The end is (hopefully) almost here. Barring further government U-turns, the British public can hope to be dining in restaurants and enjoying the company of friends and family under a new and exciting roof within three months.

For some missing the thrill of fine food, the clink of wine glasses, the intimacy of good company, and the feeling of being spoilt, three months still feels like a long way away. If you’ve a special occasion approaching and you want to go all-out, creating a fine dining meal at home with all the appropriate bells and whistles attached, then there are few things you can do to elevate your dinner from good to gastronomic. 

With that in mind, here are 5 tips for cooking a restaurant standard meal in lockdown.

LOCKDOWN LARDER

Any self-respecting restaurant worth its pink Himalayan salt doesn’t just nip down to the local Tesco Metro to source their ingredients. Nope, the provenance of the fresh produce has never been held in higher regard, with farmers and fishermen regularly getting name checked on modern day fine dining restaurant menus.

So, instead of relying on your local supermarket, make sure your lockdown larder is stocked with premium produce, particularly where protein, vegetables and fruit are concerned. 

You can find veg boxes of the highest, freshest quality from companies like Abel & Cole, Pale Green Dot and Natoora, who in more normal times are suppliers to some of the UK’s best restaurants. Due to hospitality’s ongoing shutdown, they have diversified their offering, with the public now able to get access to their fantastic produce via a few clicks of a button. 

The same thing has happened with butchers and fishmongers; you can buy meat online as well as fish from top suppliers usually reserved for the fine dining restaurants and top chefs of the country. Hell, even Waitrose have got in on the act, and have been selling top quality, MSC certified clams originally destined for the UK’s best eateries. 

For the ideal restaurant standard meal at home, you should first focus on sourcing the best produce you can get your hands on.

MISE EN PLACE

Once the shopping’s done, the hard part begins. Now, you actually have to cook it. Organisation, cleanliness and timing are key, and no chef gets very far in the industry without a keen grasp of all three. 

In the world of professional cooking, the term ‘mise en place’ is a mantra that all chefs live by. Though it translates from French roughly as ‘setting up’, as an ethos, it means so much more than that. 

To approach your meal prep in a way which produces restaurant like results, you need to work in a meticulous, precise way. To-do lists should be made, ingredients and tools collected ahead of time, and your slicing, chopping, marinating, mincing and the rest done in advance, too, in the most time-efficient manner possible. 

Then, everything is boxed up and put in its optimum position for ‘service’ – the salt is to the left of the stove, you’ve several tasting spoons in a tub of warm water, your pans are all lined up so their handles are facing the same way – making cooking as effortless as possible. Or rather, as effortless as it can be with twenty checks on the rail and a head chef demanding several simultaneously. Though your only critic will be your partner or family, you did say you wanted this to be restaurant standard, right?

Master this mindset and the delicious dinners will come. 

WOW-FACTOR FOOD

So you’ve honed your mindset and got some great suppliers on speed dial. Now, you need to figure out what you’re actually going to cook. Baked camembert, spag bol, and chocolate brownies this ain’t. We said restaurant standard, didn’t we, so you’re going to need to up your game where your menu writing is concerned.

As we mentioned earlier, it’s a good idea to let your produce dictate the menu. The trick, we think, is to pick one main, premium ingredient for each course – say a côte de boeuf or whole turbot – and build everything else around it with complementary sides and flavours. It’s the classiest way of doing things; allowing a carefully sourced main event to speak for itself with the supporting cast chosen thoughtfully and effortlessly. In the right hands, the rest writes itself. 

Restaurant dishes are usually surprisingly paired back, too. Rather than serving up several vegetable sides, as you would with a roast dinner, for instance, you should instead focus on just one or two vegetable elements which pair beautifully with the main event. Then, all you have to do is make a killer sauce (jus, gravy, reduction…call it what you like) and you have yourself a restaurant standard meal made!

FINE WINE-ING

If you’re going all-out with a gourmet meal – nibbles, starters, mains, desserts, cheeses and all – why not announce the arrival of each new course with a wine which will enhance its enjoyment? Because let’s face it, fine wine is all part of the restaurant experience, and when it’s paired aptly with the food, well, that’s pure alchemy right there.

If you’re keen to channel that in vogue, totally trendy London wine bar vibe, then check out our tips on how to create the IDEAL wine bar experience at home for more.

FINISH-AT-HOME BOXES

Hey, you know what would be more ‘restaurant standard’ than anything you could cook (not doing down your skills or anything) at home? 

Not having to cook at all. Because restaurants are all about sitting back and allowing your evening’s pleasure to be in the very capable hands of highly trained professionals. 

Sure, you could cook. But if you’re spending the entire evening staring at a flaccid soufflé praying it stands to attention, setting fire to a tea towel and yelling at your partner to disable the smoke alarm, it’s not exactly a fun experience for anyone. 

To truly create an ideal restaurant experience at home (and avoid the washing up) why not avail yourself of one of the many fantastic finish-at-home restaurant meal kits currently being offered by the UK’s top chefs? Check out this breakdown of some of the best to get inspired (perhaps not if you’re hungry, though!).