Andy Lynes

I was interested to read this in the caterer this week about former employees of The Glass House, featured in episode 2 of the series.

Sholsd be very soon. Its compiled and just needs a bit of formatting. I'll get around to it as soon as I can.

Romaney - welcome to eGullet, glad you finally made the plunge. Very generally speaking, the higher you go up the Michelin ladder, the less likely you are to find the menu changing. Consistancy is the key to keeping hold of the full set and the easiest way to achieve that is by having very well rehearsed food. That said, someone like Gagnaire probably changes his menu more than he changes his socks, so there are exceptions.

Chefs talking about other chef's food - don't you just love it?

I failed to mention Claire in my post which was a serious omission. Even if she was working for a chef like Tim from Bonapartes of "Kitchen Nightmare" fame, it would be worth making a special trip to the restaurant just for the service. She is a big part of what makes Hibiscus so good. She manages to balance the sort of professionalism and polish you expect from a 2 star with the warmth you associate with a local restaurant. Not an easy thing to do, but she truely succeeds.

My deadline is next Monday, but when it will actually appear I'm not sure, possibly in the issue after next which will be the end of the month. As to the style of presentation at Hibiscus, Bosi is mercifully simple in this department. For example, the first dish was served in a small mottled grey (earthenware?) bowl. A quenelle of the morel sorbet was set on a mound of the fricasse with a ruffle of the frothy coconut milk around it. The warm veloute was poured at the table. If I recall correctly, all the remaining courses (apart from the foie gras ice cream which came in the same type of bowl as the morels) were served on square and rectangular white plates of various sizes. The dory was simply one large meaty fllet positioned in the centre of the plate. To its left was the olive sauce and smoked butter, to its right the carrot puree. On top was a caramelised pinenut and on that a baby carrot. The lamb was another highlight. A whole rack of what must have been a very young animal, french cut with beautifully crisp and tasty fat, had been cut into two pieces and position in the centre of the plate, one standing up, the other laid on the side. Scattered around it were peas, broad beans, cockles and the puree. There was no "painting" going on however, there wasn't an artful arrangement of dots and dashes to be seen, just plate after plate of lovingly prepared food.

<FONT="verdana"> <P><BR><TABLE ALIGN=right border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=234><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u10/i6800.jpg" WIDTH=234 HEIGHT=320</TD></TR></TABLE> <P>I was fortunate enough to be invited by Restaurant Magazine to interview Claude Bosi. I of course leapt at the opportunity and drove up to Ludlow yesterday for the meeting at Hibiscus. Claude was kind enough to rustle me up a spot of lunch on the house. Details follow, with a few pictures for your vicarious enjoyment (no pics of the food I'm afraid as it's a small restaurant and I didn't want to disturb the other diners, so words will have to suffice on that score). <P>I reviewed Hibiscus for my own site a little over 2 years ago. I paid the bill myself and thought it one of the best restaurants around at the time. I said back then that Hibiscus could be whatever it wanted to be. As I learnt from my chat with Claude, the ambition was always for 2 Michelin stars, which, as we know was realised in January of this year. <P>Given that I have already made my feelings known online about the place, I will not let the fact that this time around no money changed hands prevent me from updating my views on Hibiscus. If you feel my judgements may be impaired by the circumstances under which the meal was eaten, feel free to ignore the following comments. Or perhaps write to your local MP. <P>Bosi remains in my view at the very forefront of modern haute cuisine in the UK. He has neither adopted the trappings of "molecular gastronomy" nor remained purely classsical in style. The food at Hibiscus is individual, inventive and wholly distinctive. In my experience and to my knowledge, there is no one cooking quite like him in this country. I am not qualified to make judgements about his importance or originality on a European or global basis, but for my money, he is in the top 3 in this country. I'll have to come back to you on who might make up the remaining two. <P>Bosi's playful use of sweet and savoury and hot and cold throughout the meal is masterful. For example, the marriage of morels and asparagus at this time of year is a given. It's a match made in heaven. But bring coconut and pistachio into the equation and you have something surprising and delightful. The fact that it is served in the form of a sorbet of morels surrounded by a hot veloute of asparagus make for an arresting and amusing start to the meal. <TABLE ALIGN="center"><TR><TD><TABLE border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=320><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u10/i6795.jpg" WIDTH=320 HEIGHT=240</TD></TR></TABLE></TD><TD> <TABLE border=0><TR> <TD WIDTH=320><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u10/i6799.jpg" WIDTH=320 HEIGHT=240</TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR> <TR><TD><TABLE ALIGN=right border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=320><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u10/i6797.jpg" WIDTH=320 HEIGHT=240</TD></TR></TABLE></TD><TD><TABLE ALIGN=left border=0> <TR><TD WIDTH=320><IMG SRC="http://images.egullet.com/u10/i6794.jpg" WIDTH=320 HEIGHT=240</TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR></TABLE> <P>Bosi's food quite often brings a smile to the face. Not in an arch, knowing "I-see-what-he's-doing-here" sort of way. Its just so pleasurable to eat that you can't help but feel happy that you decided to spend a Wednesday afternoon doing just that instead of, well, pretty much anything else you can think of really. It's not always perfect of course, a jerusalem artichoke creme brulee was a little too inventive for my tastes, although expertly done of course. But how can you not love a chef that uses gherkins in a sauce, or gets blocks of butter cold smoked for him? <P>(By the way, Claire Bosi told me that a waiter managed to break 8 of the specially commissioned beautiful orange glass cover bowls (see picture above) in one fell swoop. The bowls cost more than £100.00 a piece. Oddly enough, that waiter no longer works at Hibiscus). <P>The Meal <P>Sorbet & Fricasse of Morel Mushroom with Coconut Milk, Veloute of Local Asparagus <P>Scallop with Puree of Garden Peas, Almond Milk Foam<BR> <P>Roasted Fillet of John Dory, Black Olive & Gherkin Sauce, Carrot Puree, Smoked Butter <P>Roast Pauilac Lamb, Puree of Spring Garlic, Fricasse of Morcombe Bay Cockles <P>Savoury Ice Cream of Foie Gras, Warm Emulsion of Brioche, Balsamic Vinegar Caramel <P>Strawberries with Sorrel Jelly and Black Pepper Cream <P>Classic Creme Brulee of Jerusalem Artichoke, Toasted Oats, Caramel Ice Cream <P>Madelines and Chocolates with Coffee

The Q&A is now underway here. Shaun has already imparted some seriously good information already, so please go ahead and post any cookery questions and queries you may have, its a rare opportunity to pick the brains of a master of the craft of cooking.

So basically your meal at East at West was your starter. On that basis, you should have had dessert at Aubergine as well, or at the very least a Mars Bar from petrol station on the way home. Not that I would ever dream of doing such a thing my self of course. Or for example, and this is just off the top of my head, go back to the hotel and eat the Toblerone out of the mini-bar after going out for a big meal. Never, ever, ever.

I don't suppose chef Drabble would like to host a meeting of the burger club would he?

Seasoning with salt seems to me to be a crucial part of making food taste good. Can a cook learn to season "correctly", or is it an entirely subjective matter?

Shaun will be around all week to answer you cookery queries, be it how to ensure your souffle rises or how to select the most appropriate cooking method for a particular cut of meat. As you may know, Shaun runs the permanently packed "The Merchant House" restaurant in Ludlow England and constitutes its entire kitchen brigade, so we would ask that you allow Shaun to find time to post his response to the questions set before making your own contributions to any existing thread. Shaun is looking forward to answering your questions and remember that at the end of the week, one participant in the session (excluding site officials) will be drawn at random and will recieve a copy of Shaun's latest book "How To Cook Better".

We are delighted to announce Shaun Hill, chef proprietor of The Merchant House, Ludlow, England will be running the first eGullet Culinary Institute Interactive Cooking Clinic. Shaun will be online to answer all your culinary queries in this special Q&A session next week (May 10-14), so join us then to take advantage of this unique opportunity. N.B. - this Q&A is limited to questions directly related to cooking. Please see Shaun's previous Q&A for his answers to more general questions about his life and work as a chef/restaurateur. To read my recent Daily Gullet interview with Shaun and see an extract from his new book click here. About Shaun As you will see from his CV below, Shaun combines the running of The Merchant House with writing and consulting, and has over 35 years experience in the restaurant trade. Shaun caused quite a stir in 1994 when he left the luxurious and internationaly renowned Gidleigh Park hotel and restaurant (where he also won a Michelin Star) and moved to the then culinary hinterland of rural Shropshire. The AA guide compared the career change to being like Damien Hill giving up formula 1 racing for driving a bus! Since the opening of The Merchant House however, Ludlow has become a mecca for "foodies" and professional chefs alike. Shaun's presence has attracted other high flyers to the historic market town which is now home to no less than 3 Michelin starred restaurants and an annual food and drink festival. Courtesy of those lovely people at Mitchell Beazley, we have a copy of Shaun's most recent book How To Cook Better to give away. The winner will be drawn at random from those taking part in this weeks clinic. Read my recent interview with Shaun on The Daily Gullet. Shaun Hill's CV : born 1947 London Irish Cooking experience 1967 - 71 Carriers restaurant London 1972 - 74 Gay Hussar London 1975 - 76 Intercontinental Hotel - Souffle restaurant 1976 - 77 Capital Hotel - working Head Chef 1978 - 80 Blakes Head Chef - setting up new restaurant 1980 - 82 Lygon Arms Head Chef 1983 - 85 Hills Restaurant Stratford upon Avon Chef patron 1985 - 94 Gidleigh Park Chef and MD 1994 - now Merchant House Awards and similar Egon Ronay guide Chef of the Year 1993 Caterer and Hotelkeeper Chef award 1993 - Catey Caterer and Hotelkeeper Restaurateur of the year 2001 21 in Restaurant Magazine's 50 Best Restaurants in the World awards senior academicien Academie Culinaire de France Outside interests Research fellow Dept of Classics Exeter University Menu consultant to British Airways Books Shaun Hill's Gidleigh Park Cookery Book - Random Century 1990 (reprinted in paperback 1995 as Shaun Hill's Cookery Book) Quick and Easy Vegetables - BBC Books 1993 Cooking at the Merchant House - Conran Octopus 2000 How To Cook Better - Mitchell Beazley 2004 (with Dr J Wilkins) Archestratus the Life of Luxury translation and commentary - Prospect Books 1994 Forthcoming (with Dr J.Wilkins) Food in the Ancient World - Blackwell

clb - I'm interested that you found the foie gras to be the highlight of your meal. I found it very disappointing when I had it at lunch recently. The dish I had was exactly as you describe, but with just two slices of foie gras. I thought the foie was overwhelmed by the plethora of other ingredients on the plate, especially the brittle sandwich of pain d'epice and the acidic apple mousse and jelly. Between them, the foie never stood a chance. This seems to continue the trend of divergent expereinces/perceptions of this restaurant. A friend of mine, whom I was sure would dislike the food and the overall experience, found it to be "outstanding" with "faultless service". He is an exceptionally difficult man to please. Go, and in no small way, figure.

UK chef Bruce Poole wrote a very nice review of "How To Cook Better" for the trade magazine "Caterer and Hotelkeeper" which is online here.

I can only speak for myself, but certainly for the recipes I contributed to the course (the Brill and Red Lentil soups), I would be looking for something close to a sauce coating consistancy, so really quite light. But I'm sure there's an arguement that more "rustic" style thick soups could have a heavier, thicker consistancy. Just don't ask me to eat them.

It will be here here soon I would imagine.

Its common menu-speak in the UK and is probably traceable to the formerly 3 Michelin starred Marco Pierre White. White was very influential in the UK and in addition, his former employees have gone on to open their own places and to mis-apply the term themselves.

Bainesy - congratulations on your first post - look forward to many more. No, I haven't tried those recipes, but I particularly like the sound of the risotto. I'll definately give that a go.

Has anyone tried slicing the raw florets on a mandoline for ultra thin and crispy results? You could even deep fry them.

A thread is already running on this subject on the Food Media and News board here.

I interviewed British chef Andrew Turner for eGullet recently. One of his "signature dishes" is the Vongerichten-influenced "Seared Celtic Scallop, Cauliflower and Courgette, Capers and White Sultanas". The cauliflower is broken into florets, thinly sliced, dusted with icing sugar and pan fried from raw. You can see the results on this thread. I was making cauliflower, courgette and chorizo gratin for dinner last night. I poached the whole head of cauli for about 10 minutes until tender, then cut away the florets from the stem. Whilst sauteeing the courgettes for the gratin, this thread came to mind. I thinly sliced the stalk, which I would have usually tossed on the bin, and put the slices into the saute pan with the courgettes and cooked until brown on both sides, which took just a few minutes. I dried them on kitchen paper, salted them and the result were some very nice cauli-crisps. The poaching/blanching of the whole head could be carried out before slicing and roasting as per the "original" recipe for a shorter cooking time in the oven, although it will probably yield a slightly different texture.

You'll find it here. And thanks for the compliment!

Was a £1.5mill project, now turns out to be £6.5mill!! They haven't got Sting's old accountant working on the figures have they: "One and a half for you and one, two, three, four, five for me." I note this comment from the leader of the local council, "The loss of Rick Stein is quite major. He was going to be the lead name to attract other investors into the town. We'd like something of the same if we could get it." Come on Basildog, can't you take a hint...

One sommelier and Aiken's head chef are Irish I believe. The majority of the front of house staff are Frenchmen some of whom don't even look old enough to be leagally able to serve alcohol.