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Has anyone seen the October issue of Bon Appetit? DC's own Jose Andres was named Chef of the Year. Previous winners include Thomas Keller, certainly not bad company to keep. It seems to me that this recognition is a great thing, not just for Jose, but for DC restaurants as well.

Fax or email NOW. NO phone calls. The fax number is 972150717. The country code for Spain is 34. The email address is bulli@elbulli.com. Luis Garcia - the maitre d'hotel - and the one man solely responsible for The Book - officially starts the reservations tomorrow - October 15th. But I know for a fact that he's already started looking at the requests - we road tripped together down to an El Bulli chef's wedding Sunday morning. He had over 300 thousand requests last year for eight thousand places. Good luck.

I have been reading with interest about Heston Blumenthal's adventures in the field of Molecular Gastronamy. It seems fascinating that all types of ingredients are compatable even though they may seem to have absolutely no 'traditional' links. The use of garnish to embelish a drink, even though the scent provided is not present in the drink, is not a new idea (Mai Tai's & Sprigs of mint come to mind). But has anyone taken it to its logical conclusion and placed all of the modifying agents to a base spirit in the garnish? I heard of a mintless Julep which had a veritable forest of sprigs as a garnish for example. The other part of the top class molecular gastronomics which intregues me is the apparent depth of scientific analysis that goes into the creation of dishes. Is this information easily accessed or do you have to have a friendly molecular biologist handy? Could Molecular Mixology be a success? Cheers Ian

Any body have or use gellan and to what result akwa

On 'Richard and Judy' Wednesday evening Heston showed off two new ideas. The first was for the diner to wear earphones with microphone attached so as to experience the crunch of the food all the better. His idea was that it would be only used on one course. The second was fruit placed in a container with dry ice and then sealed for some time (up to 2 hours). The fruit, grapes, bananas, apples absorbed carbon dioxide and became efervescent when eaten. Richard and Judy found the fruit a fantastic experience but the earphones were just interesting.

I have to say designing the Alinea kitchen has been one of the most exciting experiences thus far in the opening of this restaurant. I have been fortunate to have been “raised” in some of the best kitchens in the country. When I arrived at the French Laundry in August 1996 the “new kitchen” had just been completed. Often times you would hear the man talk about the good old days of cooking on a residential range with only one refrigerator and warped out sauté pans with wiggly handles. When I started about 50% of the custom stainless steel was in place. The walls smooth with tile and carpet on the floors. I recall the feeling of anxiety when working for fear that I would dirty up the kitchen, not a common concern for most cooks in commercial kitchens. The French Laundry kitchen didn’t stop, it continued to evolve over the four years I was there. I vividly remember the addition of the custom fish/canapé stainless unit. Allowing the poissonier to keep his mise en place in beautiful 1/9 pan rails instead of the ice cube filled fish lugs. Each advancement in technology and ergonomics made the kitchen a more efficient and exacting machine. When I returned to the Laundry this past July for the 10th anniversary I was shocked that it had metomorphisized once again. The butcher room was now a sea of custom stainless steel low boys, the pot sink area was expanded, the walk-in moved, and an office added to the corner of the kitchen. The kitchen as I left it in June of 2001 was beautiful and extremely functional, of course it is even more so now. It is the relentless pursuit of detail and concise thought that allows the French Laundry kitchen to be one of the best for cooks to execute their craft…..16 hours a day. This was good motivation. When it came time to design my kitchen I drew on experiences at Trio, TFL and other kitchens I was familiar with to define the positives and negatives of those designs. We were faced with a 21x 44' rectangle. This space would not allow for my original kitchen design idea of four islands postioned throughout the kitchen, but ultimately gave way for the current design which I think is actually better than the original. But most the important aspect in shaping the final design was the cuisine. Due to the nature of food that we produce a typical layout with common equipment standards and dimensions do not work. Here is where the team drew on our experiences from Trio. By looking at the techniques we utilized we came to several conclusions. 1. A conventional range was not our main heat source. We do need the flat tops and some open burners for applications such as braising and limited stock work. But our overall use of this piece of equipment is somewhat low. Given that we wanted four open burners and two flat tops with two ovens I began to source out a reliable unit. We settled on the Molteni G230. 2. Upon analyzing our other heat source needs we decided to place a large focus on induction. By utilizing portable induction burners we are allowed the flexibility to give as much power as needed to a specific station in the kitchen. Obviously induction’s radiant heat is very low, and this allows us to keep the temperature in the kitchen reasonable, yet the power is quite high. 31,000 BTU's of highly controlable heat. But the main reason for choosing this flexible source of heat is the fact that each chef typically employed at least four different cooking applications on a given night. This huge flux in technique and the realization that the menu would change entirely in 8 weeks time meant that we had to design a kitchen that could evolve on a nightly basis. And last, we are very specific with temperatures; induction makes it easier for us to hold a liquid at a predetermined temperature for long periods of time without fluctuation. They operate between 85 and 500 degrees farenheit. We did a great deal of research on the different producers of induction and favored Cooktek. The fact that they are the only U.S manufacturer of commercial induction cooking equipment and located in Chicago made the decision easier. Their innovative approach to induction may prove to be even more exciting as we are already talking about new product development in the future. 3. a. The complexity of the presentations and a la minute plate-ups of the food require a great deal of surface area devoted to plating. This was one of the most critical factors in determining the basic shape of the kitchen. The size of some of today's popular plates, the amount detail in each composition, coupled with the fact that producing tasting menus vs. ala carte means sometimes large waves of same dish pick ups made it necessary for us to have over 44' of linear plating surface. b. Virtually nothing goes vertical above the 36” counter top in the space. All food, plates, equipment, and dry good storage are contained by under counter units. There are a few exceptions such as the infrared salamanders, the three-door refrigerator, and the hood. This allows all the cooks a clear line of communication between each other and the front staff. It allows me an easy sight line to survey the entire kitchen’s progress with a quick glance. Given these two points it seemed obvious that we needed to combine the two and create custom pieces that would fulfill both needs. Large spans of plating surfaces with all food and equipment storage below. As you can see we ended up with two 22’ long units. Each function as a pass and under counter storage. The building is 21’ wide wall to wall. This allowed us just enough space to create two lines on each exterior wall with their passes forming a 60” corridor for the pick up of plates and finishing of dishes. 4. We decided to add a station to the kitchen. At Trio we had five including: a. pastry b. cold garde manger c. hot garde manger d. fish e. meat Now that we had more space, and the ability to give each station multiple heat sources regardless of their location in the kitchen, we could spread the workload even further. We also realized it doesn’t make much sense to identify each station by classic French Bragade terms. A saucier did not solely cook meat with classic techniques and prepare various traditional stocks and sauces…in fact quite the opposite. This holds true with most of the stations, with the exception of pastry, but even they will have very unconventional techniques, menu placement and involvement in the kitchen systems. We will add a station that will be responsible for a large majority of the one-bite courses both sweet and savory. 5.Given the size constraints of the building we realized a walk-in would not be possible in the kitchen. If we were to have one it would be in the basement. Having experienced this at Trio we decided to design the kitchen without a walk-in, making up for the space in various lowboy locations and a three-door reach-in. I experienced the walk-in less environment when I worked at Charlie Trotter’s. It is certainly different, but as with most things if done properly it provides a very efficient environment. It works best in situations where fresh products are brought in daily for that days use. And prevents ordering in large quantities. It also provides us with very specific units to house different items. We will utilize the 3-door refrigerator to store the majority of the vegetables and herbs along with some staple mise en place, and items that cannot be made in very small quantities like stocks. Raw meat will have it’s own lowboys as well as fish, dairy, and all frozen products. 6. At Trio we found ourselves using the salamander a great deal. It is very useful for melting sugar, bringing on transparent qualities in things like fat and cheese, cooking items intensely on only one side, and it is a highly controllable non-direct heat source. Due to the air gap between the foodstuff and the heat elements the cook can control the degree of heat applied to the dish based on the technique he is using. It becomes a very versatile tool in the modern kitchen, so much so that we will install three Sodir infrared salamanders. Again, this is to insure that all the cooks have access to all of the techniques in the kitchen. As I said before it is important for our cooks to be able to sauté, simmer, poach, fry, grill, salamander, and freeze at the same time and sometimes for the same dish. We have a few unusual pieces of equipment in the kitchen; the most is probably a centrifuge. A few months ago Nick and I were driving home from a design meeting and ended up talking about signature dishes and menu repetition. Of course the black truffle explosion came up and he asked if I would have it on the menu at Alinea. I replied a firm no, but shortly thereafter said I would enjoy updating it. We threw around some tongue and cheek ideas like White Truffle Implosion, and Truffle Explosion 2005….I said it was a goal of mine to make a frozen ball with a liquid center….but then dismissed it as nearly impossible. Within a few minutes he said …”I got it…we need a centrifuge” His explanation was simple, place the desired liquid in a spherical mold and place on the centrifuge…place the whole thing in the freezer. Within days he had one in the test kitchen. I guess this is better suited for the kitchen lab topic that we will be starting in a few weeks… We are working on a upload of the kitchen blueprints. When those post I plan on going into more detail about certian aspects of the design. Doing so now would be pointless as the viewer does not have a reference point.

Well, there I was pushing my cart around the Mega Commercial in León and what should I spot but a bottle with Ferran Adria's photo on the label hanging round its neck. Or a series of bottles of flavored olive oil produced by the firm Borges. So seven bucks later, I am the proud owner of 200ml of chile and cardamom flavored oil. The web page suggests I try it over spinach. All in the interests of culinary research! I'll be curious to see how they sell, Rachel

I haven't been to the Brickskeller in years, but have tilted many a bottle in times past. Has anyone been here recently? Also, with such a large list of beers, is freshness ever an issue for the more obscure choices? Cheers (for real!), Rocks. P.S. Anyone tried the mussels? :-)

Michael: In Soul of a Chef and TFL cookbook, you talk about Keller's love for offal/variety meats. I adore offal---kidneys, sweetbreads, brain, tripe, heart, but it's rare to find them on a menu or even regularly availible at a good butcher. Is Keller's love for guts part of the French influence on his cuisine, or is it just a willingness to experiment/expose more people to the unknown joy of offal? Do you think American restaurants are doomed to serving overcooked, millimeter thin calf's liver, or will we eventually embrace the so-called 'head to toe' cooking of St. John's Fergus Henderson? Thanks! Stewart

i have recently seen a documentary on avantgard cooking in which ferran adrias el bulli was featured. in on shot they show someone injecting some kind of liquid jelly mixture out of a syringe into a bucket filled with (cold?) water. the next shot shows the outcome, which were perfectly round fruit caviar´s.... i bought the big black el bulli book "1998-2002" but couldnt find a recipe there... then i tried to make my own mixture which consisted of fruit juice and agaragar and gelatin in different concentrations.... but when the drops were injected into the water they always dissolved rite away or were badly deformed into little rings :-) which were also cute but not quite what i wanted... is there anyone who did those fruit caviars ??? i know there maybe other ways to do them but i really want to get them the "el bulli" way... dammn... cheers torsten s. cologne/germany

i ordered this from amazon in june. they said 5-8 weeks delivery. i waited. last week they told me another 3-5 weeks. i went to a bookshop. they had it on the computer but they had never stocked it. i believe it came out last novemeber in time for christmas and this large bookshop in the City (with fair sized cookery section) had never had a single copy. does it exist? if it does, is it worth waiting for?

This is my first post! My husband and I are travelling to France from Canada for the first time in November. Our best friends have just moved to Clermont-Ferrand (he works for Michelin). I have found one post recommending a restaurant in Clermont - are there others? All four of us consider fine dining and wine our only leisure pursuit! Unique cuisine, an guided wine list and exceptional service make the experience for us. Looking forward to seeking more advice as we plan our trip. Cheers!

The "Table Dancing" series continues. +++ Be sure to check The Daily Gullet home page daily for new articles (most every weekday), hot topics, site announcements, and more.

My man DonRocks and I went to the mini bar at Cafe Atlantico last night. Wow. We left convinced that it was the most important meal in the city last night. At least the most important to us. 34 little tastes. all relevant, almost a Japanese purity to a whole lot of the flavors. Most of the flavors are familiar too, just presented in a manner that is thought-provoking. Highlights: Chocolate truffle with foie gras and tamarind (sour, bitter, sweet). Conch fritters with liquid center. An injection of hot mozzarella soup and basil (caprese salad like not many people have had). Deconstructed clam chowder. To be honest, too many people practice this stuff without knowing what they are doing and it comes off badly. I've said this a lot, if you reach for the foamer, you had better have worked for the man. It's well known Jose worked for Ferran, but Kats (the kind of new chef) also spent a year with him. I look forward to seeing what that place will produce as it matures. Only knock (and it's just rocks and I being a pain in the ass) is that we where looking hard for riesling or something else. But it's not that big a deal because it's all about the food anyway. For the record, we drank a cava and a Sauvignon Blanc, which provided plenty of great inspired matches, but our opinion was that could have gone in a few different directions. Funny thing is, to finish my meal, I had a glass of Malbec, and the super-tobacco finish in the wine was like having a cigar after a great meal. That in keeping with the brain-pushing experience we had last night. Steve Klc, your desserts worked seamlessly with the meal, just like you like them. The mango soup with mint ice and pop rocks was killer. Go. Go now.

Lately I've been hearing alot of Adria,so does anyone have anymore info on him apart from his coconut foam and cuttelfish raviolis

i spent the otherday getting strange looks at the health food store asking for lecithin (a soy granule), sodium alginate and calcium chloride. (this geling system is also brilliant, my mind is currently tripping over the possibilities ) anyway, i mixed the lecithin with watermelon juice and frothed with a hand mixer and generated a stable cold froth(per michael's relay of information he got from johnny innuzi sp) well that was successful but what is next with this product? i here it also has great emulsifying properties. let me know what you know cheers

Russ: In my opinion, the series you did with Thomas Keller and Michael Ruhlman was (and is, if it's still available on line) not just a terrific resource, but one of the best things I've ever seen a newspaper food section do. - How did you convince these guys to participate? - How did they take to being edited for a newspaper? - Were the recipes developed and/or tested at the Times, and what sort of difficulties did you encounter in knocking restaurant recipes and techniques down to domestic size? Thanks for your participation. This is a great Q&A.

Albert is the pastry chef. I suspect his invovlement is greater in that they're brothers and in that this kind of work needs collaboration. We met Albert a couple of years ago when he, Klc and Conticini were doing a demonstration together at the chocolate salon in Paris. His English is not very good, but Esilda had a nice conversation with him in Spanish. Most of it however, was about dropping lunch and just serving dinner. He said it was just impossible keep the pace up all day that way. As you are well aware, the food served is very labor intensive, whether or not it's done at the last minute, and the meals last longer than at most three star restaurants. Klc should have more to add.

I had lunch at the much-discussed Blumenthal's Fat Duck in Bray today. This was my first visit, and I had a very good meal. If Wilfrid has the time to make the short journey to Bray and has not visited Fat Duck before, this restaurant should be preferable to Petrus, Embassy, La Trompette, etc. The lunch special menu is a very good value-for-money. I could have had a wonderful meal for under Pounds 40 with wine by the glass, had I cared to limit costs. Lunch Menu, Three Courses at Pounds 27.50 (Items not chosen included in square brackets) -- Snail Porridge, Jabugo Ham, [Veloute of pumpkin, fricasse of ceps and pigs' cheeks, or Parfait of foie gras, fig compote and Banyuls] -- Braised Lamb Shank, [Petit sale of duck, green coffee sauce, pommes puree, or Poached skate wing, cockles, braised celeriac, and tonka bean veloute] -- Salted Butter Caramel, roasted pistachios and peanuts, chocolate sorbet and cumin caramel [or Nougat Glace, praline rose, fromage blanc ice cream] Glass of Louis Roederer champagne (approx. 13-14) Glass of Aligote Goisot, 2000 (5.50) Glass of Chateau Jouvent Graves 1996 (9.00) Coffee and petits fours (separate charge, 3.95) The first amuse was average -- an emulsion of green tea and lime sour, served in a slender V-shaped glass. This was light and airy (perhaps due to Adria influences? note I have never eaten at El Bulli). A dining room staff member indicated that vodka had likely been utilized in the dish, but this was not apparent. The tea flavors were too suppressed, resulting in a certain blandness and an emphasis on the citrus elements of the flavoring. The lime tasted much more like green apple to me, with nice notes of sweetness combined with sourness. Overall, however, this dish was still slightly bland and tended on the insubstantial side. Then, a much better second amuse of a little serving of Pommery mustard ice cream, to which was added (from a cute ceramic jug) a gaspacho of red cabbage. Amusingly and wonderfully, this liquid was a beautiful medium purple in color. It tasted refreshing and yet also (appropriately) salty and with a subtle "kick". I do not recollect having seen a purple this intense in a dish, except when violets or lavendar saucing was used (e.g., Club Gascon). The appetizer of snail porridge was appealing. I generally do not like oats, but here softened small oats were integrated with diced bits of snail, garlic and parsley. A parsley-based oil bound this satisfying dish together. The Jabugo was appropriately limited to thin slivers atop the porridge mixture. The reference to porridge is a misnomer, if it connoted Chinese-style congee consistency. This dish was much more a risotto-type preparation. On top of this mixture were placed thin, translucent strands of fennel -- this was unnecessary in my assessment. The Aligote white Burgundy taken with this dish is a relatively classic pairing with snails. For me, the snail porridge was the best dish of the meal. The lamb shank tasted good as well. I received a very generous portion, with a large angular expanse of bone protruding from it. The textures were nicely varied, with the caramelised and darkened overtones of the outer portions of the shank giving way to tender, well-prepared flesh inside. The only very minor area of improvement was that the sauce, which was nicely made, was a very little bit sweeter than I personally would have preferred. Softened slices of carrots were a good accompaniment. A dish I enjoyed, and paired with an appropriate wine by the glass recommended by the sommelier. A trio of pre-desserts arrived. A thin circular-shaped crisp, which the maitre d' described as a "lollipop", with red chilli flavor; a beetroot gelee (quite dense, but not in a negative way) and a tart with basil and a bit of dried fennel on top. Quite different, although it highlighted the desire to be different as well (I guess there's nothing wrong with trying to appear innovative). The dessert was a rich, elastic piece of dark-tasting caramel. As discussed in the "Pierre Herme" thread under France, there is a trend to combine saltiness with sweet sensations in dessert, and this dessert was consistent with that trend. The salted butter did add interesting elements to the caramel, and, while not a big fan of chocolate, I liked the melting chocolate sorbet as it hit the caramel. There were too many hard pistachio bits embeded in the caramel piece for my liking, but that is a pet peeve. The cumin ingredient in this dessert, described on the menu, was not noticeable. The meal ended with a chocolate containing tobacco (a la Adria), with a thin crisp (as thin as a veil) with bacon flavors (taken separately). A very good meal, with no obvious flaws. I am beginning to consider accepting the position that it might not matter whether Blumenthal derives "inspiration" from other chefs, so long as his food tastes the way it does. Fat Duck deserves its two Michelin stars. Modern and well-prepared food. Perhaps Blumenthal tries hard to make his dishes seem innovative, but the flavor combinations on the plate generally worked. I also found the menu interesting enough to ask whether there was a table available for tonight or tomorrow's lunch, perhaps due to cancellations. (Unfortunately not yet) The restaurant appears to be less busy during Saturday lunch than during Saturday night or Sunday lunch. It is closed Sunday dinner and Monday all day. Access, Decor and Service Bray can be accessed from Paddington station, from which I took a 30-40 minute trainride to Maidenhead (Pounds 7.50 return fare). Then, a quick (less than 10 minute) cab ride (approx. Pounds 5-6 each way) brought me to the little bend in the road that I had passed at various times on my way to Waterside Inn in the same town/village. There was the Fat Duck! The exterior of the restaurant is quite unassuming. However, the interior is modern, with hues of yellow, turquoise, and some limited amount of purple/light green in the artwork. Wooden beams. A fireplace area with a modern-looking sculpture placed inside. Chairs of a color between mustard yellow and a light olive. Modern artwork, and a large glass wall area near the entryway with blue hues. The maitre d' was wonderfully detailed in explaining each dish. The dining room team member who, together with the maitre d', primarily assisted me spoke fluent French (Andy -- I don't know why I like speaking French at restaurants in London, but I do). The sommeliers recommended fitting selections by the glass, and were knowledgeable and friendly (and spoke French). It was nice that the service was effective, but not stuffy. I liked the "French" aspects of this restaurant: (1) the availability of Chateldon sparkling water (less common in London and not available at, for example, Petrus), (2) the provision of Langiole knives for the lamb, and (3) butter from France, brought to a table in a large circular slab and described as having been aged appropriately (this butter did not taste impressive, but the effort was there). A fairly strong, although in some cases not inexpensive, wine list (including Delamotte champagne, an item I like alot even though it probably does not have appeal to most). The tasting menu offered was Pounds 75: -- Roast scallop, caramelised cauliflower puree, jelly of Oloroso sherry -- Crab biscuit, roast foie gras, crystallised seaweed, marinated salmon and oyster vinaigrette, or Cauliflower risotto, carpaccio of cauliflower, caramelised cauliflower puree [Wilfrid -- deconstruction of cauliflower?] -- Poached breast of Anjou pigeon, a pastilla of its leg with cherries, pistachio cocoa and quatre epices, or Poached-grilled red mullet, veloute of Borlotti beans with rosemary and vanilla -- Pineapple and chilli jelly, pain d'epices ice cream and crab syrup -- Delice chocolate, chocolate sorbet, cumin caramel The a la carte menu is Pounds 58 for three courses: Appetizers -- Roast scallop (see above) -- Crab biscuit (see above) -- Cuttlefish cannelloni of duck, maple syrup, parsley and perilla broth -- Cauliflower risotto (see above) -- Ballotine of foie gras with jasmine, jelly of mead, Sichuan peppercorn -- Lasagne of langoustine, pig's trotter and truffle (6.50 supplement) -- Radish ravioli of oyster, with truffle and goat's cheese, fromage de tete Main courses -- Pigeon (see above) -- Saddle of lamb cooked at low temperature, lamb tongue, onion puree -- Pot roast best end of pork, gratin of macaroni (for two) -- Roast spiced cod, castelluccio lentils, braised cockscombs [interesting!] and pea puree -- Sweetbread cooked in a salt crust with hay, crusted with pollen, cockles a la plancha and parsnip puree -- Red mullet (see above) Dessert -- Delice Chocolate (see above) -- Chocolate coulant (M. Bras) [note crediting] with blue cheese, fromage-blanc ice cream, Sichuan pepper and wine pear -- Tart tatin, bay leaf and almond foam, vanilla ice cream -- Millefeuille of pain d'epices, pineapple and chilli jelly -- Smoked bacon and egg ice cream, pain perdu, tomato jam [interesting] -- Artisan cheese from La Fromagerie (if additional course, 10 pound supplement)

I have been very hesitant to talk about my El Bulli experiences as this is the one restaurant that not only seems to get more press than most, but also the one critics "fawn" over. I have shared it with a few egullet members, but am now opening it up for general discussion. The first experience with El Bulli was in 2000 and the second in 2001. It is hard to explain what happened to Adria - he went from a culinary exciting, well-focused dining experience to a nightmare. General comments on both trips: 1. Is it as hard to get to as they say? Harder-- You'd have to be nuts to drive in the evening. In daylight on the way over it was bad enough. The mountain roads in Montana look like paved freeways compared to the road to El Bulli. 2. Was it worth it? In 2000 - Absolutely--somehow Juli Solter, the GM, and his team picked up on our unique perspective and appreciation for cuisine coupled with the joi de vivre that we bring to dining experiences. From the start the feeling was that they "knew us!"…this spirit coupled with the most unique preparations of food we have ever experienced makes El Bulli one of the top dining adventures ever. In 2001 - Never again. Although Juli was as wonderful as ever, the rest of the staff were going through the motions. At one point we asked how many plates were sent back to the kitchen barely touched - the answer, "no one really eats the food." Our experiences in 2000 - these are a summary of our notes What makes Adria different as a chef is not only his technique, but also his perspective, the way he approaches food. It is not just the use of foam or gelatin that sets him a part, but it is his using of these presentations in a wise,"make sense" manner. Here is the list of some of the dishes from both nights with limited explanation. On the terrace…9:00 PM Lime cocktail in martini glass, with foam and crushed almonds Candied corn in a glassine sleeve… Candied pistachio which looked like green chilis on a glass sheet Tapioca in a jigger to look like selle de mer Cube of apple jelly served on a spoon Bacon like candy with pine nuts--another jigger-standing up Foie gras-mango sandwich Cornets standing in crushed sesame seeds with fish tartar and quail yolk Calvados w/apple foaming cocktail Guacamole in a pastry tube Deep fried pig trotter Quinoa roasted in a paper cone,crunchy--eat like popcorn. Tomato sorbet in a puff that exploded in your mouth Parmesean cheese ice cream sandwich with parmesean toast At the table: (first night - not entire list) Cauliflower couscous with cumin, coriander and apple Monk fish liver w/foam cap gelatin of tomato with orange pieces Asparagus and parmigan cheese layered on bread Mushroom sampler-bottom to top, jelly of mushroom and mushroom water foam 7 different mushrooms in progression… Escargot with bacon in a "wrap" with fennel jelly sauce and snail boullion with butter ravoli, eaten individually Barnacles with dargelling tea foam Sardines rolled in bread served with aoli Rabbit w/foie gras and apple jelly At the table:(2nd night - not entire list) Hot to cold pea soup in champagne flute Frozen polenta with parmesean gelatin with egg yolk--eat polenta separately first. tagletari with calamari Egg/onion truffle ravoli Broad beans with mint sauce Coconut ravoli with soy sauce Palate cleanser of beet foam, cauliflower mousse, tomato yellow beet, basil, corn, almond and avacado sorbet. Sole with ravoli Foie gras with fennel jelly and apple sorbet accompanied by a very old sherry that was presented in bottle #2 of only 50 bottles made for the world about 200 years ago. Brioche soup with egg Sorbet stuffed with goat cheese and compari jelly. Cost--believe it or not…the two meals with all the wine, armagnac and cigars, etc…was under $ 600.00 total (that's both nights combined)…oh, a little aside, my husband went to pay the check around 1:30 on Saturday night [sunday AM] and Juli said, "oh, forget it for now, I'd rather have you owe it to me. We'll take care of the checks tomorrow night." An absolutely impossible to believe value--the world's greatest!!! Now to this year 2001. How do you describe a culinary disaster? Last night we were served a bad joke that lacked in skill with bad flavor combinations. It is one thing to be creative, but it is another thing when you can't eat the food. The problem is when you keep looking to surprise and surprise, you inevitably lose sight of the idea that food is meant to be eaten. There were 4 of us ( 2 very well-known chefs from the States who had made the trip on our recommendation, just to eat at El Bulli) None of us "got it." We kept looking at each other hoping that maybe one of us would understand, like and enjoy what was on the plate. The culinary disasters were many: 1. A cuttlefish dish in cuttlefish ink that was so obnoxiously flavored that it was inedible. 2. Tobacco in wild black currant that should have come with the warning "don't eat if you like food" or "eat this with great risk." 3. Slices of raw shrimp that was accompanied by a hot dog shaped tube that looked like a suppository .. inside with shrimp stock that you were suppose to suck. Phillip (not the real name of the chef) had not mastered sucking and ended up sucking his stuff all over the plate. He had the right idea - it belonged more on the plate than the palate. 4. A wild asparagus bundle with brown butter black olives and milk foam. The asparagus was overcooked, the bread covering limp with oil and the milk foam useless in this preparation. 5.Pumpkin with almond powder that was accompanied by a card sprayed with orange. You were suppose to smll the paper card and then eat a sweet glob of pumpkin. 6. Pieces of crispy stone crab that tasted as if the stones were still there and a sauce from the "shit" of the crab. 7. another tube of sucking contained morel mushroom essence. You were suppose to eat a sweet morel cookie and then suck out your essence. 8. 3 spoons containing flavors of the world - not food, just liquid tastes of Thai, Japanese and Mexican flavors. 9. 6 strips of jellied vegetables that were the essence again. It was so drowned in sesame oil that the flvor was completely masked. I could go on and on but you get the idea. By the middle of the meal we were literally refusing to put the food in our mouths. To be fair, there were 2 good dishes out of over 25. The ravioli of white truffles, ham and quail egg mollet was wonderful. Also he made a paella soup topped by rehydrated crunchy paella that was very good. Adria joined us after dinner - he had eaten in both of the chef's restaurants who were with us and had loved their food. We were suppose to eat at El Bulli again and Adria had arranged for the chef's table in the kitchen. Phillip absolutely refused to eat there again. However, I decided to play a joke on him. We met in the lobby of our hotel and I said,"Oh, Phillip, Juli(GM at El Bulli) called and he insists that we come tonight, so I said we would be there. There is no way to describe Phillip's face .. he sat down, crossed his arms and said,"No ------- way! You can go. I'm not going." We had made up an excuse that we had an emergency and had to leave to go back to the States. The cost. We were suppose to be 5 - one of the chefs, a 2 star Michelin chef, had to return to his restaurant. We were charged for 5 dinners, even though he wasn't there. The bill was very hefty! Also, the other 2 chefs with us, had comped Adria at their restaurants the year before. I wish I could explain this as maybe just one bad night. But there was a very telling article by Anthony Dias Blue in December's issue of Wine Country Living. I will quote just a bit of his article. " ....I am afraid that we might be sliding down that slippery slope to silly food - trivial food that satisfies neither the mind nor the palate. Let's hope that I'm wrong and that El Bulli really does mean 'bulldog' and not just plain bull." For me, I think, you can guess which one I think.

I was very interested to read Jay Rayners review in the Observer today of The George hotel in Yarmouth, Isle of Wight http://www.observer.co.uk/life/story/0,6903,668701,00.html and was suprised to read that his amuse bouche was a version of Thomas Kellers Oysters and Pearls. It sounds like a dumbed down version with an oyster sitting in a salty broth with grains of tapioca. The original is a sort of custard made with sabayon, tapioca, creme fraiche and whipped cream with the oysters placed on top in a butter sauce of vermouth, oyster juices shallots and vinegar with some caviar on top. This must be the first instance of a Californian chefs signature dish turning up in an Isle of Wight kitchen isn't it? As you will read Jay didn't like the dish and likened it to snot! Has anyone had the original, did that taste like snot?

I have been rereading Charles Hennessy's "The Making of Marco Pierre White, Sharpest Chef in History -- Marco" with an view towards understanding MPW's relationships with his many progeny chefs (including Ramsay, H Blumenthal, J-C Novelli and, according to the book, to a greater or lesser extent, P Howard). Here's an excerpt bearing on the MPW/Blumenthal relationship: "Another worker in the kitchen [at R Blanc's Manoir au Quat' Saison] had reason to be grateful for Marco's arrival. Seventeen-year-old Heston Blumenthal . . . . had been taken on as an apprentice by Raymond Blanc. Compared with his dreams, he found the kitchen -- as all kitchens are -- hell, and his colleagues brutal. Marco immediately and instinctively assumed the role of protector during Heston's *brief* stay, and became a friend and guest of his family . . . . *With Marco's help* . . . he opened a small bistro in Bray. The plucky little competitor to Michel Roux's grand Waterside Inn in the same village was called The Fat Duck (The name was Marco's suggestion: When asked why, he asks, why not?)."

I also think Thomas keller is extraordinary, but would appreciate it if you would go into more detail.

eGullet's Vedat Milor (vmilor) proposed the following topic for discussion. Quite a few contributors to eGullet forums have been discussing the elements of Haute Cuisine (HC)* and the relative merits of various national cuisines, especially French and Italian. In my mind, there indeed is a bifurcation in the world of HC today, but it is less along national lines than what I name Post-Modern and Renaissance schools. I believe this cleavage cuts across national borders and is also felt in major dining centers of the United States. Both of these schools can excel in what they do, and the best examples of each rightly get crowned with the maximum numbers of stars and toques. My concern is that, primarily due to economic factors, the post-modern school may gradually drive the Renaissance school out of the market or squeeze it into the margins. I would hate it if the pinnacles of HC all turn out sophisticated French "dim sum" at the expense of classic sauces (Albufera, Perigourdine and Bordelaise to name a few) and the best examples of rare game and fish dishes. Let me elaborate. I call the first school "post-modern" because some of the more creative dishes prepared by the likes of Thomas Keller, Alain Passard, Ferran Adria, Marc Veyrat, Martin Berasategui, among others, bear very little resemblance to the dishes eaten otherwise universally, albeit, at their best, these dishes advance the limits of culinary esthetics. These dishes are often soft and creamy in texture in which flavorful mousses, gelees, ice creams (!) abound (hence pejoratively called "cuisine for the baby"). Post-modern chefs prefer to present their creations in a procession of small courses prior to the fish and meat courses. Although some final courses prepared by these chefs can be stunning in texture and titillate all sensations known to mankind (like bone marrow with caviar of Adria and baby venison chops with herbs of Passard before he earned his third star), it is not unfair to claim that the post-modern school excels more in the "pre-meat" and "pre-fish" courses than in the dishes just before cheese or dessert.. I call the second school "Renaissance" because the most gifted proponents of this cuisine, like Bernard Pacaud (L'Ambroisie in Paris), Gerard Rabaey (Pont de Brent near Montreux), Alain Ducasse, Philippe Chevrier (Chateauvieux outside Geneve), Santi Santamaria (Raco de Can Fabes outside of Barcelona), David Tanis, and Alfonso Iaccerdino (Don Alfonso near Naples) are not dogged traditionalists, but intent on subjecting traditional dishes to a rigorous re-evaluation. Some of the best dishes created by these chefs (such as Pacaud's wild duck torte, Chevrier's roasted woodcock, and Iaccerdino's fisherman's soup) look deceptively simple. But the truth is that these dishes often represent the culmination of an arduous and intelligently executed research process. The element of creativity in some of these dishes is expressed perhaps less in the main element of the dish (which is often a whole roasted meat or fish), but in the way the sides have been chosen, organ meats (kidney, heart, liver) separately cooked and artistically presented, and beautifully balanced sauces have been prepared without shortcuts. While some of the entrees prepared by these chefs (try Rabaey's frog's legs or Pacaud's raw scallops with white truffles) are mind blowing, it is fair to claim that this school excels more in the preparation of main courses. I love both styles of cuisine and each has its place. (It is also hard to pigeonhole some chefs whose cooking combines elements of both, for instance Pierre Gagnaire and Hilario Arberaitz of Zuberoa near San Sebastian.) But it is hard to deny that the center of gravity nowadays is shifting towards Catalunya, San Sebastian, and the Haut-Savoie at the expense of more traditional places. Consequently, it is much harder for many skillful young chefs to resist the temptation of "creating" Post-Modern dishes. Economic considerations are driving this trend too. It is more profitable to concoct creative dishes based on cheaper ingredients and then top it off, say, with a frozen black truffle slice. It is also possible to name the dish after a sought after, rare ingredient, such as percebes (a barnacle fished off the Galicia coast) or abalone, and then use only a tiny bit of the rare ingredient in the final concoction and justify the practice in the name of "refinement." The overall problem is that as more and more young chefs are imitating the market leaders of the Post-Modern school because it is more economical and a quicker road to celebrityhood, the consumers are losing in three senses of the term. First, the results are often mediocre because it is not easy to imitate the likes of Adria and Gagnaire, and superficial resemblance of textures often conceals qualitative differences. Second, we all end up paying very high prices because the chef is supposedly at the cutting edge. It is understandable to pay $500 for two at the French Laundry, but do you think your $490 at Elisabeth Daniels when you brought your own wine for the "truffle" menu that gave you some crumbs of black truffle with chi-chi dishes has been well-spent? Last but not least, are we bound to end up in a state where biting into a whole black truffle en croute with sauce Perigourdine will strike the gourmet commentators as an illicit act committed by less refined souls of the 19th century? I am wondering if Renaissance cooking at its best will be able to hold its ground against the march of Post-Modernism. The cost of many dishes created by those chefs is simply going through the roof. Some of these time-tested dishes are very complex, and it has already been observed here that, as a matter of broad generalization, today's dishes in upscale restaurants are somehow less complicated and sauces are less ambitious compared to the gems of yesteryear. (See the thread started by Wilfrid: "Is Haute Cuisine Less Complex Than It Used to Be?" -- click here) Compounding the cost issue is the fact that some of the ambitious dishes, which require complicated sauces, can only be prepared for two or more people. Nowadays, it is getting rare even to have a couple agree on what to order. Add to this the trend towards "healthy" eating, and one may understand why many of these dishes for two or four are gradually disappearing from the menus. All in all, I am concerned that forces from different directions and industry dynamics are making it increasingly harder for the Renaissance chefs to hold their ground and prosper. For those of us how have been privileged to experience some dishes from these chefs, it would be a big loss if the most talented members of the next generation chefs all opt to go Post-Modern and do not follow the footsteps of more classic chefs. Let's hope that this will not be the case. ----- *Three defining characteristics of HC come to my mind: "harmony," "optimality," and "flavorful." These characteristics can apply to a single dish in an exquisite meal, or to the whole meal. Harmony refers to a chef having an impeccable sense of balance and he or she strikes a good mix between different taste sensations such as sweet, acidic, salty, and so forth. Optimality refers to a certain state where if one takes away one element/ingredient in a dish (or one course in a meal), your taste buds may still be scintillating, but less so. Conversely, if one adds an element, the dish may become more "chic" but the taste may suffer. Last, flavorful refers to the quality of ingredients used and techniques utilized to bring out the best in them.

Chef, Thank you so much for the time and effort you are giving these Q and A. We are lucky enough to be long term customers of the French Laundry and have been the recipient of many 5 hour plus meals. I would imagine we have crossed paths many times and look forward to a trip to Chicago and the Tour de Force. Being such an integral part of the French Laundry family for almost 5 years, Thomas must have been a major influence in your development as a chef. What elements of Thomas' approach to cooking do you continue to embrace? What do you feel has been his greatest contribution to your evolution as a chef? In what ways have you evolved in a different direction and would you credit Adria et al for this divergence? One difference that I note is derived from Keller's statement that he finds passion in the everyday routine of cooking and derives "deep gratification from the mundane." From your answers, your approach seems more cerebral and more dependent upon seeking new and different ways of manipulating ingredients. Is this a misreading of your approach?