david goodfellow

The point that I am trying to make is that this may be the last chance to eat some of Pierre Koffmans food, Its an unusually rare appearance.

I think it was in one of your recent posts that you suggested that you were a fan, which reminded me that I needed to visit. Strangely enough they gave me a half price voucher for the Glasshouse and I may well visit, even though it seems to attract mixed reviews.

Just had a look on their website, all looks crisp and new, may give em a try. Thanks for the advice on the pigeon, its looking like Saturday night, as perhaps another foodie jaunt to London, Sunday/Monday looks in order

" Godfather " Pierre Koffman will re-open his famed La Tante Claire at Selfridges for one week only. This is THE place to be in October. http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009...restaurant.html

I like Chiswick, I like its high street, its side streets, its shopping, but most of all its accessability from the M1. My various trips to London usually involve speedy motorway journey,s, then involve the "other" type of nose to tail that I detest, The snail pace journey into the centre. Our journey could not have been any sweeter than pulling into Devonshire Road on a sunny Saturday lunchtime with a vacant parking spot virtually opposite La Trompette. Devonshire Road has a villagey sort of feel to it which I find charming. Spoilt for choice, we decided to eat inside, but I noticed that the tables for two were a little bit lacking in the way of a decent view for us both. This was soon rectified, as a table for four (table 20) was relaid to accommodate us. I think this is one of the best tables in the room. Service throughout was exceptional, especially from William Bonfield the assistant restaurant manager, ( ex Box Tree) Now I'm sure loads of Egulleters have dined here, and I'm kind of amazed that there is no threads on it, but please add your thoughts, I'm interested. Choice of six, at each course had us salivating, as we fancied some straight forward food in the mould of Chez Bruce and The Glasshouse. Ravioli of Scallop mousseline and Cornish crab served with crushed peas and a shellfish emulsion was extremely more -ish , as was the generous helping of Mackerel fillet, king prawn beignet, avocado puree, in a soy and sesame sauce sprinkled with coriander and sliced radish. I chose an extra main course, just for the hell of it, which was plated so that we could both enjoy it, Royal Bream, crushed potatoes, tapenade, aubergine puree, tomato and basil vinaigrette. Meltingly tender shoulder of new season Lamb was served simply with creamed potato, battons of tasty carrot, and a Madeira sauce Grilled calves liver and bacon, potato gnocchi, onion rings, rosemary and mustard was a real bit of comfort food. Desserts were excellent, Big portion of Rum baba, with a decent slug of said spirit, accompanied by some fantastic glazed strawberries, and creme chantilly. Best of all was a terrific Valrhona chocolate marquise, macadamia praline, caramel, chickory creme, vanilla ice cream. I'm sure there was some hazelnut in there as well, it really was top notch. The wine list by the glass is so user friendly, it tempts you to try various ones without breaking the bank All in all this is not just a good neighbourhood restaurant, its as good (if not better) as many other Michelin starred restaurants we have dined at. Don't just go if you are in the area, its well worth a special journey 2 x 3 course lunches £50 1 extra main course £13.50 1 x Santorini £4.50 1 x Zinfandel £5.50 1 x Rioja £6.00 1 x Touriga £3.50 1 x Bical £3.50 Jug of Thames water Foc Service charge £10.81 Total £97.31

Yes, I was there with my family last Wednesday for lunch. Will try to post properly when I have a bit more time but on the whole we were delighted with the menu (although we'd never experienced the restaurant before). The mock turtle soup was spectacular - perfect blend of theatrics and magically balanced flavors. The pigeon was amazing, and the blood pudding (which our server said was nothing more than blood, cream and spices blended in the robocoupe) had the texture of actual pudding (in the American sense of the word). The candies at the end didn't make much of an impression good or bad. The only course none of us could stand was one that's been around for years - the licorice/salmon prep really rubbed us all the wrong way. We were excited about the flaming sorbet which appeared on our menu but was never served - apparently there were execution problems so they dropped it from the menu at the very last minute. It had been pulled from the dinner menu which was in the window when we left, and still wasn't back on the menu as of Monday when we stopped at the Hinds' Head on the way to Heathrow. It did generally feel like they were struggling to figure out how to work with the new menu - some very long lags between courses. ← Thanks ever so much for the update, looking forward to your review, its great to have such an insight, quite a lot of foodies over here are exited about this. Any idea how many new courses there were?

Had a very pleasant lunch here today prompted by Will Hollands recent appearance on Saturday Kitchen, will write it up soon Anybody else been recently? Reports appreciated. As an aside bought some award winning sausages from Ludlow butcher A H Griffiths, plus some rose veal, and a pack of ten pigeon breasts. Had some of their faggots, with some mushy peas for supper Cheap as chips venison haunch @ £4.50 lb from another Ludlow butcher Andrew Francis, made the long journey there, even more worthwhile.

Had a wonderful Rib of beef from the local abattior at the weekend, bit late to try the salt thing this time as we devoured it before your recommend. However thanks for the very welcome tip, its down for a try next time.

Wozza is back "on the shop floor". Ask him to prep you a Ploughmans at the Greyhound next time your in the area Can't see the foul mouthed one, doing that for me someday http://www.bighospitality.co.uk/item/3665

From reading his third paragraph I would say Jasper reads this forum. ← As this is THE forum covering all things food, I would be more surprised as to who in the industry actually ignores it. With the strength in depth of informed comment, this is surely the pulse of what is happening in the UK restaurant scene.

Very informative article by Jasper Gerard about the new tasting menu, which went "live" July 1 Anybody tried it yet? I did state upthread that I would not return to re-taste the old menu, however, I'll be on the phone later, to book a table to try this one. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/re...rland-menu.html

Don't go to Hereford Road expecting, foams, purees, sous vide, or dainty little offerings. This is caveman territory, in the best possible way of course. If you like big simple food, thats not been "mucked about with", you have arrived. We were some of the first to arrive, on a pretty hot Sunday lunchtime, and I was concerned that the food may be a bit heavy on such a day. It was not. The place itself is a bit like the food, stripped back, what you see, is what you get, nothing wrong with that of course, it appeals to me. The best seats in the house for foodies (of course) are the booths for two, directly opposite the white tiled open kitchen, where Tom Pemberton and his chef Luigi? not only cook but greet regular and much welcome new customers to this popular eatery. Open every day of the week, Tom's last day off was seven weeks ago, using that time to catch up with his long supported Arsenal. He's not short of a social life however,it all arrives in the restaurant. Smoked Trout, New Potatoes and horseradish. Lambs Sweetbreads, parsley and pearl barley. Cold loin of Blythburgh Pork, watercress and mustard. Poached Sea Trout, Cucumber and Kohlrabi salad Duck breast, lentils, and New season Leeks Eton Mess. Buttermilk pudding and Tayberries. Sometimes we only "do" starters and skip mains completely, and with a choice of eight to go at, this was appealing, however the choice of mains (eight) dictated we go traditional. All the starters were decent, we enjoyed the sweetbreads most, and surprisingly enough Mrs G ate the pearl barley that she has refused to eat, in any recipe that I have suggested over the decades. The smoked Trout was our next favourite, served amidst a crisp green, and tasty salad. The largest tranche of Sea Trout I have ever witnessed on a plate , arrived with an inviting mixed salad to break up the flavours a bit. The duck breast was thoroughly enjoyed by Mrs G, had a taste myself and it was spot on, I really like the earthyness of lentils, and the leeks were flavoursome. Ever so simple Eton Mess, and Buttermilk Pud rounded off the meal, and what for us was a very pleasant way of spending a Sunday afternoon. We were of course Mr & Mrs Piggy the Sea Trout dish (£13.40) alone would feed five skinny models, the point that I'm trying to make here is this. Our bill with all of the above, plus a glass of Fino, one Manzanilla, two red, a couple of whites, jug of Thames water and a generous tip was £90. Work it out for yourself, mains are about £13, starters £6, puds £5.50, you can dine here for a pretty reasonable amount if you watch what you drink. The food itself is hearty, full flavoured, honest to goodness simplicity. I had a right good natter with Tom over the pleasant two hours, as he and Luigi plated up the various dishes. As we bid our farewells, the heat coming from the kitchen on this very hot day was quite overwhelming, and we were standing on the other side of the pass. Tom explained that it was not so bad today, especially as the grill had broken down, a bit of a blessing in disguise? So spare a thought to all that hard work that goes into putting a decent piece of nosh on your plate. Go give it a try

Thanks for reminding me. I had a bush full from the garden a couple of weeks ago, too many to eat up so I stewed them with lots of sugar and some elderflowers from one of the paddocks, they were totally delish. Had loads left over so I froze a big tub full. Will have some tomorrow

Yum,Yum, I'm dribbling at the thought Brett Graham turned out a fantastic meal at our one and only Ledbury visit , so a chef from the same stable has to be up their at a similar standard to be awarded the position he holds. Have to put the Ledbury down again on the ever expanding list

Congratulations are in order for Mike and Imogen, winning" Newcomer of the Year",in the Caterer and Hotelkeeper, Catey Awards 09 Runners up were Hereford Road, ( where I dined last week) and Texture.(where we are over due dining) Among the judges were Jason Atherton (Maze) and Tom Kerridge (Hand and Flowers)

I see the Harwood Arms in Fulham has just won Caterer and Hotelkeeper's Catey 09 Award "Menu of the Year" pipping one of my faves Purnells no less. Looking at the website it looks terrific for someones local Have put it on my list for a visit. "So many places, so little time" Any reports would be most appreciated http://www.harwoodarms.com/

So am I. If I get a whiff of info or a booking number, it will be posted on here

The speculation is over! Its going to be an upmarket bistro. Well informed Richard Vines has it straight from the horses mouth, so to speak. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...id=a.IcuVw5II_0

John, completely agree with Delia's, my wife swears by it, its the most battered, food splattered book amongst quite a large collection, its falling to pieces, but all the recipes work. Marco Pierre White's White Heat is one of my all time favorites, it still inspires me. Of late we tend more and more to refer to BBC Food recipes on the web, there are more than 12,000 of them, 400 or so just for chicken alone. To get the best from it, just put two or three ingredients into the site and its comes up with loads of matches.

Good on yer mate, no excuse for me now Thanks to your mention in one of your posts, finally got round to a weekend visit to La Trompette, will write it up in next couple a days. Be busy.

Similer to David after looking at the inspired menu had to go, so from thursday afternoon we were booked in for friday night, a room and a couple of spa treatments on the saturday We had very much the same tasting menu, a few ingredients swapped here and there, on the whole absolutly fantastic, i just thought there was maybe an ingredient to far on many of the dishes, or just not enough of the stated flavours to warrent a mention, 3 droplets of pomelo is hardly a taste, what does that bring to a dish, portions were almost to small as just when you were enjying the dish it was gone, i almost feel maybe six course of a larger portion would be a more enjoyable dining experience, the bread was poor, petit fours unbelievable, service was good and friendly for a 5star hotel, they told me i could only book at 9.30 which we did, we were taken in about 9 after a couple of drinks on the terrace, and half the restaurant was empty, very strange, i also heard them turn somebody away at the reception desk when checking in, because they were full, which certainly was not the case!! very interesting food and certainly one of the most appealing menus around at the moment!! ← Glad you enjoyed it. It is a bit of a niggle of mine," portion size", you echo my thoughts, especially as his food is outstanding Service from the young lady who came from the Devonshire with Michael, was excellent, however I'm not so sure on the sommelier whom we never saw once during the meal, I reached the conclusion later that, because I'm not a wine buff, he sort of lost interest, but at this level thats not good enough. If this was my business and I found out we were turning people away, with massive overheads that they must have, she? he? would be down the road by now On a lighter note, looks like you know how to enjoy yourselves, happy days.

Very grim reading in the company accounts, but of course wholly expected never the less. Surprised that there is a smidgen of profit, certainly enough for a new Ferrari http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11...ant-empire.html

Had Nigel,s Great British Menu dishes yesterday, including the famous Lonk Lamb Hot Pot, plus an extra course, plus amuse Will try to write it up ASAP Happy Eating

Sorry, clicked on a link on Catersearch with what I thought was a bit of news, but it was out of date. Anybody been here, able to post a report, it was one of our best meals this year.

Not bang up to date, but well worth a read for a flavor of the place http://www.andyhayler.com/show_restaurant....=269&country=UK