This week, thanks toTwitter, the Monday Supper Club was born. Twitter is often decried as the epitome of all evil, where trolls lurk and insults and cruel words are traded. I mostly follow other food lovers and I am neither interesting nor controversial enough to attract attention and so, on the whole, it works for me. And so it was that I spotted a tweet about the chef’s table at Marcus at the Berkeley. Marcus, of course, being old blue eyes himself, Marcus Waring, much loved and feared Masterchef host and holder of two Michelin stars.
Sadly, there’s no guarantee that Marcus will be there personally,to smoke your eggs or quenelle your ice cream. What you are guaranteed, however, is a beautiful five course meal, over looking the pass, at just £69. Oh, and you get to take a little bit of Marcus home, in his new book, Home Cooking. The caveat is it’s only available Mondays and Tuesdays.
The table takes up to 10, which might be a bit snug, we were six. My fearless food tribe and I wining and dining in the spite of Monday.
The space is lovely; the kitchen as still and peaceful as a chapel. The main dining room is beautiful but it’s all very hushed, fine dining in a very, very expensive hotel. The chef table, however, feels so much less formal. We are seated and introduced to Jack and Eve at the pass by Tara who takes excellent care of us all night.
We allow PC to take control of wine and he makes excellent, if expensive, choices. We start with a glass of house champagne, we are quite giddy with excitement.
Snacks arrive, tiny cones, wafer thin, filled with foie gras, topped with salty chicken skin popcorn. They burst as our teeth crack the cone, the sweet, rich flavours ending all too quickly.
Next is vegan fish and chips, what is actually in this, I have no idea. It’s quite brilliant, delicate salty puffed rice with creaminess and a sharp, acidic tang of vinegar which, we all know, is what makes chips impossible to resist, once we catch a whiff of it.
Jack talks us through a beautiful starter of asparagus, nettle pesto and baconaise, yes baconaise, which is basically, you’ve guessed it, a very moreish bacon hollandaise, topped with a crispy sliver of crunchy salty pigs cheek. All of this is dusted with charred onion powder, adding a touch of bitterness, and confit egg yolk. The pesto is zingy, fresh, it tastes of outside, of fresh summer fields and everything on the plate plays so well together. 
Next is the stand out dish for me, it’s perfect in every way. Halibut is perfectly cooked, the top just caramelised to sweet, crisp perfection. It’s plated with fennel, dill and onion. It manages the perfect balance of delicate,yet intense, flavours. From the fresh, vivid wild garlic veloute to the tiny burst of pickled halibut and the smooth fennel, and zing of pickled shallot. An absolute triumph.
Jersey Royals lathered in butter, with some good salt and,maybe, some mint are one of the nicest things you can eat. But here the bar was lifted, served with a Tunworth custard, Parmesan twill and garlic crisp. The custard is unctuous, cheesy, comforting. The gentle hum of garlic warming. This is a very, very good comfort dish, I just need to figure out how to get Jack to come home with me and make me this on cold Sundays.
Our main dish is Galloway beef fillet with peas and smoked bone marrow. The beef is charred outside and slowly cooked for, if I remember, something crazy, like 35 hours; it is perfection. The slight smokey, charred umami is in stunning contrast to the tiny sweet peas and pea purée. A piquant chimichurri with jalapeño elevates and sings in my mouth. Served at the table is a glossy, richly divine mustard sauce. 
To call it pre dessert makes it sound secondary to the finale and that would be both unkind and untrue. Tiny wild strawberries were reminiscent of my childhood, served with a vanilla yoghurt, gentle enough not to lose the strawberries, and an incredible strawberry parfait with malt crumb made us smile as we ate it.
We finish with Marcus’s take on a snickers bar. Milk chocolate nougat with toffee and peanuts, so unctuous and rich the only sounds in the dining room were our spoons scraping the plates. It’s insanely good.
A final treat is a light as air, tangy Jaffa cake. 
A truly wonderful evening with great friends and stunning service. We left, cookbooks in hand, making plans for the next Monday Supper Club. Highly recommended.