Gary Marshall

i have seen a review, very balanced, but not a happy experience for them, however if you're feeling in 'a glass half full mindset' the table next to them thought it was the 'best meal they'd ever had'

given her track record at the telegraph, jan moir is one of the more trusted reviewers out there and writes well. More than can be said for the present telegraph reviewer.

http://www.areyoureadytoorder.co.uk/ jan no like either

sounds like it is certainly designed to give that impression, true or not. i would strongly suspect that the ltd co that runs 'the' fat duck is a different entity too

'a' dos hermanos has been

spooky, i was just asking the butcher yesterday if this was a cut he could do for me (i was thinking of making lancashire hot pot). as expected little demand for it nowadays, end up in the lamb stewing meat.

Assiette means plate. What do you think it means? ← i think it's generally accepted that assiette is a selection of whatever, so yes a plate if you're being pedantic but a plate of chocolate, veal or whatever but implying several different preperations. if i ordered an assiette and got one preparation i'd be suprised. and i'd also be suprised if it didn't come on some form of plate.

can't say i've ever come across flavour profile myself but certainly agree with eaterie. i am yet to be convinced that 'flavoursome' is not a made up word too.

I'm sat with the menu from a very pleasant lunch at anthony's in front of me, well worth braving the delights of the hoards of millwall & leeds fans in the town centre for the match, however i know i'm not going to be able to do the food justice without photographs, firstly because the presentation was absolutely fantastic and secondly because there was a lot more going on with the plates than the menu descriptions give and i can remember! A glass of champagne to start in the bar, with olga looking worried for the large plate glass windows as the fans amassed, i thought we'd be having the same menu as i had shared with scott and sam a couple of months ago but hey ho today was the first outing of a new menu so despite dreaming of the roasted sweetbreads and sous-vide pork with sage macaroons, we had a whole new menu of ideas. Tony said afterwards he was trying completely new ideas this time and wasn't repeating any of his tried and trusted ideas/garnish, fair to say neither was looking forward to a full saturday night with a brand new menu to deliver ! Downstairs with a bottle of the old favourite rene mure alsace riesling 2004 (£26?) for company (with the mrs -shock horror!) we had the amuse, a roasted chicken wing skewered through a chunk of watermelon in a warm mayonnaise, interesting combination but not quite a jacketless potato! White onion risotto to follow, a slightly less soupy version this time, just right and mopped up with the bread and 3 butters/oil. first fish - cured monkfish, bacon cream & toasted hazlenut. A suprising dish, it was served cool and the monkfish was a thin film wrapped around some pomme puree, the standout on the dish though were the (unadvertised) pickled trompettes and slivers of lardo, mmmm. Pig cheek up next, unctous braised cheek, garlic baby squids, sour cream ice cream. another good dish the ice cream balancing the richness of the cheek. more fish after, perfectly seared red mullet , a two tone pineapple and tarragon jelly with a crab sandwich. This dish sticks in my mind as being a beautiful plate, the crab sandwich alone two thin crispy squares with the crab was a very delicate highlight. I think duck would have been on the usual tasting but i'm a veal fan so switched it for sous vide veal, earl grey mousse with vanilla caramel. The veal looked like tongue, although it tasted fine, the visuals of sous vide do nothing for me, though I can see from a kitchen and consistency viewpoint the attraction, give me a bit of caramelisation any day. I didn’t think the earl grey mousse was strong enough but I may be enured to it as I drink gallons of the stuff, the vanilla carmel was another tiny work of art, two discs of translucent caramel with a vanilla centre, like a mini vanilla slice. We slipped in a cheese course at this point and again the attention to detail shone, not since wintering ham fields giant chariot have I seem cheese presented so well. They now have a list of over 15 cheeses and a selection is made from the descriptions, then the cheese arrives cut or (or poured as appropriate) into inch squares, in strength order accompanied by a personalised list of what you have in front of you, with tasting notes. The accoutrements included cherries, tiny walnut breads, tiny ‘crackers’ and pickles. There was more thought and care in that one course than in many of the meals I’ve had this year. On the cheese front we had mrs Kirk hams, vacherin, drunken goat, golden roemer & quicks extra mature cheddar. On the wine front we were alternating our Riesling with an 04 giradin santenay gravieres, (£34) at first it seemed a bit young and closed but opened up nicely, as usual the waitress brought the right riedels at the right time and poured the wine perfectly as the courses demanded. Deserts up next, pear crumble, smoked brie ice cream these were almost beignets, lovely gooey tiny pears with a nice crunch to them, the smoked brie not overpowering, just a good creamy taste. Final desert was a chocolate mousse and peanut ice cream, I think there was more to this than I can remember but think I got lost at peanut ice cream! Coffee And P4’s to follow, chocolates are becoming a big deal at anthonys now they have the pattisserie and there was a good selection of six with our coffees, note if you don’t eat them they box them up for you, nice touch (obviously we scoffed ours, we just saw the waiter carefully take the remaining chocs silver service style and put them in a box). As per , raspberry beers and the discussion of life the universe and everything with tony & olga. Hard to believe they have been there 3 ½ years, and as usual there’s much on the horizon for them. Tony thinks 08 is going to be their year, I think he could be right.

can't promise anything.

watched the burger episode last night, thought it very interesting. One of the few food programes that actually makes me want to go out and cook straight away. if only i had a kitchen.

first review? http://www.areyoureadytoorder.co.uk/

not fancy a nespresso machine then Tim? as used by heston and sketch apparently.

Very quickly got bored with the first series, this one looks much better. need to see how he cooked the nan breads, looks like a couple of quarry tiles in the oven, good improvisation with the tandoor, now on the list after the woodburning pizza oven

when was it normal?

and a new biography sort of thing too which actually looked quite interesting.

yes he was, i felt bad once when i went and speaking to germain afterwards all my favourites were roberts ideas/cooking. not sure how the menus have evolved now robert has free rein was what i was getting at.

not defending lapses but what might be considered major lapses in following the legislation doesn't necessarily mean they are dirty, it might be bureaucracy measures such as constantly measuring fridges temps, delivery temps, appropriate warning stickers around etc. There is a lot of red tape. Saying that, we never got a visit when we had the pub so it wouldn't have been inspected for over 2 years. Did see a rat running around the kitchen in paris earlier this year.

oh b8gger, every time someone mentions winteringham i think must get myself back up there and try roberts cooking, looks like i'm going to miss out again. will be very interested to see who takes over, it's a suprise from an outsiders perspective i thought the McGurrans had Robert well tied in at WF, but i'm sure, as always, there are two sides to the story. Hope both Robert & WF enjoy continued success.

I can assure you the yorke arms can more than hold its own in the company of that list of 20 restautants, the name suggests country pub but it 'aint (and that's not a criticism - it's a bloody good place!)

claude bosi may have something to add .... www.hibiscusrestaurant.co.uk

that bib gourmand has your name on it!

are these the same choc pyramids they serve at the don?

certainly in the UK but when i first visited some 3* in france i was struck by the size of the likes of Boyer les crayeres, Bocuse & Taillevent

i remember having a conversation about this on saturday afternoon, i think the story is that it will be the full ducasse experience rather than a watered down affair. However it was a rather convivial day out so that may be wishfull thinking.