martinwa

I've got ten days in Sicily mid June. Catania, Siracusa, Ragusa - Duomo booked already - maybe out as far as Agrigento. Then up to Taormina and fly back from Catania. Still planning locations to stay so any suggestions gratefully received. Cheers, Ciao, MW

I thought everything in Blackpool was tongue in cheek...

Thanks for the report. I'm going to be in Bologna at the end of May. Any hotel suggestions?

""""Bigger question, I guess, is: what are the REPRESENTATIVE meals that a traveler should try in each of these countries (ie: England, Scotland and Wales)? I'm not asking that they all be vegan (my husband's not, so he can indulge)...and I rather suspect that a majority of them will be meat based (ie: Haggis, fish n' chips n' stuff...though the chips I can have...) From what I've seen of Wales and lamb dishes, I'll probably be completely out of luck there."'""" Oh dear, is that what you think food in the UK is all about? There's more of this kind of stuff in a recent thread about Ireland. To get an idea of the sort of cooking the UK is producing check out the BBC show Great British Menu. It's not entirely representative of course and you'll probably find the large amounts of flesh on show repulsive but it's the reality and not the picture book haggis and kilts version of the UK most visitors are in search of. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search/?q=gre...Find+Programmes And you might find this useful. http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/food/s...2268171,00.html

Gone years ago. It's now the Thai Elephant and I've never been. We've got the Thai Pin on our side of the river and frankly Richmond in the 25 years I've lived here has been a culinary desert, nothing but chains and franchises. I suppose it's the rent. But we've now got Petersham Nurseries, Brula, La Buvette, Kew Grill, The Glasshouse, Bacco and a few more within a mile of each other so I guess we'll survive. No decent Chinese though.

Worst idea is to have all your christmas menus still up at the end of February!! Or perhaps they are trying to be really organised for this year..... ←

Hey everyone, I'm going to be in the Portland/Port Antonio area for a couple of weeks from next Wednesday 05 Feb. Not interested in faux European - we've got enough of that here - just good local stuff and, most importantly, jerk. The best pits please. Suggestions gratefully received. Martin.

Campari and soda, lots of ice on any veranda/patio/deckchair you can think of....anywhere! Perfection.

http://uktv.co.uk/food/search These should keep you busy for a while. But really, why would you need more than a chopped shallot a knob of butter and a large glug of muscadet? Soften the shallot in the butter, throw in the moules and the wine, put the lid on and don't open it for 4 or 5 mins. Throw away any that don't open and chuck in a handful of chopped flat leaf parsley. If you want you could add cream to the winey juices. Eat with a large hunk of crusty bread and the rest of the wine. Bon appetit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Succotash I can't believe that little numpty had this info in his head. Maybe I was wrong about the editing issue, maybe they shot the lines as a pick up later. I also can't believe I just googled succotash. Saddo. Peasant Luxe cooking not required on masterchef. Scallops with mushy peas/ black pud/ chorizo anyone.

No, but bloody awful service. ←

and then have biscotti served with the creme brulee.

We arrived at 8:30 (me two VERY swift pints to the good after having watched United spank Newcastle 6:0) and were seated in the comfortable bar with a couple of Pilsner Urquells for us blokes and a Mint Fizz (Elderflower, mint, apple, soda) for the girls.

And!!!!!! A fucking water menu......taxiiiiiiiii

They've got salsa classes! I'm booking immediately.

32E for a wood roasted poulet de bresse chicken breast and gratin dauphinpoise like i had in france on thursday! That's just not fair. I'm starving! I'd pay 320E's if someone could rustle that up for me.

I will now!

The non participation of the major supermarkets was disgraceful. They're the people responsible for driving costs down. What was the figure quoted by the farmer, 20p per bird? How can that be possible? Put 50p on a packet of fags, a pint of beer, bottle of wine, litre of gas and we'll simply take it as one of life's little hiccups and continue as before. The comment made earlier about production going abroad though is an important one. Supermarket buyers are not in business to support British farming. Still no response from any pro's out there. Maybe they're all in the middle of service.

Apologies in advance to those of you who are already using better quality produce. As an enthusiastic home cook and eater outer I'm somewhat bemused at the total silence this site has maintained following Hugh F W and Jamie Oliver's TV shows about the battery chicken and egg industries. Now I know I can't expect to be eating free range corn fed organic in every restaurant in the land and certainly but what are Gulleteer's opinions? How many of you are committed to change up to more acceptable meat products, or have you already? Is the cost factor involved just too prohibitive or will the customer appreciate that any improvement in animal welfare and thereby the quality of the food on the plate must involve additional cost? Many of the people involved during the week seemed to be of the opinion that even an extra 50p on the price of a supermarket chicken would be prohibitive.

The best food in Manchester has always been Chinese. I grew up there and the favourites were The Yang Sing and The Kwok Man. I haven't lived there for 25 years but on a visit just before Christmas was delighted to see The Yang Sing still there and packed. And there's Red Chilli a Sichuan on Portland Street. Always fab. I was taken to The Grill On The Alley. Not exactly mod Brit but crispy calamari and fine steaks were had by all. Good wine list. Juniper in Altrincham might be pushing the half hour limit but it's right up your mod brit street and you can get there on the tram which is always fun. The Lowry Hotel. Haven't eaten there myself yet. Expensive steel and glass tower is a bit off putting for me.

I think it can be left until the edit, with celebs especially they know the game and are happy to be filmed doing alternates. The producer wont/cant decide until reviewing the footage later and so it is wise to leave options as open as possible. This is not complicated production; it's hand held cameras and simple lighting so the set ups are very easy. Unlike say feature films where each shot takes at least an hour to set up and so must be decided in advance. As I say above, video tape is cheap so it makes sense to cover all bases S ←