nickloman

If you're gonna do Ramsay properly it probably should be Royal Hospital Road. I'd avoid Claridges personally. Ramsay has lost many of his flagship restaurants now - ex-Ramsay chefs doing their own thing include Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, Angela Hartnett at Murano and Pollen Street Social as already mentioned.

Matthew - right, exactly. Rare pork is fine but not as served.

Looks genuinely terrible. What happened to cooking meat properly. And amazing that smoked salmon and scrambled eggs was the best dish - not sure what that tells you.

It would truly be a miracle if it wasn't completely terrible. Go and find out so I don't have to? (One is opening in Birmingham, I believe).

Just make sure you eat at Nathan Outlaw's fine-dining place in Rock, it really is my dining highlight of the year so far (and I've been to some great places this year).

Sounds like sage advice to me. But people need to know about the restaurant so they can come! So I guess you are going to have to throw yourself into marketing. BTW on that note have you got into Twitter and have you got a Facebook page? Learn how to use these tools and they can be extremely effective and cheap marketing. Offer a free pre-dinner drink for people who "like" you on Facebook to get you started!

Also, your prices are somewhat lower than I'd expect to pay for quality produce and cooking even taking into account your location.

A reaction: lose the italics and fancy font from your menu. It reminds me of those very old fashioned hotel menus which isn't a good look. One thought: you are in Perthshire and the place is called the Anglers Inn, but there's no river fish on your menu (assuming your salmon is farmed). How about a themed river fish night which you can promote to the foodies. Local cold-smoked trout, wild salmon, whatever you can get. Foraged ingredients are obviously big right now. These kinds of things attract attention, I'm not suggesting changing your entire proposition.

ChristinaM The fact you haven't even mentioned the name of your restaurant or linked to its website is a worry in terms of your publicity abilities! How about organising some kind of event that would attract the local press? Are there any local food bloggers that you could tempt down? That is what all the hip London resturants who employ PR people do these days. They are quite good for alerting newspaper columnists. Do you have some kind of USP? I read your description above but don't really get a feel for what it is you are doing that would attract me. I think it's time to stop being shy and start hassling journalists to turn up. Make a few phone calls to the local newspapers for a start. Cheers

Congrats on your 999th post David! Sorry for posting recent experiences on my blog and not on eGullet - I felt a bit disloyal doing it! The problem is my family and friends read my blog (via Facebook & Twitter) but not eGullet. And I think it's not really in the spirit of the forum to post links. Not sure if there's a perfect solution.

Very nice, I like the look of a lot of that. Pricing seems all over the shop though. £4.25 for a few Padron peppers seems steep. Scallops and courgette flowers both sound over the odds too. But then the meaty dishes seem quite cheap. How long will the fad for small plate dining last? A long time I hope, wish somewhere local to me would try and master it.

You are so right. My god, isn't it just awful?? This program is SUCH a missed opportunity to demonstrate some high-end cooking techniques, and I can't believe anyone thinks the false displays of competitiveness and aggression add anything to proceedings. And don't get me started on this year's theme which makes absolutely no sense at all.

I had no idea the Belle House was considered to be of this standard. I will rush there to find out before it gets too popular!

You might consider Mallory Court (not tried it myself, only been to the brasserie). Also Simpson's in Birmingham might just fit the bill ...

Matthew Grant -- I also thought that steaming was the secret to a moist pastrami but it's not the whole story. Tough collagen will convert to moist gelatin at high temps, and this happens in the presence of water, hence the need to braise, steam or wrap in foil and put in an oven (to auto-steam). This is part of the story but the great NYC deli sandwiches like Katz's made the meat even more tender by selecting cuts with large amounts of fat. I just took delivery of a brisket from Schwartz's deli and I would say it was >50% fat. &roid - I got Shorthorn brisket, which was very flat and with a decent layer of fat on both sides, plus decent marbling within. This seems quite different from the US navel cut which I have struggled to find. I've seen suggestions that short ribs also work well for pastrami. I'll post a picture. I need to spend some time talking with a knowledgeable butcher to try and figure out how US cuts translate to British cuts when it comes to brisket/flank/plate/navel.

Yes, good point - marbling does not assure great taste. Much US meat is a great example of that! But a good breed, raised well, with lots of marbling is likely to taste pretty damn good. I have a specific need in mind which is to make proper NYC pastrami - where I want to combine good beef flavour with plenty of fat to keep the end result moist. I've just taken delivery of some Shorthorn from East London Steak Company and the marbling looks excellent. I am going to try some White Park and Dexter as Prawncrackers is going to show me a local supplier (Berkswell Traditional Meats)

Looks great! Really must take the time to explore Lancashire, it's turning into a great food destination.

Aha, good stuff. Those steaks look legendary, I don't think I've seen Angus with such marbling before. Is that typical from the Solihull butcher or a one-off? They look like they could be USDA Prime or something? I definitely want to check out the Berkswell shop soon and try their offerings. Yeah, let's get some Dexter!

Yeah, I have the book too and I did see the programme when it was on. Nevertheless even Heston can't try every producer and breed in the UK. So curious for more opinions from eGulleters. I've had several boxes of Richard Vaughan's Longhorn from Huntsham Farm in Herefordshire, which I think is the same company as Pedigree Meats. It's certainly very tasty. But it's not heavily marbled and that is what I am looking for (as well as great tasting).

And indeed http://www.alternativemeats.co.uk/sge34p305470/WELSH-WAGYU-/c-1-103/

Turns out there is a producer of Wagyu beef in the UK! http://www.earlstonhamfarms.co.uk/index.php

A question for eGulleteers on beef. 1) Which breed or cross of beef PRODUCED IN THE UK OR IRELAND do you think produces the most marbled beef? Some contenders: Angus, Shorthorn, Dexter, Longhorn, Red Poll, White Park. As far as I know Wagyu isn't produced here. 2) Which producers/retailers in your opinion sell the best tasting meat? Some options: Jack O' Shea, Darragh O' Shea, Huntsham Farm, Quenby Hall, Deer n' Dexter, Well Hung Meat, etc. A final question, do any farmers here grain-finish their cattle? I am trying to source the best tasting, but also most marbled beef possible locally. Cheers Nick

That's helpful. I guess if it's called tipsy cake it must have some alcohol in. Rum?

Gary Nice write-up and pics Can you tell me more about the tipsy cake? I would like to try and replicate it. I've been meaning to hot-smoke some pineapple for a while and this could be just the vehicle! Cheers

The combinations seem interesting, but they seem to lack the playfulness and humour of the classic Fat Duck dishes. It sounds a bit serious and po-faced. Made worse by being in a big expensive hotel like the Mandarin Oriental. Also expensive. £72 for wing rib and ketchup? Not sure how this is going to go down... !