sped98
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Posts posted by sped98
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Hi Harters , its from a dairy called Mawsons in a village named Seascale , west cumbria(mawsonsofbaileyground). I prefer to use "Dykeback" ( Hedgerow) Jelly on my scones.Basically its any produce that can be found `back of the dyke` ( hedge ) Last year i made it with Damsons , Sloes , Rowanberry , Hawthorn , Bullace ( wild plums ) , Rosehips , crab apple , elderberry , blackites (blackberries) .....it was fantastic on the scones , crusty buttered bread and good for sauces , pates , meat etc.
Raspberry and strawberry are still amazing though.
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This is the nearest I've come in Britain (outside the Fat Duck and L'Enclume) to the transporting theatricality of a meal at El Bulli. Passion, pride and some kind of obsessive craziness are at work here. So, all in all, pretty special, then.
Tracy McLeod sounds like she enjoyed it also after reading her review in yesterdays independent.
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We`ve a local dairy up here in Cumbria just started making their own clotted cream , its fantastic....and the way we do it up here is butter first...then the jam and then the whole pot of clotted cream.
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Booked in for sunday lunch 21st Aug, fingers crossed for a window seat.As for photos , ill be snapping for England so there`ll be plenty to post up....cant complain about poor lighting either.
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Nico Ladenis at 90 Park Lane , London.....Won`t even hazard a guess at a year but prob mid 90s
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Jeez , they`re at it again.....this time they`ve gone and made the Wall street journal with their fancy dinner parties and celeb cheffy doos....Dont you just hate em
Here`s the piece for those not interested.
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I`m only new to the big world of blogging myself ( cumbriafoodie ) and to be totally honest here , i visit the CC website on a couple of occasions every day.I love their write ups and like to try and keep up with them when it comes to the food photography....a little healthy competiton to keep my standards as high as possible.
I use their blog for my own research and selected my last London trip restaurants based purely on their reporting and pics.
Obviously when it comes to blogging theyre well up there with the best that blogging has to offer , they speak from the heart exactly as they find each establishment , both good and not so good in Gidleighs case.....and look what happens , all hell breaks loose.Interesting reading and many smiles but cmon folks....less of the bitching.I look up to the CC as an example of `what to head for` with my own blog....Thousands of visits , lots of friends worldwide and a fantastic hobby.Ive not met these people yet but look forward to doing so very much indeed.
I haven`t made any enemies "yet" from my own blog.Even from my totally terrible experience at Ducasse.Im sure itll happen eventually.Cant please everyone out there.
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Just looking over their list of restaurants visited....and their total lack of dining expertise.
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"I very much agree with Felix. Looking at the CC blog I think they have both a lack of technical knowledge and of dining expertise".
Joke of the day that one..... Ohhhh dearie me , its getting a little weary this thread now ,its been pretty entertaining though....Logging on here at 6.30 in the morning when i should be helping manage a Nuclear plant 
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Didnt realise you were one of those sad Twitterers David....You`d best add me then ;-) ( sped98 )
They still need to get this dish on ...blow the Londoners socks off with it.
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Im back again.... I was sat in a meeting at work and couldnt concentrate , had to come and look at those photos again.....yeah yeah yeah , so im a sad food obsessed person.
Im definitely thinking of doing a double...Hillbark and Fraiche as soon as i can fit it in. I went on to the Hillbark website , read up on Stewart , checked out the menus....WOW , they`re definitely my cup of tea.
Here`s a reminder from my last trip to Hillbark - Ohhhh it was good.
I shall return and blog , snap and eat to my hearts content
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Well that looks absolutely fantastic....and great news too.
Plates look a little too busy, too much going on and need a little refinement with a delicate touch.That will improve the aesthetics a lot.
The hillbark meal in the window seat with Aiden was one of the highlights of my culinary life,i struggle to think of a better meal ever, simply pure luxury , accurate cooking and a joy to eat.It was devastating when i found out he had gone from Hillbark but we also felt lucky that we were one of the "chosen few" who had experienced the dream.
As for the new team and set up , well all i can do is get myself down from Cumbria , camera in hand and try it myself...the food does look very classy , my cup of tea and i love Hillbark anyways so i should really get my backside down as soon as possible.
Pics are a definite improvement , youre raising the bar...well done.
Alan ( cumbriafoodie )
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To begin the meal we were given a little taster of thinly rolled flatbread the thickness of a poppadom with Smoked haddock brandade piped on top , just a little amusement to start the experience off nicely.
The bread selection arrived and for a classic French chef we expected nothing other than perfection, and the bread met those levels perfectly.The white bread was freshly baked , warm , crispy and the best in the business.The brioche was multi layered and as light as a feather and as the photo shows , you simply cant improve on perfection.
Our starter was recommended by Richard , he advised one of us to have the classic
Koffmann signature dish of Scallops with squids ink and cauliflower puree ( £16 ) and the other to have the squid bolognaise ( £10 ).Fresh squid thinly shaved horizontally with a very sharp knife and then cut up into delicate pasta like ribbons which were briefly cooked off and served with a bolognaise style tomato sauce….it was different and tasted wonderful.I didnt get a taste of the scallops as my dining partner wouldn`t
part with the tiniest morsel….so i take it they were good.Well actually i was offered his empty plate to mop up the squid ink sauce with my bread, i couldn`t resist …it was good.
Next up we both had the “Cassolette d`escargots et champignons persilles” (Snails ,
mushrooms , garlic and parsley ) ( £12 ) .Served in a small cast iron lidded cocotte pot , we knew they were on the way before they arrived at the table , the smell of good food filled the restaurant.The base of the pot contained a very delicate mousseline of potato , very light in texture and topped with tiny chanterelle mushrooms and the roasted snails.A highly aromatic sauce of butter , garlic and fresh parsley was spooned over the snails and served with a side of crispy garlic bread. Every mouthful was a
“closed eyes moment”….a very memorable tasting experience .
Now it was time for the legendary trotter and from its decription and what i had been reading about it i could almost re-create its flavour in my mouth.The trotter is firstly boned out and pot roasted in Veal jus with a selection of vegetables until the fat is broken down and meltingly succulent.This takes 3 to 4 hours.Basically the trotter serves as a casing for the mousse filling enclosed within.The filling is made from caramelised sweetbreads ,smokey morel mushrooms and held together with a chicken mousse.The trotter and filling is then wrapped up to re-shape it all in foil and allowed to set in the fridge.The next step is to roast it all off in the oven until it is cooked through and the filling is set.It is then unwrapped and bathed in more rich veal jus and sent to table.
Its accompaniments are koffmanns classic pommes puree , the most velvety cream mashed potatoes known to man.Spirals of crunchy caramelised pork crackling crown the mash and thats all that is needed.
Just to add value for money a selection of vegetables and a paper cone of chips fried in dripping come on the side.As for the trotter….Loin stirring , Heaven on a plate , meltingly tender, cut through with no effort , rich , sticky….very sticky , concentrated flavours , its just out of this world and i could immediately see what 25 years of fuss was all about and now while im sitting writing this at home , im just working out when i can return back to Koffmanns to eat it all again.Re-creating it at home just isnt a substitute on this occasion.
The cheese trolley arrived and it was just a case of a Little Britain - ”Want them all” , we were guided through all of the cheeses and little slivers were cut off for us to sample before we made our choice. After we had a taste of each one it was a “oh go on then , a wee bit of each” moment.We eventually decided to be sensible and opt for the best of the bunch.The cheese , as expected was mostly all French , perfectly matured and a good selection of the various types, soft, creamy , hard , goats……Fabulous.
Richard the Maitre `D returned to see how we were , he already knew the answer as he simply told us “you dont need to speak as the smile says it all”…he was right. He had come to offer us a little break from the food at this point and to take us off into the magical kingdom and to meet all the chefs.Could this get any better ? The kitchen was all glass fronted so the diners could see the action inside.We went into the heart of the
machine to meet the head chef in Mr Koffmanns absence , his name just slips me now but he was a lovely guy , took us through all of the sections , hot starters , pastry , and mains.The kitchen was running like a well oiled machine , everyone smiling and the only miss was Chef Pierre himself ,apparently we had just missed him…fingers
crossed for next time.
Time for the sweets , and once again i had decided weeks ago that there was only one choice for me….Classic Lemon tart.( £9 ). The Koffmann signature dessert “Pistachio souffle” was heading up the menu and highly recommended but although no doubting that it would be wonderful , i dont really eat souffle in restaurants , too much of the same thing at every mouthful…just lots of flavoured air.The superstar chefs always say that there should be a classic lemon tart on the menu at every good restaurant , i have to agree.Back when Koffmann had his 3 stars at Le Tante claire it was always the mark of a good restaurant , Both Roux restaurants , Marco , Nico Ladenis , Anton Mosimann , Raymond Blanc…..they never had it off their menus.The Lemon tart came with Lemon sorbet and paired up with a nice glass of chilled Sauternes 2003 was a taste combination that i just didnt want to end….once again , i crave more.
My dining companion opted for the creme brulee , unfortunately for him he didnt get his own way and was told “sorry sir , i have to insist you have the Oeuf a la neige caramelisee ( £9)…..” Ermmmmmm , okay ” it was a done thing.It also turned out to be a fine dessert as well.A huge scoop of sweet whisked egg meringue gently poached in flavoured milk , coated with crispy caramel and floating on an island of vanilla creme anglaise…He was happy.
Richard returned once again to kindly offer us time to let our food settle and then join the chefs for the “Trotter rolling” in their kitchen.A fantastic treat but unfortunately it was the end of our fun trip to London and the amazing food of Koffmann and a train to catch back to the Lake district, back to the reality of working in the real world again.
And for anyone who hasn`t experienced Koffmanns cuisine ,I cannot put it any straighter than this - It`s simply one of those things that should be on the list of “The top 100 things to do before you die”.
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They`re both good in my book , i can only speak as i find and so far they`ve only come over to me as a couple of lovely people.Love their website , visit it most days , fantastic pics , good site for sussing the restaurants out and informative write ups from the heart.As for the web wars....i have to have a wee chuckle when i read em.
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Well tell you what David , ive got a £2,000 Canon 7D sitting here redundant and that £299 i spent on the Lumix LX5 was the wisest thing ive done for food pics...Cant go wrong with a Leica lens.
As far as faves go , im so much a sweet toothed person ,i love my puds and one of my all time faves is on the menu at Roganic and thats the Sweet cicely , strawberry and buttermilk...Love it. The potatoes and onion ash is fabulous but i have to say that one of the best if not "the best ever" is the Carrot combination with Ham fat and carrot sorbet made with the liquid nitro.Its normally on at Lenclume , it tastes superb , looks like a work of art and is an absolute stunner.The menu is going to change every 6 weeks at Roganic so ill try and get updates as new ones come out.
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My pics from opening lunch on opening day at Roganic.Same menu as Davids above , the 10 course meal.
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Hi Theakston...you didnt get a reply because its info@roganic ......you added an "s" by mistake.The website will be up and running this week so i`m told.
Cheers.
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Photoshop ???? Erm....rings a bell , itll come back to me over the day im sure.Your pics are definitely improving a lot , looks like you`re thinking lots more about composition...spot on.
And yes...the lovely Miss Chang was definitely more pleasing to the eye
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" Currently I am typing this in my hotel room trying to finish this report before the fast approaching check out time. ".............Are you sure about that David ? A little Marylebone birdy told me you were seen running back to your hotel to get the pics up on the www before i got them up
Glad you enjoyed it , was a fantastic meal for us on saturday lunchtime , 13 courses in all....and of course , my pics will appear this week but i dont wanna go rushing them.
Top marks to the staff by the way....Lovely people , well educated on the food already, didnt see any teething problems and they all managed to smile throughout the wonderful service.
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I managed to squeeze in for opening lunch on saturday....Fantastic , batteries fully charged.
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Thanks for the tips but i`ve decided to take part in the madness of the Roganic first service....opening day saturday.Will get the pics up on here so you can see what theyre gonna be doing.Cheers
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Good weekend coming up -
Friday evening - Tasting menu with wine flight at Sketch
Saturday lunch - Suggestions please ( something light...but gastronomic )
Saturday evening - Tasting menu with wine flight at Helene Darroze at the Connaught
Sunday lunch - The legendary Koffmanns ( snails cocotte and pigs trotter )
Should be a good weekend , pics on my blog and the better ones on here a few days later.
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ROGANIC UPDATE - All seems to be nicely on track for the opening date of Saturday 25th June.Ben Spalding will be leading the brigade with Simon Rogan overseeing operations until Roganic finds its feet.I spoke to Simon yesterday and sounds like some exciting things will be happening there so i must make the effort to get down there soon.
Simon will be commuting between Lenclume in Cartmel and Roganic.Spending time in London will also give him time to spend time with family that he hasnt seen a lot of this year due to heavy work committments up in Cartmel.
Fans of Lenclume need not worry about the future of the place.Long term plans are not changing and Lenclume will remain the backbone of the business.Hopefully diners sampling the cuisine of Roganic in London will be tempted to make the journey to Cartmel to eat at Lenclume.Simon will be heading up operations at Lenclume for the forseeable future with no plans to change anything there......Sigh of relief from the West Cumbrian fan club.
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Everything about this series...and the show in general annoys me...yet i still torture myself and have it all on record.
Lots of good points noted on this thread though....Would love to actually see some cooking and technique , we could all learn a lot from these guys....n girls.
The Ledbury
in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining
Posted
WOW , those desserts look superb, how good does that banana tart look ? Now im very excited.I`ll be there on the 18th August and probably going for their tasting menu...the countdown has started....report with pics to follow.