bakerestates

The kitchen is one part of what makes a successful venture work - the other three obviously being drinks, service and the overall atmosphere provided by the space as a structure and the general hub bub. It could be argued that having the owner out front is as equally important to provide the difference that a paid employee may not add.....but a good front of house should. The key, for us at least, is to get people who have real conviction about what they are doing, understanding that they are just as responsible for driving their career, pay packages and in some cases extending this to shares - not only help inspire and motivate but to reward. And then there is the on going managing of them, from induction through training and beyond, so that when mistakes are made, a broader view is taken rather than just putting out the fire. As an owner who has spent time in the kitchen (through need rather than choice) and out front, I have no wish to work 14 shifts a week on top of the necessary admin needed, so whoever is in charge, front or back, when I am not here, will be expected to ensure customers have the same experience whether I am here or not. Feedback helps tell you what is going on, as much as a sales graph. As an afterthought, we had two weekend magazine reviews in the early days - one whilst I was here and one when I was not. Both showed us in good light.

Alliance Wines in Scotland are excellent - the Zuccardi Family produces top wine. Green & Blue could point you somewhere else if you can't find what you are after Les Caves de Pyrenne Liberty Wines or try the general agency which promotes Argentinian Wine in the UK, I know there is an equivalent Wines of Australia.

Drunken Duck Punch Bowl

You might find this website quite useful in that hit has many brands and each brand has different glasses for what you drink - red, white, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Zinfandel etc. Wineware Depending on how much you want to put on and how you envisage using the glasses, I would opt for champagne, a universal red/white glass - something big that allows air into the wine, and a pudding glass as that is what you would use the most. Unless you have an army of staff to wash up for you, having a lots of differnt styles for red or white can be hard work and you would need a massive dining table and when you start to break them, it could get quite expensive to replace them. They make a great present though.

this might give you some ideas......... How to.......

When I googled mandarin/tangarine Wikepidea said they were different with the mandarin coming from Asia and trngarine from S.Europe/N. Africa. It also said they were of a different genus. Jane Grigson's Fruit Book says mandarin is the othe name for tangerine and says it is from China (as all oranges are). She quotes A Dictionary of English Plant Names (Geoffrey Grigson (1974) that its name mandarine is 'explained as an orange the colour of the robes of mandarins, or an orange eaten by mandarins, or an orange which looks like a mandarin.' She says the Clemintine came about in 1900 in Algeria by crossing a Mandarin with the Seville orange. I could go on put it streches to five pages. I took my first delivery of mandarins a week or two ago and I find them superior to the Clemintine. Darker in colour and a waxier skin with a more pronounced flavour. Matthew - if you want to get some Mandarins try the Natoora website. Piers

and Mr Pacey's Fruit & Veg shop which also sells excellent flour.....oh, and the cheap shop!

And that in iteself could mean one of two things - as far as meat is concerned.

That is a great loss - a meal there in June was simply superb. I can appreciate the effort exerted takes its toll.

In Essex, we call it Tap Water..........and we limit people to 16 litres of it a week Jan Moir's been.

I faintly remember reading that the guy who makes chocolate for Gordon Ramsey has/had a stall on Borough Market or a shop up north somewhere. I can't remember if it was the Observer Food Monthly (even maybe won a person of the year award form them) or Restaurant Magazine article but I am sure if you go to their websites you might find it. Once you do make contact with him he might be able to tell you his SOURCE so you can BUY it yourself direct.

Morston Hall has always been very good, everyone eats from the same, 5/6 course menu at 8.15. Really excellent wine list. Relaxed service. You have to book well in advance. I think it is about as close to serious fine dining as you are going to get. Competent, well sourced food, you may well eat something that was killed or pulled that afternoon. I had two meals at the Hoste Arms in Burnham Market a year and a half ago. It is very popular and worth a visit just for the front bar of the pub. The food wasn't for me though well sourced. The White Horse at Brancaster Staithe is excellent with great views. I would stay clear of the Victoira at Holkham - expensive and chaotic. Make sure you go walking on Holkam Beach - and if the weather is anything like today, you might well need your bathers.

Jay Rayner mentioned Donna Margherita, 183 Lavender Hill, London SW11 a couple of weeks ago....... Donna Margherita

I agree, there doesn't seem to me too much reliance on Joe Public other than maybe to highlight a place. We were inspected and although I knew we were being inspected at them time the inspector declined to tell me who he was inspecting for, the only one not to reveal his paymaster. Since our menu changes daily and the report said 'a meal back in May' and then listed exactly what he had, I knew who it was. (he also listed the dishes inaccuratley) As time goes on, I am more inclined to agree with what Basildog says about guidebooks in general.

A nightclub?!?

'As my dear old grandfather used to say, you can dress a pig up in a suit but you can't stop him grunting' This brought my laughing to such a crescendo that it woke our 10 month old up who then didn't sleep properly for the rest of the night so my wife is now giving me her version of white heat! As someone who was not around in his era, to hear those dishes was awe inspiring as Ramsey's food never comes accross that way to me. I also thought the way he cajoled the teams before and after service was markedly different to Ramsey in the way he was saying do your best for yourself. Sure it is cringworthy in places and sure it would be great to see more on the food but it is the first show and it will definitely have me going back for seconds.

The Apprentice does restaurants............I thought they were dropped in the deep end.....but hey makes good TV and I'm sure not having the pressure of bank loans and life savings lost reduced the fear factor slightly.

Reared in the UK or produced in the UK - what does that mean.......born in the UK but reared in Hungry was the issue with Bernard Matthews Turkeys was it not. The vagueness of the breeds and hanging time may stem from the fact that they don't know exactly what you are going to get until they have the stock in the shop and hanging and then going out to the customer. This is the case with my meat supplier as they buy from a number of farms, some of which have two or three different breeds. I know what all the breeds are but won't know what I get until I get it. I am sure you can request a certain breed. I think 21 days is about right, depending on the size which again may explain why they say 21-28 days. Dexter would be shorter hanging time than Angus. High Stree Prices - from their website I worked out that a pack of 142g of Fillet was £7.58 which makes it £53/kg. Its £44/kg at Moens. This is the only one that stood out mind you. I'm glad I can buy my fillet direct from the farm at £19/kg!

125 mililitres is a good amount in a glass that you can swirll it around easily without worrying about it spilling. Something that looks abit like this is ideal for me. http://www.wineware.co.uk/Riedel+Sommelier...F60-details.htm

Interesting to see the 12.5% discretionary charge at the bottom of a pub menu, which I have the feeling it is pitched as given it is under the Pubs section of his website. Did you order your food and drinks at the bar or was it full service? I am not saying service in a pub doesn't warrant a tip, but a discretionary charge printed on a menu is more of a restaurant thing...no?

Is there not a place down the Fulham Road at the exit of the Brompton Oratory/Stanford Bridge end that sells catering equipment to the trade. It has been six years since I was there but Hansons ring a bell and I think it was a shop/trade display.

bahhhh bahhhhaa............

'......Rather than the 300% mark-ups of many restaurants we simply add £10 and VAT to the cost price. So the better the wine the better the deal. Where else can you get a bottle of Persimmon Viognier 2006 for just £18?...' I sold this wine (03 vintage) for £13.50 three years ago. It cost £4.07 ex VAT so that was at a margin of 65% and cash profit of £7.42. The 06 costs £4.69 list (they may get a discount). Applying £10 plus VAT accross the list is making a higher margin than saying wines from house to £18 at a sliding scale from 70%-65% and then looking for a £10 plus VAT margin. As such, you would take more money on £18 plus wines but at a lower margin. As a challenge to Mr Gluck, who incidently has stayed at my establishment but failed to recognise the value in this list, where else in the on trade can you get a bottle of Barolo Margheria 1998 from Massolino for £45. Drives the accountants potty mind you..... Sure I'm not in London but my costs are not that different.

Not defending this mark-up but given you said 'nice bottle of Cotes du Rhone', when you looked it up did you get the exact one - right vintage, right wine of the producer's - many producers have three or four levels of wine and differnet entry levels. As an example, if you said you had a nice bottle of Soave from Pieropan, it could have been Classico that cost the restaurant say £6.50 or La Rocca that cost them say £15.50. Can an establishment be seen as good value if the food is but the wine is'nt. In this case, for you, the establishment was.....just!