Vanessa

Thank you for that link Simon - I'd never heard of the shop. Sometimes my ignorance depresses me. What do you bet they sell frozen peach puree As for Le Gavroche: what Gavin & Martin said. Except I lean towards the 'bourgeois kitsch' a la Gavin, verging on shabby in places, rather than the 'gracious elegance' a la Martin. I can only think that the wine had tinted his spectacles pink. I had Souffle Suissesse and Rabbit with potato galette and Parmesan wafer thingy. The Souffle - more like a savoury ile flottante (and I suspect more successful than the sweet concept) was a very fine dish. Absolutely simple, rich and light at the same time, cheesy, creamy. The rabbit not so successful as a whole dish particularly in terms of texture, too much crispness which lacked balancing textures although the meat was very good. I've decided that I only really like crispness when it is combined with tenderness, or a softness which is part of the same substance - it's difficult to describe. For example potatoes crispy on the outside and soft within. Or flaky pastry which melts in the mouth. I like a pie pastry to be crisp, but tender and with soft areas where there has been contact with the filling. Or with a potato galette - the crispy outer and the softer, chewy inner. This potato galette was just endless hard, crisp shards, although the taste was fine. And the taste of the Parmesan (very crisp) wafer jarred with the rabbit in my view. 2 out of 3 cheese sampled from Gavin's plate were superb. Of the wines, the Chardonnay was very enjoyable. I felt the red lacked substance. The largest and most delicious calvados ever and a fine fino to start the evening off. This all sounds a bit critical, but the whole was deeply enjoyable. v

No, never the smallest - I would expect that to have a similar gluing effect. Medium or large round holes, I can't remember exactly unless I look at them at home. v

I use a mouli legumes if feeling in need of lump-free mash. Works just like a ricer, but has multiple uses. v

yipee! a mere hop skip and a jump for me. To be pedantic: Regale Foods Ltd 33 Hythe Road London NW10 6RS Tel No: 020 896 98320 edit: website v

Maybe we should retire to Edinburgh for the bellini tasting. (Followed by a malt whisky tasting on the next day). I bet V&C gets good peaches in. I suspect that nectarines wouldn't come out so well in the tasting, though it would be worth trying them out. I love nectarines, but the perfume is not so delicate. v

Sounds all a bit bollocksy to me. But it gives me an idea: maybe, later in the season, a comparative bellini tasting session should be held using: a fresh yellow peaches pureed by hand b fresh yellow peaches pureed by machine c fresh white peaches pureed by hand d fresh white peaches pureed by machine e frozen white peach puree f any other suggested permutation Anyway, a ripe peach is pretty easy to puree by hand, literally. v

Er, what's wrong with pureed white peaches? You could even freeze any surplus. v

This isn't a question I'm afraid. I just note how similar the style of your responses here are to the way that you cook. I like it very much. Thank you. v

I've no idea, Basildog. v

Maybe this'll keep them up there in a few years time. v

Of course. v

Lovely evening: lovely restaurant, lovely company. But too much wine, mayonnaise (with the lovely langoustines) and beef marrow do not a happy tummy make. This was my first visit and I will be back. Unfortunately I am rarely in that part of London but will definitely make a point of popping for a drink or a snack or a meal or whatever. A perfectly run restaurant in my view: the mix of laid-backness and professionalism is right. I had langoustines with mayonnaise then beef marrow. I'd call the marrow something to be experienced, but not repeated. Also a portion of the steak & kidney pie. I agree with Simon over the meagre but good filling, but I found the pastry a bit too thin and crispy. Eccles cake and Lancashire cheese were lovely, although I was starting to suffer from overdose of ill-chosen fatty foods by then. Tasted the squirrel and concur with Tony. Just not my cup of tea. Pig's cheek also fantastic - similar to Italian guanciale. Very good value overall. v

Damn - they've replaced the sweetbreads on Saturday's menu with squirrel I've been dreaming of them all day. v

Dear Bapi Please keep them long Thank you v

Aquitaine - you seem to have confused Vanessa & Chloe. A Freudian slip? v

Another piece of the jigsaw in place: zanthoxylum = Szechuan pepper. Must be in the ground spice mixture. v

Tissue - I hope you read this. Today I was in a very good Asian supermarket and found a section full of packets of spice mixes for Bak Kut Teh. I chose the one which was not a powder. On opening it this evening, I have found a large amount of thinly sliced whitish root, which I strongly suspect is the tung kwai (judging by photos of the whole root in Terry Tan's 'Cooking with Chinese Herbs'). Then there is a smaller quantity of a thinly sliced black root-like substance, which looks rather like black truffle in the internal markings, but the colour fades from dark brown to light in places. Then there is a sealed paper sachet which, judging by the smell, contains largely star anise. The contents of the whole packet smell very good and fresh. Ingredients are listed in English, Chinese, and (I think) Japanese. English list is, I suspect, a little muddled in the word order, and I would be very keen to identify things, simply out of curiosity. This is how it reads: Angelica pepper, Aralia Cordata, Sinensis, Cinnamon, Paurantii Star Anise, Astraglietc, Cigusticum, Fructus Zanthoxylum. Clearly, the words Angelica and Sinensis belong together, and this is the ingredient present in greatest quantity. I've no idea what Aralia cordata may be. The word Paurantii looks like it belongs somewhere else, Terry Tan's book enlightens me that Astragalus membranaceus is Magnolia root (looks like a stray 'etc' slipped in there), and the last three words also leave me clueless. Can anyone help? Maybe some of these match the Chinese names given by Tissue in his (her??) recipe above? v edit: oh - and they also had mixes for chik ku teh like tissue mentions.

The reappearance of this thread has reminded me of my promise to feed back re coriander & honey jelly: an unmitigated disaster that went straight down the sink and nearly blocked it. I couldn't be bothered to try again. Basically, the pectin I purchased was of a far higher concentration than that used in Helen Witty's recipe (I'm trying to give her the benefit of the doubt here ). Probably a teaspoon of my stuff would have been enough to set the jelly, whereas she stipulated 1 3/4 oz (I halved the recipe, so about 25g was what I used). Point taken for the future. v

I'd love to come, having never been to St John . But I have to sit on the fence pending a personal financial review. It's all the fault of e-gullet. . Will confirm by some time tomorrow if that's OK. v

Somewhere the other side of the planet from you v

Thank you all - I'm feeding your responses to my boss (no, he's not one responsible for the madness, but it gives him ammunition against it) v

Strangely enough, they don't, they work for our customers, who are also our bosses. Makes for a complicated management structure. I'll explain to you next week. I was really just wondering if this was a problem anyone else has experienced. v

B'dog - I wish it were as simple as that v

We have a real problem with the chefs in the place where I work (catering staff work for a contractor, therefore difficult for us to control): they routinely leave gas stoves and Falcon ovens and other gear on full blaze all night, with the kitchens locked up. I can't understand why we haven't been burnt down. Is this normal practice in a professional kitchen, or is it the fact that they don't care, and they don't pay the utility bills - we do. We can only surmise that they do this so that they don't have to bother remember to turn the stuff on in the mornings. v

Hey Cabrales, what a lovely surprise v