Andy Lynes

"On behalf of egullet I would like to say thanks to Mark Bittman for participating in the Q&A. We all hope that Mark will continue his participation on egullet and look forward to hearing more from him. THanks Mark!" Winners are: Snowangel pixelchef tim d cew Please PM Monica Bhide with you address information to receive a copy of Mark's latest book Thanks

Who is Chrissie Iley? Also, feel free to tell the long story, although I get the feeling that it would be more interesting we're it the other way around i.e. you were trying to get your hands on Mr Rayners sausage (I'm sorry. It's Friday afternoon and I'm a tad bored) .

Difficult as it may be to imagine, I danced most of my wedding night away (I was so much thinner then, I'm fatter than that now), so these comments don't strictly apply.

Bollocks. Nice to see a well reasoned counter-arguement. Its what eGullet has become famous for.

I call an end to this. I thank you.

Thats funny, I looked it up and it said "A person unlikely to rise to obvious baiting".

How poetic Simon Majumdar : everyday and in everway helping to strengthen chef/client relationship. Read it here (only?) on eGullet.com

I set 'em up....

I have more inclination than skill, I can assure you.

Just booked in for lunch in early June and requested a window table. I was fully prepared for the reply to be "we'll see what we can do for you, but I can't guarantee anything, those tables a re very popular" which is pretty much what I always get when I try a specify a particular table in upmarket restaurants (Petrus and Orrey spring to mind especially). I was therefore pleased to hear the response "that won't be a problem". Given that I am booking a few weeks ahead and that, because of their location, I would guess that lunchtimes are quieter for them than dinner, it shouldn't be that that surprising that they are able to accomodate the request. However it was very refreshing that there was no song and dance made about it. Has anyone else had similar problems with getting a particular table in restaurants, do you in fact care about where you sit?

I'm working my way through them, one by one.

I'd rather work in a restaurant kitchen to see whats going on than eat in one.

Fay Maschler gave it 2 stars in the Standard this week. The review will be online at www.thisislondon.co.uk but you will have to pay to read it, although I think they are still offering a 30 day free trial. I believe one or even two of our regular contributors is either going very soon or has already been so hopefully we can get their opinion soon

He's in his late 50's I believe so I think he's earnt he right to just point and shout. I'm sure that simply by being in the kitchen he raises the standard of the food being produced.

I would take the time to think about what sort of food you are most likely to be cooking regularly and only purchase items that you will use often. My personal approach is to limit the number of appliances in my kitchen and do as much by hand as possible. But I do have a food processor and blender which are essential. In terms of knives, you want the biggest cooks knife you are comfortable handling, a small pareing knife for vegetables and a bread knife which will also do you for tomatoes (the skin will blunt a non serrated edge) and carving ham. A boning knife, fish knife and turning knife are all desireable if you intend to do a lot of meat, fish and fancy veg prep, but that will probably come later. Whatever Thomas Keller says, I've found kitchen tongs absolutely indispensable and you'll also want to have wooden spoons, slotted spoons and serving spoons. Get a couple of balloon whisks, a large one for eggs and a smaller one for dressings. You can never have enough mixing bowls, baking sheets, roasting pans and gratin dishes, so fire at will when it comes to these items. Get the best quality sautee and frying pans you can afford. Get copper bottomed saucepans if you can but avoid pans made totally of copper as they are a bugger to maintain. Approach expensive gadgets like mandolins and ice cream makers with caution, are you really going to need them? However, if you have the room and the cash, go ahead. Hope that helps.

Are you going to try and get a table again anytime soon? I'd love to hear about this place.

Please note : some of these links may require free registration to view. Matthew Norman votes against Quirinale in the Telegraph. Chef Hywel Jones of Pharmacy restaurant cooks pea soup. Richard Johnson stops at The Talk House in Wales for The Independent whilst Mark Hix of The Ivy gets cooking here. Matthew Fort hears the toll of the Bell Hotel in The Guardian. Vegeterain dishes from Namita and Camellia Panjabi . Jay Rayner feels the need to invoke memories of gay Spanish discos in order to review Brian Turner's new place, Giles Coren somehow manages not to and AA Gill says that'll do. Nigel Slater minces about the place making spag bol. Observer Food Monthly is now online. Jill Dupleix cooks asparagus and Marcus Wareing prepares for summer.

Some info at toptable here.

Gordon Ramsay opens what he is touting as a sort of London version of Gramercy Tavern at the Berkley Hotel next week in the space that was Vong. It sounds very interesting, a departure from his more usual fine dining approach and could well fill a gap in the market. That said, the menu is a little reminicent of somewhere like Bibendum or even Racine, although Boxwood will turnover much higher numbers, up to 250 covers a night. Ramsay is on the front cover of Restaurant magazine, which has a very good interview and a full copy of the menu. Interview in the telegraph here. Website here.

An difficult question I know, but how do you come up with ideas for cookbooks when it appears that everything has been done over and over again? (This from someone with a fairly serious cookbook habit that finds it a physical impossibility to walk past a book shop in case there's a cookery related volume he hasn't seen before or already purchased).

Wonderful photos. Am now v.v jealous.

I had something similar as a starter at The Mirabelle when it first opened, along the lines of truffled parsley veloute with poached egg. Completely impossible to eat, it involved a great deal of chasing the egg around the bowl and trying to avoid splashing myself with the soup. Tasted alright though I remember.

Lunch for £20 is pretty good (free champers through Top Table until 14 May, I'm sure they'll have other offers as well) and the carte looks cheap compared to Fat Duck!

How about Inn on The Green, details of which are here.

Can't be, they took the black sole off months ago, unless Simon is working to an out of date menu. Is it The Capital?