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Andy Lynes

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Posts posted by Andy Lynes

  1. In his book, Hopkinson explains that he got the idea while finishing off a dish of bouillabaise served with boiled potatos as he crushed the potatos into the remaining soup dregs and rouille. He finishes by saying "it is the one dish I can truly call my own."

    Do you have a recipe for the Pennsylvania Dutch version, it would be very interesting to compare the two.

  2.   Pweaver1984 said:
    Andy - Do you think Apicius will gain a star, or will Michelin hold back like they seem to do on recently open places?

    Apicius have the advantage of being open about a year when the guide went to press and being a husband and wife owned venture which means that they are unlikely to sell up anytime soon so Michelin won't be stuck with an out of date guide entry.

    Michelin have given stars to places open less than a year - Black Pig and New Angel - and while this is Tim Johnson's first solo venture, he'll be known to the guide from his work at Chapter One and Chez Nico. I think the signs are good as the food is worth the mark in my estimation and although I've only visited once, there is a good chance it's consistant as there is only Tim in the kitchen.

    Having said all that, who knows?

  3.   Mrs Woman said:
    Goosnargh duck breast with braised cabbage and fondant potato in a Madeira and raisin jus arrived with the duck cut into small squares arranged ‘artfully’ around the plate – I would have much preferred the breast to have stayed in its previous shape.

    I think we have Nico Ladenis to blame for that style of presentation - certianly his breast of duck with crushed peppercorns and honey in his book Nico is prepared in that fashion. I had a similar dish in Paul Heathcote's restaurant in Preston a few years back and didn't like the idea of the meat having been cut up for me like I was 6 years old.

  4.   docsconz said:
    The crux of this matter is clearly how the situation was handled by the restaurant and particularly the chef.

    Which should be left to the two interested parties to sort out. The internet is at its worst when it speculates about what might have or might not have happened, what people should have or should not have done in a given situation that only the people involved have all the facts about.

  5. As a diner, I don't want to pay top dollar to find myself in the middle of a tourist attraction with people photographing their food when they should be eating it and talking to their companions (although obviously not at the same time). Its bad manners, second only to texting at the table.

    If I were a top flight chef, I wouldn't want a bunch of out of focus, badly lit pictures taken with a camera with a steamed up lens circulating on the internet that makes my food look like crap (something I have been guilty of myself in the past - just take a look at some of my snaps on ImageGullet - although never in a haute cuisine restaurant).

    I have long thought that chefs who are targets for this sort of behavior should compile a regularly updated DVD-ROM of images of their menu and present it on request for those diners that find their flavour memories and a copy of the menu an inadequate souvenir.

  6.   Matthew Grant said:
    Andy, W'Sens is an interesting one...are there even any reports on EG?

    Not that I'm aware of. The place got a terrible critical thrashing when it opened - although it did suffer at the hands of Arabella Weir who was guest critic in the Guardian that week and whose opinion on restaurants I don't take too seriously - so it will be interesting to see if it has changed compared to the initial reports.

  7. So with the festive season out of the way, if you're anything like me you'll be busy sorting out diary dates for this year's UK restaurant visits. So far I have Racine, The Orrery and Shaun Hill at the Montagu Arms confirmed for January, with W'Sens and the Food and Drink festival at Northcote Manor possibilities. Then it's Anthony Demetre and William Smith's (formerly of Putney Bridge) new place up west, hopefully in February, and Atelier du Robuchon in London in April. A return visit, this time with my better half, to both Bentley's and the Belverdere are also dead certs. How about you?

  8. Simon Hulstone was named a rising star of 2006 in todays Independent magazine. Caroline Stacey says "Simon Hulstone didn't set out to shake up Torquay. But his restaurant Elephant is nevertheless sending out ripples of excitement from the Devon coast."

    My interview with Simon appears in the 5th January 2006 edition of Caterer and Hotelkeeper.

  9.   dRock said:
    Does Sam Mason also contribute to the cuisine or is he just involved in the pastry aspect?

    When I interviewed Sam Mason earlier this year he told me that are desserts that Wylie can't wait to be taken off the menu so he can use an element or two in his dishes, but I'd have to dig out the tape to get you specific examples.

  10. Like Docsconz, I had more memorable meals in 2005 than any other year I can recall. It's difficult picking out the highlights, but they include:

    My 40th birthday at Le Meurice, Paris. A beautiful room, matchless service and stunning food.

    A chance meeting and a truly nourishing and delicious lunch at Chez Panisse Cafe, Berkeley, California.

    A chat with restaurateur James Schenk over the startling and addictive flavours of his nuevo latino cuisine at Destino, San Francisco.

    David Hawsworth, Sam Mason, Angela Harnett, Dominique & Cindy Duby, Philippe Legendre, Gerard Boyer and many others at Masters of Food and Wine, Carmel, California.

    Seven hours at Manresa then back to the hotel at 1.00am to sip beer and watch Canadian chef Rob Feenie win Iron Chef.

    Quail at the bar in Gramercy Tavern, New York.

    Feasting with Fat Guy at New Bo Green.

    Two weeks of non-stop dining in Vancouver, the Okanagan, Harrison Hot Springs and Victoria including outstanding meals at Cin Cin, Feenies and Vij's in Vancouver and lunch at Joie Cookery School with owners Michael Dinn and Heidi Noble.

    The return of former Michelin starred chef Philip Brittan to the stoves for one week only at The Food Rooms in Battersea.

    Making new friends over a bowl of deep fried goujons of lemon sole with tartare sauce and a bottle of Bierzo 1999, Descendientes de J. Palacios at Chez Bruce in Wandsworth.

  11. If your prawns are big enough, how about taking wafer thin slices of the loin and wrapping them around the shellfish and sauteing them - a sort of weird riff on bacon wrapped scallops. You could serve them with a salad made from the orange segments and mache and a vinigrette flavoured with some of the blood orange juice. I think that could be worth experimenting with. Otherwise serve a prawn and orange combo first then do something else with the cured loin.

  12. The food is not British, but if you find yourself hungry and in the Soho area, I can't recommend Leon highly enough. The menu is all over the place but the grilled chorizo, chicken with salsa verde, grilled flat breads, hummus, salads and even a bowl of green beans were all utterly delicious. Three of us ate there in the evening and ordered greedily and still ended up with a bill of only about £25.00. There's a larger branch in Ludgate Circus if you are venturing in to the city.

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