Andy Lynes

Trading for two and half days and Fay's been already!

Only if their role is to be reduced to that of a secret shopper. Critics should be experts with first hand knowledge of their subject which means at least some fraternising with "the enemy."

I enjoyed the book enourmously, but I partly share the misgivings Jonathan Yardley expressed in his Washington Post review. While I think Steven is correct in his assertion that critics must develop relationships within the industry in order to comment upon it meaningfully, he doesn't acknowledge the risk of loss of independence inherent to the approach or how that risk might be mitigated, which weakens his arguement.

There was a fascinating scene in the Australian documentary series "Heat In The Kitchen" when the highly influential Sydney Morning Herald critic Matthew Evans dines in Aria, one of the city's top restaurants. Chef Matt Moran is aware the critic is in the dining room and even goes out to say hello. When he returns to the kitchen he initially says that he will leave the cooking of the critic's food to his team saying something like, "That guy there is the best fish cook in the business and that guy is the best meat cook. I couldn't do any better myself so I'm going to let them get on with it." Within seconds however, Moran is choosing which piece of meat (a duck breast I think) the critic should get. Then he says to the cook "actually, if you don't mind I'm going to cook this one myself", then he plates the dish himself. Perhaps the finished plate was no different from what the chef de partie would have produced, but Moran obviously believed that the VIP warrented his personal attention. Bad restaurants don't suddenly become good restaurants because a critic walks through the door, but they do react and can deliver an experience that could be the difference between a 1, 2, 3 or 4 star review particularly in the UK when most reviews are based on a single visit.

Congratulations to David and the Manresa team, that's some serious company the other six restaurants are keeping. My interview with David Kinch is due to appear in the UK publication Caterer and Hotelkeeper this week and online soon thereafter, I'll post a URL as soon as I have it.

I think its wonderful that you are taking four babies to the restaurant on Wednesday...particularly as I have booked for Friday! Do let us know how you get on.

Very good point - roast for 17 people could be tricky without an industrial sized stove! You could do a whole stuffed loin of pork and maybe roast the potatoes the day before and re-heat them and cook the yorkshires while the roast is resting.

I'm going later this week so I'll report back on how successful (or not) they have been in putting Michelin behind them so far.

Of course, and there are lots of other similar examples I'm sure. Galvin bought the MPW quote to mind though because here you have two Michelin starred chefs eschewing fancy pants food for something moe simple that "cuts through to the essentials". Although I never had his food before St John, I think Hendersen has always served very simple stuff - I seem to recall a dish of rabbit served with a single carrot on the side mentioned in a review of the French House in Soho for example

Nothing better than a roast to remind the Brits of home, no matter what the weather. I'd say a chicken would do equally as well as the beef, or roast pork and crackling, you could still serve the Yorkshires. Make a decent gravy with the cooking juices and stock, but thicken it with Bisto (use less then they say to on the packet, otherwise you'll end up with tasteless glop). There's some nice recipes for side dishes here which will add a bit of elan to the proceedings. Some sort of crumble, probably apple, with custard made with Bird's custard powder is an absolute must. Then you all have to flop in front of the tele and argue about who's going to do the washing up, or it just won't be a truly authentic experience.

It brings to mind the introduction to Marco Pierre White's Wild Food From Land and Sea where he says "cutting right through to the essentials is something I'd like to do...but nine out of ten of my customers wouldn't understand it...thus I have to give them more to look at on the plate." That was over ten years ago; now chefs are in a position to cut through to the essentials, to cook the sort of food they'd like to eat themselves rather than jump through hoops for the guides, a gauche dining public or their younger, slightly misguided selves.

Apologies: 66 Baker Street, London W1U 7DH 020-7935 4007

I have to say this sounds right up my street. Definate shades of Racine in both the menu and the interior design.

Brothers Chris and Jeff Galvin will open their first solo restaurant - Galvin - on 5 September 2005. Their combined cooking experience spans nearly 50 years, with Chris most recently executive chef at The Wolseley since its opening in 2003, and prior to that at Orrery (one Michelin star), since its launch in 1997, The Lanesborough, L’Escargot, Menage à Trois and The Ritz. Jeff worked for six years at L’Escargot in Soho (one Michelin star), and was previously at Chez Nico at 90 Park Lane, The Greenhouse and The Oak Room with Marco Pierre White. Although their culinary backgrounds have a definite Michelin perspective, Galvin will be a ‘bistrot de luxe’, showcasing fine, but affordable French food in an informal ambience. The seven-day-a-week operation also means that there will always be a Galvin in the kitchen. There will be a short list of approximately 50 wines, featuring mostly French bottles and nine by the glass. House wines are: Chardonnay, Domaine de Mordoc, Vin de Pays d’Oc 2004 £13.75 (glass £3.25) Merlot, Domaine de Mordoc, Vin de Pays d’Oc 2003 £13.75 (glass £3.25) Interior design is by Design LSM Ltd of Brighton. Dark brown leather banquettes, bistrot chairs, white globe hanging lights, antiqued mirrors, dark slate flooring, ceiling fans, half-open-to-view kitchen, and a display of food photography (by Sarah Galvin). Launch menu Pumpkin & cèpe soup 4.95 Terrine pressé of pork, quince jelly 6.00 Gratin of Dorest crab, velouté of girolles 9.75 Pithivier of wood pigeon, glazed chesnuts & beetroot 7.50 Charcuterie maison, sauce gribiche 7.50 Salad of Roquefort, pear & walnut 6.50 Oysters – half dozen 10.50, dozen 18.50 ••• Parmentier of oxtail & black pudding 9.75 Red mullet, shellfish Provençale 12.50 Grilled cod, parsley & coco beans 14.00 Risotto of cèpes & Italian parsley 12.50 Confit of duck, sauce Rouennaise 11.50 Poulet de Landes rôti, forestière 13.95 Daube of venison, celeriac purée 15.25 Entecôte grillé, beurre de Montpellier 16.00 ••• Rice pudding, roast figs & Banyuls 5.00 Apricot tart 5.50 Iced banana parfait 6.00 Chocolate fondant 5.50 Savarin of red berries 6.00 Tiramisu 5.00 Cheese from the board 6.50 Menu Prix Fixe (sample) (Three courses - 15.50 lunch or 17.50 dinner) Pumpkin and cèpe soup Terrine pressé of pork, quince jelly ••• Parmentier of oxtail & black pudding Red mullet, shellfish Provençale ••• Rice pudding, roast figs & Banyuls Apricot tart Open Daily Lunch Noon-2.30pm (3pm on Sunday), and dinner 6.30pm-11pm (10.30pm on Sunday) (Our thanks to Network London for the info).

The restaurant will now re-open 3 October 2005.

Forgot to mention that The Ledbury are now offering an 8 course tasting menu for a pretty reasonable £55.00. Its mostly made up of items from the a la carte such as lasgane of rabbit with girolles and veloute of thyme but a few courses such as roast foie gras with grilled fig, fig puree and grue de cocoa and raspberry souffle with mascarpone and lemon verbena particular to it. (BTW - will their website ever be launched?)

The hanging baskets at the Ladbroke are looking magnificent at the moment if you're into that sort of thing.

Having off loaded the kids for the weekend, I took Gill for lunch last Friday at The Ledbury. The main dining room was as quiet as the first time I dined, although the now complete terrace was busy enough (where we spotted Laura Aikens dining with two unidentified male companions). The lovely Helena Hell was sadly absent although my wife didn't seem to mind too much for some reason. Service was a little less than perfect with a request made for our wine order before we had ordered food, and dishes being delivered to the wrong person (we were but two). Champagne (white for me, Billecart Salmon Rose for her) was swiftly followed by a shot glass of deliciously spicy gazpacho with tiny dice of cucumber, topped with good old fashioned peppery cress. Three generously stuffed lobster tortellini each were acompanied by fennel fondue and a lobster and basil cappuccino - very Square, very Howard, very bloody lovely. Roast cod had a beautifully roasted, crisp skin, as did confit of guinea fowl, the former served with a mouclade of mussels and curry, the latter with warm salad of potatoes, mache and lots of girolles. Both were terrific. A pre-dessert of lemon grass jelly with a brunoise of pineapple and delicate coconut froth did its palate cleansing thing to very agreable effect and preceeded a vanilla yoghurt parfait with matchless churros and blueberry sorbet for me and a truly stunning millefeuilles of raspberries with raspberry ripple ice cream for the missus. Regis the pastry chef, also ex of Square, deserves equal credit to the much lauded Brett Graham for maintaining the impossibly high standard of cooking right to the last bite of chocolate Madeleine. I couldn't resist a glass of Greecian muscat dessert wine (no other details, sorry) and only the promise of falling into the superb Ladbroke Arms for a post-lunch drink and an hour or so of Aussie-bashing cricket (sorry Brett) prevented me from indulging in a digestif. A bottle of excellent Limoux chardonnay from the Languedoc was a snip at £25.00, a choice approved of by sommelier Dawn Davies (he preened. But I bet she says that to all the cheap skates that order below £30.00), and bought the bill to a not unreasonable £118.00 for two set menus at £24.50, coffee, water, wine, champagne and service. A cracking lunch in a beautiful room on a lovely day with my gorgeous wife. Life can be so good sometimes.

In a desperate and obvious attempt to get this thread back on topic, Emsworth harbour is relatively unspoilt. I'm sure Joni would approve.

Only after my fifth bottle of wine of the evening.

Just looking at life from both sides, in a Joni Mitchell stylee.

I had her pegged as a bit bloody miserable for quite a while, but I now think that she is an enthusiast who is quite often disappointed and a bit saddened by what she finds. Although there is humour in her reviews, Moir doesn't make cheap jokes at the restaurateurs expense - although sometimes admittedly she does makes finely crafted jokes at the restauratuers expense. What I admired particularly about this review was that it bought the experience so vividly to life, I could imagine myself right there at the table.

I visited Whole Foods in West Vancouver recently and was blown away by the sheer scale of the store and variety of products on sale. I'd never seen so much organic produce in one place before. I liked the design as well, not even a vague whiff of worthiness about it.

Although you have to feel for Ramon and Karen Farthing, Jan Moir's scathing review of their 36 On The Quay restaurant is a beautiful piece of writing: "a table laid for an afternoon wedding party of 15 dominates the small dining-room, like a tanker in a paddling pool." "The restaurant's lovely views over the harbour are only lightly jaundiced by the Dalek-style air-conditioning unit" "The dishes and ingredients are described in a way that suggests they might be on a date with Mickey Rourke instead of on a menu, for they are not just served, they are complemented, they are accompanied, they are laid and then, of course, they are finished."

Chez Bruce is now London's favourite restaurant according to Harden's guide, knocking The Ivy off the top spot. "I don't think for one minute that we are the best restaurant in London," Bruce Poole told the Evening Standard. Chez Bruce has fallen from 2nd to 3rd place in the guides "best gastronomic experience", with Gordon Ramsay in top place and Gordon Ramsay at Claridges in second.