Jump to content

chrisp

participating member
  • Posts

    176
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by chrisp

  1. Pretty sure it's the restaurant rather than the chef that has the stars. So Wignall might be billed as a 'michelin-awarded chef' but he doesn't have his star at the Latymer, the Dev keeps it. Of course, a starred chef leaving will usually/often trigger a re-visit and re-appraisal, as happened when the Schwabs left Winteringham Fields. And, vice-versa, a previously awarded chef will often more easily regain a star at a new place than if they hadn't been previosly rewarded (see Gueller at the Box Tree who got a star within a few months of opening there). SO I'm assuming Hibiscus even after the move remains a two-star, with no offical cut-off point, but the move to the bigger place would have led to some re-vsiits, and with the mixed press, might lead to a drop back to a single*. ← Funnily enough, we had lunch at Hibiscus in Ludlow a few years ago and asked Claude Bosi the exact same question when he came out to do the rounds at the end of service. And his response was very clear - the stars belong to the chef, not the restaurant. So I assume that he's expecting to keep his two stars in Mayfair.
  2. Yes Foliage just won my Restaurant of the Year. I had a stunning meal there, solid 2* territory.
  3. Fraiche got en Espoir last year anyway didn't it? So I think it should get the star this year. Unless I've misunderstood the system.
  4. I'd change offy! ← Blimey - I'm with Howard. Even my local dining pub knocks the 2004 out at £34. ← I'll name and shame - it's Eagle's Wines on Lavender Hill (Battersea). Thanks for the feedback, I'll try and be a bit more discerning next time.
  5. That's the one that sticks clearly in the memory . Not that I'd order it myself mind; if I want sauvignon give me a Cotat Sancerre any day of the week. ← Cloudy Bay's about £30 from my local offy I think. Might be a different grape though.
  6. chrisp

    Reducing

    I've just ordered it on Amazon. Apparently there's an updated version (3rd ed.) coming out in October 2008 but I can't be bothered waiting that long!
  7. Has anyone been able to get through to the FD recently? I've been trying all day on and off for two days now and just get a constant engaged signal.
  8. chrisp

    Reducing

    Yes you're absolutely right - I am having trouble getting the syrupy thickness, but am already quite proficient at magically disappearing stock and red wine. And judging by some of the comments here it appears that getting a thick sauce just by reducing is somewhat of an inexact science, if not actually quite difficult. So why do so many of the recipes I have contain instructions such as "reduce until the sauce coats a spoon" if I couldn't, as an average home cook, be reasonably expected to do so? That's what is irritating me. That said, thanks for all your comments and tips and I'll let you know how any further experiments pan out. Chris
  9. chrisp

    Reducing

    Chance would be a fine thing! I've tried lots of different amounts of liquid - 50/50 stock/wine, 25/75, I even once tried to reduce an entire bottle of red and it just disappeared into a black stain. But the low heat tip is a very interesting one. I'm pretty sure I've always been told to boil it down as fast as possible. Thanks! I'll try that one next time. Chris
  10. chrisp

    Reducing

    Well, it's usually chicken stock made from the central carcass left after I've jointed it for breasts, legs & thighs. Boiled with carrots, onion, celery, herbs etc. So maybe it is the lack of gelatine from bones. But that doesn't explain the failure of the red wine to reduce as well!
  11. chrisp

    Reducing

    I am a keen, if often overly ambitious, amateur cook and can just about get away with most non-professional level recipes and techniques. But despite trying and trying again for months and months I just can't get a consistent result when the recipe calls for "reducing", whether it be stock or wine or a mixture of the two. I have, on occasion, got lucky and ended up with a lovely syrupy sauce. But more often than not, despite (as far as I can tell) using exactly the same technique the next time it may just boil right down and vanish without ever thickening up at all! Red wine will go vinegary and bitter and evaporate into nothing, and stock often performs exactly the same way, disappearing up my extractor fans without waving goodbye. Can anyone please offer some tips to end up with a nice thick, properly reduced sauce without resorting to mixing in cornflour towards the end when I notice it's all going tits-up? Much appreciated Chris
  12. Well, while I can't pretend to be controlling the kind of budget that would allow me to return to somewhere like the Capital "repeatedly", I am known to generally order very little other than the duck breast dish at the Fox and Hounds. That's except when it's off, when I usually go for the fish of the day. Anywhere else I do my best to order something unusual or challenging I've not tried before (the foodie curse!) with often disastrous results. I have visited the Square and the Capital once each and had excellent meals at both, so find choosing between them difficult. I think the Square is just ahead however, largely thanks to a startling Cauliflower mousse amouse and their famous crab "lasagna".
  13. Yep credit card wouldn't put me off one bit. Go for it.
  14. Ramsay's working very hard at the moment to reinforce the story that he's not going to be cooking at his pubs (PR's are also pedalling fast to make sure they're not referred to as 'Gastro' pubs). He could equally have told the same amusing anecdote about any of his international stable of first class restaurants - frankly, it's as likely that he'll turn up at any of them as the boozers but that doesn't fit the story so well. ← I'm surprised he was even supposed to be cooking at Maze - isn't Jason Atherton literally the head chef there, whereas RHR and Claridge's both have Executive Chefs to hold the fort when Ramsay isn't around? All very confusing isn't it.
  15. I was totally in raptures over my meal here last night. Aside from a couple of odd service issues (they don't like you taking photos apparently, bloody celeb brown nosing but what can you do) the whole experience was great. Dover Sole Meuniere is officially my new favourite thing to eat. I just wish I could have tried everything on the menu, but I suppose there's always next time. http://cheesenbiscuits.blogspot.com/2007/1...ts-mayfair.html
  16. apart from in le gavroche where it's complimentary, as i later found out after insisting on tap. ← I would hope tap water is always complimentary - unless you mean they bring it without you asking for it? ← Actually I've just understood what you meant. Sorry, I have a cold.
  17. apart from in le gavroche where it's complimentary, as i later found out after insisting on tap. ← I would hope tap water is always complimentary - unless you mean they bring it without you asking for it?
  18. An excellent point Matthew. I have often had comments on the low scores I have given top-end restaurants on my blog, often because the huge price rarely justifies the often admittedly quite nice food. If you're paying over £100 a head for a meal I think you have the right to expect 2*/3* cooking on every level. The worst offenders are generally in Mayfair - Sketch being a prime example of somewhere ludicrously expensive and pretty blah in terms of the food served. If you can get a delicious meal for £10 at Tayyabs, there's no excuse for anywhere charging above the odds for mediocrity. Oh and by the way, always always just order tap water. The revolution starts here!
  19. Yes, if I wanted to gawp at posh people I could just have a drink in the bar. It would cost about £15.
  20. Well done that girl. She gets it. ← Really pleased to see Marina's review - now it is time for me to re-visit me thinks! I have to say looking back it was a mistake to go down in the first week - school boy error number one, and on top of that asking for the tasting mentu at lunch time when it was not actually on offer. Still, you live and you learn! ← Hang on - Marina's review is hardly glowing, you had a horrible experience the last time (less than a month ago) and it was horribly expensive. Why on earth do you want to go back so soon?
  21. I write Cheese and Biscuits, only since February this year but Jay Rayner is a fan so I must be doing something right. On my personal favourites list are Dos Hermanos, Andy Hayler and Londonelicious - all worth a read and updated very frequently (a plus for an internet addict like me).
  22. I believe it was renamed for English audiences. God knows why.
  23. Sounds like my perfect evening. Thanks for the review, Tim - very entertaining and it's got my interest up. I've been told that London can't do Mexican food - maybe that's about to change.
  24. I don't think anyone wants a good restaurant to fail. What people object to is that Ducasse at the Dorchester seems to be a scaled-down version of his true flagship restaurants (e.g. Monaco) yet still priced at the top end. The impression given is that he is taking the restaurant-goers of London for granted, assuming they don't know any better and so why bother. On top of that there's the £24 house champagne and a general feeling of carelessness when it comes to plating (see earlier in this thread). It's a shame, because I think London really would have appreciated a new place aiming for the Michelin 3* level. I certainly would! Instead we seem to have ended up with a cynical attempt to fleece corporate diners (by all accounts the main percentage of their customer base so far). Maybe I'm being overly sensitive but I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who feels this way.
  25. Don't be - Charles Campion is so easily pleased I can't remember the last time he gave anywhere a bad review!
×
×
  • Create New...