the count of monte christo

Great book. Highlights for me were- Steve Terry talking about the inspiration he was getting from a little known restaurant in Spain called El Bulli. I think he was at Coast at the time. Gordon Ramsay saying he thought tv work was scary and not really for him! Marco Pierre White larging it up. Tom Aitkens saying it was out of order to hit your staff and laying down massive hints about a chef who might have assaulted his staff. He was sacked a couple of months later for branding a chef with a pallete knife. The PR machine hadn't blanded everything out back then, and they spoke their minds, not the boring predictable stuff we get these days. Shame.

It's always the same old complaint I keep hearing about The Fat Duck, which is 'the menu never changes'. Nimzo, I think if The Fat Duck quit refining dishes and came up with some new ones then this complaint would go away. If they are a truely innovative restaurant, then this shouldn't be difficult. There isn't an out pouring of creativity at The Fat Duck anymore, just, as you say, a lot of technical refinment. I'd love the excitment of tasting and hearing about things like white chocolate and cavair, tabacco truffles and the breakfast dessert, to come back. It seems to me that The Fat Duck has stopped dreaming.

Degusto is right. Thrice (?) cooked chips is nothing new. I remember many years ago buying some fish and chips, taking them home and microwaving them. I didn't get chance to eat them straight away, so I microwaved them again. In fact they could have been cooked FOUR times !! Feel free to copy my methods but an acknowledgement on your menu would be only fair. Are they better than the chips at The Fat Duck ? Well that's a matter of personal preference isn't it.

So fickle these reporter types. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_...401/ai_n9558536

They have had a few problems at The Plough of late. Darron Bunn left 1 month after the opening, David Bennett left 6 months later and Barry Skarin left just before christmas. They were closed over the christmas period and reopened late jan. Haven't been in recently but I live just round the corner and play for Whinchmoor Hill cricket team so I know just how much the restaurant means to the villagers. I hope they manage to get it back on track and put the problems behind them.

I do see your point Dirk. I think the problem with the whole 'celebrity' notion is that people seem to assume that a favourable connection between talent and profile exists. The truth is, in general, that there isn't any connection whatsoever. The more high profile you become does not mean you become more talented or are talented to begin with. On the contrary it simply means you have a good PR company or your face/personality is right for the mass media. I find the whole celebrity thing nauseous, I mean who makes a better role model for young kids Jordan and co or the many leading scientists/academics we have in this country? Or keeping on topic GR or SH ? I'm completely baffled by popular culture these days.

I don't agree with the jist of what he says about GR/MW/HB being " willingly insitutionalised by their craft". Maybe they are, but so what, that's their choice and it's their life. I can think of much worse ways to live. Comparing these craftsmen to, I presume, stereotypical footballers is just ridiculous. And Meade's high brow tone when discussing chef's in general just doesn't cut it with me. Is he bitter? I expect so. As for the book, well, the Shaun Hill section is by far the most entertaining. I particularly liked the recollections from his time at the Gay Hussar, great stories there. The rest of it is total sycophantic rubbish, mixed with really tragic and predictable one liners. All in all........... worth about 3 quid.

Are you implying that any new cooking technique, discovered by any chef, falls under the guise of M/G ? If not, then what does a new technique discovered by a chef fall under ? It seems to me that M/G is a term for a very old process called cooking. What is the difference between discovering how to make burre blanc and how to make an escuma ? A science paper maybe ?

That would make sense Andy as Wayne Newsome did a stint at Harveys. He's a very hard working, talented and creative chef. I'm glad he's got his own place again, bravo and good luck to him. You could do a lot worse Andy.

Ok Alan, subsitute the rostie for a crouton, stick the crouton onto your forehead and holiday in Fiji until dry. Take the crouton and grind between your cookery books, sprinkle into bottom of cup. Happy now.

it's like serving tournedos rossini in a soup cup Great idea lets see .. 1. Dry rosti by leaving it in your airing cupboard over night, crush and place in bottom of cup. 2. strap beef fillet to the side of space shuttle and remove on return from deep space mission, tenderise in cement mixer and convert into blamange. Add to cup. 3. Place foie gras on Bakerloo line track. Scrape off and churn in ice cream machine. Add to cup. 4. Pour hot veal/maderia jus down barrel of an air gun and fire at cup from point blank range. 5. To serve- Email it to your mum who will then eat it blindfolded and reply "That was the best fish fingers I have ever eaten". If this has already been done please accept my apologies.

You are surely not suggesting that a restaurant manager be anything other than welcoming and ploite to any customer, late or not, are you ? You don't know if he phoned to say he was going to be late. You don't know how he entered the restaurant or how he behaved when he did. Your post contains negative assumptions, I dread to think how you would react if a restaurant reviewer did the same. As for your thought that he may be pissed off because they did not know who he was, well, they should know who he is as he writes for the evening standard every week and he is the food critic for the guardian. How could you miss him?

Could you please clarify for me what you mean by 'substandard rubbish'. I also read the review and do not feel I wasted my time. VLS spoke as he found. What more do you want?

I spotted 13 references, influences and plain rip offs in this menu from chefs such as Adria, Veyrat, Robouchon, MPW and TFD (as bad).

how many chefs roast, pan fry, boil and saute? why are they not accused of plagiarism? Every single one of them, even in El Bulli, use traditional cooking methods that's not the point. So what is the point? You specifically site plaigiarism of Adria's gastronomy via the terminology as your reason for, as far as I can see, not buying into it. Perhaps you can tell us what it was specifically about your meal here that you didn't like and what the other diners were doing to make it look like they were just pretending they liked it? I've never eaten at L'enclume and didn't say I had. Although I have eaten Simon Rogans food twice, once at Baliffs Court and once at The Greyhound and I think he is a very good chef and so on and so on and so on......

how many chefs roast, pan fry, boil and saute? why are they not accused of plagiarism? Every single one of them, even in El Bulli, use traditional cooking methods that's not the point.

No you are not alone nor is the terminology in anyway original. It's a mish mash of Veyrat, Bras, Adria and White with the bluntest tool in a desperate chefs box thrown in........ the test tube. Suddenly chefs think they're a scientist crossed with a reincarnated Salvador Dali. The funniest thing is watching people eat this nonsense and pretend that they like it. Are they so jaded that they need culinary magic tricks before they declare that a chef is "good". This menu is the end product of our rush to make chefs celebrites and our obsession with reviewing restaurants. It's the need to stand out and be different that has created the mass plaigrism of Adria's gastronomy.