JMillar

Quite right - Its all well and good Jay et al gushing merrily at the opening with Heston watching over proceedings, but how is it now things have calmed down? Surely there is no more a discerning group of bloggers someone must be up for taking one for the team?

I'm taking a punt here but you might like L'artisan du chocolats version http://www.artisanduchocolat.com/Artisandu...OCOLATEJARs.htm Aint cheap but rich On the other hand you could try making your own? there are plenty of recipes on the net

Nevertheless, this shop sells fish and chips, so though the fish maybe first-class, the chips cannot be forgotten. Here it almost felt like that is what had happened. The time had been taken to pick a decent potato and chop them by hand, so it was a letdown that they had not been well looked after, after that. It is notoriously easy to cook a bad chip, which is why good ones are so sought-after and so gratefully received. The pudding was also poor, though I could get over this (bearing in mind where I was). Portions were generous and the rest of the Golden Hind’s dishes - top fish, decent scampi, nice peas with homemade tartare and pleasant Tommy K - set a pretty satisfying standard. It is a shame that the chips could not continue it. ←

I suspect you might be right, that said it was a relatively dull selection. No alarms or suprises and some obvious gongs for the darlings of France. More interesting since those seemed to fly in the face of much of what the critical press has said over the past year about these places. But then again maybe there is a waning interest amongst some readers here as regards the merits of the michelin star system, you can find many critical comments on that. In part my guess would be that also in the current climate there is likely to be a retreat away from the conspicious 2* and 3* consumption towards good quality and good value establishments like those listed in the bibs.

Given the gushing review in the Times http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_...icle5390168.ece And the current TV Doc, I'm curious to hear thoughts.

Ducasse "Rising 3 star" After all the bad press - surely that is raising some eyebrows out there?

Any ideas, leads, suggestions or otherwise gratefully received.

I'm suprised you didn't find an angle for this but might have been a bit late in the day http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fo...on-1242591.html

Interesting to hear of attempts to grow Yuzu here in the Uk. Since I know of nowhere where one can get hold of the fresh fruits. (If anyone does know please let me know) Just a thought but you might want to contact those folks at Kew they may have some advice as regards growing your trees

A View? Surely you should be staring lovingly into you dearest's eyes In which case its Poule au pot or Andrew edmunds

I agree with much of this my preference is for Booths over Turnips and Booths is good for mushrooms and hard to find fruit and vegetables. Steve Hatt in Islington is still leagues ahead of the fishmongers here. Gastronmica also for all things salami

After an exhaustive search I found the following http://www.squires-shop.com/ibf/index.php?...3351&parent=101 Given Isomalts presence in the El Bulli recipe I thought this may be of help to those at @ Egullet

www.thewinesociety.com A minimal Joining fee great service and some of the best wine available for the price I joined and never looked back and great for presents

Yep its lovely well was 3 years ago make sure you get a sea view room though

I'm surprised no one here has mentioned Pesto and by that I mean homemade pesto - Basil, garlic pinenuts, cheese, olive oil. The only cooking involves pasta. Equipment a pestle and mortar or a food processor All ingredients are available in supermarkets without too much expense I guess logically speaking you could go one further and get the kids to grow basil from seed too? An easy tasty recipe and surely any kid who'd only tasted pesto from a jar would be an instant convert. thoughts?

Oh and incidentally they have some interesting tequilas for any afficianados out there.

Wilkins Orange & Tangerine is defintiely worth a try. A fine cut marmelade sublte yet tangy perhaps one for summer as opposed to the dark days of winter. As an aside whatever happened to Tangerines? They seem to have been usurped by the ubiquitous Clementine, but are a different thing all together as I recall.

Went to Market yesterday for lunch and had a great meal. A special of Pork cheeks, morcilla and peas was as good as anything I have had all year and was worth thr trip alone. A main of Old spot pork belly and lentils managed to combine melting tenderness and some perfect crackling, no mean feat, though those lentils didn't need the wholegrain mustard addtion in my view. A risotto may not have been one for the afficianados and perhaps lacked an oozy creaminess yet it was tasty nonetheless. Wine is well priced and has some interesting addtions including a gruner veltliner. A welcome addtion to Camden for sure.

Interesting I noticed this was coming soon when I walked past a few weeks ago its good to hear. I will no doubt pop along soon As for camden whilst its true the cheap and nasty takeway rules the roost there are some gems La Collina is a good italian in Primrose Hill which sort of counts as Camden not sure I've seen that mentioned on the forums

La Collina in Primrose hill is worth a visit too

A fair point as a north londoner Chez Bruce is a bridge too far perhaps. Don't get me wrong its good food but has tendency to be oversalted in my view

I guess it depends on the particular Chocolate you are after? All the Big Food halls in london (Fortnum's, Harvey Nics, Selfridges Harrods) have big selections of the big names Harvey Nichols is the only source of Amedei I know Whole foods/ Fresh and wild have Valhrona chopped off a big block and sold by weight as well as buttons John Lewis food hall (newly opened) had a great selection and a wide variety of different brands and probably cheaper than the food halls Waitrose too has a good selection Also I believe L'artisan du chocolate now sell their own chocolate in bars Online 70% has a good range http://www.seventypercent.com/shop/ hope that helps sorry about the london bias

I'm off to Barcelona in a week or so does anyone have any tips on good places to eat. Doesn't have to be grand but good food casual with a good bar would probably fit the bill thanks

An interesting aside from a Vet in the Observer a few months back ... which fine dining establishment was that? http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/st...2107482,00.html

Poor old luis got my rejection yesterday genuinely gutted !