bakerestates

I second this. When I lived in Shepherds Bush 5 moons ago, this was our regular reliable haunt. Relaxed and comfortable interior, good wine list and the food could be excellent but when it wasn't, it was far from awful. Another place I have heard is okay is Timo off High Street Kensington somewhere. Italian, reasonably priced. No more detail than that. Looking at your original request for fun places, we always had a lot of fun is Cibo on Russel Gardens of Holland Road. Never anyone in it until 10pm but the lovely waitresses are delightful and the owner swans around with his tan, pink shirt and blazer collecting the money. Food is rustic Italian served on wacky plates. Oppostie is a middle eastern place called Alounak which is worth a visit

If this is how you form your buisiness model then good luck to you chefmatt. I suppose your next question will be, what is my most expensive dish? In a pub.....don't make me ......do you have a hand pump whereever you chef?

Thus the similarities with restaurants are blinding chefmatt. I have never heard such generalised claptrap. Then again, sticking gastro onto any public house that does not serve packet food is the biggest generalisation of all. I'm off now to buy my own private island with all the dosh I've made from charging people so bloody much.

I prefer letting my wife cook for me.....at home. Far more romantic than me cooking for her at the pub! I remember two years ago succumbing to enquires of 'are you doing anything special for Valentins's day on the menu' to putting a dish of grilled lobster & rib of beef with all the trimmings for £30 for two sharing thinking it would it the spot for all those couples who wanted to feed each other. I sold 2. This year they're getting a candle on their table! When I lived in London I used to find Malabar of Kensington Church Street quite romantic and always enjoyed their food...though not on Valentine's Day as you can imagine.

sometime after the second bottle ← or trip more likely

Depends what you want to the critics there for....third party endorsment to use with advertising or to blow smoke up your own arse (or not if they don't like it). I wrote to all the critics and guide books 18 months after I was open and happy we were consistent and hitting the mark for our customers. Tracey McLeod came after 20 months, gave us a great review that captured what we were about and we got noticably busier, though not mid-week from locals. A year after that, Jay Rayner kindly reviewed us. It is hard to say whether his review made much impact on sales (though it did give me a warm glow inside ), I distinctly remember people saying the came because of the Independent review, but not so much Jay's. But then again, I am the only person in this village to take the Observer and Guardian daily. And our sales graph was on the up significantly at the time. Both reviews did help with my guest room business. These reviews, along with guide books and weekend magazine guide book generated suplements, Evening Standard 5 liner five weeks before Valentines weekend (200 calls on the night it was publised booking us at weekends for 6 months in advance) all have helped bring me exposure and help locals understand what I am trying to do (and it is far from rocket sience). It does build people's expectations (as I am sure Michelin Stars do) but that is no bad thing. So go ahead and put pen to paper....but be sure your getting it right first - right by your customers that is. bakerestates www.thesuninndedham.com

have you changed your tune ravelda or have I misinterpreted you previously?

too bloody right....its all too easier to by cynical and look at the negative things about what is being done and why its being done. Sure he has a certain personality that may grate on some, like ramsey grates on others but it is this personality, get up and go drive that has enabled him to be in the financial position he is in. bakerestates

I am not saying that she is not very knowledgeable - but a "famous hotelier and restauranteur" or an "expert"! It's like calling greg Wallace a culinary expert rather than a fruit and veg man :-) ←

they are also now giveing places a big black star with no other ABC/123 rating which signfies they have recieved a lot of negative feedback about an establishment. I noticed this as one of my neighbouring establishments has it! bakerestates

Interesting you say that Corinna. I grew up in Monagahan/Armagh and went to school in Dublin so have a few pals there. With the tourist influx into Ireland and the standard of eating out when I was last there (around Limerick (Dunraven Arms, Adare), Kerry (Carragh Lodge), Derry (Beechwood House Hotel) and the general devlopment/comsmopolitainess of Ireland, I wondered what the opportunities were like. Is it for Hind's Head or is it for a modern styled country house hotel a la Babbington House - with good food, sourcing and execution the driver? bakerestates.

Having had two babies in the past 2 years and as much as I love them and love my wife, give me a stove and a box of produce with hungry punters over shitty nappies and pacing colicky screaming kids which bugger your back any day. Oh, and the need to earn twice, if not three times as much than before focuses the mind slightly more bakerestates

thanks bishwells, it won't. We must be the only two who have!

why eat overcooked scallops? Why not just send them back? Same for the wine, why allow half a bottle to dissapear? Did you tell the restuarant manager you were a michelin starred chef and do you think it made a difference to what he was going to comp you? Would be interested to here your review of Foliage, though I suspect you may not remember it in detail given the £400 bill and same girlfriend!

This thred got going before I knew of egullet. I went for lunch with my wife & 2 year old in April 2005. We were shown upstairs and seated at a corner table by the matre d' who appeared on TV. He stank of cigarette smoke which was off putting. However, he did get a high chair without being asked and as we were strapping our son down, he asked if we would like a drink. I asked for a glass of really cold, zippy, fresh white wine. He looked blank and dissappeared returning with a wine list. As soon as we sat down and read the menu, we heard the magamouth of JBR who was seated at a window table drinking champagne and eating lobster salad. The conversation was pretty loud and by the sound of it, he was being interviewd by the look of her, a pretty reporter. With only 3 other occupied tables, and diana ross playing in the background, it was off-putting to say the least. Liked the look of the menu and were looking forward to what was to come while drinking some Albarino from Bodegas Valminor which I had chosen (£39 - wholesale cost c. £8). Can't remember what my wife had but my rabbit terrine was fridge cold and tasteless and the the home made picallilli was crunchy but again, fridge cold so underwhelming. For main course I had cod which was pan-roasted and served in a bowl-plate on a bed of mashed potato (potato puree) & spinach garnished with diced tomato. Nice but in a nice safe kind of way. My wife had turbot which did not come quite as advertised - smiliar components, cooking method and presentation to the cod with the addition of pasta and a unadvertised cream sauce. Again, same sort of nice but not quite what she was expecting and given the cream factor, annoying. Ordered pudding and asked for coffee to come at the same time as our son was getting bored of the sound of JBR. Lemon Tart came and about 10 minutes and two requests later, our coffee. The place was not busy and I had to shift my chair at least 5 times to allow other people to pass on their way to the loo. Our table wobbled and all in all, the room was bland, though well finished. When our bill came and on it, we were charged for two bottles of Albarino. As there were only about 4 other couples in the room, I was surprised but not offended. Pointed it out and it was corrected without apology which does piss me off. Overall, it was okay but given the expectations I had and the price I paid (c. £120 wiht a £40 bottle of wine), I felt let down and a bit disheartened that I had made an effort to come here but it was not doing what it said on the tin (TV). Being me, when I got home I penned my thoughts to JBR as politely as possible stating that if I had not seen the TV programe or known of JBR I would have found the experience a good one and would return. I also praised his use of local produce and his experiences on TV programe which I had caught while starting my own pub - I had felt a sense of epathy - new type of product for an area, local produce, high expectations of customers (though no TV program of self-promotion on my part) His reply was short, sharp and quite frankly, a cop out. It said I lacked respect and and if I was such a great chef, why did I cook in a pub. I had not said what I did in my letter (which was printed on pub letterhead) and had not passed remark about the lack of quality of the cooking, I had infact praised the quality of the cooked elements. As it happens, not being able to find a 'great chef' I do cook in my pub. I also use from time to time a fishmonger who supplied JBR at previous restaurants who recalled a story to me of a time when he turned up one evening with 12 lobsters that JBR had ordered, but given the terrible weather at the time and had been almost impossible to get. Proud of his find he entered the kitchen only to be met with a flying fry pan closely followed by the 12 lobsters on the grounds that JBR had ordered them a week ago. It made not difference to him that the lobster pots had been inaccessible due to bad weather and they were the only 12 lobsters around. I recently learnt in a trade paper that he was going into the pub business to show what food pubs should be doing - shepherds pie. Its weried as regardless of ones view on gastropubs, I have never eaten or seen shepherds pie in a pub and given I wouldn't eat it at home, I certainly wouldn't go to a JBR pub to try one. Nor, in light of my experience buy his cook book to learn how to make one. bakerestates

- River Cafe - Vicolo Stretto Taormina Sicily and/or L'Ancorn di Giancarlo Russo Siracusa, Sicily - lunch yesterday at Theo Randall was delightful (though not so keen on the room). Crab, aioli, pagnotta bruschetta, rocket & fennel (light, fresh, zesty) followed by agnolotti - fresh pasta stuffed with slow-cooked veal, partridge, panceta (deep gooey flavours but surprisingly light and lifted). Followed by wood roasted turbot with capers, marjoram, leek & artichoke trifolati (earthy, juicy supreme piece of fish on the bone). Finished with Lemon Tart - am not going to tell you anything about it, just go and have it. note to Gavin - new to Sudbury, Amici Restaurant on Gainsborough Street. Sicilian family, very minimal decor & simple Sicilian/Italian food. Not yet tried it, maybe next week for lunch. bakerestates

I learnt from this week's Morning Advertiser (Pub trade magazine) that the Fenwick Arms has just been hit with a rent increase of 104% - £14,000 to £36,000 per year. So all the extra sales they have had thanks to TV is for no real financial benefit. What rotten luck!

good to have you back.....as a mass market magazine, the OFM hits the spot and I generally cheer up when I see it fall out. Like any magazine, cook book, dish, pub people get a bit bored and need something else to stimulate them from time to time...hence eGullet for some. as to.... 'the produce we do a mixture of both supermarket and non, varying in proportion from month to month. We are a mass market publication. Most people shop in superrmarkets'.....I would just like to see supermarkets not promotted, as yes alternatives are offered, but supermarkets are supermarkets. The editor of a free magazine called 'season' turned up this morning to do an article on my business. While cirulation is only 7500 their aim is to roll it out accross the UK but specific to each county/area. While not yet intellectually high brow it does cover a lot of interesting things. And yes, I am sure I will get bored of it in time as there is a limit to what one can write about in this area but it is an excelletn guide/focus on food things in the area. You can pick it up at any number of food outlets but if anyone wants a copy let me know. http://www.seasonmagazine.co.uk/

another good show last night which did not stick strictly to previous format....enough difference to keep us watching. And it looks like from the preview of next weeks show he is going into a place that appears to be established with michelin et al recommendations. I can see Ramsey ripping this guy apart more than anyone so far...can't wait.

edited by eGullet's Tim Hayward. There is no reason why this could not be done and succed. If a magazines like Decanter can survive then surely there are enough people to buy something along these lines.....more intelligent, in depth, less mass appeal recipies & contributors etc,.... a more specialist publication that discusses things that are seen on this forum not Olive or Waitrose. Think of Wallpaper or Wunderlust but for food. I get bored of OFM because what appears in it is similar to other weekend supplements and the biggest gripe I have is the comparrisons it does on supermarket food. Why not just forget the supermarkets and promote non-supermarket produce.

This was a great show - cringe making, funny, and with a good point well made at the end and although Ramsey makes by stomach turn for his over-acting, he rarely gets it wrong when fixing a dying restaurant. What struck me though was when some of the diners (about 3 over 10 minuntes) were interviewed pre-Gordon's menu, they said the food had not improved from last year.....so why the fuck did they come back this year for banana & chicken. What would be interesting for him to go into a business that was doing okay and just surviving doing what Gordon generally advocates and see how he tackles it...though I suppose it wouldn't fit under the word nightmares.....ah just read previous posts

Blowing my own trumpet but we are in a very quaint village in the heart of constable countryside 50 minutes from Liverpool Street Station + 10 minutes cab ride and we have four open fires. If you come Thursday, Friday, Saturday you can stock up in our fish (from Mersea on Fridays) & fruit & veg shop and village deli before heading back to the big smoke. www.thesuninndedham.com www.constablecountry.co.uk bakerestates

the white horse of parson's green, fulham does bakerestates

Win-win. But I'm not a restaurateur, and clearly most restaurants have found that the first strategy works for them. Then again most restaurants go out of business pretty fast. Of course these scenarios could be completely unrelated... As a publican, I think a bit of both is the answer. I make the necessary margin needed to cover the costs of running my business on wines from £12-£16 (cost £3.20 - £6.25) and then reduce the margin, working more on a cash margin basis down to making no more than £10 a bottle by the time my punters are buying Serpico from Mitolo or Barbaressco 99 from Cigulti or Monthelie Blanc from Boisset. I know from experience that I sell more this way than I would making noraml margin. My accountant hates hit but I am still in business and have never used my overdraft! On another note about margins, I can make less of a margin on real ale than I do on lager despite the fact lager is cheaper to produce. The general punter won't pay more for bitter than lager is sold for which is crazy as a large % of lager cost is advertising. bakerestates