JudyB

On a related topic we realized that we had a narrow escape when we ate in Maze recently. While looking at the cocktails menu, Duncan was wondering whether or not they would know how to make a "Sassy Ostrich", but decided on choosing one from the menu instead. As it happens they might well have known how to make one... I was searching to see if I could find out which restaurants/pubs are to be used for the second series when I found this comment on the BBC America website: If she was there when we visited she had a low enough profile that we didn't spot her. For those who don't know who "Jacqui" is, she was one of the couple who took over Allium (Erica's restaurant) as "The Ostrich" for The Restaurant. Edit: Just to clarify, looking to see which restaurants are to be used was idle curiosity and a desire to know where to avoid. Having visited The Ostrich we have no intention of repeating the experience.

No, you're quite safe, at least from us, "Trekkies" mostly attend what are referred to as "media cons". The sort of science fiction convention that Duncan and I have gone to tends to be attended by relatively normal people - typically computer programmers and others who haven't really grown up yet... There are always a few people who like to dress up, but most of us are at least as normal as the people who post on here.

Having stayed in the Adelphi a few times, I tend to agree. However, the only reason that we have been there is that, for a few years at least, it was a popular venue for Science Fiction conventions. The main criteria for this being (low) cost and a willingness to have the whole hotel being taken over by the con for a weekend. This tends to mean that the hotels concerned are either unpopular (and therefore empty) or are mainly frequented by business travellers (and are empty at times like Easter). From memory the trips for food outside the hotel were to Chinese restaurants, but the food was never very spectacular. If Fraiche existed when we were last in Liverpool then we hadn't heard of it, but the distance would have put off most of the con-goers.

OK, not so subtle hint taken, I have now booked for Duncan's birthday. (Although based on last time we may need a very light diet between then and going to Spain for my birthday...)

I think that you need to re-read the Michelin press release (here). It already has got the one star which, as you say, it definitely deserves. Edit: What the press release actually says is that, in addition to having one star now, it is a rising two star restaurant...

It certainly looked fairly gloopy from what I could see, although you have to give them some leeway for the length of time from the dish being "ready" to the filming of the judging. I noticed that the ice-cream seemed to go from reasonably solid to mostly liquid between shots...

I'm not sure exactly which episode you are on, so I'll try not to say too much! However, the restaurant used as "The Ostrich" is fairly close to us (and the real owner posts on eGullet), so we went along to see what it would be like. I can assure you that it was at least as bad in reality as it looks on TV. We knew that it was bad news when it was clear that the chef was busy setting things up for live music instead of being in the kitchen....

No, if you find "The Restaurant" website here then there is an "Apply Now" button (unless they are blocking this for non-UK IP addresses). For those in the US who don't want to be "spoiled" about the outcome of the first series this is what it says about entering:

Am I right to assume that you are in America? If so, this is the programme which was shown last year in the UK as "The Restaurant", so be very careful in browsing the web as you will find out who won. There was a thread about this programme (originally in the UK forum) since one of the restaurants used is owned by one of the regulars in the UK forum. Also, be aware that you will soon find references to the second series of this since they are currently advertising for new contestants. We went to one of the restaurants during the filming and I can assure you that it was at least as bad as it looked on TV, if not worse... Edit: Raymond Blanc owns "Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons" these days. The "Maison Blanc" was one of his early ventures, if that was what you meant by "Maison fame".

Why do you think that it is weird that Greg Wallace would still be involved? At the end of the day isn't he more of a presenter these days than a grocer (or whatever his day job really is). By comparison John Torode runs restaurant(s), so he may need to spend more time with his "day job". Also, when they said "Torode is out", do you know if they meant purely for "Professional Masterchef" or for the whole set of future programmes?

The "Big Food Fight" is a loosely connected series of programmes on Channel 4 (in the UK) challenging the way in which we eat and our food is produced. The Channel 4 website here will give you an idea of the programmes they are showing. The programmes with Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall have been concentrating on trying to stop people buying "battery" chickens due to the conditions in which they are kept.

Can you give us a link for this? I thought that Ripley's had already closed, so presumably this is actually re-opening?

Since some chefs have multiple restaurants, could it be that it is the named chef at a particular restaurant who has the stars? There is also a question of the nature of the restaurant and how much that can change to retain the stars. To take a hypothetical example, if Heston decided to abandon the Fat Duck in favour of the rumoured bistro in London, I would not expect his 3 stars to transfer automatically, although I would expect Michelin to take a look at any new restaurant he opened. In the case of Hibiscus, I imagine that they will review Hibiscus as a serious candidate for two stars, but I can't see that a completely new venue could automatically be given two stars.

I had never heard this term either. For the record I was born in Cumberland, my parents are both from Tyneside and I grew up mostly near Manchester, before moving south to go to University. As far as I can tell this seems to be a Deryshire dialect word - see here for a definition and more details... Does anyone know if this is just Derbyshire, or is it more widespread than that? (It certainly wasn't a Lancashire term when I was a child.)

We have had the tasting menu with matching wines and they did an excellent job, but it could be overwhelming. I think that the Fat Duck has a fairly good selection of French wines, but my advice would be to ask the sommelier. They should be able to give you the best advice for what is currently on the tasting menu.

I have no experience of their mail order services, but both Neal's yard and the Fine Cheese Company in Bath do monthly cheese selections. The one from the Fine Cheese Company looks similar to the organic vegetable box idea: see here for more details. The website says: For the Neal's yard offerings look here. Neither of these is cheap and my own feeling is that so much cheese every month is way over the top, although Neal's yard also does a quarterly selection.

It's slightly off the most direct line between Oxford and Cheltenham, but I would definitely recommend a visit to Allium in Fairford. If you are prepared to go a bit further east than Oxford, you could start (or finish) with a visit to the Goose at Britwell Salome.

I think the answer to your question is that it was by Matthew Norman - for anyone else who wants to take a look it is available online here. Personally, I only skim his reviews to get some idea of whether or not there might be an interesting restaurant to visit. Mostly his whole approach simply annoys me and I certainly wouldn't use his recommendations (good or bad) when deciding to visit anywhere.

All of the "normal" BBC2 programmes between 8PM and 9PM - Heston, Nigella etc - are on hold while Autumnwatch is on. Heston will be back on 20th November.

The Blanc Brasserie in Oxford used to have a room which could be closed off for private parties. However the website is very generic and I don't know if this is still available. Of course, if cost isn't an issue, and you are prepared to travel outside Oxford there is always Le Manoir... Does it have to be in Oxford, or could it be nearby? If you are prepared to travel outside Oxford there are more good restaurants, although I don't know offhand how many of these have private rooms available. Unfortunately most of the private parties we have been to round here have been work Christmas parties, which tend to get rather larger than you want.

If you are familiar with Golden Syrup, then just imagine a slightly thicker black version - that is what is sold in cans in Britain. There is a Treacle website which has a reasonable explanation of the different products and the names which are used. This says the following about the difference between treacle and molasses: Since this programme was originally made for British TV they probably assumed that viewers would know the difference between treacle and golden syrup (or molasses).

We just got next week's Radio Times, which says that the second series of "Heston Blumenthal: In Search of Perfection" starts next week: Tuesday, 16th October BBC2 8:30 pm - 9:00 pm He seems to be starting with Chicken Tikka Masala and playing around with yet more "toys", including using an MRI scanner...

I assume that you mean "Les Baux-de-Provence"? If so that is certainly a nice place to stop and it should be a nice (and scenic) trip. If you go to ViaMichelin that you should give you a suitable route, starting off on the Autoroute. (When we first stayed in that area we tried to avoid the Autoroute, but for going to/from Marseille it is the only sensible option). If you check some of the compendium threads on here you should find some recommendations for Les Baux. We have eaten there, but only light lunches and also only during the summer. The only thing to be aware of is that you would probably NOT want to visit if the winds are too high - the views there are spectacular, but it is also rather exposed!

Good question. Yes, the programme did appear to make it very clear that you won last night's pudding course. From what I have seen the format is supposed to be that they get one winner per course from each day, giving them 12 contestants for the regional final. They then compare the dishes and decide which 6 will go on to cook again. Although it looked like all 12 were in the studio at the start of the "Friday" programme I am not entirely certain if they were all there. One possibility is that you were "there", but that they had decided you would not go on to cook since they don't actually need the constestants there to make the decision. Is it possible that they just got it wrong when they called you and that it was simply that they decided you were not one of the best 6 who would cook? It looks like we need to watch the Friday programme carefully to find out exactly what they have done...

We just got our copy at the weekend and one surprise is that Ripley's (St Merryn) is no longer in there. We had an excellent meal there in June so I hope that this just means that they have failed to return the forms for one reason or another and NOT that the restaurant has gone out of business. Does anyone in the Padstow area know anything about this? (Basildog, Slacker?) On a completely different topic, what do other people think about the new layout by county etc? It may work better if you know which county you are in, but you can no longer look at the maps and then look up restaurants by place. So if you are near a county boundary, you have to know which counties to look in. Since the maps with placenames do not show the boundaries clearly you may be stuck. Also, for those of us living out in the sticks (Oxfordshire in our case) it is well nigh impossible to work out where to look for London restaurants. Although I have a vague idea of where places such as Kensington are, I find it very difficult now to browse through the London entries. At least for London the maps do allow you to look up the restaurants by name...