CalumC

What i'd like to know is what happened to the young girl off last years final. I believe that she went to Gagnaire for the final week's challenge thing. She came up with an elaborate campfire dessert, seemed like a real talent.

Just received a copy of Dessert from the girlfriend who was kind enough to go with my dad to an event David and the restaurant did last week, consequently taunting me about how much free dessert and wine she had enjoyed. I was kicking myself for not going down just for it. However, the signed book more than made up for it. Its one of the most original concepts of cookbook that I think I have seen, the recipes and photography look fantastic and I can't wait to try them out. David: A. Congrats and thanks on convincing my girlfriend of your food, it means I can bring her next time. She had previously been a bit afraid of some things i'd described to her as some less foodie type people can be. B. Its true, i'm always on here! Can't help it. Chocolate Brownie (top right/bottom plate) Shortbread - (top/bottom plate) Cinnamon and chickory milk (left/bottom plate) Duck egg and rhubarb custard tart (top/top plate) Lemon Meringue (bottom right/bottom plate)

I never bake/water bath cook mine, just make a straight up custard with double cream and let the eggs set it. Gorgeous every time.

Alex James... I'm afraid to say I know nothing of lincolnshire, but i did just read Jan Moir's review of Harry's Place, it sounds absolutely brilliant.

He's got some work yet to do if he wants to reach the dizzying heights of 2008's official 'wa.ker' chris horridge. Even then, he was painted badly by the producers.

If i manage to find my notes (not even sure i wrote any), i really will try to do a write up tomorrow. I'm currently trying to conjure up a write up of anthonys piazza as well. But to briefly answer your question/point, much along the same lines as my previous post. I really did enjoy the food, excellently prepared seafood, a fine steak, great chicken. I just thought that the service was just not on. Even if a restaurant is full, surely the staff and kitchen should be able to keep up. If not, why make more tables available than possible to cater for. It struck me as really quite unprofessional. More tomorrow, if i wake up.

Positive as it is, that column has got to be one of the most worthless going.

Of a similar ilk to homeopathy it seems.

yep, especially when dunked in the soy sauce thingy too. ← I'll admit to being something of a dim sum 'n00b', but i just found them kind of sloppy and boring. Maybe i need to try harder. Next time i think i'll be going for some sort of crispy beancurd. Any other recommendations?

Forgot to even write that i'd been. We were a little disappointed as well. As Amy D. said, the service is very questionable. The way it is structured seems to mean they've gone for 1-2 people serving across all the shops and if said people are currently serving in another section, if you're not familiar with the system, you can quite easily stand in an empty shop for some time before anyone notices. Anyway, it was the meal i was going to mention. I remember pig cheeks for a starter, certainly a starter portion. Meat was fairly bland despite obviously having been cooked for a long time. Miss CalumC had the whole chicken for main, seemed fairly happy with it. I had a ravioli of some sort, i can't quite remember as it was about a month or so ago. Langoustine ravioli with a veloute sort of thing. Desserts were the worst part. I had the ice creams as nothing else really shouted at me. There was a good orange sorbet, a very average caramel/toffee sort of thing, and a poor chocolate with pieces of chocolate from the shop in. The last was particularly gritty. The lady had the chocolate fondue which was an embarrassment to chocolate. Barely warm, very watered down chocolate with stale brownies, a few other assorted small pieces of pastry (croissant i remember), strawberries (march, strawberries. Really?), banana (mushy and flavourless) and my sworn enemy, the physalis. I really hope that this isn't representative of the rest of the anthonys dining 'chain', i've yet to experience the flagship, or flannels, and after being so keen on the piazza's otherwise great feel and produce, it was quite a let down. If this is what anthony is offering in the price bracket, give me red chilli any day.

Finally made it in earlier today and it was fantastic. Best chinese i've ever had. We had the beancurd with beef, daquin chicken and pork with garlic shoots. All incredible. Also had beijung dumplings, left me a bit unimpressed. Not that they were bad. Just, a bit dull.

Ohh i would have absolutely ploughed both of those, really could have gone for them. Also, is it me or does clare come across a lot more cheery than previously put across by word of mouth.

Good lord that looks a serious meal, might end up buying the book this week now.

Thoughts on the result? I was fairly happy i think, GP clearly took a simpler stance and got away with it. Rhubarb dessert was a massive surprise, looked great but apparently didn't taste quite right. Or am i happy because the 'good guy' won...

Great ideas everyone, i'll be compiling in the next day or so. I should warn you now that as this is a student flat, its essentially a drink party, but as i knew there was a lot of food reference in Roald Dahl I had to enforce some cooking in somehow. I'll try and do as much as i can but it'll probably all be small items, certainly not going to be any sit down aspect.

Hello everyone, Some friends and myself have decided to throw a Roald Dahl party and i've been put in charge of food. I'm trying to remember things from his books that I could recreate/develop and serve. Mostly small/canape sort of things, so if anyone can come up with stuff then it'd be incredibly helpful. I'm thinking I might opt for a contemporary sort of style, i'm willing to use some chemicals e.g. maltodextrin perhaps. One idea i'm sort of playing with is a creation based on the scene from charlie and the chocolate factory where everything is edible. Perhaps a small version of that room, chocolate soil, chocolate mixing river. It might be too ambitious, but it seems fun to me, so go crazy with ideas and hopefully it'll work. Cheers all.

Was this meal recent Matthew? Seems a little early for wild and/or cultivated strawberries.

That was a fantastic review ravelda, I loved the section on the tripe dish. You've made me realise just how desperately I need to go back, time to start saving i think. On the topic of your prior lunch, I apologise on behalf of cheltenham. It takes a knowledge of the place to find a decent lunch unfortunately. Should you go back, I can recommend Maison Chaplais (down the road from LCS, towards the M5 in a small area called Tivoli), Jack's on Bath Road and Laze Daze, which I get the feeling some may disagree with a little, nobodys really talked about it here, but it feels like an opinion divider. Good 2 for £10 lunch imo.

£2.5m for an Italian restaurant in Leeds? In LEEDS? ← ?? Financial capital of the north--that Leeds you mean? With serious old and new money? That Leeds? Surrounded by some seriously expensive village property? That Leeds? Or was it some other Leeds you were thinking of? ; - 0) ← He meant Leeds, Kent perhaps... Perhaps.

I bet the council won't be too chuffed, the amount of money they seem to be putting into development is deserving of a few more decent restaurants. On the other hand, Viva La Flinn.

Went tonight (last night now) to RWT, having been to lumiere on the night mentioned before instead. Food was great all the way through, service was mediocre to unnecessarily/frustratingly disappointing. Will write up when i find the effort or time, which is more than likely to be a 3 hour train journey on sunday.

Thanks for the recs, its a toss up between opus and cafe ikon i reckon.

Anyone care to recommend a brasserie style place, thinking about going next week the lady didn't take too well to the purnell's menu. Thinking £15 a head ish for food. Recommendations for places to see in Brum are welcome too, shopping at the bullring is high on the list but i can't foresee that taking all day, though i know she'll give it a bloody good go.

Theres no doubt that the train is the way to go to get here. West Yorkshire, and probably all of yorkshire come to think, is better travelled by public transport than car.

Trying to decide whether to go to Purnells around easter time for a (by that time) late birthday meal, other option is the rather un-brum Allium, both have been on the visit list for some time. Whats the best option at Purnells? Do have a tasting menu/is this the best thing to go for?