Andy Lynes

I had one of those cannon of lamb jobbies at Petrus a few years back, although with a different garnish, and found it somewhat lacking. The ice cream filled petit four are spectacular though. Didn't he borrow the idea from somewhere - Guy Savoy maybe?

Myself and jeremy seem to have you trapped in a pincer movement don't we! Its surprising the number of successful chefs who appear to have drifted into catering as a career, never really intending to make it their life's work so i don't think a passionate interest from an early age is a pre-requisit to reaching the highest levels. From what I have read about him, your description could be equally be applied to say Charlie Trotter, who I could easily imagine as a Wall Street high flyer. Most high ranking chefs these are in reality CEO's, Ducasse being the foremost example.

Nice report Moby, but I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting a bit more detail: which street? what make of boots?

I think Petrus offers substance with style: great raw ingredients subjected to an apparently faultless technique combined with a stong visual sense. Carrot squares and courgette "batons"? They pretty much go with the territory, certainly Aikens style places a great deal of importance on how food looks on the plate. For example, Matthew Fort described a "carrot stockade around a refined cold rabbit rillette". If you have eaten the dish or seen a picture, you will know how elaborate it was. There are few people that appreciate more than I the simplicity and intelligence of Shaun Hill's style, where a fillet of red mullet would come with nothing more than a basil sauce. But I also appreciate the wow factor of a beautifully crafted plate of food, which in my opinion is what Wareing serves at Petrus. I'm not sure where you are picking up the idea that Wareing is any less obsessed or committed to his profession than the likes of Blumenthal and Aikens. I think that's quite an assumption to be making about an individual based on one meal.

Please note : some of these links may require free or paid registration to view. This week's selection comes from: The Times The Independent The Guardian The Observer This is London And the new Observer Food Monthly. Restaurants Matthew Fort at The Fox Hunter. Marina O'Laughlin at Harvard Grill. Jan Moir in Sedgefield. Fay Maschler : all over Battersea, some hope and some despair. Jay Rayner is no Joe Schmo. Carolyn Stacey learns Latium. A A Gill in the family way at Patterson's. Matthew Norman says Morgan M is for Marvelous. Giles Coren at Thackeray's Food Heston Blumenthal on cous cous. John Torode, he cooks for the laydeez. Gordon Ramsey on kids food. Mark Hix didn't buy it. Rowley Leigh tells us to get stuffed. Charmed, I'm sure. Nigel Slater and his amazing ginger cakes. Jill Dupleix's chickens are roamin'...sorry, Roman. Wine and Spirits Super plonk. Cellar notes #8: A guiding light. Andrew Catchpole's Xmas wine. Tim Atkin in France. Joanna Simon is on the Sauce again. People will talk.

I'd heard that the chef has moved on. Does anyone know if that is true, if so when and has it affected the quality of the food?

Marcus Wareing is the culinary equivilent of a post-new romantic Suicide influenced electro pop group? What does that actually mean. Certainly not even a whiff of "catering college". When you say that "you find the whole experience deeply naff" are you referring to your meal at The Savoy, as you state that you haven't eaten at Petrus?

Having met Wareing a couple of weeks ago I can assure you that he definately didn't lack intensity or interest in food.

We don't have another lunchtime report to compare mine against so its difficult to say. However, I liked the new Petrus a great deal more then the old Petrus, and for a while, the old version was my favourite spot in London. As you might expect there have been tweaks to the a la carte menu since the launch and I imagine there will be more. Wareing himself says that he is still young and is refining his cuisine, so it could be years before we see "the real Marcus Wareing". My companion and I agreed that Petrus is a strong one star restaurant. The meal was immeasureably better in every regard than my dinner at Pied a Terre and on that highly unscientific basis I would say that Wareing has a chance at two stars this year.

I have been a devotee of Marcus Wareing’s cooking since the early days of Petrus at its original St James Street address. Towards the end of his tenure there however, I began to experience diminishing returns. As the bills rose ever higher, the food failed to deliver the sort of refined punch it initially had. Whether it was me or the restaurant becoming tired, I can’t really say. The loss of the talented maitre’d Christophe Chalvedal was a blow, and the shortcomings of the corridor like room began to grate as the cost for two people reached treble figures. When the total at the bottom of the bill began with a 3, I felt it was time to call it a day. The relocation of Petrus to the old La Tante Claire space in The Berkeley Hotel provided the motivation to give Wareing’s food another chance to impress. The chef has been quite open in stating that the entire operation (which includes a completely refitted ground floor service kitchen with chef’s table plus a basement preparation area) is geared towards helping him reach his goal of 3 Michelin stars. Certainly, interior designer David Collins’ re-think of the dining room has resulted in a deep purple womb that reflects that ambition. Settling into the comfortable plumb coloured leather chairs, the impression is one opulence and privilege. Throughout the meal, waiters steer a myriad of luxury laden trolleys around the room, from champagne, through cheese to “bon bons” (basically a mobile sweetie shop) and digestifs, whilst a parade of black suits attend to your every need. At a recent lunch, my companion and I decided on the attractive sounding set menu option, not least because at £30.00, it was half the price of the a la carte. Wareing now offers 3 rather than 2 choices at each stage plus an optional cheese course at an £8.00 supplement. With dishes such as terrine of smoked ham knuckle and foie gras on cucumber salad, Shiso cress, truffle cream dressing, a Petrus menu reads as appetisingly well as ever. Crispy red mullet served with roasted chestnuts, courgette, pea puree, creamed foie gras and port sauce was presented as a large fillet of prime rouget on a white oval plate. Two arcs of puree spiked with quarters of chestnut and tiny cylinders of baby courgette surrounded the accurately cooked and deeply flavoured fish. This was finished at the table by a waiter (as indeed most plates are) pouring the port sauce from a silver boat. The procedure adds a bit of theatre and ensures the dish is served at the correct temperature. A main course of game tourte on wilted red chicory, sautéed confit sprouts, truffled Madeira sauce was a riot of heady aroma and autumnal flavour. A thin casing of burnished pastry held a powerfully gamey meat and offal farce, a sort of upmarket pasty. This rested on the caramelised chicory and was set in a cordon of diced root vegetables and the best sprouts I am ever likely to taste. Little blobs of creamy foie gras appeared atop perfect squares of carrot into which crispy deep fried parsley leaves were planted like tiny flags. A faultless tarte tatin for two was the best I have had in London. Divided in half at table side, it was served with no little ceremony and accompanied with bowls of clotted cream and vanilla ice cream, a fitting climax to a very impressive lunch. Lunch kicks off with croutons and a cream cheese dip and the offer of champagne from the trolley, continues with a canister of mini white baguettes and, oddly, a simultaneous visit from the man with the bread basket. An amuse of a shot glass of gazpacho with pineapple, watermelon and vanilla (delicious) is adapted from a Pourcel brothers creation, whilst a pre-dessert of mango puree and one or two other things I didn’t quite catch was the only ho-hum bit of food served during the three and a half hour meal. Excellent espresso was accompanied by a choice from the bon bon trolley which included chocolate covered honeycomb, coconut ice and banana macaroons. The terrine as described above and a sizable grilled fillet of sea bass with sautéed globe artichokes, braised salsify and smoked red wine sauce were very well received, but did prompt the observation that Wareing's food can be somewhat oblivious of the seasons. Tomatoes, artichokes and peas had all made anomalous appearances during our meal. In addition, the a la lcarte was short on game with just one main course of braised hare, whilst several other dishes seemed a little out of whack with Wareing's usual style, for example oyster and scallops served with chilli and caviar. There is much to commend the new and much improved Petrus. Maybe there are a few too many staff on the floor which can lead to confusions over which sauce shoul be poured over what plate (an actual occurance at a nearby table) and one too many enquiries about how sir is enjoying the meal. Certainly Wareing's food is now almost as expensive as Ramsay's, and £4.25 for a glass of Kronenbourg 1664 does little to ease wallet strain. To counter this, 20 house wines at less than £20.00 a bottle are on offer, and overall the Petrus experience is such a pleasurable one that these reservations easily fade into the background.

You can get the lowdown here.

BLH - have you been since the change of chef?

Shouldn't that be ham? ...then he would definately need the butter.

It used to, he is now at The Providores and has just opened a venture in New York (don't know the name I'm afraid). David Selex is head chef at The Sugar Club according to the website.

Here I am! Belated reply I know. All I can say about Chez Bruce is that chef Bruce Poole is a friend of mine, that I visit the restaurant regularly and that I have never had a duff dish. They do what they do very well indeed, but are not in thrall to Michelin. I think Bruce is very proud to have a star, but that does not drive or influence unduly what he does. Many chefs say the most important thing to them is a full dining room, Bruce actually means it. So what you will get if you go is the model of a busy London neighbourhood restaurant : great food, very good value wine list (although prices have increased noticably over the 3 years I have been going) and very customer focused staff. Yes they do turn tables, but at £30.00 for the menu, that's not surprising. The restaurant is a 2 minute walk from Wandsworth Common railway station which is between 10 and 15 minutes from Victoria so is very easy to get to.

Looks like Stoke is very much a curry sort of place, but whether any of them are any good or not is another matter. I don't know of anywhere in the town itself that is worth bothering with.

I've flown into Glasgow for a couple of business related overnighters so only know the city centre I'm afraid.

I went a couple of months ago now and have been meaning to write up my meal ever since. I was very impressed by the whole experience. Its a smart modern room with a reasonable sized bar area, a row of cozy booths along the right hand side and a more formal seating area to the left, thereby covering all the bases from the younger crowd, to couples to business trade. Star of the show is without doubt maitre'd Denis Lefrancq, an exceptional talent in my opinion. I had a number of meals around the country the week I ate at York Place and, although I seem to hit a lucky streak on my travels in terms of both food and service, Lefrancq's relaxed professionalism really sticks in my mind. It was a quiet night, but nevertheless he had a mixed bag of clients to contend with and I was impressed by his individual approach to each table, greeting regulars or leaving couples deep in conversation to their own own devices . I am possibly guilty of taking up a little too much of his time as I was in the mood to chat that night (I was dining alone) and Lefrancq was more than happy to talk about the food and wine, the business in general and his former chef Simon Gueller. Lefranq's background is 2 Michelin star and he moves around the dining room with the sort of confidence and precision you find at the highest levels. His affable nature however ensures that the atmosphere remains informal. Martel Smith's food is also very good indeed. A starter of quail breasts with celeriac remoulade was presented as a sliced ballotine of the meat wrapped in ham and a tower of the mustardy vegetable. A main course of pigs trotter with pomme puree was generously proportioned, the nicely gelatinous casing stuffed with delicious sweetbreads and black pudding. An assiette of desserts simply defeated me and would be best enjoyed by two people. It did however demonstrate that there is an assured hand in the pastry section. Time has passed and I made no notes, but a souffle, possibly caramel, was a highlight. Lefranq is also responsible for the restaurants wine list which is notable for te number of reasonably priced bottles. Overall a really enjoyable dinner and I would recommend that if you are visiting Leeds for any reason, that you give York Place a try.

Excellent idea for a topic. Its around this time of year I start drawing up a shortlist for my Birthday lunch in January : Sketch Chez Bruce Rhodes 24 Petrus The Capital

I don't think you would be disappointed by lunch, but then I have a thing for bargin lunches in London. The food may not be as complex as the evening, but the kitchen is 3 star whatever the time of day, it's a darn site cheaper, if its a nice bright winters day the room will look beautiful, and the service is still as "full on" as dinner. You could even order a la carte if you were in the mood, but I think there is something appropriate and pleasing about choosing a set lunch when it is offered. Seems almost good manners somehow.

Ok, this is getting really embarrassing. David has supplied a list of restaurants he has designed : Frith Street Restaurant - Soho Il Forno - Soho Zaika - Fulham Road and Kensington Shi Hon Mei - Fulham Road Edera - Holland Park Aubergine - Park Walk L'Oranger - St James' Spiga - Chelsea Teca - Alloro - Dover Street Zafferano - Lowndes Street also for Sodexho P&O Ferries He has stated that he doesn't really publicise his work, so I don't feel a copmplete fool for not knowing the name.

Jay Rayner gives it the thumbs up in the Observer today, which comes as a slight relief to me as I suggested he try it out. I went a few weeks after they opened and had a superb starter of "sauteed scallops with salad of cauliflower mackerel, coconut cream" which despite the bizarre menu language was utterly delicious. Although virtually two seperate dishes on the same plate, the cream work extremely well with the scallops that were arranged on it and the spanking fresh, crisply pan fried fillet of fish was nearly as good as the ones I had at Margots in the summer. I forget how the cauliflower came into it, but a forkful of everything on the plate was surprisingly harmonious. I found the main of veal a little underwhelming, especialy compared to a beautiful looking blade of beef that went to the next door table. A plated selection of cheeses was good but dessert of "marinated pineapple, mango with marjoram & natural yoghurt with creamed rice pudding" was just too healthy fro my tastes. The creamed pudding played a bit part to the fruit, which although indicated by the order in which they were listed on the menu, was still a disappointment when the dish was placed before me. Service was extremely good, the dining room very attractive and the whole experience had an assurance and authority for such a young venture which seemed to indicate that it will only improve with age.

I don't think we would want to abuse Phil Howard and his team's hospitality by being "bitchy" would we?

Looks like we have been terribly remiss not to have heard of this chap, who after all has designed Zaika and Al Duca restaurants for Claudio Pulze's Cuisine Collection. Just thought you might like to know.

The sauce is completely uncooked, so the effect is more of a viniagrette.