William Drabble to double up at Althoff St. James’s Hotel & Club
Opening at the end of this month, Francatelli’s takes its name from Charles Elmé Francatelli, the author of the 1846 cookbook The Modern Cook, who Drabble cites as being one of his culinary idols.
Francatelli’s will bring to life modern interpretations of 19th-century dishes with a menu that draws inspiration from Francatelli, a British chef who served as the chief chef at St. James’s Club (then known as Crockford’s Club, located at 50 St. James’s) and later became Queen Victoria’s head chef.
Drabble’s à la carte menu will feature dishes ‘that evoke the Victorian era’ while supporting small farms and producers. Starters will include scotch broth, a recipe by Francatelli, combining root vegetables with mutton, while mains will be dishes such as shepherd’s pie; and fried fillets of plaice with tartar sauce.
For dessert will be an amaretto-glazed filbert cream tart; homemade ice cream and sorbets served in an ice cream cone referred to as Francatelli’s gauffres. They will be adapted from a recipe in The Modern Cook that contains one of the earliest known illustrations of ice cream cones.
“Charles Francatelli has been an icon to me for a long time and I am excited to be introducing his wonderful, classic dishes back to Seven Park Place,” says Drabble.
“The new menu allows us to honour and celebrate the paired-back brilliance of the 1800s and Francatelli’s recipes included in The Modern Cook, as well as the history of St. James’s Hotel & Club.”
Established in 1857, Althoff St. James’s Hotel & Club was initially founded as both a hotel and a private members club.
Francatelli’s will open on 29 February.
