Business Premier: Braised beef in red wine
It may still be by far the most comfortable way to cross the Channel, but the F&B experience when travelling via Eurostar to Paris has always suffered from inconsistency. First off, there’s that Caffè Nero at St Pancras. No fault of the Eurostar itself, of course, but for some reason we’re often running late and find ourselves at the end of an impossibly long queue, cutting it nerve-janglingly fine to get our dawn double shot latte and croissant, and still make it on board in time for the 07:01 departure.
Booking in Business Premier cuts corporate coffee out of the equation of course – even if you’re running late, you can swoop by the lounge and grab a latte, pastry and newspaper to go. And now, with Raymond Blanc at the helm of all on-board catering in Business Premier, there’s a fairly persuasive reason to time your travel to coincide with lunch or dinner, and literally make a meal of the trip from St Pancras to Gare du Nord.
We tried out lunch on the Paris-bound journey recently and found the offering to be a vast improvement on previous experiences. We were served a lovely and light-tasting smoked mackerel rillette with fennel followed by a baked fillet of dab in a Brixham crab jus. A “smoked fish dumpling” wasn’t discernibly dumpling-like, but tasty nonetheless (there was also a cold chicken with root vegetable salad option). An Earl Grey-infused chocolate tart with bergamot cream was an impressive sweet ending. As usual, there was a capable, nutty and creamy brut Pannier Champagne amongst the wine offerings.
We travelled in the early evening on the return to St Pancras and had a starter of pork terrine followed by slow-cooked rabbit. The latter was a little too soft in texture and cried out for a crunchier bread than was available, but it was still very pleasant. The only low note was a lack of an actual menu – “it happens sometimes”, apologised a member of the crew – and a pear tart, which came with a wicked hit of sugar. Overall, it was infinitely better than a trip to the buffet car, although it must be said that those cheese and ham toasties are quite the guilty pleasure.
Blanc’s arrival on the Eurostar comes with more than just an upgrade in terms of culinary skill – the rail operator has also become the first transport provider to join the Sustainable Restaurant Association. Blanc is offering “rustic, traditional dishes with a fresh, modern element of surprise” that bring together “the best of Britain, France and Belgium”, according to a Eurostar spokesperson, and the chef’s notes at the foot of our menu on our outbound journey pointed out that his smoked mackerel “originates from a UK South coast fishery, certified by the Marine Stewardship Council”. At a time when food traceability has become as much of an issue as purity and flavour, Blanc, and Eurostar, are to be applauded.