Gary Marshall
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Posts posted by Gary Marshall
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Agreed Steins F&C, Margot's, Bin two, Paul Ainsworth, Nathan Outlaw all worth a visit.
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I think Le Champignon books are self published too , but with someone else.
Discovered LCS are actually published by Absolute ...
http://www.absolutepress.co.uk/books/beyond-essence-ne-recipes-from-le-champignon-sauvage/
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I see Sat's book is out, great title!
If it is anything like the other books from the stable it should be good (they did Andrew Pern's and James Mackenzie's books too).
Oh thats interesting. Didn't realise it was the same shop as the Star! Which presumably means it will be exquisite, pricey and damn near impossible to track down at retail! :-p
Still kicking myself for not pre-ordering on Amazon when they were listing it at thirty quid! :-x
J
Yes that would have been a good price!
The've managed a nice bit of disintermediation, rather than take the usual model of upfront advance and small royalty on the books sold at knock down prices , they self publish them so no advance but then get the full value of the book. (Well the others did so assume sat did too).
If you've got c1000 covers a week (as Star and P&G do) and/or high spenders on a special night out, a book makes a great momento and great biz for the restaurant, you can sell them quite nicely without having to give away big chunks to the supply chain (as long as you can afford the initial costs of production) and if Sat sells all his 10,000 first print run well you can 'do the math' !
I think Le Champignon books are self published too , but with someone else.
I got James's book direct from FACE very promptly.
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I see Sat's book is out, great title!
If it is anything like the other books from the stable it should be good (they did Andrew Pern's and James Mackenzie's books too).
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on service, had an interesting experience at Le Manoir Aux Quats Saison a couple of weeks back.
they asked whether we wanted the dishes explained to us as they were presented, or did we want to be left alone? Basically they were asking how obtrusive did we want service to be?
which I found a very welcome innovation. something I've never seen before. as it happened we did want them to explain the dishes, but I liked that they understood not everyone wanted the same experience.
What? you mean they didn't call you' mate', show you their tattoo's & piercings, ask if you'd brought any vinyl to play and want to 'explain the concept' to you?
Madness, whatever next?
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Yes, the PR have done a great job which makes me suspicious see, PSS, Dinner last year.
and of course 'it's full 'till 2015 etc' makes me smell a cunning rodent type beastie.
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Just seen on twitter LCS celebrating their 25th anniversary today. Congratulations, a hell of an achievement as anyone who's ever worked in the trade will attest!
Good to see the respect shown from the heavyweight twitter chefs also.
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you won't go wrong, chef/owner Adrian is still there, was on here a lot pre-twitter as basildog. Never had a bad meal there and I was looking at revisiting myself . It is small though so book well in advance, like now.
you also want to check out the wine shop / coffee / wine bar bin two.
for top end Paul Ainsworth / Nathan Outlaw / Rick Stein
Ainsworth also has an italian place Rojano's
Steins fish and chips on the harbour
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re: John Campbell I am in two minds about this. I can thoroughly recommend his cookbook Formulas for Flavour. Despite its naff title it really is an excellent and inspirational book.
Look closely and you can also spot a young Anthony Flinn & Nathan Outlaw in the staff pics.
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Estrella Enerdit i had at Anthony's a while ago was an interesting 'champagne' beer.
i was never that keen on the Deus? champagne beer they had first, we had some Matt years ago.
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Those beer prices are interesting. When I say interesting I mean unbelievable.
wow yes, 9.50 for black sheep and i assume 'timothy' is timothy taylors landlord? certainly sub £2 bottles , usual mark 70% gp is 3.3 x cost plus vat, that's pretty much 4x.
Though it does have the view and is in an expensive part of London, not the place for a session as i found out to my ruin once. From Marcus Wareing to windows bar, cost wise deffo out of the frying pan into the fire!
Food at windows looks good though and I do fancy trying it one day.
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Of course this venue is about more than just the food. It is special on a different level to other restaurant meals. Its truly unique, and very, very enjoyable.
and free?
is it bookable for the public or just a showcase?
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One trend I notice (which no-one in the press ever highlights - funny that) is the habit for high profile critics to have consultancy gigs on the side. e.g. Nick Lander and Fay
http://www.nicklande...txt&set=c____ph
http://www.aprivatev...the-company.asp
Fine you can put safeguards in place around fair disclosure of commercial relationships, but at the end of the day it means the critic isn't wholly working for you the reader. They are also working for the restaurant trade.
That makes me uneasy. Doubly so because, as mentioned, these sidelines are rarely written about in the press.
J
Indeed, and fair play to Jay, when a friend of mine (who he'd reviewed a few years previously) asked for a bit of advice/consultancy his reply was basically that he felt he couldn't review and consult.
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If you do Ledbury and Hedone you'll two very different meals, in all respects which will work together as an interesting trip.
If you've not been, a worthwhile diversion whilst down south would be The Sportsman easy train from Victoria, short taxi at other end.
Then you've ticked the only 3 reasons needed to ever venture down south
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Matthew asked earlier what chefs are going to the lengths Mikael is when it comes to sourcing, and the simple answer is hundreds. Pretty much every Michelin starred restaurant strives to find the best ingredients available to them, both in terms of locality and budget. Heck, there's a host of non-Michelin accredited gastro-pubs in the south Notts area where I live who apply this same dedication.
I don't spend much time here these days, read virtually any. but a search on hedone brought this up.
one of the more wrong headed statements I have ever had the bemusement to observe. the turbot alone is on a level far exceeding any restaurant in this country. Far...
anyhoo, carry on
Yes. There is a difference to scouring local farms or butchers/suppliers in your area to what they do at Hedone.
Mikeal moved country once to find better fish. I know a lot of chefs and foodies, I don't know anyone who takes it to the same degree as Mikeal, Stephen Harris at The Sportsman probably the only other in the same boat, and he convinced Mikael there was some decent produce to be had in the UK.
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I was part of a wine lunch that was split into two groups across the Ledbury and the Square recently on the same day.
I was at the Square and the food was very good and certainly an excellent foil for the wines, the Ledbury food, judgin by photos was much showier in comparison,and i'd generally think that the Square is more classic wheras Brett tends to go off piste more. That was my first Square experience and may not have been totally representative, but I'd rather go to the Ledbury for choice.
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Judging from the photos and knowledge of the dishes the rather sensational pre-post wasn't quite backed up , it's all going a little bit critical couple.
The set lunch cod cheeks not good and a split on whether some venison was chewy or not, and not opening on your cue, If they open at 12.30, they open at 12.30, not 12.15, doesn't quite devolve a restaurant of two stars imho.
I think though David that you must be able see that using the camera and /or tape recorder will put people's backs up, in our food geek world no one bats an eyelid, but not everyone, or member of staff is the same.
Always happy to read your reports, you should come out with bapi , thom and i, when you see how he gets treated, then you'll *really* know what service is
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Rubbish meal here today. Venison rump tougher than my well aged arse. Dry chewy tasteless Cod cheeks which were left uneaten on the plate.
Service was all the way from Siberia. Truly shocking.
This is the only place in the last decade that I was desperate to leave.
Two Michelin stars?
Your having a laugh.
Was this set lunch ?
I know others will disagree but this is often not a great barometer of what a place has to offer.
I think you have to respect that lcs has held 2* for an age and david e-v is held with enourmous respect in the industry, one lunch doesn't make it a bad restaurant.
Prices were always good for 2* also, espec wine list.
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looks like more Burger and Lobster (or Goodman's) are on their way as they've just bought the two london standalone restaurant du vins
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Last meal i had at Hibiscus was spoiled by the over use of those lime drop things he had last night, way too bitter and on way too many dishes.
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You mean that cooking a Lancashire hot pot and sticking a couple of lamb chops into it isn't cutting edge?
I fear you are correct though, Fort seems to get modern cuisine but I think the others would cross the road to avoid it, if at all possible.
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It's an odd collection of chefs when the area is not exactly short of talent.
Whether its chefs declining or not hamming it up sufficiently for the cameras in the screen tests, I know not, but it would take me a long time on a desert island to come up with the present list.
Not say i didn't enjoy it, Charlie (?) came across well and interesting comments about Colin McGurran's food lacking seasoning, seemed a pointed comment.
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you need to upgrade the motor Oli
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Don't forget the tone of the show is set by the producers, they have deliberately tried to build confrontation in the past, very possible this year it is all more touchy feely team spirit olympic ethos.
The chefs know it is 'viagra for the reservation book' and that is why they put up with it and appear, in private you'll find a completely different story.
Michelin Guide, Great Britain & Ireland 2013
in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining
Posted · Edited by Gary Marshall (log)
I was just thinking in the old days this would have been 12 pages long by now, and whether the results might even not be mentioned until publication!
Michelin appears to favour evolution over revolution. If they think the same way as the many starred chefs that have graced its dining room Hedone should be nailed on.
However as we have seen with many new individual restuarants over the years such as Anthony's, Fraiche, and L'Enclume, Michelin are in no rush to award stars to newly formed businesses with little in the way of history with the guide, hence many 'new' stars historically go to former star holders in new places, and 'new' places can wait a long time to become recognised, and a good clutch of stars will go places completely un-mentioned on food boards or blogs!
Sat Bains waited a long time for his second, and with Roganic and other expansion in Cartmel wouldn't be surprised if L'Enclume wasn't upgraded this year either, regardless of what's currently on the plate.
I hope the Star at Harome gets theirs back, and The Pheasant is an outside chance, I thought the Star was going to be the first 2* pub easily, which just goes to prove how little I know. (If that were in doubt.....)