Ross Boyce

Just had confirmation that Heston IS opening in London; the style is something new, not Fat Duck II (this time it's personal). Will get fuller details (including name) from my source tomorrow (hopefully) and will post away...

And it's typical of Fatty Bath that he felt the portions were too small. Mind you, from reading his other reviews, I'm amazed that his palate is refined enough to discern components that we all missed (us being mere amateurs of course). He'd never call Katie the next day to ask what the dishes were, surely not. Oops, I think we've stumbled onto another of my hobby horses, local hacks who think they're critics because they expense the odd meal or two; even MPs have better judgement.

The UK offers what's called a "working holiday" visa which allows you 2 years in full, paid employment. They seem to be reasonably easy to get as well, I've employed lots of Aussies and Saffies who were on them.

I'll be interested to see what comes up here, I've often eaten in Glasgow with business (the usual suspects like Gamba and Rogano) and while they're perfectly satisfactory, nothing has been too special.

Part of me had hoped I wouldn't read an account of someone having a similar experience. When The Kitchin first opened it's hallmark was well executed plates with a pared down number of ingredients and wonderful clean and punchy flavours; this did seem to change when Tom debuted on GBM and he started espousing his "philosophy" of 'From Nature to Plate' - from around then I thought the house style evolved into a heavier, earthier offering culminating in my plate of brown. Frankly I do start doubting chefs when they start describing their approach/belief/style as a "philosophy"; let's face it Tom isn't exactly Nietzsche, Satre or Schopenhaur and neither are the other "food philosophers"; they're cooks ffs, some could be described as artists, some visionaries and some scientists, but I've yet to see one produce a treatise similar to "Thus Spoke Zarathustra". Still, hopefully David's right and when I return Michela will be in charge of the dining room and Tom will be more careful with the food.

You're probably right, it's odds-on that I'll be back before the end of the year as my Father-in-Law's a big fan; I just hope it is better as the thought of Tom's ability and potential being wasted depresses me. Next time you venture to the Athens of the North to visit 21212, you should definately try Restaurant Martin Wishart; it's rather more "Michelin" than the Kitchin or 21212 but is simply exquisite and truly deserves a second star.

I suspect we're coming at this from different places (or at least our palates are), I love haute food and will happily eat it 'till the cows come home but I do believe that there is almost a "sameness" about joints like Restaurant Martin Wishart, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and Per Se. The flavours are all superlative and yet familiar at times and this is exactly why I'm so excited about 21212, the combinations and layers of flavour refreshed my palate and left me giddy with excitement, and I'm not a schoolgirl, I've got a beard and everything! I mentioned TK's Oysters and Pearls at Per Se because it was the only dish in the entire meal that really excited me, though the meal was excellent as I'm sure your French Laundry experience would have been. At 21212 all the courses had that effect. Now I know that Paul Kitching isn't the only, or even first chef to take this approach - Pierre Gagnaire springs to mind - but it's something totally new to Edinburgh and makes a great counterpoint to the established, and rather good themselves, joints like The Plumed Horse and Number 1. It's all horses for courses I suppose.

I wonder what he can do to balance his limitations and lack of training in restaurant management with his obvious talent? Perhaps hiring a strong brigade and then relying on them to turn out plates which he has designed, while observing and learning for a year or so might be the way ahead..

Good to hear that you enjoyed your lunch David; I suppose the big issue for me was the service, the kitchen can have off nights (though 3 poor mains out of 4 is rather unfortunate) but I do think it can be made better by recognition that the guest didn't enjoy his £28 plate. I noticed Katie deal with a return at 21212 on Wednesday (it was the third table and from what I saw the kitchen had sent the beef exactly as requested, medium well - the diner wanted cremated* but hadn't asked for it), it was swifly and very politely managed with an appropriate and undeserved appology. I do not that Michela is just as good but if she's not there, how does the room fare? I just think £400 for a meal is too much money to spend on the off chance that things have improved, especially with Martin Wishart, Paul Kitching, The Plumed Horse and Abstract as other options; though I dare say I'll be back at Kitchen soon enough anyway, my Father-in-Law does have a soft spot for Tom after watching him grow up on the farm next door.

I'm glad to hear you had a good experience, I'm looking forward to going back in a couple of months to see what it's like when the team are all fully in their stride (let's face it, they've started from a good place). I agree about Ballencrieff, Peter and Elma probably produce the best pork and bacon in Scotland right now; though I'm a bit conflicted, part of me wants to trumpet them (along with a few others such as Well Hung and Tender) but the other part of me wants to be always able to get my bacon, trotters, hams when I want them.

You know, I don't like the sound of Snail Porridge or Bacon and Egg Ice-Cream but I'm willing to bet that Michelin and the body of opinion is correct and when I get the chance to try them they'll be lovely. I hate tapioca with a passion but I still tried Thomas Keller's "Oysters and Pearls" at Per Se and it was one of the most sublime experiences of my life. And I do include losing my virginity. With this in mind, let's remember that lemon is a classic aromat with beef and then stretch our imagination just slightly to consider that the lemon tart in question isn't a bog-standard tarte citron. So, unless you've tried, are you qualified to condemn? Personally I'm of the belief that eating out should sometimes be theatre and you should always give something a try before writing it off, I've written off The Kitchen but that's after going there!

Try an open mind. The dishes juxtapose flavours which stand out individually and marry together beautifully, similar in mode to Pierre Gagnaire. I would never think of a Baked Custard with Cumin or Cardemon but it was wonderful and worked. There's definately reason behind his dishes, they're certainly not "for the sake of it". Paul Kitching displays a completely different style to Martin Wishart (who I love) and Tom Kitchin (who I don't) and is a welcome addition to the Edinburgh scene.

So, last night. It was really rather good; the restaurant is the ground floor of a Georgian Townhouse with a drawing room and private dining area on the 1st floor and plush rooms above. It's been decorated in sympathy with the period features yet has a contemporary edge; it feels as effortlessly sylish as Per Se coupled with a relaxed and welcoming ambience. Anyway, we arrived to a warm welcome and were invited to repair to the dining room for some opening night Champagne, all very civilised. It was here that we saw Paul popping in to speak to the waiters, checking they were ready for the night ahead; he looked understandably anxious but still made time to say hello. The menu was as billed, a choice of two starters, a soup, two mains, a cheese course and two desserts; bread was offered which was stuffed with pistachios, dried fruit and curry notes, I found it lovely though my wife, who doesn't like dried fruit, was a bit disappointed in the lack of choice. Technically it was great, light and airy, it excited the palate without being filling. To start I had the Chicken BLT while the rest of the table opted for Scallops with "seven peas". The Chicken was a wonderfull deconstruction of an otherwise indifferent sandwich, the distinct flavours all worked together and were stunning individually. The Scallops were almost as nice, I suspect they were butter-poached as they were plump, succulent and scallopy, the "seven peas" seems to be peas prepared in seven ways, most successful though my wife and mother-in-law felt some of the peas were too hard, I tried a couple and suspect they may have been dried. Next came the soup, it was cauliflower, carrot and apple with a slice of salami and, randomly, a confectionary apple string; for all this was the stand out dish of the evening, every mouthful brough a different combination of flavours that were a wonderful symphony in ones mouth. Seriously, I can't rave enough about this, equally I can only hint at the depth of flavour - as it constantly changed it would take far too long to describe. For the mains I opted for the Turbot and Chorizo while the others had the Beef. The Turbot was as good a piece of fish as I've had in a long time, accompanied by lentils, caperberries, a baby chorizo and a couple of sauces which I couldn't even identify but were wonderful (am I beginning to overuse that word?), the lentils were slighly underdone for my taste but didn't bring the dish down. The others enjoyed the beef, it was served with what looked like some gremolata and they reported further lemon hints coming from what they called "the white stuff", not too technically helpful but they loved it. Until the cheese came, all conversation at the table was suspended when the dishes arrived, only to resume while waiting for the next course. I would say we fell silent in reverance at the altar of Paul Kitching, but that might be a bit too melodramatic. It was seriously good though. Anyway, the cheese course allowed us to eat and talk, there was a great selection of 10 British and French cheeses served with porridge biscuits and a couple of others which I ignored. Can I just commend 21212 for having this as a seperate course and for having it in the correct place (jamais le sucre avant le sale). A pre-dessert came out of coconut and porridge infused milk, served in paper shot cups from a cute cow-shaped milk jug; this was great and fun, the flavours developed in the mouth like those of a good wine with the coconut surgiung and then ebbing to leave a delicious oatyness. Not too impressed with the paper cups though, they do look like something you'd find containing ketchup in an Ikea canteen, shot glasses would be preferable. For dessert I had a baked custard which was flavoured with cumin and caraway and loaded with sultanas and kumquat and which was accompanied by a rasperry and linseed trifle; both dishes packed a flavourful punch that I'm still salivating over. The rest of the table enjoyed cheesecake and a firey ginger sorbet that was so well recieved I didn't get to try any of it. We had to leave at this point, our substitute babysitter having a time limit, so we didn't have time for coffee but Katie kindly presented both my wife and mother-in-law with some bon-bons to take home. I've eaten my wife's as I'm writing this, they are unctious and mellow and could almost have converted me to dark chocolate. Fiona's going to kill me when she finds them gone. Anyway, in summary: Restaurant 21212 is fantastic, Paul's dishes are going to challenge the culinary status-quo in Edinburgh by offering intelligent and complex flavours that excite the palate, all done with humour and a deft and skillful had. Even at Per Se, I only had one dish that made me this excited, at 21212 I had 5. The wine list is rather good with some interesting bottles there, though I do wonder if some of the mark-ups may be more London than Edinburgh (I'm thinking of a £60 bottle of Frank Phelan here, it was only a 2005 and I'm sure the last bottle I bought at retail was £17). The staff are pretty much faultless, welcoming and attentive but informal; they are really quite knowledgeable and seem to be proud of where they work. Justifiably. On the down side, this was an opening night and there are a few things I think we'll see tweaked over the next weeks and months, some of the cutlery is a bit more style over substance - I'm thinking the two pronged forks that the others were given for the beef in particular and I don't think the room is large enough to be served napkins from a tray, it was nice but perhaps just impracticle. Is this worth £60 per head? Certainly. Is this deserving of stars? Definately 1, a few tweaks and possibly 2. Should people go? Yes, but not too many of you, I always want to be able to get a table.

Just back from the opening night and what can I say (apart from thanking the baby sitter for being inflexable and curtailing the evening). Simply amazing! I bumped into David as I was dragged away and he looked rather happy as well. I'm off for an Armangac to collect my thoughts, full report tomorrow, but in short: brilliant!

Perhaps Theo comes from the school of thought that Scallops shouldn't be cooked through? I was always taught that Scallops should be soft and mallow-like inside and gloriously seared out, giving a wonderful contrast of flavour and texture. Unless we're talking sashimi of course; scallops only hours out of the sea, thinly sliced and barely dressed are also a thing of beauty.

Success, I've got a table on the opening night as well! The cheeky smile still works (despite being surrounded by chubbier cheeks and greying hair)... Let me know if you want to convene for post prandial congacs to compare notes David.

That's the 21212 press release just out: The official opening date of Michelin-starred chef Paul Kitching’s new restaurant 21212 has been confirmed as Wednesday 20 May 09. For Paul it’s the culmination of his dream to set up 21212 and run it in his own imitable style. When it opens in the third week of May facilities will include three luxury bedrooms, a 38 seater restaurant, bar, reception area and private dining. In terms of contrasts it’s night and day in comparison to their eponymous restaurant Juniper. The listed Georgian townhouse over four floors is light, spacious and airy whereas Juniper was an onstreet property which was a former an estate agents. The couple and their business partners* have invested £4.5m into the project and have been heavily involved in restoring the elegant townhouse to its former glory since inception and although they have retained many period features they primarily wanted to transform the restaurant into a 21st century environmentally friendly restaurant. A glance at the menu carefully constructed and considered by Paul shows that he is staying true to his modern French style of cookery which he championed at Juniper but with a more grown up approach to his menu combinations. For £60 per person the dinner menu consists of an exciting combination of dishes prepared by Paul and his team of eight chefs, which includes his sous chef from Juniper Kate Johnston. The five course gourmet menu consists of a choice of two dishes on the starter, main course and dessert courses, hence the restaurant’s name. The lunch menu priced from £20 per person offers diners the flexibility to choose from a 2, 3, 4 or 5 course menu. It’s also a marked departure from other restaurants as there won’t be a separate a la carte or taster menu – just a well thought out combination of exciting flavours for each course. When asked about the vibe of his new establishment and his hopes for the future he advised. ‘When we left Juniper we were looking for a new challenge. Edinburgh where we had spent some considerable time in the past was the ideal place for us and Katie who is originally from Scotland has been a delightful tour guide and we have been enjoying exploring the city and the rest of Scotland together in what little spare time we have had over the past couple of months. To new diners coming to the restaurant that are unfamiliar with my style of food I don’t have a uniform style of presentation on the plate and my dishes are a composition of flavours that make the whole dining experience. In the past I have been called experimental but I would say that my dishes are intricate, feminine, interesting and vibrant in colour and they are delicately assembled with a build up of flavours. Each course is made up of a variety of components that could be represented in isolation but I think that new diners will find the food interesting and seasoned Juniper regulars will find our new venture a refreshing take on his original style and one that they will enjoy. For us as well as the food – it’s always been about the whole dining experience so from the décor to the added extras in terms of to the service it’s about our style and attention to detail and we think that will shine through’. Bookings are now being taken on reservations@paulkitching.com and from 27 April phone reservations can also be made for the restaurant and bedrooms – on 0845 22 21212**. Bedrooms, which are priced from £250 per night can also be booked. 21212 will open five days a week –Tuesday through to Saturday for lunch and dinner with meals served between 12.00 -1.45pm and 7.00-9.30pm.

I especially enjoyed her derision of Danny's choice of cooking the shin Sous Vide; obviously this was filmed some time ago but there's a serendipitous irony in the Head Chef of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay decrying what she calls "boil in the bag" within a week of GRH's production kitchen being outed...

Fantastic, I'd heard a rumour that he was quietly postponing the opening given the crumbling economy, I'm glad to see that it's all still going ahead. Does anyone have a phone number for booking? Directory enquiries are drawing a blank and there's no sign on the interweb... ← Been looking myself, nothing yet. They may go for a soft opening, just to see everything is working ok. Just checked on flights, BMI baby do a Midlands one for £55 return, need to book soon though at that price. Fingers crossed some details are forthcoming, sooner rather than later. ← I might just take a wander by the site to see if anyone's there who has an idea, I'll let you all know if I find anything out. In other Edinburgh news, the wine merchants Corney and Barrow are hosting a tasting and dinner at Prestonfield with the Lebanese guru of Chateau Musar, Serge Hochar. It's on the 11th of May if anyone's interested.

So, my meat grinder/sausage stuffer has arrived. I've got my hog casings, curing salts and dextrose and there's a lovely rare-breed pig breeder in the next village. But, erm... I'm not sure what to do now. Does anyone have any advice or recipe recomendations? I'd rather try small batches 'till I know what I'm doing.

Fantastic, I'd heard a rumour that he was quietly postponing the opening given the crumbling economy, I'm glad to see that it's all still going ahead. Does anyone have a phone number for booking? Directory enquiries are drawing a blank and there's no sign on the interweb...

I agree that Berry Bros and Justerinis are very good, as are Corney and Barrow (http://www.corneyandbarrow.com) and the Wine Society; I'll use C&B for my En Primeur and the others for specific wines. I also like using independent merchants whenever possible, Great Grog (www.greatgrog.co.uk) have a good list (especially of exclusive grand cru fizz at £16/17 a bottle which outperforms many £30 bottles I've sampled) and Grog will deliver a case anywhere in the UK for free. I've used them for a lot of work things and regular customers / bulk buyers will get a discount if asked for. Also a new discovery is Naked Wines (http://www.nakedwines.com/), a company recently set up by the ex-top bod of Virgin Wine. Naked focus on small, artisanal producers that won't be supported by larger distributors. The website has an innovative Ebay-type wine auction and they also allow you to "sponsor" an individual producer, basically you pre-pay £5 per month which goes to the maker and you can off-set it against their wines at a later date, along with a 30-odd percent discount, and they'll often send you 6 bottles free when you sign up. Happy drinking

Hmm, I hate to be controversial here but I'm currently less than impressed with the Kitchin. I've been a regular visitor since it opened, my first visit was it's second weekend open and since then it was one of my frequent business lunch haunts and a favoured spot for a meal with the family, so it's fair to say that I was a fan which is why I was very disappointed in my last visit in January this year. After a round of indifferent starters, my wife and her mother shared a Dover Sole which was portioned at tableside, well it was chewed up by inept service onto cold plates and arrived in front of them at what seemed like below room temprature. Now, I do like the grandeur of tableside preparation but I would suggest a competant waiter would be a pre-requisit. My main was worse, I ordered the Woodcock and was served a plate of brown. A plate of overly rich brown that I couldn't finish. As this was the first time I'd eaten Woodcock I don't have a comparison to the quality of the meat but the breasts were edible once the slick of brown (again) sauce had been scraped off, the sauce overpowered everything it touched. The innards were mushed into a pate, mixed with foie gras and served on a crouton (under the meat and more of that damnable sauce) and I found this completely inedible; it was far, far too rich. Now, I'm someone that likes rich, I poach lobster in butter for god's sake (thank you the sainted Thomas Keller for sharing that one) but this pate was horrible. I left the plate having eaten less than half of it and this wasn't noticed until the table was cleared for dessert, the waitress asked me if it was okay and when I explained that it wasn't nice she didn't even appologise. Frankly if I'm dropping £25/£30 on a plate then I'd like to be able to eat it, I appreciate that foods might not be to everyone's taste but if a plate is sent back 3/4 full I'd hope a better restaurant wouldn't charge for it. I was charged. There was certainly no solicitous interest in detailed feedback. The service (the staff seemed all different since I had last been there) was indifferent at best and we felt we were being rushed (we were told we couldn't have the tasting menu as they needed the table back). I noticed that photos of Tom now adorn the walls of the room, sadly I'm led to wonder if he's buying into his own hype and taking his eye off the ball; Michaela was wonderful front of house but I'm guessing she's now at home with their new little 'un. Whoever's replaced her managing the room is Cafe Rouge standard, not Michelin I'm afraid. I'm gutted that I've lost one one of my favourite haunts but why would I risk another £300/£400 when I can confidently go to the Plumed Horse, Martin Wishart or Abstract?