ravelda

I think you are right Matthew - I have always looked at a star as being recognition to a restaurant for consistantly producing food and giving service which is the best amongst it peers in wahtever category that is - whether fine dining French or pub.

Least favourite - now there is a question! I think two of the most undeserving ar the Glasshouse in Kew and the Mirabelle!

Hmm - tough call, for me there is not one, it depends on what I fancy. My favourites are probably: Claridges Tom Aikens La Noisette L'Atelier (albeit a cosly choice) And Nobu (although the fact that I proposed to my wife here obviously maks it even more appealing to me)

But good call none the less Matthew!

Having seen the multitude of ways that different restaurants pay, I think that is very fair Phil - and I imagine your staff are all pretty happy with it too! David

Again, I 100% aggree with you chefsimon, it is absolutely a career for many!

QUOTE(BertieWooster @ Jan 25 2007, 05:46 AM) But surely if the staff don't care, then it isn't the sort of place that should get within a whisker of a Michelin as the atmosphere and service standards would presumably be lower? Though I suppose one can be professional without being passionate. But I always feel the passion levels for the staff are what really marks out a v.good place from just a good, professional, one. i ll re iterate what i said when you get to a level you need to have staff there who want to be there and for the right reasons, not part timers or students wanting to earn extra money, you need people who want to make a career out of it, so as you rightly say if you not got those people you going to have problems bertie I completely agree - sadly a lot of restauranteurs don't seem to realise that choosing the best staff, paying them well and treating them with respect costs less in the long run a they don't take fake sick days, they want to work hard and therefore give customers a better experience, and they stay, thereby reducing the cost of finding and training new staff.

I don't disagree with either of you - I really enjoyed Arbutus, but certainly don't think it is worthy of a Michelin star!

I don't disagree at all Nikkib - I think gendering the right kind of atmosphere and level of pride in the place of work is paramount - that is what helps you through the hard times and creates loyalty. For all that people say against Ramsay, largely due to the caricature that has been portrayed in the press (at his will I am sure), he has always celebrated success with his staff and looked after them, and that is why so many of them have been with him for so long.

Nikkib - as for their menu knowledge I can't say, although it haw never been a problem when I have been. I know that the day Tony went they should have known and been excited about it, but you know what - a lot of restaurant staff don;t give a monkeys unless it will benefit them directly through an increase in wages. One of the hardest things in this business is getting staff to really buy-in to the restaurant to the extent where they see it as more than just any old job and start to care about the business itself. And it is well documented that Arbutus has struggled with retaining their waiting staff.

I guess it could be that neither Will nor Anthony wanted to let on until it was in the press

"May be I'm talking crap!" - most of us can certainly be accused of that at times! According to Catere and Hotelkeeper he has been waiting for the second star since 2000. Best, David

Thanks for that Suzy, I have to say I think I will be buying a ticket this weekend! I don't believe it has been 10 years for Marcus by the way Pweaver1984! Scott, I understand what you are saying about Petrus, but don't forget that for Michelin, it is not necessarily that Petrus has changed, but probably more that it is 2 star cooking, but they were waiting to ensure it was consistantly so. I for one am quite happy to say that I think it more than stands up against its 2* peers in London, with the exception on Champignion Saucage. David

I agree with you naebody, I do think that Galvin's deserved their bib - the only thing that I can imagine let them down is the service which on my past few visits has been wuite poor. The food on the other hand is generally very good, only ever had a couple of questionalble dishes, and far less than at the Mirabelle and other one star places. Another restaurant that I am suprised has not been recognised by anyone (or commented on in this forum from what I can find) is Pattersons. I have only ever had excellent meals there, and my meal on Friday night was one of top ten in the last 12 months (and I managed to chow my way around a total of 57 michelin stars amongst that- although some were visit more than once it must be said!)

Well I am overall rather pleased with the guide. Still some stars that I think should have lost stars - namely Glasshouse in Kew, Capital and Le Gavroche, and Le Mirabelle. What are your thoughts Andy?

Phil, I think you make a very valid point - I also think as a business model yours is sound as it targets an area of the market where the competition, if any, are failing miserably and providing sub-standard food.

Looks like a fantastic menu, Scallops, hon shimeji mushrooms, dashi, mint and Belly of pork, soy milk glaze, charred green onions, enoki, seaweed are right up my street. The only dish that doesn't quite tickle my fancy is the sardine dish on the tasting menu, but no doubt I will be converted!

Generally anything with lactose i.e. milk, yoghurt etc help with the chili, hence why they have raita with Indian food.

Thanks all for all your ideas. I was away most of the weekend, but did have a good old play with the ISI over the weekend. I am going to give my boudin noir foam a go this weekend, I really thank that it will be a fantastic combo with scallops and a cauliflower ravioli, some of my favourite ingredients. As for where I work chefsimon, it is a long and rather complicated story, but although not my main trade (I am a banker!) I have done a number of stages at some of our top restaurants here in the UK and work every weekend (for free) in a restaurant called le vacherin in London (www.levacherin.co.uk)

The thing with gordon Ramsay is that he a highly concentrated version of who he is is shown on the TV. In reality, he is a very charming and caring person - all the swearing you see on tv is purely for that - TV, - it sells, just as Simon Cowell's put downs and nastiness does on American Idol. Sure gordon works people hard and is demanding, but he also looks after people and is a great mentor to many. He has in essence created an academy of excellence, many chefs have come up from underneath his rule to become great chefs in their own right. He teaches his staff the importance of consistency and quality, as well as self-respect. If this were not the case, he would not have taken basically the entire staff from Aubergine when he left, and would not have many of those staff remaining with him from those early day now. Don't believe everything you see!

Bill, great idea - I will deffinately have a go at that. I am quite looking forward to trying out the boudin noir foam idea with scallops and I have now decided taht it will have to be with a cauliflower ravioli. I have also checked out the ISI website, but there is nothing too inspirational there. A question on savoury sources, how thich should the puree that goes into the ISI be, and also, do I need any form of stabilizer?

Bill, great idea - I will deffinately have a go at that. I am quite looking forward to trying out the boudin noir foam idea with scallops and I have now decided taht it will have to be with a cauliflower ravioli. I have also checked out the ISI website, but there is nothing too inspirational there. A question on savoury sources, how thich should the puree that goes into the ISI be, and also, do I need any form of stabilizer?

Thanks for all the resposnes so far. One area that I am particularly interested in developing is with savoury foams, for example a garlic foam to top a french onion soup, or a cauliflower foam to top scallops, or even a boudin noir foam to go with scallops and a caulifloer puree/cauliflower ravioli

Hi all, Well, I have just taken delivery of my isi themo whip, but am having a tough time finding recipes and knowing where to start creating my own. I would love to hear any of your recipes and ideally a base recipe that I can then add to and alter as I like, much like you may give someone a basic risotto recipe and then let them know when and where they can look to add in other flavours. Thanks in advance of your help! David

If you look on the left hand side towards the bottom it allows you to search by rating, and from this you can figure what the numbers mean. The ratings go from 1 to 5 with 1 being the best and 5 being the worst, the first of the three numbers is for the food, the second is for service and the third for atmosphere. Hope this helps Bertie. Best, David