david goodfellow

But does Nigel actually cook anymore? I thought another post said he didn't. From what I saw of the restaurant on TV I suspect they are set up for the clientele he targets and are not really a good showcase/reflection of his true cooking talent, more a reflection of his business acumen. ← I'm pretty sure Nigel no longer cooks, Lisa Allen very ably mans (so to speak) the stoves.

That sounds great, not been for years, its easy to forget about Le Gav, but I just got to visit again, real soon. Three hours sounds like a whole load of fun And generosity never goes a miss

The one thing that hasn't changed is the upshot: unless it changes - and changes with relative frequency - The Fat Duck tasting menu is pretty much a one-time attraction. Now that there is no a la carte, this becomes more true than ever. ← I really cannot see him changing it much, I may be wrong, its a proven formula, with an inbuilt early warning system, the waiting list! As long as that two month wait is in place it proves how many punters are queuing up for a table, so no real pressure to change it.

You are correct; the FD doesn't allow flash and they will tell you (not me one of my dining companions). Glad you enjoyed the meal. Surprised your wife wasn't full after the meal. It was certainly enough for me....although a few cheeky halves in the Hinds Head may have helped...! Agree that it is a once only experience. That is why I hope that in dropping the ALC the tasting menu will be revamped and get fresher. I didn't go with my partner and I am under some pressure to to take her, but I can't summon up the enthusiasm for a repeat (although I loved the first one). A question: I have a good friend who is taking his veggie partner. Anyone had any experience of a FD veggie meal? ← I noticed a couple of changes this time from Ulterior Epicures visit, will have to write it up soon.

Flavour is all, I admit. His background is impeccable, Pied a terre, with Richard Neat, Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir and love him (or hate him ) John Burton Race. Hope you enjoyed Sketch.

As it happens, I had an excellent cold bean soup (no goat's cheese) in Marcus Wareing about 6 weeks ago (that lunch time menu is fantastic value). It really did taste of summer, but I agree, not one for the troops. I think Marcus is looking very comfortable in his role. There seems to be a good chemistry between the 3 chefs also, which makes for good viewing. ← I like the banter, they seem to be on Nigels case a bit, but he gives as good as he gets Its tough being a chef, everyone(including me) with their own opinions, some of it must sting a bit, still they are over 21 and in a tough business, to some its perhaps water off a ducks back. Hope its good tonight

Anybody out there been lucky enough to have dined here. Martin Burge won his second Michelin star this year, to go with the four AA rosettes,he already holds. Its on my to visit list, just not got round to it yet I did dine here some years ago now, and can remember how lovely the location was. Looks like the cooking is top notch. Really like the look of his food Love to hear your comments. http://www.whatleymanor.com/english/main_movie_(english).htm

The future is bright, the future is err, green, I don't think so! You know I'm a fan, but I'm not going to fight his corner on this one. If its green tonight, he has lost the plot.

You will love it, As we did. Its THE dining event in the UK. Perhaps I'm being too picky, with a higher than average expectation level. We (she) really has a downer on portion size, the argument is that some components are pence to put on a plate. Go with an open mind, don't read too much comment on here, as the surprises are worth waiting for. Enjoy.

With the benefit of having now dined there, I feel that I am in a far better position to comment than before, so here goes. I can only imagine that even the most serious of foodies would plump for the tasting menu, just for the curiosity value alone.We are talking first visit here. There did seem to be quite a number of "celebration people" in our part of the room, including the couple next to us who were on a honeymoon treat. They were intrigued to know what the difference was between, one, two, and three, Michelin stars. Inevitably, I suppose, they had the tasting menu. They absolutely loved the event, although had mixed feelings on the food We of course had the tasting menu, as it was our first time, but would we take it again? Most certainly not! For a number of reasons. A large part of the "event" is the theatre involved in presenting some of the dishes. Inevitably because of the close proximity of the tables, and of course the staggered dining times, the guest has mostly witnessed some of the theatre at other tables. thats not to say its not fun, it most certainly is. Although once you have seen it two or three times, that is enough, just imagine what its like for the wait staff! The portion sizes are the smallest we have encountered anywhere, a number of them are miniscule. My wife has now, got a bee in her bonnet over portion sizes and was most upset on our long journey home, claiming still to be hungry. We feel that the meal is unbalanced in as much as we were craving meat. The Anjou pigeon was delicious, but no where near as much. I'm not into wine, I enjoy it, but I have had bottles costing an arm and a leg and quite frankly had more fun out of a "Supermarket wines" recommendation. That said everything on the FD list should be at the top of the tree. so to speak. We prefer red, so (and because of the long drive) ordered a bottle of Bouscasse 2002 and a half bottle of white, Sancerre Vatan, both recommends by the very nice and approachable sommelier. I feel it should have been the other way around as the only real body of the meal was the pigeon. On reflection, my mistake. I am sorry if the negative above conveys a feeling of dissatisfaction, in the main the experience is superb, top notch tried and tested theatrics, a success story, and much to be proud of, but I think that the 98% of people who eat the tasting menu will only ever eat it the once. As a post script, I would still order the tasting menu on a first visit here, but from a curiosity point of view I would love to eat what the kitchen produces from the carte menu, sadly now that will not be possible. I will comment on the food in more detail, another time.

For the benefit of those who were interested in returning to eat the a la carte, this is todays, to salivate over. STARTERS Crab biscuit, Roast Foie Gras, Crystalized Seaweed, Rhubarb. Cauliflower Risotto, Carpaccio of Cauliflower, Chocolate Jelly. Lasagne of Langoustine, Pigs Trotter and Truffle. MAIN Best end of Lamb,Ice filtered Lamb jelly, Confit Tomato and Cucumber, Onion and Thyme Fluid Gel, Hot Pot of Lamb Neck and Sweetbread. Pot Roast Loin of Pork, braised belly, truffled gratin of Pearled Spelt Roast Turbot, mushroom carpaccio, Morels, Asparagras and Jelly of Verjus, Turbot and Langoustine Royale. Sadle of Venison, Celeriac, Marron Glace', Sauce Poivrade, Civet of Venison with Pearl Barley and Red Wine, Venison and Frankincence Tea. DESSERTS The BFG, Black Forest Gateau, Kirsch Ice Cream, and the smell of the Black Forest. Taffety Tart 1662, Caramelized Apple, Fennel, Rose and Candied Lemon. Macerated Strawberries, Black Olive and leather puree, pistachio scrambled egg. CHEESE, available as an additional course at £15. Three Courses, Ninety Eight Pounds. Interestingly enough the starters and mains are the same as on the web site, however two of the desserts are different. As a further interest the Langoustine and Pot Roast on the website attract an eight pound supplement, but on todays menu that is not mentioned. The restaurant was of course full, and included one lone lady diner with a heavyweight serious looking camera, she was not on her own in that respect, I counted another three at least. It also looked to me that everyone was on the tasting menu, certainly those within our immediate vicinity.

Lucky you, my two month wait ended today, we have just walked through the door after our lunch today Before I comment, I need to think about the experience a little more as quite a lot happened during the three and a half hour marathon

Keep up the good work Off to bed now, long drive down to Bray in the morning, really hoping it lives up to expectation

The Aiden Byrne brand has, as you know, had a bit of a knock recently, but thats the British way sadly. Success is not championed, people want to knock you down. I do have his book, unsigned, my wife bought it for me as a surprise present, Aiden has promised to sign it. His dish looks the dogs goolies, however cold soup? He did tell me his main dish was my favourite Sea Trout, however this did not materialise. Nigel's dish could easily catch the judges imagination, and this may be smart judgement, from Nigels previous success in the competition. I do prefer the look of his menu,(sorry Aiden ) I'm surprised you have not been John, its just down the road from you?

Not seen tonights show yet, been waiting for the wife to return from hospital visit to see her mum. I've been the house husband cooking a salmon and prawn pasta, Just putting it on now, hope its good.

I bet you get an answer after tonights service, if not before!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Funny that, I got about halfway down this page and started thinking 'Fergus would be perfect for this!' and there you go, beat me to it. He would not only bring a few of the pretentious plates down to earth but would give the judges panel what it needs - a British chef cooking British food. ← He's a real character, and mighty funny with it, but as I mentioned above these guys (mostly) want to be in the kitchen away from prying eyes, doing what they do best I do totally agree though, his dry as a bone humour would knock most people over. Fingers crossed this weeks show is a memorable one.

Gis a Job. Just browsing the web site in advance of tomorrows visit and wondered what job opportunities there were available http://www.fatduck.co.uk/career_opportunities.html Quite a few really. Are they expanding?

We just polished off the doggie bag from our last visit and surprisingly enough there was enough food left over for todays lunch. Just proves the superb value that it offers. In the Lamb dish I made a note of the lack of the tiny birds eye chillis,( there were only half a dozen left in the dish,) and ploughed in like a fool, only to end up with burnt mouth, sweaty top lip, and tears in the eyes, if this is pleasure, I must be a masochist! I'm sure that the relief chef uses a lot more dried chillis than the smaller bullets thereby kidding me into thinking its milder, its not. I have changed my mind on the heat from this dish, its still hot as hell, and glad to report it was not watery The pork and beans leftovers still had fantastic flavour although the beans had lost a bit of crunch. Its nice to have a pleasurable reminder of our last visit and surprisingly the food has not suffered much by not being straight from the wok,

I used to think that; however I am now starting to think they represent a very conservative, middle England view, with Peyton thrown in to add a little frission and colour. It would be good to see a judge with a slightly "younger" perspective (sorry couldn't think of a term that wasn't ageist). I assume Peyton is meant to play his role but why does it need to be so quirky? I know, good TV! I had been also thinking that a chef would add value to the panel. Maybe an opportunity for Ramsay to show a serious side and avoid the slide into a "tabloid" career? Although a really good bet would be Michel Roux Jr. he really shone on Masterchef. ← Michel Roux Jr would be top of my list also, not an overpowering personality, but commands huge respect throughout the industry. Another factor of course is the time involved in judging, most hands on chefs would be very reluctant to leave the stoves Looks like Gordons well in with a shout We are of course presuming that there will be a further series? Hope so

My moneys on Stephen. ← Hope you didn't place a bet I was quite surprised with friday's program - the judges were a lot more enthusiastic about the food than I thought they would be. Roll on next week! ← I like Leith's cookery bible series (but did they come out after she sold the Cookery School?), but Pru is rapidly following Delia into a historical food cul-de-sac. Interesting to look back on but no longer relevant. She reminds me of an elderly relation who once loved good food but now has very conservative tastes, and who turns their nose up at anything unusual. That said, I don't think Stephen did enough on the day and James's food was better. However, it was one of the weaker rounds. ← I think she has been chosen, and strategically placed between Peyton and Fort to stop them coming to blows, such are their contrasting opinions. It has been mooted on another forum that a chef should be on the panel, can't quite make my mind up on that one?

I must admit that I like the look of them myself, be interesting how they translate to the plate and of course how they taste Not sure but don't think Nigel has done much in the kitchen in recent years? Lisa Allen has her name on the pots and pans. Will this make a difference? Aiden on the other hand is at the sharp end every night. I have to declare, being a fan of Aidens although we have not eaten there for quite a few months, in fact on our last visit it was back in February when the Michelin guide was leaked on Egullet. I remember him being shocked at some of the results, especially Tom Aikens not winning another star, and Ducasse on a rising two. Marc from Fraiche, who Aiden knows from years back, popped in a few days before to say hello, and I think being slightly out of touch with the North West dining scene Aiden was quite surprised that he was "cutting the mustard" up in Oxton not far from his own birthplace. I'm looking forward to this one very much, two different characters, with their own styles, and with the sometimes abrasive input from Marcus Wareing it should be very good viewing!

Great review David! What did you think of the Goats Cheese tortellini, I went for the eel instead of that. But I heard that it was served with an avocado ice cream? ← Thank you kindly Excuse me whilst I wallow in a much welcome bit of ego massaging, lol . One of the many things that I feel that I have been cheated on, memory, or lack of it, becomes more evident the older I become. I do remember that I missed the red pepper element, and the wonderful Alexandra, explained the dish to me. In truth I do need to take tasting notes but I'm very lazy and if I don't write a review very soon after the meal, I struggle to remember Hand on heart I don't remember the dish, which means thankfully that the dish was ok, certainly not memorable.

Fingers crossed for Brum although they seem to be fighting an uphill battle, from a few fronts, which I can not go into. This would be another feather in the cap for Birmingham, with their three Michelin stars already in place.

yep, especially when dunked in the soy sauce thingy too. ← Ths sauce is actually a dipping vinegar, sexed up with a few odds and sods. It can be a bit much for those expecting the umani of a soy based sauce or some sweet chilli concoction, but for me it works as well as malt vinegar on chips. Sharp, tangy and utterly delicious. Dinner at Red Chilli last Wednesday. Hot poached lamb, French beans and minced pork, spring onion bread, rice and beers. I am nothing if not predictable. Worryingly this time I found the lamb broth lacking heat and depth - compared to the norm it was almost watery. I don't want to be over-dramatic but if this happens again I might kill myself and all those close to me. *twitch* Who say's I need to cut down at Red Chilli? Permit me a smidge of review balance here (see previous postings): Lunch at le Manoir at the weekend: Very, very good - better than the "Brand Blanc" theme park I was expecting - a delightful garden veg rissotto and a spectacular (sous vide?) piece of steak. Lunch at The Wolesley yesterday: Excellent service - the place just feels right - and a very passable steak frites. Although some find the menu limited I could of eaten most of it. I should go here more regularly. Anyway, enough of all that, I might go to Red Chill for a pre-football lunch this Sunday. *twitch* Cheers Thom ← Old Xie will be back off holiday soon, so things will be back to normal chilli wise The relief chef is more european biased, instead of the hardcore that you are used to