Andy Lynes

I had a few beers while preparing the meal the night before and a reasonable amount of white wine with it, but no real hangover resulted. But it didn't impair my enjoyment of brekkie.

It was a big plate, and the shot was taken before the addition of baked beans and toast, so it was quite a lot of food in the end. Slowly roasted tomatoes work really well and I have successfully fried them in the pan, you just have to do it on a gentle enough heat that allows them to cook through with out burning. I agree though, much easier in the oven.

Please welcome Derek Bulmer, head of the UK Michelin Guide who is joining us for a chat in the UK forum during the week of 24 January. Derek is happy to answer all your questions about what is arguably Europe's most influential dining guide. Although he is unable to go into specifics about individual chefs and restaurants, he is happy to talk about the way Michelin works both in and outside the UK. Derek Bulmer has been in the Hotel & Restaurant industry all his working life. He joined Michelin in 1977 and worked as an inspector for many years before becoming deputy editor to Derek Brown. For the last eight years Mr Bulmer has had editorial responsibility for the GB & Ireland Michelin Guide to Hotels & Restaurants, The Main Cities of Europe Guide and more recently the launch of the new publication: Eating out in Pubs. The 2005 UK Michelin Guide will be published on 21 January and changes to ratings will be available online at Michelin.co.uk from 9.00am on 20 January. eGullet member Simon Carter (Marlyn4k) recently met with Derek and has kindly given us permission to publish what is Derek's first ever interview for a website. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Simon for his efforts in facilitating what I'm sure will be a very interesting and exciting event. Simon Carter interviews Derek Bulmer The Eating out in Pubs Guide is a new venture what prompted that move? Over the last decade, Michelin has seen the rise of Pubs where you can eat well. As an example, a decade ago gastropubs started to appear throughout London and in recognition of that early trend we introduced a new symbol – a tankard with a fork to distinguish them as pubs where you can eat well. In recent years the acceleration of the gastropub ‘revolution’ has created a need and provided the opportunity for a new publication of 500 of the top food pubs. We’ve been pleased with the feedback regarding the new format used; being designed for a wider audience with written summaries and colour photography. It looks like this will become an annual publication. Were Pubs inspected using the same principles as the Michelin (Red) Guide? The process was identical. We had 350 addresses in the GB & Ireland Michelin Guide and researched a further 150-200 specifically for the Eating out in Pubs Guide. Exactly the same inspectors were involved in producing this publication which means that it has been made to the same exacting standards as the main Guide. The Main Cities of Europe Guide has been around for over 20 years now? Yes, it is essentially a compilation of extracts from the eight existing Michelin Guides supplemented by additional cities in Scandinavia and parts of Eastern Europe. This is primarily aimed at the international businessman who may be in Barcelona one day, Milan the next and Frankfurt the day after. This book would cover the best hotels and restaurants in those cities in one easy guide and has proved successful on that basis. www.viamichelin.com, tell us about that? They are a sister company and we have a strong flow of information between the two companies. I’m very pleased with the way the site has improved over the last year and the feedback is improving. We also have the facility to receive reports from the public through that site which is also important. In fact we’re becoming increasingly ‘internet aware’ and it’s good to see sites like www.toptable.co.uk, www.london-eating.co.uk, www.birminghamplus.com and www.egullet.org springing up. Diners in Britain are clearly enthusiastic, knowledgeable and excited about sharing information on their dining experiences. In fact I’m pleased to be doing a Q&A session with www.egullet.org throughout the week immediately after publication. There’s so much more to the Michelin Guide that the stars, what else can the customer take from the guide? We have around 5,500 establishments listed in the GB & Ireland Guide of which approximately two thirds are accommodation addresses and one third restaurants, including pubs. We aim to give our readers the choice at every different price level wherever they are – so from three bedroom B&B right up to the most luxurious hotels and, on the eating side, from Pubs right up to the most elegant and smart restaurants. The object is to give readers who travel extensively a clear choice to suit their needs. For example there are at least 1100 guesthouses cum small private hotels that are little gems, much appreciated by our readers. It’s another rich vein of information and some of these small out of the away addresses have been well researched and reward our customers accordingly. The Bib Gourmand, what are the criteria behind this award? This is a matter of price to quality ratios where we point out to our readers certain restaurants where one can eat particularly well at reasonable prices. These restaurants use well sourced ingredients for relatively simple dishes that are prepared with care and provide good value for money. The price limit is £25 for three courses throughout the UK and 36 euro in the Republic of Ireland. We feel these restaurants stand out in the mid-market as a benchmark to the benefit of our customers. What is the coverage model for inspectors of the Michelin (Red) Guide? We have around 75 full time inspectors throughout Europe. These inspectors will have a responsibility for different areas throughout their country (which are rotated annually) plus they may also be expected to inspect establishments internationally. This ensures that inspections are made where needed and in addition enriches (and promotes consistency in) the benchmark we use for our measurement systems across Europe. How many inspections might a restaurant expect in a year? All establishments listed in the guide are visited on average every 18 months and as a general rule the higher up the tree you go the more inspections are carried out. For example, there are only three restaurants in Great Britain with three stars at the moment and if we don’t get those addresses absolutely right then our readers would soon tell us about it. Is there a particular process for promotions to One Star, or from One to Two or Two to Three? Yes there is. The inspector designated with responsibility for that particular area would propose candidates for promotion. Another inspector would then be sent to those restaurants for a second opinion. If the second meal was equally as good then we would arrange a further series of inspections to test the consistency. There would be a guaranteed minimum of three very strong visits to make a first star and at the other end of the spectrum we’ve been known to visit eight, nine or even ten times in a year. At the end of our working year we discuss all the candidates as a team and a unanimous decision is taken to ensure absolute rigour. If an element of doubt remained we would hold back until further inspections the following year. The reason for this is the Michelin byword of consistency. We would want to ensure that if we’re telling our readers that they will eat well then it is not just the fish on the set menu on a Wednesday lunch time. We visit mid-week, weekends, at lunch and at dinner and we try the carte as well as the set menu. This all helps us judge the consistency of the operation. As well as consistency, what other criteria do Michelin Inspectors use when assessing a restaurant for Stars? The inspection process covers most things that a typical discerning diner would look for, even if only subconsciously. We just put a more structured approach. First and foremost we look at quality of product. If for example you take poor quality scallops or langoustine you can’t suddenly turn that around into a great dish further down the cooking process. Then comes the technical skill and flair in preparation; technical skill has the meat been properly butchered, trimmed and hung so it is tender; flair is more difficult - we’re looking for the talent of the individual. The best way I can describe it is the individual interpretation of a dish; natural artistry and ability. If you gave two chefs of similar ability the same ingredients, the same equipment and the same recipe, the resulting dishes would not be identical. The differences would result from their individual experience, ability and imagination. That is what we are trying to judge. We then look at the combination of ingredients used in a dish – do they work well with natural balancing and does the combination enhance the overall enjoyment of the dish. Then flavours; we consider whether the natural flavours of the ingredients have an opportunity to demonstrate themselves and whether the dish actually tastes of what it is supposed to. We will also look at the balance of the menu to ensure there is a broad choice for customers rather than being heavily weighted in one particular area. Finally, value for money; this does not mean inexpensive but that price appropriately reflects quality. What about originality? This becomes important at the Two and Three Star level. At One Star level it is possible to be a good reproducer of dishes. You may find a set of restaurants where there is broad similarity between the dishes produced because the chefs involved have all been trained to a very high standard under one particular chef at a flagship restaurant. At the Two and Three star level we expect originality and innovation – a personal signature if you like. What are you looking for from the wine list? When you get to One Star level we look for the same level of care and thought being put into the wines in order to complement the food. A well researched house wine/wines is considered particularly important. What role does front of house play? Oh yes, in The Michelin Guide, the knives and forks are used to indicate the comfort and style of the establishment. For example, one knife and fork (couvert) would imply a simple bistro and five couvert a luxurious restaurant. We award them as black or red, where the red will be considered particularly pleasant in it’s category; this may be due to the setting by a river or the opulence or the warmth of welcome. People often confuse the award of knives and forks with the quality of the food. What about front of house in the awarding of Michelin Stars? At the one and two star level it is solely about the food on the plate and we make a particular point of stating in the guide “beware of comparing the star given to an expensive <de luxe> establishment to that of a simple restaurant where you can appreciate fine cooking at a reasonable price - The knives and forks will reflect the comfort or style of the restaurant. Our definition of three stars remains inclusive of the words “fine wines, faultless service, elegant surroundings.” which indicates that at this level we look for all round excellence. When inspectors of the GB & Ireland Michelin Guide visit a restaurant do they always present themselves or are they anonymous? Some inspections are anonymous and some are announced after we have paid our bill. We only announce ourselves once a year. We may want to inspect a particular restaurant four or five times in a given year – particularly if they are being considered for a star. As I say, we will only show our hand once and this will be because we need a certain amount of information; to see behind the scenes, in the kitchen and so on. As a general rule we don’t tend to give feedback, we’re not consultants to the industry, the Guide is made for the benefit of our readers. We touched on the rise of The Gastro Pub, have you noticed any other trends in fine dining over the last decade? On that theme there’s perhaps a move towards flexibility and informality. People want to eat out more often but with more flexibility and less formality. I’m not saying the demand for fine dining restaurants is in decline, quite the opposite, it’s just that we’re eating out more as a nation. The major cities outside London have all experienced a resurgence in the number of fine restaurants and hotels – Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. Indeed the same thing is happening in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dublin. To take the second city of England as an example, it is refreshing to see Birmingham, and indeed the Midlands as a whole, develop a good stock of gastronomic restaurants. Can a restaurant take their star with them in the event of a move? Each case is individual and is therefore measured on its own merits. You may find that a star moves with a chef and the restaurant he leaves loses the star, or equally the reverse may be true. A chef’s move may also spawn a new star in the new establishment with the star also remaining in the original restaurant. And again neither restaurant may be awarded a star. Can restaurants advertise Michelin recognition in their literature? Our current policy is that we ask establishments not to mention Michelin in any of their literature. Having said that, we recently sent a questionnaire to featured addresses seeking feedback on a number of issues and this is one area under consideration as a result. All I can say at the moment is watch this space. The 2005 Edition of The Michelin (Red) Guide is published next week? Next Friday, 21st January. However, the press release and all information on new awards etc will be generally available from www.michelin.co.uk from Thursday morning. We’ve put together a much bigger press release than normal this year including more information on how we work and the history of the star awards. We hope this demonstrates that The Michelin Guide is moving towards a more open and transparent philosophy.

George is generally quite adventerous with his food, although he hates peas and disappointed me when he refused the granola saying that he doesn't like it. Alice took great delight in pointing out that he's never even tried it. He's a big meat eater and loves chicken and steak and even duck when he can get it. He's not keen on stews or things like shepherd's pie, which I can't quite understand so maybe that's something we can work on. Both are good with vegetables and fruit in general, especially Alice who eats a lot of kiwi fruit, oranges and satsumas. Alice has a tiny appetite however, only seeming to get hungry every other day. Sometimes it appears like a real chore for her to eat anything. One thing that drives me insane is that both of them regularly ask for, or get themselves drinks which I then find left virtually untouched all around the house. Like most kids though, they prefer stuff that is bad for them, fried foods, burgers, sweets and cakes, but they are far less picky than I remember being at that age (and until the age of about 17 in fact.)

Dinner 17 January After such a large lunch, a light eveing meal was called for, so we used up the leftover chicken leg meat in a club sandwich. The bread was a multi grain loaf from Infinity Foods, lightly toasted under the grill, then topped with watercress dressed with apple viniagrette, both left over from Saturday's meal. I added some sliced avocado, red onion and cherry tomatoes and finished off with the chicken meat bound with mayonnaise.

Lunch 17 January Breakfast today was of course more granola (there's a bucketful of the stuff still to eat). My wife had the day off work so we met up for lunch at E-Kagen sushi and noodle bar in Brighton's North Laines. Its above the wonderfully named Yum Yum Noodles, an asian supermarket. As you can see, its not a fancy place, but the food is excellent. Gill had the fried pork noodles and I had the chasyu men (ramen and roast pork slices) The bill including free teas came to 15 pounds.

Dinner 16 January None of us were hungry come lunch time, so we waited to eat at Alice's belated birthday party. Being born on Boxing Day makes having your party on the day itself a bit difficult, so we had a family tea with some relations in December and waited a couple of weeks before holding the "official" party for Alice and her friends. The party was at a local community with a huge bouncy castle "assualt course" and we got them to do the catering as well. Not really worth discussing here I'm afraid. Suffice to say that next year we've decided to do it ourselves at home. Dinner was roast chicken. I seasoned the bird well inside and out and stuffed the cavoty with a few halved shallots. I rubbed the skin with oil and butter and then poured a glass or so of white wine into the roasting tin along with some cloves of garlic, thyme and bay. This roasted at 180 degrees c for about 80 miutes until the breast was done. I then removed the legs and returned them to the oven to finish cooking. I reduced the cooking juices by half, passed through a chinois and then whisked with a stick blender to create the sauce. I served it with roast potatoes; brussel sprouts; a stuffing made from the sausages left over from the mornings breakfast, some diced onion, chopped bacon, panko breadbrumbs, an egg, thyme, salt and pepper and a puree of butternut squash made by roasting the squash, then scooping the flesh from the skin, passing it through a sieve and reheating with a good amount of butter.

Breakfast 16 January I very rarely eat a Full English Breakfast, so its a real treat to take the time to cook one at home for the family. As with the traditional roast dinner (see tonights dinner), a Full English is a pretty complicated dish to prepare and requires a degree of organisation to get all the elements ready at the same time. I only have a four burner hob which makes things a bit difficult when it comes to a fried breakfast, so I cook or finish as much of it in the oven as I can. So for example I started the lovely, meaty "Old English" pork and sage sausages from my local butcher in a grill pan on the hob, which I then transfered to the oven to fisnish the cooking. I laid the bacon out on the rack of a roasting tin cooked it in the oven to save some frying pan space. Muchrooms were cooked with a dot of butter and salt and pepper on a baking tray in the oven as well. I peeled, sliced and boiled a few potatoes for a moment or so. I then drained the water and returned the pan to the heat to dried the potatoes out. I then scored them on each side with a fork and sauteed them in vegetable oil. I fried the eggs gently in butter and served the whole lot up with some baked beans and hot buttered toast (sliced white of course).

Mongo, glad you are enjoying it. I don't approve of wastage either and I will document some of the ways I use leftovers later in the blog.

You are too kind, I'll try not to disappoint No, I was simply dropping her name in order to make myself sound more interesting and important than I actually am. I think I'm going to open a chain of Flapjack stores across Canada and North America, if only to annoy the natives. In my youth, I could often be found doing the Beaver Pie at house parties, although I actually favoured the mash potato, the swim and of course the twist. I have a scone recipe by English chef John Tovey which includes curry powder. Its very good, although my favourite is Darina Allen's sweet scone recipe. I could knock some up if you are serious. He's found are really good place for beaver pie. I can't tell you the feeling of panic that overtook me when, for the second week running, I visited my local supermarket only to find empty shelves again where the Branston should have been. I've managed to track down a jar or two on the black market, but any further donations will be gratefully recieved.

Dinner 15 January Menu Seared Scallops with Watercress, Apple and Fennel Salad with Apple Vinaigrette Pan Fried Royal Bream with Creamed Cabbage and Red Wine Sauce Petit pot au Chocolate There are very few occasions when I am entirely satisfied with a plate of food that I produce. I've either made some error in the cooking process, or the idea for the dish was flawed in the first place. Saturday night however was one of those rare times where everything just falls in to place. I don't think I could have done anything to improve the dish of seared scallops with apple, fennel and watercress salad and apple viniagrette that I served as a starter. I've had the idea of scallops with apple and fennel for quite some time now but never really cracked how to put the three ingredients together. I took the pairing of scallop with apple from a recipe in Caterer magazine by British chef Tim Powell who at the time was head chef of the late lamented "The Canteen" in Chelsea harbour. I'd wanted to do something with fennel after seeing a recipe by Alfred Portale where three different preperation of the vegetable were combined in a salad. The idea of shaved fennel seemed like a good way to get control of the vegetables quite aggressive flavour, scattering little hits of it throughout a dish. I wanted the apple to give a very green, crisp flavour, so Granny Smith was the obvious choice. Watercress suggested itself as the natural peppery foil to the tart apple and the perfumed anise of the fennel. Apple viniagrette seemed like a nice idea although until I started to make it, I really had no firm idea how to incorporate the apple into the dressing. I started by mixing cider vinegar and mustard together with some salt and pepper and whisking in equal quantities of olive and vegetable oils. I then made a very fine dice of some of the apple and stirred it in to the dressing. It still needed something more to achieve a true apple character. I considered adding some apple juice from a carton but thought it would taste too sweet. It then occured to me that if I used my microplane to grate the apple, the flesh would turn to pulp and I could squeeze that through a chinois to extract the juice. This, along wth some finely chopped chives completed the dressing perfectly. Not owning a Japanese mandolin, I wondered as I peeled the fennel if my knife skills were up to producing thin enough slices of the vegetable. Only then did it hit me that I could simply go on peeling the fennel with the speed peeler to produce exactly the result I was looking for. I combined the fennel, trimmed watercress and some finely sliced apple in a bowl and dressed it with a little of the viniagrette. I removed the scallops from the half shell using a dessert spoon, pushing it down between the muscle and the flesh and then around and under to scoop out the scallop. I washed off the sand and grit (there was quite a lot of it. Obviously dredged, not hand dived scallops. ) and then sliced each of the scallops into two across the middle, which I then briefly seared in oil and butter for one minute on one side and 30 seconds on the other. I arranged the salad in the centre of a large white plate and spooned two stripes of the viniagrette either side, then laid 4 scallop slices on top of the salad. The finishing touch was a few leaves of thyme on each slice. The result was very elegant, white on green, and it tasted very good indeed. For the bream, I began by filleting the fish and making a stock from the trimmings by sweating a shallot, some fennel and leek in oil, then adding the chopped bones. I cooked these for a moment or two then added a splash of wine, some water, a bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns. I bought this to the boil, skimmed the surface and allowed it to simmer for a round 20 minutes before passing it through a chinois. For the cabbage, I first made a fine brunoise (or dice) of swede, carrot and celeriac and blanched them in boiling water, drained and refreshed them. I sliced one onion finely and sweated it in a pan for about 5 minutes until it was soft, then added a head of finely sliced savoy cabbage and cooked it gently for around 45 minutes to an hour until it had completely collapsed and softened. I added a drop of water from time to time to prevent the cabbage from sticking. (I picked up this technique, which produces a strongly flavoured, slightly caramelised result, from Bibendum restaurant in London when I worked a day in their kitchens. At the time, they were serving the cabbage with cream and juniper to accompany pheasant.) I finished the cabbage by adding cream and the reserved diced vegetables and seasoning it well. The sauce was made by reducing half a bottle of red wine with three sliced shallots, thyme, bay and peppercorns until it reached a syrupy consistency, then adding the fish stock I had made earlier and reducing again to coating consistency. I finished the sauce by adding butter (monte au beurre) and correcting the seasoning. I pan fried the bream in olive oil and butter skin side down on a medium heat for around five minutes in order to achieve a crisp skin. This method protects the flesh and prevents it from drying out. I turned the fish over in the pan and took it of the heat to finish the cooking. I re-heated the cabbage and the sauce and served as pictured below. The chocolate dessert was made very simply by whisking egg yolks and sugar together and adding chocolate melted in milk and some vanilla infused cream. I mixed this well then poured into ramekins and cooked on a low heat for an hour and allowed then to cook in the fridge for as long as we could resist the temptation of eating them. (picture to follow).

They enjoy it once in a while and for short periods of time. George is taking "Food Technology" classes at school at the moment and cooked some carrot cakes at home with no help from me from a recipe he learnt at school. I'm keen that when they eventually leave home, they'll be able to feed themselves well. I couldn't even boil an egg when I left the nest.

I enlisted the help of Alice and George in making their evening meal, getting them to pane the cod which I had skinned, de-boned and trimmed into fingers for Alice and a large single fillet for George. We laid out three plates; the first with some well seasoned plain flour, a second with an egg, cracked and whisked by Alice, and a third with Panko breadcrumbs. I first came across Panko or Japanese breadrumbs back in the mid-90's when I spent some time in the kitchen at The Fifth Floor at Harvey Nichols when Henry Harris was head chef there. He used them for a number of purposes, not least his excellent fishcakes. I'm sure most of you are familiar with them, but if not, they are shreds of breadcrumbs and they produce a really nice crunchy texture. Here is Alice and George hard at work: I made some potato wedges by simply cutting some unpeeled maris pipers into eighths, tossing in some sunflower oil and baking in a hot oven on a baking tray. The fish was shallow fried and accompanied by plain boiled broccoli. The wedges cooked a little longer than they should have done, but both kids cleaned their plates.

Lunch today was an onion bagel with ham. Hardly worth mentioning except that it was accompanied by a packet of spicy tomato Wheat Crunchies (see the Joy of Snacks thread on the UK forum for the significance of this fact).

My eGCI course on leaf salads is here if thats any help.

Thanks. I would have used something like flageolet in preference to red kidney beans if I had any in the house, and maybe some fresh herbs like flat leaf parsley or tarragon, but I quite liked the clean unadulterated taste of the veg coming through.

I have to admit that I was wasteful and threw away the vegetable carcasses, but they could easily have been turned into a root veg mash (leaving out the courgette of course).

15 January: Breakfast Breakfast was of course the granola Alice and I made last night. Very delicious it was too. Not so very different from the flapjack really is it? Just had time for yet another instant coffee before heading out to Monteum Fish in Shoreham By Sea. An 8 mile trip along the coast just to get fresh fish! I picked up some scallops and dorade for Gill and I and some cod fillet for the kids. I asked permission to take a few shots of the shop but found that I had left the memory card for my digital camera in the reader attached to my computer at home. I'll try and get out there again before this blog is finished, but they had a good variety of fresh and smoked fish including guernard, codling, whiting, local bass, turbot, brill, red snapper, red mullet, haddock, salmon, crab, and a tank with live lobsters. The menu for tonight will be seared scallops with fennel and watercress salad with an apple viniagrette followed by fillet of dorade with creamed cabbage and red wine sauce and then something with chocolate to finish. Not sure what yet, will have to hit the recipe book this afternoon. I'm doing the kids fillet of cod in breadcrumbs with homemade potato wedges and a green vegetable of some sort. No doubt smothered in tomato ketchup. Vegetables and sundry supplies came from Sainsbury supermarket in West Hove, then a final stop at our local butcher (5 minutes walk from the house) for a farm chicken for dinner tomorrow, along with a pound of pork and sage sausages and some bacon for a full english breakfast tomorrow morning.

Brighton rock is of course on the list of must try local delicacies. I can probably get away with a shot or two of the piers (must stay on topic however) but I don't think they allow photography in the Pavillion. The banquetting room is stunning and I can at least get hold of a postcard and scan it in.

There is a small fleet that operates out of the Marina and sells to local restaurants and the fish shop that I visited this morning (more of which later).

The soundtrack to last night's cooking was the Radio 4 arts show Front Row, so no music oddly enough. I was a bit tired last night and running late. We didn't eat until 9.00pm and by that time the edge had gone off my hunger. If it wasn't for this blog, I probably wouldn't have taken the time to do all those vegetable balls, so preparing the meal was a bit of a slog. Even so it was all done with care and attention and as a result tasted good. Not a sparklingly good meal, but OK considering the "recipe" was made up on the spot.

Dinner 14 January A review of food in the house revealled a mass of vegetables that needed using up. After the idea of cabbage and butternut squash soup was rejected by a look of mild horror on my wife's face, I decided a simple vegetable broth would have to do. I fried a rasher of bacon and a crushed clove of garlic to flavour some olive oil, in which I then sweated one choppped onoin, a celery stalk and some white of leek. I used a tiny Pariseinne cutter to make balls from swede, potato, carrot and courgette. Here's what was left of the vegetables after I had finished with them: I added the balls to the sweated vegetables, covered with water and bought the soup to the boil. I then put back the bacon and garlic, some tinned red kidney beans to add body, and a bay leaf, some peppercorns, salt and pepper and a small piece of chicken stock cube. I simmered the soup very gently for 30 minutes until I was happy with the flavour, adjusted the seasoning and served. The Pariseinne balls are really only for show, and a dice or even roughly chopped pieces would be just as good. Using the cutter however does ensure that all your veg is of an even size and will cook at the same rate. You could add the courgette later in the cooking process as it will cook more quickly than the roots (or even omit it, I just happened to have one to use up), but I found that they held their shape and texture even going in right at the start.

As promised, a proper cup mid-morning coffee made from a brand given to me by the lovely Sophie Conran (if your wondering if this sort of unseemly name dropping will be carrying on for the entire blog, then the anwer is almost certainly going to be yes). I grabbed a cheese and salad roll for lunch (again made by my wife. Don't worry, I do get around to some cooking soon). I popped into Infinity Foods in Brighton's bohemian North Laines area. It's a workers co-operative and retailer of organic and fairtrade goods. I suppose you could broadly call it a "health food shop" but they also stock nice breads and have an excellent range of dried herbs and spices however, I was interested in the grains and nuts to make granola for tomorrows breakfast On my way into the office I was pleased to spot that noodle bar I was too busy to eat anything else in the afternoon, although I did manage several more cups of coffee (instant again). Back home, I enlisted the help of Alice in weighing out and stirring the ingredients for our granola. The recipe is by Michelin starred chef John Campbell of The Vineyard restaurant and appears in "A Cooks Guide To Grains" by Jenni Muir. I've e mailed Jenni and requested permission to reproduce the full recipe here so hopefully I will get the OK soon. I can tell you that there's rolled oats, malted wheat flakes, barley flakes and loads of dried fruits among other things . You dowse the whole liberally in Mexican honey (or as we did, Maple Syrup) and toast it in the oven.

Apologies for the bad link and yes, the younger members of the family (that's all of them in fact) awill be making an appearance very soon.

Yes, quite a few drinks as it turned out. The gardens are amazing, definately worth a visit. I don't know of much else around there apart from The Royal Garden Hotel. if you can just have a drink in the restaurant on the top floor, that would be worth it for the views.