tonto21

Find it strange there is no mention of Tom Aikens at all...He has been at 1Rising for two years now, Does no one think he will get his second star this year? I appreciate he has had his problems but surely if based purely on the food and restaurant which michelin supposedly is, he warrants a second star. L'Enclume for 2 finally and would very happy to see Hibiscus go to 2Rising, Ledbury to two would be surprising but in reality it is probably worth it as it is as amazing restaurant.

Find it strange there is no mention of Tom Aikens at all...He has been at 1Rising for two years now, Does no one think he will get his second star this year? I appreciate he has had his problems but surely if based purely on the food and restaurant which michelin supposedly is, he warrants a second star. L'Enclume for 2 finally and would very happy to see Hibiscus go to 2Rising, Ledbury to two would be surprising but in reality it is probably worth it as it is as amazing restaurant.

I am not sure whether these will directly assist your friend, but good books are 'Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art' and 'Dashi and Umami: The Heart of Japanese Cuisine'. Both are good to gain an understanding of the Basics and principle of Japanese cooking, Also while some may debate on the style of food the Momofuku Cookbook would be a good start to move forward, its lots of modern fun creative food with asian influences. 'http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dashi-Umami-Heart-Japanese-Cuisine/dp/1897701934/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259021466&sr=1-1' 'http://www.amazon.co.uk/Japanese-Cooking-Simple-Shizuo-Tsuji/dp/4770030495/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259021413&sr=8-2'

Ramsay says this in his autobiography aswell

Anyone make it to any of the 'four fucking dinners' last week? If so would love to hear how they were and what you had!

Anyone make it to any of the 'four fucking dinners' in Saam or Ko last week? If so would love to hear how they were and what you had!

Any truth in the rumour The John Dory is gone and closed for good? Something happened they had to close it at short notice? This may sound ridiculous...

Nope I tried to book a table for one person for June and they do not accept bookings for one person. I dont know how they are allowed to do it, but they do!

Hibiscus is also well worth a mention.

Bugger i wanted to go and eat here to try his cooking and now ill never get the chance....

I would defo go to Aikens, Out of 5 meals there Ive only had one bad one and it was a tasting menu back in 2007. Would back the square aswell instead of Wareing. I just felt Arzak has had its day and it defo not 9th in the world. there is better food to be had in SS area, Mugaritz was just better, its younger and fresher. Arzak just felt dated. still i hadnt been before i felt that i should turn the chance to go. we went to etxebarri aswell its a bit of a drive but had a good meal.

also i dont know whether youve booked arzak but i was there last week and was not very impressed it was dated and over priced. Mugaritz blew it out of the water. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonto21/sets/72157621674537193/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonto21/sets/72157621674521859/

Had a tasting dinner at Wareing in January and it was good meal but not stunning. I am personally a fan of tom aikens and have eaten there a bit. I think dinner in aikens would appeal to me more, although the lunch is brilliant value and good food, you can also have the dinner a la carte at lunch if you so wish. Aikens will be the more exciting of the two. but Wareing is the more 'grand' experience if that makes any sense. as for going for dinner or lunch its up to you. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonto21/sets/72157612215462314/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonto21/sets/72157608595597293/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonto21/sets/72157621022859831/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonto21/sets/72157614971083443/

Do like the look of frantzen-lindeberg, Does anyone have any information on Mistral, how to find and contact it! I presume both of these are pricey though.

Going to eat in Oaxen on Saturday night, Would have loved to have visited Mathias Dahlgren but he is closed for summer break. Can anyone recommend two places for a decent dinner (not looking for anything starred) for thursday and friday night in Stockholm? Would like something young, vibrant and creative but not horribly expensive and maybe a more traditional but good place. Also, any good lunch deals in any of the top places in stockholm during the week? Thanks.

In relation to the Booking Policy and giving people later tables in ramsay restarurants, I rang maze on wednesday evening at abut 8:30pm to go and dine along at the bar to be told that the bar was fully booked and that they had no available tables. Having read peoples experiences above I decided to go to maze anyway. When i arrived the bar was completely empty and i was given a space, by the time i was leaving there were only three more people eating at the bar. Seems strange that they would lead me to believe they were fully booked.

Just wondering does anyone own the La Calandre cookbook In.gredienti by Massimiliano e Raffaele Alajmo? If so what is it like and is it worth spending 150 on it? I buy my fair share of books and would happy to part with my money provided it is a good book.

have heard rumours of a gastropub opening in place on the current Pembroke pub which is up for sale with Mc Grath at the helm. Who knows..

cheers thanks, i have booked oaxen and will give dahlgren a call, i wont be going till august so hopefully will get a table. What should one expect from oaxen ? are we talking a world class meal?

any word on Mc Grath's whereabouts? There are all sorts of rumours such as New York and a possible move to the Ramsay group. It would be shame if he does leave the country but he deserves a bigger and more appreciative audience.

I want to take a trip to Sweden in order to have dinner at Oaxen, Is it difficult to get a booking here as in will it already be completely booked out for this season? And also is Mathias Dahlgren definitely worth a visit? I'd be more than happy to make it up to stockholm in order to go if it is. Has anyone been recently?