Majumdarathome

A first. I am in complete agreement. JGV ( Jean Georges ) is not someone who has given me any great eating experiences ( even a brief lunch atVong last week was a huge disappointment ) but he knows enough to brand each of his places differently. JG is the top of the line, Jo Jo's is the bistro, Vong the fusion, JG Prime the steakhouse. You know whats you get before you set foot in the door The problem with GR@C's is that he is setting up to offer everything they do at RHH. The Tasting menus, the style of cooking and most of all the prices, so he must be judged on those standards. We have had different experiences of Claridges and I may have been on an off night but at £300 for two, you really should not be able to have to experience an off night anywhere.

They have approached him about taking over now that the previous chef ( rather excellent, but whose name escapes me for a moment ) had retired. Tony, I think you are right in part If you go to a Show called, for example, Pavarotti in Concert, and the great man is ill, or somewhere else performing, they don't wheel out some other fat Italian who can sing but not quite so well and expect you to put up with it. The same should be the case with Ramsay/Race etc. I am not expecting them to examine everything that comes off the line, but I do think they need to be in the Kitchen. Gary Rhodes is I believe in the kitchens at his places in Lonodn every other day. If you go to a non chef led place just as if you go to see an ensemble theatre piece, it really doesn't matter as long as the replacement is competent. The real issue is that the person running the kitchen must be able to match up to the exacting standards that have allowed the person to put their name above the door in the first place. On my, admitedly only, experience at Claridges, that was not the case. That is why I am so wary of anything that is trading on the name of a star chef i.e Petit Blanc. Shudder! S (Edited by Majumdarathome at 12:13 pm on Feb. 7, 2002)

The problem I have is that at the price, there are so many places I can go to again and know I will get superlative service/food which we simply didn't last time Whatever my opinions of GR, I would never question his miraculous talent. He was not in the kitchen the night i went and it showed, but it shouldn't be allowed to Steve, the lunch sounds better value than the evening tasting menu (£55). I am a sucker for these as it is a good way to see what a kitchen/chef can do but here it was almost perfunctory and we both wished we hadn't bothered. Perhaps they ought to issue a warning when you book your table "Mr Ramsay will/wont be in the kitchen tonight" and you can make your choice accordingly I suspect it will only get worse as he add the Connaught to his portfolio S

I had forgotten the music. When we were there it was "hats off to Donna Summer" night. I didn't know if I should eat the food or get down with my bad self But, as my father has never had a brand new bag, I stuck to the foie S

I can second the recommendation of La fromagerie the best place for French cheeses in the UK It is the source of most of the restaurant cheese boards in London and is worth the visit to highbury. Very little else is worth the visit to Highbury. S