An unfortunately unforgettable dinner at Jamie Oliver's restaurant
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By Katja Bäcksbacka
Recently in New Zealand and South Africa, last week in Sweden, the day before yesterday in Italy - wine is what keeps Liisa Tirronen, product manager of Norex Spirits, travelling around the world.
During visits to fairs and vineyards in different countries, and while at home, both food and wine are part of her programme. Sometimes there are several working dinners each week.
When gastronomy is both a profession and a hobby, wine and food are easy to remember. "I don’t necessarily remember people’s names, but food I never forget."
Her favourite memories are from France, where Tirronen has enjoyed magnificent dinners in three-star restaurants. She has also come across countless top-class small country restaurants in the country.
A very different experience came her way in London recently. The reputation of television cook Jamie Oliver had sparked the interest of a group of Finnish food and drink professionals, and they decided to visit Oliver’s new restaurant Fifteen.
Getting a table was already difficult. "I called the restaurant a couple of months before the trip, and was kept on hold for an hour before anyone could answer. From time to time Jamie would crack a joke on tape", Tirronen says.
Finally she managed to get a reservation for the trattoria side
The interior of the restaurant was very simple, and the menu had only a few appetizers and not many entrées; even then they were out of the most interesting options.
The same was true for the wines. "For our entrée we took pasta, because that was all there was. Some took hare ragù, and others opted for eggplant" ,Tirronen says.
"The pasta was overcooked, the eggplant was exactly the way that it should not have been: tough like a mushroom. Even on a poor day I don’t make food that is so awful."
Tirronen and her party were able to have their dessert in the main dining room, where the interior was also quite bleak.
Thanks to the plastic chairs and the tiled walls, the atmosphere was reminiscent of a public convenience. However, this was soon forgotten, when the waiter promised: "Now the guys are going to give you the best that the house has to offer." The sweet that came to the table had chocolate as its main theme: pannacotta, semi-freddo, and tart.
"The pannacotta tasted like cream and sugar. The semi-freddo tasted like the inside of a refrigerator. The following morning I still had the bitter aroma of the chocolate tart in my mouth, and it certainly was not good", Tirronen says.
But it wasn’t all bad: Tirronen notes that the bread at the restaurant was excellent. It resembled a Danish pastry in appearance, but instead of jam, it had onions on top. "We ate huge amounts of the bread."
"But all in all, it was a great disappointment. We left in a state of shock, after paying the bill totalling 400 euros."
To top it all off, Jamie Oliver himself left the restaurant at the same time. The famous TV chef was working that evening!
"I don’t complain over nothing. I don’t care how ordinary food is, as long as it is well prepared", Liisa Tirronen emphasises.
The same principle applies to the Tirronens’ home kitchen. During the week the family of four will sometimes eat the same dish several days in a row.
The weekend menu gets much more attention. "We decide on the basic raw materials, and then we might discuss how to prepare it for a whole week. It is not unusual for us to prepare it in two different ways."
Tirronen and her husband usually cook together, while "billing and cooing". The situation also calls for the wine specialist’s favourite beverage - champagnes. "They are sensitive and gastronomic - therefore, most suitable for the dinner table."
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 3.3.2005
KATJA BÄCKSBACKA / Helsingin Sanomat
katja.backsbacka@hs.fi
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| 8.3.2005 - THIS WEEK |
 An unfortunately unforgettable dinner at Jamie Oliver's restaurant |
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