Jon Tseng

NOT ANOTHER F**KING PUMPKIN SOUP AMUSE!!! OK at least they had the decency to "slick" it with corinader seed oil not truffle oil. But you get the idea. flippin' heck. surely it isn't too much to ask for just one ounce of originality at the single point in the meal u can try something novel, different, new or even remotely interesting with pissing the diner off... Rest of the meal sounded lovely though. If I'm ever unfortunate enough to find myself in Brum again (or even outside of the M25) I'll be sure to give it a thought. J

M&S have a ham hock and toulouse sausage cassoulet in their Gastropub range which looks very tasty. Tinned cassoulet with nice fatty bits of duck and sausage is one of the wonders for French convenience food. Immeasurably better than our equivalent which I suppose is HP All Day Breakfast*. I stock up whenever I'm over (bit of a pain to lug home though). J * Actually All Day Breakfast isn't all that bad at midnite after a couple of pints. I swirl in some mascarpone to enrichen it a bit

that story strikes me as strange given they had just got an espoir for a second star.

Correct, good memory

Pierre Gagnaire tasting menus and cartes very different experiences. He admits the same himself - more controlled; set progression by chef etc. In my experience (and I've done tasting at both PG and Sketch Lecture Room the tasting menu dishes more toned down, conventional, less fun. Plus to be honest you probably get as much (if not more) variety of preparations on carte given carte style is to have 3-4 distinct preparations of an ingredient as part of each course - tasting menu dishes are just single dish in trad haute tasting style. Yes I think this debate has been had elsewhere. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who holds this view. ta J

Dishes or game you'll have to ask someone else. The dishes change all the time anyhow. Yes you are definitely in white truffle season at the moment. If anyone offers you black truffles say non. Its way to early. J

Fenn, I'm sure I've told you this before. DO NOT ORDER THE TASTING MENU AT PIERRE GAGNAIRE Carte is an entirely different - and I am told superior - experience. Tasting often underwhelming and a false economy. Have fun! J

I have every admiration for his achievements, but he has sacrified culinary innovation to pursue the volume market. One of best restaurants in the country for execution, but not excitement or innovation (list of restaurants I would rather eat at? Off top of my head and in no apparent order Anthonys, Enclume, Champignon Sauvage, Bacchus, Sketch Lecture Room, Greenhouse, Juniper and that was without pausing for thought and barely touching the big smoke.) On a global basis by some distance second tier in all his incarnations. Range and execution doesn't hold a candle to the upper half of the French ***s. To be fair though, he's also a lot cheaper. J

On a midweek night room was full. Its never going to be loud (if you want hi decibels diners braying 2 ft from your table i can def recomment GR@RHR!) but I would classify GH as initimate rather than hushed. I really like the room, they hid they fact they are essentially in the basement very well. The other thing is that service is a very very slick operation. You can see it from how they do the simple things like keepign glasses discreetly topped up very well. I think GH and Wolesey have best FoH in London. the one criticism is that the menu is never going to be as uber-innovative as it was in the bjorn era. its not a carte where i look at it and i see three or four really cool things i reallly want to order. execution on what they do do is top notch tho. J

Post. been there twice since and actually prefer it to the bjorn-again noisette - think hes toned down his cuisine too much since then and is still hamstrung by the room. plus GH has a wine list that could double as a prop in Lethal Weapon - its on the website: look, but don't touch! J

* vs. *** for mothership so not same relationship as FL and Per Se Sylistically the menu at claridges very similar to RHR - the closest to RHR of all the GR joints (but I guess he has is name on the door so it should be). The general view is the execution isn't quite as good. NB its a much bigger operation too (about twice the covers on my calcs) so you'd expect the cooking might not be as focused My advice If you had to go to one of them? Go to neither. If you want modish mod-French with bells and whistles try the Greenhouse instead J

was thinking mainly in terms of lukewarm protein and fruit with everything (esp roses. pomegranites etc etc) dont worry pip still think the chow is delicious... just sometimes not sure if I'm eating halibut or turkish delight... J

Any details there Jon? ← I now know where nuno gets all his ideas - both the bad ones and the good ones!!!

OFM: It is what it is. Probably does need a revamp though. The format has been very similar from inception. The book-a-table-for-a-sleb is def example of a one line joke which has been running far to long. Although to be fair same could be said of the consistently excellent OSM. As I've said before its caught trying to cater to too many consituencies: the man on the street, the parsimonious gurniad reader, the health-yuppee, the hard-core foodie, the socio-ethical-crusader. Some conflict is necessary. I think the real beef from those on this board is that the hard-core foodie seems to come fairly low down the list of priorities As I said, it is what it is. The beauty of the free market is that chattering classes inevitably get the product they deserve. J

Huh? ingredients don't generally repeat in tasting menu unless its a seasonal conceit (e.g. "Our Seasonal Turnip Degustation Tasting Menu"), its a truffle and you're in a posh Frenchy place (originality is all I ask) or they're serving different dishes to different diners at the same course (unusual in UK due to hassle for kitchen). Am in answer to ur second Q, got thru three tasting menus solo in Barcelona/Girona over the weekend - no problems at all! J

silly question luv

Viz specialised versus wider markets may I refer the learned readers to my comments on the same subject some five years ago... The participants may change, but the debates never do... J

yes ur quite correct two philosophical approachs to canapes/amuse gueule either a) chance to wake up palate, try experimental combos couldn't get away with on full size dish, make sure you leave a lasting first impression b) going through the motions "oh shit we're supposed to be posh so we're expected to give a freebie whats cheap and easy". Otherwise known as puff pastry bites and YET ANOTHER DEMITASSE OF PUMPKING F**KING SOUP WITH A SLICK OF TRUFFLE OIL. overall probably a good indicator of whether the chef really cares about their food. e.g. gordon ramsay. still doing the truffled cream cheese with mini toasts after about five zillion years. about as much originality as a beef fillet with truffle pomme puree (another staple on his degustation...). to me that epitomises all that is wrong about his production-line approach to haute cuisine. J

According to Wylie Dufresne, Marc Veyrat was cooking chicken sous-vide in November 1997. I think Heston was still serving upmarket steak and suet-fried chips at that time... J

<sigh> Dude, the only thing acting like a prat achieves is to convince other people that you are a prat. Most people on this board who have reached puberty long ago realised it is possible to conduct grown up debates without resorting to childish ad hominem* attacks. Personally I would recommend other members do their best to ignore our compadre's constant trolling**. Now back to our normal programming? J * Those of you with a sense of irony will note that my comment "Most people on this board who have reached puberty" is an example of an ad hominen attack. For illustrative purposes only I can assure you. ** Those of you who have reached puberty and possess both a sense of irony and a taste for circular reasoning will note that I am failing to do precisely that. I assume it shows how I am the sort of immature pre-pubescent prat who will launch ad hominem attacks. Oh well guess it takes one to know one...

Menu looks lovely as ever. Three course still looks relatively adventerous (which is a good thing re possible need to tone it down mentioned b4) One piece of advice. drop the "chicken skin" reference from the tasting (or at least make it more diplomatic. "chicken crackling" perhaps???) I can just see the punters now "eeeyew chicken skin. lets just go for the three course". Accompanied by the sound of twelve quid gross profit vanishing down the pan. With the exception of the words "chicken feet" and "boiled" that's probably the closest thing to menu-terminology-instant-death I can think of... !!! J

Bottom line is you want to be on either the Northern Line or the Central Line. Getting into the City from anywhere livable via District/Circle is a relatively traumatic experience. Northern Line the obvious foodie spots are Clerkenwell, Angel etc etc. so you really should consider it. Otherwise you are sort of stuffed until you get to the North London Jewish (am Habs boys so should no!) enclaves of North London. Think Golders Green or Finchley Central - ie very residential, very well served by Waitroses, M&S etc for food. The bonus is there is also a Japanese colony in that vicinity so you have local Jap restos and groceries (Cafe Japan, Atariya etc). Although variety of eateries esp. good restos never as good as somewhere central like Clerkenwell Heading south down the Northern Line London Bridge/Borough has obvious attractions (Borough Mkt) though not green at all. Then theres Clapham etc which is green has decent shops (big sainsburys, moen butcher, macaron, clapham common etc etc) and is a bus ride from the fleshpots of Northcote Road nr Clapham Junction. On the Central Line consider Notting Hill area - well served by local restos shops etc and some of the royal parks quite close. The other curveballs: 1) If you like greenery but don't mind newness do consider living out Docklands way and counter-commuting to the City via DLR. The Waitrose is worth it for the asking price along. 2) Baker St/Mayfair/St Johns Wood has lots to recommend from a food shop resto etc point of view (Marylebone High St) but is a pain to get to the City via tube. have fun J

NOT ANOTHER F**KING PUMPKIN SOUP AMUSE WITH A SLICK OF TRUFFLE OIL!!! You'd have thought sixty five notes would at least purchase the semblance of originality!!!

Folks, we've all seen trolls before. Don't rise to the bait. We've all got better things to do Zoticus: I like some of the stuff you say. You're a smart chap and clearly think in a systematic way about your food. So please stop being a prat - you're better than that. Now back to our original programming? hugs J

Please... The debate as to the veracity of the Restaurant Magazine Best Resto Awards is so passe. To put it bluntly: Even Gary Marshall gets to vote in the resto mag awards, which shows how "definitive" they are! And if we're in the mood for splitting hairs Fat Duck was named best resto as opposed to Heston being best chef on the planet. And that was as of 2005 not 2006 so you should use the grammatical construction "was former officially the best..." not "is officially the best..." <sigh> J