REVIEW : Six by Nico - Cooking The Alps

Alpine Cuisine is an interesting one; it’s mostly tatties, meat and cheese. Not that I would complain as I love all three of these food groups.

The Alps are a large mountain range that spans across France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Germany; so it only stands to reason that these 5 countries are going to play a part in the food scene of the Alps from dried and smoked meats, a variety of cheeses, milk (lots of dairy including eggs and butter), breads and grains.

Six by Nico have launched their latest menu - Cooking the Alps - and not only does it sound lovely, it was lovely.

The 6 course tasting menu costs £29pp with wine pairing an additional £26pp. Cooking the Alps runs from Tue 18th February – Sun 29th March.

An Aperitif (£6) - this was like Christmas all over again; a concoction of red wine, rum and spiced chai tea. It was sweet but warming and went down a treat.

First Course

RACLETTE FONDUE - Crispy Pigs Head and Quince.

The number one and number two best ways to enjoy cheese from the Alps is with a fondue and eating raclette. Fondue is where cheese is melted in the one pot and you all eat from the one pot, whilst raclette is more individual pots as we had with this course.

This raclette fondue cheese is very smooth and dense with full on cheese punch. The toothpick skewer holds in place the most tasty succulent deep pork crouton, mini cornichon and quince jelly square. Each skewered element adds a different level of flavour to the cheese mix.

My advice - ensure you get a spoon with it! It’s rather difficult to eat with a fork!

Second Course

SALMON ON THE RHINE - Pumpkin, Horseradish Emulsion and Apple & Dill Dressing.

Absolutely stunning presentation and so beautiful you really won’t want to eat it. The contrasting orange and green stand strong on the stark white plate whilst the fragile crisp hides the delightful salmon underneath.

The Alps is surrounded by some of the best rivers, lakes and streams where fly fishing is a major sport. Danube Salmon is a popular fish as is Brown and Rainbow Trout.

The salmon in this dish is just slightly charred or sealed, but along with the pumpkin, horseradish, apple and dill, provide explosions of pure freshness on the palate.

Third Course

TARTIFLETTE - Barbecue Broccoli with pickled walnut and Reblochon Cheese

Again, Chef Nico combines another two great Alipine Cuisine favourites - Tartiflette and Reblochon cheese. A traditional tartiflette is very similar to the raclette and fondue, but all the hard work is done. Potatoes, lardons, crème fraiche and Reblochon cheese are baked in the oven in a gratin casserole style dish.

Chef’s dish is a nod to the tartiflette. The potato gratin is well pressed and thin layers of soft potato with cheese and cream tastes sensational. The broccoli retains some crunch whilst the winners are the pickled walnuts and the HP like sauce.

Fourth Course

RISOTTO DU CROZETS - Hen of the woods mushroom, truffle and pesto bianco

Crozets are square-shaped wee pasta pieces made with buckwheat flour and you use this to make a croziflette which is the pasta with cream cheese baked as a gratin. Here Chef has played on this with a creamy risotto loaded with earthy tones, textures and tastes from the truffle and mushrooms.

Fifth Course

CHICKEN & PORK FARCON : Hispi Cabbage with Sauerkraut Ketchup and a Meat Sauce

A Farcement or Farcon is basically a potato loaf with bacon, dried fruit and spices and is one of the best known dishes from the of Savoie Mont Blanc’s specialities. The chicken has been wrapped in the bacon stripes and set which most definitely helped retain the moisture and the chicken is packed with flavour and succulent. The sauce is particularly good on this dish and delivers a deep beefy flavour.

Sixth Course

SNOWBALLS : Coconut & Pistachio Parfait with Passionfruit Caramel and Chargrilled Pineapple

I couldn’t wait for dessert. The snowballs were superb - just everything you want a dessert to be. Light, sweet but not overly so, a little pop and crunchy delivering the light fluffy cloud of taste. The orange globule is extremely tart and it’ll pull your cheeks together but it sits lush against the softness and fluffiness of the rest of the dish.

Another super six course menu from Six by Nico. A brilliant concept where Chef continues to knock it out the ball park!

Six by Nico, 97 Hanover St Edinburgh EH2 1DJ. Tel : 0131 225 5050 www.sixbynico.co.uk/edinburgh

My Spoon Award : Gold Spoon 9/10

I was invited by Six by Nicoto review their menu. Food was complimentary but the views are very much my own.