MPW comes out of retirement

[Jamsie]

i wonder how he'll go for the PR photos to promote the show?

I've got a great idea, what about him smoking a cigar whilst reclining in a chair and looking into the far distance?

He'd never go for it though

[RDB]

I know this thread is about MPW coming out of retirement, but I was wondering did anyone on here dine at Harveys or Restaurant MPW (obviously a great deal of you have), I would be particularly interested in the former. Being a young lad myself I am intrigued to know was his food as fantastic as legend has it? Did he really bring such excitement to the British Restaurant scene?

I know I have read so much about the man but would love to hear some first hand accounts for those who were there?

[KimS]

My Hubby first proposed to me in 1990 in Harveys. I turned him down that time, but gave in eventually. He's still around, but Harveys is long gone.

Some days I wonder what if . . . .

[Corinna Dunne]

So... will we see MPW take up the next obvious challenge and try and knock Ramsay off the top spot on the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" challenge on Top Gear?

[RDB]

So... will we see MPW take up the next obvious challenge and try and knock Ramsay off the top spot on the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" challenge on Top Gear?

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Not unless Mr Ishii is with him

[naebody]

did  anyone on here dine at Harveys? I am intrigued to know was his food as fantastic as legend has it? Did he really bring such excitement to the British Restaurant scene?

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Just scanned back to the reviews of the time and, disappointingly, it seems that the answer is yes. I can' t find a single lukewarm review of Harveys, never mind a negative one. Here's few selections from within 6 months of him opening:

Egon Ronay: "I was astonished that a humble, small place, run on a shoestring, beset with operational nightmares, its kitchen staff hardly out of their teens, run without previous managerial experience, should, so soon after opening, attain such a high degree of excellence."

Jonathan Meades: "The fact that Harvey's is, within three months of opening, booked up a week or more ahead may of course testify only to the efficiency of its PR. But I think not. It is the genuine article and one which demonstrates, moreover, that the way forward is to be discovered through a judicious reworking of the past - albeit a past that belongs to another country, another kitchen."

Jonathan Meades again, in a different review: "He is the most gifted young chef in the country, even though his cooking is not that of a young man - by which I mean that it has none of the gimmicks that young cooks often indulge themselves in. He is a technically assured and audaciously inventive virtuoso and although he appears to have learned his craft in the majority of England's major kitchens, he is very much is own man with a style that is bold and clean. He conjures zingingly fresh flavours, and he presents his dishes with outrageous aplomb. ... Recently I had a meal there which was breathtaking: oysters with tagliatelli, caviar and shreds of cucumber; sweetbreads with scallops and an ultra-thin potato galette; lobster ravioli sauced with tomato, fine oil and a fish reduction; good cheeses (if all too similar); a slab of chocolate marquise the size of a paperback."

Can't say I get the same impression from Frankie's ...

[ravelda]

The big question for me is that - having been out of the kitchen for so long, and with food having moved so far and so fast - is he still up to it. Can he really come back and be at the cutting edge again...time will tell I guess!

[ravelda]

The big question for me is that - having been out of the kitchen for so long, and with food having moved so far and so fast - is he still up to it. Can he really come back and be at the cutting edge again...time will tell I guess!

[Gary Marshall]

let's not forget he was the youngest chef to ever be awarded 3 stars, it is a great regret i didn't get to eat his food and if he ever came back properly i'd be there like a flash.

[Zoticus]

having been out of the kitchen for so long, and with food having moved so far and so fast - is he still up to it.

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Are you implying that food moving on amounts to improvement? I would argue that good food has a few constant qualities and that a good chef understands these whatever the gastronomic zeitgeist.

If anything, haute cuisine was in a healthier state when MPW was still cooking. It was sophisticated and elitist, but as far I'm concerned that's vastly preferable to predominance of pop-rocks, tabletop crib-sheets on how to enjoy what you're eating, and the general attractions that techno-food has to the psychologically immature.

[KimS]

Certainly, my one experience of Harveys sits in my all time top five best meals ever.

[ravelda]

having been out of the kitchen for so long, and with food having moved so far and so fast - is he still up to it.

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Are you implying that food moving on amounts to improvement? I would argue that good food has a few constant qualities and that a good chef understands these whatever the gastronomic zeitgeist.

If anything, haute cuisine was in a healthier state when MPW was still cooking. It was sophisticated and elitist, but as far I'm concerned that's vastly preferable to predominance of pop-rocks, tabletop crib-sheets on how to enjoy what you're eating, and the general attractions that techno-food has to the psychologically immature.

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No, I am not implying that food mocing on amount to improvement. Certainly there have been a number of improvements and refinements - both in terms of style, cuisine and customer knowledge, perception and acceptance of produce and method. Now that is not to say that the food of Escoffier would be any less superb today than it was in his day, but spending a large amount of time without honing and developing one's skill, irrespective of what it is, is going to put you at a disadvantage.

I had a fantastic meal at Harveys many years ago, but looking at what is coming out of his kitchens these day and his comments about his own feelings about cooking (how much he loathes it now), I just question if he can get back to the top again. Time will tell - and fingers crossed we see him back in a restaurant gainaing acolades again (as long as they are not for out-swearing Gordon and being a general bad boy!)

[ravelda]

Bugger - double posting! Oops!

Edited February 23, 2007 by ravelda (log)

[RDB]

Certainly, my one experience of Harveys sits in my all time top five best meals ever.

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Kim do you remember what you ate at the time? Why was the experience so good?

The big question for me is that - having been out of the kitchen for so long, and with food having moved so far and so fast - is he still up to it. Can he really come back and be at the cutting edge again...time will tell I guess!

Unfortunately I suppose this really won't apply, as he is back to star in a reality tv show, not try to regain his former glory. By doing so his attitude towards some b-list celebrities will be more the focus rather than the food (obvious exceptions being those on the obsessive spectrum and egulleters)

let's not forget he was the youngest chef to ever be awarded 3 stars, it is a great regret i didn't get to eat his food and if he ever came back properly i'd be there like a flash.

Very true Gary and I would be right behind you .....

[ravelda]

I hear what you are saying RDB, but I ahve heard that MPW may well be considering re-launching himself on the restaurant scene as well - nothing confirmed, but it would certainly make sense!

[Scott]

Gordan is a great technician, and Marco is/was a great artist.

both great, but a world of difference.

[Zoticus]

Gordan is a great technician, and Marco is/was a great artist.

both great, but a world of difference.

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What do you mean by 'artist'? What exactly did MPW do with food that was artistically great?

[Scott]

Gordan is a great technician, and Marco is/was a great artist.

both great, but a world of difference.

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What do you mean by 'artist'? What exactly did MPW do with food that was artistically great?

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you missed the point.

the key is the difference between the creative and the technical. passion, creativity, inspiration - the things that the technician doesn't have.

[Zoticus]

Gordan is a great technician, and Marco is/was a great artist.

both great, but a world of difference.

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What do you mean by 'artist'? What exactly did MPW do with food that was artistically great?

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you missed the point.

the key is the difference between the creative and the technical. passion, creativity, inspiration - the things that the technician doesn't have.

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No, I understood the point. I was challenging you on the evidence for you claim; i.e. is there any?

[Scott]

Gordan is a great technician, and Marco is/was a great artist.

both great, but a world of difference.

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What do you mean by 'artist'? What exactly did MPW do with food that was artistically great?

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you missed the point.

the key is the difference between the creative and the technical. passion, creativity, inspiration - the things that the technician doesn't have.

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No, I understood the point. I was challenging you on the evidence for you claim; i.e. is there any?

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oh, you got the point? strange.

but the real truth is that if you are asking for "proof" of this distinction, you clearly don't get the point. but I wouldn't expect you would, Heston wasn't mentioned anywhere

Now it would be uncontroversial to suggest, that say Van Gogh was more artistic and creative, than perhaps a Constable. You can look at the brush strokes, the sketches, the subject matter, the composition etc. but the real point is that if you are arguing this point, you're in the wrong company

[RDB]

Jay were you and MPW separated at birth?

[Zoticus]

oh, you got the point?  strange.

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Okay Scott, no need to be insulting.

but the real truth is that if you are asking for "proof" of this distinction, you clearly don't get the point.

I see, so you were merely regurgitating a few cliches, and didn't expect to be called on them. So why didn't you say so in the first place?

[the count of monte christo]

MPW creative?? No way. He was brilliant at cooking, a total perfectionist. But he didn't really stand out for his creativity. Evidence?? First hand.

[chefsimon]

MPW creative?? No way. He was brilliant at cooking, a total perfectionist. But he didn't really stand out for his creativity. Evidence?? First hand.

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Could some one tell me how a 3 michelin star chef could not be creative please?

[beandork]

If MPW on hell's kitchen is anything like the mention of his name on this thread, he'll merely need to stand there while the contestants tear each other apart

when does the show start again?

Edited March 2, 2007 by beandork (log)