Minute on the clock: Mike Reid, culinary director of Rare Restaurants

The culinary director of Rare Restaurants has created a six-course Symphony Experience menu at M Canary Wharf in London, where music accompanies every dish

Tell us a little bit about the new Symphony Experience at M Canary Wharf – how long has it been in the making?

Our six-course journey through the senses is a foodie’s playground – it’s for the foodie who wants to do something different and be taken on a journey and have an experience like no other. We started working on it in spring 2022 when we were halfway through the build of our Canary Wharf site, where we were installing Bang & Olufsen speakers. We had numerous chats with their guys about the technology and I always wanted to do something around food and music because they’re two of my biggest passions in life.

Why was music so important to the project?

I wanted to create something sensory – what happens if you take away sight or add sound and different music to different courses? I started playing around with menus and exploring how music and different senses interacted with each course and the experience of the diner.

The menu was halfway there and then I approached Woody [Cook – the son of DJ Fat Boy Slim] after I met him on the ITV show Cooking With the Stars and asked him to help. He’s a genius and takes after his dad – music-wise he hears things others don’t.

 

 

 

“The fourth course is Blackmore wagyu sirloin with a charcoal rub, where Woody has created a ‘rave’ playlist”

What are some of your favourite music and food pairings from the menu?

The fourth course is Blackmore wagyu sirloin with a charcoal rub, where Woody has created a ‘rave’ playlist. The room is plunged into darkness and blue lights come on to replicate the feeling of being in a club.

After that there is a blue cheese course paired with blues music, which brings the tone down after the heavy dance track before and is the beginning of the wind-down before dessert. This course is probably my favourite flavour pairing, where Johnnie Walker Blue Label accompanies blue cheese and a warm brioche. I turn the blue cheese into an ice-cream, which takes the punch out and the coolness counteracts the peatyness of the whisky.

Are there any other surprises?

For the course of pine-smoked venison tartare we set the table on fire – it’s the biggest show of the evening in terms of sensory experience and forces you to be present in the room. I wanted to transport guests into a forest, instantly smelling the pine and hearing and seeing the crackle of woodchips and pine. It’s different – it’s not just a smoke cloche and a bit of pine scent.

Why should chefs consider all the senses when creating a menu?

We don’t understand how reliant we are on our senses until one is taken away, so I encourage every chef to try it when they create their food. We use our sight for presentation, which is why we spend time making things look pretty, but if the flavour is incredible it shouldn’t matter if you can’t see what you’re eating. And if there’s loud music it cuts out all other distractions so everything is concentrated on your palate and your other senses.