ravelda

With cheese if you speak to an expert, they suggest that as it is a living organism, it should never be put in the fridge or wrapped in cling film, but rather that it should be stored ab 10-14 degrees celsius wrapped in muslin or waxed paper, and any mold should be cut off prior to eating. Chilling cheese reduces its flavour (same with chocolate which also is apparently not meant to be chilled). I believe a recomendation for the best storage is eiter in a cheese cellar if you have one, or otherwise in a wine cellar which apparently is also perfect in terms of temperature or humidity. Most people and restaurants do still refrigerate chees however, as there are strict health and safety rules about the storage of all items that go out to diners - they therefore remove from the fridge at least 1 hour before serving.

Very good sushi - although sometimes annoying that it is cash only as it limits you ability to go off the rails! I have a terrible habit of becoming addicted and wanting more, and there are no cash machines around the area, other than the pay-type in news agents. The only thing that I would note about this is that the menu is a little limited, and the service is often rather cold. Fantastic neggi torro hand rolls though!

Thanks for the Photos Andy - very interesting. Shame you didn't get to try any of the food - hope you dropped plenty of subtle hints! Did Joel give you any idea of the direction he will be taking with the food at all?

I'm almost tempted to take you up on that just to see how bad it is!

For 2 courses without service or any liquid refreshment, I would say yes - most mains now £15-£18 I would guess, and most starters £7 or £8

Well, after meaning to go to Arbutus for some time, I finally took my wife there on Monday for our wedding anniversary, and I can definitely say that I will be going back. I really feel that I should not have liked this place as much as I did, because when I compare with other places, I do feel that as many of the dishes use the cheaper cuts of meat or offal, and the portions I felt to be on the small side (so much so that I had to make something to eat when I got home), it doesn't seem such great value - it's ok, just nothing special. The thing is, that Will and Anthony carry off the dishes with such flair that I can deal with that. Everything that came out of the kitchen looked fantastic - I had to be restrained from ordering the whole menu, and instead settled for two starters and a main (I definitely prefer my savoury to my sweet!). The wife started with the chicken sot l'y laisse, wondefully succulent chicken oysters nestling in a bed of perfectly al dente tubes of pasta, with garden peas and a light creamy broth. I opted for the braised pigs head with potato puree and caramelised onions, a spectacular dish and by far the highlight of the meal. The potato puree was smooth and creamy and worked perfectly with the dish. The unctuous braised pigs head left me feeling almost primeval, the soft gooey fatty bits with the desperately tender, melt in your mouth meat, and the caramelised onions to cut through the richness - spectacular! Even my wife, who was put off by the prospect of a whole pigs head appearing on her plate tried some and wished that she had ordered it as well. Not wanting to let the side down, I had also ordered a second starter, the guinea fowl and foie gras boudin blanc with crushed peas, a velvety mousse-like sausage with a wonderful, almost woody flavour, perfectly matched with the fresh green peas. For the main course the wife plumped for sea bream with a red wine risotto, fried young squid and parsley juice. Again this dish was carried out with flair, although if I am to be critical, the squid had been slightly over done and were a little too brown, and the batter was not as well executed as I would have hoped - still a very acceptable dish though. I chose the saddle of rabbit with shoulder cottage pie, golden carrots and a mustard sauce - definitely the best of the main courses that we chose (which is a good thing as I hate being out-ordered!). The saddle came as disks of meat, wrapped in what I assume was bacon, and was so juicy and succulent, not dry as it so often is. The shoulder cottage pie had wonderful flaky shreds of meat in a rich gravy under a light mash with the mustard sauce on top. This was a really well thought out dish, although it would have been nice to see more meat in the pie and less mash. The service we received throughout the meal was friendly and attentive, and the staff were all well clued up on their wines, and made some good suggestions. We ended up working our way through three carafes, beginning with a lighter red from the languedoc region, and moving through to finish with a heavier Cahors. If only they had side orders with the mains, I would be totally placated with regards to portion sizes, but either way, I will definitely be passing through the Arbutus doors again very soon!

Percyn, you are too modest, those dishes look fantastic. Thanks for the recipes - I will have a go and let you know how it turns out!

Tyson, From the point of view of personal development, whilst working in one of the Ramsay Group restaurants will be a LOT of hard work, this would deffinately set you up for life, ensure employment at almost any restaurant, and teach you a lot of excellent skills and discipline. Not sure if I would agree about there being no atmosphere, just look at how loyal all the staff are there, and how many of his apprentices are now running their own restaurats and who have developed excellent reputations in their own right. Others to consider would be St. John, Chez Bruce, Pied a Tere, The Orrery, The Ledbury and 1 Lombard Street! Good luck!

I thought the following may be of interest to some people - the chef rich list http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/Arti...rticleID=308426 and some news about Ramsay's future plans to open a chain of Gastro pubs. Seems he is going the JC Novelli way, but hopefully better executed http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2006...ountry+pubs.htm

Sounds like on hell of a show - I wonder when that will hit our screens?

Truly superb - the man is a genious! I only wish we didn't have to wait so long following the airing of his shows in the US before it reaches us over here in Blighty!

Wow - fantastic dishes throughout this thread. I wish we had something like SK here in the UK! Percy, I am particularly impressed with your dishes, would you be gooed enough to share your recipes for your Skate and risotto? Thanks!

How about a nice cherry and almond tart (like a bakewell tart) with goats milk ice cream or for something savoury, caramelised duck breast with cherry sauce? Spiced cherry compte also works well with fresh seared or Ballotine of Foie Gras.

Kiku in Half Moon Street, Mayfair always has excellent sushi. Very traditional restaurant with very fresh seafood. Good value set lunch for £13.50 which gets you unlimited green tea, prawn and vegeatable tempura, teriyaki chicken, selection of sushi, miso soup and fruit salad Also Sushi Hiro and Kiraku opposite Ealing common tube for excellent sushi. Service is rather cold albeit efficient at the former, and very friendly, albeit a little mad-cap sometimes at the latter.

i've been to Roka a few times, but find it a bit hit and miss, with some outstanding dishes, but some that are dull or not well executed. I have also found the same with the staff - they are either highly efficient and friendly or just plain useless. Personally, I do think there are far better places for the money.

I love to serve thick cut bacon, coated in a maple syrup and bourbon marinade, a dash of chinese five spice, seved with roasted vine ripened tomatoes and sourdough - mmmmm!

erm, are you sure about that? they seemed to be selling over-priced rubbish, under the guise of birth year vintages last I checked? ← Then you should look again Scott. they supply some of the best restaurants and hotels in London and around the UK, have a huge catalogue, and can get almost anything that they don't have in their catalogue for you at very reasonable prices. Indeed they do do wine gifts like the "year of your birth" bottles, but if you go to the harrisonvintners.co.uk site you will see they are far more than a novelty vintner ← ok 3rd time lucky. just having a look harrison vintners looks like a bog standard ontrade wholesaler, and the gift site doesn't have too much I would call "fine". As an example the burgundy section seems to have some ordinary negociant offerings for, erm, 'confident' prices. I am sure they're probably nice people, running a smart operation, but it does appear that they are more heavily laden with obscure brands (rebranded even?), for volume trade customers, than anything to do with the higher end quality side of the market. May I ask if you have any relationship with this business? ← No, no relationship other than being a client. I guess my experience may be different to yours as I like to try some unusual wines, as well as fine wines, and tend to contact them directly rather than via the website as they they only have a fraction of the wines available listed. On prices, I generally find that they are far more competitive than many other vintners. As I said, I predominantly use this vintner, and sporadically Tanners, Uncorked, Fine and rare wines, Wine & co (who often have some really good bargains - 12 bottles Lafite Rothschild 2004 bought last month for £1,020 vs Berry Bros £1,850) and Oxford Wine Merchants.

erm, are you sure about that? they seemed to be selling over-priced rubbish, under the guise of birth year vintages last I checked? ← Then you should look again Scott. they supply some of the best restaurants and hotels in London and around the UK, have a huge catalogue, and can get almost anything that they don't have in their catalogue for you at very reasonable prices. Indeed they do do wine gifts like the "year of your birth" bottles, but if you go to the harrisonvintners.co.uk site you will see they are far more than a novelty vintner

Absolutely positive Scott - they supply a number of the UK and London's top restaurants and hotels, and have a huge array of wines - and in addition can get pretty much anything that you could ask for. They do also do the year of your birth wines (great for those born in good vintages, but not alas for me!) as a novel gift for those that want it, but through the harrisonvintners.co.uk they cater to a more refined palette.

Absolutely positive Scott - they supply a number of the UK and London's top restaurants and hotels, and have a huge array of wines - and in addition can get pretty much anything that you could ask for. They do also do the year of your birth wines (great for those born in good vintages, but not alas for me!) as a novel gift for those that want it, but through the harrisonvintners.co.uk they cater to a more refined palette.

I would recommend http://www.finewinegifts.co.uk/ as a top supplier that I have used many times. This vintners offers a wide array of wines, can get anything that they don;t have that you may like for you, and are better priced than many. They also have a sister site - www.harrisonvintners.co.uk which you can order from too! Best of luck!

I see that Galvin's Bistrot won an award at the Catey's on Tuesday for newcomer of the year - was anyone there?

I'm a big fan of the Meyer Analon pans - v.durable, can withstand high heat and so easy to clean. You can get a set of 3 pans + saute pan for about £99 nand Frying pans about £60. I've been using mine for years and they are as good as new!

A foodie client of mine (if a veggie can be a foodie) swears by Benares as the best veggie option in London. He goes there whenever he is in London

Point well made Bapi, there is always a risk, although I would say that I have eaten there a few times when Seargent has not been working and had excellent food. Shame RHR is closed for the summer, as you would not have had this issue C1628 - it also scuppers my plan to take the mrs there for our first wedding anniversary!