chefmatt

i think carluccios is fine, just a bit hit and miss service wise as they generally employ local lads and lasses. don't order anything they can cock up, basic antipasti and bread has been a winner for me and i like their lemonade

look at the carpet for goodness sake!

just don't go. i had a very similar experience to bertie. i am sure you are all aware that i have slight misgivings of Le gavroche and its two stars, but i still like the place. in my opinion waterside has none of the charm of gavroche, rude staff all bumping into eachother not knowing their ass from their elbow. Roux swanning about talking and laughing with tables that you are not sat on whilst you get measly portions of poorly executed food (shell in crab, scallops no seasoning, icy strawberry parfait and a tiny marmite of pigeon with summer veg that had one baby carrot and 7 peas!) also the night i went it was very muggy and there were lots of flies coming in off the thames through the open doors. £360 with one bottle of wine @ £35 and a couple of aperitifs, worst value meal of my life. halfway through the meal my wife asked; "has this place got a star?", pretty much sums it up for me. i'm not bitter that main course above looks shocking, properly shocking. only cookery students make beetroot pasta!

i think we would all do well to ignore michelin and might be able to but with the best intentions in the world it will all go to pot come january when the punditry and speculation will be rife on the food forums

just to clarify, this is not some crusade against le gavroche, ( i am aware we should probably be on the le gavroche thread, although i will mention pied a terre in a sec!) it is one of my favourite restaurants when on form. it is a restaurant with soul, when i eat at pied a terre or petrus i find it very hard to fault but come away quite flat emotionally, technically excellent food but lacking the deep understanding of natural hospitality, le gavroche has this in spades, no showing off just good food and good service in surroundings that are comfortable but don't command your attention for more than a fleeting second. but the cooking is not consistent enough for two stars, imho. I am not sure this makes sense, i had to try to mention pied a terre to keep on topic! to sum up, i like le gavroche and all it stands for (except the prices, but then if you have punters who will pay then you can charge what you like)

does having an attempt at carving a bleu cote de veau tableside count as deserving two stars, if so i agree with you!

Absolute nonsense. It could more sensibly be argued that this is the only london two star that deserves them. ← go on then muichoi I am all ears

only if the two stars is awarded for the starch in the waiter's collars!

as far as i am aware pied a terre is going strong, i have no idea where any allegations contrary to this have surfaced from.

don't we all know that london's weakest two star is on upper brook st! chill out Jon!

firstly balsamic vinegar, very similar to truffle oil, or any ingredient for that matter, in the wrong hands it can be horrible but a wonderful ingredient if used sparingly and with one of good quality. only someone worrying more about food trends than what is actually good would ever call for the banning of any ingredient. secondly, monk superior to cod? what planet are you on? cod is one of the finest fish known to man, especially from the thick end of a large fillet. monk is watery, tastless, talk about a fashionable ingredient that is far better talked about than eaten (not that i would ever want to ban it, the cheeks are especially good deep fried), but as an alternative to cod, no way. the only reason chefs use monk is that it presents nicely because you can carve it. you will very rarely see an ingredient led restaurant such as river cafe or st john using monk. rant over, see you in another couple of months!

just break in

at 54.5 degrees centigrade, i refused to be served unless it was with truffles but they were too tight so they tried to use burnt brioche crumbs

they tried to poach me!

hospital rd is closed at weekends

hmmmm, rapport or a bloody annoying customer!

braised some cheek yesterday, wonderful smell in the house. It is the only braising cut for me. i like oxtail but it has different applications. i purchased mine from Macken bros in chiswick, i rang expecting to have to order and he had some. it was a lot les than £9.50 kg but he might have given me restaurant rates. no good for you adey since you live bloody miles away, the stuff in the uk is usually french, a good constant supply in london is pcc they might mail order. this is an oldish thread and you are probably surrounded by the stuff by now!

i have a stainless domestic fryer but it struggles to keep heat. the lincat is excellent, better than anything you will get on the domestic market as it is designed for restaurant use. a little bit bigger though.

i have found that to be generally true but don't neccessarily read exciting as better often the two star places are trying lots of things to get the third star but not really making anything better. in france the stars are called Macarons but they look nothing like biscuits! definitely more like snowflakes. but what a star really looks like is bloody long days, bad skin, sweat and tears!

also sounds like if the customers believe some of those things then they are idiots, especially the tumeric/saffron thing.

you really need to get another job, face it you are a bad employee, you are not doing what they ask so they will probably sack you in the end anyway! we all know the answer to the morality issue so don't bother thinking about it spend your time finding another job. as always the answer to working in a good place is just to ring them up or knock on the door and offer your services. matt

gas barbeque. i use mine all the time even when not barbecueing, great bit of kit. no mess, easily controlled cooking, little burner on the side for pans, all different levels inside, gets bloody hot, lid down it acts just like an oven.. not sure i would recommend it for souffle or custard tart but i reckon i could survive with it for a while its the way forward

I was going to say something like this but didn't want to sound like a grumpy old man! When i left cookery school having won best student i thought i was pretty good, i had no idea what was in store for me in a proper michelin kitchen environment. never underestimate what pressure of production does to your technique and how much pressure you are actually under. i wouldn't personally consider taking a college leaver on except as commis and at a pretty low wage until they proved themselves and that may happen quickly with some more talented people but i think it is a neccessary evil that she will have to endure. approach this humbly and you will get more respect and can perform beyong expectations. matt

Great article. we obviously have trouble nailing the actual flavour, lets say they taste of oysters just to be clear, if they taste of anything else then you really should book somewhere else next time. i think the thing that seperates oysters for me is three fold, the balance of sweet, salt and metalicity (is that a word?) the best oysters i ever had were actually at bentleys and were high on sweetness (for an oyster) low on metalicity and medium on salt. they were natives, i forget where from. i find some rocks too high on the salt and metalicity and low on sweetness. this obviously depends where they are from and these levels differ for different types. i know people that love that type of oyster. i also prefer firmer ones that i can actually get my teeth into and i am not chasing it round my mouth. that could possibly be the geekiest thing i have ever posted!!

ps i love bentlys, mainly atmosphere and menu, food when i went was hit and miss but still very enjoyable experience