Last Updated on January 9, 2026
An intimate affair with white truffles at the Lansdowne Club
London’s members’ clubs are grand yet discreet enclaves of polished manners and quiet privilege that seem to exist in a time warp of elegance and latter-day etiquette. Part of a secret London seldom mentioned in tourist guides, they offer a glimpse into a world that still values understatement over spectacle. Celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, the Lansdowne Club epitomises this rarified realm, blending Georgian grace with Art Deco flair. So when an invitation arrived to learn about white truffles from Executive Chef Henry Brosi within its storied walls, it was an opportunity not to be missed.
The Lansdowne Club, with its peculiar fusion of Robert Adam’s Georgian grandeur and 1930s Art Deco swagger, manages to be both stately and seductive; the sort of place where one half expects to see a ghostly diplomat still nursing a whisky after negotiating the Treaty of Paris, which was famously signed in the Club’s Round Room.
The marble halls and mirrored ceilings of the Lansdowne Club somehow never descend into pomposity. That’s perhaps thanks to an emphasis on sport (the club boasts a gym, stunning indoor pool, squash courts and a fencing salle d’arme) and a remarkably forward-thinking membership policy – unique from its inception in 1935, admitting both men and women on equal terms.
Or perhaps it’s the heritage of previous occupants – this was the home of American retail magnate Harry Gordon Selfridge. It was here, amid gilded mirrors and marble halls, that Selfridge entertained London society, often in the company of the Dolly Sisters, the glamorous Hungarian-born showgirl twins whose beauty and extravagance captivated him. Their high-living romance symbolised Selfridge’s own decline: as he lavished gifts and parties upon them within the stately rooms of Lansdowne House, his once-vast fortune ebbed away.
Henry Brosi, the Executive Head Chef, joined the Lansdowne Club from The Dorchester, where he was Executive Chef for over two decades. In the intimate and exclusive setting of the Lansdowne Club, he told us that he can get to know regular diners, accommodate their personal tastes and manage a kitchen that delivers dishes that fuse technical finesse with a respect for seasonal British and European produce. For example, the scallops we enjoyed, hand-dived from the Orkney Isles, come from a small supplier that only sells to a handful of top-end restaurants. His masterclasses reflect this love of the personal, with a maximum of just four guests at each event.
Starting with a Buck’s Fizz breakfast, we learned more about plans for the day. The classes run from 10am to 4pm, but there’s plenty of ‘downtime’ for breakfast at the start, followed by a five-course lunch with wine pairing at the end. They are generally held on Saturdays in the Landsdowne Club’s restaurant kitchen. Some of the themes are seasonal (white truffle, green asparagus, British shellfish etc.) while others can run throughout the year (pasta making, British vs Wagyu cuts of beef etc.). Priced between £350 and £450 per person (depending on the ingredients being used), they offer a unique insight into the running of a top quality professional kitchen, and some excellent food to enjoy!
Our white truffle masterclass involved working with a beautiful example of Tuber magnatum Pico, carefully preserved for its short shelf live (about 3 days) on rice to keep it dry and under a glass dome. Making risotto, the first dish on the agenda for our class, we all learnt a few tricks. Brosi laces his risotto with tallegio, giving it a rich, creamy texture that was perfect with the white truffle topping. He recommends Gavi di Gavi as the base wine and insists on a homemade stock. The end result was topped with generous shavings of truffle, and standing around in the kitchen, it was hard not to indulge in yet another spoonful!
The second dish, Taglioni with white truffles, involved making a white wine and stock reduction, then adding butter to make a butter sauce. Once the fresh pasta was cooked, we whisked in mascarpone and parmesan. The pasta, with more butter, was then tossed into the butter sauce, the whole dish served, garnished with parmesan shavings, microherbs and of course, yet more white truffle.
Lunch was a showcase not just of the white truffles but also of the kitchen’s ethos and skill. We started with a mushroom tartlet made from Feuille de Brick, maple and bacon jam, hen of the woods, pickled shimeji and, of course, white truffles. The pairing of St Clair Sauvignon Blanc ‘Pioneer Block 3, Marlborough 2021 was delicious, with a fresh, vibrant palate and notes of gooseberry and blackcurrant.
Next, the white truffle risotto we’d learnt to make earlier, with crisp chicken skin, beurre blanc and aged balsamic, all topped with a plump and juicy hand-dived Orkney scallop. The perfectly caramelised crust and a translucent centre were textbook stuff, an elegant finish for the dish. The wine pairing, a Bourgogne Chardonnay, Domaine Rene Monnier 2021, was rounded and creamy from long ageing on the lees, an elegant wine with notes of citrus, peach and pear.
Yorkshire black olive-fed fillet of Wagyu beef was served with wild mushroom, beef cheek fritter, anis-flavoured carrot puree, winter vegetables, fondant potatoes, grilled lettuce heart and claret jus. Gentle reader, this was a fabulous plate of food that could have been served in any Michelin-starred dining room, with the perfectly seared, pink through beef fillet accompanied by an earthy, autumnal selection of vegetables. The pairing with a 2019 Barolo DOCG, Beni di Batasiolo, was perhaps my favourite of the meal – albeit probably thanks to my own father’s preference for a Barolo over any French wine!
Mango and basil sorbet with passion fruit espuma was a light and refreshing pre-dessert, quickly followed by a chocolate-fest in the form of chocolate and salted caramel mousse, coffee ice-cream and Greek yoghurt. Served with my own favourite port, Taylor’s Late Bottled Vintage 2019, the meal was almost at an end.
But not until the showcase ‘chocolate art’ – a fabulous and decadent chocolate truffle tree that would have been worthy of Harry Selfridge himself – served with coffee of our choice (an Americano for me, double espressos for the rest of the table).
If you like taking part in cookery classes, you won’t be disappointed by the events at the Lansdowne Club. But the class is only a small part of the experience; you will also enjoy breakfast and a fabulous five-course lunch with paired wines. Open to members and non-members (subject to availability), this is a fantastic opportunity to experience one of London’s best-kept secrets – the Lansdowne Club.
The Lansdowne Club
9 Fitzmaurice Place
Mayfair
London W1J 5JD
For more about the Cookery Masterclasses, please contact Functions@lansdowneclub.com
Looking for something different? Check our review of Sunday Lunch at the Goring Hotel
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