We try out the take out from Bedford Corner’s Darçau

I was faced with what was for me an unusual dilemma. There was a rare line up of very watchable TV beginning with Oz & James Big Wine Adventure (wine buff Oz and Chiswick’s unrepentant beer drinker James May are creating an excellent British version of Sideways travelling across California in this series) but I had promised to have a romantic dinner with my husband.

Whilst walking home considering my excuses (wanting to watch TV was insufficient on this occasion), I found myself outside Bedford Corner’s Darçau and realised that within was an excellent solution.

I met the proprietors Franck Dardenne and Patrice Cauchard back in May when the premises were the shell of the former Copper Kettle. Both born and bred in Normandy, the two friends have lived locally for over 25 years and were delighted when the opportunity to acquire the Chiswick site arose.

With the intention of operating ‘Darçau on the Green’ as a traditional French 'traiteur', Franck and Patrice finally opened for business after a lengthy refurbishment in the late summer.

I had hoped that their bespoke rotisserie would have been in operation by now but apparent issues with Ealing’s planning department have put it on hold. So with flame roasted meat off the menu, I opted for a starter of aubergines stuffed with red peppers, asparagus and topped with goat’s cheese followed by a main course of duck confit with a white bean ragu and portions of ratatouille and roast Mediterranean salad. With a traditional baguette throw in for good measure, the bill for the take out came to £26.60.

When it came to dinner time, I gently heated the aubergines and duck in the oven following instructions from Franck. We were both impressed with the duck confit but underwhelmed with the stuffed aubergines particularly the goats cheese however; the ratatouille and roasted vegetables went some way to make up for this.

So is Darçau top of the take aways? We both felt that the food would have been much better had it been bought freshly made and eaten immediately which of course is the general idea of a take away. Saying that, it was hardly taxing heating the dishes in the oven and with a bottle of French red left over from summer holidays, it was an enjoyable meal.

Darcu is clearly proving popular with locals and was doing a good lunch trade when I visited. I am also reliably informed by a connoisseur of local coffee houses that Franck and Patrice’s is really rather good.

A catering service is available, for details see ChiswickW4.com’s eating in guide here.

Emma Brophy

November 2, 2007