Corinna Dunne

Louisa, we’re on the same page. This is exactly what I understood elBulli to be. A place where you don’t have to be a chef, leading food critic or celebrity to get a table, but a restaurant that feeds off the fulfilment of the truly passionate and intensely curious who seek it out. So, in terms of criteria, I expected this to be key and being none of the elite above, it is why I thought that I just might have a chance. But the numbers work against any impassioned appeal cutting through. And yes, when you think about it logically, it has to be a lottery. Here’s a look at how it probably plays out, using a number of assumptions (all intended to err on the conservative side, except number 5, which is the unknown value being tested): 1. They get requests for 400,000 covers. 2. The average request is for four people dining, so there are 100,000 separate requests to process 3. The average workday is seven hours of productive work. 4. The average month has 20 working days 5. They spend an average of one minute reading each request, evaluating it, checking the schedule, deciding whether to grant that request, and replying to the requestor. Under the above assumptions: One person can process 420 requests per day. This corresponds to 8,400 requests per month. It will take this person 11.9 months to process the 100,000 separate requests received. Of course, they could have more than one person processing the requests—two people could get through them in six months, three people in four months, four people in three months, six people in two months, or twelve people in a month. Conclusions: 1. From what we know it is unlikely that they have more than one or two people processing the requests. 2. It would take two people six months to process the requests, if they spent one minute on each of them. 3. They process the requests in considerably less time than the six months that would be required for two people to do so. 4. Of the assumptions above, it is number 3, the processing time for each request, that is the “unknown value” we are testing, as all the other assumptions are either known or conservatively estimated. 5. Therefore, we conclude that assumption 3 is false, i.e. that they spend considerably LESS than one minute evaluating each request. Other ways to look at the same numbers: If they have only one person processing the requests, and he or she gets through them all in, say, one month, then the average time spent considering each is just over five seconds: 20 days x 7 hours/day x 60 minutes/hour x 60 seconds/minute = 504,000 working seconds in the month, or 5.04 seconds to read each request, evaluate its merit, check the schedule, and reply to the requestor. This is obviously not feasible, so we again conclude that most requests are not evaluated in any meaningful sense, but are instead subject to more of a random lottery. So yes, I am now convinced that it is mostly down to luck, and in fairness, I am sure that they are doing their best. I just need another strategy: cancellation, cancellation, cancellation!

Thanks Louisa. Actually I think that Bux's comment is fine. If I had a choice I'd go for the exam and skip the lottery!

If you haven't been there before, is it just a pure lottery? The odds are actually worse than they appear. For instance, 400,000 requests would probably equate to a min of 800,000 seats, and added to this, how much of the 8,000 allocation is already taken up by returning patrons? The odds will be even worse in 2007 as the number of patrons increases.

... my wait is over... I didn't get a reservation. I was beginning to believe I had after waiting so long. Best of luck to everyone else still in the loop.

We lived in Lincoln (job related too) a few years back. The area in the old part of town, up the hill is really charming, and there were some decent but not cutting edge restaurants (which I think are still around). The Wig and Mitre did bistro type cooking, The Jews House was a little more formal and usually had game in season and The Pie Shop was a little treasure of comfort food pies (particularly the gamebird pie). There are a few good earthy CAMRA pubs, and there is a really good butcher (plenty of game, great sausages etc) up the hill too, on the side opposite the Wig. There was a fairly decent cheeseshop/deli called Comestibles and there was a veg shop which was OK, and must surely have improved since I was there. Lincoln is the sort of place that is a bit off the radar, and you don't bump into it by accident. The cathedral, which dominates the hill is wonderful and there is a sense of being much further from London than you geographically are. There is a famous Christmas Market every year which attracts an enormous influx of people for the weekend... and quite a lot of tat too. It's a unique experience living here, and we enjoyed it.

I like Les Freres Jacques because there is something very French and authentic about it, in a terroir way, right down to the room(s) and the service. I've never had a bad meal there (well, actually I did once, not long after it opened, about 18 years ago!). The cheese board at €18 is wonderful (great selection, great condition), and they are particularly generous with their portions. The fixed price menu can be extremely good value, (although not coming up to Christmas when they invariably include turkey as one of the options) and the wine list is very comprehensive (from a French perspective) with a great selection of entry level wines. There is nowhere else quite like it in Dublin, so it's nice for the repertoire. I've been to Gruel. Yes, it's excellent value and the food is great, but a very casual spot, so a completely different type of dining experience. In terms of comparisons and market sectors, you could categorise Gruel as 'casual dining', Les Freres Jacques, Eden and Mermaid as good mid priced restaurants (there are plenty of others), and Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, Thorntons and L'Ecrivain as top end. Chapter One is pretty much in the top end category, but its prices are more competitive, so it's great value. One Pico, Mint, The Tea Room, Halo and a few others are also in this aspirational category, but Chapter One is possibly the best.

Malacitana, thank you for such an interesting and informative post. Sant Pau sounds like a wonderful experience. Can you recollect approximately the price of the menu there?

The other restaurants we tried in Palma on our recent visit were: Cellar Sa Premsa This is a lovely old rustic building and wine barrels abound. I understand it is open all afternoon, so yes it does have a tourist slant. However it is also popular with the locals, and families were out in force the night we were there as it was St Columbus Day. It serves typical Mallorquin food. For starters the pimientos de Padron and snails were good, the local liver and potato dish, OK. For mains, there were great big portions of rabbit, roast suckling pig and slow cooked lamb, all served up with chips and vegetables. The food here is wholesome and has to be viewed in the context of the price. It is unbelievably cheap, with some of the mains costing as little as €6. A good place to go with kids or a large noisy group, but not a fine dining experience. Tel: 971 723 529. La Boveda A good tapas bar with a great seating area outside that feels particularly stylish. The atmosphere is buzzy, the service is good and friendly and there’s a broad range of inexpensive sizzling tapas. All the usuals are done well (Padrons, small fried fish etc) and their “special” is a very good sweet red pepper stuffed with cod. Apparently it gets quite busy (there were no queues when we were there), so be sure to book. Tel: 971 714 863. El Pilon I had visited this tapas bar the last time I was in Mallorca, and it remains my favourite. It’s up an alley, just off the Born and as you walk in, you might worry that you’re in a tourist trap. It’s a small long narrow room, with a mirror each end to make the area seem bigger, and has lots of quirky fishing kitsch hanging from the ceilings and walls. A tapas bar (with no stools) runs the length of the room with about 8 tables in a line the other side of it. You can’t book as far as I know, so if you have to wait for a table, you stand at the bar where you will be immediately presented with a complimentary plate of the traditional brown bread and tomato by the owner who is an interesting looking character. Behind him 3 cooks work furiously on the plancha (grill) and other cooking, while two entertaining waiters buzz around the cramped space with the hot tapas. The food is fantastic and the prices are good, although a shade higher than La Boveda. The wonderful seafood a la plancha includes cigalas (langoustine), calamares (squid), sepias (another type of squid I think), almejas (clams) and wonderful gambas (prawns) in garlic. And of course they have the all important pimientos de Padron and great ham. Yes, I love this place. It’s got such personality and the food is so good. A “don’t miss” spot. Tel: 971 726 034. Address: Calle C’an Cifre, 6. Rififi This is a lovely traditional sort of fish restaurant, with crisp white linen table cloths and a charming Maitre d (or maybe owner) with extremely good English. There is a chilled display case full of fish as you walk in and the food is pretty straight up with no modern interpretations. I had a very good fish soup to start, very light with some mussels and clams still in the shell for about €8 and the wonderful wild sea bass cooked in salt was for two and cost about €33, served simply with potatoes. Great value and a great place for wonderfully fresh fish cooked simply. Tel: 971 402 035. Fabrica 23 My husband was here before I arrived over and gave it a good report. We tried to get another booking but it was full. It’s a small restaurant with about 8 tables and a limited but confidently focused menu. There are about 4 starters; all around €10 except the seared foie gras (very good, apparently) is €18. The 4 mains at around €15 were: confit of guinea fowl (on a bed of chopped veg), llampuga, Argentinian beef entrecote and a vegetarian tartlet. Simple cooking with a slight modern twist. There is a lunch for €18 which is extremely popular. Tel: 971 453 125

← Glad you enjoyed RPG. €33 is actually a real steal for lunch at a 2* in Ireland. I'm sure you noticed that things are pretty expensive over here. I didn't realise that Les Freres Jacques did a 2 course lunch for €18. No, I wouldn't expect it to be outstanding, but I still have a really soft spot for this place, and that sounds like a brilliant price for a good lunch in Dublin. It's cheaper than nearby Mermaid or Eden. As it happens, I had dinner in Eden last week and it was very good, nice and seasonal with native oysters, woodland mushrooms and venison. Excellent service too. The desserts aren't up to the standard of the savoury dishes though.

A great piece, deservedly so. That 'smoke' dish sounds incredible! I'm surprised he didn't mention the desserts which are also outstanding.

I had never thought of Can Fabes as an eGullet "sacred cow", but you've got me even more curious now. You mentioned that it had less to do with the food than "other things", so I'd love to have more detail. Sorry to be off topic here, but any chance of continuing this on the Can Fabes thread?

Re marriage proposal plans... your secret's safe with us... and yes Bens d'Avall would be a wonderfully romantic spot. Did you go for the tasting menu? And on Can Fabes, I'm sorry to hear that some things dampened the experience. Maybe you could elaborate on the Can Fabes thread. Our only problem there was finding some reserve room to fit all of the food!

Thanks to all for the recommendations upthread. And I second vinobiondo's comment on the excellent food at Bens d'Avall. What nobody has mentioned is the stunning location of this restaurant. It is pure James Bond territory. Between Soller and Deia, it is perched in a dramatic cove with a sheer mountainside drop to a crystal clear sea. It was raining the day we were there, so we sat inside, but it must be truly magical eating out on the large terrace on a sunny day. Location, location, location! The room inside is lovely too, (confident Mediterranean in feel, wooden floors, a nice use of stone, quality furnishings, very 3*), with large windows looking out onto the spectacular view. We opted for the tasting menu at €64, had a glass of refreshing cava and contemplated the wine list. There is a wine pairing option for €35 (6 pours) which sounds like a good deal, but as we were driving we played it safe and just went with the sommelier recommendation of a €25 bottle of red, a cab sav from Ibiza (Ses Marjades, spelling could be wrong), which was too jammy for my liking. Our fault for not being clear on a price range. The amuse were an extremely good prawn and mushroom veloute, served in a little cup; a light mousse like brandade with a flake of cod; and a very nice mackerel (terrine?) with pine nuts and raisins. This was followed by another trio: two textures of llampuga (which I think is dolphin fish) with fine herbs (a bit heavy on the basil for my liking); autumn terrine, a great earthy, smokey mackerel pate; and stuffed sweet peppers which is a typical Mallorquin dish. Next up was caramelised terrine of foie gras, with a terrine of mushrooms, apple quince and “spices bun”. It was a beautiful semi circle of foie gras, but there was too much caramel on top and I feel a very fine layer would have been more subtle and successful. The wild mushrooms in a gellee were deliciously woody, but I think the dish would have been even better and more seasonal if the mushrooms were done “two ways” (his thing), and also served hot straight off the sauté pan. The apple quince worked fine, but the spices bun was a bit dry and I prefer to avoid cinnamon and go the plainer brioche direction. The seafood dish was “artishoken suquet and Mallorcan mushrooms, fish fillet with almond crust and parsley, and squid noodles”. This dish was gutsy and tasty, but with a bit too much going on and closer in texture to comfort food than haute cuisine, or his “nueva cucina”. I am comparing it (probably unfairly) with an extremely elegant version of this dish that we had at El Raco de Can Fabes earlier in the year. Whereas Santamaria used firm waxy potatoes in his saffron broth, the potatoes here were starting to break up in the soup and I felt the texture of the artichoke thickened and diluted it too much. The earthy seasonal mushrooms were there, but one or two stray shitakes sounded a discordant note. The fish was cooked beautifully, and the squid noodles were excellent. Clever and deliciously soft. Don’t get me wrong, this dish tasted good, it just could have been more focused and resolved. This was followed by a substantial palate cleanser, which although more of a dessert sized portion, was extremely simple and good, the best dish of the meal. The pear sorbet was perfectly light and soft (a paco jet possibly?), sitting on top of a clear delicate anise gellee studded with pomegranate seeds and dressed with a subtle caramel coloured pomegranate foam. And the leaf of mint with this worked in more than a superfluous way. There was a resolved purity about this truly delicious dish. The guinea fowl which followed was done in two “textures”. The first way was stuffed with truffles which was very good, although a little too tiny, and the other, a “picatta”, was totally misguided and was in fact a disc of compressed guinea fowl, coated in bread crumbs and deep fried. A posh nugget that had no place on this plate. The basmati rice with shavings of coconut was surprisingly good and there was also a wonderful sauce with a great note of morels. The dessert was presented with a proud glow and it did look very impressive indeed. The “fungus of Mallorcan cheese” was in fact a cep made of deliciously moist cheesecake. To be honest, the cep was too big, but the stalk was soused in rosewater, which was inspired and heavenly. The hazelnut praline ice cream worked wonderfully in terms of flavour and was deliciously nutty but could have been creamier. So a nice dessert to round things off, but not a complete showstopper. All in all, it was a very enjoyable meal, with attentive but unobtrusive service. I consider the menu to be exceptionally good value at €64, but would not even start to compare it with Can Roca’s phenomenal menu at €67. I have not eaten in Tristan or at any other top end restaurants in Mallorca, so perhaps my comparisons with restaurants in the Barcelona area are unfair and seem unnecessarily harsh, which is not the intention. I think the comparisons are with a standard that this very able chef aspires to. The ingredients used are wonderfully seasonal and local, impeccibly fresh and for the most part cooked with creative and considered respect. It is definitely worth the trip, and if this restaurant was near me, I would certainly be going back. If you don’t have a car, there’s a tourist train that runs from Palma to Soller, and a taxi from there should be easy enough. And if you do have a car, don’t take the tunnel. Chicane up the mountainside and take in the breathtaking views. Tel: (00 34) 971 632 381.

The show went out earlier this week. Ramsay is much more chilled than usual and looks like he's thoroughly enjoying the company of women! Comments from the UK Forum on this link: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=76767 His £500k kitchen looks great, beautiful house, beautiful wife and kids... who was it who said "there's no such thing as bad publicity"? Joan Collins is the celeb next week which should be fun!

I think Ramsay’s striptease bit is hysterical. He is obviously very much in on the joke. My husband just can’t understand why Nigella didn’t adopt a similar routine! I found the programme entertaining. It’s clearly targeted at a broader audience than eG or the people who would frequent his restaurants so I view it in the context of its audience. The celeb bit meshes in much better than it did on Full on Food, and Martine is a good choice as a populist figure. Giles is, I presume, the boy band type eye candy. All you have to do is look at the ads (O2 etc) to see exactly who this programme is aimed at. So the likes of us being entertained is a bonus in programming terms. There is obviously a clear remit to demystify food associated with more upmarket restaurants, hence the foie gras bit and also an agenda not to demonise “cheaper” food, as was seen in the kebab clip. I don’t think the idea of this programme is to get every 16 – 30 year old straight into the kitchen, it is just to get the dialogue going and to reduce the perceived us and them distance. Good. And what is selling out anyway? Ramsay is not turning his back on good food, he’s “spreading the message”, so that we can all eat cake if we choose. And if he’s being well paid for it, great. There are too many poor chefs out there, so it’s nice to see some of them hitting the big time. As for his management style. Well I think the loyalty he inspires in his staff is a pretty good indicator that he’s doing a lot of things right. And I doubt if Marcus Waring or Angela Hartnett consider themselves to be in anonymous captivity.

My husband and I had this conversation less than an hour ago! We were contemplating going to Cork in the South of Ireland to try some of the more interesting restaurants down there, and worked out that it would be cheaper and more enjoyable to fly Ryanair to Girona. For once Ryanair's idea of what constitutes proximity to a major city has its benefits!

Pedro, I've really enjoyed these three interviews. Thank you so much for all the time and thought you put into them. Your interview conveys Santi Santamaria's very clear vision of what his cooking is about and having eaten there (oh, the way he cooks fish, and those wonderful sauces), I love the fact that he sticks to the more classical end of the spectrum. In fact, not only did I really enjoy his wonderful cuisine, I also found that it provided me with a very accurate classical benchmark, which is important to fully appreciate some of the more avant garde cuisine in the region (which I also adore). I don't feel it's necessary to be on one side or the other of this "culinary fence". I like the fact that different styles can co-exist in the same market.

I know it's too late to change things now, but does sending an email in Spanish or Catalan make selection more likely? Do most people make multiple applications? I just sent one short note in English... yikes!

I can't stop laughing. Talk about giving this thread a shot in the arm!!! Ever considered a career in TV?

What is Rosengarten's code?

Hmmm... I'm not so sure. One woman's food is another woman's poison...

I'm quite sure that this is a fact, all be it anecdotal: What the article doesn't mention is that we're coming from a very low base when it comes to men's involvement in the kitchen, so yes, the numbers are growing. There's a surprise. I would be very interested to hear his observations on how men clean up after their cooking, or is this traditional task left to the cocktail swigging women? But I'm not insulted at the tenor of the piece, because, yes, I sense that there's quite a bit of truth in it, if you take out the gender spin (which does lend more oomph to what is effectively an article very short on substance). Of course the article doesn't relate to a niche market like eG and friends, but if Gordon gets more people cooking and eating well, I'm all for it, and the more noise he makes about it, the more people he's going to reach. The thing is, as mentioned upthread, home cooking seems to have become a bit of a competitive sport (hmmm... is there any correlation between that and the entry of more men to the kitchen?) and I think that many people who could once russle up an acceptable pasta dish, now feel like they can't really cook. I don't think the Atkins diet helped the image of the simple pasta supper either. And when someone like Delia does an easy basics TV series, she is rubbished for the instructive detail on how to boil an egg (by other chefs who should be more inclusive and get the idea). So, maybe we should just accept a few home truths and try and make things better: 1. The traditional role of a mother teaching her children (mostly daughters) to cook has diminished, and tired career women are really trying to do their best, but there are not very many superwomen out there. Some of these tired career women do look down on stay at home 'domestic' mums, so Nigella does have a point. 2. Many busy families don't eat together any more. 3. There is less emphasis on cooking/home economics as a subject in schools (this is an assumption). 4. Society has become more affluent and people can afford to eat out more (money rich, time poor). So what is required is some hook and recruitment mechanism. Jamie did a lot for school dinners, and Gordon, who has an even higher profile should be a major TV draw, and the shock media tactics are just all part of the deal. I'm a big Ramsay fan, I just hope he doesn't do a revisited series.

Joan Roca of Can Roca restaurant in Spain (Catalunya region) has a new book (in English) on "Sous Vide" which sounds very interesting. I'm not sure if it's out yet.

Hi UE. If you want to do two foodie restaurants in Dublin, I would give the Mermaid and Les Freres Jacques a miss (just noticed where you were eating in Barcelona). They are good but not outstanding. As I suggested on the Help Ireland thread http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=Se...sult_type=posts it is possible to eat relatively inexpensively in the top places:RPG, Thorntons and Chapter One if you go with one of their fixed price menus. I think L'Ecrivain also does a lunch menu, but can't remember the details.

Hi UE, I haven't been to Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud or Thornton's for a long time (unfortunately), but have not heard of any drop in standards at either place. Both do a very competitively priced lunch menu (around 35 euro) which is probably the best way of approaching them, unless cost isn't an issue. Both are Michelin 2*and deservedly so. There are two other upmarket restaurants worth considering: L'Ecrivain (Michelin 1*) and Chapter One (unstarred). L'Ecrivain is getting great reviews at the moment and Chapter One, which I visited a few weeks back (post long overdue) is great as usual. It is the best value for money in the more upscale sector, unbelievably relaxed and friendly and they also do a great pre-theatre menu (early bird). The starters are 10 - 18 euro and the mains 20 - 35 euro. Great on seasonality and highly skilled no fuss cooking. If the chacouterie trolley is back on (it was a fish plate when I was there), it's a simply must have. It's about 6 months since I was at Les Freres Jacques, but haven't heard of standards falling, so that's a good bet too. It's a very old fashioned type of French restaurant with food that is more terroir than formal Michelin. I like it and if's good value if you stick to the fixed price dinner menu. Probably the best cheese board in Dublin (for around 18 euro) and great value in affordable and well chosen wines. The Mermaid is always good and if I remember correctly, they have a lunch menu for around 25 euro and a well priced early bird menu in the evening. I'm not mad about the room, but really, it's a moot point. If you're in Dublin on a Sunday, this is the perfect choice for brunch. Another place nearby that does an early bird menu is Eden (the smokies on the ALC are particularly good). Both these places are good as ALC dinner venues too. The Elephant & Castle down in Temple Bar does great Buffalo chicken wings if you want something even less formal. I don't have any advice for Cork as I haven't been there in a long time, but it's a great foodie spot. The Eating In Ireland thread below which has been updated more recently than this one should offer some more pointers on both Dublin and Cork: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=70448&hl= Enjoy your holiday!