MobyP

Chris, welcome to London. We around these parts often get accused (by the Spanish, French, and Americans at last count, but really, we're not fussy, we'll take abuse from anyone) - for reasons unknown to me - of making insupportable pronouncements about the quality of London dining. The simple truth is, although there's very good food to be had, we're simply not on the same level - for differing reasons - as New York or Paris. We simply don't have the same relationship to food as those places. Our culinary culture is an emerging one. Our low end dining doesn't come close to being as extensive and interesting as New York. Our high end - I believe - isn't anywhere near being on the same level as Paris. Our mid and lower mid-range is growing more interesting - gastro pubs etc. Our upper-mid-range has some very qualified and talented hard-workers - Chez Bruce, Putney Bridge (I'll take their word for it, haven't had it myself), Thyme etc, but you can have a miss every now and then, despite the hits. I haven't found a great brasserie yet, but I live in hope. I've had a couple of great plates at Racine, but it's not on the same level as an institution as Balthasar. For the most part, the high end tries too hard, and beyond it's ability. You can still have a superb meal at Ramsay, but it will never be in the same league as a meal at L'Ambroisie, or Gagnaire (two opposites, of course). Aikens you should try for yourself. At least he's doing something different. The first meal I loved, the second felt obscure. Aubergine, Petrus, The Square - well, they leave you with the sense of having spent a fair sum for some luxury ingredients moderately to well prepared - but to what end? Which is to say, the answer is in the question. If you have to ask it, then it's unanswerable. There's some very good low and mid-range Asian food, but my sense still is of the best of it being up North. I've had better Chinese food here than I've ever had in New York - but of course its regionality is different, and so a different approach as well.

Ok, I'm learning as I go. General info so far... I'd forgotten about the famous 6 star Eugénie Brazier. I wonder if she was still cooking/teaching when Pacaud was there, or whether her son was in charge. I hadn't heard before about Peyrot, described (here) as one of the founders of Nouvelle cuisine. Apparently he also had 3 stars, and I found a listing for the restaurant still being open. Has anyone been there recently?

Thanks, Bux. I should have fun running those through the google translator. Do we know anything, contextually, about those three restaurants: La Mère Brazier, La Méditerranée and Vivarois, their chefs, their styles of cuisine, their history?

I had this dish, and spoke to Wylie about it afterward. He failed to mention the chemistry, but said they had pureed the shrimp, and then showed me the piping bag and nozzle with 5 or 6 holes in the end. Apparently (unless I'm mistaken) they pipe the puree through the holes directly into boiling water.

It's hard to find a very good thermometer in this town... I was in Sally Clarke's the other day (Notting Hill/Kensington), and they were selling the same organic flours which they use to bake with (although in rather large quantities). If I were a baker...

I've been googling Bernard Pacaud, but have found it hard to find out much information about his past, where he trained, who his chef was etc. Unfortunately my French, other than menu, is non existent. Does anyone know where I might find this kind of history? Thanks chaps. [Edit: forgive stupid typo in title]

Blimey - you win.

Surely some mishtake, Shuzi - I can't find your review ANYWHERE! Speaking of which... i must go over to the New York board to read that Ducasse thing of yours.... 1. Moro - London (an absolutely spanking piece of milk fed lamb) 2. Ollie's - New York - better than standard NY Chinese 3. Santa Plaza Cafe - Santa Fe - superb breakfast burrito with green chile.

As I'm sure vserna will be glad to attest, I'm something of a back-country boy when it comes to luxe cuisine. The circumference of my interest does not extend very much further than the rim of my plate. Although I recognise the semiotic value of setting, ambiance, service, clientele, I would gladly forsake them all for a quiet park bench and a napkin, so long as I could keep the plate and its contents remained unchanged. Cuisine, always ephemeral, seems now to have the lifespan of a fruit-fly. Fashions used to last a decade. Now they seem to pass before you have time to pick up the phone. Of course the grand cuisine of thirty years ago is gone, as the cuisine of thirty years before that was gone as well. But perhaps there were places where its last echoes could be found, resonating between the arches of some old building. Perhaps in the dining room of Point. Or in the kitchens of an old estate. I do mourn their passing, not because of any lost Relevance (capital R) they might have had, but rather - like the gargoyles of Notre Dame, or the columns if Athens - they were indicative of the greater world around them that allowed their creation. And obviously, as the gargoyles were attached to a church, or the columns to a temple, so the cuisine was attached to ceremony. To a culture. To a social or political status. I don't doubt it, but it's not what speaks to me. Great cooking, for me, is an act of communion with a world wider than itself. Like listening to the Miles Davis Quintet, or reading a 1980's play by Howard Barker. The difference is, once it is gone - that's it. There is no record that can act as a substitute. It is irretrievable. So - echoes of echoes. We put our hands to our ears, and listen as we can, and try our best to hear what once was deafening.

I might have misunderstood, but I believed we were speaking not of "most influential" or avant guarde etc, but of the formerly classical, disappearing cuisine, and the decreasing number of places where on might encounter it.

History is eluding me, it seems. Switzerland, for the moment, is beyond my reach. But I do have a birthday approaching, and perhaps a credit or two to spend, and Paris is not too prohibitive if I went for a lunch, and then fell asleep on a bench, to the sound of the Seine... Tell me, do we think that Lucas Carton is in the running here?

A tremendous report vmilor. With regards to L'Ambroisie, I am in complete agreement with you. I was both surprised at the simplicity - or almost paucity - of ingredients in each dish. And yet - when they worked - their cumulative effect was quite overwhelming. The sea bass with shaved artichokes and a caviar sauce will never leave me. In terms of old world cuisine, the last representative that we have in this country might be considered to be The Waterside Inn. Although the kitchens are run by his son, Alain, the menu still reflects the tastes (I understand) of Michel Roux. I have not yet been, but was considering going when budgets allow, if only to sample something of that disappearing cuisine. Have you been? Would the funds be better spent on a trip to Paris or elsewhere?

The Christmas alc and specials menus are up on the web site. The degustation menu, with the exception of one desert, looks pretty much unchanged.

On a saturday, the bread I've had from there tends to be day old. N. Yard has a broader artisinal selection.

One traditional method is confit - you shove the lobe into a air-tight jar - seal it - and place in water. Bring to a boil., and simmer for 45 mins. Let cool. When you open the jar, voila. The liver will be under a seal of fat. If you wanted, you could marinate the lobe for an hour or so first in some port, brandy, armagnac.

Moby, what is your favourite fresh foie gras preparation. ← I'm just learning. I've done the Gordon Ramsay Foie and duck confit terrine a few times (I have one in the fridge at the moment for my stepmum's xmas-present) as they're so simple to make. Devein - mascerate - roast for 12 minutes, and line a terrine with alternating layers. I'll send the recipe if you want it. I should probably graduate to something more - what's the word - pure, maybe. I've served seared foie as a garnish to a few dinners, but I always find it loses heat very quickly, and by the time everyone tucks in, it tends towards the lukewarm.

Thanks, Moby. Site looks interesting but I'd be seeking further information/reassurance if I stumbled on it unrecommended. Have you used them? They don't say who they are, where they are (no telephone number, no address that I can find), who their sources or suppliers are, very little info to entice one to buy. And as we all know, taking the plunge to buying on line is always something of a leap of faith. We need, we crave information, for what we're buying in good measure is Trust. Would be interested to know more, but that said, I think I'll definitely have a pop at the foie gras. Cheers, Marc ← Telephone number - 01275 475252 There was a member - Steve Martin - used to speak very highly of it for hard-to-find items like woodcock etc. I haven't used it myself though.

Marc - Club Chef Direct should do it for you. Look under 'Other Produce' and then (I think) 'Specialty Items.' It says 7 days notice required.

As I'm sure Mathew is about to tell you - it's not difficult to find foie gras in London. Either Harvey Nichols, Harrods, Selfridges, or The Ginger Pig on Moxon street, or three places at Borough Market...

Taking on a thanksgiving meal is proof-enough of diminished responsibility - any court of law of law would understand making pie and pasta! Pardon the semi-off-topicness - but I was thinking for xmas making a traditional meat-filling for tortellini in brodo - and your use of truffles inspired me. Was the too-strong cheese a pecorino? What would you have preferred?

Wow. That's a football stadium compared to mine. What are you doing about the load-bearing wall between the kitchen and the living room?

But if you come to my house, it's only a wheel barrow and a half per cup - which I think you'll agree is a very modest amount.

Lucy - I forgot to ask - did you make the truffle ravioli yourself? If so - what was the recipe - and how did you come up with the idea?

Should the name of said establishment come to you, in a dream perhaps, do let me know. Or I could just wander Gloucester Rd in my jammies. Surely somebody would come to my assistance. ← Café Deco!

Much of it has to do with expectations, surely. There are few things so wonderful as showing up to someone's house and have them place something exquisite before you. When you go to a high-end place, you have high-end expectations - and woe betide they're not met.