Fast food

IT CAN'T be easy producing a top-class restaurant meal in a train hurtling along the East Coast main line at up to 125mph. Noel Smith, however, seems to take it in his stride.

A tall, thin rake of a Wearsider with carroty hair and a ginger moustache, the on-train chef with GNER's plush new Mallard service to London is a man who clearly loves his job. His eyes gleam when he discusses the best way of cooking sugar snap peas or caramelising apples.

It amazes me he doesn't chop a finger off when preparing fresh veg. Some people, he admits, do suffer from motion sickness at first. "But I've been doing it that long, you don't notice," he says in a broad Wearside accent. "It's a bit like working on a boat. After a while, you find your legs."

Boats don't take bends at 125mph, however. There's one particular bend on the East Coast main line where the train does just that. "Everything in the kitchen goes whoosh!" says Noel, gesturing eloquently. "But you just get used to it."

Judging by the quality of the food he produces in his little kitchen, you must do.

Mallard is the name GNER is giving to the refurbished trains of its electric 225 fleet. In an ongoing £30 million project, all 302 carriages are being given a complete refit. Three complete trains, which ply the route down the East Coast from Scotland or Newcastle to Kings Cross, have already completed their refit, and work on the rest of the fleet should be finished late next year.

I've been invited to join the Mallard (the new service is named after the famous steam locomotive) for a journey to Kings Cross to check out the newly-refurbished train and try a three course meal in the dining car.

As is almost inevitable following such an invitation, Sod's Law comes into force. The train is supposed to leave York Station at 3.10pm. But it is delayed by problems at Skelton Bridge - a piece of masonry falling on the line, something out of GNER's control.

There is a 30-minute wait standing in the cold on Platform 3 before the train finally pulls in at 3.45pm. The delay only makes the warmth and luxury of the dining car all the more welcome.

GNER is clearly proud of its new-look trains. The refurbished carriages are brighter, cleaner, more spacious. There is a contemporary colour scheme, plus new carpets and a smart light wood veneer finish on tables. The seats are cloth-covered, contoured, soft, with improved back support and fold-up armrests; and passengers in standard class have an extra two inches of legroom.

There are also new power sockets in both first class and standard carriages for passengers to recharge mobiles and laptops, improved luggage storage and completely refitted toilets.

Then there is the dining car. When I arrive in out of the cold, the tables are laid with fresh white tablecloths, gleaming cutlery and sparkling wine glasses. The car is bright, the luxuriously upholstered reclining seats comfortable - and the menu adventurous.

GNER first launched its GO EAT menus a couple of years ago, and they have been refined since. They now feature a range of dishes designed by the head chefs at award-winning hotels along the route of the East Coast main line - chefs such as Trevor Brooks of the Kinnaird Estate in Perthshire, and the McCoy brothers of the Cleveland Tontine Hotel at Staddlebridge, North Yorkshire

Chefs such as Noel, however, actually prepare the meals.

The menu on my journey includes the likes of parsnip soup for starters; pan-fried halibut on a bed of turned vegetables or spinach and ricotta pastry for main courses; and peach schnapps trifle for dessert.

Noel, who had years of experience as a hotel chef before joining GNER, proves an excellent cook. He serves up a foie gras pate for starters - a delicious, creamy pate accompanied by soft brie cheese, all wrapped in parma ham and served with warm brioche toast, a perfect appetiser.

That is followed by a chicken casserole - succulent breast, leg and thigh of chicken in a delicate sauce served on delicious garlic mash, and accompanied by those sugar snap peas and wonderful dauphinoise potatoes.

I have a glass of excellent 'house' chardonnay - fruity and smooth - to accompany the meal, and round it off with the peach schnapps trifle, which proves to have a real kick.

It's a meal as good as you'd get in many restaurants, in surroundings that are pleasing and elegant: a sure way to make the regular commute to London pass in a flash.

Expensive, though. My three-course meal, had I paid for it, would have set me back £31, including wine.

That's a lot of money. For passengers on a budget, however - normally me - there are also GO EAT menus in the buffet car. That has also been refurbished and, for anyone brought up in the days of British Rail, the selection of snacks and hot and cold sandwiches is breathtaking. Scrambled egg and red Leicester ciabatta, anyone? Or how about Wensleydale, spinach and autumn fruit chutney in a rosemary and raisin roll?

All we need now is trains that run on time. Over to you, Network Rail.

Three Mallard services run in each direction each day between London and the north. For times, check the GNER website, www.gner.co.uk

Updated: 09:30 Saturday, March 13, 2004