Ubiquitous Chip, Glasgow
The Auld Alliance is the alliance made between Scotland and France in 1294 to counter the English invasions.
The Ubiquitous Chip is the Auld Alliance in culinary terms, it is the best of the local Scottish produce with classic French cuisine.
The Chip ( as it is affectionately known) was started by Ronnie Clydesdale with his redundancy cheque and passion, he had no formal training so was not held back by convention and the status quo.
This was going to be an interesting visit, The Alfie Foodwala palette is a veteran of many spice-rich campaigns, will I be able to appreciate the delicate flavours of the Auld Alliance fine dining cuisine…. let’s find out
We started with an amuse bouche, a chilled Buffalo Tomato Gazpacho with a hint of Tobasco, it certainly set us up for the delights ahead.
Bobby Foodwala had very pleasant duck liver parfait
We started our fine dining journey with this Smoked Haddock Croquette with caramelised shallots and Potato Veloute , the potato veloute was a very imaginative take on Escoffier’s “mother sauce” and the Smoked Haddock croquette was well balanced and the smoked haddock did not overpower the other ingredients.
Bobby Foodwala kicked off with Barra Scallops with Leek and Potato Chowder with Dulce Jelly, The Scallops being such a delicate seafood, was pan-fried to perfection.
For the main event, you’ve truly had a Shetland Cod with Soubise and charred onion sauce, the soubise was perfectly cooked with the right proportion of Bechamel sauce and onions and was smooth and delicately flavored, the Cod was again pan fried with the meat being en pointe and the crispy skin placed on top.
Bobby Foodwala decided to play it safe and have his Christmas dinner early and have the traditional roast Turkey with trimmings and chipolatas and chip ale jus, by the looks of it he dug in with gusto and enjoyed every morsel.
Lastly, we arrived at my favorite event of the night, dessert. I chose the delightful Medjool date sponge with quenelle creme freche and caramelised pear and candied pecans. The Medjool Date sponge was light and delicately sweet and the pear was wonderfully al dente and the creme freche added to the different textures and flavours which all came together gloriously.
My Partner had the amazingly creamy Caledonian Ice Cream rolled in Honey Oats and the creaminess was offset by the tart mulled cherries.
The service was at times hurried, possibly they wanted to turn the table.
The Ubiquitous Chip was definitely a masterclass in fine French cooking techniques and the amazing Scottish larder, the food was sublime and even my palate which has been a veteran of many spicy campaigns managed to differentiate the subtlety and nuances of the food … I would definitely recommend.
Food –9 out of 10
Atmosphere – 9 out of 10
service – 8 out of 10
Cleanliness – 9 out of 10
total score – 35 out of 40