david goodfellow

Me thinks this Sunday is worthy of the trek to the rainy city, although in fairness my last 3/4 visits the weather has been great. As already stated above, the hint has already been made so, Its almost a certainty. By strange coincidence we met up with some friends from North Wales at Oddfellows over Easter, as its about half way from where we both live. I shall post it on the Chester thread. Be interested to have your opinion of the place!

What,your going to miss Clare Smyth next week? I know your a big fan of RHR, I read your comments on the "other" forum. She did'n't spill the beans on your recent visit did she? lol.

Dropped some strong hints to Mrs G yesterday morning about a visit to the Portland St branch, for a latish lunch, but she was'n't having any of it She is not such a big fan as I am, so I don't impose on her too much However I can feel another must visit quite soon

The Crown seems to have slipped under the radar of the forum. Considering James Sommerin has held a Michelin star now for three years there must be some members out there who can post a review? As you may be aware James is competing in Great British Menu representing Wales, competing against former Marco Man Stephen Terry. I am reliably informed by the man himself (James) that the week start date is May 4. We dined there last week and intended to post the review today but I have my easter head on today, so I'm feeling a bit lazy Would greatly appreciate reading any other reports please Happy Easter. http://www.crownatwhitebrook.co.uk/

Thanks for that Matthew, it was slightly before my joining , shame we can't merge the two! Mind you hopefully now any other Marco fans will click to watch. These videos are historic gems, to be savoured by all. They do however lay open the glaringly obvious advancement of age we all have to cope with. Bet the young foodies are shocked at how young and fresh he looked back then!

"interesting stories" You must have a funny non libelous one? You know like not naming names (just hints). Just the one?

Bit of early Marco, (circa 1990) Notice The Foul Mouthed One in the background. and Richard Neat, I think? ← I missed Richard Neat. Met him outside Pied A Terre, as we were leaving, bout 11 ish I think. He had just finished service He was on his way to Paris to work in some other top chefs kitchen,( Robuchon?) What a talent he was He had a reputation of being a bit of a nutter Aiden Byrne used to work with him , and tells a wonderful story of him (Neat) losing it with a burly kitchen porter. Seems that service that night was tense and the porter was on the end of a string of expletives, took great offence, and knocked him out with one punch. They had to walk over him to get the food out! Those were the days eh!!!!!!!!!!!! Wonder where he is now? ← The Paris place he went to was Jamin (sent by Raymond Blanc), but that was before Pied a Terre. When we opened Neat in Cannes in 1999, Robuchon came down and did the opening ceremony. After Cannes and the debacle that was Neat London, he went to Moscow, then Marrakech where he and his wife had a Riad (sp?) where they did food blending his French cooking techniques with Moroccan influences - must have been interesting. Then he suddenly disappeared to Costa Rica. Don't know what his current plans are. ←

Is this a seasonal thing ? because last February/march there was much activity, discussed on this thread http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=16674&st=90

And?????????????????? The best man won, or should I say the best menu won. Funny how the vote was split. Just goes to show how opinions differ. Take for instance one very successful restaurateur like Oliver Peyton, and, one very highly respected food critic like Matthew Fort. Do they not see eye to eye on some dishes, they seem poles apart, or is it just a bit of a personality clash that influences their decisions?

Your lucky indeed, its now on my "to visit list" on one of my fairly frequent trips"down the shmoke" After a multitude of tasting menus, we just want a bit of "gutsy" eating

Looks like there is a rising occurrence of attacks on restaurants serving Foie Gras. http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009...ter-attack.html I seem to be reading more and more stories in recent weeks. Had a meal here last year, it won a regional award, Best Restaurant North West? Cheshire Life? The food was decent, and much to my delight the portions were generous.

Bit of early Marco, (circa 1990) Notice The Foul Mouthed One in the background. and Richard Neat, I think? ←

not for some time, surely? ← Bit of early Marco, (circa 1990) Notice The Foul Mouthed One in the background. Female (and Male) found him very appealing

Andrew Turner is highly rated by his peers. He was tipped for Michelin stardom! Was the restaurant not featured on Masterchef, with the contestants cooking for Michel Roux Jnr et al ? Interesting comment about surroundings, Michael Wignall replaced him at The Latymer, Pennyhill Park, and gained a Michelin star and four AA rosettes.

Would never normally look in The Sun for a food story, just thought I'd take a look at it to see where Elvis was. lol. Come on though, does Wayne Rooney look to you like he needs a good meal?

Very interesting article on Michelin starred chef Aiden Byrne of The Church Green, Lymm, Cheshire. Aiden is up against Nigel Howarth in the North West heat. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman...-RSS&ATTR=Woman

"A lot of people say I look like a rock star or a designer punk. But I swear it's the job that has carved my face. Its the hours,the stress,and the pressure. Its not me trying to look like this" Marco Pierre White "White Heat"

"I can't work in a domestic kitchen; its just too confined. There's no freedom and there's no buzz. At home I'm not hit with forty covers in half an hour so there's no real excitement" Marco Pierre White, "White Heat"

I'll tell you what Bas, I wish I had a quid for every Chef or cook that he has influenced

At this very moment I'm looking at a photo of him whilst I cook his version of Bread and Butter Pudding from Canteen Cuisine,Marco Pierre White. I bought this book,god knows how long ago,when he was in partnership with Michael Caine at their Michelin starred London restaurant, Canteen.

Me thinks a lot of male viewers will be focusing on Danielle Bux's knife skills. http://www.kitchenrat.com/2009/04/marco-pi...hells-kitc.html

Congratulations are in order for the new 2009 roux scholar http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2009...ux-scholar.html Anyone know of any new restaurant opening,(s) featuring any of the up and coming young guns in the industry? Or indeed come to that, anyone that the Michelin guys have overlooked.

Pennyhill Park, or should I say Michael Wignall at The Latymer, Pennyhill Park was not on my" to visit "list! The reason simply was that it was deemed too far away for a day trip,so that an overnight stay was inevitable. Another reason was, that I already have two lists of " to visit ". One for London. And one for the rest of the country,north and south of my home base. So my next four or five meals were pencilled in so to speak. That abruptly changed when I stumbled upon some photos of Michael Wignalls food on another website only last Wednesday. Well, I was captivated somewhat. The food looked absolutley stunning! Needless to say it captured my imagination. I just had to eat it Well, within the hour, I had booked the table, planned the journey, checked the car, and all for the following day. We set off at 9.30 and three hours later arrived at the somewhat stunning five star venue. We stretched our legs with a walk around the fabulous grounds pondering, who it was who once owned this stately pile? Very Lloyd Grossman. The original house is magnificent, perched atop a hill overlooking some of the estate to the valley below. Not surprisingly the car park is littered with Ferrari's, Porsche, Bentley's etc. However don't be put off, we spotted the odd Corsa or three. The greeting was good, (as it should be), then? Surprise,Surprise, A very welcome glass of champagne from Michael! Plus some extremely nice nibbles, to get the ball rolling. Seems the front of house have told him of our journey, and a request, from me to try and have a few of the dishes that were photographed, put on to the menu. There is a lot on offer at lunch service. 3 courses for £32 A tasting menu of 8 courses inc amuse, and pre dessert. Or you can take the all singing and dancing, 10 course tasting menu. Thats the one we had. Cannelloni of foie gras, Jabugo ham marshmallow, cantaloupe melon, Sauternes and camomile film Seared tuna, terriyaki mackerel, oyster,grapefruit, carrot jelly, sugar snap and ginger salad. Corn fed poussin, pork belly, Hereford snails, morels,Jeres jus. Hand dived scallops, slow cooked octopus, cuttlefish chips, confit tomato, lettuce crisp. Cauliflower risotto, baby squid, spring truffles, poached quail egg, Glazed comte', warm pea jelly. Poached and glazed royal Anjou pigeon, calves sweetbread, broad beans, crosnes, jasmine jus. Roquefort and warm raclette with pickled pear, celery cress, gherkin beignets. Gariguette strawberries, lychees, marscapone mousse, lime sherbet tapioca, granny smith apple sorbet. Fig tarte tatin, poached pears in spiced syrup, liquorice sabayon. White chocolate parfait, hibiscus truffles, passion fruit, honey comb. Wow does that not read well? And it ate as well as it read. Each and every dish that we ate was absolutely top notch, I could not pick fault, (not that I wanted too) The meal lived up to, and in a way exceeded our expectations. Michael Wignall's dishes are intricate works of art. He's the Nicki Clarke of cuisine. not an angel hair out of place. It seems almost a shame to deconstruct them. I would love to be in the kitchen to watch the plating up, this is precision stuff. I would imagine tweasers on some of it, not spoons. I found out later from the man himself that I had in all probabillity already eaten some of his food as he worked in John Burton-Race's L'Ortolan, then a Two star Michelin, plus The Old Beams,Staffordshires now sadly defunct Michelin starred eatery. He started off working for Michelin man Paul Heathcote, and during his career worked at Cliveden in Waldo's another Michelin starred restaurant, which incidentley I was turned away from, for wearing jeans" pompous arses" but thats another story. Michael told me another story about Liam Gallagher and his lack of tie! He then won a Michelin star at The Devonshire Arms, before ending up at Pennyhill Park. To sum up then, did we enjoy? You bet! The only problem that I had was, one of my own making. You see I'm a trencherman at heart, and tasting menus bring out the Oliver Twist in me. I could have demolished platefuls of those dishes So there you have it. Look forward to Michael Wignall at The Latymer The Return!!!!!! Food Miles 334 Cost to the planet £201.

Did'n't realise Alan Murchison was one of JBR's disciples. Good to see L'Ortolan again its been ages since I've been there. He's got great taste in cars. Flash b'stard. And he's very Ramsayesque with the pen behind his ear. Tom Kitchin on the other hand seems really down to earth,and a thoroughly nice bloke. Everybody likes a nice guy! Would love to taste both dishes. Toms dish appeals to me most, though!

I would like to try that deal, however the lunch deal is not available on Sundays. Would be nice for us to take the lunch offer, then move on to the dinner and overnight stay, and eat somewhere in Brighton the next day. Then, "Home James"