david goodfellow

Anybody have a review on Alan Murcheson's L'Ortolan or La Be'casse He is representing Scotland this year The L'Ortolan thread went dead some time ago now. I wonder if anyone has been recently. I have very fond memories of L'Ortolan and was a regular visitor when John Burton Race held two Michelin stars. His then wife Christine in charge of front of house made us especially welcome. I know that John would not admit it ,but to my mind, he was at his best here.He turned out dish after dish of fabulous food. In fact I have stated before that the best meal we ever had ,was here! John did feel shackled somewhat with two Michelin stars,even though many would give their right arm for them. Its a long,long time since we enjoyed his food,due somewhat to the huge distance The New Angel is from us. Any recent reports please?

Now I am not an accountant,but they do touch on re-structuring in the article. More interesting are the accountants comments,about the £4.4 million loan to his US ventures. Could this be one of the breaches? Of interest to many,must be the quite staggering £5 million owed to suppliers. Now remember that these figures are historic.Not a reflection of what is happening currently. By making payments,two three or four weeks late, large businesses in effect get free credit past the normal payment terms. Now I am not saying that is the case here I am just pointing out the type of hardship this can impact on smaller concerns. I don't suppose the foul mouthed one is too bothered about all of this,his salary of £1,117,819 (remember its historic) will be of some comfort to him. Of interest to us all is the £10.5 million facility GRH has with the Royal Bank of Scotland In effect our bank! Now imagine this if you will,heaven forbid. Assume the worst,that it did go wrong. We would own the assets. I somehow can not see myself standing outside a derelict RGR in Royal Hospital Rd claiming. I once owned part of this! Perhaps Gordon would consider befriending Sir Fred Goodwin,he has al lot of spare time on his hands these days. He also has a lot of our cash. £693.000 of it this year. Fancy investing in a restaurant business Fred?

Very,Very,Interesting my dear Wooster. Perhaps it would be normal in the current economic climate to have to adjust and re-negotiate bank borrowings.This can take time. I would imagine on an empire the size of his, a few financial hiccups could reverberate through the entire group. There is always going to be a lot of speculation when it comes to Gordon Ramsay. It goes with the territory,especially given his high profile. Lets see how this pans out. Btw FY is financial year. Sorry Bertie, someone's bound to ask.

Thank you kind Sir(madam)? I will preview my posts before i submit them in future

Afternoon Thom ,good observation,lazyness on my part. Thanks for your recommend on Sunday,However EastZEast,and Radjoot were both closed. I tried to find Shimla Pinks on Bridge st but gave up after a while,and resigned myself to dining in another part of Asia. Thailand! Had a super meal at Chaophraya

Hold on - the bespoke menu is a bit different from a normal tasting menu isn't it? I don't know of many other places offering such a service. The "normal" prices aren't anything like the fat duck? ← According to my information The FD has two price points. The three course alc at £98 The tasting menu £130 Sat Bains Three tasting menus £55, £69, £85 Bespoke £150. The point that I am trying to make is this The FD is *** and widely regarded as the best in the UK ,if not the world. I think most customers would go for the all singing, all dancing £130menu Sat Bains has not gained ** status yet,(if at all).However he sees fit to charge more than The Duck. I;m more than happy to admit that the £55 five course is accessible to a lot of diners,but if I were spending £150 I know where I would spend my money. Btw what are you going for on your visit? Any ideas yet?

Bizarre? Naive? Come on lighten up. Who are you to judge a fairly light hearted comment with such venom Everyone on this forum is entitled to an opinion. Its clear I'm not on your xmas card list,but please lets not get personal! ← It is nothing personal to you David, it is the concept that I find bizarre and naive, which I have through my previous point tried to substaniate. Of course you are absolutely right everyone on this forum has an opinion, that is what makes it a good arena for food related discussion. Just to make it up I will happily send you a card next xmas ← Thank you kindly. Your back on my list.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/tv_and_radio/mas...mni_index.shtml ← [/quote Very good link Chris,I read it last night and its clear Thomasina Myers has done very well for herself. The other guys have sort of mixed fortune. Its clear that with the right financial backing and a huge amount of input from the individual it can and has worked.

Bizarre? Naive? Come on lighten up. Who are you to judge a fairly light hearted comment with such venom Everyone on this forum is entitled to an opinion. Its clear I'm not on your xmas card list,but please lets not get personal!

I see that sports commentater Jim Rosental is having a pop at Hestons handling of the affair on Mail online Is this the start of negative public outcry? I hope not.

I had a very good meal at Sats Bains place and from memory had grouse,at the start of the season. The prices have never been user friendly imo, that includes the wine list. On my visit, there seemed to be a fair contingent of foodies on a visit rather than locals. Looking at prices now,people will be questioning how can he justify prices higher than The Fat Duck. This is an uninviting part of Nottingham not Park Lane,so why the stratospheric prices? Robin Hood and his men won't be making merry at these prices!

According to his website, the bespoke menu is £150 pp This must surely be the most expensive in the land. I simply dontttttttt believe it.

I'm with David here. I'm not really a fan of the show purely because the presenters do my head in. I do usually catch the odd episode here and there and this year I did watch the final week. Although the two other contestents seemed talented, this guy really did look like class. He seems to have that uncanny ability to just know what goes together in a dish and seemed to have an amazing ability to come up with original dishes that worked (I say that without having tasted them myself though!). I hope he does get his head down and get some experience behind him at some kitchens and then on further to make it with his own restaurant. ← Thanks for that show of support. I have a habit of sticking my head up,and getting shot at. Something to do with standing up for the underdog.

Making up for lost time I will have to get a job(no way).lol Dont mention it to my wife will you,she nags me all the time

Do you have a link to his blog? ← http://theurbanfoodie.blogspot.com/ ← Thanks for that Btw did you get my message/

Do you have a link to his blog?

I thought Steven was runner up? James Nathan was the winner, and I read he has served time at Gidleigh Park, Stockcross, La Gavroche and most recently Bentleys. He takes up a full time position as a junior sous chef at the Bath Priory (now under Michael Caines) in the near future. I guess he wouldn't have had doors open for him so easily without MC, but it does look like he has put in the hard yards over the last 12 months. times article ← I was referring to Steven Wallis, winner the year before ← Don't know what Steven has been up to recently but do know he has had stints with the following. Le Gavroche under Michel Jr. Pierre Gagnaire in Paris Sous chef in last years GBM. Numerous TV appearances And 2 recipe books Not bad eh.

Are you saying the food he put on the plate in Masterchef was not good? It looked fantastic to me(and the judges).

Come on guys,give the man a chance. Whatever happened to optimism? Are we to kill him off before he even gets started? The reason he wants a Head Chef is so that he can work in tandem with him to learn the job. He knows his limitations,but I'll tell you what.He's a bloody quick learner! I'll tell you another thing,judging by everybody who tasted his food,he has an excellent palate! Btw he does not have any ambition,other than to put good food on the plate. As an aside,when he worked with Rene Redzepi at Noma you could see chefs admiration . If he worked at ** level with a chef of that calibre in time he would be a star. And I bet he could walk into a job in that kitchen tomorrow!

Mat Follas the new Masterchef champion is looking for a Head Chef and financial backing for his new restaurant,Wild Garlic. As yet a venue has not been decided on,however, it is to be based in Dorset Judging by what he produced on the show,expect big things from him.

Not been to Nigels for quite some time now. Have to give it a whirl before the show starts. Last Shaun Hill meal at Merchant House was disappointing. Gidleigh Park is where I remember his food fondly.

How big a role does Mark Sargeant play in his operation, rumour has it he does most of the work on his books,any idea?

Hi Richard. I am stunned by his man management qualities He comes across like he doesn't give a f--- about anybody. However with all the personalities in his organisation. How does he keep them.(Marcus Wareing excepted) Does he just hand over the reins and pay top dollar,or does he have a very good management team behind him? From experience ,keeping key workers is the hardest part of most business's. I don't hear of any dissent in the ranks. ← Excellent pay? Or is that me being cynical? Regarding Trianon, I have a serious foodie friend in Paris who thinks this place is actually pretty terrific. ← I wish someone would spill the beans. I'm really surprised that you've not been yet, given your most recent exploits. That said what a city for dining choices. Its mind blowing!

Hi Richard. I am stunned by his man management qualities He comes across like he doesn't give a f--- about anybody. However with all the personalities in his organisation. How does he keep them.(Marcus Wareing excepted) Does he just hand over the reins and pay top dollar,or does he have a very good management team behind him? From experience ,keeping key workers is the hardest part of most business's. I don't hear of any dissent in the ranks.

As an aside, I thought Aiden was brutally honest in that programme. I am a big fan of his anyway, but I found him really quite endearing. AWT was also hilarious with his backhanded complimenting... ← It made very good viewing. You begin to understand the real value of an "in the know" agent I spent nearly five hours with Aiden one night after service,bouncing stories off each other. My dining, His kitchen.My heroes, His heroes. He's food through and through Very good luck to them.