cachan

I had dinner here 9 days ago and I was quite impressed and well-fed. I had the Crayfish, egg, mushrooms and Nantua sauce then the Beef and foie gras Rossini with Périgueux sauce followed by the Baba. The starter was rich, probably due to the copious quantity of mushrooms but could have done with more crayfish and less mushroom, the sauce Nantua was delicious, a well-composed dish. The main was equally delicious but did not strike me as full of skill apart from the sauce, and was served with a quarter of the heart of a 'sucrine' little gem lettuce providing a much-needed light contrast to the beef and fois gras, but I thought they could have served a more 'exotic' difficult-to-obtain French lettuce with some mache nantaise instead. The Baba left me struggling to finish but was just the right texture and served in a fancy shiny contraption, this was a star product. There was the gougere and royale of broccoli with crunchy veg beforehand but was surprised there were no canapes as well. The Fontainebleau was a revelation to me, whipped cream and cheese. Then, even though I had no coffee or tea, I was given 2 bags of the mignardises to take away along with my unfinished macarons and chocolates. I was surpised to see salt, fleur de sel de Camargue, and pepper on the table as I thought that if the food considered by the chef to be 'perfect' then no additional seasoning should be considered necessary, was that not the opinion of our MPW ? The place was quite busy with the Table Lumiere being occupied as well. I know that there have been mixed reviews of this place but, personally, I would expect this place to retain its two stars at the least.

SAINT Marina, to us Londoners !

Wild Honey serves Limousin veal. I had it last Wednesday.

I think that Aubergine in Chelsea does a set lunch including wine but the chef William Drabble has recently left. The lunch at Foliage has the option of including the wine but the chef Chris Staines has recently left as well and Heston Blumenthal was going to take over at some time. Best to phone them up. Anyway, probably the best deal is at Gavroche.

They are :- Hot Foie Gras and Crispy Pancake of Duck Flavoured with Cinnamon Roast Saddle of Rabbit with Crispy Potatoes and Parmesan Bitter Chocolate and Praline Indulgence I would have thought that other dishes such as the Souffle Suissesse and the Omelette Rothschild might get a mention some time !

I looked at the 5 Michelin guides for the years 2005 - 2009 and I was surprised to see that they list the same 3 dishes each year. I expected the guides to vary the list each year, as they do for the other restaurants.

I found the Le Gavroche menu here, it is current as I checked a couple of prices, hope this link works :- http://www.zagat.com/Verticals/Menu.aspx?VID=8&R=78546&HID=10319

I went past the hotel and saw that the new Head Chef is Richard Hondier. I noted that prices are unchanged, even if the cuisine has become simpler and Chavot is no longer your ** Chef. Although on their website, Assiette Landaise is still mentioned. I have experienced this dish and the Saddle of Rabbit and they were indeed memorable. Is Chavot named Eric Chavot or Eric Chavot Crouillere as I saw somewhere once or is this a mistake or maybe another person ?

Maybe you could hang around the entrances in the early morning and identify the bread supplier from its delivery van just like a journalist.....

If FD does not make much profit, and demand outstrips supply massively, such that every sitting is full, then they could increase prices by 5-10% and still be always full.

This half-price offer at The Glasshouse is only available if you have received a special voucher after eating at Chez Bruce or La Trompette, during August only.

The folks of Chiswick DO know this place is there, which is why this place has been quite busy for years.

Have to agree about this dish, can't see the point of it, and it's not pleasant.

Is the lunch menu very similar to the dinner menu ? At the sister restaurants, Glasshouse and Trompette, the menus are almost the same and there are no extras.

I cannot see how a 140-seat restaurant could be fitted into the Foliage space as it is quite tiny, it only seats 46 at the moment. Unless the restaurant next to it, The Park, will also be included in the new space ? Big shame to see Foliage going.

Atelier de Joel Robuchon.

In another program later in the same series, Cooking for Blanc Roux Ladenis Koffmann, MPW used a few spoons standing in a glass of water, probably after someone working on the programs said that it did not look hygenic to use his fingers.

I can see that it is heading for 3* in 2010. But is the general consensus that it is on a par with experiencing AD in Paris and MC ? Certainly for us Brits it is much cheaper in London. Would it be a lower-tier 3* experience ?

According to the CPA, the crimp must be on the side.

If they will be offering the Tasting menu only, then there will be no point in eating there more frequently then they change the menu. If you've had the snail porridge, more snail on porridge, then why would you want to have it again some time later ? Looking at the tasting menu, it changes very little year-on-year, in fact, the only clear change I can see is the Sound of the Sea, everything else is exactly the same or a negligible tweak. So maybe the vast majority who go there and order the tasting menu are one-time destination visitors who have this menu and don't return to try the ALC. Maybe other places which specialise in a tasting menu, such as those mentioned above, change their dishes frequently, such as El Bulli. So FD will have to start making regular changes to their tasting menu !

I remember when news of Clare Smyth's appointment first came out, she was interviewed somewhere about her and Angela Hartnett. She said that they should not be compared as she was a 3* chef and AH was a 1* chef, this was grossly disrespectful to AH as AH had already been a head chef for much longer at her own restaurant with her own menu, whilst CS was in charge of delivering other persons' menu. If you are served the Langoustine Raviolo at GR RHR now, this is GR's recipe, derived from MPW's recipe, it will not be CS's recipe.

I think it's a bit generous to say that Clare Smyth is a 3* chef. She is indeed in charge of the kitchen, but it's not her name above the door and it's not her restaurant, and probably one / two other persons construct the menu / recipes with her, and supervise / review her work. It's not her who obtained the 3* in the first place. Whenever she leaves and sets up her own restaurant then she'll be judged properly, as has happened with Mr Wareing.

He says that, but then Ducasse and Robuchon are French and they have bigger global empires and then Michelin backs them up with stars galore.

Deletions 3*: Cancale - Maisons de Bricourt Deletions 2*: Mougins - Alain Llorca - Le Moulin de Mougins Paris - Les Élysées What are the reasons for these deletions ? Closures ?

The chef is a 1* chef and the restaurant is a 1* restaurant, but this 1* award would be for the food served ALC. A £10 lunch would be of simpler dishes and cheaper ingredients, so would it qualify as a 1* meal ? I think it would just be a good value meal.