Born into one of the world's greatest dynasty of chefs, it comes as no surprise that Emily Roux's passion for food has been since day one. Daughter of Michel Roux, Emily's heritage is intertwined with a love for sharing food with nearest and dearest around the table. "The French heritage and the Italian heritage, because my husband's Italian, are quite similar like that. Family eating around the table is so incredibly important."
Another fundamental the two culinary heritages share is letting the ingredients speak for themselves. "It's not so much about elaborate dishes, it's dishes that you know will be cooking in a pot or in the oven for several hours. Yet there's only a few ingredients inside. That's a lot of what we try to do at Caractère, we let the ingredients speak for themselves."
Caractère, open since October 2018, is the passion project of Emily and her husband Diego Ferrari. The pair met working in Monaco at Alain Ducasse’s three Michelin starred restaurant, Le Louis XV. Both are trained in classic French fine dining, however Caractère has a strong Italian influence too. The pared back approach combined with the skill and expertise of the two chefs and the team behind them, earned them their first Michelin star in February of last year. We arrive at Notting Hill on a Thursday evening to try it for ourselves. Today, Notting Hill is somewhat of a hub for Michelin stars, Core by Clare Smyth, The Ledbury, and Dorian just a stone’s throw away. However, Caractère differs from some of its fellow Michelin-approved neighbours. It has character. In fact, it's full of it.
To begin, Emily believes that in order for her customers to be in "the most happiest form", they should have a choice. Not only does the restaurant offer an à la carte, the tasting menu has a build-your-own template to it. Of course, this means a lot of extra work for the entire team, but Emily has a solid argument for it. "For me personally, when I dine out I find it a bit tricky to have a full menu imposed on me. Although I eat everything and don't have any allergies, I just like to choose and so that's what we did at Caractère... I think it's really enjoyable to be able to choose, even on five courses." And so, Carla and I enjoyed two entirely different tasting menus, including wine pairings, from start to finish.
The meal starts with a playful array of amuse bouche. An arrangement of crackers come presented as a miniature ice-cream cone and a skeleton of a fish. These would guarantee a like or two on an Instagram story, the seaweed tartlet however, provides the taste. Filled with wasabi, smoked salmon and topped with trout caviar it is an explosion of heat, umami, and saltiness that can only be crafted by a well-seasoned chef. Here, playfulness is not to be mistaken for gimmick. The wasabi is naturally gluten-free, confirming its quality as high and pure, derived solely from the Wasabia japonica plant.
In keeping with the playful theme, the tasting menu does not follow the menu format as we know it. Instead, each course is given a character trait, an extension of the restaurant's name. The dishes are designed with too much personality to fit into the confines of a starter, main, and dessert. Not only that, but the journey of dispositions is something for the diner to relate to, as Emily reflects, “I think they're character traits that most of us have in us at some point during the day or during our lives." As for the name of the restaurant? “Caractère comes from the word character in French, and in French you would say he's got a lot of character, meaning someone's stubborn. My husband and I are both extremely stubborn, so we thought let's put it on the front door and say that from the get-go."
The courses begin with Curious, an option between Roast Orkney Scallop and Balfegó Bluefin Tuna tartare. I opt for the scallop, tender and fluffy on a bed of a velvety compote of black truffle. Sweet meets savoury, light meets indulgent. The beurre noisette was poured elegantly over at the table. Meanwhile, Carla was served her tuna, with what appeared to be a beautiful miniature flower-bed on top. Pickled and fresh black raddish sat atop the fresh tartare with homemade mandarin ponzu. As our plates were brought down, the Head Sommelier, Marco Nardi, an exquisite storyteller with an encyclopedic knowledge of grapes, spoke us through the rare Bordeaux blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, nothing short of magnificent.
What followed was Subtle, the course which offers the highly-revered Celeriac "cacio e pepe". In a brave move, pasta is replaced with a root vegetable, and a controversial one at that. Emily's vision was to prove that celeriac is worth adding to your basket, that is if you can find it in the supermarket. "The celeriac "cacio e pepe" really shows what you can do with this root vegetable. It's a super simple dish but it really delivers. It brings out the best of this root vegetable that not many people like." The vegetable creates an al-dente texture that gives the beloved carb a run for its money. In fact, the ribbons of celeriac have secured this traditional Italian dish onto the menu as a staple. Served with a luxuriously creamy, peppery sauce, the waiter arrives with a pipette of balsamic vinegar aged for twenty years, adding drops of subtle sharpness that cuts through the richness, with a bright, sweet lift.
It is exactly this sort of creativity that proves Caractère is very much on its own path from Le Gavroche, something Emily admits took time to prove. "I think now though, after eight years, we've properly established our own name. Some people don't know at all about the history of my family so that's even more beautiful. I think it's only normal that people have a preconception of what they're going to eat when I've got such a name, but I think today people have understood that it's our own thing."
The third course is aptly named Delicate. I opt for the steamed cod, cooked so gently it is left with an almost silky texture. It acts as the canvas for the buerre blanc, allowing the classic French butter sauce to work its magic. Arriving with an arrangement of stuffed mussels and white asparagus on the side, this dish is a prime exemplar of the classical French cooking that both Emily and Diego are so well-versed on, where she admits they "come together on those foundations, the great sauces, bold tastes and flavours with a solid cooking technique."
Having said that, she goes on to say that the pair "have both travelled a lot and worked in different countries in Asia and and there's certain little bits that we love to use in our cooking and think that it embellishes certain dishes." The maitake mushrooms, a prized part of East Asian cuisine, that sit alongside the roast venison give a subtle nod to those travels.
In a humble, light-hearted manner that seems to be typical of a Roux, Emily admits that "food is serious but we're not saving lives either. We're allowed a bit of fun." The tongue-in-cheek name of the dessert course proves it. Finally, we arrive at Greedy. The 75% Peruvian dark chocolate, combined with Italy's elevated nutella, gianduja, and salted caramel is layer upon layer of pure indulgence- everything a dessert should be. Doing its name justice, we devoured the course and left the plates clean.
When asked what's next, Emily responds "another star I think". Followed by a hopeful "onwards and upwards!" With one already secured, the ambition for more feels not only justified but, in our opinion, only a matter of time. Caractère is a restaurant built on heritage, experience, precision and playfulness. What Emily Roux and Diego Ferrari have created in Notting Hill is not simply an extension of a famed lineage, but an expression of their own characters, and a very impressive one at that.
Bookings available at caractererestaurant.com.
