Lord Michael Lewis

If you pour it into an already hot saucepan it will flambe with the best of them.

This really depends on what you're using the wine for. A Rioja reduction stands on its own as sauce. On the other hand, very acidic wines when part of a reduction just taste very very very acidic. So it's best to avoid things like vinho verde and Albariño. Gewurtztraminer is pretty good at retaining its character in the cooking process and there is also Verjus especially for cooking certain dishes. There are three basic rules of thumb when selecting and using wine for cooking. First, use a decent variety; there's no point cocking up a dish by trying to save money on the ingredients, but this is more of an issue in the U.K. & U.S. where alcohol is heavily taxed. Second, match the wine to the ingredients much in the same way as you choose wine to drink with food. This may be a highly personal choice, but it should never be an arbitrary one. Finally, always boil off the alcohol (which will otherwise ruin the dish) and flame the wine before adding it to anything. It is debatable whether flaming actually alters the flavour of the reduction, but it is a way of actually seeing that the alcohol has more or less disappeared from the liquor, it is also quite dramatic and makes cooking more exciting.

Rayner, if you rate Everitt Matthias so much, why don't you get him to write something for OFM? However, I do concur with Rayner about 'Le Champignon Sauvage', (a monkeys and typewriters anomaly) which is very good. In fact, the food is not dissimilar to Shaun Hill's, recommendation indeed.

Skunk is also the generic name of hydroponically grown Dutch cannabis. Whilst the flowering tops make a jolly good smoke, they also make "Space" beer out of the less potent leaves, which one could say tastes quite "skunky".

Molecular Gastronomy update: http://www.sweetrelease.com/dr/v2/ec_Main....RP=0&CACHE_ID=0

Your films are often weird and alarming, where do your ideas come from?

So the Sultan got your order then?

Following on from Magnolia's comments in this thread; http://forums.egullet.org/ibf/index.php?s=...=0entry102842 It would be interesting to know what others feel about restaurants that are backed by money men and those operated by their own chefs and/or front of house. In my own opinion it is the chef patron run establishment that wins hands down both in Britain and abroad. Any thoughts?

From the unsympathetic tone of your post it would seem that you like your chefs to be business-savvy rather than kitchen-savvy. Personally, I value what they produce not how much money they can make, but then, you are an American.

Sadly, just not true. Viz, Eric Chavot. An outstanding chef, but ingenuous. Consequently he's been shafted more times than Joan Collins. I suspect Blunos is cut from similar cloth.

Have you ever been offered an inducement to favourably review an establishment? Did you accept?

Doubt it Let's try and be a bit more open towards chef Tyke. It is worth remembering that getting on with Simon Majumdar is certainly not a precondition of membership here.

Now, now, let's not be hasty.

Interesting comment. Indeed, perhaps the most irksome aspect of Molecular Gastronomy, at least in Britain, is its gratuitousness. Given the fact that its application at restaurant level seems be the generation of novelty dishes rather than to solve any particular culinary problem, it would, perhaps, be more appropriately named, 'Fashion Food'.

There is no reason why Heston Blumenthal shouldn't be involved with Molecular Gastronomy, neither is there any reason why he shouldn't exploit its marketing possibilities with outlandish creations such as 'Snail Porridge' and 'Sardines on Toast Ice Cream'. There is, however, a good moral reason why he should give credit those who created the movement that allows him these headline-grabbing caprices. If one went by Blumenthal's press, one would be mistaken into thinking that he had created Molecular Gastronomy single-handedly, as he lacks the humility to ascribe any achievement to anyone other than himself. Blumenthal may well be doing a service to gastronomy by raising consciousness about Molecular Gastronomy and this may, or may not, be a good thing but this possible benefit is really only a by-product of his own relentless self-publicizing.

Hilarious is not the adjective I'd choose for the for the failure of specialized journalists to actually research their subject. "Pushing back gastronmic boundaries" and "I want to throw my knickers at him" is how Jay Rayner describes Adria imitator, Blumenthal. His colleague, Matthew Fort, goes even further with by heralding fellow Guardian staff member, Blumenthal's cuisine as "the biggest gastronomic shake-up in fifty years". Blumenthal's is now the commis chefs' idol and food writers are constantly picking up on "his" influences on other chefs' menus. Which just goes to show that you shouldn't believe everything you read, especially if it's about restaurants.

I know how he felt. This has happened to me on more than one occasion.

How well mannered.

Recommendations please.

Which guides' and which critics' opinions do you most value and for what reasons?

Half an apple added to the recipe will stop it repeating on you.

... and one Ferran Adria,.. and one Michel Bras,.. and one Pierre Gagnaire...

Who do you consider to be the 'Masters'?

What is your honest opinion of molecular gastronomy and its exponents? Is it a good thing for the British restaurant industry?

The following is the Fat Duck emailed news-letter. Given that my opinions on Blumenthal's creative paucity are well documented, I'd like to know what others think. "Nostalgia Foods Nostalgia has provided us with hours of amusement over the past few years. Sounds of the 1980's, bad haircuts, and children's television shows-we seem to be continually finding new topics on which to base a nostalgia programme. As smell, followed by taste are the strongest memory jolters of all the senses, I thought that it would be a great idea to come up with nostalgia dishes. I saw recently the beginning of the 1960's TV show, The Pink Panther. I instantly remembered the Pink Panther chocolate bar. My taste memory of this was vivid, but I couldn't put my finger on it. After some research, I discovered that it was a strawberry flavoured white chocolate bar. The reason that it did not strike me as being particularly reminiscent of strawberry was that some 30 years ago flavourings were far less realistic. I eventually managed to get hold of the flavour itself. The instant I smelt it, memories came flooding back! This would not have had the same impact if it were a really authentic strawberry flavour. The same can be said about another childhood favourite, butterscotch Angel Delight. Making butterscotch with butter sugar and cream would not replicate that authentic flavour of the original product; it would have to be that particular butterscotch flavour. I have recently started to serve sardines on toast sorbet where, for me the taste of tinned sardines on buttered toast (it has to be Mothers' pride) is captured in the sorbet. This was a childhood taste of mine. The one problem that became evident with trying to incorporate the odd nostalgia dish was the fact that one persons' flavour nostalgia would not necessarily be that of another. With this in mind, I thought I'd do a bit of research on foods that evoke childhood memories be it Heinz tomato soup, boiled egg and soldiers, rice paper-wrapped chocolate cigarettes, coconut tobacco or sherbet dib-dabs! If you'd like to participate, just fill in the form below Everyone who participates will get a copy of the results, and I'll try to come up with some dishes or tastes that will evoke childhood memories - with a smile. Newsletter Survey If you would like to contribute to this survey, please complete the form below and I will publish the results on the site. If for any reason the form is not displayed corectly, please click here Your age Group 10-17 18-21 22-27 28-33 34-39 40-45 46-51 52-57 58-64 Over 65 Gender? Female Male Email Address: What country do you live in? If UK, what county / area? What foods evoke childhood memories?"