Franck Raymond's new Battersea restaurant to open in October
Franck Raymond is to open a new French bistro called Augustine Kitchen in Battersea this October.
The 60-cover restaurant, which is named after Raymond's grandmother, will serve French-style tapas and some more classic dishes, with a focus on produce from the Evian region where Raymond was born.
Raymond was formerly head chef at Mon Plaisir in Covent Garden, and prior to that worked in Geneva as head chef at Le Marignac for three years achieving two Michelin stars, before setting up his own restaurant Le Cheval Blanc in Evian.
He then sold up and moved to England where he worked for Marco Pierre White at the Oak Room and Titanic as executive sous chef, followed by a position as head pastry chef at Kensington Place before moving to Mon Plaisir in 2003.
Menu highlights include: cassolette of snails with garlic and parsley butter; French onion soup glazed with bleu de termignon and Reblochon and green apple fritters.
Mains will include: fillet of sea bream bouillabaisse; slow cooked pork shank with flageolets and sage jus and roast duck magret with spicy poached pear and timut pepper sauce.
Desserts will include: dark chocolate mousse with chocolate and caramel sauce and passion fruit sorbet; coconut floating island with lime and vanilla custard and rice pudding, pink pralines and pistachio.
Highlights from the tapas menu, available in the bar, will include: black pudding and apple tartelette; duck rillettes and reblochon and bacon gougères.
Some of the producers Raymond plans to use include charcuterie from Monsieur Colliard and fish from Monsieur Mouchet Anyhy sur Leman, a fourth generation fisherman.
The restaurant will be based on Raymond's own design, with rustic oak tables in the main restaurant area and mismatched, reclaimed wooden and marble tables in the bar area. The space will be lit with candles, and the artwork will depict images of Raymond's grandmother's recipes, as well as old black and white photographs of his family.
