CUISSON, WATERLOO

It's a funny thing going to a pop up restaurant run by someone else. You see everything in a different light than the rest of the guests as you know what goes on behind the scenes as well as at the table. I was invited to try out Cuisson's pop up recently which has been running at The Vaults in Waterloo for the past couple of months, where they do six pop ups a week. I've been to events at The Vaults before, and have been freezing cold but Cuisson takes place in a smaller room in the building, that I hadn't been to before, and it was really warm so no worries on the cold front! There's a bar downstairs where they serve specially designed cocktails to compliment the menu, as well as alcoholic teas, and wine. Once you've got your drinks you're taken upstairs to the dining area, where there are several large, shared tables.

Cuisson serve a regularly changing four course menu, and encourage you to help the chefs plate up - I kind of like this idea, though not massively keen on lots of people who don't know what they're doing touching the food (they do wear gloves... but still!) I definitely wasn't going to get involved in all that as I had a night off cooking and was there to eat.

We started with what turned out to be my favourite course - cabbage, chorizo, red pepper, lemon and hazelnuts. The cabbage was so tasty, having been seared and then roasted, retaining all its juiciness and flavour, and was perfectly complemented by the smoky chorizo and the crunch of nuts.

The next course was my least favourite, though there was nothing wrong with it, the salmon, juniper, finger lime, kohlrabi and nasturtium was quite a delicately flavoured dish, and following such a strong cabbage dish, the salmon got a little lost. I think it would've worked better if they served the salmon first. Having said that, the salmon was beautifully cooked, just lacking a little oomph. 

Mains was beef brisket, fermented vegetables and beef tea that we poured over the top of the dish. The pickled vegetables cut through the soft, rich meat that fell apart with the touch of a knife - each forkful was a delight to eat.

Finally came pudding - dark chocolate, olive oil, pears and cep. I was full to bursting by this point so barely managed any of this sadly, but it got wolfed down by others on the table. What I did try of it tasted perfect. If I'm having chocolate then dark is always the winner for me and this was a great balance of bitter and cocoa. 

Cuisson is a great pop up to try (as well as mine!!) It's such a different format to my own pop ups - they do six nights a week, with five chefs serving 40-50 people, whereas mine are just me cooking, with others helping serve and clear, once every few weeks for 24-35 people. I guess Cuisson feels more like a proper restaurant, though with the fun element of getting involved and sitting on big tables with strangers, which makes it that bit more interesting. There are still tickets available (£39 for four courses) for a few dates in December and January, all of which can be found via the Grub Club website here. Have you been to Cuisson? I'd love to know what you thought if you have.