Andy Lynes

Cabrales - "Menu" is the Connaught.

In practice, the stuffing doesn't end up tasting fatty, and you get bucket loads of the stuff pouring out of the stuffed bird during the cooking process, so that hasn't been a problem I'd associate with this recipe.

Simon Hopkinson's recipe for goose stuffed with mashed potato in his book Gammon and Spinach is wonderful. It involves poring boiling water over the bird first then leaving it to dry in front of a fan for a few hours before roasting, which gives it a very crispy skin. The stuffing is great as well. The book has been published in the Pan Cooks paperback series and is well worth picking up, as are all his books.

JD thanks for the detail. I think they have been offering the 7 course menu for a while now, it was certainly advertised when I went last in May. It is quite an ambitious idea for such a busy place, so I'm not totally suprised that the speed of the service during the evening was a bit erratic. Which is not to excuse it or to say that either they or their customers should accept that that must be the case. But if you are serving 120 covers it must be a challenge for both kitchen and front of house to fit some tasting menus in as well.

Toasted baked bean and cheese sandwich with HP sauce made in one of those hinged sandwich thingies. You have to let them cool down a bit though as the beans and tomato sauce appear to be extremely efficient at retaining heat and will burn the roof of your mouth if you are not careful.

I'd have found it difficult to explain to the wife...

Scouts honour....

Cafe Roux is in the Grand Hotel Amsterdam, located South of the Red light District. This made for an interesting stroll from my Hotel just down from the Central Station, offering as it did the opportunity to purchase some crack, peruse a little hardcore porn, say hi to the scantily clad ladies or toke on the odd joint or two. None of which I actually did I hasten to add, but there were plenty of my country men of all ages who it seemed were only too keen to take advantage of all that Amsterdam has to offer. I was glad therefore to get in out of the rain and squalor and into the very welcoming surroundings of the restaurant. You can view the interior by clicking here so I won’t attempt to describe it in any great detail. It’s art deco appearance doesn’t completely overcome the general corporate hotel dining room/breakfast room feel, but it’s an attractive enough space to while away a few hours. I was sat by the door opposite the bar area, one of the worst locations in the room. I wasn’t in the mood to argue however, and was happy to go with the flow, especially as the waitress allocated to my table was possibly the most beautiful woman ever to bring a plate of food to me in a restaurant. I also had a pleasant view out of the window at the canal and it’s passing glass topped barges, which gave me a nice sense of place. An amuse of beetroot cured salmon with sauce aigre doux was an excellent start to the evening, but the chilled pea and mint soup with scallops which followed was a great disappointment. The soup itself was ordinary and under seasoned, the scallops, two rather meagre specimens. The real killer however were the leaves of fresh spearmint which exploded on the tongue with a very unwelcome Colgate flavour. One was enough, and when I had pushed the remaining greenery to the side of the plate, the soup was at least edible. Things picked up considerably with a truly awesome rump of lamb with boulangere potatoes and artichoke. Three healthy pink slices of beautifully seasoned and cooked meat were arranged alternating with halves of artichoke around a potato rosette topped boulangere, which in turn sat on a bed of spinach. A limpid jus and some drizzlings of a cream based reduction completed one of the nicest restaurant dishes I have eaten in a restaurant for some while. The meat was tender and bursting with sweet lamb flavour. A top class bit of protein handled with great skill by the kitchen. A very simple creation, a little dated it’s conception perhaps, but an unalloyed joy to eat. Each element was on the plate for a good reason, and prepared with care and precision. What, it made me wonder, had happened with that soup? Dessert was a more than competent dark chocolate fondant with white chocolate ice cream, good espresso and petit four to finish. Service was impeccable throughout, with my favourite waitress showing great patience and restraint with some bloody awkward customers (guests in the hotel I gathered) at a nearby table who seemed to have something critical to say about everything placed before them. The sommelier was of the old school, and, bedecked with the ritualistic silverware of his profession, looked more like he should be addressing a meeting of the local council than pouring me wine. He took great care to find me the most appropriate bottle in the price range I had given him for the food I had chosen, which turned out to be a viognier vin de pays and was right on the money. Total damage was 79 euros including service, beer, wine and water, which seemed excellent value for such an enjoyable evening.

Well, he'll have to go then.

http://www.lepoussinatparkhill.co.uk/ Alex Aitkin is an individualistic and talented self taught chef, well worth travelling for. I haven't eaten at Parkhill yet but enjoyed several excellent meals at what is now Simply Poussin (dreadful name). Your best bet I would say. 36 The Quay is around an hour from Southampton.

Automobile Association - they produce a restaurant and a hotel guide, if you didn't know. Heston Blumenthal was last years winner BTW.

The definitive beer batter recipe is : 110g plain flour, 10g fresh yeast or 5g dried 150 ml beer Leave to rise in a warm place for 30 mins or so. Soak the rings in milk for 30 mins or so, dust with flower then pass through the foam that should have formed on top of the batter mix, deep fry.

http://www.caterer.com/news/articledetail....articleID=44677

I ate at Petrus last Thursday night with chef Bruce Poole. We arrived at 7.15 to a quite empty room, but which filled as the evening progressed, due, I gather from a recent article in Restaurant magazine, to a staggered booking policy that ensures the kitchen is only cooking for one table at a time. The room had changed slightly since my last visit 2 years ago, with the new wallpaper that Cabrales mentioned (which I liked) and I think they have done away with the smaller tables for two they used to have, so all are now of the same size. The bar area had also been changed and now conisists of a large leather banquet running the length of the righthand side with low tables and leather tub chairs facing. It now actually feels like a bar rather than a collection of furniture in an entrance way in order to appease the expectations of Michelin. We sat at the table in the front half of the room on the lefthand side by the partition, which now has what looks like a cellar door hanging off it, which is quite bizzare and doesn't add a great deal to the interior design. We started with some champagne from the trolley, courtesy of Marcus Wareing, and reviewed the menu (which you can do to by clicking here). As with my 3 previous visits, virtually every item sounded appealing, with only the sea bass dish with it's lemongrass nage and caper and raisin puree sounding a bit "forced" and out of kilter with the rest. I chose the sweetbread ravioli and venison, Bruce the trotter and duck. The meal began with the plate of canapes : foie gras parfait, aubergine caviar, bread sticks, croutons and little parmesan tuiles (I think) all of which were lovely. The amuse was a glorious haddock and potato chowder with truffle. The ravioli was very savoury, the white cabbage and sage providing a nice earthy counterpoint. The trotter was not so good apparently, the skin being slightly rubbery. The stuffing however was thought to be very good. Next up was a freebie dish of the scallop starter. Scallops are always exceptional at Petrus and these were fine examples. The cepe dressing was a lovely touch, as were the tiny artichoke. The cauliflower puree was limited to 2 tiny dots on 2 out of the 4 scallops. I could have eaten a deal more of it. Both main courses came in the form of lots of meat with a little garnish and some sauce poured from boats at the table. The venison was the more successful of the two, and I was pleased to see a swede fondant on the plate, as I had come up with that very idea for a dish I cooked at home a while ago ( see this http://forums.egullet.org/ibf/index.php?ac...6ba673141b680d6 thread for details ) great minds etc... The duck looked very good, but the garnish was minimal and seemed a little unbalanced to me. All the food was accurately cook and seasoned, I could detect none of the over salting that has been complained of in other recent reports. All ingredients and accoutrements appeared be of the best quality, as you would expect at this level. Service was of the highest order, and as chatty as you wanted it to be, which helped to overcome the very formal atmosphere. Does dining at this level have to try to appear to be quite so serious? Pre desserts were shot glasses of raspberry trifle type creations which I thought lovely, Bruce thought "so what". Actual desserts were an orange parfait and a chocolate mousse type affair, both excellent. We drank a pinot gris from Alsace (can't remember the maker) and a chateau-neuf -de-pape style blend called "Aurel" http://www.wineanorak.com/aurelles.htm. , and some dessert wines which the sommelier chose for us. The bill was pretty enourmous and although a highly enjoyable 3 + hours, I did wonder if I still really like this sort of thing, or if a meal at somewhere simpler like Racine might not be as satisfying, if less refined, an experience.

You will indeed.

OK, great.

Oh, go on! I'd certainly be interested.

As Gavin said in his post, chef at Deca is Paul Rhodes. I wonder what Rhodes' thought's were when Ladenis, having already pretty much retired from active duties, decided to "hand back" his 3 Michelin stars awarded to a restaurant that Rhodes had been running the kitchen of for a number of years. Hardly a vote of confidence is it? Still, he continues to work for him so there can't be hard feelings.

I had a wonderful meal at The New End, including a dish of rabbit and turbot, and was looking forward to Ilac resurfacing at Bonds for quite some time (the opening has been delayed for just under a year). The ES review has put be off, has have the prices which are typically greedy for the area. Lunch was around £30.00 if I remember correctly, and main courses in the evening at about the £24.00 mark. Too steep for me I'm afraid.

A couple of examples that I am particularly familiar with : The Merchant House - chef/patron, not a bean counter in sight, arguably one of the best and certainly most individual restaurants in the country. Without doubt offers exceptional value to it's customers in terms of the quality and quantity of food on the plate e.g half a lobster to start, or a roast grouse with no supplement to the £32.50 set menu. Nigel Platts Martin group of restaurant (Chez Bruce, the Square etc) - partnership between a former city man and a number of chefs. Again, arguably amongst the best and most successful restaurants in london. Proof that a profitable operation with "money men" involved can succeed on the same terms as a chef/patron led business.

I think it is 1 star standard, but it just didn't "do it" for me. And that could have been due to my mood, or the fact it was so quite, a lot of things.

Well, I'm glad we got that cleared up then. BTW, my suspicions about you were confirmed a long time ago.

Which were.....??

No, no, I'll take what I'm given!

basildog - is this what i can expect on the 25th or will it have changed by then?