Jon Tseng

Blimey! Didn't realise there were so many... doesn't seem so long ago people were talking about the "rigid pentarchy" with one-in-one-out Is posh food in Paris really twice as good now??? J

A very worthwhile book, also published as "cuisine actuelle". One of the best books for interpreting the spirit of three star cooking for the home chef. As russ said, the little tips and the introduction section are well worth reading. I've cooking a lot of recipes from it and they're generally reliable. A Bouland says, some of the pictures are miscaptioned (I think one of the lobster dishes clearly wrong) Highly recommended J

One thing I have noticed is that dog is the probably the only carnivorous animal which people eat dunno what that signifies, but there it is J

swimming goggles for mass onion-peeling sessions bit of a pain if you're wearing spectacles at the same time, though... j

Try finishing with heavy cream - thickens as it reduces doesnt do much for the waistline though... always remember the central tenets of french cooking: it its isn't working, add cream. if it doesnt taste right, add cream. if in doubt, add cream... ;-) J

Hmpf. Phoned up and not doing burnt ends on sun after all there were a few months ago - honest! also note the regular specials. Last time was there had plate of burnt ends, then wandered downstairs for the grill room special of full rack of baby back ribs for a fiver J

stil gd also doing burnt ends on sun now! J

Guests are always so gobsmacked by the food that they do the washing up! As you can see, my friends have very low culinary standards... J

Where does one begin? Good with surf n' turf, especially scallops. Also sea bass. Used it as a stuffing for squid the other day - with cubes of bread, olive oil, garlic and sauteed shallots. Great grilled with lots (more!) of paprika on crostini. Also consider the classic borough market roll - in a toasted ciabatta bun with crispy rocket. Also very nice like they do at Gourmet Burger Kitchen, with a thick slice of yellow sweet potato added. Good with black pudding. Also with chicken - take it out of the casings and stuff it between the meat and the skin Remember to use the oil rendered out for frying other stuff. The possibilities are endless cheerio, hope to see you around J PS Brinidisa in borough market do excellent fresh chorizo - dulce or piccante. They also have a shop in Exmouth market. I'll be down the mkt. this Sat am if you're about (dinner party for four, going on eight)

Hullo mate Welcome to the madhouse! 1) Was baking beans in ham stock this very weekend (actually two parts ham, one part posh apple juice). Very nice, but takes bloody hours. I am sure using a good stock adds something; adding a meaty stock can never be a bad thing, unless of course one is preparing desert. I would guess some of the unctious texture of the beans also comes from the fat which renders out of the meats as they cook. Tesco had a decent selection of dried beans (haricots and cannelli, no lingots) 2) Haven't a clue. Got a book here wot says Carcassone has lamb and TOulouse has lamb, sausage and goose/duck which Castelnaudary is mainly pork with occasional goose. Whatever is good is good advice... Don't quite understand what you meant about navarin and roux - does a navarin (or a cassoulet) use a roux? When I navarin I generally just brown n' boil. re Larousse the new version is readily available around town, and there is a paperback (I think the article text is the same but less recipes, which doesn't matter as half the recipes in Larousse don't work anyhow!) if you're on a budget. Alternately if you're around Borough Mkt this Sat I can photocopy some pages of this or other books (have a good chapter in James Peterson Glorious French Cooking) and drop em off. PM me. cheerio J

Lardons if its cubi pancetta J

How about wrapping it in a couple of big, fluffy towels? Bear in mind wine bottles are fairly robust so as long as there's a couple of inches of pile they should be fine. Brought back a bottle of Tokay essencia wrapped in some T-shirts and stuffed in the top of a very full backpack this summer. (no space in hand luggage - already had another four bottles of aszu!) No problems at all! cheerio J

Hullo Catherine! A couple of thoughts My mum went there a few years ago - before it was famous - and enjoyed the seafood greatly. And she is normally fairly picky about seafood. I think you highlight an issue in the UK, however, which is that once you get outside London the average standard of places is OK, but nor really great; it compares unfavourably to somewhere like France where standards are maintained beyond the capital. Interesting they do not charge service - only other place I can think which does that is Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons (but then again they make it back several times over on the eye-watering carte prices!) And finally welcome Catherine! It is good you could join us! Regards Jonathan

Peeled, cut into batons the size of fat chips and glazed in a pan with a little butter and a sprinkle of sugar. Add water up to halfway up, cover with a cartouche, cook til done then take off the cartouche and let the water boil away until you have an icky sticky glaze. The other great summer recipe is to boil or roast then let cool. Make up some blackcurrant jelly with half the normal water and a teaspoon on vinegar. Slice the beetroot, layer with the jelly and leave to set. Nice on a hot afternoon with smoked salmon, creme fraiche, horseradish and other baltic-stylee accompaniments Beetroot and blackcurrant jelly is, apparently an old english combination, but it is interesting heston b appears to have arrived at beetroot/blackcurrant jellies from a different direction (i think he says the chemicals are similar or something random) J

Can one not cook for two and then eat for two (too)? Worked very well for me at university, ESPECIALLY during finals when quite stressed... J

In the UK there is (or was) a brand called Camp (sic), which came in bottles - a dark, treacly substance - very refreshing when made up with ice-cold milk cheerio J

Any reason you didn't go for the tasting menus? They're by far the best way to go at Browns. At 40-ish quid for 7+ courses some of the best value in London. Is Andrew Turner still chef? Bit worried about the place cos I saw Browns was taken over by one of the hotel chains recently (savoy group?) - bit worried they might tinker with the tasting menu format at 1837 J

sounds painful...

Dunno but chiu chow do good goose J

Chaozhou would be the pinyin, Chiu Chow in all likelihood the wade-giles. Not sure about Teo Chew. Bear in mind you have a second complicating factor, which is that although chaozhou is mandarin chinese romanised using pinyin (ie the Standard way of doing it nowadays), Chiu Chow and Teo Chew are probably the pronounciation of the same words in Cantonese, then romanised in Wade-Giles or another system. ie the written word is the same in both mandarin and cantonese but both the pronounciation of the word AND the romanisation system probably vary between the examples you have cited above? Clear as mud? Exactly. Just as it was meant to be, otherwise everyone would be able to understand the Specials menu in the restaurants, and they'd be no special braise xo jellyfish tendons left by the time we get there ;-) J

Blimey! From showbiz correspondant to ganache-blender-in-chief at one of the world's greatest restaurant, all in the space on twelve months! Inspiration for the rest of us office-bound dreamers You've come a long way! Congratulations! J PS wots wrong with the peanut butter thing? It looked scrumptious when I saw it on the "what elvis ate" documentary (admittedly alongside the panfried squirrel entree). Something along the lines of "millefeuille 'Elvis' du pain frit au beurre, puree d'arachide, gellee aux fruits rouges" perhaps? ;-)

Dry dripping liquid from a pipette into a big tub of dry ice. It'll be set before it hits the ground! J

Any connection with the little semolina balls used with bubble tea and various other sickening sweet southeast asian deserts? They have a similar gelatinous texture, although I guess you start with a dough rather than a fruit juice cheerio J

Yes, have seen it in the shops Would agree with Gary, didn't feel an urgent need to buy it at the time cheerio J

Did dunkin donuts used to operate in this country? I'm sure there was a US donut chain of some description about in the early 90s... J