[Restaurant/Bar Annoyances]

I apologise, of course you're right.

[Restaurant/Bar Annoyances]

We don't constantly top up in the hope of selling more, in fact we leave it pretty low and watch like a hawk until the last moment before topping up. A little eye contact and a "that's enough for me" would be curteous...hand gestures are not.

[Talisker halves its Capacity]

Are there regulations controlling their water allocation?

Undoubtedly, as we've had a pretty strict hose pipe ban up here on the West Coast!

[Talisker halves its Capacity]

Whilst the amazing weather we've been having on the Isle of Skye, which certainly hasn't been shared by the rest of the United Kingdom, has been keeping the tourists happy, Talisker Distillery has been suffering somewhat from the drought.

Due to the policy of using only the freshest spring water, the lack of rainfall has caused Skye's only distillery to halve it's production.

This means we might be waiting even longer to see the world-famous 18 year old Single Malt back on the shelves!

[Grouse in the UK: Where?]

We've been enjoying some really tasty Grouse at The Three Chimneys on the Isle of Skye; really intense bird!

[Your favorite UK food critic]

Matthew Fort and Jay Rayner perhaps...

Least favourite; Frances Bissell by far!

[Restaurant/Bar Annoyances]

"French Chardonnays often dissapoint me...would you recommend the Macon-Villages?"

"It's a screwtop; it can't possibly be faulty!"

Are just a couple of the amusing statements that crop up every so often. Also people put up their hand to stop you topping up their wine, this is pretty rude and out-dated behaviour.

["Ferran", the book]

I've read this book and find it to be excellent. It's funny that you mention the term Molecular-Gastronomy, as Ferran himself doesn't like to be associated with those words; he prefers Avant-Garde Cuisine which is in fact more appropriate.

Very interesting and gives a great insight into the man who is quite possibly the best chef in the world.

[Anthony Bourdain's Medium Raw]

Good read so far, quite shallow views but very entertaining.

[Noise Levels – Taste & Perception]

It's funny that I should see this discussed here; Angus Winchester posted his thoughts on the article on Facebook last week and I read through it then. I think it's a very interesting study, to say the least, and I would be keen to give it some practical testing in the bars and restaurants I work at in the future.

[Do-it-yourself Barrel Aging]

http://smallscreennetwork.com/video/661/raising_the_bar_whitehook/

Check out this video by Jamie Boudreau; a pretty good explanation on how to get the best results with your barrel ageing.

[Is Jay Rayner the best UK restaurant critic?]

Not sure about best restaurant critic, I can't say I can imagine the criteria for such a title to be honest. I certainly enjoyed his book 'The Man Who Ate The World', well written and certainly inspiring. Definitely worth a read!

[Advice needed! How to get an intro job in a professional kitchen]

You might have to consider starting by working for free, as a stagiaire, especially if you're looking to later work in high-end restaurants. In the words of Anthony Bourdain; if you're going to attend Culinary School, then you should be attending the best. If you're in the US, for example, this would probably mean the Culinary Institute of America. If you go any lower then you might as well be working in kitchens for the experience instead, otherwise you're just going to be graduating from college, going on 30, with no actual experience and a degree from a second-rate college; which most certainly won't attract the of a decent chef.

According to Colman Andrews, roughly 4000 candidates would apply to work at El Bulli every year as a stagiaire, completely unpaid except for a shared room in Rozes as accomodation. Only 25 would be accepted, and this formed over half of the restaurants kitchen brigade. For the stagiaires, this was consequently the key to a brighter future, and would get them work in pretty much any kitchen in the world from there on out. In Michael Ruhlman's book on the CIA, he urges that one should start out as they mean to go on; if you wish to work in good restaurants and get paid well eventually, then starting in good restaurants is paramount, even if it means a sacrifice or two to begin with.

I hope this helps a little.