The idea behind Hedone is to bring to the UK what Mikael
feels most strongly about: product-driven cuisine, in the literal sense of the
world. There is no talk about great British, or local produce here, no
misleading rhetoric of changing the world. Rather, Hedone aims to bring the very
best products one can find to its customers, without masking the flavours.
Whilst this might sound simple, the attention to detail, technique and maturity
in the composition of dishes here are quite sublime.
For what you get here is perhaps the most basic food you
could possibly imagine. Take a dish of raw scallops with radishes and citrus.
There isn't an awful lot going on, on this plate. Nor is there much seasoning
on this dish. However, what this plate shows better than many others is the
focus on purity of flavour at Hedone. The scallops are so beautiful and fresh
that they keep on moving on the plate if you touch them with your knife. Such a
sweet, and clean flavour of scallops has very little in common with what the
vast majority of people would associate with this product.
Turbot that is cooked so beautifully that it shimmers like the shell of a precious pearl
Even more exciting is a turbot. Whilst served with nothing
more than cockle juice and cabbage, this piece of turbot is quite simply
captivating. Forget the stuff you get in the vast majority of starred
restaurants, for this will blow your socks off (at least Mr. Ducasse seems to
have been impressed by it). The steaming here is so perfectly timed that the
term cuit a la nacre can really be
applied here. The fish shines like a pearl, revealing flesh that has both
texture and bite; flavour and balance. It is such a pure and rewarding piece of
fish that the other elements on this plate nearly seem to distract one's
attention. With quality this good, one could nearly just serve the fish alone.
Whilst such dishes are incredibly delicate and subtle,
Jonsson can cook more hearty fare equally well. The best example for this is
beef that he chooses and dry-ages for around 60-80 days. The results are unlike
any beef that you will have tasted. Not quite as marbled as the best wagyu, the
beef is nonetheless so tender and richly flavoured that you will have trouble
forgetting it. Cooked to absolute perfection, it seems to nearly melt on your
tongue, whilst retaining texture. All you need with it are his potatoes and a
little pan-jus; nothing more. It is
another lesson in product quality one that goes even further than the
previously mentioned ones, as it also appeals to our hedonistic tendencies,
with its rich and deep flavour.
Those are in essence the two sides of Mikael's cooking: The very subtle and clean seafood dishes, and the equally pure, but more hearty and hedonistic meat and game dishes. No matter what you eat here, rest assured that you will have serious trouble finding better produce anywhere in the UK, if not large parts of the world. For this is what makes Hedone a truly unique place: Produce and technique.
