Andy Lynes

The new menu is on the restaurant's website. My meal was on Tuesday was very, very good indeed and the refurbishment has given the place a whole new sheen without changing the character of the place at all. There's new floor, new wall coverings, new sofas in the bar, some minor structural changes, new lighting, new curtains and new window panels. There's some ongoing tweaking and new furniture yet to arrive but it looks great.

I know you are right - I'm sure highchef would be delighted if you could supply details. (My two cents - avoid The Point at all costs.)

I've stayed in a number of Jury's hotels in the UK and in Belfast and found them to be perfectly adequate for the price. Decent sized rooms, comfortable beds and perfectly fine bathrooms. You'll definately find places with more character and you definately won't want to eat in the restaurants but where on earth "hellish" "vile" and "crap" comes from I don't know. Perhaps everyone else on this board only ever stays in the Savoy!

I did have a very quick look at it the other day, but only to figure out who the chefs I didn't recognise were. I didn't take in much else unfortunately. Good episode tonight with lots of seething tension between Galton Blackiston and AWT, with the pair hardly bothering to conceal their contempt for each other. If its all an act I'm convinced!

I was there the other week, but all I had was some overpriced, under-powered coffee and a piss. If Joel Robuchon opened a restaurant in the M40 services, cooked everything himself and gave it away for free, I still wouldn't want to eat there.

I wondered if they'd asked Fort to be the Simon Cowell figure of the show. He does seem to be in a terribly bad mood about it all doesn't he?

Both Foliage at the Mandarin Oriental near Hyde Park and The Capital in Knightsbridge open for Saturday lunch and do bargain offers to boot.

With the world carved up into twenty regional panels, and each members only being allowed to use two of their five votes for restaurants for their own region, the opportunity was there for everyone to get a fair shout. What has obviously happened is that many of those 3 "spare" votes from North Amercia have gone to Europe rather than Asia, and from the UK to France rather than South America and so on. How many of the world's food writers, restauratuers and chefs (who make up the panel) really understand the cuisine of Japan or have travelled extensively enough through the Middle East or North Africa to be able to nominate in those areas? Perhaps a better way would be for the regional panels to vote only in their own regions - for each to be given equal weight. But then you might end up with a politcally correct list that still isn't a "true" reflection of world cuisine now.

I was lucky enough to try this dish at this year's Masters of Food and Wine in Carmel when David prepared it for 190 people! It was at least on a par with a lamb dish from Alain Passard cooked at the same event and one of the best I had during an 8 day Californian trip.

That doesn't make logical sense. "A chef can't claim an ingredient any more than a carpenter can copyright a tree" would do, or "A chef can't claim a recipe anymore then a carpenter can copyright a chair" might also do, except you've then got the issue of the carpenter actually designing a chair and then someone stealing that design. Back to square one really aren't we? I think Gill is willfuly misunderstanding the issues here, partly evidenced by the fact that he appears to think we are all Australian gastro-snobs. Flaming cheek - I'm not Australian!

Not really - the model for the mechnaism already exists in the music industry. By failing to reference my earlier posts, you've effectively passed off my idea as your own. Oh the irony!

Its an enjoyable enough watch, but if it's not bad enough that they re-cap everything that happened in the last 10 mintues of the show (Andy likes the show but can't help feeling all those recaps just aren't necessary. He'll be telling us why all the flash forwards are driving him mad later in this post), we've now got to endure trailers within the programme itself for what's coming up in 10 minutes time. (Yes, it's a good show, but are all those flash backs and forwards really necessary? Will Andy continue watching the programme or will the endless reminders and teasers drive him away? Find out at the end of this post). "Its a good show, but all the flash backs and forwards are really getting on my nerves." Coming tomorrow - will Andy continue to watch the programme or will the endless repetition of the production style force him to switch over?

I don't want to get too hung up on this but maybe the royalties recieved by the composer when their a song is covered by an artist either live in performance or on record is a closer analogy. ← Cdh - you didn't just plagerise my idea did you?

What harm? Well, how about that sickening feeling in the pit of your stomach when you see your creativity being palmed off by someone else as their own. And them profiting from it? That feeling of having been in some way violated. It's really not nice. ← What, so now instead of paying $160 for the tasting menu, we are going to have to pay $200 for the tasting menu to cover the royalties that the restaurant will have to pay to all of the chefs? ← Or alternatively - and this is just a wild, crazy, off the wall idea - they could create their own dishes and not have to pay royalties.

It slightly scares me to say this (and apologies for dragging up ancient history), but I vividly recalled a light hearted exchange of posts about the French Laundry we had a while back. A quick google and it turns out it happened nearly 4 years ago! You said back then that "I liked it fine -- it's a supremely competent restaurant -- but it's overrated and hardly worth the trouble." (click here for the quote in its original context). Your report from a meal in 1999 report of a meal from 1999 was also less than ecstatic. Have you changed your mind about the Laundry and Keller's food since then or are your current comments made purely in terms of Keller's professional abilities rather than your personal tastes?

Just as an aside, chef/proprietor Paul Flynn used to be head chef of Chez Nico at 90 in London when it had three stars so he has quite a pedigree.

As this is a food and drink board I don't want to start a big debate about this but listen to "Chelsea Bridge" by Ben Webster and Gerry Mulligan (there's a snatch of it here) for jazz with emotional impact.

I know we're a bit backwards around these parts, but if you book in advance and specify automatic you should have no problems getting hold of one! Absolutely right about leaving plently of driving time. The route planner on www.theaa.com is very good indeed. I use it all the time and find that it gives reliably accurate journey times.

Oh God the responsibility, I do hope you like it! I'd try and get a table in the downstairs room if you possibly can which I think is the nicest place to dine there.

Not there until the 25 April but will be sure to report back.

Incredibly, the series is 7 weeks (I think), 5 nights a week so yes, its Caines vs JBR all week. Thompson is also involved I'm afraid so make a note in your diary to miss that week (not sure when that is however). I'm enjoying it so far except for JBR's off-the-rack pantomime villain persona.

Hold everything! The Parlour isn't closing. Its still open to the general public for breakfast, brunch, lunch and afternoon tea until 6.30pm. After that its Sketch members only for a more clubby type of affair with DJs and all that malarky. They've done away with the glass topped display counters after a bit of a refub, but they are still making all the pastries and Viennoiserie on the premises which are now wheeled around on trolleys instead. They are still also available to takeaway.

He's not exactly Anthony Worrall Thompson is he - Worlds Geatest Dishes and this. Give the bloke a chance, at least he's worth listening to.

Well, most of them. Simon Rimmer is going up against Marcus Wareing later in the series. I'm sure Rimmer's a fine cook and all that but Wareing is a different league surely?

Hmm, that names sounds oddly familiar....that's not the same company that was the subject of the first hour long eGullet Radio foodcast and eGullet article and eGullet Spotlight conversation by any chance?