chefmatt

i have to agree that the plating is certainly lacking finesse especially the sole, the chicken and the scallops. what on earth is he doing using raw baby vegetables and raspberries at this time of year, its not monte carlo! when i ate at louis XV in June the crudites weren't that flavouful there, they are hardly going to be bursting with flavour out of season or appropriate on a cold london evening. i heard mixed reports from the opening dinner on monday. some have said that it should be given a break because it was opening night. i disagree, ducasse was there, he is hardly inexperienced in these matters and he had nearly all the top people in the food industry as his guests, i would have thought that anything less than almost perfect is unacceptable.

Read in american accent please: pan fried to pan seared to wok fried. i am toying with "induction warmed" that should put people off. What the fuck else are you going to fry something in? a bowl?

The sentence reads fine if I were to replace 'taste profiles' with 'tastes' but it doesn't quite have the same meaning to me. Well, there, I've outed myself, guess I'd better go and sulk off to my local eaterie... Marc ← i know i am a humble chef but what does this all mean apart from to serve as a perfect example of food writing pomposity, i know that that is sort of the point but well illustrated.

flavour in sequences!! its a new dish i am working on it involves both profiles and symphonies, just call me Mozart. Well said Peter. Slightly off point but Fay Maschler once came in and ordered the only two assiettes on the menu and then moaned that they were assiettes and that a single preperation would have been better! Maybe she didn't know what an assiette is in menu speak or maybe she just thought she was ordering a plate of veal and a plate of raspberries!

i would eat there all the time if i could afford it. but in the past too many slips have made this restaurant, in my opinion a bit of a rip off. would rush back if someone else pays though!

a friend of mine ate there recently and also declared it shocking, mousses and foams everywhere. Your meal sounds like the pits, real country house bollocks at its very worst. I am intrigued by why you think ice creams and sorbets are a cop out, i love to have them and especially at le gavroche where they are served at table i look forward to it immensely. For me so much more enjoyable than a fiddled with dessert with seven different preperations of one flavour showing how technically able the chef is. Are you still at Alexander's Simon or is the Drakes guess correct?

when last in liverpool we made the treacherous journey out to the wirral and found a little gem of a restaurant called gem, anyone been?

interesting article here: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/596dc008-312a-11dc...00779fd2ac.html

i need to learn how to quote!

Isn't there a saying about how dogs shouldn't eat dogs? And about living in glass houses? Hear hear.

bibendum

awful name. There is a copy on my bedroom floor and i cringe every time i walk past it. maybe i should move it!

is a move to london out of the question? you would have loads more choice and generally everywhere is that much busier so the kitchens tend to welcome someone to come and have a look whilst peeling baby carrots and dicing tomatoes!

let's have an update kutsu

the reason i mention leiths or cordon bleu is that they are full time one year courses which might suit somebody slightly older with less time to play with. You will also get slightly better ingredients to play with for your money. The daughters of the chelsea set is unfortunately still partly true but the teaching will be good and you take from a course what you can. Leiths also runs a wset wine diploma that is pretty comprehensive. I would lay money on the fact that in at least 90% of michelin starred restaurants in london you will work long hours and be shouted at, but you will learn tons more than being in some wishy washy hotel with an exec chef working an early when what you really want to do is see through to service all the hard work you have been doing. IMHO you tend to get shouted at because the chef is passionate, yes there are bullies out there and nobody should stand for it. I am certainly not a bully but i get bloody upset in the heat of service when somebody doesn't listen or has their head in the clouds. Ultimately i think you will learn more and more quickly by being thrown in at the deep end, as the wonderful gordo puts it "get some balls" !!!!

If you are just going to help out i wouldn't expect you to bring any equipment, just yourself and sensible shoes. Longer term knives are a must. We would provide whites and aprons but not all establishments will so ask before hand. Like i said get off the computer, ring some places and report back. matt

of course you can ring and start from the bottom, forget nvqs, i would teach you more in the first week. If you really feel you need a qualification then i recommend a full time one year course such as leiths or cordon bleu, but at at least £10k for the year you need to have some savings. when someone rings me with no experience i would want a love of food, determination and a realisation that they really are starting from the bottom and that they will not be jamie within six months! (we work four days a week)!!!

kutsu, right, the first thing to do is get off your computer and ring some restaurants, preferably ones you like, and ask if you can work in the kitchen for a day or a week. This will really let you know what it is like. You need to be serious about this, you are trading a 35 hour week for a 60 hour week for at most two thirds of the pay. On top of that you will probably have some miserable sod like myself shouting obscenities at you and making you scrub dark corners of the kitchen. The hours will cause tension in all your relationships both with your partner and your friends as you will often have to work late nights and weekends. Your skin will get bad from the stress and the sweat and at first your feet will ache constantly!! On the up side, if you really love cooking, it can be very rewarding working in a top restaurant and you will learn more about food than you can imagine. If you are really dedicated things do get better as you get input into the menu and the pay goes up (slightly) Good to find out where you live then we can start giving recommendations. In london good to try slightly more civilised places (but by no means easier) like river cafe or st john. I know this all sounds a bit harsh but i have seen many people like you come and go from the kitchen, all convinced that they can hack it. you just need to make sure it is for you before you dive in. Good luck, if, after all this you really want to take the plunge, give me a call matt

For patisserie; william Curley just off richmond green, excellent if you are heading out west.

the goose, britwell salome, jct 6 m40 about ten minutes off. Has a star but quite informal pubby setting

certainly generalised but humor me for a second, ok Bakerestates, on your busiest service, how many chefs in the kitchen, how many front of house staff, how many punters? Do you have a sommelier?

got to go and do service now, and check the evening batch of bread!!

i have to admit have not been to hinds head but it is on my list. But going on what people tell me i would certainly class it as a gastro pub, it is a pub where the the focus is on food. Anyway was referring to Andy Lynes mention of the hand and flowers (haven't been there either so my bread comments are non-specific!! don't want to offend anybody!!)

but "that depends on your staff" just backs up my point about gastro pubs, it is so much harder to recruit quality experienced staff for a pub.