiswick location), and you’re left with an offering that is difficult to ignore.

the menus at hedone are as fluid as the red the young sommelier poured into our glasses; based on the finest ingredients the kitchen is able to land, they can change from lunch to dinner, and even during service. because of this, there is no insight into what you might eat there on the website. the intention is to waste little and serve the very best - you see the menu for that service once you’re seated. i’ve always been drawn to a restaurant with the confidence to say ‘get settled, let us pour you some wine, and trust us to feed you well’.

presentation was sophisticated yet playful with contrasts of colour that hinted towards a fun kitchen; the baby-pink of the beetroot and rhubarb against a wide matt-black bowl rim, the azure background to the limpid green apple sauce on a parfait, the grey-blue macaron with vibrant green filling.

a delicate (in both form and flavour) crimson beetroot cornetto with foam-of-root piped on top of a little smoked eel was a down-in-one affair. delivered in a wooden box and supported by wild rice which filled it, we were tersely advised by the maitre’d - as i was taking a photo - that it needed to be eaten quickly. i understand the irritance of us bloody bloggers taking pictures of everything at the detriment of a dish that is going cold / melting / coagulating in the meantime, but please don’t dictate to me when to eat. i’m paying for this meal and i’ll enjoy it how i want (as long as it’s not hanging from a chandelier).

that small niggle aside, the rest of the dining experience was a series of small thrills. special mention to the gentleman with the glasses and silvering hair who i think was head waiter - he had a twinkle in his eye and a wonderful grin and made us laugh a good few times.

a savoury custard umami flan certainly had hints of japan about it, with a clear bread consommé and crunchy nuggets of bread crumb, the pairing of smooth and savoury on the tongue was very complimentary.

the yolk of a duck egg, slow-poached in a sous vide, was served at the precise moment before setting takes place; a sublime physical state of buttery viscosity. the whites whipped up into a ‘cream of’, firm almost crunchy peas, and a flourish of red pepper reduction. two cuts from a roasted guinea-fowl had tough exteriors, but pleasantly so, lubricated by a thick sauce (not a jus), with chard leaf separate from stem, and the newest of jersey royals - an entirely unfussed but well-executed plate.

and there was the bread, of which i’ve heard much about. mikael honed his bread-making skills whilst training at alex croquet boulangerie in wattignies, france - a school whose teacher is described as a ‘genius’ by michelin. mikael makes the batches each morning, some of which make their way to antidote. using the almost scientific techniques learnt from croquet, the result is a glorious chewy and full-flavoured crust to work the jaw, an open crumb, with smooth reflective qualities around the curves of the air gaps. it’s really very good, and served with unpasteurised butter and a little salt, is a dictionary definition of what simple pleasures should be.

both desserts were our favourite courses. the hazelnut and caramel parfait with kimono silk-thin wafers, tiny cubes of sharp apple with globules of its sauce was as well put together in its presentation as in its flavour combination. all things pink made up the second offering - rose, beetroot and rhubarb to form a floating island of sorbet atop a pearly and soft meringue base. really well balanced, although the rose was undetectable. probably a good thing as i’m not a great fan of floral smelling food.

a single additional cheese course we wished to share between two (£14.50) was helpfully split across plates - five unpasteurised, gloriously funky and generous offerings of wonderful claquebitou, tomme brulée, chablis, farmhouse camembert, and fourme d'ambert with extra slices of raisin bread at our request. a bonbon mound filled with liquid mango and a sesame macaron with a tangy lime and green tea filling rounded the meal off.

the double-fronted interiors give the impression of entering somewhere quite special, exclusive even. the threshold is marked by a heavy curtain once through the door, and windows are frosted to obscure the view out or in. if the intention is for clientèle to forget they’re on chiswick high street, it’s quite effective. once you’ve left, you’re on your own - back through that heavy material and onto an overwhelmingly ordinary high-street, a contrast from what was just experienced.

i do feel we missed out not sitting at the bar of the open kitchen. if it wasn’t for the impish head waiter, the place could have felt a little cold compared to other michelin restaurants. had i been able to converse with mikael himself, i expect i would have been directly privy to his - what is on paper - unquestionable passion. it also feels like the sort of place that needs more than one visit to draw an informed conclusion, with the expectation that each meal will be so different to the one before. the three-course lunch deal is a steal at £35 - i plan to return for it and do just that.

liked lots: bread, umami flan, interiors, head waiter, lunch-menu value, desserts
liked less: out-of-the-way location; being told what to do when i'm eating
good for: seasonal eating of the very best produce; surprise menus; counter-seating to observe the kitchen

my rating: 4/5

both desserts were our favourite courses. the hazelnut and caramel parfait with kimono silk-thin wafers, tiny cubes of sharp apple with globules of its sauce was as well put together in its presentation as in its flavour combination. all things pink made up the second offering - rose, beetroot and rhubarb to form a floating island of sorbet atop a pearly and soft meringue base. really well balanced, although the rose was undetectable. probably a good thing as i’m not a great fan of floral smelling food.

amazing place in london. i love the food. can’t wait to come back here again. congratulations to the staff.

it’s all i could think after i finished chatting to solicitor turned food blogger turned uber chef mikael jonsson.  i’d just finished my multi course, sensory overloading tasting menu at hedone and was still reflecting on what was most likely one of the best meals of my life. the self trained jonsson had some pretty interesting thoughts about food preparation; and being self taught, seemed to have few preconceived notions of what food could be.  that jonsson was produce-led was clear from the meal, but what he was able to do with processes was quite staggering.

the last time i dined at hedone, was back in april, when my sister and her husband were around in london to attend our wedding. it just goes to show that time does fly very quickly as it was only 5 months ago that my wife and i were all stressing over all the details of our wedding. our last meal at hedone was mind-blowing and when a friday afternoon free, i jumped at the chance to pop in for a solo lunch here to try some more of mikael’s cooking.

i had heard many good things about hedone from others.  in particular, how great the quality of their ingredients was. ready to start, i arrayed my weapons for battle. my dining companion did the same with the tree and wine glass. we next had mushrooms on biscuits.  the delightful rawness of the mushrooms shone through without distractions of, you know, cooking. definitely something in keeping with the wilderness theme (trek and table ornament).

motivation to get on a tube and head west was pretty low, but the prospect of an interesting meal was high enough to make me move my backside. a bit of a sensation since it opened, i was intrigued to try mikael jonsson’s food, as he made the transition from food blogger to restaurateur. not a transition i am inclined towards myself, mind. as we changed the booking from two to three very last minute, we were asked if we’d like to eat at the ‘bar’ right in front of the kitchen. of course, was my answer – never one to miss a bit of pass action. we opted for the tasting menu (£65) rather than a la carte, and i am glad we did, as it gave us of course the opportunity to taste more dishes.

if someone asked you where your favourite restaurant of 2015 is, would you be able to come up with a quick answer? how would you judge it? for me, there are 2 tests. the first is where i would most like to spend my hard earned cash for a reliably great meal. the second is where i’ve taken most friends to eat this year. in my case, both answers are quick and easy – hedone in chiswick

there are some (such as chef, james close of the raby hunt) who believe that hedone is the finest restaurant in the country right now. judging it from the lunch we had last weekend, it would be hard to disagree. interestingly it's a restaurant very popular with the native spanish people that i follow on twitter. the obsession that chef mikael jonsson apparently has in sourcing the very best products is something that very much appeals to them. us too. we've never eaten better bread, or scallops. the scallop and truffle dish is seriously good. all the food is utterly sublime here, but i must also mention front of house. we've been to places in london where the service is efficient yet cold, not so here. aurelie, foh manager and nicolas the sommelier were also such a huge part in one of the most enjoyable lunches we've ever had anywhere. hedone is an exceptional restaurant.

as expected hedone is an open kitchen restaurant, which runs like a “silent running” machine, perfectly calibrated and orchestrated by swede mikael jonsson. after changing his career to follow his passion for food, jonsson gained his first michelin star in 2013. the restaurant, due to its location is very local, with a modern bistro feel. food-wise, chef doesn’t disappoint, demonstrating some serious cooking technique and product understanding. the open kitchen, in a similar style to la scene, prince de galle in paris, doesn’t leave any space for error. cooking, plating, dressing, building, frying; everything is done on demand before you. a highlight (if available) is the simple, yet perfectly cooked turbot à la nacre. the fish is cooked so delicately that its flesh glistens with a mother of pearl effect. a classical french technique, mastered by this chef of a very high calibre. to accompany the fish is a sublime, smoked eel and black olive elixir and steamed brussels sprout leaves. the overall dish is balanced, clean, and the quality of the buttery smooth turbot is apparent. the main also demonstrates the importance of the product quality. piglet from les pyrenees is cut across the saddle is served with crackling, roasted onions and pear. here again, sumptuous products, so there’s no surprise that the plate reaches perfection. the slow cooked meat is impeccable. the only slight let down is with the dessert, but this seems to be a trend in the united kingdom. dessert aren’t puddings, puddings aren’t gateaux. what you’ll get is something sweet. nothing bad overall, but such simplicity at the 1* level can lead to confusion sometimes. what would take hedone to the next stage? the menu would need to be more surprising. hedone would need to create, invent, renew, without hunting for star for the sake of it. while it figures that out, it is an exceptional west london local restaurant, and that is a very welcome thing. #gallery-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1 .gallery-item

i eat out a lot and restaurants that stay on my wishlist for any time tend to be expensive, out of the way or have a frighteningly long wait list for a table.  hedone may be close to chiswick park tube, but it’s not an area i visit often and having migrated south to kennington, it’s now a little difficult to reach.  nevertheless it’s been on my wishlist for over a year.  not only do i respect and admire the writings of andy hayler, who has long championed hedone on his blog ,  i have a fascination with the the initiative behind it.  

the meal started off with a couple of little bites that were not on the list. there was a little cherry meringue, with fois gras and raw button mushroom slices. loved the cherry and fois gras combination, the button mushrooms provided an earthy flavour that did not quite gel. then a tiny cone with mini tuna nicoise salad. that was tasty. the first listed starter was poached oyster with granny smith foam and a violet. this seems to be a standard here. didn’t take a photo this time, but here’s one i made earlier.

verdict: it trumps gymkhana as my dining highlight of 2014 9.5/10

located in the chiswick area of west london and the recipient of considerable praise plus one 2013 michelin star a visit to chef mikael jonsson’s hedone was amongst the most anticipated of my recent trip and although a trek through rain