CarolineLD

actually, despite the name, this is made with golden syrup. As is treacle tart. ← As I found out the hard way... As a child, the first thing I made unsupervised was a treacle tart. No golden syrup in mum's cupboard, so I substituted black treacle. Well, the pastry was nice...

Thank you, Erica and MrsWoman - time to go bottle shopping!

I'm making liqueurs for presents, but as I'd rather give people a selection than one large bottle, I need to find smaller bottles to put them in. Does anyone know where I can get small quantities of bottles (sizes approx 100ml and 200-250ml)? Thanks!

That was what I thought from my experience of France (ie I meant to say that the author took a bleak view rather than that the outlook was truly so bleak). However, I didn't know if my view was coloured from mostly staying in a place some miles from the nearest fast food restaurant, so it's reassuring to know that your - far more informed - impression is the same. Thank you for a wonderfully detailed response. It is funny to see his obesity scare approach coming so soon after the 'French women don't get fat' articles!

An apparently rather bleak view of French home cooking: Casseroles, Amour et Crises

My thoughts exactly. 'Humane' and 'non-fatal' are not the same thing...

Out of interest, what would you do with the mouse if you released it? (Ie free it so close that it wanders straight back, or just far away to be someone else's problem?). I ask because a friend tried a 'humane' trap and released the mouse at the end of the road; it wandered straight back. Of course, if it had wandered next door instead, it would have been a morally more dubious version of having someone else slaughter your meat. Mouse issues aside, I find this discussion interesting because I was a vegetarian for many years and have only recently started eating meat/fish again. As a result, everyone expects me to be ultra-squeamish, while on the contrary I feel that eating offal etc is another aspect of respect to the animal. Similarly, I'm not squeamish about dealing with animals and fish that look like dead animals/fish (I do feel uneasy about anything that looks too sterile on its white styrofoam tray though!). Not that I've actually killed any animals myself, and I have no plans to do so: it's back to KatieLoeb's point that there are people trained to do this. My incompetent attempt could only cause unnecessary suffering.

If you read French, the following site has a lot of information: http://terroirs.denfrance.free.fr/p/fiches..._d_huitres.html Caroline

So true! I grew up in rural England, but left for London at the first opportunity; my parents still live there. They get potatoes and eggs but little else from local farmers; the farmers' market in town is on a weekday when most people are stuck at work, and has all of half a dozen stalls. By contrast, I get a whole range of that region's produce (meat, smoked fish, honey, cheeses...) at Borough Market, a five-minute train journey from my home. For my parents to get that same produce locally would involve a full day's driving from one end of the county to the other. Ironically, then, it's much easier for me to eat good country food simply cooked etc etc than it is for them...

When I was in Liege (Belgium) for the start last year, there was a disappointing absence of special menus. Perhaps they do better in France itself?

I went to RHR and ate a la carte, my sister had the tasting menu. (I couldn't as I was vegetarian). The tasting menu looked superb and she really enjoyed it, I didn't get the sense that anything was less complex, just sometimes smaller. I certainly want to go back and try it now I'm eating meat again!!

Gosh, yes, it's so embarrassing when they come in chewing straw and asking for beans on toast with brown sauce! Actually, while this seemed to be the owner's attitude, it's incredibly misguided. First, Abergavenny is not a village, it's a town (and one with an annual food festival). Second, my experience of provincial towns is that an increasing number of local people will support good local restaurants; some of them will even be very affluent and fond of eating out regularly. But above all, that kind of patronising attitude is astounding - do those of us who eat in good restaurants have some special kind of qualification? Are we above shopping in markets? And do our regional accents have to have been surgically removed?

If you do want to go again, I still have those spare tickets...

I'm going on Sunday, but having bought my ticket I've just won a ticket for 2 for the same session (Sunday 11-2.30). So if anyone would like the ticket for 2 (no crowns included, sadly!) PM me. Caroline

I've always understood it to be equivalent to 'fuck' rather than anything stronger, and both my regular and the online slang dictionaries agree. Not that the exact strength of swearwords is always easy to gauge in translation ...

I had a similar tripe experience to Bux in Spain. Ordering a selection of vegetarian tapas (a very small selection), we asked for a cabbage dish which was unavailable, but the waiter suggested an alternative. I was about to say yes, since although the word was unfamiliar it was presumably going to be something similar. However, my friend wisely looked it up - the cabbage alternative was tripe!

Hm, I haven't found vegetarianism to be mainstream, or even common, in northern France at least - I still seem to be viewed as a bit of a bizarre novelty in many restaurants! However, if you avoid chains and tourist traps you shouldn't have any problems. Generally places (cheap and expensive) have been very accommodating and happy to suggest options even when none appear on the menu. (Although the option 'omelette' does appear a little too often...)

Afraid I can't help despite all the great suggestions I was given above - unfortunately, end-of-conference exhaustion and a dodgy knee meant I ended up staying in the hotel with a room service meal. (Not a dining option I'd particularly recommend...)

L'Artisan also give him the credit: according to their website, the tobacco chocolates are "a taste experience suggested by Heston blumenthal- the talented chef of the Fat Duck in Bray. "

I'm a vegetarian (a strict one!!) and ate there in December. Apparently vegetarian choices are always available, but I mentioned that I was veggie when booking and they were brilliant - not only did I have a choice of 3 starters and 3 main courses (pretty unprecedented in non-veggie restaurants...) but they gave me a vegetarian version of the amuse bouche, etc. The meal was superb. So I'd definitely highly recommend it. They don't do a vegetarian menu prestige, but one of my guests who does eat meat had the menu prestige, and they were happy to simultaneously serve me and the other our standard a la carte meals - and managed to do it without making us feel left out of things!

I'll be in Liverpool for a few days next week and would welcome any suggestions on where to eat. Preferably not too expensive, and I'll be on my own for at least one meal. (I'm also vegetarian, but that rarely seems to be a problem...)

I agree: although I work near the Highbury branch of La Fromagerie, whenever I go in for anything more than a sandwich they seem unfriendly and reluctant to advise. By contrast, Neal's Yard staff are always incredibly helpful, offering tastings and advice as if they're actually pleased to discuss their produce and glad of my custom!

Sainsbury's Local in Upper Street has a La Brea stand with about half a dozen varieties too - sounds like they're appearing everywhere!