MobyP

I was just talking with Raymond Blanc (2 star Michelin, Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons), and he apparently demanded of his foie producer (10 years ago, I believe) that they measure the stress levels in the ducks. He was saying they now use much lower stress methods, that the traditional cruelty is unacceptable in the present climate, and that their foie gras tended to be in the 500g range. I can tell you, pan seared alongside some roast duck and spring turnips with foie gras sauce, it was very tasty indeed. He mentioned that it had a lower fat content (unlike the guy who just ate it).

Matthew Fort of the Guardian seems to have read this thread.

Having moved to England from LA, my wife and I dearly miss Sasubune, son of Nozawa, on Sawtelle.

There's a great recipe for stuffed goose neck in the Hugh F-W book.

My experience with butchers and fishmongers is that they buy cheap knives, sharpen the life out of them, and then throw them away after a few years. I wouldn't go handing your expensive blades to either. They might come back sharp, but they might also come back a few mil less broad.

Allan - you're mentioned in the literature as one of the impressive regional finalists. Yet there's a scandalous typographical error where they say you're merely a nipperish 29? C'est ne pas possible, maitre!

I read an article in the NYTimes about closed restaurants auctioning of their used gear. Does anyone know of this sort of thing in the uk?

Hi Brithack. Welcome to (approximately half) the club.

Tony who???? Lovely report, you well fed so and so. Any plans for a future trip?

A friend in France can get hold of - and so uses - both tendrons of veal but also tail in his jus! I haven't seen either in the UK markets. I started adding oxtail to my veal stock - about 1.5 pounds per 10-12 pounds of veal bones, after seeing a Ducasse recipe for beef jus with aparagus which also used oxtail. Apart from adding a great amount of body, it brings a roundness of flavour without adding any 'beef' notes that has completely transformed the end result.

Do you have a digital camera? Might you be able to take photographs for us?

Definitely. I'll give up just about anything for food...

Don't let 'em fool you - Wild boar, husbands (or SO's of other description), sides of beef, manifestos - you never know what you're going to see a European woman dragging onto the tube. Just don't expect the rest of us to give up our seat. Unless you ask nicely. As to location, the same rule applies here as anywhere else. The better it is, the more expensive. Marylebone High Street is a mecca these days, but property is (g)astronomical. Borough is still the best market, but I don't know many who'd want to live too close.

I'm falling behind here. Thanks for keeping us up to date.

Dear Best-of-all-Davids, yes, of course it's okay to use both the first person formal 'one' and to make up words using basic grammatical rules - that's what English is (other than a conglomeration of Greek and Latin suffixes and prefixes); the loose property of an hoard of linguistic bandits. The point I was trying to make was that whilst he was being so insufferably patronising, specifically (in my opinion) about class and education, he was doing so while breaking the rules of his own supposed education, in a manner which, it seemed to me, he didn't expect to be challenged on.

Tim - welcome to eGullet. Superb and proper british breakfast. I (and your arteries) salute you.

pig's trotters are a great substitute for adding gelatin and body. Easier also to get hold of. Also, veal glace, which has a great amount of body - so long as the taste isn't too overpowering.

Should I report this to the UK forum as you reported the French thread here in the Italian corner of egullet? The true tragedy is that they'd probably agree with you. They'd be wrong, but they'd still agree with you. ← As an Englishman, I'd like to point out that I disagree with myself at least half the time, with Adam Balic almost never, and with Bux almost always. Italian epiphany: a small roadside truckstop in the mountains outside Parma - La Mama in the kitchen hand rolling each batch of tortelli as we ordered them - a bliss unlike any other. French Epiphany: A dish of morels plucked out of the ground that morning, sautéed in foie gras fat - a bliss unlike any other.

Bravo Lucy.

There was an unimpressive Ethopian down in Bayswater - near where Little has his deli. But there was one I always wanted to try up in King's Cross - what's that road parallel to York Way with the prison on - Pentonville? My brain's gone. Anyway, they looked like they did whole deal, but I never managed to get there. (Sorry for pitiful lack of detail)

A Little..? Welcome to eGullet!

If you don't make this your avatar immediately (and I do mean this second!) I'm going on hunger strike! The Felicitous Feet of Fi! I'm massively impressed by the amount of space those birds have. The foxes must line up by the fence like teenage boys outside a convent.

Sorry - wasn't being antagonistic, just referencing the other thread. Does anyone know what the Ramsay tasting menu is these days? I thought the FD used to be cheaper.

Welcome to eGullet, Charcutie. Well de-lurked.

I thought the Fat Duck is the most inexpensive 3 star in Europe (yes yes Dirk - for what that's worth).