Andy Lynes

...and I called him about 5 minutes after you left! Very small world.

Nonsense, the man obviously has impeccable taste! As much as I love the Square, I wonder if its the right venue for a 10th Wedding Anniversary. The atmosphere is pretty lively and it can get quite noisey. Whatever you think of the decor, Ramsay is a romantic space and I think the style of service is just right for the occassion.

No, but Moby and I are are going to write an article to be published on the UK forum about the 1880 grazing menu concept which includes an interview with Andrew Turner.

The vegetable salad was presented in a manner similar to that of chef Bruce Poole when he served it at his London restaurant Chez Bruce (as an aside, Bruce told me that he couldn't afford to keep the dish on his menu, which is set price. That's an indication of how much good young veg costs these days!). The eggs, anchovy and leek salad was done "a la minute" and was sort of inspired by watching a Pierre Gagnaire DVD a few nights before. Although there is certainly no direct correlation between the food I saw him prepare and what I have done, it was that improvisational feel I wanted to replicate. I have to say that I don't think it was a very successful experiment on my part and that in addition my photographic efforts were rather poor. It is however an excellent dish and I wish I could have done Bruce's recipe justice. In terms of how salads are usually presented, you are more likely to see them mounded up in the centre of a plate than the methods I have used.

You can get the Gatwick Express which is only 30 minutes. Nevertheless, you'll need to be in and out quite quickly I would have thought to make your connection. If you are landing at Heathrow, Fat Duck or The Waterside Inn is a 20 minute taxi ride away (probably quite an expensive taxi ride however).

Ramsay is aware of eGullet, but whether he or his staff actually reads it is another thing!

Of the restaurants on your list that I have visited Tom Aikens, The Square,Le Gavroche, Chez Bruce, La Trompette, Bibendum, 1880, Bentley hotel and Gordon Ramsay, I would say that, if money is no object, Ramsay is the most appropriate for a 10th Anniversary meal.

Indeed it is, Bains is quoted in the Caterer as saying he is ready to "put his balls on the line", which is all very nice I suppose, but hands up who'd prefer that he just carry on cooking.

This may help. I'm sure I read somewhere that Hart's had opened another restaurant but I can't find it now.

Don't know what its like on a Sunday, but I was seated immeadiately (as one half of a party of 2) at 6.45pm last Wednesday evening. There was no queue during the 2 and 3/4 hours we were there, although the room was consistantly busy.

Sounds like you have everything under control, but just in case, I was told last week that there is a three week lead time for a table at La Regalade so you would need to book straight away if that is true.

I think you'll have a great time as a group of four. The ideal configuration would be two and two around one of the corners of the bar rather than 4 in a row and that may well be possible on a Sunday. Whatever, my guess is that you will enjoy it and that it will provide a nice contrast to your other meals, its a very different style of dining.

Indeed, especially considering Thierry de la Brosse is co-owner and must have his own input to the place. However, chef David Rathgeber has been involved in Ducasse's various restaurants for some while now, most recently at Spoon in New York, so some of the great man's magic might have rubbed off on him.

I've just come back from a week in Paris and although I didn't dine in any starred establishments (at least I don't think I did, has Robuchon got one?) my thoughts were that London still has a long way to go to catch up. Three stunning meals and two pretty good ones in 4 days, none of which were more than around €70 (£50.00) a head. I don't think I could maintain that average in London.

The trip got off to an "interesting" start when my plane arrived at CDG just after 9.30am, a great deal earlier than the scheduled time. Flicking through my guide to Paris I noticed that La Regalade opened its doors at 11.00am. In theory, I calculated that I had just enough time to jump on the RER to Denfert-Rochereau, take a short cab ride to the restaurant, enjoy a bargain lunch and be in La Defence in time for my first meeting at 2.00pm. I didn't know the precise time I would get to Regalade, but knew that I would need to be seated as soon as I arrived. I decided therefore not to phone ahead. Given that it was early on a Monday morning, I anticipated that I would have the place all to myself and the thought of trying to book a table for an unspecified time in English seemed more trouble than it was worth. Things began to unravel as soon as I arrived at Denfert-Rochereau which appeared to be a taxi-free zone. When I eventually tracked one down, the driver refused the fare, telling me the restaurant was only around the corner. Like a fool I believed him and headed off, dragging my wheeled suitcase and PC bag down the mean streets of the 14th Arrondissement. Fifteen minutes later, sweating unpleasantly and feeling a complete berk, I arrived to find the restaurant ominously quiet. As I barged my way inside, baggage in tow, I realised something was wrong. A photographer's reflecting screen was taking up a large proportion of the tiny dining room and, though it was hardly necessary to ask, the photographer confirmed that the restaurant was closed for lunch for a shoot. Just to rub salt into the wound, he explained that even if the restaurant had been open "you would not have sat down. The restaurant is booked three weeks in advance." "Even at lunch?" I asked incredulously, "Even at dinner" he replied, not quite answering the question put to him, but I got the idea. Chef Yves Camdeborde appeared, and when the situation was explained to him he shook my hand, shrugged and gave me a pitying look. I was then left on the street, hungry and with no idea where I could get lunch and still be on time for my meeting. It was looking like the detour would be a wasted one and I would have to admit defeat and head directly to the barren lands of La Defence. The photographer then re-appeared and asked if I needed a suggestion of an alternative venue for lunch. Not only did he recommend a place (reassuring me that "its OK I work with all the chefs"), but he even rang ahead and booked on my behalf. A thoroughly decent and civilised thing to do of course, but somehow I was not surprised at this act of kindness. The fact that I had been idiotic enough to travel straight from the airport to try and bag lunch at one of the city's best known and hard to book bistros without a reservation, coupled with my hangdog and deflated expression when I realised that I had been unsuccessful in my quest, must have been enough to alert the photographer that he was dealing with a fellow member of the International Fraternity of Food. And as we know, IFF members always help each other out. A short cab ride later, I was seated in Manufacture sipping a bier blonde and choosing from the €30 set menu. Chef Jean-Christophe Lebascle worked with the likes of Michel Guérard, Michel Rostang and Marc Meneau in the 80's and joined Manufacture on Rue Ernst near the Parc Des Expositions in 1994. A converted tobacco factory, the dining room is split into two levels. My table towards the back of the lower level had a nice view of the gardens backing onto the restaurant. The menu described a dish of "Les Oreilles De Cochon Serves Tiedes et Croustillantes" as "L'entrée préférée du Chef " and I was in no mood to argue. I fought the urge to announce "well, you've made a right pigs ear of this!" as the plate was set down in front of me, and instead tucked in to the mound of sliced, crispy porcine extremity sat on a bed of aggressively dressed leaves. It was an enjoyable enough start to the meal and complimented the beer nicely, reminiscent as it was of that classic pub snack, pork scratchings. A main course of pave of veal, gnocchi and pesto was cooked "rose" as requested. Although the small, uniform dumplings looked to have been bought in, they were none the worse for that and made for a nice, cheesy accompaniment to the meat. Blobs of pesto sauce were the only hint of green on the plate, but overall it made for a satisfying lunch dish, despite the lack of vegetation that would have lighten things up. The cooking slipped into another gear entirely for dessert. Although billed with "Oeuf" as the leading ingredient, only a neatly decapitated shell made it onto the plate, acting as a receptacle for what turned out to be some delicious chocolate sauce. I say "turned out to be", as I spent some time trying to figure out how on earth I could get at the contents of the shell with a spoon that was too big to fit into the egg's apperture. Luckily, a waiter spotted my consternation and mimed a tipping motion with his hands. It was then I realised that the idea was to pour the sauce over the pyramid of deliciously light pistachio financier that was the real star of the show. A stunningly rich and bitter chocolate sorbet completed the knock-down highlight of the meal. Good and strong espresso came with 2 excellent madelines and a chocolate truffle. €45.00 including service and I made my meeting on time, although only just. Dinner that evening was at Gli Angeli, a very informal Italian in the 3rd Arrondissment. I arranged this mostly as a sop to my business collegue who has a soft spot for Italy but professes an antipathy to the French (so, just the sort of chap you want to spend a week in Paris with then). I won't go into details, but suffice to say we ate our way through antipasti, primo and secondi with little trouble. Portions were large, the wine was cheap and the service was fast and friendly. Carpaccio came with all manner of unnecessary extras including a whole mozzarella, but the beef looked sound. Linguine alla vongole was good, but a tomato-based stew of squid was a little odd and very chilli-hot. I was most impressed that night however by the arrival of a table for four who had an enormous Rhodesian Ridgeback dog with them. No one turned a hair and the Ridgeback was impeccably behaved for the whole evening. I simply couldn't imagine a similar scene in the UK. Outstanding dinners at Aux Lyonnaise, L'atelier de Joel Robuchon and Mon Vieil Ami followed and I will report on these on the appropriate threads.

Apart from the fact that Alain Ducasse has interests in both of course!

I think this is down to personal taste. The course represents my style which tends towards keeping things clear and simple. But as long as you maintain the balance of the dish then you are fine. However, I would question the necessity of mixing a large number of different types of leaves. I think there is more impact to be gained from building a dish around just one leaf, or a combination of 2 or 3, than a whole series of what might only be incrementaly different types of leaf. Why make you life any more difficult that it has to be? Its also worth remebering that unless we are talking just about a green salad, you are trying to maintain balance and achieve contrast with other ingredients in the salad, and you will have more chance of being successful in that aim if you limit the number of leaves you choose to use. And of course that holds true for the the dressing; its far easier to match one leaf to any given oil or vinegar you select than have a large number to try and keep happy.

Yes, there's about 100 or so I didn't get around to! I'm going to write up my reports this weekend so they may be of some use to you. I'll put a list up of those restaurants that particularly interested me and that I didn't have time for but please feel under no obligation to try them just for my sake!

fresh_a - good call, thanks for the recommendation. A terrific meal.

A dessert spoon is a little under 2 teaspoons but, yes they are approximately the same.

Charles, would you believe that my two week trip has become a one week trip due to some monumentaly bad planning (this is not terribly interesting but the billing function I was intending to audit turns out to have been moved back to the UK and nobody thought to tell me. However, I was able to just about squeeze a weeks worth of work out of what hasn't yet been moved (basicaly one man and a bunch of spreadsheets)). So the upshot is that I won't be in Paris next week, which is a real shame - Telecomms and Masterchef, thats plain spooky! Was it the UK or US version?

I'll second that. For what its worth, I'm starting to think about my 40th birthday trip to Paris (not till next January, but I'm allowed to dream) and at the moment I'm planning a meal at Aux Lyonnaise followed by one at Plaza Athennee. My guess is that Aux Lyonnaise will be a very tough act to follow.

Warm salad of orange and chicken livers with watercress and sherry vinegar dressing This recipe is from theLeaf Salads course in the eCGI This recipe illustrates the principle of combining warm ingredients with salad leaves to provide a contrast of temperature within the dish. It is inspired by chef Nico Ladenis' famous "Hot Foie gras with Caramelized Oranges on Toasted Brioche". We are using the slightly more affordable but no less delicious offal of chicken livers rather than the expensive and tricky to handle foie gras. These are paired with fresh, rather than cooked orange segments which would overpower the more delicate flavour of the chicken liver. The sherry and walnut flavors in the dressing marry well with the liver and the peppery leaves, and the croutons provide that "essential crunch". 500 g fresh chicken livers Vegetable oil for frying 50 ml of sherry for deglazing 1 orange peeled and cut into skinless segments and sliced into halves 1 large bunch of watercress, stalks trimmed 20 baked croutons for the dressing 1 crushed and minced clove of garlic salt and pepper 1 tsp of mustard 1 dessertspoon of sherry vinegar 1 T of walnut oil 75 ml of olive oil To make the dressing, combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. Whisk in the oils and set aside. Heat the oil in a large think bottomed pan until smoking. Season the livers then sauté for a few minutes. They should still be pink in the middle. Deglaze the pan with the sherry. Combine the water cress and orange segments in a bowl and toss with the dressing to coat. Divide the salad between 4 plates, piling it into the centre. Arrange 5 croutons over and around the salad, then divide the livers equally between the plates and arrange around the salad. Drizzle over the juices from the pan and a little more of the dressing. Serve immediately Keywords: Salad, eGCI ( RG912 )

Warm salad of orange and chicken livers with watercress and sherry vinegar dressing This recipe is from theLeaf Salads course in the eCGI This recipe illustrates the principle of combining warm ingredients with salad leaves to provide a contrast of temperature within the dish. It is inspired by chef Nico Ladenis' famous "Hot Foie gras with Caramelized Oranges on Toasted Brioche". We are using the slightly more affordable but no less delicious offal of chicken livers rather than the expensive and tricky to handle foie gras. These are paired with fresh, rather than cooked orange segments which would overpower the more delicate flavour of the chicken liver. The sherry and walnut flavors in the dressing marry well with the liver and the peppery leaves, and the croutons provide that "essential crunch". 500 g fresh chicken livers Vegetable oil for frying 50 ml of sherry for deglazing 1 orange peeled and cut into skinless segments and sliced into halves 1 large bunch of watercress, stalks trimmed 20 baked croutons for the dressing 1 crushed and minced clove of garlic salt and pepper 1 tsp of mustard 1 dessertspoon of sherry vinegar 1 T of walnut oil 75 ml of olive oil To make the dressing, combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. Whisk in the oils and set aside. Heat the oil in a large think bottomed pan until smoking. Season the livers then sauté for a few minutes. They should still be pink in the middle. Deglaze the pan with the sherry. Combine the water cress and orange segments in a bowl and toss with the dressing to coat. Divide the salad between 4 plates, piling it into the centre. Arrange 5 croutons over and around the salad, then divide the livers equally between the plates and arrange around the salad. Drizzle over the juices from the pan and a little more of the dressing. Serve immediately Keywords: Salad, eGCI ( RG912 )

Bruce Poole's Salad of Soft Boiled Eggs, Leeks and Anchovies This recipe is from the Leaf Salads course in the eCGI. 4 soft boiled eggs 12 baby leeks or 4 medium young leeks sliced into rounds, blanched until tender then refreshed in ice cold water 1 250 gram tin of salted anchovies 2 baby gem lettuces, trimmed of outer leaves and cut into quarters 1 quantity of tarragon cream Cook the eggs according to the instructions in the Hard Cooked Eggs Course. Slice into quarters and arrange on 4 plates along with 2 lettuce quarters, 3 leeks and some of the anchovies. Spoon over the Tarragon Cream and serve as a starter. Keywords: Salad, eGCI ( RG911 )