Chez Dominique

After a disappointing visit to this institution of haute cuisine in Finland, I decided to give them some feedback and a new try.. and I have to say that second time proved to be the charm! (or at least better than the first... )

Don't get me wrong now, Chez Dominique never failed on standards of cooking and there is no question about who's the king of the kitchen in Finland. In CD it was always more a question of service, which I guess is typical for our cold and isolated country.

The lunch menu consisted of King Crab, spring cabbage and yuzu followed by Zander, asparagus and artichoke and finished with "fresh almond".  

The main course was the high note of the lunch. The crispy Serrano ham complimented  the perfectly cooked fish. First course didn't really leave any memories and the dessert was not really in my taste. The almonds per se were good, but the foam next to them tasted like soap. You will know the feeling if you ever walked past a Lush store.

This time the service was however proficient, all thanks to the maitre'd. You could actually sense that the poor results in the previous weeks 50 Best Restaurants had got them to sharpen their knives.

Chez Dominique
Rikhardinkatu 4
00130 Helsinki, Finland

And the Winner is...

Yesterday night was awards night at the Guildhall in London. It was the annual "World's 50 Best Restaurants" presented by S.Pellegrino.

The winner for a second year in a row was Noma from Copenhagen. Congratulations to Rene Redzepi for this amazing achievement! I feel gutted that I had to cancel the reservation I had for Noma this Saturday, but then again I'm sure there will come an other time..

I guess it's worth mentioning that Thomas Keller's French Laundry did not make it on the list (ranked 56) and neither did Gordon Ramsay (not in the top 100). I think this shows that the competition has got fierce and chefs will really have to excel in their cooking, if they want to be at the top.

An other interesting detail is that 7 out of the top 10 are in Europe and the five best restaurants are all European. I'm not saying that the list is biased, but it just feels a bit surprising.

Two restaurants that I have dined at lately, The Ledbury (ranked 34) and Chez Dominique (ranked 35) are in the top 50. Brett Graham's Ledbury recieved the "Highest New Entry" award, and I have to say it is well deserved. This restaurant is just wonderful. Chez Dominique in Helsinki dropped 12 spots on the list and honestly that doesn't shock me, as my previous visit was far from amazing. (I will write more about it after I give them a second chance next week). The look on chef-patron Hans Välimäki's face was priceless when they announced the results. I guess it's back to the kitchen for him!

The Top 50
1 Noma, Denmark (1)
2 El Celler De Can Roca, Spain (4)
3 Mugaritz Spain (5)
4 Osteria Francescana Italy (6)
5 The Fat Duck, U.K. (3)
6 Alinea, U.S. (7)
7 D.O.M, Brazil (18)
8 Arzak, Spain (9)
9 Le Chateaubriand, France (11)
10 Per Se, U.S. (10)
11 Daniel, U.S. (8)
12 Les Creations De Narisawa, Japan (24)
13 L’Astrance, France (16)
14 L’Atelier De Joel Robuchon, France (29)
15 Hof Van Cleve, Belgium (17)
16 Pierre Gagnaire, France (13)
17 Oud Sluis, Netherlands (19)
18 Le Bernardin, U.S. (15)
19 L’Arpege, France (Re-Entry)
20 Nihonryori Ryugin, Japan (48)
21 Vendome, Germany (22)
22 Steirereck, Austria (21)
23 Schloss Schauenstein, Switzerland (30)
24 Eleven Madison Park, U.S. (50)
25 Aqua, Germany (34)
26 Quay, Australia (27)
27 Iggy’s, Singapore (28)
28 Combal Zero, Italy (35)
29 Martin Berasategui, Spain (33)
30 Bras, France (Re-Entry)
31 Biko, Mexico (46)
32 Le Calandre, Italy (20)
33 Ristorante Cracco, Italy (Re-Entry)
34 The Ledbury, U.K. (New Entry)
35 Chez Dominique, Finland (23)
36 Le Quartier Francais, South Africa (31)
37 Amber, China (New Entry)
38 Dal Pescatore Italy (36)
39 Il Canto, Italy (40)
40 Momofuku Ssam Bar, U.S. (26)
41 St John, U.K. (43)
42 Astrid Y Gaston, Peru (New Entry)
43 Hibiscus, U.K. (49)
44 La Maison Troisgros, France (44)
45 Alain Ducasse Au Plaza Athenee, France (41)
46 De Librije, Netherlands (37)
47 Hotel De Ville, Switzerland (14)
48 Varvary, Russia (New Entry)
49 Pujol, Mexico (New entry)
50 Etxebarri, Spain (Re-Entry)