Jonesey

I'm trying to track down stockists of Jamaican Jerk Seasoning, preferably in Sydney but generally in Oz. I'm really after the Walkerswood brand as I've tried Herbies' mix and it isn't really the same. Any info much appreciated.

Many thanks for all your recommendations. I'll post a review of wherever we eat (and one of the Birdman gig, if anyone's interested )

Hubby and I are off to see Radio Birdman play on 25 Oct in Tufnell Park but as Birdman don't get on stage until 10.30pm, we're looking for somewhere decent to chow down before hand. Any recommendations from fellow egulleter's? Wellove ALL types of cuisine. Many thanks

mmm.....rave might be going it a bit but each to his own. Try the Old Post Office in St Fagans (4 miles outside Cardiff). It has a new chef who's revamped the menu and tweaked the prices to a much more reasonable level. Hubby and I had dinner there 2 weeks ago (mains are £11 - £15) and very nice it was too! Le Gallois is good (I've posted about this previously) but it is on the pricey side for the level of cooking.

'Foreign' fruit was in short supply. Both my parents had never seen a banana until long after WWII ended and oranges were in short supply for ages. My grandfather was a butcher and did a lot of bartering with local farmers for milk, butter etc to 'enhance' the rations!

I'm enrolled on the Leiths Professional Diploma - starting Jan 08. They seemed to offer a broader focussed course which suited my needs.

Sitting here at my desk in Cardiff, my head is in my hands in despair.... the words good food and Cardiff do NOT go together. I've lived here for five years and have yet to eat anywhere that I would really rate (especially after having lived in both London and Sydney for 16 years!) Gaf was right - Le Gallois is good with an emphasis on locally sourced produce but is expensive compared to London restaurants of the same standard. (I know the chef Padraig Jones and have worked for him). BTW, Padge (as he's known locally) worked for MPW at The Canteen before setting up Le Gallois. The Armless Dragon again is ok but nothing stunning. Woods Brasserie in the Bay - bistro food aimed at the corporate market, Izakaya is long gone and the Old Post Office in St Fagans is a sister restaurant to Woods and also expensive for what you get. Cardiff's problem is its people - they are unadventurous and unwilling to try new things. It's a generalisation I know but they tend to value price over quality - hence the large number of mediocre to awful Italian trattorias that populate the city. A chef friend of mine has tried for the past year to introduce more interesting dishes to his menu without success. They simply don't sell so he has to remove them and stick to the staid old favourites in the hope of making a profit. My husband and I simply don't eat out anymore such is our despair

Jenny Bond irritates me so much now that I record the programme and then watch it later that evening fast forwarding through the bits with Jenny This makes the programme approximately 15 mins long!

Which Newport are we talking about - Gwent??

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I'll pass these on to my friend. Jonesey

A friend is heading to Warwick for the Easter weekend. Any recommendations on where's good to eat (and approx £ per head)? Thanks Jonesey

Exactly. The only thing that makes these kind of books interesting is if they 'dish the dirt' on what really goes on. That's what made Kitchen Confidential sooo successsful.

me too What staggers me is the way they change the judging criteria from week to week, day to day and contestant to contestant.

Leith's is running a one day course 0n 6th December in London. Follow this link: http://www.leiths.com/courses/specialist.asp There is a waiting list but worth calling them closer to the time to see if there are any drop outs.

Yes yes yes. Buy it - it's wonderful (no I'm not a relation of Simon's ). It's the kind of book that grows on you. I bought a copy when it first appeared 10 years ago and over that time I've found myself refering to it more and more. The book also has Gay Bilson's parsley salad as served at Berrowra Waters.

Selfridges is way better than John Lewis especially as it seems to be stocking more diverse brands of kitchenware. BTW, does anyone know if Aga will continue to run the cooking school? Hope so cos I've got some booked for later in the year

Couldn't agree more. Sri Owen's books are terrific. My favourite is Exotic Feasts - I was very priviledged to be invited to Sri's house to taste a selection of the dishes in this book......absolutely delish. On another note, Sri makes regular trips to Australia so if she claims the best laksa is from Oz I for one wouldn't disagree with her