Gary Marshall

probably a lot worse now kaupthing has just been placed in administration

betty's , yorkshire tea and fat rascals. www.bettys.co.uk

reading jan's review this morning i can certainly see why.

described by estimable dos hermanos as the worst ramsay outlet they have tried , and ang was there.

Right, right, I can think of a gazillion movies with this set-up (there is a more recent movie in the 90's with the exact same plotline, mind you. I think it involved "the king of the world." ). I'm just a little lost as to what Mr. Sexton is saying about Marcus Wareing with this statement. Is there a disaster about to befall the restaurant that I don't know about? ← no, i think he trying to reinforce the idea it is a very 'luxe' environment

there's a big 70's disaster movie on set on a cruise liner which naturally sinks but before it does there's a big banquet going on everyone in dinner suits etc, which contrasts sharply with the impending peril of the sea.

I'm liking the sound of some of those dishes, doesn't sound like he's looking to break any culinary frontiers but that's no bad thing sometimes. let's hope it's as good as the old petrus was in its early days.

to a certain extent, but they cut le gavroche to 2 when michel roux retired

is the dining scene in bristol that bad that a brasserie blanc and a carluccios really improves things or am i missing the sarcasm? surely there's some decent independents?

very interesting being in the professional kitchens, especially hibiscus, good to see claude and co behind the scenes as it were. thought both of them produced some excellent food , obvious hibiscus influence though!

with regards to the wine i think they are amenable to BYO

chez bruce in not as good as locals think shock ?

they are chalk and cheese the star and yorke arms, i was expecting more of the former when i first visited and was initially suprised, but then pleasantly when the food came out. as for locals - did you see many houses?! maitre d' does sound a cock and not representative of francis and co who usually run a friendly ship in my experience, tho it's the only place i've ever been asked not to take photos but that was soon resolved amicably.

watched the episode with michael caines tonight, i couldn't believe the number of michelin mentions and nearly fell off the sofa when the voiceover wittered that the boys had to be on top of their game because the michelin inspectors visit anonymously!

that place, near gare du nord, chef from brittany, chez michel? they do it!

Doubt michelin have lowered themselves to product placement with the the BBC, more likely a lazy ponytail in production thinking it's a simple way to reinforce they are dealing with quality restaurants by mentioning michelin every other word. Seeing as virtually every other commercial mention on the BBC is followed by 'other (restaurant guides) are available'. maybe they haven't realised they are promoting a commercial guide? what about Zagat, Hardens, AA etc

I think the issue here is not that it is in any way a bad thing that chefs are being ambitious, it's the automatic response Q. 'what do you want out of your career?' -A. 'a michelin star' they all say it parrot fashion, anyone would think, ooh, i don't know, the production staff are giving them ideas?!

hasn't worked for anthony's so far

caterer article, tony on life the universe and everything (almost) http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2008...hony-flinn.html

there was a lad on pro masterchef last night who wanted to be the youngest 3* chef ever, bless.

yes, i wondered if they hadn't had many applicants given the harsh reality check that series one gave to many people with dreams of 'an easy life running a restaurant' (and still licensed trade estate agents continue to offer pubs as 'lifestyle propositions - in reality - you won't have one ) or that they'd just picked the obviously most inept to make good tv. Off the top of my head i can't think of one who has anything anywhere near even a half baked concept. edited to add i read in the caterer that the first winner of hells kitchen's resto closed recently.

Don't rush, think of it as a very good neighbourhood restaurant rather than a destination wow foodie experience. Known for good wine and competent cooking.

a very confident or 'heading for an almighty fall' chef that boasts of a 'full restaurant ever day' in this environment. there must be easier ways to part with your time and money than trying to run two restaurants the country apart, especially given the mixed response to 'fine dining' in manchester.

i've been reading sharks fin and sichuan pepper by fuschia dunlop on holiday this week and it certainly makes a visit to red chilli more likely, this time perhaps no chicken with ginger and spring onion! more interesting in the early part of the book when she is learning the ropes of sichuan cookery , especially for me as i know less than nothing about 'chinese' food never mind regional chinese cookery

i didn't know they did this, i remember bourdain going to french laundry on tv with a table of 4 (naturally all well known) but all getting a completely different tasting menu which i thought was cool.