Basildog

The problem is that if you have restaurants run by accountants...you get MacDs I'm probably a good example of the independant that does not make "real money".We make a living, enough to pay everyone, pay the mortgage, and have a holiday.and thats the way i like it! I have no ambition to be rich and i'm too much of a realist to know that you don't get rich cooking for 20 people a night. We have looked at expanding in the past, but for what? More money, more stress, more pressure We came to our senses and decided to be small and perfectly formed. We could resit tables, but who wants to be rushed through a meal?We could increase the price radically ( we have just had an increase, but not huge), but i want to run a place that many people can enjoy, not just the rich. In our case it boils down to heart ruling head. We could be more efficent, more profitable, leaner and meaner, but i doubt it would be as much fun!

Where Margot's leads..others will follow

Thats what we need...an eGullet mob of enforcers to point out the error of their ways I'm fairly big and dumb myself..where do i sign?

Why not? I have no experience dealing with contractors like this, but they do work for you?

Vanessa, i would be having a word with the contractor.Something like," turn the bloody gas off at night , or you can wait for your payment".There is no need for them to be putting your premises at risk like this I turn the gas off at the mains overnight at the mains, then i can sleep soundly

Well done Nick! someone please post the link here when its online Cheers

i take the entire capsule off. Freak!! and that goes for you too Vanessa

Tommy, do you take all the top plastic off?

I open about 10-12 bottles of wine a night and use a waiters friend,BUT also a litttle foil cutter which saves a lot of time, and makes a nice neat job.

There ya have it...size matters

Plates and chopsticks to start...then i get mad cos i can't bloody use chopsticks, so then a fork

I think it's important that us smoking chefs realise our taste is different and adjust accordingly. And what about the guests that smoke??? In a perfect world, we would cook better if our hours were better, if we had a social life, drank less, didn't smoke, and generally had a better time of it.But then theres the real world

That stuck with me too.

I made Pancakes tonight, mainly for Becky to have her first taste.She lapped them up Sugar Lemon, Chocolate Praline Spread, Chocolate Syrup, a real clear out of the cupboad! Edit..Wilfrid, you forget the tradtion of pancake races, people running threw villages tossing pancakes...the only reason for this seems to fill up the "and finally...." story on the local news

it was not a comedy ,i'm afarid hollywood.I have been all over that site.Maybe i need some German help..i think it was for german tv

This is a long long shot, but what the heck, you film buffs may have an idea how to track down this film. A German made film , shot partly in Padstow between 96-99 I was told the title was " The Long Weekend", but translating that into German has not helped my search. Not alot to go on i know, but it's a challenge The food link is that i did some hand double stuff for a kitchen scene...but that may not have made the edit.

When do we get to see this in the UK?????

How about rating a restaurant on what it sets out to do? By this i mean if a Restaurant aims for the finest dining experience possible and suceeds..then rate it 100% Like wise, a reliable place thats not pushing the boundaries of haute cuisene, but does deliver what it sets out to do..then also rate it 100% We then just have to define what the restaurants are trying to do Fast Forward 5 years...egullets rating system( whatever that may be) becomes the worlds leading resturant guide...We have the people, why not?

A Blue Plaque " Martin drank Coffee Here and Waited to be Discovered"

I think the appropiate answer "none of your damn buiness sunny Jim!"

What i was trying to say Tommy, badly, was that your assertion that the smoking pub would be busier is not cut and dried.

perhaps. but with (business) casualties along the way. if you put two pubs next to each other in midtown, today, and allow smoking in one and ban it in the other, i think you'd see that more people would go to the smoking bar. For some...non smoking pubs would be a draw.To say that banning smoking is detremental to profitabilty is simplistic.There is a large market out there of NON Smokers, in the same way as vegetarians etc etc.

Jesus H christ on a bike,,the guys not cold in the ground.Any chance of holding back on this subject for a little time? I fully expect this not to make it to the thread.

He's here all week folks.!..2 shows a night

Now that is something I'd like to see you produce some evidence for. Well count me in the 1% then., and i smoke