[Smoking and Taste for Chefs and Eaters]

Hey rich.I'm a chef based in london....so what you say

How do you explain the fact that when I was a smoker I represented my country in culinary competitions...won the friggin things and then went on to do the "Grand Prix Pierre Taittinger"

I've now quit smoking, but I still taste things just the way I did originally!! Also explain to me why a HUGE ammount of 3 star chefs smoke and so do there staff.....am I to believe that THEY can't be trusted?

If you think that smoking is the worst thing that a chef or restaurant reviewer can do then you clearly don't know enough about the restaurant game or being a good chef!!, Coffee, curry, chilies, MSG...etc, etc all can damage your taste buds and all can soften your ability to judge flavours over time.

My advice to you...put up or shut up, you've got nothing new to add and frankly your view is getting slightly old tired and long in the tooth. Your also of an age where your ment to be showing some maturity....clearly you are insecure enough to become personal and reduce other peoples reading pleaseures with your childish manners.

Your personal habits and remarks have ruined this post for me and others....just as chefs and reviews have ruined there reviews and food by smoking!!!!

When your almost 50 you really should have more important things to discuss here so why not expand our minds with your middle age wisdom and tell us something that we don't know, common teach me a thing or 2 about food then!!! as you don't smoke I'd emagine that this would be relitively easy{PS before you flame me....I don't smoke so I clearly know what I'm saying..well according to your views anyway }

[Japanese Knives – What to Buy?]

Um,

re: chopping bones (I'll figure out the quote thingey later!) - I do use a chef's knife to take off the odd end of a drumstick, etc. 

Shouldn't a decent chef's knife be able to handle that kind of application?

Cheers,

Geoff Ruby

PS - I have actually tried a Furi for a bit, and the handle doesn't seem slippery at all, in fact it is really comfortable. The blade itself is very thin and very light - like Global in that sense - and I would be afraid of whacking too many chicken bones with it.

Here's another quote.................

Yes a good knife will be able to take a knuckle off a drumstick...but after a while you'll have damaged your knife.Each knife has a use..keep it to that use.

[Ferran Adria Jelly Caviar]

Just had an idea...

They used to make shotgun pellets by dropping them through the air!!!! what about trying that?, or using a gum combined with agar..We use this chinese gum at work...I'll have to write the name down as my spellings rubbish. Anyway this gum increases the viscosity of any liquid including oils and juices.

Post the name here shortly.

[Ferran Adria Jelly Caviar]

Sorry I don't know, but I thought that I'd help keep the post alive and at the top....helps to get an answer quicker!!!!

[Japanese Knives – What to Buy?]

HI,

I just spent waay too much time reading a couple of the knife related threads on here. A couple of knives that were mentioned there, but not really discussed - the Furi east/West model (a roughly santoku style - did I get that right?), and the Kasumi line, particularly their Chef's knives are of interest to me.

Does anyone have any experience/ opinions about these knives?

I have one potential concern about the Kasumi - from the pictures on the web, it looks like it lacks the thick spine of a heavy-duty German model. while this may make sharpening easier, will the Kasumi be able to stand up to chopping through chicken bones and the like as well as knives having a thick spine.

Thanks,

Geoff Ruby

ERRRRRRRRRRRR you use a cooks knife to cut bones?? try a cleaver.

I'd personally go for the furi

And your knives would last longer if you stopped cutting bones..hint...hint

Furi will be more sutable for what your looking for

[Sketch]

The size of each dessert is the same as a shot glass, they are served in plastic shot glasses to allow people to buy and take them home.

The pastry section is not centralised and everything is made on site.

The discriptions of the desserts was accurate and I advise anyone to go and have a look at the place, I do however think that it's far to expensive for what you get and not that great a place to work{worked there for a while and thought it was to disorganised}