Andy Lynes

Will do, I'll try and stay sober enough to remember at least what I ate.

Aussie chef Neil Perry cooks with EVOO, and lots of it, all the time but I have no idea why he thinks its a good idea. I have a terrible habit of sloshing whatever comes to hand in a pan and that is often EVOO. I'm trying to train myself to have the veg oil close to hand and use that instead, which seems to be working. Conversely, I have never been tempted to dress a salad with veg oil through sheer laziness, and always find the EVOO for that if I need it, although sometimes I might just use lemon or lime juice by itself if I think the salad can stand it.

I've booked for a week or so's time for a work related event, so will probably not take advantage of the BYO policy but thats interesting to note.

Paula - Kikujiro makers a good point about needing a bit more detail of requirements in order to provide some meaningful suggestions. The UK boards are full of threads on favourite London restaurants, with names like The Capital, Le Gaveroche, St John, Petrus, Loconda Locattelli et al coming up time and time again. So is location or price an issue or are they happy to go anywhere and pay anything?

I just wanted to say thank you so much for all this wonderful feedback......oh Christ, I'm fawning again aren't I?

How did you know my nickname for Andy is, "My Little Fawn"? Fat Guy - you said this would be our secret, how could you!

Vanessa, we are working on it. It's subscription only, but we maybe able to reproduce it here, pending legal advise from a certain Mr Fat Guy.

Thanks Suzanne. Yes, I've cooked a number of recipes and had great success with them. Sometimes I buy a book, read it and take maybe only one or two recipes from it, but this one is full of stuff I want to try.

Right. Am there tonight. Good oh Go hungry is all I would say. The pub next door is quite nice if you can get a table, or the bar at the Connaught is quie handy for a drink before or after. Also, The Square do have a nice pair of very comfortable and squashy sofas by the bar which is also a nice place to sip champagne and watch the beautiful people come and go. And thats just the staff. Ha ha. (I should be on the stage. Really).

Oh yes, I remember now, we have discussed this before. I'm wondering if the chocolates I had at The Merchant House recently were Artisan, as they were similar to those at Fat Duck (not tobacco of course) and The Square. I'll e mail Shaun and ask him.

I don't know actually, but I would not be suprised if that were the case. It's a relatively cheap way of trying them though, if you think of them as freebies at the end of the meal, which of course they're not really.

Thanks very much for the informed opinion, is the article available online? BTW, anyone considering dining at The Square might like to know that petit fours take the form of a choice from a bloody great tray of chocs from Artisan du Chocolat.

I'm fairly sure that, although Amazon give the publication date of 1st Feb for the 2002 guide, the results are known around mid January and the guide is out before the end of the month. I am basing this on the fact that I always eat out in London on my birthday which is 25 Jan and know if we are eating in a 1, 2 or 3 star restaurant according to the latest guide. As it happens this year, for the first time in about 10 years, my wife and I are going to a restaurant in Brighton which will certainly not be starred by the new guide (Hotel and Bistro Du Vin).

I've had venison with chocolate and raspberry sauce before which is quite lovely and you could maybe use the vinegar in such a sauce. Raspberry vinegars were big around the late 80's and the Nouvelle Cuisine fad and then became about as cool as kiwi fruit served with fish.

I think Hibiscus is quite formal and has all the bits and bobs you would expect of a 2 star : seperate bar, canapes, amouse bouche, good linen, stemware and cutlery, complex food and luxury ingredients. Remember that Martin Blunos won 2 stars when his restaurant was in a row of shops in Bristol next door to a pet shop. I never went but I am told that the premises were nothing special

I would guess (and it really is a guess, I have no inside knowledge of this at all) that Gordon and Marcus discussed the move of Petrus with Michelin and were assured that it would not affect their chances, after all is is meant to be based on a number of visits over a 12 month period. I will be amazed if they don't get their second star this year. La Trompette is a dead cert for a star I think and if there is any justice Hibiscus will get their second, although it may be early in the life of the restaurant for that I suppose, but who really knows whats goes on in the minds of the Michelin men?

great review, thanks for taking the time to post it. Nice to know that some chefs are taking vegetarians seriouisly. I seem to remember an article in Caterer magazine when the restaurant first opened, didn't the owners work at Gidleigh park and Paul Henderson put up some of the money for this venture?

Ellen, a really terrific article, one of the best things I've read on this site yet. I'm going to send a link to my local wine merchant Henry Butler who I know will be interested in the article, and maybe I can even get him to stock some of the wine.

Those scallops look fantastic, great picture. I hadn't realised that all the dishes are served together, how does that actually "eat" if you see what I mean?

Renowned Brussels based choclatier Pierre Marcolini has opened up a shop at 6 Lancer Square off Kensington Church Street. A 250g box of his chocolates, made from his very own chocolat de couveture created from cocoa beans he has sourced himself will set you back a mere £24.99. He claims to be the only chocolatier in the UK operating at such a level, all others using industrialised chocolate bases with a percentage of vegetable fat in them. Has anyone tried these chocs as yet, or is intending to do so. Are they really worth £100 per kilo? Can you really taste the difference?

Distributed in 150 but brewed locally in only 51 countries.

Fleur De Sel in Storrington : http://www.in-focus.org/in%20focus%20site/.../fleurdesel.htm . They also have a patisserie in the village. Old Forge Storrington : http://www.fine-dining.co.uk/ http://www.36onthequay.co.uk (actually Hants, but close enough) http://www.whitehorsechilgrove.co.uk/

This link addresses "better in Ireland?" question http://www.guinness.com/guinness/en_GB/kno..._126325,00.html .

I've had guiness recently in Dublin and less recently in Belfast and it certainly seems to taste better over there, but there is a very strong possibility that it is purely psychological.

I like the reality more than the idea.