[simon gueller back at the stove?]

Uhhr, it's deliberate!

URL (and there's not much about food, which is why I didn't list it...) is..

http://ilkley.blogs.com/ilkleyrocks

and I assure you britcook, I misspell the name frequently and equally deliberately (though looking back at my last post on here, I have no excuse for misspelling everything else...)

[simon gueller back at the stove?]

It's very good news for those of us who live in Ickley. The Box Tree has really suffered over the past couple of years, barely being able to hold onto a chef, and being very limited by Madame Avis's preconceptions of what her restaurant should be--it seemed to ignore the world around it which could have been fine if the sort of cooking it was providing wasn't being bettered by pubs in the dales charging a tenth of the price. She also had little incentive to change the place because she owns so much property in Ickley, bought as result of money presumably made when the Box Tree was a success. She used it instead as a place to socialise and to do the upper class equivalent of propping up the bar chatting to her cronies.

It's also a logical move as Guellar did a couple of weekend special sessions there earlier in the year (he seems to have been working as a consultant for the last year)

In the last listing on my website, I'd shoved it down to fourth in Ikley alone, behind even the local Thai...a bit disingenuous on my part, but a sign of how fr it has falen from its hey-day.

It also means that the building, which is one of the town's oldest, will be preserved. And while I hope the chintz goes, and the unctuousness of some of the waiting staff, I sincerely hope there's no attempt to gut the inside and turn it into Rascasse Mk.2 (I know it's hardly a wharf-side venue, but the delight is the small and inteimate rooms...)

[If not Ludlow, then....]

thought you hated gastropubs Andy?

[Hell's Kitchen]

OKay, so people in Silsden know that Tim, nice but very dim, is really into his food. He goes off to college. On his return after not very much time, he goes into Bonapartes and chats to Sue, the landlady we all know of from the programme. He tells her he's been studying with Garry Rhodes (is it one 'r' or two? anyway...).

Which he has.

For three weeks. On a student placement.

But Sue, being even less bright than the aforementioned Tim, decides that he must be the proverbial and appoints him to bring Rhodes like cooking to the inhabitants of said Airedale town. It also explains why everything he cooked came out of recipe books.

Personally I admire his chutzpah.

My friend Andy who runs the exceptionally good Treacle Moon deli in Ilkley did a few stints at The Grouse (the other place in Silsden where, we were informed, Tim went after leaving Bonapartes) when they were short staffed. He describes a memorable incident of calling for some French Dressing to be made, and Tim reaching for a cookbook.

Hes that sort of chap

[Hell's Kitchen]

Quite proud of a friend of mine who runs the unpretentious but still rather nice bistro Tubby Wadlow's in Ilkley.

When Ramsey was up filming the 'Bonapartes' episode of Kitchen Nightmares (and if anyone wants the background of how Dim Tim actually got his job, I'll be only too eager to divulge), he was doing a stately progress around the local eateries. He (well, a member of his staff) phoned up Tubby's and got told that, no, there was no way a party of six could be got in for that Saturday.

Ten minutes later the phone rang again...'you did realise that this is for Gordon Ramsey the chef didn't you?'

To which said friend had presence of mind enough to quote Gord's famous 'I don't care if it's the effing Queen, nobody jumps the queue in my restaurant.' And put the phone down.

[Merchant House/Hibiscus]

Pottering down to Ludlow next month...not stayed over before, so recommendations for places to lay the weary head would be welcome...

[Anthony's, Leeds]

I had the veloute of potato and the Salt Cod, Mrs W. had the pig cheek and the pork. The Salt Cod was quite special IMHO...the melding with the risotto worked really well. The mrs. muchly enjoyed too.

Only enough time on this visit for the set menu...next time will be longer, and we'll see if it overtakes Pool Court in our affections.

Only slight complaints, a leetle too long before dessert arrived (though nice that they asked at the beginning how long we had for lunch), and the music. Now, I'm a jazz fan. Jamie 'foghorn leghorn' Cullum is patently not, and we shouldn't be subject to his abuses while trying to enjoy a meal.

But then I hate the whole idea of music in restaurants.

And your phone was considerably less annoying than the perfume being worn by one of the other diners...

[Anthony's, Leeds]

<delurk>

Been reading the site for a while, and eventually have joined up...after reading all of Gary's exhortations, me and Mrs Wooster rumbled along to Anthony's on Friday lunchtime.

There in front of us was a solo diner...I leaned across to Mrs W. and said 'bet that's the guy from the site'.

So I got to eat in Anthony's at the same time as Mr Marshall himself. I feel so honoured! He did seem to keep rushing out to make phone calls though...

And rather gorgeous it all was too. Especially the parmesan butter...