I knew the Williamses were going to serve a slew of winners in London in late June, but I was thinking Serena and Venus, not Alyn, Nicole and David. Alyn Williams, formerly a top chef for the likes of Marcus Wareing and Gordon Ramsey, will soon be a top chef for, well, Alyn Williams. Nicole and David Williams are the intrepid and well financed diners who, with fork in one hand and scalpel in the other, produce the restaurant review blog  The Critical Couple.

As patrons of the culinary arts Nicole and David champion the chefs they admire not only through their blog but also by hosting extravagant chef’s dinner parties. At their salon of gourmands the critical Williamses open the kitchen of their London flat to a guest chef and fill their dining room with an appreciative audience of chefs, food professionals and passionate diners. The 26 June salon featured three top London’s top chefs, only one of whom was sweating: Alyn Williams, cooking for Pierre Koffman and Bruno Loubet. I too felt considerable pressure, occupying a hot seat next to Koffman and across from Loubet, and I had little to do other than toss out the occasional bon mot between sips of 2000 Dom Perignon Rosé and the 40-year old Glenfarclas Scotch whisky.

The ideas of Alyn Williams as represented by his tasting dinner looked great, on the menu as well as on the plate. But when he was at his best, as with his garden terrarium of snails, carrot, chickweed, Umbrian truffles and chopped peas with a soil of trompette de la mort mushrooms and crumbled malt flour, the most lasting impression was left by what was felt but not seen – the fresh, clean interaction of flavours inside your mouth.

What he failed to master chez Critical Couple was the difficult balancing act of being inventive and exciting without forgetting who the stars of his eight-course programme were. When a chef is practically littering his menu with luxurious ingredients like langoustines, scallops, caviar, turbot and foie gras his first objective must be to show them off to best advantage. As nifty and refreshing an idea as a foie gras semifreddo might have seemed, squeezed with Sauternes jelly through the tip of a pastry bag and melted in your mouth, throwing on lime curd and lime tapioca as accessories served mostly the chef’s interests, not those of the foie gras. Or this diner’s. The tartness made me wince.

The chef loosened up and so did his diners with the arrival of his suckling pig barbecue ensemble featuring golden corn dogs (here puffy balls of cornmeal-battered pork), po’ boys (mini sandwiches on adorable seeded brioche buns baked for the occasion), corn on the cob, cole slaw and a magical potato purée returned to its jacket and destined for fame. The enthusiasm around the table soared. Both Loubet and Koffman smiled. These days nothing pleases so much as trickle-up gastronomics.
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AW’s BBQ showstopper made a statement about the easy appeal of barbecue as both a set of flavours and a style of summertime eating. It also spoke to the talents of a chef with the power not just to impress and but also to delight. I’ll be looking for that winning combination when Alyn Williams at the Westbury opens in September.