This is a rock

There's quite a lot of interesting psychology behind how people read menus and how clever menu design can influence or increase diners' orders, however one trend I can't get my head around is restaurants that simply list the ingredients of  a dish. A cassoulet might, for example, become 'pork, duck confit, haricot beans'.

I can't help feeling it rather misses the point. Where's the connection? The cooking method? The culinary influences? The evocative turn of phrase that makes me want this dish? Admittedly some menus go too far in the opposite direction, seasoning their menus with adjectives as if they were Maldon salt flakes, but surely a happy medium is the way to go?

The menu at Bilson's Restaurant, where I sampled the L'omnivore Grand degustation last week, was a case in point - 'baby carrot, calamari, ink, macadamia, cocoa' read one description; 'polenta, zucchini, Parmesan, hazlenut' read another; 'marscapone, beetroot, orange, white sesame' was the sum total of a third.

Okaaay, but what exactly will I be eating?

The answer, it quickly became apparent, was 'soil', 'rocks', 'foam', 'gel', 'powder', 'air' and any number of 'smears'. The single most substantial item in the whole 10-course menu was a solitary quail breast. Moist, delicious and beautifully cooked, but demolished in two bites.

I'm not singling Bilson's out for special attention; I've been to half a dozen other restaurants recently where a chemistry set is obviously part of their regular mis en place. Why simply emulsify a sauce when, with the help of maltodrexin, you can turn it into a powder?

Nor am I saying that such feats of culinary wizardry are all bad (have I mentioned my big foodie crush on Heston Blumenthal?), but they are definitely over-used, and I'm prepared to hazard a guess, the reason why some menus have been pared back so far. Just look at the amount of inverted commas I've used in this blog post - I'd have to use all those and more to rewrite Bilson's menu to adequately describe the dishes on there.

I'd like to see the pendulum swing back from so-called molecular gastronomy to food where beautiful, fresh, seasonal produce is allowed to take centre stage. It's already starting to happen but not fast enough for my liking.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a rock-free, soil-free, smear-free meal to prepare. Bon appetit.