Less than a year and a half into his tenure as executive chef at Thirty Six, Nigel Mendham is earning rave reviews for his “classically modern” fare.

Mendham joined the team at Dukes London’s signature eatery in the summer of 2011, gearing up for the August 2011 launch of Thirty Six. Often described as “a bright talent,” Mendham’s accomplishments include earning two Michelin stars. His career highlights feature stints at notable U.K. properties including Samling Hotel in Cumbria, Lygon Arms Hotel in Broadway, South Lodge Country House Hotel in Sussex and Stapleford Park Country House Hotel in Leicestershire.

Mendham describes his cuisine as “modern British with a classical twist,” focusing on a concentration of flavors and showcasing the best local produce available.

Warm artichoke salad Serves 4

For the purée:
8 ounces Jerusalem artichokes
4 ounces unsalted butter
14 ounces vegetable stock
4 ounces heavy cream
Lemon juice, for water
Salt, to taste
Peel the Jerusalem artichokes and place them in lemon-infused water. Foam the butter in a heavy-gauge pan. Remove the Jerusalem artichokes from the water, chop and add them to the butter. Add salt to taste, cover and cook over a low heat until soft. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the liquid by half. Add heavy cream and return to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat. Blend until smooth, check seasoning and set aside.
For the artichoke salad:
3 globe artichokes
White peppercorns, to taste
1 sprig fresh thyme
Lemon juice, for water and seasoning
Salt, to taste
8 ounces Jerusalem artichokes, peeled
8 ounces wild mushrooms, cleaned
Remove the outer leaves and stalk from the globe artichokes. Trim away any excess leaves and remove the center; place in lemon water. Bring a pan of water to a boil. Add a few white peppercorns, a sprig of thyme, lemon juice and salt. Add the Jerusalem and globe artichokes. Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the artichokes to cool in the liquid. When the artichokes are cold, remove them from the water, cut into pieces and set aside.
When ready to serve, sauté the artichokes and wild mushrooms together, and warm the purée.
PRESENTATION: Spoon the purée onto the plate and place the artichokes and mushrooms on top.

Ham hock terrine with flavors of fresh peas Serves 4–6

For the ham stock:
2 ham hocks
1 onion
1 leek
2 carrots
6 white peppercorns
1 sprig fresh thyme
Soak ham hocks in water for 24 hours; rinse. Place the hocks in a pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Drain the water. Add fresh water, vegetables, peppercorns and thyme. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 to 3 hours. Remove the hocks from the stock. Remove the meat from the bones and set aside. Strain the cooking liquid; return to heat and reduce to 1 pint of ham stock.
For the terrine:
Reserved meat from ham hocks
8 ounces sautéed button onions
2 ounces blanched flat-leaf parsley
6 ounces sautéed wild mushrooms
1 pint ham stock
4 leaves soaked gelatin
Combine all ingredients. Mix gently and set into a terrine mold. Chill until set.
For the pea purée:
7 ounces peas
5 ounces vegetable stock
Salt, to taste
5 ounces spinach
4 ounces beurre noisette (brown butter)
Combine peas and vegetable stock in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Add salt to taste. Add spinach and cook until soft. Blend with buerre noisette until smooth. Set aside to chill.
For the pea panna cotta:
7 ounces whipping cream
2 ounces milk
1 ounce agar agar
4 ounces pea purée
Combine cream and milk in a saucepan; bring to a simmer. Whisk in the agar agar. Increase heat and boil for 2 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. Add pea purée. Set aside to chill.
For the pea mousse:
1 leaf gelatin
1 tablespoon white wine
5 tablespoons whipping cream
9 ounces pea purée
Salt, to taste
Lemon juice
Soak gelatin according to package instructions. In a saucepan, warm the white wine and add the gelatin. Whip the cream to soft peaks. Add the gelatin mixture to the pea purée. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Season to taste with salt and lemon juice.
For the garnish:
Pea shoots
Deep-fried quail eggs
PRESENTATION: Place portions of terrine, pea panna cotta and pea mousse on each plate. Garnish with pea shoots and deep-fried quail eggs.

Vanilla cream-filled doughnuts with iced raspberries Serves 4–6

Vanilla cream-filled doughnuts with iced raspberries © Dukes London

For the iced raspberries:
3½ ounces double cream
2 ounces caster sugar
1 tablespoon water
3 egg yolks
1 pound raspberries
1 tablespoon raspberry liqueur
Frothy milk, as topping
Whip the cream to soft peaks and keep chilled until ready to use. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan. Heat to the soft-ball stage (250 degrees). Whisk egg yolks to ribbon stage. (Heat up mixing bowl first with hot water.) Add the soft-ball sugar to the egg yolks and keep whisking until the bowl is cold. Fold in the soft-peak cream. Fold in the raspberries and raspberry liqueur. Spoon the mixture into semi-freddo cups. Set in freezer. When ready to serve, top the cups with frothy milk.
For the vanilla cream:
8 ounces milk
2 ounces sugar
Zest of ½ lemon
½ vanilla pod, scraped
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 ounce corn flour
Combine the milk, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla in a pan. Whisk the eggs, egg yolk and corn flour together. Incorporate half of the milk mixture into the eggs, then return the mixture to the rest of the milk. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is thick and bubbly.
For the doughnuts:
7 ounces strong white flour
Pinch salt
1 ounce yeast
1 ounce sugar
1 ounce butter
3½ ounces warm water
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix with a dough hook for 5 minutes. Place plastic wrap over the bowl and set aside for 30 minutes (until the mixture doubles in size). Knead the dough for 3 minutes. Roll the dough out on a pastry board and use a doughnut cutter to cut individual doughnut shapes. Chill the uncooked doughnuts in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
PRESENTATION: Cook the doughnuts at 350 degrees until they are golden brown. Using a pastry bag, fill each doughnut with vanilla cream. Roll the doughnuts in caster sugar. Serve with iced raspberries.

Thirty Six

Dukes London
St. James’s Place
London SW1A 1NY
United Kingdom
tel 207 491 4840
dukeshotel.com