Louisa Chu

David - About 8000 seats each season. Last year they had about 400,000 requests - up 100,000 from the year before. They get about a 4% rate of cancellation. They don't dread it. They're stoic about it. It wasn't that long ago they had 0 requests. That was the time they started to experiment.

Chef Metcalf - it's promising. malachi - it is a good thing. If they couldn't even consider your request, you would have received regrets already.

I'm in Chicago at the moment and got to see Tony in Uzbekistan last night and Vegas from last week - and even Paris finally! What incredibly beautiful shows - hard to believe such good times produced such stunning work. And who knew Tony was so limber?? BTW that Uzbek pilaf/palov looked especially amazing. Ukbek National Cuisine says "The oshpaz, or master chief, often cooks palov over an open flame, sometimes serving up to 1000 people from a single couldron on holidays or occasions such as weddings. It certainly takes years of practice with no room for failure to prepare a dish, at times, containing up to 100 kilograms of rice." That is bad-ass cooking.

Send your request today. Same as before - short and sweet - email or fax only - no phone calls. Email: bulli@elbulli.com; fax: 972150717 - Spain country code 34. Good luck!

There are still two more Fooding "Wine and Food" events left before the Week of Fooding starts November 28th. The next one features tripe tapas with dry white Bordeaux Monday, October 17th at R. in the 15th with chef Stephane Jego - formerly Yves Camdeborde's "right hand" man - currently at L'Ami Jean. The password for the event will be posted 4 days before the event. The final one's Monday, November 7th with 99 Moet & Chandon Champagne and food by Nicolas Vernier chef/owner of Michelin one-star Caffe Minotti - modern French/Italian. Location and password still a secret. For the Week of Fooding events check the website on November 28th - it will re-launch with new secret locations and passwords. Last year Yves Camdeborde did a ephemeral restaurant in a boucherie each night - reservations were taken each day via a linked website only. This year there will be a "semi-clandestine bar" with cocktails and "experimental tapas". Good luck!

I went the other night for dinner. The rooms have been beautifully re-done - modern minimalism meets Art Nouveau - with a shockingly hip bar upstairs. There's a wine by the glass suggested for every dish - except the pigeon for two which has a suggested tea. The menu retains some of the classic Lucas Carton dishes - foie gras, rouget, cote d'agneau, millefeuille - but in name only - they too have been modernised. And minimalised - absurdly small portions for entrees and plats - but beautifully plated. The desserts though are enormous - especially the chocolate mousse - there was enough for three. Interesting place, good food, I definitely want to go again. But be forewarned that the service is currently horrible. Don't take it personally - I knew two of the servers from other restaurants - and VIP chefs were seated everywhere - including Christian Constant with a party of 6 next to us chatting with Mr. Senderens himself - and even they waited forever for their puny portions - with empty plates and glassses. Will post more soon.

Officially Cordon Bleu Paris will help place you in a professional kitchen in France - restaurant, hotel, catering, pastisserie, boulangerie, chocolaterie, etc. If you want to do something like charcuterie in Italy and/or Corsica - which I think is great - then talk to your chefs privately. Good luck.

I'm just back from Marrakech. I ate sheep's head in the square, drank tap water, I'm totally fine. zora - yes, the orange juice carts ringing the square. I found most of the fresh fruit almost painfully sweet - not a problem I'm used to having - but one I'd gladly endure. Didn't need it, but had some delicious housemade yogurt from one of the dairy shops in the souks. Regarding dress - I did not go glam - and I'd say Marrakech is stylish in its own way. For women I saw everything from shorts and tank tops to fully covered - with no obvious clashes at all. Mrs. Wolfert - thanks so much. Yes, harira - with alternating bites of dates and sweet cakes - and one time with just the local bread slathered with honey - was one of my favourite dishes. And thanks - here's the link to Dar Moha's site - will go next time. Druckenbrodt - a walking trip sounds amazing. What kind of friends tear you away from a feast with the Moroccan royal family?? And again, I think it really depends on the home and the restaurant when it comes to the food. For example, all of the line cooks in the traditional Moroccan restaurant at La Mamounia are women and they made very fine food. And the chef you're talking about must be the infamous "Mademoiselle el Hamiani" of Le Centre de Qualification Hotelière et Touristique de Touarga-Rabat - here's the link to a Waitrose Food Illustrated article about the school by Sarah Woodward. And yes, I did visit one of the communal ovens during baking hours. I will post more soon. Thank you all so much for your help. I already can't wait to go back.

Druckenbrodt and Moby - thanks very much. And sorry about the distraction - as a writer the last thing you need is another reason to procrastinate. To help keep you focused, here are the links to my posts about Xavier Le Quere and Marc Bretillot respectively: Let Them Eat Cake - at Xavier Le Quere Food + Design Have you seen Dorie Greenspan's article on Pierre Herme in the current issue (October 2005) of Food Arts? Ted started a thread in the Pastry/Baking forum here. Regarding fromage blanc - they must have drained it at Xavier Le Quere to achieve that texture. Normally it's like a less acidic yogurt. You can find it in any supermarket in France - in varying qualities of course - for the best quality go to any good cheese store. Marc Bretillot helped create the vertical millefeuille at La Grande Epicerie - not quite iconic but it did get a fair amount of press. The croquembouche is not the new macaron - though I personally would love that. It's typically made to order for special occasions - it does not conserve well which is concern for pastry shop sales.

Louise, et al, it would be sweet were you to post addresses and phone numbers for such good addresses. Prior awareness is good; Google is also. Your input is invaluable. ← Margaret - better late than never? Delicabar (check out their beautiful new website) at Le Bon Marche above La Grande Epicerie de Paris 26-38 rue de Sevres Paris, 7th 01 42 22 10 12 Chez Denise (no website but here's a link to a post on my blog about my late-night dinner there - with an obscene pic: Why the French Don't Suck) A la Tour de Montlhery (Chez Denise) 5 rue Prouvaires Paris, 1st 01 42 36 21 82

As of last week the next available table was in the first week of December. They'll start booking for January soon. That is a change in their opening policy of only 2 weeks in advance - they're trying to adapt to the huge demand. There is no waiting list but they do get cancellations of course so check back daily if you really want that weeknight gastro-bistro dinner table. When you do call remember that yes, as David said, it's the hotel receptionist who takes the restaurant reservations too - so don't call at busy check-in/check-out times. What's worked best for me is late at night. Good luck. In the meantime, here's the link again to my blog post about my first dinner there with pix of each course: Yves Camdeborde's Le Comptoir - Service Number 12.

Farid - um, thanks? So we all know that name-dropping is boorish behaviour - how do you suggest getting good eats in Marrakech? And I'll let all the "North Africans" I know that they should be funnier and more deeply ironic. And for me, water is an issue when it comes to street food because there usually isn't any - and that goes for LA too. We're full of bacteria already - sometimes it's a matter of introducing different bacteria which upsets the system - sometimes it's harmful microorganisms. And if your food gets infected and you eat it, it doesn't matter if it's well cooked or not. But this does not stop me - nor my scientist friends - from eating "unsafe" food. Melissa - the tap water is safe to drink in Marrakech - but I'm sure people will be foisting botteld water on me there too - same as here in Paris. Adam - I see you're doing PR for London tourism too!

I hesitate to post this here because it's over but I think you all have the right to know - there was a temporary Nutella restaurant here in Paris earlier this year. It was open for only 40 days - to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Nutella - and to raise money for charity. It was quite simply Nutella heaven. I have a post about it on my blog - La Table Nutella - with a photo of a Nutella custard served in a egg shell - with a long, dense, dark chocolate cookie for spooning. And I do have the Nutella cookbook by Philippe Conticini - I highly recommend - especially to Nutella fans. On the cover are his Nutella version of his signature chocolate croquettes. You're meant to pop them in your mouth whole and warm - releasing a rush of warm chocolate and Nutella. I spoke with the Ferrara reps at the Candy Expo in Chicago this summer - and sadly they have little interest in widely promoting Nutella in the US.

Jon - thanks so much. The place looks absolutely beautiful. And I'm completely open to modern Moroccan food - I think you know I'm hardly a classic purist! I will definitely check it out. Thanks again.

Adam - I did read about your ill-fated visit to Marrakech in a previous thread - I was so sad for you! I do speak French and will have somebody to show me around but I am looking forward to exploring on my own too. Those offal kebabs sound especially good - I should be able to find them in Marrakech. And thanks - note to self - no pizza in Marrakech. Melissa - yes - I have travelled around quite a bit - though I have to say the sickest I've ever been was from a bad meat pie in a London pub! And thanks for the link - I saw that site. It's beautiful and does have discussion forums - but that page only has three restaurant rec's in Marrakech - and one's French and another's Italian!

prasantrin - I'll be there about a week. And yes, I have heard that about home-cooking being better than restaurant cooking. I would imagine though that it would depend on the restaurant and home. And yes, I'm very much looking forward to a little non-food shopping too - being Chinese I'm especially excited about slippers! helou - thanks very much for the kind recommendation. For everyone - here's their website at Le Stylia. And yes, I understand the concerns about the square - but I do have friends who went recently and had some good food. And even if they didn't, you know I have to eat something there! Sadly I couldn't find your article in the FT archives - sounds fascinating! Thanks so much again.

I love the fact that Ferran did these chips - and the supermarket book. Yes, he thinks about food in a different dimension than the most brilliant of the many brilliant minds he works with, but I think it's great that he's fearless enough to brand everyday common accessible food.

That looks so delicious! Our family version tends to be a bit more minimalist - with just whole black mushrooms and maybe wood ear. And I have to say that I like chicken wings the best - the unctuous gelatinous quality they lend to the jup make that alone the most desirable part of the entire dish for me.

Melissa - thank you so much for sharing your Marrakech experience. And yes, La Mamounia - some of the cooks there will be showing me the markets - and I'm hoping to spend some time in their kitchens. And absolutely I'll take lots of pictures! Thanks so much again.

I'm not going to believe it until I actually get there - and have that first bite of food in my mouth - but it looks like I'm going to Marrakech for a few days this fall. I'm so excited but I'm trying to suppress my expectations - this is one of the cities in the world that I've always wanted to visit for as far back as I can remember. This will be my first time there - my first time in the country and on the continent. There are some wonderful threads here about Moroccan food, cooking, and cookware but I was hoping to get some current information specifically about Marrakech. I have my list and some cooks will be showing me around but I would appreciate your sharing any recent personal experiences about food, travel, shopping, and customs in this city. What should I eat and drink and where? What should I bring home, where will I find it - and I should pay no more than how much? How should I dress and conduct myself? And yes, of course I look forward to eating at Djemaa el Fna - and I can only hope to feast on freshly roasted lamb's testicles. Here are some of the links I'm consulting: eGullet thread - Morocco eGullet thread - Moroccan Tagine Cooking Paula Wolfert Ya Rayi Our Rai (chefzadi's multi-author blog) Wikipedia - Marrakech Moroccan National Office of Tourism "Inside Marrakech" - (Saveur article by Dorothy Kalins, March 1998) CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) - Morocco

Was uni the battle ingredient this week?? I wish we got the show here in Paris!

What was the battle ingredient?

I've posted a list of all the locations used in the Paris show on my blog - with one of my favourite pics of Tony and the crew. Fixer's Guide to Paris

Congratulations Tony and everybody at Zero Point Zero for a great show - and a great time making it. And thanks to all for your very kind words about me!

The NYT review read to me like she liked it. Yeah, she said the Rocco-mocking was mean, but in the end she said it was "satisfying" and "empowering" too. Rachel, I know you're just watching out for our lovable Tony, but is "lack of exposition" any riskier for a new audience than subjecting them to Tony being subjected to ingesting putrified shark? I think not!