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seanw

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Posts posted by seanw

  1. Jamie,

    I attended Leeds Uni in U.K., which other than more recent infamy associated with current events; was home to Marc Almond who apparently was quite a gourmet of cocnut milk, fortunately my bedsit land experience differed appreciably!

  2. I think i will give the mussels a miss.....the cocnut milk is not on my 'to do' list. I'm sure this will be the first incarnation of many(mucho money, mucho pressure!) hope they have designed a kitchen space that can perform & allow flexibility.

  3. I think i would have less confidence asking for burger's cooked medium rare here. I just had the impression that NY purveyors of beef knew what they were doing,(e.g.properly aged beef etc.) no "beef in the bag" here. I think that confidence is important(justifiable i'm not sure!!).

    Gerald why don't you ask Doug to mince some backfat to add to your patty recipe!

  4. Lucy,

    I guess you will have to make do with Spanish cuisine, which is not the same i grant you but i'm hardly going to shed a tear! Just returned from New York where the Chipotle franchises have won me over, why bother with MacDo crap when such 'fast food' exists!

  5. Funny,

    Visited NY recently & ate at Blue Hill. Wife had chicken & it was bland, but the vegetables were very good(& properly seasoned..v important fabulousfoodbabe). I went for the monkfish & was bitterly disappointed, bland & rather spongy in texture. However a fantastic chocolate bread pudding, with caramel/peanut centre & banana ice-cream perked me up. Then followed a freebie, a fromage blanc(?) souffle which was dense & everything a souffle should not be, at least the rhubarb sorbet it came with was tart/refreshing & tasted like rhubarb. Bit of a rollercoaster really....

  6. Went to UBC farm this past weekend! By the way makes for a glorious walk around all the gardens & forest nearby, although i am concerned for the hens the fence should probably be higher! Anyway makes a change from the masses at trout lake, while offering some nice produce. Picked up some nice, eggs, radish, lettuce......also available(if early) garlic tops(why so popular?)artichokes, herbs, strawbs & beets seem almost there, with lots to come!!

    This is a great market to support with regard to the strong educational emphasis it provides, showing & explaining to school kids exactly where & how food is produced. Also a well supported local initiative can help drive further ambitions as far as UBC farm is concerned, which does not receive great funding but rather relies on the efforts of volunteers & students.

    Perhaps you dont have to get your kids' face all painted up to enjoy themselves! Chickens :cool:

  7. Interestingly enough, Philip Howard has a BSc in Microbiology from Kent Uni, however his most formative influences have been MPW & Simon Hopkinson. Howard, like many sensitive; thinking chefs uses science to better understand the ingredient, yet realises the value of sensual cooking, how many chefs can deconstruct fresh ingredients & then reassemble into whatever form successfully i.e considering the constraints such as paying your staff reasonably, maintaining freshness & quality etc.(Gagnaire struggles, recent reviews have highlighted concerns with his elemental ingredient approach that utilizes different preps on a theme ingredient)????

  8. Keith,

    It tells me that we are not producing enough locally, & perhaps alternatives may exist for fries! (god forbid)I cannot follow your argument.....A restaurant uses old spuds for fries.......sums up everything that is wrong with local/sustainable/blah blah. The right idea in the wrong hands does not a bad idea make.....

  9. What he could do is, cut down on the size of the A la carte menu....using local ingredients he has sourced to farmers/growers etc.(doing exactly what he wants.).....but charge per item on the carte menu(you dont have to have 3 courses if you don't want to!)

    Perhaps a smaller tasting menu would be better for consistency of quality.....Can anyone remember every single item in a tasting of 25 courses a la El Bulli??? fewer courses that are memorable, i would suggest 5. And some great affordable wines that have not been excessively marked up.

    But dont listen to me because i would totally bankrupt the place! :wink:

  10. Michel Guerard uses duck foie in a recipe for pot-au-feu in his book Cuisine Gourmande(v. good btw) but he is in the Landes region, which specialises in this product! Local/seasonal again.

    Also had duck foie with squid & it's broth at Olivier Roellinger in Brittany...not bad but have preferred other preparations! I'm with Jamie on the terrine front, although i had to make a smoked foie gras terrine(cooked sous vide) didn't work for me....au naturelle!

  11. Gerald,

    As i understand it Hopkin mentioned that he worked for you......wasn't his experience the real deal?? Or had you set him aside for extraordinary punishment. It seems as though many industry types understand the problems behind recruiting good staff, but do little about it, as the difficulty in recruiting would suggest! So what do you do? Perhaps harmonize the tip thing...i have failed to hear an effective rationalisation for the disparity, if you want team ethos then treat your team the same or is my logic screwed! Try to develop skill/understanding in the workplace, keep it interesting always a good motivator(in restaurants where menus go unchanged it must be difficult to sustain interest!). Oh but be careful owners because if they acquire too many skills then there is the possibility of increased wage demands :wink:

    There are good employers out there, who pay OK, & ensure that some form of health coverage is included(Govt. could help small bizz more in this respect???) It's nuts that some package is not available....it is such a dangerous environment especially for poorly trained, demotivated kids.........accidents waiting to happen, how fair is that for a chef with any modicum of responsibility(stress junkies!)....thats enough from me.

  12. Could you explain to me what James Chatto was talking about when he mentions the vibrancy of Vancouver restaurants ,how often does he eat here? & does he know of place where i can get great veg. in Vancouver yet, i see Myers Farms is providing Capers with some stuff now & i know the Islands are great! The point being that their should not be this paucity of produce, which there must be as apparently we would be hooped in days if something bad should happen(Please No).I am visiting New York & Montreal, should be interesting i have my shopping list. Actually Jamie I would love to hear about the route du saveurs thing you did as a possible rec. I would swop many average restaurants for one great one!...actually more the merrier.

  13. To add Fieldstone artisan Breads out in Surrey, have not tried it recently but i've had decent baguettes from them(They have done "feast of fields").

    Jamie, could you tell more about the Okanagan Grocery, do they produce artisan breads(& where do they get their flour from??) .How would you rate them compared with Van. Bakeries?? I think i remember seeing an article about this place with a nice pic.

    LMB my wife & I were living in Paris last spring & we both noticed the considerable gulf in quality of pastry/breads(we were lucky that we lived close to a bakery that was awarded "best baguette 2004") but Vancouver does have it's moments....Patisserie Lebeau(old school-small selection, limited quantity & i mean that in a good way!) Chris Brown, those Georgian Bakery dudes, Lesley Stowe's dried fruit/nut bread & Les Amis cheese (Again in Paris we were lucky to live next to a really good affineur- wow perfectly aged raw milk cheese) Swiss Bakery just off Main can be good(but not consistently). I have not tried all of Mix bakery bread(is that possible?), but have not had a resounding positive impression.

  14. Brenda,

    I have to confess that i do not appreciate everyone's opinion! I appreciate that everyone has the right to their own opinion.

    The general drift has been that too many people seem to believe all the hype about Vancouver, the dissenting voices(who are not just whiners) would like to see/aid changes that would improve their food experiences in the city & are just venting(with perhaps a more worldly viewpoint...the irony should not be lost that Vancouver's world class status has generally been questioned by people from other places or who have travelled, who may/may not know what the fuck they are talking about).I wish people could understand that what is being promoted here is improvement(with critique being an essential component)......I for one am not satisfied with what is available.....I want more. This society is full of excesses so why not demand more when more could be done!

    I find the subjective taste opinion interesting, it seems some people believe that this negates in depth coverage of dining- cus everybody has different tastes. Is this the same logic that applies to restaurant reviews in this city??? Of course taste can vary but surely their are 'truths'.....When i consider a meal, i want the elemental components to assert their value & meaning, separately & combined, depth of flavour is also paramount(consider how long a flavour{aroma, texture, balanceetc.} remains on the palette) as it provides the proof of the skill/experience/passion of those that have contributed to the final product.

    The logistical operation of bringing food to the plate is wholly underappreciated by many- How can i say that??Look at how much you have to pay. Really is the market price for Wild Salmon respective of the effort & resources available??? Look at how much wine is charged for,& paid for, in restaurants- checks & balances but who really benefits?? I would like throw in a polemic on social justice here- but i know it is all about one group doing better at the expense of another, i'm biased too so my opinion may only be respected by Brenda. Anyway i hope people can see that change is required, now i should go & deposit the check i received from former employer, after mediation at employment standards.....restaurant biz, you got love it!

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