petrus

We ate at her Paris restaurant and the whole menu/ordering system was strange. My partner booked the table as a surprise for me, she got the priceless menu and I got the one with prices. <snip> Me and "the wife" ate there last year. We had booked in advance, and I seem to remember that I got the menu with prices. The atmosphere of the place was like going into a church. It was very quiet and there was a "reverential" atmosphere. The food was so-so, as I recall. I think the Connaught is in a "retro" mood and wants to move on (?behind) Ms Hartnett.

Very interesting and very helpful, but I have a question. When I take my ice cream (made in a robot coupe machine) out of the fridge it often takes quite a while to defrost to a usable consistency and there is always the danger of it becoming too liquid. The ice cream has been made in the machine some days beforehand. I don't particularly want to make it on the day and then to "hold" it in the fridge. In any event, the ice cream probably needs to be firmed up in a freezer, rather than simply left in the fridge. Where can I find out more about stabilisers? It seems to be that these might help to reduce the problem. Petrus

I think Tony Hoyle used to be at the Dorchester. Is Thierry Besselievre still within the GR empire or has he moved on? I have eated Martin Chiffers' desserts when he was at that hotel near Liverpool Street station; they were very impressive. Petrus

Our local restaurant (Trinity in Clapham London SW) has a pastry chef with a very pleasing style, though I sense she is working with limited ingredients (or a limited budget). The desserts at the old Putney Bridge restaruant were very impressive; I do not know if the pastry chef has moved to Arbutus. In neither case do I know the name of the pastry chefs concerned. Petrus

I agree that CHs dishes look attractive. The items that grate are the bits of slate he serves them on (which probably have very limited heat retention qualities) and his personality-as-presented-by-tv . Petrus

[Maybe we should all go to Switzerland to be pastry chefs!Some places maybe the pastry chef is regarded as another cdp, but definatly not everywhere! There is only a certain level of restaurant upwards that really needs a dedicated pastry chef, i know a lot of pastry chefs that get paid very well indeed, it is also very important that all members of a kitchen team should gain a pastry knowledge, which happens very rarely these days! it is also important pastry chefs should realise how the kitchen side of things work also, so there is not that divide in the team wwhich can happen quite often between pastry and the main kitchen ← <snip> I think the last two posts focus on the main issue, which is how pastry chefs are regarded and treated within the industry (not how easy is it to set up a high street patisserie business). Maybe they need their own trade body or sub-group. Petrus

I was a pastry chef for 4 years down in Sussex, have had 8 years out and am looking to get back into it. For a job which is apparently desperately underskilled adn understaffed I can't find any work within a 30 mile radius of my home apart from the job I left in 1999 which they have never managed to fill permanently ! It's very frustrating. ← I think this goes to show that such people are under valued. One reason maybe that the majority are female (whoops!). Others are they have no strong professional grouping and that there is a supply of "ready made" desserts that can be bought in. Petrus PS: Liked the blog & having watched the GB Menu programme to-night, you are needed!

I have always regarded pastry chefs as the unsung heroes of the professional kitchen in this country. Are there any that seem to have star quality (now that Claire Clark has moved to the US)? Petrus

I agree. Up to the OFMs usual standard. How they manage to maintain it is a continual source of wonder to me.

William Curley is very good but a little expensive. If you like yuzu, you can find it in some of his products. I think Paul Young may be better value for money, but when I visited it was mainly chocolates and not much pastry. Even when Claire Clark was there, the Wolsley was a bit "mittle european"; I am sure the French Laundry gives her more scope. All in all, I think Jon's list is very well informed and about right. Petrus

I have noticed that supermarket shelves are often well-stocked with vareties of honey. It doesn't feature much in the cookbooks I have read. Who buys the stuff (and what to they use it for)?

Thank you! Will cycle up there now ← They stocked just the thing, it was even labelled for kitchen use. Thanks again! ← A pleasure. I hope the Panir was a success.

I think John Lewis in Oxford Street stocks muslin; that may be an acceptable substitute

I am curious about routes by whch the amateur cook can improve; there don't seem to be many. College courses are locked into NVQs and produce a type of food that is not found in many modern restaurants. If you do a "stage" in a restaurant you will probaly be given pretty basic tasks and not pick up many new skills. (Quite rightly so; why should they trust an "unknown" in preparing part of one of their signature dishes?) Has anyone got any suggestions? Petrus

Let me preface this by sayng that I have not (yet) see Wedensday's episode, but it seemed to be the programme was a sort of "double bluff" ie here is someone wo thinks he can source from within London, let's see how he has to compromise. Anyway, it might be more interesting than AWT v Galton Blackiston

After watching the first two episodes of this new BBC programme, I am not very impressed. It is based on a chef who wants to run a restaurant sourced from produce in the London area. Too rendolent of Jamie Oliver for my taste (and not enough cooking) What do others think? Petrus

I am still surprised that Ms Hartnett lost to that Welsh guy. The best cook-off was AWT and Blackiston; bluster (AWT) versus arrogance(GB) Anyway, how come Gary gets to win if he has already been "eliminated" and the telephone voting has really to get underway? Are there lots of proxies lined up for him? Petrus