Paul de Gruchy

Fisherman (and any others): any comments on the service from this site and the quality of the knives? I'm sure some of us have Christmas money to spend and could do with some feedback...

Come on Gavin - tell us how to actually "confit" duck and where other places fall down.

does "Terrine pressé of pork, quince jelly" win a prize for being the silliest use of a french word on a menu? I'm with jay on the kiddies point. I took my almost 2 year old to Le Champignon Sauvage in March and they were great. I was a bit disappointed by the food but then when I'd previously eaten at that level I'd been savouring the experience. With a toddler, you're always a bit on edge and hoping the meal passes before a tantrum erupts rather than go on for hours and hours so I couldn't give the food full attention and no doubt didn't fully appreciate as a result.

one of the great things about the web is that it is inherently democratic. all other media appears to be almost wholly nepotistic. whenever there is a story about an "exciting new novelist/actor/filmaker/designer" he or she is invariably the child/partner/godchild of an existing media person/celeb (usually, in my experience, Edward Fox). it is hugely depressing and the only comfort one can take is that the only people who read restaurant reviews are those who are interested in food, and most of those probably take any review with a pinch of salt, as they can tell that the writer's judgment is relatively unformed. Someone like Matthew Fort is an exception, though his piece in the last Waitrose magazine about Aga's was, I think, a bit silly.

the real problem with Heston is that his cooking requires a fair amount of attention to detail and the TV format isn't really suited to transmitting information of that type. I think that's why Corrigan works better: buttering wonton wrappers and putting in chorizo and cheese is straightforward and can be mucked around with: he even suggested alternative fillings. But Heston's things leave so many questions. Like the snails: where do you get them from, what do you cook them in for four hours, how much almond goes in the butter, how much chocolate, how much water, what temperature etc? For some reason I was reminded of the doctor: "A woman's preaching is like a dog's walking on his hinder legs. It is not done well; but you are suprised to find it done at all." I think there is an element of that to Heston's inclusion. That's not to denigrate his cooking, but the motives for his inclusion in the programme are, I suspect, driven largely by the freakshow aspect: he's a chef - with liquid nitrogen! And he breaks the rules!

Gordo certainly makes rivetting TV though the whole kilt business was frankly unpleasant. What sort of contract has he got that stipulates he must be shown getting dressed every episode? I'd like to see a combination of Gordon "Where's your fucking balls" Ramsay and Alan "I'd have told him to piss off" Sugar troubleshooting an ailing business.

well, having not read the article but missing meades reviews in general I just thought I'd add my pennyworth. Meades is a romanticist, and has always fallen for the notion of cooking as a craft that is acquired and honed. Thus he always likes the idea of the French family restaurant, where nobody is formally educated and recipes are handed down from generation to generation. He is a classicist, rather than a modernist, and all you really need to know is that among his favourite cuisines is the traditional Roman cuisine. The problem that he faces with English food is that there is very little evidence of the traditional English family restaurant. The distinction between educated and non-educated chefs is, I suspect (having not read the book) simply an attempt to bring the concept of "tradition" into an analysis of British food, with educated chefs being contrasted with the star-hunters. And for the star-hunters, the tradition that has been adopted (which is an interesting concept in itself, as usually chefs arise out of traditions, rather than adopting them) is the stereotypical Michelin tradition. We all recognise it: a resolutely refined yet anti-regional and anti-seasonal menu. The whole menu often framed months in advance and unaltered for the season. The Ramsay boxing day dish of a cherry tomato soup that was mentioned on this thread summed it up perfectly. And I do think there is an issue here. I would far sooner eat at St John or the Anchor & Hope than GR. But they are no less mannered or stylised or un-traditional than GR. I suspect that, as soon as you cease to be a rural, regional culture, food inevitably becomes parenthesised, as the dish you cook becomes the manifestation of a choice made from a global marketplace rather than an expression of your terroir.

agreed. can we start a campaign? I can never bring myself to read his endless articles in praise of solihull. his talent is wasted.

Mark - was the one when someone turned up unannouced at half past one for lunch & wondered why the kitchen - full complement of two people - couldn't cook on demand food at that level & the person then sulked away in a huff, posting within the hour? Don't let that put you off - food is stunning; as is front of house service. Food quite orignial & well worth the trip. ← Good oh - I'm booked in for lunch next Thursday with the wife and 2 year old. The infant is used to restaurants but this will be her first time in a starred place - not that she will notice. But life can't come to and end just because you have a child can it and hopefully she will behave impeccably? Anyway, fingers crossed - everyone says such good things and I was in that neck of the woods so couldn't not go. Went to Cambridge at Christmas but Midsummer was closed. Stayed at the Hotel Felix and ate at their restaurant, Graffiti. It was poor beyond belief - a trip to Gardenias would have been better.

I'd forgotten his appearance on The Games. Now, that was deeply humiliating: he's one of those men that really look much better wearing something other than a tight pair of shorts while doing gymnastic tasks. Maybe he needs a better agent. Still, it gives some of us a chance to catch up with pop culture - I had no idea who Abi and Jen were until the first series.

I do remember one chef handing in his stars and bemoaning the fact that you need to bake several types of bread and petit fours to keep Michelin stars. And that's the nub I guess - getting 2 or 3 stars means that you have to have a large brigade doing everything from scratch. Whereas from my point of view, I rarely eat bread in a restaurant that is as good as an ordinary loaf from a French village bakers. I think it would be better if more emphasis was put on the three courses of food, and less on the ancillaries, but at least you know that if you go to a 3 star restaurant you get an all-round experience. In my limited experience at that level, I generally prefer the food at a 1 star rather than a 3 - 1 stars have to take risks but 3 stars tend to be conservative. I think this is discussed on another thread.

You should go Andy. I went a couple of weeks back on a Friday and went to The Capital the next day. Nothing wrong with the latter, but, like you, I'm slightly tiring of the whole haute cuisine thing. A&H was really excellent - not the food which technically wasn't in the same league as The Capital, but just the whole vision of the thing. I turned up at 12 after a Borough Market shop and was by myself, the only person in there at first and I don't even live in England or go to boozers generally, so you really shouldn't be scared by your Pompey memories (though I know someone from Portsmouth and it does clearly leave deep scars).

Andy - I suggest that you avoid using the phrase "I'm no snob" in future. The cat has been let out of the bag. And, for what its worth, I quite like the crappy tumblers they serve the wine in. It all adds to the sense of good food and eating as something that should be a daily, rather than a special, event.

I went there for lunch on friday. Turned up by myself at about midday, sat at the bar and chatted to the staff while eating the food. I was the only person eating at the bar and the restaurant got busy but that was fine by me and the staff had the attitude that they were happy for me to eat wherever I wanted. They were very personable and it was interesting watching the kitchen. The wine was a highlight - I got through 2 carafes of red, a meaty Portugeuse number and a Valpollicella and a decent stickie and a pint for the road as it was raining and all were excellent. The whole lot cost £50 with deep fried pigs head starter, breast of stuffed veal with mash and buttermilk pudding with quince. The food was excellent of its type, but the standard is probably that of a good home cook rather than a high falutin restaurant. I had lunch at the Capital the next day and clearly, you are comparing chalk and cheese - the Capital was probably three times more expensive and a much more formal business. The thing about the Anchor & Hope is that its a small kitchen, with just two at the stoves, producing food that isn't messed around with (with the limited number of chefs it couldn't be any other way). In its way, I thought it was unimprovable, and if it was at the end of my road I'd be there a couple of times a week. It is very close to the idea of a neighbourhood restaurant that I mentioned on another thread.

Having not eaten at the Boxwood I'm not going to comment on particulars but it does seem to me that what the UK lacks is neighbourhood restaurants - the sort of place that you could eat in three or four times a week without breaking the bank or feeling overwhelmed with taste sensations. Sort of like a chain of Ivys where you could just turn up and get a meal. There are so many dishes I can think of - Shepherd's Pie, Lasagne, boiled ham in parsley sauce, French onion soup dripping cheese, proper apple pie, rice pudding etc that if I want to eat them i have to cook them myself. Most people aren't as gluttinous as me and can't be bothered and would like a bit of comfort food. Quite why restaurants don't offer this and think we all want sea bass in a faux-med style and fines tartes tatins baffles me. If I was Ramsay, that would be my next venture - quality controlled, "home" cooking restaurants in half a dozen provincial cities (to keep costs down). I'd even call them "Home". In fact, Gordo, if you're reading this, for half a mill I'll sell you the concept!

without wishing to sound nasty...didn't one professional reviewer who posts on egullet recently write a novel about a star chef who tops himself after a bad review? is there scope for a sequel based around a restaurant reviewer who tops himself after reading endless criticism of his own self-centred style? could there be a number of copy cat deaths as AA Gill et al fall prey to the same gruesome end? VLS appears so smug and convinced of his own intrinsic worth that one suspects he will only be happy when he is forced in true postmodern style to eat himself, perhaps cooked in the style of himself: filet de Victor Lewis-Smith a la mode d'Islington would no doubt fit the bill. Of course, he would also have to cook it himself, which could prove a complication as the man appears wholly lacking in craftsmanship of any sort and may well be handicapped subsequent to said filleting.

The more I think about it the more VLS annoys me. He is the newspaper version of Abi Titmuss, a sort of Z list person who for some reason has become a minor celebrity without it ever being clear exactly why (for me he first impinged on my consciousness on the Orb album where he asks a BBC doorman if he's seen Marcus Garvey). Anyway, he's shown no great interest in food to date so why make him a food critic? If he was funny he would have had some success as a comedian by now but he hasn't. Over a decade of trying and failing to be funny is really quite poor. I can see that we are fast moving to a stage where newspapers will be entirely written by non-journalists with alternative claims to "fame", but one would hope that the Guardian would be able to rise above this general dumbing down. The assumption increasingly seems to be that the public will be more interested in the author than in the subject under review, which is, frankly, daft, as I am the only person I know who ever looks at restaurant reviews.

I read an article about a year ago concerning a farm that had won a prize for the best beef in britain (no doubt some daft quango sponsored prize but a prize nonetheless). The interesting thing was that their beef came from Guernseys, which are viewed as a dairy cow rather than a beefer. But the people had concentrated on the land rather than the beast, making sure the grass was well fed, wholly organic etc. Now, my experience with gardening is that no matter what you plant, the condition of the soil is everything. I wonder if the same might apply to meat - in other words, although the breeds may taste different, in the end, a much bigger difference is what the animal eats. Clearly, people that keep rare breeds are more likely to take care over the food but even so, maybe the breed isn't as determining a factor as one might think.

I think the main thing you want with a food writer is certainty. With Meades, although there was always fairly entertaining waffle about architecture, I knew what he liked and what his philosophy on food was. He liked things to borne of a tradition, designed to appeal to the palate of the customer, rather than to the Michelin guides etc. So even when one disagreed with his views on a restaurant, you could use them to make a considered decision as to whether to eat there. I find I can do the same with Maschler and with Jan Moir of the Telegraph and Matthew Fort was fine too. But the homourists - Lewis-Smith, Gill, Coren (though he's not as bad)? I'm really left none the wiser as to whether I am likely to enjoy what they describe. Which kind of fails the first test of reviewing anything.

Ormers are truly great but your chances of obtaining them are slim. I have a "friend" who gives me half a dozen once or twice a year and they are fantastic, but I have yet to see them on a menu in Jersey or at the fish market. Your best bet would be to either speak to someone at the fish market or ask any fishermen you come across (though I'm not sure of the legality of selling them). There is a fisherman's pub nearish to the harbour but I forget its name. The other thing about ormers is they tend to be caught on the big spring tides and I think they go by the normal "r in the month" rule. But they are delish, though I've never had abalone. If you're feeling adventurous, the best meal to be had "near" to Jersey is in cancale in France at Oliver Roellinger's place, Le Maison des Bricourts. Now, that's special and not far from St Malo.

There is certainly nothing wrong with Longueville and the service is fantastic but the food I find a bit lacking in inspiration. But we can agree to disagree. It depends where you live usually - if you come from the back of beyond and want a formalish eating experience it's great - if you're a Londoner you may be less convinced (that sounds patronising but you know what I mean). What Jersey lacks to my knowledge is a spit and sawdust type of place that just does freshly cooked fish and shellfish. The sort of shack you dream of finding on a beach with a fire outside and freshly grilled whatever comes off the boats and not much else. Suma's also does a very nice breakfast on a Saturday (that's where I've been) and they're very nice to children.

Revoman, You have come to the right place! None of the restaurants in Jersey are world class gourmet experiences but there are a number of competent places in pleasant locations. The best food on the Island is undoubtably at Bohemia in St Helier, but it is tucked away on a busy street and the atmosphere is a bit noisy at night. the food is excellent though and there is a very good value set lunch (£17.50 for three courses). If you go on the carte the chef is a whizz with duck. green island is very nice - I went there last weekend and the location is beautiful (right by the beach, though overlooking the car park rather than the beach). The food is very good and fairly inventive. At Suma's the food isn't as good as it used to be (the chef went to Bohemia) but the view is fantastic (it overlooks Gorey Bay and the castle) and if you can get a table on the terrace on a summer's evening with the tide coming up and get quietly sloshed it is a wonderful way to spend the night. Zanzibar again has wonderful views (right on the beach at St Brelade) but the food is hit and miss, though the set lunch is unbelievable value for money. What else? Le Chambertin in town is a chi-chi French place with fantastic bread but the simpler downstairs is better than the posher upstairs. Nice for a bite of foie gras and a pork chop. La Capannina used to be the place and you can spot Jack Higgins in there at lunchtime but the food is 1970's Italianish. The Longueville Manor had a Michelin star until recently and is a fairly pricey hotel restaurant - good but not that memorable. The Village Bistro in Gorey is another option - again, a bargain set lunch, which is probably your best option as the carte can be variable. I live by Gorey so I tend to go to the Village, Green Island and Suma's the most. Green Island probably does the best food but sometimes one of the others pleasantly surprises. The style in all these places is fairly similar: modern, Med-ish, with a fair bit of seafood. The only other place that springs to mind is Zest in St Aubin. It has a website but I am too lazy to find it. the food there is very inventive and competently done, but as they don't do lunches and I have a baby so don't get out much in the evening, I've only tried it once and that was a while ago. It looked - potentially - the best of the bunch. I hope you have a good trip. There are loads of great places on Jersey to visit and you can't do much better than having a long walk, followed by a nice lunch and a bottle of wine and a snooze on the beach. Oh, and the zoo is a very nice place to take a picnic and a bottle of wine.

Jane Grigson occasionally surprise by coming up with Welsh receipes - she has a whole chapter on laver bread and I was reading the other day in her section on Parsley about a Welsh pancake version of omlette aux fines herbes. I have no doubt that if you went back 500 years the "peasant" cooking of England was the equal of anywhere in Europe. But the discovery of the new world brought vegetables that grew better in the Med, and the rise of Protestantism denied pleasure and the industrial revolution etc etc. So much of cooking is in the collective memory, and I think a lot of dishes that were once British have been lost - Grigson's receipe for charter pie is a case in point, which she had to guess at on the basis of a brief medieval dining entry. Funnily, I never think of St John as an English restaurant. Perhaps because in my mind I have no archetype of an "English restaurant" (other than the sort of Bisto-thickening place Gordon Ramsay sorts out on TV). Places like Simpson's and Wilton's (and I haven't been so I may be wrong) seem to me a fictional recreation of an English restaurant rather than the thing itself. St John always reminds me of a Tuscan joint - the meat presented unadorned, the lack of frippery. But perhaps that just shows the extent to which English food has been lost. Having said all that, I'm sure the production values of Ready Steady cook are too high for Italian TV. Add a model in a swimsuit counting down the time and give Ainsley a porn star assistant and I could see it.

I go down that neck of the woods now and again and the food isn't great. I'm not sure about the pubs in Solva - the menus have never inspired me (though the "town" is pretty) but your best bet is the Druidstone near Druidstone Haven, which is on the coast between Milford and St David's. It is (miles) outside your stated area, but is sat on the coast looking over the Atlantic and the food, while not great, is unpretentious and well-done. The views and the ambience are fantastic though. It is a very informal old place, and sitting in the garden, watching kids play while the sun sets over the horizon is, frankly, worth the price of admission alone. Other than that, every time I go to Pembrokeshire I try and I spend money looking for a good restaurant and it just doesn't happen, though there is a surprisingly good Indian (Sri Lankan chef I think) in Milford Haven. Best of luck!

I was surprised when watching the Aikens TV documentary that the wine waiter was Irish (as were most of the staff). Clearly it was the trying to disguise an irish accent by faking a French one that confused everyone. I've never had problems with the service but for some reason i always have to beg for the wine list, which always baffles me.