Is it time for "Waringwatch" ?

[Gareth]

OK, so now booked in for “Marcus Waring at Petrus” for two weeks after it re-opens.

We would have tried to get in opening night, simply because my mate who’s joining me had been to last night of Bacchus and quite liked the symmetry of following this with first night of new Petrus. However, on the relevant opening Saturday he’s at Amador (Frunkfurt) and I’m at Mugaritz (San Sebastian). Which will enable us at least to benchmark Petrus’s ambitions to a third star as once again we go over the top in the cause of fine dining. Ask not what your Country eats; ask what you can eat for your Country…etc etc

What struck me in making the booking was how much the (charming) front of house staff were keen to stress harmony and continuity. Much as I tried to dig for salacious gossip about thermonuclear chef/protégé domestics, splits within the Ramsay empire, and Villeroy and Boch being hurled across the pass in a rage of passion and pent up jealousies, nothing was forthcoming.

Instead, it was all “amicable terms”…“same menus”…“only difference will be Marcus’s name added to the front door”.

Nevertheless one hopes that this is Waring’s “Aubergine Moment” when he redefines himself and strikes out on his own to make that all-or-nothing bid for the third star. For if not him, where is the challenge/next wave coming from ? Bosi and Aikens look frustratingly distant prospects right now and too much of the rest is dominated by Ramsay clones or London branches of Chef’s with their HQ in Paris.

Surely the Government ought to be setting a target for the number of 1, 2 and 3 starred Michelin restaurants to be open in time for London 2012 ? With lottery funding if necessary.

[Paul Reynard]

Do you have a telephone number and an opening date for the new restaurant?

[BertieWooster]

Presumably its the same number. UNless it was in GRH's contract to take it with him. Judging by the latest Harden's you wouldn't blame them.

[Jon Tseng]

Won't get a third star if it sticks to same menu. Perfect execution can only get you so far. Chef needs a distinctive voice to win a third star.

One rule of thumb is if you were served a dish from a *** blind you should be able to figure out (or have a pretty good idea) where the chef is from.

Which high end restos in London could you say that of? Hibiscus, Sketch, Tom Aikens? Definitely not Petrus in its current incarnation.

Marcus Wareings not stupid, I'm sure he appreciates this. Which is why I'm surprised they are saying they're sticking to the same menu.

J

[nikkib]

Presumably its the same number. UNless it was in GRH's contract to take it with him. Judging by the latest Harden's you wouldn't blame them.

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Wont be the same number - all goes through a GR switchboard at present so will have to change that - the present number will continue (i would imagine) as Petruus (ie GR's Petrus)

[Paul Reynard]

Managed to find my way through in the end. For the next week or so you have to go through the hotel switch board and ask for the new Marcus Waring at Petrus restaurant. As from a week or so's time the number will be 0207 2351200 and it's opening on 15th September (I think). As a matter of note the old petrus line made no mention of the new restaurant and just said that they had no details which I guess is being politically correct given the present state.

[Gary Marshall]

Won't get a third star if it sticks to same menu.  Perfect execution can only get you so far.  Chef needs a distinctive voice to win a third star.

One rule of thumb is if you were served a dish from a *** blind you should be able to figure out (or have a pretty good idea) where the chef is from.

Which high end restos in London could you say that of?  Hibiscus, Sketch, Tom Aikens?  Definitely not Petrus in its current incarnation.

Marcus Wareings not stupid, I'm sure he appreciates this.  Which is why I'm surprised they are saying they're sticking to the same menu.

J

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absolutley, what's all the fuss about being constrained and boxed in etc only to cook the same GR approved food? surely that's just a sop on the phone and the menu will change to show his flair? (turbot & lemon grass excepted )

can't say i'd make the trip for the current menu but if he's pulling out the stops then it would be high on the list, but thinking about it, has he specifically mentioned going for 3* ?

I'm sure there's a very good business and living to be had by continuing as he is feeding hotel guests etc rather than a foodie market?

[nikkib]

0207 235 1200 - same number as before so shows what i know!

[Gareth]

has he specifically mentioned going for 3* ?

I'm sure there's a very good business and living to be had by continuing as he is feeding hotel guests etc rather than a foodie market?

…no but the quotation from him – as cited in the one page article in the Guardian this morning - was “When you wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and all you see is a man who is constrained, confined and trapped then you’ve got to change…put a gun to my head, shoot me, put me in a box and bury me because if you don’t I’ll come back and come back. I’ll never give up until I get to where I want to go.”

It sort of coveys a sense that “where he wants to go” is not the stagnant stability of the status quo. I don’t know (not knowing the trade well enough) whether the risks that necessarily come with such ambition would be at odds with the business model of the Berkeley Hotel with whom he now will have a direct contract, but I observe that plenty of the Parisian elite are housed in hotels; including Gagnaire.

G.

p.s. Award self half-pat on back that yestarday’s posting of topic “Is it time for Waringwatch ?” was clearly answered with a resounding “yes” as evidenced by this morning’s Guardian article. Then issue desperate plea to Moderator to see if they can correct my spelling of Wareing in the Topic title before I die of shame.

[howardlong]

I organised a Chef's Table at Petrus last night. The last time I did the CT at Petrus it was two weeks after it opened up in the Berkeley, so it was somewhat ironic that the second time would be two weeks before it "closed" again.

I have eaten many times at Petrus in the interim, but I must say judging the food alone last night really did prove to me so almost completely that Wareing is now finally his own man. This is in contrast to the many times in the past where I've been left with this feeling of the Gordon Ransay formula pervading. The only course left to deal with is the continued insistence on vegetarian soup/velouté/etc amuse bouches.

Unlike the first time that I did the CT there when both Wareing and Ramsay were in attendance (link here), on this occasion our man wasn't there. Whether this is indicative of all the other outside interests he has these days, or simply a day off I don't know.

As has been indicated before, the view there is that the name Petrus will move with Ramsay elsewhere, renaming the current restaurant to Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley.

The question is where will the new Petrus be? I've seen references to it being in the old Noisette on Sloane St, but it was suggested last night that it would be going to the Savoy. Seems strange because I'd guess that the Savoy has quite some time to go before it's finally finished - they're saying May 2009 but these things have a tendancy to slip.

Interestingly I note some evidence of friction between GRH and the Berkeley, for example if you have drinks in the bar beforehand you can't have them added directly to your Petrus bill. Once Wareing is working directly with the Berkeley apparently this irritation will all be a thing of the past.

Cheers, Howard

[chrisp]

Interestingly I note some evidence of friction between GRH and the Berkeley, for example if you have drinks in the bar beforehand you can't have them added directly to your Petrus bill. Once Wareing is working directly with the Berkeley apparently this irritation will all be a thing of the past.

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I'm not sure this is evidence of "friction" - at least not of any new friction. You can't add the drinks at Claridges Bar to your restaurant meal there, either.

[howardlong]

Interestingly I note some evidence of friction between GRH and the Berkeley, for example if you have drinks in the bar beforehand you can't have them added directly to your Petrus bill. Once Wareing is working directly with the Berkeley apparently this irritation will all be a thing of the past.

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I'm not sure this is evidence of "friction" - at least not of any new friction. You can't add the drinks at Claridges Bar to your restaurant meal there, either.

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I guess I was thinking back to the glory days at the Connaught when hopping between bar and restaurant was commonplace. In retrospect at the Connaught, GRH did the whole F&B operation so I guess it was simple to do in that scenario. If you're in residence at the Berkeley, the Petrus bill can be popped on your room bill. I still find the separation of bills an irritaion, and one that could have surely been resolved had they had an appetite to do so.

Unfortunately my fellow diners didn't know the ropes, and arriving shortly before me, they were already ensconced in the bar before I could show them the way to the Bolly Grande Année '99 on offer as our apperitif at Petrus.

H

[ulterior epicure]

Oh, but this all sounds terribly promising.