Cooksister | Food, Travel, Photography

Food, photos & faraway places

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • About me
    • Contact me
    • Work with me
    • Legal
      • Copyright notice & Disclaimer
      • Disclosure
      • Cookies and Privacy Policy
    • Press and media
    • Cooksister FAQs
  • RECIPES
    • Recipe Index – by course
    • Baking (savoury)
    • Braai/Barbecue
    • Breakfast & brunch
    • Christmas
    • Dessert
    • Drinks
    • Eggs
    • Fish
    • Gluten-free
    • Leftovers
    • Pasta & rice
    • Poultry
    • Pulses
    • Salads
    • Soup
    • South African
    • Starters & light meals
    • Vegan
    • Vegetables
    • Vegetarian
  • RESTAURANTS
    • British Isles restaurants
    • Dubai restaurants
    • France restaurants
    • London restaurants
    • Montenegro restaurants
    • New York restaurants
    • Pop-ups and supperclubs
    • Serbia restaurants
    • Singapore restaurants
    • South Africa restaurants
    • Sweden restaurants
    • Switzerland restaurants
    • USA restaurants
  • TRAVEL
    • All my travel posts
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Canada
      • Dubai
      • Cruise ships
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Grenada
      • Hong Kong
      • Hotel reviews
      • Italy
      • Israel
      • Jersey
      • Mexico
      • Netherlands
      • Norway
      • Portugal
      • Singapore
      • Ski & snow
      • South Africa
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • UK
      • USA
      • Wales
  • PORTFOLIO
    • Freelance writing portfolio
    • Speaking and teaching
    • Photography portfolio
    • Buy my photos
You are here: Home / Restaurants / London restaurants / Brasserie Blanc’s seasonal game menu

Brasserie Blanc’s seasonal game menu

by Jeanne Horak on December 13, 2015 5 Comments in London restaurants

Brasserie-Blanc-Title

If there is anybody here who was reading my blog back in 2007, you may recall my post about my very happy birthday lunch at Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons. At the time, I think I described it as feeling like a mini-break rather than a meal – but of course it also carried a price tag closer to a mini-break than a meal! It’s not the sort of thing most of us can afford to do every month – or even every year.  But a visit to a branch of Brasserie Blanc, the chain of less formal brasseries (started by the chef as Le Petit Blanc Brasserie in Oxford in 1996, rebranded as Brasserie Blanc in 2006, and expanded to London in 2010), is far more financially achievable. In fact, it’s one of my favourite venues for as weeknight dinner with friends, particularly for the excellent-value prix fixe menu that is always available. What you might not know is that Brasserie Blanc is one of the very few UK dining chains that regularly features game on the menu, and it was this that I was recently invited to sample at their Charlotte Street Branch in the heart of London’s theatreland.

Upon arrival at the restaurant, we were shown upstairs to The Clubhouse, one of their 2 spaces available for private rental (together with The Hideout on the second floor). After a glass of the custom Brasserie Blanc Blanc de Blancs Champagne and introductions, we sat down to hear from a few people involved in making game meat appear on the Brasserie Blanc menu.  First up was , starting with Tim Weston of the National Gamekeepers Organisation, a gamekeeper for one of the estates that supplies Brasserie Blanc with much of their game. Like most people, I had never actually thought about how game is reared or killed but Tim gave a fascinating and very amusing account of the process. “I became as gamekeeper because I read Lady Chatterly’s Lover at school”, he began. “I thought it would all be rolling about in the rhododendrons with the lady of the manor – but there is a lot more to it than that!”. He explained how the gamekeeper’s job is to ensure that enough game birds are bred in the Spring so that at the time that the hunting season commences in the Autumn, there is enough of a surplus to allow for shooting, as well as to leave some breeding stock for the following year. In addition, the game birds need to be kept on their owner’s estate (this is done with “dogging-in” – cue many sniggers of amusement!) and need to be fed their all-natural grain diet in particular areas at particular times so as to facilitate shoots later. It’s all rather labour intensive and sounds like quite an art. Next up we heard from Simon Smith of game merchants Aubrey Allen a game merchant who supplies Brasserie Blanc and who shared the depressing fact that 86% of UK game is exported; and finally we heard from chef Clive Fretwell, the group executive chef for Brasserie Blanc who also worked with Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir for a number of years. He chatted about how best to cook game and how it is less complicated than people tend to think, but he was also keenly aware that most people do not have the same sous vide equipment in their homes as he has access to in his kitchens, and which make it easy to avoid dried-out meat. To get around this, he demonstrated to us his pheasant-in-a-bag recipe: all you need for a fantastically moist pheasant is a roasting bag and some seasoning. Easy peasy!

 

Brasserie-Blanc-Chef-Clive-Fretwell

 

Brasserie-Blanc-Bread

 

But the proof of the pudding, as they say, is in the eating and soon we were sampling some dishes from the Brasserie Blanc seasonal game menu. For starters, Nick and I shared two dishes: the wild wood pigeon salad with winter coleslaw; and the mallard duck pistachio & hazelnut terrine with braised quince and port jelly.  The duck was fabulous – seared and still delightfully rosé in the centre – and beautifully matched by the crunchy slaw which featured kale and apple, amongst other things. But I also loved the terrine – a good chunky texture as is correct with a terrine, laced with plentiful pistachios as well as a few toasted pistachios scattered amongst the cubes of moreish port jelly on the plate.  These dishes were paired with some Limoux Sauvignon Blanc from Domaine Begude, am organic wine with a zesty, fresh grassy flavour to balance the rich game flavours.

 

Brasserie-Blanc-pigeon-salad

 

Brasserie-Blanc-Game-Terrine

 

For mains we shared another two dishes: eighteen hour venison casserole (slow-braised wild Scottish venison, Autumn  vegetables, creamy mashed potato); and roast pheasant in a bag with potato rosti, pumpkin and braised blackcurrants. These were matched with a Minervois Syrah from  Chateau Maris – another organic wine with a lush palate of succulent dark plums and blackberries and spicy notes of black pepper and aromatic herbs.  I would have been hard-pressed to chose my favourite among the two main course dishes – both were wonderful.  The venison stew had a good, rich depth of flavour that results from slow cooking and the meat was form tender.  The pheasant was fantastic, rubbed with Brasserie Blanc’s Chinese five-spice style dry rub before cooking which worked very well with the gamey  meat and the sweetness of the pumpkin and blackberries. Dessert consisted of an assiette of chocolate, featuring a miniature chocolate cake; chocolate ice cream; a chocolate marquise; and an outstanding pistachio madeleine – like a greatest hits dessert plate!

 

Brasserie-Blanc-venison-stew

 

Brasserie-Blanc-Pheasant

 

Brasserie-Blanc-Dessert

 

As I said previously, I have always enjoyed my visits to Brasserie Blanc and this dinner was no exception.  It can sometimes be hard in London to find a restaurant that does not cost exorbitant amounts of money but that consistently produces well-executed and delicious food – but Brasserie Blanc is certainly one such a place. Starters range in price from about £6-9 and mains from about £14-22.  There is also a daily Prix fixe menu: lunch Monday to Saturday until 18h30 costs £9.95 for 2 or £12.45 for 3 courses; and dinner Sunday to Thursday after 18h30 costs £14.45 for 2 or £16.95 for 3 courses. It’s hard to beat great food, friendly service and consistent quality at those prices – and I challenge you to find more reasonably priced game on any other menu in London.

Cost per head incl. 3 courses, a bottle of wine, coffee & tip: £60 (far less if having the prix fixe)
Nearest Tube station: Tottenham Court Road or Goodge Street

Brasserie Blanc
8 Charlotte Street
London
W1T 2LS

Tel. +44 (0) 20 7636 4975
E-mail: [email protected] 

DISCLOSURE:  I enjoyed this meal as a guest of Brasserie Blanc but received no further remuneration to write this post.  I was not expected to write a positive review – all views are my own and I retain full editorial control.

Let’s keep in touch!
You can also find me tweeting at @cooksisterblog, snapping away on Instagram, or pinning like a pro on Pinterest.  To keep up with my latest posts, you can subscribe to my free e-mail alerts, like Cooksister on Facebook, or follow me on Bloglovin.

More deliciousness for you!

  • El CantaraEl Cantara
  • Potato salad with apple and thymePotato salad with apple and thyme
  • Saturday Snapshots #74Saturday Snapshots #74
  • Easy sausage & bean casserole with herb dumplings for IMBB #11Easy sausage & bean casserole with herb dumplings for IMBB #11

Never miss a Cooksister post

If you enjoyed this post, enter your e-mail address here to receive a FREE e-mail update when a new post appears on Cooksister

I love comments almost as much as I love cheese - so if you can't leave me any cheese, please leave me a comment instead!

« The Imperial Christmas menu
Toffee apple dessert cocktails with Appletiser »

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. [email protected] says

    December 14, 2015 at 11:37 am

    I hadn’t really thought that Brasserie Blanc would offer such good value for money but seeing that 18 hour slow cooked vanison casserole, I really want to go! I ove Charlotte St too so maust go there soon x

    Reply
  2. [email protected] says

    December 14, 2015 at 2:00 pm

    Although not a game eater myself I do appreciate the care and attention that has gone into these dishes. And what beautiful presentation.

    Reply
  3. Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says

    December 14, 2015 at 3:37 pm

    I don’t eat meat any more, but everything is so beautifully presented. That is important to me when I go out for dinner.

    Reply
  4. Herschlian says

    December 15, 2015 at 12:09 pm

    I married into a Scottish family who were regular ‘game’ eaters. My husband’s parents lived on Royal Deeside (between Aberdeen and Balmoral) and my late father-in-law used to shoot, fish and stalk. My dear late M-in-L could pluck a pheasant or grouse so fast it would make your head spin. When my kids were very young they watched her doing this, and have never been squeemish about food since then..
    One thing I wish you had asked Tim Weston, Simon Smith and Clive Fretwell is how long they recommended game birds should be hung. In SA – as you know – game is eaten very soon after the kill, but that is not the case in the UK.
    I found my in-laws would hang birds till they were offensive to me, although when cooked tasted fine. I ‘inherited’ some excellent recipes for cooking game – birds, venison, hare, rabbit etc – from my M-in-L.
    I recall one very very cold snowy day in early January when we had to go on a ‘picnic’ (I thought they had lost their marbles) and she produced thermos flasks of hot pheasant soup and big fat sandwiches of pheasant pate with some salad leaves!

    Loved this whole post – apart from anything else, it brought back memories.

    Reply
  5. Ken @ Cheltenham restaurants says

    November 3, 2016 at 5:31 am

    Is this still available? its amazing presentation.. I’m not really into this eating side but i would love to taste this with Chateau Maris on the table.

    Reply
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Never miss a Cooksister post!

Get my latest recipes delivered by e-mail!

Search over 500 recipes

Recently on Cooksister

  • Perfect broccoli and Stilton soup [keto, low carb, GF]
  • Masalchi by Atul Kochhar – Indian street food in Wembley
  • Barbecued salmon with blood oranges and capers
  • Roasted Brussels sprouts with feta, pomegranate and pine nuts [GF, V]
  • Love Yourself healthy meal delivery [Review]
  • Antillean
  • Festive roast lamb with pomegranate glaze
  • Rustic blood orange and pistachio galettes

Archives by month

Archives by category

Popular posts

Peppermint Crisp fridge tart - a South African treat
Nigella's Bakewell slices & the Big Bakewell Taste-off
Oxtail and red wine potjie
Gem squash 101: how to find them, how to grow them, how to eat them!
Beef, broccoli and udon noodle stir fry from "The Japanese Larder" by Luiz Hara
Roosterkoek - a South African braai essential

Featured on

Also available on

The wonderful Museum of the Moon installation - a The wonderful Museum of the Moon installation - a 7 metre diameter scale model of the moon suspended in the Painted Hall at the  @oldroyalnavalcollege in Greenwich this week, by @lukejerramartist. A surreal and fabulous sight!
Do you enjoy free art installations? Then you need Do you enjoy free art installations? Then you need to get down to @canarywharflondon between now and Saturday 28 Jan to catch the free Winter Lights 2023 event, back for the seventh year.

My favourites include @lukejerramartist ‘s Floating Earth; Tom Lambert’s Out of the Dark; Fluorescent Firs; Toroid by This is Loop; and the surreal and mesmerising Anima by MEATS - a tunnel filled with hundreds of thin optical fibre lights that change colour and move in the breeze 😍 

Have you been to Winter Lights? What was your favourite?
“When we look down at the Earth from space, we s “When we look down at the Earth from space, we see this amazing, indescribably beautiful planet. It looks like a living, breathing organism. But it also, at the same time, looks extremely fragile.” - International Space Station astronaut Ron Garamond

To experience the “overview effect” (a phenomenon experienced by astronauts viewing the earth from space), head down to Canary Wharf in the London docklands this week where you can see @lukejerramartist ‘s beautiful Floating Earth installation as part of the Winter Lights event. 

This giant 10m diameter installation is created using high resolution NASA images to create a floating scale model of the Earth, lit from within so that it glows from its current home on the Middle Dock, surrounded by the headquarters of international banking and finance corporations.

The artist hopes that viewed in this context, the installation will make visitors and the bankers working in surrounding buildings question how their money in savings and pensions is invested, and whether investments can be greener.

Aside from being a thought provoking piece, it is also mesmerising and surreally beautiful, so make sure you visit the free Winter Lights event before ends on Saturday 28 Jan.
Happy lunar new year! [Invited] To celebrate the Happy lunar new year! 

[Invited] To celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit, why not head over to @mamachensdumplings currently doing a residence at the @thegantrylondon in #stratford where you can feast on prawn & chive dumplings; pork, Chinese cabbage and shiitake mushroom dumplings; pork & prawn wontons with Mama Chen’s chilli oil; vegetable dumplings; smacked cucumber salad; and spicy noodles coated in garlic and Szechuan pepper oil.

And afterwards, make sure you head up to the @unionsocialoc bar for a cocktail - I loved the Moreish Fashion with bourbon, PX sherry, chestnuts and mandarin orange bitters!
Got leftover Stilton (or any blue cheese) from Chr Got leftover Stilton (or any blue cheese) from Christmas? Turn it into this super simple and super indulgent broccoli and Stilton soup! So easy to make and soooo delicious to eat - and it is low carb and GF. What more could you want?! Click the link in my bio for the full recipe. What’s your favourite soup?
CELEBRATE. So the fireworks are over, the champag CELEBRATE.

So the fireworks are over, the champagne is finished and the leftovers are all eaten. We are one week into 2023 and I have had some time to think about what my intent is for the year. 

In 2022 my brother had a life saving kidney transplant. Since the operation, he has had a Peanuts cartoon as his WhatsApp profile pic, where Charlie Brown and Snoopy are sitting on a pier talking. Charlie says “Some day, we all die Snoopy.” And Snoopy replies: “Yes - but every other day, we will live.”

Waking up in the morning is a gift, every day, and it is so easy to forget this. The last few years have been difficult for so many people and the coming year promises its own challenges. But every day that we don’t die is a day to live, to celebrate life in some small way.

So my intention in 2023 is to celebrate. Celebrate our achievements however small. Celebrate our friends and family. Celebrate small things. Celebrate life.

Did you make any resolutions or goals for 2023? I would love to hear them in the comments! Wishing you all the very best for 2023 🥂
Happy new year, everyone! Here are some scenes fro Happy new year, everyone! Here are some scenes from last night with friends in Deptford. My deconstructed avocado ritz; @twinkleparkstephen ‘s bobitie; Giles’ Ottolenghi tomato salad; and Jean’s clementine trifle - and the London night sky ablaze with fireworks!  How did you spend your evening? 🥂🎇🎆
Merry Christmas to all those celebrating - I hope Merry Christmas to all those celebrating - I hope your day was merry and bright, filled with family, friends and love 🎄🥂. Mine was spent alone at home - my choice and the result of a combination of Covid (not mine!) and rail strikes 🤦‍♀️ but very relaxing and indulgent!
Looking for a stylish and easy Christmas starter y Looking for a stylish and easy Christmas starter you can make ahead? Look no further than my individual smoked salmon terrine! Hot smoked salmon, cream cheese and chives wrapped in cold smoked salmon in a ramekin. Still one of the most popular Christmas recipes in my blog, it looks cheffy but is soooo simple to make - and will save you time and effort on the day! Get the recipe by clicking on the link in my bio.

How is your Christmas meal prep going? Are you entertaining at home or going to friends or family? 🎄🥂🎄🥂🎄
Load More... Follow me on Instagram

Follow Jeanne Horak-Druiff's board Recipes by Cooksister on Pinterest.

Cooksister

The South African Food and Wine Blog Directory

The South African Food and Wine Blog Directory

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

Latest Recipes

Bowls of broccoli and Stilton soup
Salmon with blood oranges dill and capers
Brussels sprouts with feta and pomegranate
Roast lamb with pomegranate glaze
Blood orange & pistachio galettes
Cauliflower topped steak with melted cheese
Plate of potted smoked salmon with slaw and a glass of champagne
bowls of pistachio pomegranate bircher muesli

SITEMAP

Home

Contact

About me

Recipe Index

Restaurant Index

Copyright & Disclaimer

Cookies & privacy policy




blog counter

© 2004 - 2023 · Jeanne Horak unless otherwise stated - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. You may not reproduce any text, excerpts or images without my prior permission. Site by RTW Labs

Copyright © 2023 · Cooksister on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Cooksister cookie consent
We use cookies to ensure you receive the best experience on our site. If you continue to use this site, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions. Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT