ravelda

I thought it was brilliant - they were all pi**ing themselves everytime Marco spoke to them at the start, but at the end they seemed inspired (if knackered!). Sure Marco was a little tough on a couple of the customers, ensuring those not acquainted with his reputation for kicking out diners mid-way between courses quickly became so, but it was great TV. I think Jim Davidson was spot on when he said "I'm here for a 2 week cookery course that I couldn't buy for £1m" - those who keep their heads down, listen and work hard will learn a lot! Edited for the longest sentance in the world ever - even I nearly passed out when reading it

Agreed there bakerestates - the prices are way too keen for me. Without revealing my source, I get my fillet (21, 28 or 31 day hung dependant on what I want) for around £16.50-17.50 per kg! I sholud supply to eG's myself!

I would say that you should be able to get a job working the line, but you would most likely be at commis level. Your best bet is to wite to some restaurants where you feel you could add value, maybe offer to do a stage so they can asses your level of skill and take it from there. We have a lot of guys who have joined us through this approach.

It's supposed to be, but I would be amazed to find many people sticking to that! I have been quite surprised by how few chefs and restauranteurs even new about the EU regulation

Kikuchi is great - they even do chicken sashimi!

You see - that's what happens when you are trying to interview someone over lunch - you loose all concentration over what you are even eating! Thanks for the info Matthew.

Lunch here today - service was much smootehr and more attentive than my last visit. The room was around half full and had a nice buzz - a very different crowd to what I would have expected though - much older than on my first visit. Starter was a lovely tete du veau with sauce gribiche and pea shoots. A lovely delicate texture and flavour, nicely meety but without that earthy piggie flavour of the pigs head. Main course was belly of pork - two good sized pieces of rich, fatty pork belly, slowly cooked to keep it nice and moist. This was served with marinated peppers and canellini beans and a carrot puree. All in all a good very enjoyable dish. Deserts were a bit of a let down as was the rather dry cheese that I was served, but at £15.50 for 3 courses it is good value for the area.

Fingers crossed you are able to get it!

http://www.giacobazzis.co.uk/driedpasta.htm - these guys have a good range of theirs, otherwise you could contact the De Ceco UK company and ask where they supply that pasta to, their details are: DeCecco UK Limited Address 1 Kimbell Mews Humphrey Lane Boughton Northampton NN2 8XB Contact Name Stephen Barlow Phone 01604 820022 Fax 01604 820033 E-mail sales@dececco.org.uk Web www.dececco.it Best, David

http://www.purespain.co.uk/ Thinking about it - you may also want to try these guys!

http://www.selectspain.co.uk/select/index.php These guys have it I believe - they have supplied me with some excellent produce before. They also import one of the best aged black foot hams I have ever tasted

No - defininitely not a Croydon thing - I was there the week before Scott and had a very disappointing tasting menu there - it really lacked any flair and was not particularly well balanced. comapred to the meal that I had enjoyed at LCS the night prior it was a solar system away!

I have to say that I had a very mediocre meal at The Capital the other week - not usually that bad, but a few people from the boards have been their recently and been underwhelmed.

I think Hibiscus is only opening around 24th september - assuming no delays and I believe they are pretty booked for their first two weeks already!

Petrus, Pied a Terre, Tom Aikens are all good options. Gary Rhodes new restaurant is also fantastic and well worth a visit. For Japanese I still love Nobu, Zuma and Roka.

Good call Matthew- I pre-ordered and was glad I had as they had apparently sold out that evening by 7.00!

The black leg chicken is outstanding and worth every penny!

there are quite a few places in Soho where you can grab food to eat - mainly snacks, but a few places still serve a proper meal. Otherwise there is Vingt-Quatre in Chelsea whose kitchen is open 24 hours a day and serving decent enough food

The best time to get down to Smithfields is around 5am, although some of the butchers will still have a fair old amount of produce even at 7ish. I go down twice a week with the head chef who goes down daily. If you ever need a guide around PM me!

Just had a very pleasant meal at the Greenhouse, and would definitely recommend it for lunch. Not the best meal that I have ever had there but some seriously competent cooking, and the set lunch looks to be very good value (although I must admit we went ALC).

Oh, forgot to say, in addition to the suggestions from ameiden, don;t forget wild honey!

Agree with the above - also Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, L'oranger, Wolseley, etc. I have to be honest I think the Mirabelle is very over rated. It is right over the road from my office so I end up there more than I would like to for a last minute meal near the office with clients. To me it should not have a michelin star as the menu never changes (although there is a menu du jour which is reasonable value and changes daily I believe), food quality is not consistent and service can be rather slow and stuffy. Don't get me wrong, it is not a bad place, and the room is lovely in a very art-deco way, but for the price you could do much better elsewhere unless you stick to the set lunch du jour menu. Certainly not a place to go to for the glitz and glam gastronomic meal of the visit!

I have to say the Hand and Flowers award did get me slightly! Not quite sure how they define new, anyone have any ideas? I am also surprised at the award for best use of technology going to Loughborough Uni too!

Here is the list of the winners from the annual Catey awards 2007 which was held last night at the Grosvenor hotel Cateys 2007: Winners in full Best Group Marketing Campaign – The Dorchester Best Independent Marketing Campaign – Cotswold House Hotel Menu of the Year Award – L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Pub and Bar Award – Paul Salisbury Best Use of Technology Award – Loughborough University Leisure and Tourism Award – Lord Marshall of Knightsbridge Food Service Caterer Award – Alastair Storey Public Service Caterer Award – Sue Hawkins Newcomer Award – The Hand and Flowers Chef Award – David Everitt-Matthias Hotel of the Year, Group – Malmaison Oxford Hotel of the Year, Independent – One Aldwych Education and Training Award – Sandra Gorman Restaurateur of the Year, Group – Robin Rowland Restaurateur of the Year, Independent – Pascal Aussignac and Vincent Labeyrie Manager of the Year – Debbie Taylor Special Award – Peter Kay and Michael Quinn, the Ark Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award – Richard Shepherd

With those corkage prices, I would say there would be no point in taking your own unless it was a £100+ bottle!