Cook It! Get Set
After filming chef Semone Bonner for International Chef Exchange, I follow him to his new venture …
Bonner, as he prefers to be known, was until late head chef at the Ginger Pig. We all love Ginger restaurants and gastropubs I think, and a trip to Hove was always a gastronomic pleasure. Ben and Pamela McKellar have done an amazing job and are no doubt key players in the rise in recognition for Brighton’s restaurant scene.
Bonner came with us to Guernsey where he cooked in chef Tony Leck’s Pavilion Restaurant, and he was a star. You can see that programme now on Latest TV.
Since his return, though, Bonner has parted the Pig and with chef Dan Kennyas joined The Set. In truth The Set has been in existence for a while, organising pop-ups around the city. Much as I enjoy pop-ups, there is little point in covering them here as by the time the article ‘pops up’, the restaurant can have ‘popped off’.
To finish I was seduced by a dish called Breakfast Milk, yes an odd name and in a way an odd idea, but one that they pull off so brilliantly
Now The Set has a permanent home at a Regency Square Hotel, a chic affair with a great cocktail bar, fun interiors and ping pong. I know, why, I certainly gave the wiff waff a miss.
Fortunately for me I did not miss out on an extraordinary dinner. We started of course with a cocktail, a very good one indeed. But before long we were ushered into the tiny restaurant where our table was ready. By tiny I mean around 20 seats, some of which are at the pass where you can watch the team prepare your dinner. We sat at a round table, my favourite shape, and before very long the menus arrived, a selection of set meals priced between £27 and £35 for four courses. Impressively priced we thought – and we were not disappointed. Especially as the first thing to arrive was a plate of their take on chicken nuggets with a spicy ketchup. Of course they bore little resemblance to the commercial product and were more like a crumbed and fried chicken rillete.
My first course was based around leek and an amazing cheese croquette, with some leek ash too. Leek ash you ask? Yes, and very interesting it was too, a sort of smoky, savoury sherbet.
Next out, a stunning seaweed broth with cubes of bacon and discs of tender octopus. I love octopus – when it is cooked well. When not it is inedible. In Brighton you can rely on it at Agua Dulce, and now at The Set. A wowee dish that had me grinning from ear to ear.
I can seldom resist the promise of oxtail. I love it and mourned its disappearance in the BSE era. When it re-appeared I bought it regularly from Paul at Brampton’s in Kemp Town Village. It’s not difficult to cook, but it takes both time and patience. This was delicious, cooked to perfection, picked from the vertebrae and formed into a slice. I loved the accompanying dishes too and in particular the scorched lettuce and pickled shallots.
It was hearty stuff and very satisfying too.
To finish I was seduced by a dish called Breakfast Milk – yes an odd name and in a way an odd idea, but one that they pull off so brilliantly that I have been fantasising about it ever since.
I have recently re-discovered breakfast cereal, in particular a budget brand of faux Sugar Puffs – good and not as sweet as the originals – and the best bit about cereal has to be the strangely tasty milk left in the bowl.
Bonner and Dan have refined this into a delicate custard served with milk ice-cream, pale sponge and toasted bits and bobs to add texture. I loved it, and had I not been full would have asked for seconds.
We had the matched wines to go with our meal, one for each dish, and to finish they served us miso marshmallows. Eating is believing. It’s small and exciting, so book and book fast.
The Set, within Artist Residence, 33 Regency Square, Brighton, 01273 324302
www.thesetrestaurant.com
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