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Has anyone ever cooked anything like this? I thought that the egg was frozen (either raw or semi-poached) before being deep-fried. Is this how you do it? Or is there some other trick? ← Cooked this a couple of years ago, believe that the chef I worked with came up with it may be wrong, but obsidian still have it on there menu! But yes its a perfectly poached egg which is then breadcrumbed the normal way. Even had Fergie(Manu) come in intrigued to see how it was done! Would be interested to know who did come up with it originally if any one knows, soz only just read thread thats why I'm replying now! I was cooking it end 2002/03 does anyone know of it earlier? ← a recipe for deep fried parmesan poached egg is in the Savoy cookbook. I don't own the book, just noticed the recipe as I was flicking in the library. Don't know when it was published but looked like a few years ago.

fuck - opening delayed for 3 weeks. Lovely lunch cancelled.

thanks for that - I was just about to call.

I feel like a child looking forward to a new toy. Just booked for lunch on 5th August. David sounded 'fairly' confident that they would be open for business. I mentioned that I had been reading about the restaurant for months on egullet and was very much looking forward to it. And Culinary Bear - he asked if I was you so I'd just go ahead and give them a call - he's expecting to hear from you! I'm very excited.

in case you didn't know about it and are interestedTaste of London - has anyone been before? I like the look of the taste menu's - could well be worth a visit.

there's a fair bit on tinternet about this. It seems, not far from me, Patching in Sussex was a bit of a hotbed of truffling activity in the 19th century. I strongly believe that there are truffles aplenty to be found in this country - did you see the River Cottage episode where Hugh trained a pig and found a truffle on the first outing. I'd like to think it wasn't planted there by the production crew mind. If I could I'd get myself a pig and go a hunting. Unfortunately I live in a flat in Hove so not sure the people downstairs would approve

didn't see it last night but a friend went to Momma Cherris Soul Food Shack in Brighton, which is on in a couple of weeks, the other night and said the staff were all raving about him and the momma herself has named a dish after him.

mmm. Yes I would agree, but at RHR you're safe with the knowledge that it will taste great, no matter how outlandish some of the components sound.

can you explain what you mean by this Matthew - what is challenging about it? thanks ross

UK - I have an allotment and am always a little late getting going in the year. Just coming to the last few purple sprouting brocolli and leeks left now. Have just sewn broad beans, spinach, lettuces, radishes, parsnips, beetroot, carrots outside and my spuds - pink fir apples and king edward - will go in this weekend. Have tomatoes just showing through in my coldframe, and just added french beans and courgette seeds last night too. Getting very excited about the new year of vegetables starting again.

Lunch last friday. As this was a belated birthday meal I had intended to have a bit of a blow out at Ockenden Manor, but at £13.50 for a two course lunch and with crisp galette of pork jumping out at me from the starters and lamb fillet on the mains, I saw no reason of going for the £46 a la carte menu. After a beer in the bar over menu’s we were invited into the dining room. There was a bowl of marinated olives, onions and peppers on the table that didn’t do anything for me, and a selection of breads was brought to us in a bowl folded from a napkin, including a raisin and walnut and various small white rolls, all of which were pretty good. The galette arrived with a lovely sweet quenelle of caper puree on the top and sat on buttered savoy cabbage surrounded by a moistening of what could have been ham stock. It looked like a perfect breaded fish cake and was indeed crisp on the outside and full of a wonderful rillette mixture that tasted of all the good things about pork - meat, crackling and sticky fatty bits of belly all in one. M had ordered an oyster and mussel risotto with parmesan shavings and fine herbs and is always very generous with her food. I had a big mouthful of one of the two huge, slithery oysters buried at the bottom of the mound of rice and got some idea of what all the fuss is about oysters. The risotto was very delicately flavoured with a richness of taste and definite hints of the sea, the herbs and parmesan adding other light layers of flavour. My fillets of lamb were two finger-sized pieces of meat, sliced, set alongside vegetables of wilted wild garlic leaves, confit of tomatoes with garlic and small dices of fried potatoes. This dish was also on the a la carte, although it was a small portion for lunch, and everything on the plate had something to say to each other. The tomatoes were an explosion of sweet, garlicky flesh, the lamb tender and moist and those little potatoes, looking more like croutons, somehow managed to stay crispy till the last mouthful despite having the tomatoes sat on top of them. M had poached smoked haddock on mashed potato, mounted with a poached egg and covered in a creamy grain mustard sauce. It was an arrangement of white on a white plate. The sauce had just a hint of white wine vinegar to give it a lift and freshness and was again very good. M stuck with two courses but helped herself to my cheeses. They came along on a trolley with, luckily, our knowledgeable waitress, as I had no idea. There were, I reckon, about 20 to choose from. I selected about 6 including my first taste of epoisses and the best Roquefort I have ever had. There was a small wedding reception due in the lounge, and the bar was full by the time we had finished our meal, so coffee and petit fours was had at our table. Along with a couple of glasses of enjoyable house cab sauvignon, a bottle of water and a budvar before the meal, the bill came to a mere £55. I had a lovely time. Service was low-key but efficient and friendly. The building itself is probably a couple of hundred years old, the décor cosy, antique, low-beamed, giving an ambience of relaxed quality. The dining room has higher ceilings and seats about 30 on 12 well-spaced tables, with a second, smaller room off it for another 10 or so. There were 4 other tables dining during lunch and the atmosphere was a little like a library to start with, but we both, and it seemed everyone, soon relaxed and livened up a little as we ate. Certainly the food bought a smile to my face and a feeling of child-like excitement on several occasions, which is what I want from an experience such as this. I felt comfortable, relaxed and happy throughout. Although the portions are small, the three courses left me satiated. I would definitely return to Ockenden Manor. The lunch, at £13.50 for two courses or £19 for three is fantastic value and also offered a potato and truffle soup to start and a fricassee of pink fir apples and vegetables as a main, with cheeses, a lemon tart and chocolate fudge cake for dessert.

I'm off to Ockenden Manor for lunch tomorrow. Never eaten in a starred restaurant before so very much looking forward to it.

So where does all this lovely organic un-seasonal veg come from originally? Flown in from Spain?

So where did you go Tim and how was it?

I was in the Riverford shop in Totnes last week and was very impressed with their range and quality of goods on display. Had a chat to the nice ladies in the shop and they now deliver all over the country and assured me they will deliver to Brighton free of charge. Not sure how environmentally friendly this is though. see here - they tell you whats in the box this week, which is a great idea. Bought an organic ham hock for 99p.

Terre a Terre is about 10 mins walk from the University. Due South is on the beach and about 15 mins walk.

Hi folks - I am staying in Stokenham by Start Bay over easter. Any recommendations of hidden gems down that way would be most welcome?

I am pretty sure there is a farmers market this saturday at the Friends Meeting Place in Ship Street - "local and global stalls". This appears to be a monthly event. So we now appear to be overwhelmed by farmers markets.

There's one on the first sunday of the month at the top of Denmark Villas by Hove station. I am pretty sure there's another on the second sunday of every month, but don't know the location. There were about 25 stalls at the one on sunday. Nothing to get too excited about - especially as there was no meat. Initially it was to feature meat, but when they turned up on their opening day the meat stalls were told they couldn't operate there, even from stalls outside the building. London Road is not pretty. It seems to have resisted the gentrification that has come to the rest of the city. The area caters more for the budget shopper. I think it would take a long time to establish a quality stall there. Russells Sussex Farm shop has opened in Poets Corner stocking a small range of pre-packed local produce - smoked meats and fish, cheeses, breads and pastries. It acts as a pick-up point for organic veg boxes too and he makes good organic soups and things. I know Russell and he is eager to grow and offer a wider range. He has gone down well with the locals but because of the out-of-the-way location is finding it difficult to draw in people from the wider city.

There are a few decent fish merchants in the arches on the seafront. I have started buying more and more from them recently, and if they are to be believed a good deal of it is locally caught. Scallops and sprats were both wonderful last week.

I have lived in Brighton for 5 years - and lived within 5 minutes of this market for the first 2 of these. I went to this market twice. Why? The butchers at the entrance looked like it sold cheap mass produced meat. I presumed the market would sell cheap, chemically produced produce. It was already on the downturn when I moved here. It looked grim. I presumed the produce would be grim. It looked like it catered for the discount shopper. Now, all these assumptions may be wrong, but they were my reasons. We now have 2 farmers markets in Brighton. Had I thought of egullet when I went to one of these yesterday - believe it or not - a vegetarian farmers market (the produce, rather than the farmers themselves, due to the fact that it is held in a jewish hall) I could have posted some pictures of very good looking produce. It is small, but a good start. As you say though Andy, surrounded by farms and the sea, we should be spoilt for choice down here.

thanks very much for this information.

Banners is very good. They make their scrambled egg with the steam attatchment to the coffee machine. And their saute potatos with bacon and poached egg remains my favourite all-time breakfast. Although recently this is being questioned by rick steins eggs arnold bennet, which is only available if I make it myself.

can someone explain what the half soft and scrambled egg is, I'm having trouble imagining it. I like eggs. I am currently trying to work out a way to store a 6 month old somewhere for the night to get there for my birthday in april. If only they offered a babysitting service. In fact, they should offer a babysitting service.

that looks fantastic Eden and puts mine to shame last night. I have always wanted to make this dish but have never got round to it. This thread finally got me going, although I decided to make one from what I had around. I had a bit of time on my hands yesterday as I was at home looking after a poorly wife I made a quick, cheats version last night. Boiled the dried beans for 1 1/2 hours in chicken stock. Bought some toulouse sausages from a speciality sausage shop at the end of my road. Fried these in the fat from rillons I made a couple of days ago. Fried onions and garlic and browned rillons. Beans, meat, beans, topped up with chicken stock and a covering of breadcrumbs and baked for a couple of hours. Unfortunately my confit duck doesn't get to sit around very long in my house, so I had no duck to put in. Next time. I was very happy with the results and am sitting here at work dreaming about getting home, opening a nice bottle of red wine, and getting stuck in again.