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Raymond Blanc's "The Restaurant"

britcook

By britcook
in Food Media & Arts

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Matthew Tomkinson

Matthew Tomkinson

Posted
Posted

If i had been Sam's sous chef i think i would have chinned him at the end, i am suprised that guy didnt.

The quest for perfection will lead you to role models that will last you for life (Nico Ladenis)

Duncan

Duncan

Posted
Posted
Come on Duncan did you pay or not  :wink:

Actually, yes we did. They comp'ed the desserts before serving them, so we didn't have a chance to refuse payment there, and we stumped up for the other courses.

Of course, if we'd realised at the time we were the only ones paying...

Recently written about A tale of two cheeks, More SousVide geeky experiments, Eggsperimenting with a Sous Vide Magic, Christmas tasting at Summertown Wine Cafe, UNDER PRESSURE AT PEMBROKE.

For some definition of 'recent'

Gary Marshall

Gary Marshall

Posted
Posted
If i had been Sam's  sous chef i think i would have chinned him at the end, i am suprised that guy didnt.

Agreed, sam left them in the shit then blamed him for it.

On the basis he can't cook & appears to have no interest 'i'm just in the way here, i'll leave you to it'?? surely they can't possibly make it through the week.

you don't win friends with salad

Matthew Grant

Matthew Grant

Posted
Posted

That's the first "main" show I've seen. Looks like Sam just isn't interested. From a business perspective surely the Brown & Green restaurant is looking the best bet?

How many days a week are the restaurants open, I was left with the impression yesterday that it was only one?

"Why would we want Children? What do they know about food?"

Romaney O'Malley

Romaney O'Malley

Posted
Posted (edited)
If i had been Sam's  sous chef i think i would have chinned him at the end, i am suprised that guy didnt.

Agreed, sam left them in the shit then blamed him for it.

On the basis he can't cook & appears to have no interest 'i'm just in the way here, i'll leave you to it'?? surely they can't possibly make it through the week.

Can anyone explain to me why this guy is on the show? I cannot fathom any reason why he is there

Edited by Romaney O'Malley (log)
ravelda

ravelda

Posted
Posted
If i had been Sam's  sous chef i think i would have chinned him at the end, i am suprised that guy didnt.

Agreed, sam left them in the shit then blamed him for it.

On the basis he can't cook & appears to have no interest 'i'm just in the way here, i'll leave you to it'?? surely they can't possibly make it through the week.

Can anyone explain to me why this guy is on the show? I cannot fathom any reason why he is there

So his wife (or is it girlfriend?!) can get an acting job!

If a man makes a statement and a woman is not around to witness it, is he still wrong?

JudyB

JudyB

Posted
Posted
How many days a week are the restaurants open, I was left with the impression yesterday that it was only one?

The first week they were only open on the Saturday, but I think that the second week they were going to be open Friday, Saturday and possibly Sunday lunch.

I agree that the programme was very vague, but we went on the Friday and one of the contestants last night certainly referred to "on Friday" which implies they were open more than one day.

In terms of paying at The Ostrich, I also wondered which day "no one" would pay for their meals? Apart from the desserts the first two courses were effectively bad pub food. For example my burger was bland and very dry, but it was edible.

It wasn't clear from the programme last night when Sam sacked his sous chef - given that Sam defnitely didn't look like he could cook, I wonder if the quality dropped ever further down after he was sacked?

Gary Marshall

Gary Marshall

Posted
Posted

That's the first "main" show I've seen. Looks like Sam just isn't interested. From a business perspective surely the Brown & Green restaurant is looking the best bet?

the brown and green restaurant looks the best from several perspectives :wink:

you don't win friends with salad

erica graham

erica graham

Posted
Posted
It wasn't clear from the programme last night when Sam sacked his sous chef - given that Sam defnitely didn't look like he could cook, I wonder if the quality dropped ever further down after he was sacked?

No-one paid on the first Saturday- we had them crying on our shoulders on the Sunday when they came back to the restaurant to clear up.

As far as I know, Sam sacked his chef on Friday! They telephoned us at the hospital asking if our Sous Chef Nick would work.....we gave them his number and said he'd call them................(That was the second call to us at the hospital)

http://www.allium.uk.net

http://alliumfood.wordpress.com/ the alliumfood blog

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming - Whey hey what a ride!!!, "

Sarah Poli, Firenze, Kibworth Beauchamp

Gary Marshall

Gary Marshall

Posted
Posted

No-one paid on the first Saturday- we had them crying on our shoulders on the Sunday when they came back to the restaurant to clear up.

they can't cook and they can't be arsed to wash up either!

you don't win friends with salad

erica graham

erica graham

Posted
Posted

No-one paid on the first Saturday- we had them crying on our shoulders on the Sunday when they came back to the restaurant to clear up.

they can't cook and they can't be arsed to wash up either!

Actually, to be fair, they weren't allowed to stay past about 2am (health and safety regs.). That said, after the first night they had managed to use every glass in the bar and not wash a single one. I went in in the morning to close the blinds because the place looked like a s***t hole, and ended up washing all the glasses and sorting out FOH because I couldn't face leaving it like that. James did the same in the kitchen.

After they left, we insisted that thekitchen was steam cleaned !!!

http://www.allium.uk.net

http://alliumfood.wordpress.com/ the alliumfood blog

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming - Whey hey what a ride!!!, "

Sarah Poli, Firenze, Kibworth Beauchamp

wgallois

wgallois

Posted
Posted

Two of the most striking things about the series are the facts that most of them seem pretty uninterested in food and have little experience of eating out. Now I know that the latter comment may sound slightly snobbish but it is quite striking how the judges have had to point out how time-warped most of their food seems to be. If you ate out regularly and inquisitively would it really be so tough to riff on some recent trends to come up with ideas for three puddings, to think of a name other than Studio New York for your restaurant..., or, like most of the contestants, to come up with a design scheme reminiscent of a nasty cafe-bar c. 1992? Almost every starter seems to consist of something plonked on top of some mixed leaves and a really choice moment was in one place where the asparagus were missed off one person's mixed leaves, and then brought back into the dining room and plonked atop the salad...

At this early stage it's pretty clear that Green and Brown and Adwoa's and Lloyd's places are amongst the few that are based on a genuine understanding of the restaurant market. Both seem to offer something appealing which is based on an understanding of what is going on out there, but proposing a slight twist to capture people's attention. They also seem to be the only ones to come up with decent names for their places, combined with nice signage that doesn't scream 1986! I think I'd rather eat at LLoyd and Adwoa's place, but it looks like you'd have fun at Green and Brown.

Andy Lynes

Andy Lynes

Posted
Posted

They're in at the deep end! They're fish out of water! They've only got one week to learn how to run a restaurant otherwise Raymond Blanc's going to fucking kill them. They're all living together in a bloody big house - will they get on, will they fight? Will they leave their dirty pants on the floor?

Look, here comes Raymond, he's got a challenge "Feed the whole of Oxfordshire now with no money or food or cooker. DO IT!" They go to TESCO, run around a bit, walk out and come back in again under the sign that says TESCO.

There's an inspector "Hm, you're not very good are you. Call yourselves restaurateurs?"

"No actually. We're total novices and therefore crapping it big time."

"Times up - you failed and therefore won't win someone else's restaurant which is handy as they're going to reopen it in 6 weeks time themselves."

Roly Keating, Controller, BBC TWO "As well as providing an insight into the food that is served on our plates, (The Restaurant) will reveal the harsh realities of the restaurant business."

Duncan

Duncan

Posted
Posted

By the way, anyone who missed yesterday's program and actually wants to see some of the action, visit the BBC Restaurant webpage. If you click on the 'Sam and Jackie' link then you get the Ostrich in full flight (and including our cameo).

Recently written about A tale of two cheeks, More SousVide geeky experiments, Eggsperimenting with a Sous Vide Magic, Christmas tasting at Summertown Wine Cafe, UNDER PRESSURE AT PEMBROKE.

For some definition of 'recent'

  • 2 weeks later...
Duncan

Duncan

Posted
Posted

Ok, that episode was surreal. Raymond asked the teams to put eel on the menu and motivate the front of house to sell it, so several of the teams seemed to be competing to try and be eliminated. Almost universally the reaction was "I've never tried eel because it tastes disgusting".

Amazingly Jeremy and Jane escaped the challenge despite the chef having not bothered to actually taste the eels at all, but I think only because they actually managed to make a profit. Emma went out of her way to try to tell customers how horrible the eels were, Ed and Mike told Raymond how swimmingly the evening went despite some customers waiting outside to tell the inspector how bad everything was, and Lloyd got upset when Adwoa tried to sack one of his waitresses.

Addictive.

Recently written about A tale of two cheeks, More SousVide geeky experiments, Eggsperimenting with a Sous Vide Magic, Christmas tasting at Summertown Wine Cafe, UNDER PRESSURE AT PEMBROKE.

For some definition of 'recent'

Matthew Grant

Matthew Grant

Posted
Posted

I still can't believe that Jeremy is there after last weeks episode when he told Raymond that there was nothing in season at the moment so he couldn't create a local, seasonal menu!

"Why would we want Children? What do they know about food?"

  • 2 weeks later...
Kahrs

Kahrs

Posted
Posted

We're loyal fans --- watching every week. I can't believe they kept the obnoxious Jacqui (we're Yanks to boot) to do the "fried" episode. I'm convinced Sam was a victim of Jacqui's ambition.

It's clear that Jeremy and Jane are next to go. Jane isn't cut out for it. Pure and simple.

And Jeremy is a little on the strange side.

And I'm not sure about Lloyd --- he's a nice guy it seems but out of his depth. Aduowa is great. But I think they have the best concept. I mean, a Ghanian restuarant? How unique is that?

Not sure about Grant/Laura or the girls. What's unique here?

Duncan

Duncan

Posted
Posted
We're loyal fans --- watching every week.  I can't believe they kept the obnoxious Jacqui (we're Yanks to boot) to do the "fried" episode.  I'm convinced Sam was a victim of Jacqui's ambition.

It's clear that Jeremy and Jane are next to go.  Jane isn't cut out for it.  Pure and simple.

And Jeremy is a little on the strange side. 

And I'm not sure about Lloyd --- he's a nice guy it seems but out of his depth.  Aduowa is great.  But I think they have the best concept.  I mean, a Ghanian restuarant?  How unique is that?

Not sure about Grant/Laura or the girls.  What's unique here?

As far as I can tell, Jeremy and Jane have consistently pulled in the largest profit each week. Also they have frequently said that he can actually cook. Granted he is a bit on the strange side, but I think that is why they are still in.

There aren't many Scottish restaurants outside Scotland. I think Grant and Laura have finally realised that to stand out they need to push the Scottish side as a USP rather than be another faux-French bistro. The deep fried Mars bar isn't exactly traditional Scottish, but as a tongue-in-cheek sample of their 'cuisine' to a local radio station it's an act of marketing genius. Just so long as it is paired with good Scottish food for the other courses (as I'm sure it was), and not more of the coronary specials.

As for the girls, I'd agree that there doesn't seem to be anything unique. I think they've been the most consistent. That meant they stood out in the early rounds, but they've failed to improve on that position.

Recently written about A tale of two cheeks, More SousVide geeky experiments, Eggsperimenting with a Sous Vide Magic, Christmas tasting at Summertown Wine Cafe, UNDER PRESSURE AT PEMBROKE.

For some definition of 'recent'

broadway

broadway

Posted
Posted

It will be interesting to see how this develops now the obvious choices have been eliminated. Up to now the the editing has concentrated on the negative aspects for good television, as they have to pick a "star couple" to win, will they start to change the bias?

A couple of links for anyone interested in Adowa and Lloyd:

This is their website which does not seem to have been updated recently: http://www.jollofcuisine.co.uk/

At Innocent: http://innocentdrinks.typepad.com/innocent...lunch_thur.html

Jollof is a rice dish http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jollof_rice.

Kahrs

Kahrs

Posted
Posted

OK, so I was wrong. Jeremy and Jane are still in there. The more this goes on, the more I think none of them deserve to win anything.

- Grant and Laura: Why can't he cook up to the lever of his historical meal? That was really good cooking. I liked his idea of a seafood starter. But how can they emphasize the Scottish aspect of their cooking (deep fried Glaswegian Mars bars excluded)?

- The twins: I haven't seen anything come out of that kitchen that looks exciting. What about those fishcakes? But they know how to run a restaurant and seem to understand how to provide for the customer.

- Jeremy and Jane: He couldn't make a hollandaise? Their 8 course menu is being ignored, so why don't they retarget? I still think their marriage wouldn't survive ("Is your relationship strong enough")

I'll bet Raymond isn't going to do this again. I'm really curious to see his personal inspection next week.

  • 7 months later...
erica graham

erica graham

Posted
Posted

So I read that Jeremy and Jane have split from Raymond Blanc.

No great surprise there then.......

http://www.allium.uk.net

http://alliumfood.wordpress.com/ the alliumfood blog

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming - Whey hey what a ride!!!, "

Sarah Poli, Firenze, Kibworth Beauchamp

JudyB

JudyB

Posted
Posted (edited)
So I read that Jeremy and Jane have split from Raymond Blanc.

No great surprise there then.......

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:

Jacqui now works as a waitress for Gordon Ramsay at his restaurant Maze in London.

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.

Edited by JudyB (log)
mcohen

mcohen

Posted
Posted
So I read that Jeremy and Jane have split from Raymond Blanc.

No great surprise there then.......

What happened? After all that hard work to win the show, why did they walk away from such a sweet set-up?

tmgrobyn

tmgrobyn

Posted
Posted (edited)
So I read that Jeremy and Jane have split from Raymond Blanc.

No great surprise there then.......

What happened? After all that hard work to win the show, why did they walk away from such a sweet set-up?

Found this recent article:Scattergoods

What a disappointment, however it does seem to be the real way things go in this industry.

Edited by tmgrobyn (log)
"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."
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