<a target="_blank" href="http://www.lumiererestaurant.co.uk/">Lumière</a>

Clarence Parade

Cheltenham GL50 3PA

BY NEAL MARTIN |&nbsp;AUGUST 30, 2024The
Food:&nbsp;

Canapés:
Taramasalata, cucumber, lemon and Avruga caviar with squid ink tuile;
‘Coronation Chicken’; Truffled ‘Mac &amp; Cheese’ with Black Garlic and Old
Winchester

Meadowland
smoked eel, red Desirée apple, caviar with smoked Pepper Dulce

Red
Mullet with fennel, coriander and St. Austell mussels

Asparagus
with morels, chicken, black truffle and sherry

“Tequila
Slammer” 

Hogget
with wild garlic, garden peas, carrot, anchovy, lemon and Cobble Lane pancetta

Forced rhubarb
ginger, Orelys chocolate and sorrel

Dark
Chocolate Fondant, coffee, mango and passionfruit with sushi rice

The Wines:

<table>
 <tbody><tr>
 <td>2020
 Domaine Marc Colin &amp; Fils Chassagne-Montrachet En Cailleret 1er Cru&nbsp; &nbsp;</td>
 <td>94</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>2010
 Domaine Arlaud Morey-Saint-Denis Aux Chezeaux</td>
 <td>92</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>1971
 Château de la Gardine Châteauneuf-du-Pape</td>
 <td>92</td>
 </tr></tbody></table>

I’m
ambivalent towards the Michelin guide. It provides an invaluable signpost of
where to dine, not least when you’ve traveled to unfamiliar gastronomic
landscapes. That’s unsurprising given that was the guide’s original aim: What
better encouragement to test out those new tires on your automobile? To this
day, it is a lodestar for aspiring chefs who dream of screwing that plaque outside
the entrance to their restaurant. Conversely, the virtues that I seek in a
restaurant do not necessarily align. I don’t really care for the froufrou. My
yardstick is not the complexity of dishes, the smorgasbord of ingredients flown
in from distant datelines, or the whiteness of freshly ironed tablecloth. Give
me simple, soulful grub, honest food served on a bare wooden table in a noisy
local restaurant, dishes chalked up on a board and a list of decent vino that
won’t break the bank and generally, I’m happy.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1725028965248-lumiere+taramasalata.JPG">Taramasalata, cucumber, lemon and Avruga caviar with squid ink tuile 

But if
you are going to dine at a Michelin-starred restaurant, then Lumière in
Cheltenham is a paragon. It epitomized everything great about fine dining
without an <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/vinous-table-ikoyi-london-uk-aug-2024">Ikoyi-like</a>
bill at the end. This small restaurant serves a set menu where every
course translates skill and flair in the kitchen. Lumière dazzled without
showing off. Husband and wife team, chef Jon and front of house Helen Howe,
opened the restaurant in 2009, aiming to showcase the best of British
ingredients, many grown in their own smallholding. It was a rare occasion where
I found it difficult to fault any aspect of the meal. Fabulous and sometimes
playful presentation in terms of plating, classic dishes are given innovative
twists, all perfectly seasoned and unstintingly delicious.The
array of canapés alert my tastebuds that are in for a treat. The taramasalata
is made from Cornish smoked cod roe sourced and garnished with cucumber jelly,
a touch of gold leaf and a generous splodge of Avruga caviar. An ornate squid
ink tuile chaperones this. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1725028992105-lumiere+coronation+chicken.JPG">Coronation Chicken 

Their
take on Coronation Chicken is miniature tubs of loveliness. “Our Coronation
Chicken is comprised of waffle tart shell made with the local Golden Fleece
Indian Pale Ale,” Helen informs me. “Lemon curry marinaded Creedy Carver
chicken breast, pickled sultanas and finished with apricot puree, Ewes yogurt,
puff rice, almond &amp; crispy chicken skin.” It’s off the charts. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1725029058477-lumiere+mac+n+cheese_copy.JPG">Truffled ‘Mac &amp; Cheese’ with Black Garlic and Old Winchester 

The truffled
‘Mac &amp; Cheese’ with black garlic and Old Winchester cheese. “Our twist on a
classic favorite is to use lighter Israeli couscous rather than macaroni and
then encase the mix into a crunchy, breadcrumbed croquette,” Helen continues.
“It’s finished with a luscious black garlic puree, freshly grated British black
truffle and a generous amount of Old Winchester cheese.” It is so good that the
meal could have ended there, and I’d be content. 

Thankfully,
it didn’t. A lot more was to come.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1725029096020-lumiere+eel.JPG">Meadowland smoked eel, red Desirée apple, caviar with smoked Pepper Dulce 

The Meadowland
smoked eel comes with Red Desirée apples, caviar (because you can never have
too much) and a smoked pepper dulce. The eel is subtle in flavor and perfectly
combined with the sweetness of the apple and the dulce, the roe lending
all-important salinity.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1725029126995-lumiere+red+mullet.JPG">Red Mullet with fennel, coriander and St. Austell mussels 

The Cornish
Day boat red mullet is perfectly cooked: wafer-thin crispy skin with moist yet
firm meat underneath. The fennel and coriander sauce with fried St. Austell mussels
on top serve as wonderful foils to the fish without overpowering it. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1725029188321-lumiere+asparagus_copy.JPG">Asparagus with morels, chicken, black truffle and sherry 

The
asparagus comes from the nearby Wye Valley and is served with morels, black
truffle and a sherry reduction. This is a heavenly combination of earthy forest
flavors, perhaps obvious in terms of ingredients, but they lift the asparagus.

The
next course is simply named “Tequila Slammer”, and this has the most dazzling
presentation. This is the bit of theatre that you expect, with dry ice almost
covering our entire table. It is essentially a mid-dinner palate cleanser. It
consists of a tequila sorbet served with a salt crisp and a lime sphere.
Imagine someone plugging your tastebuds into the mainline electricity cable… It
works a treat, virtually rebooting the senses.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1725029219852-lumiere+hogget.JPG">Hogget with wild garlic, garden peas, carrot, anchovy, lemon and Cobble Lane pancetta 

There is
just one solitary meat dish. Maybe I’m getting old, but I prefer minimal red
meat so that I’m not still digesting the meal come following morning’s
breakfast. This comprises Mount Grace Farm Kerry Hill Texel Cross hogget,
served with wild garlic, garden peas, carrots and anchovies with Cobble Land pancetta.
The hogget, which you see rarely these days, is tender and succulent. The
accompanying vegetables are enhanced by the anchovies, the secret ingredient
used by a number of chefs. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1725029266493-lumiere+chocolate+fondant.JPG">Dark Chocolate Fondant, coffee, mango and passionfruit with sushi rice <div>Two
desserts complete the set menu. The forced rhubarb from Arnold Farms came with
Orelys white chocolate and sorrel. Again, the presentation is so ornate and aesthetically pleasing that I feel guilty destroying it with my
spoon.&nbsp;&nbsp; </div>

Last
but not least, we enjoy a dark chocolate fondant so black that it seems to
absorb surrounding light. Fortunately, it is not a black hole, but it is made
from Xoco Tuma Yellow (80% cocoa) and comes with mango and passionfruit ice
cream. This killer combination never fails to deliver, and this is taken to the
zenith.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1725029301939-lumiere+colin.JPG">Lumière
has no qualms about accepting corkage and charges a very reasonable fee. I
dropped in the bottles early so that they could be decanted, and it was a
pleasure to share a glass with their waiters, who provided A1 service.We
began with the 2020 Chassagne-Montrachet En Cailleret 1er Cru from the
ever-reliable, ever-fantastic Damien Colin at Domaine Marc Colin &amp; Fils.
It just delivers every time. The bouquet offers brilliant delineation, almost
flinty citrus scents, freshly sliced limes and Granny Smiths. The palate has
balletic poise that effortlessly counterbalances the intensity and nervosité of
this Chassagne to the point where you would almost think it was a Puligny. It’s
all about the terroir. Next came the 2010 Morey-Saint-Denis Aux Chezeaux from
Domaine Arlaud, which had come directly from the producer. Copious
black cherries, blueberry and violet appear on a nose that is powerful and needs
a lot of decanting to coalesce. The palate is more pliant than I anticipated, with
plush but quite bold tannins, plenty of depth and a very primal finish that
feels half its age. Give it another three or four years – Cyprien Arlaud’s
wines always need time. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1725029935160-lumiere+arlaud.jpg">The
final wine was a bit of a long shot. I had acquired the 1971
Châteauneuf-du-Pape from Château de la Gardine from a well-reputed
merchant in the West Country. You never know when it comes to bottles this age,
especially from the Rhône. But it surpassed my admittedly modest expectations. Showing
moderate bricking, the bouquet is rustic but fresh, with notes of garrigues,
singed leather, lavender and black pepper. Maybe there is a bit of mustiness,
but nothing to really complain about. The palate shows little oxidation, but it
is still fresh, with probably a payload of VA. Yet there is plenty of red fruit
tinged with black pepper and fennel, quite sweet and Grenache-like on the
finish. This was supposed to be a good vintage in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and this
turned out to be a risky yet wise purchase. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1725029354433-lumiere+gardine.JPG">Expect
Lumière to rank amongst my already-packed list of favorite meals of 2024. In
some ways, the cuisine reminds me of <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/vinous-table-moor-hall-lancashire-uk-jan-2023">Moor
Hall</a> in Lancashire. That has double the number of stars, but then again, it
is double the price. They offer three set meals, four, six and eight courses at
£75, £115 and £145 per person respectively. That’s a good price, given the
quality, and you’d pay a lot more in London. Along with the Dysart at <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/vinous-table-petersham-nurseries-cafe-richmond-uk-mar-2021">Petersham</a>,
Lumière is a pertinent reminder that this country has fostered a raft of
brilliant chefs in recent years, many out in provincial towns. I wish we had
our own Lumière where I live in Guildford! This is haut cuisine at a high level
without the pretension one occasionally finds. Departing the restaurant, I had
that warm feeling of elation after you’ve treated your tastebuds to one delight
after another. If you are out in this picturesque part of England, then Lumière
should definitely be on your list. © 2024, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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