Duncan

The tradition in Scotland is to celebrate New Year more than Christmas. If you fancy something a bit different try making some Black Bun. Whisky is of course the traditional drink at both New Year and Christmas (and all days in between). Of course some of us Scots aren't terribly keen on Scotch, so any reasonably expensive wine should do (as long as we're not paying).

Thanks. I'll try that.

Or you can give it a quick blast in a very hot oven, either at the end of the cooking (letting the oven heat up while the joint/chicken is out of the oven), or I guess it would also work at the beginning except it might take a while for the oven to cool down enough to put the meat in.

There isn't really a tasting menu (although I think they are planning a proper tasting menu in the new year): for now it's up to David if he decides to offer something over the standard menu. I believe he does read this forum, but I don't think he ever posts to it, or if he does I don't know under what name. Don't worry about it: the standard menu is pretty fantastic too. Oh, one other thing: make sure you are hungry when you go; the portions are always extremely generous.

Not even double cream?

That would be Nestlé. Or did you mean to imply the word 'high' in front of 'quality'?

He is completely bonkers, but right now I'd kill for a bit of that gateau.

Lunch Saturday 2nd You must have just missed us by a few hours, and it sounds like you ate about twice as much as we managed (and David doesn't skimp on the portion sizes). I'm interested to see some of the variations: not sure whether they are all real or just poor note taking on my part. Our amuse only had 3 layers: salt cod mousse, tomato jelly and basil foam. Judy had the langoustine & pork belly starter, and I went for the absolutely fantastic Foie gras with lamb's tongue, quince and walnuts (with a glass of Monbazillac). We had a similar dish to your mackerel one, but if my notes are correct we had zander with the duck hearts and red wine foam, also I think we had a butternut squash puree rather than carrot. For mains Judy had Megrim sole with sea beet, cock's comb and kidneys. I had a delicious slow cooked breast of veal (no need to cut the meat it just fell apart), sweetbreads, broad beans and morrells. My notes for the pre dessert say orange and liquorice sorbet with the scented cream. For dessert I had lemon and pine nut parfait and Judy had the chocolate delice. Finally coffee and petit fours as the coup de grace. Given the amazing standard of the food we were kind of surprised how quiet it was. I hope the evening was busier, it certainly deserves to be packed out.

Maybe I've been reading too many writeups about Le Champignon Sauvage, but I finally gave in to temptation and booked for lunch in a couple of weeks time. We haven't been since just before it was refurbished, so it will be good to see how it has changed. Watch this space.

I spoke to Simon recently and he said that the underground is basically the old gourmand/degustation menu but that he's gone "underground" with it as he's trying to change the locals impression that it costs 110 quid a head to dine at L'enclume. He'd rather they focus on the fact that you can lunch there from 25 quid. ← Thanks. That is presumably why the emphasis now looks to be on the set lunch and set dinner menus. I emailed them and got this reply:

I see the menus at l'enclume seem to have been restructured. Instead of things like introductory/intermediate/gourmand the options according to the website are now: * set lunch * set dinner * the tour * underground * la carte 'the tour' seems to be a mere 10 courses, and 'underground' has neither description nor price on the website (order in advance, price on application). Does anyone know anything more about the 'underground' option?

good call ← but not exactly midway between Maidenhead and Redditch so you'll condemn the Redditch people to a 2+ hour drive (although to be fair even Oxford is going to be an hour and three quarters for them).

Well, there's Le Manoir, although it might be a bit on the pricey side. The Trout is ok, fairly typical pub food but nothing spectacular. Its a nice riverside setting. Also on the river is Cherwell boathouse: it's a restaurant rather than a pub, but handy if you wanted to go punting before or after. The King Arms at Sandford lock: bog standard pub chain food, but you can watch the boats trying to go through the lock or walk up and down the river. Googling for opinions came up with The Kings Arms at Sandford has to be one of the best family pubs in Oxford, if not THE best. although rather bizarrely the other two reviews on that web page are about a different Kings Arms. Off river: The White Hart is a mile or so up the road from the Trout and does good food. The Mole Inn at Toot Baldon is another good restaurantish pub.

According to the Guardian, it is part of the new BBC2 Autumn season, so I guess that means sometime this Autumn.

Its about time we had a brief review here of Allium in Fairford. There are threads started by Erica, but none yet from other members of eGullet who have visited. We went there on Wednesday, a visit slightly delayed by circumstances. On the evening we visited, the 3 course dinner menu and the cheaper Table d'Hote were on offer, but Erica also gave us the option of the Gourmand tasting menu done as a menu surprise. After an agonising 30 seconds we went for the suprise option. Ordering at the same time as us were a group of Americans who seemed to be using a copy of the Good Food Guide to plan the rest of their trip round the UK. They also seemed to be trying to order a wine which wasn't on the wine list (Erica said her supplier wouldn't let her have it yet) and another which was on the wine list but had gone AWOL from the fridge. As near as I can reconstruct what we were served, the menu went something like this: * Cerney Goats Cheese and Peperonata Cone Served in the bar area, this looked like a miniature ice cream cone, except it wasn't. * Cauliflower and cardamom soup The second amuse, served at the table. * Skate wing, chicken wing, asparagus on spelt risotto It's a tasty and interesting combination albeit somewhat boney. I'm not sure if it is intended to be a pun. * Foie gras and Carpaccio of Wood Pigeon with pickled vegetables and pea sprouts. Some suprisingly pink pickled vegetables (cauliflower and shallots) here, but a lovely combination of the foie gras and pigeon. * Sea trout with broad beans, samphire and celeriac puree Nice lemony crust to the trout. Sorry this picture is a bit blurred, the trout must have been moving too fast. * Rump of hogget with lambs tongue The hogget had much more kick than lamb would have had, but was still tender (I've found mutton can be a bit tough). I can't remember having had lamb's tongue before, but this one was crispy which made a nice contrast to the hogget. * Artisan British & Irish Cheeses It is great to find somewhere with a good selection of exclusively British & Irish cheeseboard. By this point we were beginning to flag, so we just had a small selection of cheese and declined the offer of bread or biscuits. * Pineapple foam with vanilla jelly * Almond ice cream, poached peach, apricot delice The ice cream stood out in this course: very almondy. The wine in the foreground is Rasteau Doré in a driver sized tasting glass. * Coffee and chocolates I'm afraid some of the chocolates defeated us, but we got given them in a doggy box. Conclusion for eGulletters: if you are in the area, well worth a visit. If you aren't in the area, tough, it is still worth a visit.

Well, technically, the BBC were simply the broadcasters of the programme. The series was made by an independent production company. ← Are you saying that the BBC don't have editorial control over the program? I thought the BBC commissioned productions from independant companies such as Optomen (which implies that the BBC are driving the process), not that the companies produce the programs and then hawk them to the highest bidder.

Final results: Smoked Salmon from the Irish contestant, Turbot & Oxtail from the Welshman, Venison from the Scot, and Lancashire Custard Tart.

Tonight's favoured three are Marcus Wareing (Custard Tart), Galton Blackiston (Treacle sponge), and Michael Caines (Raspberry Mousse). I was shouting at the TV though as the judges marked down Nick Nairn's raspberry souffle on the grounds that the Mansion House kitchens are three floors below the dining hall. I really wanted to vote for him, but there was a massive look of relief on his face as they announced that he had come fourth and wouldn't get a chance to prepare 350 souffles. Edit: and just for the record, in case anyone from the BBC should read this, may I just say how much I realy really really really hate the imbecilic commentary of the 'will Galton have done enough?, will Nick have to cook his souffles?' variety when we've already seen how the judges scored each dish so anyone capable of adding three digits together already knows the answers. Why can't the BBC ever treat the viewers like adults?

Today's results: Bryn Williams salt-marsh lamb was the judges' favourite with Nick Nairn's venison a close runner up. Third place was taken by Atul Kochhar with tandoori chicken. ...and on the voting site, the BBC have leaked out another of their hidden rules 'The winner of this course will be the highest-placed chef who is not a winner in a previous course.'

The judges gave Richard Corrigan's turbot 29 points out of 30, and Bryn Williams (Turbot & Oxtail) & Atul Kochhar (Sea Bass) each 28 out of 30, so they were the three that went to the phone vote. Michael Caines just missed out (27 out of 30), and the others were left well out in the cold as the judges found lots of things to dislike.

We decided to visit The Lamb at Satwell for lunch on Monday. This is (probably the smallest and most rustic) of AWT's pubs: no bookings, so turn up early or late. We arrived at about 12:20 and had no problem getting a table, by half past they were telling people to expect an hour's wait. Some people opted to eat outside rather than waiting, which given the sunshine and showers nature of the weather could be considered either brave or foolhardy. The main menu is in three parts: starters 'for sharing', stews, and side dishes. There is also a specials board doing the rounds which might be in the vicinity while you are ordering. We went for some 'crispy lamb nuggets' followed by 'Middle White sausages in cep lentils' for Judy, and Spicy pork & chorizo for me, with some accompanying 'mash of the day' (champ). Both of the main dishes turned out to include potatoes, in Judy's case it included some mash submerged under the lentils. The lamb nuggets (for some obscure reason called 'eppigrammes' on the menu and bill) were pretty tasty: deep fried strips of lamb breast with some herby mayonnaise. Service was eager throughout although not always perfectly coordinated: when refilling our drinks, I asked staff member #1 for a half, and staff member #2 arrived back with a pint (but #1 spotted this and said I would only be charged for the half, so I did a deal with Judy and got her to agree to drive back). For dessert I ordered a chocolate mousse and Judy decided to skip, #2 turned up to ask what we had ordered and put out spoons for us both to share, then #1 returned with napkins and attempted to hide the spoons she had brought behind her back. Summary: worth a visit so long as you either turn up promptly, or it is sunny enough to eat outside without counting the black clouds.

The format for this competition is getting kind of ridiculous. Tonight we had 7 chefs re-cooking their starters, only there isn't enough room in the kitchen so we had batches of 3, 2 and 2 with the others hanging round in the background and generally trying to put them off. Atul got marked down heavily by two of the judges for excessive use of air-miles importing his crabs, so the public get to vote between Marcus Wareing, Richard Corrigan and Michael Caines. Anyone who cares to express an opinion can do so at www.bbc.co.uk/food.

I think the Chinese Mitten Crab is the one I was thinking of that has invaded the Thames Estuary (but I was searching for Blue Crab which is why I didn't find it). Are they suitable for cooking soft-shelled?

I thought soft-shell crab was one of those things (like American crayfish) which had escaped and were now to be found in the UK? The judges made some reference to 'how is he going to find 200 of these in the Thames estuary?' On the other hand I can't find any useful references to back this up, but if it is accurate then they could be seen as at least as British as, say, rabbits.

Was at a press event today with a chef/contestant and one of the food stylists from the show who ruefully confirmed that Gary will indeed win, by royal command, as predicted by Popbitch (and our own ChampagneSadie) over a month a ago. Makes you wonder why they bother really. ← Perhaps they bother because not everyone believes every rumour they hear? FYI, Gary lost his heat despite having two dishes the judges thought were outstanding, Atul goes through to the final: he may not have hit quite the same heights, but the judges reckoned he did better all round. ← Am I to understand that Rhodes got knocked out? ← You heard it here first. It was a split decision: Matthew Fort didn't want to vote at all until he was forced into it. Prue Leith voted for Gary, and the other two for Atul.