Ylee

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm kinda sorry I'm only going to be there for a week now, as there seems I won't have enough time to do as much exploring as I would like to. Jon - I had some trouble with the Sketch website, so need to ask, are you able to book a table at Parlour, or should it not be a problem if I drop by on a weekday??

Hi all, I'll be briefly in London in a couple of weeks time, and am interested in checking out any good pastry/cake shops. Am wondering if anyone has any recommendations as to the best ones to visit. After looking on the internet, I currently have Macaron, Laduree (I've been to the Paris one) and Parlour at Sketch (apparently they serve very good little cakes there) on my list. Thanks!

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have a go at a few things - eg. cotton batting and see how it turns out.

Hi! I have a question about chocolate molds. What's the best and easiest way to polish them? Currently I use tissue paper, but it gets a bit tedious and finger/mind - numbing after awhile, especially when trying to get at the little corners in each mold. Or am I just being really impatient?

Not sure about Adelaide, but in Sydney, you can get those types of copper pans from places like Chefs Warehouse in the city or Essential Ingredient (Crows Nest). They're so incredibly expensive these days that I haven't found a good enough reason to buy them.

Thanks for the link! I didn't like John Faine's questions. Some seemed a bit condescending or ill informed. Meanwhile am very much looking forward to eating at St. John when I'm in London in October.

hmm.. tempting, very tempting.

Would the British Cheese Board and BBC News be considered official enough? http://www.britishcheese.com/news.cfm?page_id=74 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4245534.stm Or maybe they're just tooting their own horn

Julian : In the video, Alain Ducasse says (via the translator) that Rockpool should have gotten three hats. Quite a lot of people clapped to that statement. Apparently Neil Perry had already left by that stage though.

What kind of restaurants are you looking to work in? And what type of outdoor activities are you in to? ie. are you a beach person - if so, definitely come to Sydney.

Hehe yes - that reminds me, I tasted a Brie de Melun awhile back, that smelled and tasted like it HAD been dropped on the barn floor

I love Pont l'eveque too - we have it at work at the moment, and every time I open the cheese box, someone from even the other side of the kitchen will always yell (within seconds of the box being opened) for us to "keep that damn cheesebox shut!" Epoisse is another good stinky. I think I read somewhere that it's the only cheese in the world to be banned on the french public transport system..?? And anyone here like Fleur du Marquis? It's one of my favourites. A batch we ordered recently arrived labelled Saveur du Marquis and had definite banana tones to its flavour! I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, but I quite liked it.

Thanks Squirrelly Cakes! That's what I was thinking as well when I read the recipe - the beating for 5 minutes thing had me worried that it might toughten the cake. Anyway, I ended up ignoring that step because I didn't have time.

DJOblong - is it Tarago River ? or is that a different cheese I'm thinking about? I don't know much about NZ cheeses. I like Piano Hill Ironstone (an organic gouda-style cheese) and Heidi Gruyere - both are Aus cheeses. If in a supermarket, I sometimes get one of the King Island mature cheddars.

I don't have a recipe for ferrero rocher, but maybe the guys at Pimp That Snack might give you a few ideas... http://www.pimpthatsnack.com/project.php?projectID=46

Thanks! I might give the recipe another go some time and see if I can tell the difference. Meanwhile, I'll also have to get round to try making that fantastic looking frog commisary cake ! So many carrot cakes so little time...

Hi there! I have a question about a carrot cake recipe I used recently. The recipe is here : http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=39601 I was making a 5 x batch and was in a hurry, so didn't bother following this step "Beat on medium speed with electric mixer for 5 minutes", instead I mixed it all together in a large bowl by hand. Everyone loved the end result, so I'm wondering why you would need to beat it for 5 minutes in the first place, and how different would the cakes have been? Any suggestions?

Went to Becasse last night with a group of friends. This was my first time visiting their new site. I must say, the room is gorgeous. Those ringed lights (chandeliers?) are fantastic. And the meal was very good as well. My pick of the desserts would have to be the chocolate one : Valrhona chocolate, coffee and Armagnac trifle with chocolate cornets - one of the best chocolate desserts I've tried in awhile.

Does anyone use plastic wrap in the oven? We do at my work. I'm wondering now if it's at all safe..?

Hi, just wondering.. is there a thread somewhere about the different/interesting ways people have come up with to use the isi?

Hi, have you looked in bottle shops? I'm pretty sure I've seen some in a local bottle shop recently.. next to the packets of cocktail umbrellas.

Hi! Don't know if this will be of any help to you, but at work, we always make sure to refreeze the contents really well (until completely rock hard) before we churn it again, and following this, I've never encountered a problem with the ice-creams/sorbets that we use.