Tonyfinch

I think the point is which chef IS important to the UK dining scene who is NOT also a media celebrity?

But what I get from the article is that it isn't lack of success, at least in the case of Winteringham Fields. As Gary says its a fully booked restaurant with accolades and awards galore It's the sheer level of commitment and hard work needed to maintain a certain standard that's taken its toll. I mean how often is Stein actually in the kitchen at The Seafood Restaurant? He's now more of a TV celebrity than a working chef. This may bring its own pressures but it can't be as wearing as literally slaving over a hot stove all the time. I don't know how much time Raymond Blanc spends cooking at Le Manoir but I would hazard a guess he's missed more than three sessions in fifteen years. To me the question is can we expect top chefs to be in the kitchen all the time, or nearly all the time? I know we've had this discussion before but its a perennial one. What level of dedication can we/should we expect from top chefs whose restaurants often depend on their names?

You may well be right,but I have a suspicion that regional authenticity could be the "gimmick" he needs. Is that not the case with Club Gascon? He could specialise in regional cuisine in comfortable surroundings, exploring the depth of the area's culinary offerings. He could call it "Memories of Gascony" and reproduce the cuisine of his grandmere's farm. Menus would change but offer limited choice within each course-obviating the need for a huge kitchen brigade. Wines could all be regional-obviating the need for a huge cellar. This may mean its not as glitzy as Locatelli but surely there will always be a good market for authentic regional French cuisine cooked by a renowned chef. This may not work in the very centre of London but maybe a little further out-like Wapping for instance. I'd go.

I'm not sure that he does need a gimmick. A restaurant serving authentic food and wines from Gascony and Southern France-one that was more relaxed and less tapas like than Club Gascon- could be a great success.

I would imagine that strivng for that level of perfection and maintaining that level of commitment takes its toll wherever the restaurant is. I mean missing only 3 sessions in 15 years! How long can you go like that?

I've only eaten at one on the list (Le Manoir), but there's four I've never even heard of. I know I'm London biased but I'd've thought I would have at least HEARD of four of the best ten restaurants in the country. Or are they very famous and I just don't know about them (Le Terrasse, Michael's Nook, Old Chesil Rectory, Northcote Manor) ? I don't recall any of them being mentioned on e Gullet.

94s-98s I think. They tasted very "thick" and heavy to me. Lots of extract. Nothing elegant or subtle about them.

Contrary to what people believe, the Koran does not forbid the imbibing of alcohol. It forbids intoxication,so the refusal to sit down at a table where wine is being served is a fundamentalist variation,not a mainstream Muslim rule. Liza, I know Priorat is getting a lot of publicity at the moment but I drank a lot of it with knowledgeable wine people in Penedes last year and I found it heavy going compared to top Riojas and some of the best wines from other regions eg. Chivite wines from Navarre, some Ribeiro Del Duero wines and even other wines from the Penedes area. To me they tasted like they needed a lot more time.

I've been to Embassy twice this year. See the Go To Embassy thread (don't know how to do the link thingy).

Speedy work Charlene. Well done.

Maybe LTC has just come to the end of its natural lifespan. It's been very successful for years despite Koffman not seeking out publicity and perhaps all concerned have realized that it's time to call it a day. Matthew's review had an awful ring of fin de siecle about it, as if Koffman wasn't bothering to maintain his impeccable standards anymore as in "what's the point" This is sad but its also unforgiveable given the prices charged and I had no real hesitation about cancelling as I cannot believe that those problems were as a result of an off night. More like an off year. Maybe a new challenge and venture is just what Koffman needs and he'll be telling us in a year's time that it's the best thing he ever did etc. He's well known and respected enough to make a comeback,maybe,like Nico,with a less lofty venture more suited to our current times.

Phoned today to book. Didn't even specify lunch or dinner but asked about their BYO policy. The woman said it would be "allright" bit couldn't tell me if there was corkage or how much. A chap came on the line and when I asked about BYO he said "actually we don't allow it". Decided not to book. So someone's got it wrong somewhere.

It musta been the bowls that did for his bowels.

Steve, somebody who has eaten no pasta for the last dozen years-somebody who pasta makes sick,in fact- is just not expert enough in the field to be able to say anything relevant about pasta. Those of us who eat pasta all the time and spend lots of money on pasta have a level of insight and expertise into pasta that you just don't have and it baffles me that people like you seem unwilling to accept that. You must be a commie.

Charlene-there's a reason why The Greenhouse doesn't charge corkage. They don't allow BYO.

Don't catch your meaning there.

It may not be much compensation for Matthew but it clearly makes more sense to wait for Koffman to open his new place where presumably he will be re-energised. I was afraid things might have gone pear shaped at LTC and can only thank Matthew for being so honest about a lousy meal and sparing me the enormous expense that he incurred. I owe you a drink mate.

There are some minds that travel clearly does NOT broaden.

In this month's Decanter magazine in the UK there is a comparative tasting of 10 and 20 year old tawny ports ,plus a list of foods to eat with them. Apart from the usual suspects the article recommended roast game birds and any poultry or pork dish which might be accompanied by a sweet or fruity or BBQ type sauce. On Sunday I roasted a Mallard (as you do) and made a soft fruit and port based sauce ro go with it. We drank a Calem 10 yo tawny chilled down for about an hour to what you might call "cellar temperature". Normally I would have gone for a red burgundy,which would have complemented the meat but would have been killed by the sauce. It worked beautifully and opens up a world of possibilities for using these wines. Any fattier meat,though,would have needed more acidity in the wine so I remain dubious about port and pork.

Based on Matthew's review I'm bailing. Sorry guys but there wasn't much of a choice after reading that.

This is absolutely true and the mass marketing of expensive malts has been a great success over the last twenty or so years. But Scotch whisky has never been a cheapo cheapo product like Spanish brandy so they were able to start marketing at a much higher price brand level. Also very rare and expensive malts always existed and there was a market,albeit small,for the cognoscenti. Can the same be said about Spanish brandy? I don't know enough about it to know.

The Spanish have never marketed their brandy as a luxury product like the French cognac or Scottish malts. Its always been seen as a cheap by-product of wine making cheap and,as Orkalet says,poured in huge slugs. Last year we were staying with friends very close to the Torres winery just outside Villafranca del Penedes and met up with one of the senior managers in a local restaurant. He said that they were trying to market brandy as a more upmarket product but once the price got above say £12 per bottle you could forget about a market inside Spain. They just wouldn't pay that price for it. And the export market was difficult because of the competition from cognac,scotch etc. As a result top Spanish brandy is still very cheap compared to its rival spirits and at the highest level does have the finesse and complexity of some mid-price cognacs and armagnacs.

It's really worth shelling out for the best when it comes to Spanish brandy.The cheaper ones have an unpleasant caramel/toffee overtone and a natural facility for setting off those pneumatic drills in your brain. Other wine regions make brandy as well. Torres from Penedes do an excellent one. Its name escapes me but its sold in one of those perfume type shaped bottles.

Fair'nuff. I wasn't trying to compare the problems of trying to book a table at L'Astrance to the horrors of Nazism and I'm sorry if it came across that way. I shouldn't have mentioned Hitler. I suppose my main point is that cultural discrimimation should be challenged as well as understood.

When I booked last week they didn't mention it.