Mrs Foodie

Congratulations to Robert! I never managed to get to Winteringham to try his food but Cliveden is a lot more achievable for me. I am sure that he will go on to even greater things. There was a very good interview in the Weekend Telegraph last weekend - Xanthe Clay did a piece on him. Interestingly she just referred to Patrick as his "award-winning" brother - what awards has Patrick won? Obviously an extremely talented family!

Thanks Riboflavinjoe, if my daughter gets her way we will be eating Chinese but you have given us plenty of options. Could you organise good weather for us for the last week of October too please? (only joking!)

Hi, we are visiting Montreal for a weekend at the end of this month and will be going out on the Saturday evening for a meal with three teenage girls (15/16 yrs) and another couple (adults). We are staying at the Hôtel Gouverneur: Place Dupuis (Montreal) and would much appreciate any recommendations on somewhere fun, with good food but not too intimidating for the teenagers. We haven't been to Montreal for years as we are always just passing through via the airport and this time we have decided to make a weekend of it at the end of our holiday. Any suggestions gratefully received.

Ilmatar restaurant at the Klaus K hotel is excellent. The chef there is called Markus Maulavirta and he has written a cookery book. He sources all his ingredients in Finland and I had some of the most delicious food there I have ever eaten. Not sure if it is too late for the crayfish season but the Swedish Yacht Club (which is on an island) is great. Sundmans is also good but not as contemporary as the Klaus K restaurant. Have fun, it is a lovely city and the markets are just amazing!

Thanks Morten, will follow your guide. Off later this week so if anyone else has recommendations, please let me know.

I thought the programme was pretty boring, compared to previous series. What did strike me though, was Marco's voice. Considering he is supposed to have come from a council estate in Leeds, he sounds pretty pukka BBC and could always have another career as a voice over artist! Apart from the older "celebs" I had never heard of any of the others........ Something tells me that this will be the last in the Hell's Kitchen series.

My better half and I are scheduled to go to Warsaw later this month for a weekend. I have checked out some restaurants from the web - Belvedere and Boathouse both sound good and interesting. We are staying at Le Meridien Bristol. (special three nights for the price of two deal - sounds a lovely hotel) I would love to receive feedback on either of the two restaurants I have identified or recommendations for better ones (not wanting to break the bank, but hey, what the hell, life is for living!) Also, any general suggestions for galleries, museums, monuments and of course food markets which are worth visiting! Any feedback much appreciated.

We had dinner at Nathan's a couple of months ago and it was really excellent. The strange thing was that when seated and I looked at the menu, I had this really rare experience of not fancying anything on the menu! This is almost unheard of for me, I'm usually spoilt for choice. That said. I had a fab meal. I think the limited choice is good as it makes you choose food you probably wouldn't normally order. It isn't cheap - wines were good though but we stuck to the house selection. I will be booking to go again the next time we head off to that neck of the woods. I'm sure he will get a Michelin star again.

Leith's used to do a restaurant management intensive course - not sure whether they still do. Also, there's the good old Cordon Bleu.

What staggered me was the fact that Heston was on the R4Today programme, being congratulated for coming second....what they failed to mention was that he was second to El Bulli last year and that the year before the Fat Duck was No1 and El Bulli No 2. Having eaten at four of the six top restaurants (not in the last year or 18 months I hasten to add - oh that I could afford it!) I wouldn't agree with the listing - El Bulli is just the emperor's clothes. And I've heard of most of the UK panel but who on earth is Maureen Mills? Has anyone ever heard of her? How come she is on the judging panel?

We have a Traeger wood pellet smoker bbq which is just amazing. We put a rib of beef in it on Easter sunday and went out for five hours to come back to a perfectly cooked, deliciously tender joint. The pellets can be varied - ie cherry wood for duck etc but we tend to use Alder or Hickory most of the time. If you use the smoke facility the pellets last for ages. You can also cook fast like a normall bbq - steaks and fish etc. The good thing is that the flames never get near to the food due to the unique design so you can't burn the food and it doesn't have the carcinogenic concerns that burnt food (we is what is normally served at British bbqs) is associated with There is one company which supplies them in the UK - the machines aren't cheap but they are so good it is worth it. You won't see them in the shops but the people from this company do some country shows and demonstrate the food which is how we got hooked http://www.americanbbq.co.uk/ They supply the pellets too, anywhere in the UK. The food is really tender and it is so easy to use. We've had two gas bbqs which both rusted like mad - even if we paid £2-300 for them (the Traeger is ceramic coated so can spend the whole winter outside (ours did). I also have a tiny Weber camping bbq which I have had for some 25 years and it still looks like new (except the legs have rusted a bit) I would really recommend the Traeger - if you go onto their US site there is a film you can watch http://www.traegerindustries.com/

I would second the recommendation for Da Alberto. We were there last weekend and also had an excellent meal. We shared a starter (grilled vegetables - the only slightly disappointing bit of the meal in my opinion), then each had the special pasta which was ravioli of mushroom with asparagus and truffle sauce - fabulous. My husband had mixed fried fish and I had salt cod baked in a cream sauce. To be honest it was a bit too filling for me (should have shared the starter by my husband wanted a portion to himself!) Tiramisu excellent and we rounded the meal off with coffees. With a litre of house red and water our meal was also some 70 Euros including tip. Mainly Italians in there that night - just one table of Brits and our hotel, who booked for us in the morning, said we had the last table for the evening - which was obviously true as people were being turned away most of the evening. If you are early, like we were, and the table isn't ready - go right, over the bridge and the first bar you come to gave us a very generous glass of Prosecco (in a nice large, good quality glass) and this came with a wooden platter with cheese and salami amuse bouches! (or whatever the Italian word is) A great recommendation - thanks. But whatever you do, don't stay at the Hotel Bonvecchiati - supposedly four star and the worst hotel we have ever stayed in - to be avoided at all costs.

I tend to agree with you Tim, it used to be brilliant and I also looked forward to it but in particular I am getting tired of the restaurant bookings column which is becoming very purile and must irritate the restaurants no end. It was funny to start with but enough is enough. The Independent (I think) did a good food issue recently and so did Stella in the Sunday Telegraph recently.

I'm not aware of any places in Wemouth of any great repute. However there are some quite nice old pubs around - the Boot for example http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/64/6493/Boot/Weymouth It is very old and apparently the beer is good (as a non beer drinker I can only go on hearsay) and I think they do sandwiches. Weymouth also has a fish restaurant called The Sea Cow which used to be excellent but hasn't been talked about a great deal of late http://www.echoeat.co.uk/index.cfm?id=61 Maybe you could book a table at the Sea Cow and have a pint or two at the Boot first. Good luck!

Does anyone remember Vesta Beef or Chicken Curry? When I was young it was a real treat......the mind boggles now even at the thought of it. I haven't seen it for years - don't suppose it exists any more......

Nobody seems to be commenting on this programme any more - is it a foregone conclusion that Gary will win the whole thing? Having watched a few episodes recently I think his food is by far the most likely to appeal to Her Maj. What is really annoying is the fact that they keep repeating bits, again, and again...... Is this week the last week of the heats does anyone know?

Don't know where your folks are from but you could consider the Stafford Hotel. It has a nice bar - you could always pop in there for a drink first and check out the restaurant. They have an intriquing museum of WW2 artefacts in the cellars so if you ask them nicely they will usually show you around if they haven't got a private function down there.

In Scottish take away parlance the word "supper" usually means something dipped in batter and deep fried and then served with chips. A spam fritter supper, a mars bar supper, a haggis supper, black pudding supper, haddock supper, cod supper etc etc. And one wonders why they have such a high rate of heart attacks!

Wow, Marmite and peanut butter - will have to try that. The other thing which is really nice is sandwiches of Marmite and lettuce, cucumber and peanut butter (and nice with spring onion too) or cucumber and Marmite. Making me hungry - off to try Vegemite and peanut butter.....

Vegemite is the Aussie version of Marmite but it is far nicer - less harse and possibly less salty. Try it! I'm sure you will be converted. I also love Vegemite or Marmite on toast with marmalade on top.....wierd but really good.

Thanks for letting me know - I thought AWT's pudding looked far better....

My favourite easy supper/snack is scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast, spread with pesto (preferably home-made if I have some in the fridge) - it is heavenly. Anyway, I much prefer Vegemite to Marmite - less harsh - and nothing beats a breakfast of dippy, fresh, free-range egg with Vegemite toast.....yum!

I missed it last evening - who won?

I read it as a dig at Jan Moir........and a bit of a strange rant!

If looking for real British accommodation, I would recommend you look at Wolsey Lodges. They are named after Cardinal Wolsey who travelled around the UK staying in smart country houses. They vary a lot but are nice as you stay in someone's home. Some do dinners but are happy enough if you want to go out. http://www.wolseylodges.com/