UK GOOD FOOD GUIDE 2003

[Basildog]

I have had my copy for a couple of weeks now, but felt sure someone else would start this thread by now

Only Gordon Ramsay scores 10

Le Manoir.Waterside Inn, and Winteringham Fields score 9

Fat Duck scores 8

But the big big news is that we have moved to 3 from 2....and according to the review we " put on a happy face"

which is nice

[Andy Lynes]

I think it's only just been published so you must have got an advanced copy. I've seen a story in Caterer about the high hitters and was surprised to see Heston on 8, the same score as Shaun Hill at The Merchant House. The two operations could not be more different and it posed a question in my mind as to how useful a guide who's criteria results in those sort of markings. Is Can Ramsay really be a 10 with a 2 hour time limit on his tables?

What do you feel about your own markings? Are they justified do you think?

[Basildog]

I just read that its not published till Oct 31st, so yes i may have jumped the gun abit.oops.Shall we edit the posts, cos i don't want to get in trouble with which?

[Andy Lynes]

The top scorers are public knowledge and I'm sure they wouldn't mind you revealling your own score. Just don't let anymore out of the bag!

[Gavin Jones]

Basildog, all it indicates to me is that you have a long way to go before seriously pissing off either his Lordship or Simon.

[spqr]

Basildog: could you expand a bit on what this scale is please? Is a "10" high and a "1" low? What is the basis for this scale? Have I understood you correctly that your rating has dropped a notch? On a scale of 1 to 10, a "2" implies to me that your food must be a hair better than inedible, but everything else I've read here on egullet about your place (not to mention that pic of Boris and the mackerel) indicates that you run a decent shop and cook up pretty good food (and have fun doing it). That's the kind of place I'm always in search of in my neighborhood, although in my neighborhood that is a little like the search for the Holy Grail.

[Andy Lynes]

spqr - I'll let Basildog fill you in on the full rankings, but 1 or 2 indicates "competent cooking......sound, basic". From what I understand from these boards, and have seen in photo's, the food appears to be at least "good" which would be a 3 or 4 marking. But of course I've never eaten there so I can't really say.

My own experience has been that all the guides are unreliable to some extent (in as much as I don't always agree with their views) and that GFG is a bit better than the AA for instance.

[AdamLawrence]

spqr - the point about the GFG is that it only contains restaurants that it recommends, so simply being in the book is evidence of providing good food. The vast majority of restos in the UK don't appear in the book at all. I'm not sure whether the marks are meant to be absolute, or whether they relate to price, so a place that provides good cooking at a low price will score more highly than a place that cooks similar food but charges more.

Adam

[Andy Lynes]

That has certainly never been their advertised criteria, but as they do judge on quality of ingredients, you would expect those placs which spend more on raw materials, and therefore charge more as a result, to score more highly.

[Jon Tseng]

basildog - r u in it?

j

[Andy Lynes]

Jon - pay attention in class please - he got 2 out of 10 as per his initial post on this thread.

[Basildog]

But the big big news is that we have moved to 3 from 2....

Will you all pay attention in class.WE now have a score of 3 for cooking, 2002 Guide we were 2. All clear now?

I think its a fair score for what we do.....The score for cooking is only part of it, the review itself carries more weight(IMHO)

As long as its an honest reflection of what we are about, then i have no quibbles with the GFG

I could rant about how a restuarant that scored 4 for cooking, whilst buying in sorbet, when i was scoring 2 for making it...but that a different story

[Jon Tseng]

from the review could ya tell if they'd visited you in the last yr (eg the dishes they talk about)?

am always a bit suspicious on the guides how often the frequent the places they rate

j

[Jinmyo]

Up to 3 if 1 is good means not just very good (2) but very, very good. Congratulations, Basildog.

[Basildog]

I think they visited us in early May due to the dishes mentioned.Cabrales visited around the same time

Cabrales at Basildog's

Cooking Marks are defined as follows

1-2 Competent Cooking..sound , capable cooking

3-4 Competent to Good Cooking..Fine ingrediants, cooked appropriately, although occasional inconsistanices

5-6 Good to Very Good Cooking...High Quality ingrediants, consistantly good results

7-8 Very Good to Excellent Cooking....High level of ambition,finest ingrediants consitently treated with skill and imagination

9-10 The Best..the top restaurants in the country, highly individual and displaying impressive artistry

Thanks Jinmyo

[Andy Lynes]

OK, I've got it now, I read it as though you had lost a mark! Congratulations.

[cabrales]

Basildog -- Does La Tante Claire score an 8?

[Andy Lynes]

Yes, as does The Square, Pied a Terre, Petrus, Capital, Gidleigh Park and The Merchant House. It would appear that Hibiscus does not.

Hmm.....a rum old list I think.

[macrosan]

I don't know the Good Food Guide, so I can't comment on their measurement of "cooking". But if they said that Basildog's Margot's "puts on a happy face", then I'll give the GFG 10 out of 10 for perceptiveness. That's just how I found it, and it was the first comment I thought to make in my review here.

If I were to give Petrus' cooking an 8, I think I'd be giving Margot's a 5 or 4, based on two visits and one respectively. But I wouldn't quibble over the 3 they gave, and maybe they don't like to change last year's mark by too much.

[cabrales]

According to The Times from sometime last week, Ramsay is the first to score a ten since Nico Ladenis (1999, with the then Chez Nico). "Jim Ainsworth, the editor of The Good Food Guide, said yesterday: 'To score ten a chef has to be better than all the others, with an extra edge of creativity and a wow factor that means he can stand comparison with the very best of international competition.' In the book the Gordon Ramsay restaurant's entry says: 'The only significant disappointments come from those who try to find fault but are unable to, beyond a little nitpicking about the bread or the size of the tables.' The entry acclaims: 'Cooking at the very highest level, exceeded only by a tiny handful of European restaurants.'" I would agree with the last sentence.

[Tonyfinch]

I was looking at the new GFG in the lobby of The Trinity last week and noticed a very positive review of Basildog's place. Well done mate.

I don't know about the numerical scores but of the restaurants I've been to I find the comments pretty accurate and I think it's by far the best all Britain guide.It's comments on New Tayyab were spot on.

The Ramsey score must be confined to the cooking alone. No restaurant which tells you that you must eat either at 6.30 or 9.30 could conceivably be awarded a perfect 10 on the basis of the overall experience.

[cabrales]

a very positive review of Basildog's place. Well done mate.

When they have a chance, could members with access to the review of Basildog's restaurant please post it?

[Tonyfinch]

.' In the book the Gordon Ramsay restaurant's entry says: 'The only significant disappointments come from those who try to find fault but are unable to, beyond  a little nitpicking about the bread or the size of the tables.'

At the risk of harping on I'm amazed that the two sitting policy and the refusal to allow diners to commence between 6.30 and 9 pm is not considered a fault, or at least a possible "significant disappointment". How on earth could the GFG have overlooked this? It appears to be saying that the restaurant has no faults when a huge problem is staring you in the face if you wish to have dinner at 8pm. A mistake of this magnitude calls into question the guide's credibility as far as I'm concerned.

[Matthew Grant]

Tony, is this definitive? I have been several times (although not in the last 12 months) and have never been that restricted at GR for the table. Everybody seems to mention it yet I have never experienced it. GR spaces his tables, no more than 6 people at a table, all tables a few minutes apart etc. This is designed to ensure that he is not making final preparations on dishes for various tables at the same time.

What I have experienced is an extremely busy reservation line that with a little perserverance, you will get through but you might have to be a little flexible with the seating times. I have eaten both before and after 21:00 and never been moved from my table. I think we will probably find that it is only the very early (i.e. 18:30 - 19:30 tables that may be turned and I don't necessarily think that ths is unreasonable if you have been warned in advance. I have also seen walk-ins on a Friday night at 22:30 be happily seated, so if anybody is desperate for a table, this might be an option.

Of course, if I have missed something somewhere, or GR has changed his policy , all of the above may be wrong and your point is valid

[Tonyfinch]

OK we'll see. I'm going to try and book a table there for 8pm on January 7th for my 20th wedding anniversary. I might even ask my wife to join me. I'll report back on how I get along.