RDB

Duncan, some options: A. Give up whatever you are doing and become a chef. B. Take a trip from Oxford to Nottingham C. Spend a lot of money and time to recreate this dish D. Build a bridge and get over it. ..............it's only eggs.................

Not in the slightest bit surprised. I am not sure I would class it as 'technology' though, rather more innovative modern cooking. Technology is something you use i.e. water baths, pacojet etc, not something you do. As for tradition.............. Mr Fort IMO is someone who has always had his finger on the pulse of trends in food for many years, so again no surprises. Peyton and Leith well I am not sure. To give them credit why would they chose a chef doing recreations of french cooking in a competition against the french??? The egg dish (to echo myself) is sublime I ate it last summer, you will find it below http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database...eas_85942.shtml Nothing 'deconstructed' about it, you have an egg, ham, pea sorbet................ Ps. How do you 'deconstruct' gammon and eggs

Funny that, many years ago Paul Kitching used to have a dish called 'Powders and Potions', which was a plate of unidentified powders, and the aim was to guess which source said powders originated from. Which of course as Bacchus says is good fun. I actually have a framed photo of the dish in my kitchen

Don't go anywhere near this hellhole of an area! Full of overdressed arseholes who just want to show how much money they have/how many shots of truly awful flavoured vodka they can drink. The N4 is much more civilised and you can get a decent pint in most of the bars. Highly reccommend the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in Trof. I like Socio, although it is a bit wanky at weekends. Adam, the head barman, is a really good bloke and very knowledgable about cocktails. They can make anything there and beats the bar service at most of the places in town. The one place I forgot to mention for drinking is Mojo, which is a fab place to get very pissed, although it is mayhem at a weekend. Adam ← ................not one in the same I hope ???

'Manchester so much to answer for.........................' Again these Manchester threads- albeit important- seem to depress me in regards of good places to eat, but hey I will not reiterate the same debate. Stock has nice surroundings but food mediocre to poor. The Bridge let me add was always very overated, very average.....maybe it is better now?? El Rincon is good though, I would have it anyday over somewhere like Barrafina Great for pubs though my favs being Pervil and The Britons protection or the little brewery shop in the Arndale (forget name.....). No shortage of bars, socio rehab I find very,very pretentious. Sorry to not be me of much help. What I would do is get the tram to Altrincham and.................

I am really enjoying watching Sat cook, it is actually refreshing to observe some 'modern' cooking on TV for a change. I ate his egg dish last summer and it is pretty special, will be interesting to see what the judges think. As an individual I think he comes across very well on the TV both in terms of personality, passion and humour. I reckon the TV offers will come flooding in. It may even bring the critics out of London to visit his restaurant. I often think (possibly due to location) that his restaurant does not receive the attention it deserves, particularly in light of the 'cutting edge' food he produces. I am sure that will change...... Why Jenny Bond is still appearing and now even tasting the food is beyond me. The little cheesy, one liner, voice overs are just cringeworthy. Also, Gallstones does not seem as confident this time around as he did when up against AWT, wonder why

Went to Jessica’s today for lunch as I had previously heard some good reports about the place, and it has since been on my restaurants to visit list. Prior to making the journey I had a look at the website to get a bit of a taster, but this has to be the worst I have ever seen. All it needs is a couple of virtual tumble weeds crossing the screen; it’s that sparse. Luckily however, my experience today did not reflect its struggle and isolated position in foodie cyber space. I really liked the feel of Jessica’s as soon as I entered; it is quite airy and bright with a small local feel. Being lunchtime there were not many punters in, which was fine as I was dining alone (note: need to get some friends). The service I found excellent, the front of house team actually seemed to be enjoying them selves, continually laughing and joking with each other, whilst maintaining an attentive professional service. I think it is conducive to a good dining experience when you see the staff balance happy in what they are doing with being very good at what they are doing. Alongside this I was sitting quite close to the kitchen and could hear the kitchen staff chatting merrily amongst themselves and again laughing a lot. It must be good to work at Jessica’s. Ok on with the show………. I was brought out a bowl of paprika covered popcorn and Provencal olives, both very good. I actually tried both together, which worked quite well, but they would, the smoky sweetness of the popcorn, along with the salty bitter olives. Not sure if this was intentional but I like to experiment. Bread was good can’t remember the choices but I had a slice of caramel bread which was delicious, and had just come out of the oven. The amuse, a warm veloute of white bean with little chards of chorizo and a splash of chilli oil. It was comforting and fresh, the chilli oil gave it a real kick, which I like, but am aware others may find a little too spicy. Nonetheless a perfect start. The starter was lightly curried salmon, salad of crab, wasabi, enoki mushrooms and mizuna leaves. This consisted of little rounds of sashimi salmon, with the faintest hint of curry, filled with the crab salad; both fish and crustacean were extremely fresh. The leaves and mushrooms provided a great accompaniment with the later maintaining a good bite. The only problem I had was with the wasabi, it seemed to be toned down too much, and lost much of its flavour and punch. I know too much of the green stuff can do serious damage to the back of the nostrils, I just felt a middle ground would have lifted the dish a little. Over all is was an enjoyable dish. The main course was a choice between Zander or loin of pork; I opted for the later as it came served with foie gras cream. Being a fan of Claude Bosi’s foie gras ice cream, I wanted to see if his protégé’s variation was at the same level. Alongside these two components came a toothsome mound of pearl barley braised in sage, savoy cabbage and pearl onions, all classic piggy accompaniments. Firstly the pork, unfortunately it was quite tough and dry, I ended up leaving half of it, and think I actually would have preferred it slightly pink. The cream was ok, not sure it fitted the dish though, and it initially tasted of foie gras but lost its flavour when combined with the other ingredients and ended up tasting of cream. Maybe the apple served with the zander may have accompanied the dish better. A splendid dessert, soft vanilla parfait, chocolate sorbet, sweet orange caramel and chocolate crisps. Absolutely no complaints about this one. All in all I enjoyed the experience, albeit the main course wasn’t the greatest, but with excellent service and the other courses hitting the mark, it was well worth the long journey. All in all it came to £27 (including sparkling water) which isn’t bad when you in effect get five courses, maybe they need to bump up the prices and use it to sort out that damn website

Bapi, her 81st of course You never know this regional competition could develop and go global. Maybe a European Cup whereby chefs from various countries compete. Or maybe a version of the Ryder Cup whereby a crack team of European chefs take on the might of the USA, obviously with Adria and Keller leading them out. Alongside commentary and punditry from the relevant nations top food critics and writers........ ' they think its pavlova...it is now '. I need to get out more

Cheers Andy, will be good to see Sat in action. Also nice to see Dickie Corrigan still representing N.Ireland

I am sure I read in Olive this month when profiling restaurant Sat Bains, they stated '.....a contestant in the Great British Menu..' or something to that effect? Now unless my memory deceives me Sat has never been on this show (I could be wrong). Was this a misprint? Does anyone know? Andy L? Brown Bear ??

If you visit the website http://www.juniper-restaurant.co.uk/ and look under the news section you can see a bit of Juniper and the genius that is Paul Kitching in action. Why Juniper and Paul Kitching are not nominated in the Northern Hospitality awards is beyond me Saying that I am not sure how the entrants are chosen. Unless of course, Paul is up for the lifetime achievement award

believe me that mentality is not just in the north !!! ← or west! ← ...............or as recently pointed out in one of the Irish posts, in Ireland. I think I commented (jokingly) it may hark back to the famine and the need to make sure there is a plate of spuds and over boiled veg on the side, in case starvation occurs!!! Is their a similiar mind set here in the UK, to do with WW2 and rationing I think it is a common belief that a meal is good or a success if you leave the table feeling stuffed. I have heard so many people remark about places being fantastic because you get 'loads of extra veg....they pile your plate up.....you have to undo your belt after eating' etc. Alternatively others deem a place terrible because ' the portions were tiny......there was no side orders....I had to go to the chippy after' etc. Why is the trad Sunday dinner/christmas dinner so popular and the nation's favourite, because it is shit loads of food piled on a plate, and how does one feel afterwards......? Ok off to cook my one plate minimalist tea...........

I visited Juniper the week before Christmas for lunch, as I had not been there for about a year. Juniper has always been a favourite restaurant of mine, as my first visit there five years ago blew my mind. I have returned many times in the past and introduced numerous people to Paul’s cooking. When we arrived the restaurant was empty, and remained so throughout lunch. This was probably being due to the time of year. So needless to say service was pretty good. It usually is anyway I think Katie and her team have this area sewn up. As always I went for the 8 course gourmet menu, which in the past has never meant 8 courses, in my experience it has ranged from 14 to 28. In a previous post on the board it was mentioned that Paul had reduced the number of courses he sent out and numbers of course may correlate with his mood. If the latter hypothesis is true he must have been in a reserved mood the day I visited. Artichoke cream, white chocolate and minced cookie: I have had versions of this dish before and do enjoy it. The cookie has a nice combination of salt, and sweetness, and a lovely chewy texture. The cream was good but hard to detect the artichoke. Fillet of trout, dried banana, dates and vanilla glaze: I really think one of Paul’s strengths is his treatment of fish. This little piece of trout was sublime, perfectly cooked and seasoned. I am not a fan of dried fruit in food, but the dates and bananas worked well, with the vanilla being quite subtle, but warming. Carrot, cinnamon, chick and lentil soup: Presented as three different coloured layers in a shooter glass. This was a real comfort dish, soothing in the mouth and well spiced. Probably more of a dhal dish than a soup. ‘Curry’ spices feature a lot in many of Junipers dishes. Chicken Boudin Blanc, crispy black pudding, grated cauliflower and broccoli and curry sauce: This dish went too quickly. The boudin was a little bland I thought, could have had a bit more depth. The black pudding was miniscule, literally paper thin and a centimetre long, would like to know how he did that, it was crisp and tasty nonetheless. The cauliflower and broccoli really had a couscous appearance and texture to it, with curry sauce making another appearance. Fillet of beef, mange tout, French fries, choc tart and truffle glaze: I slight variation on Paul’s fillet of beef and custard tart, albeit with the addition of chocolate. This dish is I suppose similar to Heston’s snail porridge in the reaction it evokes, fillet of beef and tart!!!! Is it that crazy? In Italian cuisine crema fritta (fried patisserie custard) is served with savoury dishes, such as meat stuffed olives, meat and fritto misto, and works very well. Whether this is Paul’s line of thinking I am not sure but it does show his ability to match ingredients intuitively and without a lab. Now after eating the dish you would not be converted as such to have custard or choc tart every time you have a steak, but it does work and is fun. Special mention to the one French fry that arrived pre salted and vinegared which was absolutely fantastic, but not enough!! Truffle glaze was too much in the background for my liking. Cheese: Best cheese board in the North of England, too many to mention, although remember a really good cheese from Sauternes. Good home made oat cakes. Mango Lasse: Continuing the Asian theme, this was a mango lasse, nothing more. Praline and lemon, rosemary crème brulee: Decent brulee in texture and design, taste wise it was good but got a little too reminiscent of toilet cleaner. Not that I have tasted toilet cleaner but I think it was lemon and rosemary produced a pine effect. Choc Tart: Haven’t we met before? No excuse for serving a main dish ingredient and then using it for dessert. It has to be one or the other or none. The salted chocolate crisp was delicious White Choc pink peppercorn sorbet: ….and back to the start. Very similar to the white choc cookie but refreshing all the same. If I am honest I have had better meals at Juniper, and that may not be down to objective analysis of the dish, but down to memories attached and the element of surprise. I was disappointed I only got eight dishes, not because I felt short changed, as it is well worth the £50 (?), but because I have been spoiled so much in the past. The joy of seeing dish after dish coming out, not knowing what would arrive next or when it would all end, creates an amazing dining journey. It was like receiving lots of Christmas presents, one after the other. If Paul’s mood was reserved on the day then that is fine, but he has to take some responsibility for me being a spoilt brat

..................................where in Leeds and beyond does this proliferation begin ← it's not exactly a leeds phenomenon, as there aint really a fine dining 'scene' you know what i mean, every box ticked that they think michelin want, different breads, someliers, amuses, overly staffed , veloutes, lobster raviolis, canon of lamb, choc fondants. they aren't necessarily bad places, i'm just saying that anthonys doesn't fit that mode. I could mention the now defunct establisment in manchester to that list and probably every country house-esque dinign establishment in the lake district, current example hipping hall where i spent a very pleasant evening, drank remarkably good value wine, ate excellently prepared and served food but it's text book we'd like a star please and whilst i'd recommend it for a 'nice' weekend out i wouldn't drag my foodie mates from darkest london or new york to dine because they can eat that food at countless places whereas i would for an anthony's or a champignon sauvage as they are doing something diferent. going to juniper on friday i hope to add that to the above list, but however much i like it i doubt i'd send my parents there for dinner. ← I do know what you mean, I was being silly I hope you enjoy Juniper, was there before christmas and meant to write a review, that reminds me...........

The man in question knows who he is.........my lips are sealed

Nikki I think you failed to pick up that my tongue was firmly rooted in my cheek.................... Hope you have a good time.

Had lunch here last week and although pleasant not somewhere I will want to return. When we arrived it took a while for front of house to notice us, when they did they rushed over to us so quickly that we had to take a step back! The dining room which we were informed had undergone a major refurbishment, but in the words of that great philosopher Shania Twain, 'it don't impress me much...' I am not someone who knows much about interior design, but the 'tortoise shell glass' throughout the restaurant just looked like it needed a good cleaning. The carpet looked like it was out of the lobby of a cheap hotel. Anyway I wasn't here for the room but the food...... We opted for the lunch menu, which was a choice of three options per course. We were reliably informed that the chef wanted us to try a course before our starter, a special course which they serve this time of year, turn away if you are easily offended: Pumpkin and truffle soup with a tortellini of pumpkin and amaretto and parmesan. Yes this old staple. I was very disappointed by the lack of originality with this dish. The plate arrived with the tortellini on top of the parmesan and the soup was poured over. It tasted ok, with the amaretto giving a subtle background flavour. However the cheese and pumpkin gave it a flavour very similar to wotsits, the colour didn't distract from this concept much. I also asked was it truffle oil they used or fresh truffles, sadly it was the former. Maybe I am wrong but I thought pumpkin is out of season in March? Pressed foie gras with sauternes and camomile reduction, pickled vegetables, grilled focaccia This wasn't bad the foie gras was creamy, the reduction was more of a jelly and the vegetables (garlic, shallot and romanesque cauliflower) were crisp with a lovely acidic bite. The focaccia was quite good and a welcome change from brioche. My dining partner's blue fin tuna and roasted cep tartar with oscietra caviar, basil puree, spring onions and cep vinigrette was a terrible dish. You would think with so many flavours in one dish you would be overwhelmed, but this dish in my opinion was one flavour, beefy mushroom. The caviar was totally lost and the tuna flacid and bland. It came with a superfluous and pointless ciabatta Pan fried fillet of Pacific cod, larded with smoked salmon with braised lentils, crosnes and Jerusalem artichoke veloute. Not bad. Cod was slightly overcooked for my liking but the skin was very crispy. Lentils were cooked well and had a soupy quality, which combined well with the veloute. Crosnes were crisp and sticky but a little heavy on seasoning. Smoked salmon added a nice back flavour. At the end of the day it was cod and lentils, nothing special. My dining partner had pork three ways which included 'traditional black pudding'. We asked was the pudding made on the premises, he stated he did not know. Ok. 'Well where is it from'? He continued to look a bit flustered and stated he was not sure. Ok.' Would it be possible to find out?' He then came up with the idea of asking the chef. After dessert we were informed in passing, it was from Yorkshire. Where in Yorkshire? Who in Yorkshire? Anyway we gave up, if anyone knows who provides Gordon Ramsey's black pudding let me know, there is a reward. Gianduja chocolate parfait with passion fruit and guava coulis This was the best dish both visually and taste wise, a pyramid of delicious parfait with a nice tart coulis. Looking at the other desserts going out I think this is the restaurant's strong point. My dining partner's raspberry and lemon millefeuille was also very good, only to be let down with a very unseasonal garnish of raspberries. I found the service quite amateurish, intrusive and rusty, a few examples: > Waiters striking up conversation about all kinds of subjects and keeping it going for ages, and enduring silences in the conversation. Now I am not one to shy from a chat but when you are trying to eat it is a little disconcerting. > Three different waiters informing me what crosnes are , after stating I knew what they were. > A waiter who either had severe anxiety or the DT's when serving us a piece of bread, poor lad was shaking like a jelly. Then seemed a little perplexed what to do with the bread after noticing the napkin was still on the plate. We assisted the poor guy and lifted the napkin up for him. > Far too many staff fumbling and bumping into one another. > Being shown to the toilet was all well and good, but it was clear that no one had gone further than the door,as they may have noticed the pool of urine under the urinal! I could go on........... All in all quite disappointing, with drinks and coffee it came to about 130 quid. I am glad I did not go for the tasting menu! Having visited Arbutus the next day we had better food, better service and a better time. Ok, one visit may not be enough to really understand a restaurant, but a bad experience certainly does not fill you with a joy to return and I certainly will not.

He is still there! Although not shucking oysters but talking to punters. Had a lengthy chat with the man, in what is a fantastic oyster bar. Great atmosphere in the place. I ate a delicious rarebit and delightful crozier blue soaked in Banyuls. Only wished I had saved myself to try some more of the excellent dishes on the menu. The Oyster stout is too good and the jazz pianist a nice touch. Richard Corrigan is a consummate host and his personality lights the place up. He also has some very high opinions of certain members on here

Popped into Barrafina before going to Arbutus, just for a quick bite! We were first in (12PM) but it did not take long to fill up. To be honest it reminded me more of an 'amercan diner', all metallic and bright. I suppose the best tapas bars I have been to have quite a dark cavernous feel. The two owners were in and everyone else seemed to know one another. In that respect it was quite good, it created quite a local neighbourhood feel, what one would expect of a tapas bar. Only had two dishes, deep fried anchoives which very fresh and coated well, and the ham croquetas, which I thought were a little more cheesy than porky, were ok. Considering we were first in, it took about half an hour for these two dishes to arrive, whilst everyone else seemed to have received at least two dishes. Far too slow. Not as good as El Rincon de rafa(Manchester) in my opinion.

Just recently read what Thornton said about Richard Corrigan, and I can't believe in this day and age such naive, dogmatic and archaic comments can be voiced. In my opinion I think KT is trying to be oh so controversial, and in reality is desperately craving some attention. His reasons? Pretty obvious. Stick to cooking Kevin, the 'image' you are trying to portray is doing you no favours whatsoever

Lightweight! We started at 12 and finished at 2.30, by 4pm my dining partner was tucking into a plate of brains on toast at St Johns

The chef is sexy and his heart is in the right place..........................

..................................where in Leeds and beyond does this proliferation begin

Walking. ← Really? Are they all so close?

Shirley, thats really interesting, it may be the case that Sat's dish preceeded Hestons. I suppose it is quite lazy to always assume that the three star chef influenced the one star chef, in reality it's usually the other way round! Irregardless, Sat's dish tasted better to me. The question is who came up with the idea of grating liquorice at the table firsT?? ps. Tom look forward to your review, I would write one, only it has been a while since I visited and the fantastic beer menu rendered me ................................