Danesfield House, Henley Road, Marlow, Bucks (01628 891 010)
Meal for two, with wine and service, £90-150
Almost all chefs carry the mark of those they trained with. Marco Pierre White was sometimes upfront about it, putting Pierre Koffman's name to the pig's trotter dish on his menu. Gordon Ramsay might well punch you for saying so, but there are clear signs in his food of the (en)lightened classicism of Marco Pierre White, with whom he trained. But it is usually an echo, a hint here or there. With Aiden Byrne at Danesfield House, who was most recently Tom Aikens's right-hand man, it isn't an echo. And it certainly isn't a hint. It's a bloody tribute act.
I was struck by it when the amuse-bouche arrived. Aikens doesn't do one preparation of an ingredient. He does riffs on them, like a jazz saxophonist trying to see how far he can bend a melody before it falls apart. So with Aikens, Jerusalem artichokes might turn up roasted, pureed, deep-fried and carved to look like the Venus de Milo (I made that last bit up). Anyway, Byrne's taster: on one side a cocktail stick with a cube of roasted spiced pineapple and a tiny ballotine of foie gras; next to it a shot glass with a jelly of pineapple topped with a foam of foie gras. How very Aikens, I muttered, pleased with myself.
And then the starters turned up and, blimey, these could have been served straight out of the kitchens at Tom Aikens in Chelsea. Aikens likes to smear sauces across plates as if with an artist's knife. And here they were. Smear. Smear. On my companion's plate it was a smear of something deep green and grassy to go with a dish of quails' eggs and asparagus, a whole bunch of ways. With mine it was a smear of apple puree to go with roasted langoustine. And the similarities went far beyond that, particularly with the asparagus dish which, as is often the case at Aikens, looked like an artful shrubbery.
Curiously though, I don't mean this as a criticism, or at least not entirely. What Aikens does requires enormous technique. He knows how to punch flavours and how to layer them. His dishes sometimes lack structure - as in too much is too soft - but it takes talent to achieve the desired effect, and Byrne has that talent. The asparagus dish with a fresh, pungent mousse was particularly impressive. We had our criticisms. In a main course of turbot, herb gnocchi were spectacular but there was an aftertaste to the accompanying almond soup, as if almond essence had been added to over-punch the flavour. My main course of 'pig's head' - long-cooked cheek, crispy ear, beignet of brain - was rich and satisfying but came with too solid a herb lasagne. But any faults were made up for by the desserts, variations on greengages and pistachios, which showed both playfulness and wit.
Danesfield House is a grand country-house hotel just outside Marlow, and the Oak Room is a fine, airy space of limed wood. Accordingly, none of this comes cheap, with three courses a la carte priced at £49. The wine list in particular is an outrage for which somebody ought to be made to sit on the naughty step. For a very long time. But the lunch menu at £26 for three courses (£3 cheaper than Aikens') offers a chance to sample a top-flight, inventive kitchen at work and the opportunity for a lovely day out in the country. Original? No, not exactly. Good? Yes, in places, very.
