ajnicholls

Or be a doctor...

An interesting debate, of which I have to say I tend to agree slightly more with Jay. Most of the 'mass market' food magazines have some pointless celebrity obsessed article. Or some shite by Jamie Oliver. OFM is free, manages to have a diverse range of writing, and yes, some of it is total bollocks (esp. that awful celeb table stuff) It does manage to get decent writers, covers good restaurants and I won't have a word said against Nigel Slater, as it was his recipes that taught me to cook. The Observer's readership is no-where near as food obsessed as this forum; we should be glad that at least they make some effort with covering food.

I loved the meal I had at the Fat Duck and would eat there again. The theatre of the Nitro mousse would make it worthwile Having said that, I'd want anything other than the sardine on toast sorbet. It was fucking disgusting.....

Me too Gutted

Have to say I was somewhat disappointed by the show - sad to say as an absolute devotee of Heston. I have no idea where he expects us to get dry ice from!!! Hopefully the second programme will be better

Fat Duck every time

Finally made my first pilgrimage to Ludlow and had a truly memorable meal at Hibiscus. A well-made martini by Simon allowed us to relax and peruse the menu. Having said that, we'd decided on the Chef's surprise menu before we left. And the wines! A fun four hours went as follows: Chilled watermelon soda, pinapple, tomato and olive oil Verl fresh tasting, clean flavours and a good palate cleanser Salad of sweetcorn and caramelised pine nuts, watercress veloute, mousse of coconut and light thai curry A surreal-looking dish, with the mousse topped off with popcorn. The warm veloute was poured onto the dish at the table. A very pleasant dish. The intense sweetcorn flavour was beautifully complemented by the thai spicing. This was set off by an alsace gerwurtstraminer, which had just the right amount of sweetness to set it off. Ravioli of ricotta cheese, salad of black olive and oven-dried tomato, courgette and mint puree, Roscoff onion The best pasta I've tasted outside of Italy. Perfect al-dente ravioli with the salty ricotta lifted by the onion and mint puree. Was really starting to enjoy the meal at this point. A French Viognier was the wine choice, which was pleasant but a little dull. Salad of Cornish Crab, avocado and William pear The first truly outstanding dish of the night. I could eat this forever. A simply constructed but perfectly dressed salad of the sweet crab and avocado was truly divine. Roast Scottish scallops, ragout of Puy lentils, chorizo and orange, wood sorrel and green lentil shoots The largest scallop I have ever seen came dressed with the lentil ragout. I adore scallops and you couldn't have wished for one more perfectly cooked. The salty lentils balanced the dish perfectly and it was married with a beautiful Chilian sauvignon blanc. Confit of Scottish salmon in olive oil, smoked aubergine puree, caramelised pig's head terrine, barigoule sauce, eucalyptus I've wanted to try salmon cooked this way since I read Heston Blumenthal's reccommendation for it. The salmon was perfect and delicate. The rich pig's head terrine lent a depth of texture and flavour. The white burgundy was a great match with this. Savoury ice cream of foie gras, warm emulsion of brioche, balsamic vinegar caramel I know this has been written about to death on every part of this forum, but I still can't believe how good a dish this was. Claire told us to tell Bapi they'd given us extra large portions (but not the starter-sized one that you'd asked for the last time you were there!) Roast shropshire partridge, caper and raisin sauce, roast pumpkin, glazed savoy cabbage, smoked butter My least favourite dish of the night, not because it wasn't good, just it was lacking something the other courses had. The flavours were very clean and the cabbage was superb. My girlfriend loved it though..... Selection of fine cheeses with apricot bread Stinking Bishop...... Never has a name been more appropriate for a cheese. I woke up at 5am after this meal and could still smell it. Tasted bloody good though! A fine knowledge of the board came from Simon, who also provided a lovely 10yr old port. Granny Smith apple puree, sweet celeriac and chestnut Not much to say about this other than the flavours married together well and set up nicely for the final course. Clun valley whimberries, sabayon tart, Earl Grey ice-cream Truly wonderful finish to the meal. The pastry of the tart is the lightest I have ever known and dissolved in your mouth like a merangue. The dessert wine was a great accompniment. Wonderful service all night from Simon and Claire was topped off when I asked if we could pass on our regards to Claude. Who then came and joined us for half an hour and showed us around the kitchen. The personal touch shown by all at Hibiscus is beyond anything I have seen in a restaurant in this country. They made our evening incredibly special and somewhere I will not forget in a very long time. Ludlow's loss will be London's gain. Just got to make sure I go back before they close. Just wanted to thank everyone who reccomended this place in my forum question. Definitely think that we made the right choice!

Decided on Hibiscus - booked for next week. Thanks for the help and will report back! Adam

Fancied asking the forum's opinion on a dilemma I have: My girlfriend and I are in need of a break but can't go away for a long time as we have work commitments. We've therefore decided to go for a break to a restaurant. We've done the Fat Duck and a few 1 star places, but are trying to decide where to go this time. Main favourites at present are Hibiscus and Le Champignon. L'enclume is also an option but wondered where people thought was best and any other alternatives. Thanks, Adam

Have to say that I agree that the desserts ever so slightly let down an otherwise superb restaurant. The tasting menu when I went consisted of: Baby squid with hazlenut White onion risotto with parmesan air and espresso Roast monkfish with foie gras Home cured duck with avacado and duck skin John Dory with chicken skin and cockrel crest Saddle of lamb with lamb's heart and quinoa Milk seven ways (ice cream, panna cotta, rice pudding and some other things I can't remember) Coconut parfait with liquorice and cardamom ice cream Overall, this is one of the best places I've ever eaten. Had been looking forward to eating there for months and wasn't disappointed. They massively out-performed many of the Michelin starred places I've been. The lamb dish is possibly the best thing I have ever eaten in a restaurant, bar maybe the salmon and liquorice dish at the Fat Duck. The wine list is unpretentious, well priced and interesting. The beer list idea is great and would highly reccommend the Deus champagne beer. It really is about time that Michelin recognise what Tony Flinn is doing in what in my opinion is the best place to eat in the North.

Have just discovered this unbelievable place. Having avoided so many terrible places in Chinatown, it makes a change to have somewhere that genuinely excites. Went last night, had the Beijing dumplings, salt and pepper squid, hot and spicy beef to start and then Grandma's frogs' legs and the hot chilli meat and fish clay pot with soft noodles. All this, 4 beers and the bill was less than 40 quid. How they manage this is beyond me. Truly an excellent restaurant

The Book's published on the 2nd October; there's now a picture on the amazon website here: In search of perfection This is the press release from the BBC about the series, but there's no transmission date yet: "Famed for his snail porridge and bacon-and-egg ice cream, culinary alchemist Heston Blumenthal turns his attention to the UK's staple dishes in a new series for BBC TWO. From sausage and mash to treacle tart and custard, Heston is on a mission to unlock the nation's collective memory of these traditional favourites. Applying his unique expertise and passion for food research, he tries to create the ultimate taste sensation in his continuing search for perfection. Focusing on one recipe per programme, Heston cooks up the dishes in a purpose-built laboratory-style kitchen. And, in a bid to source the ultimate ingredients, viewers are introduced to foodgrowers and providers from Europe to the United States, as well as like-minded passionate researchers, chefs and members of Heston's team. "