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ajnicholls

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Everything posted by ajnicholls

  1. I have and love it. Massive fan of DEM and le Champignon Sauvage. Still just absorbing it at the moment but will be a number of dishes being tried in it. The tartare/corned beef being a first
  2. If it's free, take it! What do you have to lose? Agree that starting with a basic machine, getting grind and pull right will pay off dividends when you upgrade. That's what I did with my Gaggia Classic before going onto my Rancillio.
  3. Just seen that Sat's book has massively increased in price and is scheduled for September and will cost £75!
  4. The trend for the blob of sauce pulled into a comma shape that seems ubiquetous in every restaurant in the UK right now.
  5. Really great meal there on Saturday night. Late table so dinner ran on well past midnight. That, and my insistance on the 9-course tasting menu. No photos I'm afraid. Amuse was the same as David's. Rich hare and a good all round start. Bread is made there and simple, but very tasty. Served with beef dripping and roasting juices and 2 butters - salted and a beurre noisette one. Both had been whipped and were extremely light. The beurre noisette butter may be the most addictive thing I've tasted in a bloody long time! 1st course proper was home smoked mackerel with rhubarb and a slightly sweet mustard sauce. This both looked and tasted fantastic and is a regular on the menu there. Well worth ordering if you're alc or on the lunch menu. Bury black pudding quail's eggs followed which they have been doing since they opened. My idea of food heaven, if not my dining partner's due to an aversion to black pudding. Also had the cauliflower and oat groat porridge. This was the only down point of the meal. Really didn't like either the flavour or the texture of this dish. Went back half eaten as really wasn't my thing. Fish marked a huge up-turn with turbot with frog's legs and a smoked eel pudding. Saucing was a vin jaune infused burre blanc and parsley root. This was just gorgeous. Decent tranche of turbot which I believe they sous vide and then roast. The frog's legs had been crumbed and fried and all served with a small pudding of smoaked eel. This was sublime. All the flavours worked harmoniously. Meat course was hare. Loin and a sausage of the leg meat mixed with pig trotter. A deep sauce of roasting juices and a puree of pumpkin. Never had hare. My god, I want to again and soon! Palate cleansing pre-dessert was the grapefruit posset with celery granita and grapefruit sherbert. All worked and was very refreshing. Sherbert similar to the pine one at TFD. Cheese was a good choice. 6 in all - goat, ewe, Berkswell, Grubeen, a blue goat's cheese and a very strong but unable to remember blue that was amazing. Served with the same chutneys and quince jelly in the post above. Last but not least was a quince tart with yoghurt ice cream, honey and almond biscuit. A fantastic finish to the meal. Petit fours were chocolate truffles with rosemary and quince pastilles. Decent bottle of white burgundy accompanied. The 9-course isn't cheap for Manchester but represents very good value when you consider the quality of the cooking. There is a huge amount of skill that is on show from the kitchen and is one of the few places in the Manchester area that can cook food of this quality. I'm a huge fan and can only encourage people to go. It's well worth it and belies the somewhat odd appearance of a restaurant in a small cottage house in Prestwich. Adam
  6. I bought this as an early birthday present for myself :-) It is very beautiful and well laid out. Not made anything from it yet but very keen to start. There are some mistakes I've noted, such as a pastry disc that is made for the infinetessement lemon dish that is never used. It says to put in the freezer and then never mentioned again. This does give me some concerns that there may be errors elsewhere? Anyone noticed? Adam
  7. Going tomorrow for my birthday dinner and again with Thom, Bapi and Gary Marshall later in March. Aumbry has blown me away on a good number of occasions. Can't wait.
  8. Got mine 2 days ago. It's a very well produced, detailed book. There is some repetition if you own any (or in my case, all) of Heston's previous books. Some of the dishes are home-cookable versions of the Fat Duck dishes such as the salmon and liquorice, along with dishes that were in Perfection, albeit in slightly different forms. It has been a very interesting read and I'm looking forward to getting on with cracking on with some of the recipes in there. Adam
  9. Mine arrived yesterday from Amazon. It's a fantastic book and can't wait to get started!
  10. I'm sure that the owners of the 1st edition would love to get hold of the 10x8 photos that are included with the second edition. Is there any way this could be done? Adam
  11. Ordered mine. Been waiting for this for years!
  12. Went on Saturday. I really enjoyed it. The atmosphere is great and the service is efficient and friendly. The restaurant itself is stunning and has been fitted out to a very high standard. Did the alc with splitting two main courses into tasting sized plates. The portion sizes even at half portions are extremely generous. There is a lot of skilled cooking going on and I think this place will remain a massive success after the hype dies down. The pricing is right and the wine list is is good value, especially given the Mayfair location. I'll definitely be back.
  13. The duck dish at the Star is one of the best things I've ever been served in a restaurant. Made me a very happy man!
  14. Did the development kitchen on Saturday night. Will do a proper write up when I have more time, but it was an amazing experience. Very different style of eating from the main restaurant, but it was an incredible meal.
  15. Off there on Saturday for a much overdue re-visit. Your review Harters has really got me excited. It was one of the best places I've ever eaten on my first visit.
  16. Manchester, England. Home cook and food obsessive :-)
  17. Register and you can watch the stream here: http://www.finedininglovers.com/50best/counter.aspx Adam
  18. The pork chop was excellent. I had the pigeon, which I thoroughly enjoyed, although is very pricy for what you get.
  19. Email from amazon UK saying dispatch date 15th. Very excited indeed!
  20. My delivery date was due 8-11 April,had the email from Amazon to say they would let me know when it would be available... We all seem to be in the same boat here. I'm still waiting.....
  21. Ashley said it was 6-8 courses; stuff from the ALC and a few other things they're working on. As well as the liquid nitrogen ice cream machine
  22. No website or number yet; they're releasing it before the bookings go live. According to his twitter feed, there's a soft opening for 8 days starting on 11 April
  23. I've always ended up taking the petit fours home and having them for breakfast the following morning!
  24. ajnicholls

    'Smoked' Beers

    My local pub sells Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier. It is, without doubt, the worst beer I've ever tasted
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