chopper

Reading the last posts in this thread brings to mind a question : on what methodology or criterias do reviewers base themselves when reviewing or simply commenting ( as in the case in Voir) on Chefs, restaurants and/or events ? This question is meant to bring more information to light concerning the work of these reviewers and in no way is to be perceived as an attack on their trade or comments. ( I just thought I'de make that clear from the get go). It seems difficult, in certain instances, to differentiate between personnal taste or preferances and objective analysis, commenting and critisizm. Should it be more clearly stated when someone is simply giving there opinion about a certain topic as opposed to when they are actually reviewing the end product being put before them, this exercize being made(maybe) under more specific "journalistic" guidelines i.e.: subject research, reference criterias (value, quality, attention to detail, timing, general taste points:seasonning, temperature, cooking times...) ? Maybe a journalistic opinion would be appropriate in order to bring to light some information concerning the work involved and the parameters set, this allowing for a better understanding of this trade and the people that practise it... Again this is simply for information gathering, do not read anything esle into this...

I knew we could count on Alex for a warm welcome on the "main". Hoping to see you around soon, either at Café Méliès or elsewhere...

Now that you mention it, moving the bar scene next door would make sense; the formal dining room would then be more spacious, maybe the kitchen could use up some of the new space. They don't seem to have tons of room back there, from what I saw...

Best I've had: Jade Garden, Carnarvon st, Hong Kong Served at Dim Sum, perfect balance of juicy tasty meat filling, and soft sweet dough, I can still taste them...

The "Lumière" web site mentions something about the new place being all about canadian cuisine; it would seem to me, after dining at the restaurant, that this is what Chef Feenie already does, all be it in a "High end" way. How would one refer to "canadian" brasserie cooking: Hamhocks, pigs knuckles and pickled eggs ? It seems difficult to avoid the classic brasserie dishes as devised by the french, not that there's anything wrong with that...

Maybe this is has been touched on in another thread, but what,when and where concerning this new Rob Feenie venture ? Thanks for the info...

Melies is the local watering hole for St.Laurent kitchen folk, you need a warm welcome there. I never thought of the kitchen at Med as being small, but where there's a will there's a way, especially on Grand-prix weekend...

Hope the guy gets a better reception at Cafe Melies than in this thread, come on people, give the guy a break...

If you are serious about working in London, drop me a line via the gullet; I am based in Montréal and still have a few contacts in London, maybe I can be of assistance.

Joe, at souvenir d'indochine, they infuse there beef stock with ginger, fresh coriander stalks, star anis and cinnamon sticks; you can also use coriander seeds but they'll cloud your stock... Don't forget some salt and sugar to round off seasonning, It's all pretty standard...

I, on the contrary, was pleased to see them topping off certain wines during dinner; on the subject of yogurt, the chef also mentionned that the quantity we received last night was considerably less then is served at Espai sucre. This was confirmed by a member of our party that had sampled the dish in Barcelona last year. It might be of interest to know that M.Butron could not use his favorite Manchego, apparently it had decided to remain in Paris, with most of the other prepared mise-en-place he had planned to bring along....

That's the one; it was introduced as a sablé type cookie by the waiter, and I'm not one to argue... Someone in our party referred to the smokiness of the "caillé de brebis" in the last course as smoked salmonish.... but seriously the scotch was an appropriate association to that slightly overpowering course. After talking with M.Butron, he seemed neither sad or suprised by the "mixed bag" of reactions displayed last night; I am sure that initial reaction to Espai sucre was not all oooh's and aaah's...

After the yogurt course; to over simplify, they both seemed to be based on the school of baked cheesecake. I am not sure now if the matchings posted are entirely correct, but will try to verify. BTW the manchego course also came with a "petit sablé": cheese and crackers....

There is one course missing from the previous list: Manchego cheese, frozen thyme parfait, pineapple sorbet & thyme "dust" wine : Vidal Icewine, Inniskillin Would of thought that the palette of tastes and textures would of been broader; the petits-fours offered the only forray into spices and textural contrasts. Agree fully wine the quality of the wine pairings, the wines sometimes overtaking the actual desserts by there flavours and complexity ( it was a joy to sample the Tokaji aszu 5 puttonyos) As for the scotch and chocolate it reminded me of the vieux rhum Pierre Gagnaire served with his soufflée a few years ago; bold but it works...

A rather cool reception for Mr.Butron last night... And a bit of confusion on how the whole thing was organised; clients walking out after one course, others not even sticking around for mignardises. Not to mention the ever present refrain: we're fully booked but at 9 p.m. we're trying to convince "walk-ins" that they should have dessert before their veggies.... Apart from that, an interesting evening, but not for the "lactose intolerant"....

Sinclair Phillip being the owner of said house... But I'm sure the sookekid could of told us that...

No trip to Paris is complete without an evening at "La Coupole"; art-déco surroudings with bustling clients and waiters. They have an impressive "grand plateau de fruits de mer", that would make other places blush... Other nice spot is " L'os à moëlle" on rue Vasco de Gama, in the 15ième; super busy bistro with a nice wine bar across the street. Don't miss la brasserie "Garnier", near la gare St-Lazare, in the 8ième, great oyster bar...

On a recent trip, I had the chance to experience a "dégustation" menu at this Melbourne establishment; I later found out that Shannon Bennett had been named best new chef for 2002 by Australian gourmet traveller... Having had a chance to chat with him, I was amazed at the level of cooking he and his tiny brigade could accomplish. I wonder how he is perceived as a young Chef-owner and what place he occupies in the australian cooking scene? Thank you for the feedback....

How much of an influence did Alain Passard's move towards a more vegetable oriented gastronomy have on his restaurant's promotion...? I say vegetable oriented for fear of saying the dreaded " V...an" word. Any insight from anyone...Patrice maybe...?

Does that mean we can expect to see sookeharbourkid and all his sookeharbourfriends at Rosalie any time soon ?

It's not a question of bad mouthing James Barber. The point is more that the people involved in the show(most of them) seem to parody what it's like to be a chef, from the "faux-brigade" set up and the constent useless references to actual restaurant kitchen situations . Not to mention their approximate use of technique and their lake of regard for the actual skills that make or brake an actual professionnal chef, be it low or haut de gamme... James Barber is quite the standard guy, wouldn't you say Joe?

Well, Québec is represented by Georges Laurier from Hull and more notably by Caroline Mccann-Biszak. I, for one, think that she is the only one that truly cooks like a chef...