erica graham

It would be great to have access to the PR vehicles these restaurants have. As a small independant restaurant, its quite simply not financialy possible!

www.ebottles.net have a great selection, including 50, 250, 500, 100ml with either cork closures or swingtop (grolsch like) closures, and they have no minimum order

Perhaps they'll be armed with steel tipped beaks!!

[ ...."He said:" This is a big decision and I have not taken it lightly. At this time of year, as a Gastronomic French restaurant, we would normally be serving a lot of game, duck pigeon and chicken. people who come to eat here expect to be offered something I consider perfect. I can't gurantee that about poultry at the moment. So I decided, if there's any danger in serving something, I'm not going to do it. If there's any doubt at all, then I'm not prepared to take the risk" Mr Gaulthier added he believed it was only a matter of time before other restaurateurs followed his lead

Snap ( at least I think it is what I am struggling with!!)

Utsuwa no yakata Oriental City 399 Edgware Road, Colindale, London NW9 OJJ (020) 8201-3002 Thyank You Origamicrane! The website has some really lovely stuff! Erica

MSK in Sheffield!

We are glutens for punishment, and have been able to find mustard essence so are going to give it a go with divina' s recipe from t'other thread that I was too blind to see!! Although the tortelli de zucca sound great! I'll keep you posted if it works, although never having tried it myself, I won't be able to say if it has an authentic taste or not! Lets face it, we spend three days making bread, so hopefully this wont take any longer! Many thanks to all for ideas (even though in another thread!!) Erica

"The Restaurant Owner: Usually a haute couturier who fell out with his backers. Sometimes an accountant who became jealous when he audited the books of a restaurateur and, because his man was an oaf, the accountant thought he could do as well. An owner's desire is to have customers who spend enormous amounts of money and depart quickly to make room for others of the same trend. ...Owners spend little time in their own establishments; when it is empty they are out seeing how the competition is doing: when it is full they are trying to persuade staff from other restaurants to work for them."

I'm looking for a recipe for mostarda di Cremona, as we would like to have a go at making them, rather than giving in and buying. Can anyone help?? Many Thanks Erica Host note: this message and the following were originally on a separate thread and have been merged into the older one for the sake of keeping information on mostarda in one thread

I am looking for non plastic Bento boxes, with separate inner compartments, rather than one "airline" tray. Tried google, ebay etc but no luck ? Am I looking for the impossible?

We got some lovely French ones from a company called Made in Perigord, lady named Denise will be able to help you. They have vans going to Rungis market, picking up produce and bringing it back here. They can do courier delivery, but I don't know about minimum orders telephone 01952 630284.

From the business end, we can always tell when the guide comes out in October! Vouchers for the new edition being used already!

Nice timing!

Well yes I was watching breakfast TV, when I really should have been at work, but anyway, there I was cuppa in hand watching Jason Atherton from Maze extoling the delights of his £100 white truffle pizza, to be eaten whilst sipping champagne before sitting down to dinner Sigh Must get down to writing that best selling novel, or researching some long lost (very rich) relatives.

Hmm Menu supplements, yes I hate them, especially on a short choice prix fixe menu, because they are always against the dish I want, but I will not order them on principle ( and yes I would cut off my own nose etc ...) However, if as a small restaurant, you are offered some amazing produce that you want to serve, but will not cost out you are left with a problem. We solve it by adding the dish on as a "special" on top of all the other dishes on the menu, in an attempt to look like we aren't taking the michael. Seems not to offend when I take the time to be upfront about the reason behind the supplement ie I simply tell people that its the only way we can afford to put the dish on. Staffing and service I think will be a point of issue in all countries and at all levels. Rudeness, arrogance, bad training and dis-interst can all be pigeonholed together and can rear thier ugly heads in the most surprising places. You quite simply can't catagorize which country produce the best and worst staff, because they all do. Brainwashing kids from an early age that the service industry can be good to work in might work- we do alot in conjuction with our local school (including having the whole food tech class for lunch in the restaurant) to show that working in a restaurant can be something to be passionate about and proud of, but to be honest even my own mother never likes having to tell her friends that I married a chef!!!!! I suppose it is typically English to think that working in catering is something you do between college and a "real job". (Unless you are a TV chef, but that qualifies you as a celebrity and therefore OK!!)

I'm looking for blocks to stop soft cheese from running away- does anyone actually sell them ready made, or am I going to have to find marble off-cuts? At the moment I have to put them onto small plates, and that doesn't stop them disapearing over the side.

Was it springboards Young Chef Young Waiter Competition- Finals held on Monday?

I think we get the same results with water filter & kettle and although it would save me a few minutes each day, I think I can cope! Nice kitchen pressie for the person with everything though!

Had lunch here on Sunday. We were visiting after a very long gap of many years- when we last visited Joyce M. was in residence, I'd never heard of Ticklemore Cheeses and all of the pottery was mismatched and 70's- but it was still a very memorable meal . Things- they sure have changed!! Arrived at the very busy restaurant at the end of Sunday lunch service to be whisked upstairs. I found the noise levels very high (and I'm not an OAP) due to all the hard surfaces bouncing the chatter around the place. Settled in with a nice cold glass of Drappier labelled especially for the New Angel (I'm 100% sure it was Carte d'Or as it has a very peach hue, and a lovely flavour) served in an oversized Dartington Crystal champagne flute- everyone else had Fino. We ordered, and sat back to relax with the wine list. (This was a celebration lunch, with one person being chauffeur so its going to sound alot more alcoholic than normal-honest!!) Before we were able to order any wine or were offered any bread, water etc our starters arrived, much to the surprise of our waitress. We quickly got her attention and orderd Hugel Gewurtz followed by a bottle of Givry. So starters- I had terrine of Wild Rabbit. I always without fail order rabbit whenever I see it on Menus, for the simple reason that it is always the best dish. This time it was surpassed by my husbands Foie Gras, mainly due to the fact that I was given an end piece (pet hate) which was colder than fridge cold, and the bacon wrapping still had rind attached (although none of the ubiquitous michelin starred clingfilm in sight!!). I sat back to let it warm up a bit and to wait for my wine to arrive. Wine arived when we were half way through, but was of the usual Hugel quality. When the staff came to clear our starters, we asked to have a ten minute break as a) we wanted to enjoy our white wine and b) its our day off!! We weren't in any hurry. As we did so we saw our main vcourses hovering on a tray arround the corner to our table!! So they took them back, and we started to relax. For main I had ordered an oldtime favourite of mine, Brill with Bearnaise. When it arrived the second time it was quite simply perfect! Fish cooed so it was firm but soft at the same time. I'm afraid I was so taken up with my food I completely neglected to take notice of what was going on with anybody elses plate, but needless to say simler mmm noises were to be heard from the other two participants. So onto the cheese which was very nicely served at the table. We had a glass of Jurancon to go with this followed by my dessert of Apple Tarte Fine. The cheese were well kept and beautifully ripe, the tart just right. We finished off with coffee to turn around and see that we were in fact the last table, so we asked for the bill, although I'd have been happy to sit longer with a digestif, my dining partnere were not made of such thick skin!! So we toddled arround the shops with the other grockles! In summary, a really good meal was let down in places by timings and staff. The staff, all French were charming, but looked tired and harrassed, and to be honest as if they had their uniforms on from the night before. It had the feeling of churning the punters through, getting them out and getting on with a night off. Its not cheap- but quality food never is, I just felt a bit cheated on the being looked after front. The feeling is relaxed brasserie, not restaurant, but a brasserie that has not had a staff shift change in quite some time. We will go back, to be sure, only we will try to get there at the begining rather than end of the week. Perhaps then we will not feel like herded sheep on a TV tour!!

The other option is to make sure you support any good restaurant that you find ditto good local producers, make lots of noise about them, hopefully it will get through to the punters who fill up all the crap places you've had to endure- I find I enjoy telling people about good finds alot more than having the endless (and often repetitve) coversation about how awful some places can be- if I think its bad, I never mention it and deny knowing about it if asked, then change the subject to somewhere I've really enjoyed eating. Persistance can sometimes work!, and while it is very English to keep quiet whilst suffering a bad meal, and then go away and tell everyone you know not to go there- in the karma bank its best to stay positive!!

I say definately the beef- don't forget colemans mustard & for ultimate authenticity burning horseradish cream !! We get the most sighs when we serve very alcohloic sherry trifle as retro pud (no Jelly though) or Eton Mess!! Then of course Stilton and port! Sorry- got to go shopping for Sundau lunch now!!

Well, I was working at a vineyard featured in one of his books, and all we got was a questionaire sent through to us from his publishers, followed by an order form for us to order copies, so that we could sell them!! ( I think we did get a few free copies) I can't say we noticed any delia effect! That said, I do use my (free) copy to look up small producers to visit when we are out and about. So I can quite safely say that his production company and research team did most of it, but for a project of that size, it is only to be expected.

Actually, she would much rather be confit!! We'll probably see you week after next!

So can I bring my 5 year old??