The Editor's Hospitality Blog

John Campbell took me on a tour of his impressive kitchen within the Vineyard at Stockcross, the other day. John's cooking, which won him a well-deserved second Michelin star earlier this year, is based squarely upon the sous vide method. It's a method he promotes with an evangelist's zeal.

I love John's boundless energy and infectious passion for food. As we talked, he grabbed a marker pen off a passing chef and began to sketch out his blueprint for preparing perfectly-cooked cuts of meat on a nearby fridge door, like a white-coated Rolf Harris. I only hope the ink wasn't permanent ...

Of course, sous vide is nothing new, but it's the way John has built the hotel's entire food offering around it that is really interesting. John talks about 'de-risking' the business of serving food, and certainly there's a discernable calmness and order to his kitchen. Already, many eminent chefs are sending scouts down to the Vinyard to witness his system, first-hand.

Incidentally, my lunch at the Vineyard was phenomenal, and threw up some interesting taste combinations, such as lemon curd and scallops.

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I was reading a book called The Perfectionist, about the life of three Michelin-starred French chef, Bernard Loiseau. I'm about three quarters of the way through it now, and thought I'd pass on what I've learnt so far.

Tragically, Loiseau's life story is defined by his suicide, in 2003. The owner of the Côte d'Or restaurant in Burgundy put a shotgun to his own head, rather than continue to bear the constant pressure of retaining his three Michelin stars.

Is The Perfectionist a good book? For me, it's at least a hundred pages too long, and the prose can at times be terribly overworked (quote: "the black truffle … does for French cuisine what a Wonder Bra does for an ambitious ingénue …"!) But as an insight into the world of French haute gastronomie in the second half of the twentieth century, and, in particular, Loiseau's complex world, Rudolph Chelminski's book works both as history lesson and cautionary tale.

I'm just back from a magnificent, ten-course tasting menu prepared by two Michelin-starred chef John Campbell and his brigade at the Vineyard in Stockcross - ooh, get me!

The dinner was part of the hotel's 2007 Chef's Table festival, during which John and five invited chefs are preparing tasting menus that reflect their differing cooking styles. Other nights are being taken care of by Phil Howard of The Square, Brett Graham of the Ledbury, Nobu's Mark Edwards, Angela Hartnett of the Connaught (pictured) and David Thompson of Thai restaurant, Nahm.

Chefs' Table is an inspired idea. For guests, it offers a chance to enjoy Michelin-starred food out of London. (To ensure they feel part of the occasion and get a real sense of the chefs serving them, plasma screen televisions in the dining room relay a live feed from the kitchen.) For the hotel, it's a great way to raise profile and boost occupancy levels. And for staff, it offers an exciting break from the norm, and a chance to work with eminent chefs. Tales were circulating, last night, of commis chefs stopping to video goings-on in the kitchen, on their phones.

Of course, having a two Michelin-starred chef like John in the kitchen makes it that much easier for the Vineyard to attract big names totheir festival. Still, maybe you could consider some similar kind of initiative to drive footfall in your restaurant?

John' s menu in full

Local wild harvest
Feves, bacon, mushrooms, crayfish

terrine of suckling pig
Piccalili flavours

Organic salmon
Foie gras, red cabbage, apple

Sheepdrove organic chicken
Sweetcorn, wild watercress

Veal
Rump, sweetbreads, cheek

Beetroot ravioli
English goat's cheese, summer squash

Cream cheese
Carrot and orange

Cucumber
Mango and lime

Highclose red berries
White chocolate, olive oil and balsamic

Banana and passion fruit
Raisin panna cotta

Lunch at L'Ortolan yesterday, the Michelin-starred Berkshire restaurant run by Alan Murchison, who had a funny story to tell about local sourcing. The occasion was a meeting with Steelite International, to get their feedback on current tableware trends.

Alan has just taken over the site of Claude Bosi's Hibiscus restaurant in Ludlow, and opened his new La Becasse restaurant there. He's been bowled over by the profusion and quality of local produce in the area, and amazed by the level of detail he receives about its provenance. For instance, the local farm that supplies his duck eggs pops a piece of card in each delivery with the name of the bird that produced them.

Apparently, diners at La Becasse last Sunday enjoyed their eggs, courtesy of Denise the duck!

Not much time to post this morning - I'm up to London to interview Marco Pierre White and Raymond Blanc together for the September 6th issue of Caterer
, whichMarco is guest-editing. Together, the two can boast five Michelin stars. Marco spent some of his formative cheffing days at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, but the two superchefs haven't met for over a decade, so there should be lots of stories to tell when I get back to the office ...

Multi Michelin-starred chef-legend, Alain Ducasse is set to open his first British restaurant at London's Dorchester Hotel later this month.

This interview, recorded for an American TV show as Ducasse prepared to open in New York a few years ago, gives you a glimpse of the man behind the legend (go to -20min 50sec for Ducasse's segment).

Last night, superchef Alain Ducasse, the man with the most Michelin stars in the world, hosted a star-studded dinner at his new restaurant at London's Dorchester Hotel before it opens to the public tonight.

Welcoming us, Monsieur Ducasse promised not to serve frogs' legs, if guests promised not to mention the rugby world cup.

The table plan read like a who's-who of the UK dining scene: Mark Hix, Tom Aikens, Marcus Wareing, Raymond Blanc, Philip Howard, Michel Roux jnr, Gary Rhodes, Giorgio Locatelli, Henri Brosi, John Campbell, Theo Randall, Sir Terence Conran and many others came to meet the great man and sample his food. At the end of the meal, all of them lined up like kids outside a sweetshop, to view the magnificent kitchen Monsieur Ducasse has had put in at the restaurant.

The sight of so many top-drawer chefs in one room prompted the Vineyard's John Campbell to tell me: "if a bomb drops on the Dorchester now, you'll have nothing to write about anymore in the Caterer!" I replied that it would leave UK foodies dining on beans on toast from then on.

Christopher Cowdray wouldn't have been at all pleased to see a bomb land on us. Christopher is the CEO of the Dorchester Collection. As our seared scallops course arrived, Christopher pointed out to me the amoeba-thin shaving of dried tuna that topped the dish, and which moved like a flickering flame in the heat rising off the scallop below. Stunning.

So Tokyo is the most Michelin-starred city in the world. Hands up who saw that coming?

Incredibly, every one of the 150 restaurants listed in the Tokyo guide has been awarded at least one star and Joel Robuchon, who has a deep-rooted relationship with Japan’s capital, bagged six.

This will no doubt result in debate on the subject of which country holds the much-fought title of gastronomic capital of the world.

My money has always been on France, despite protestations from Spain and of course, Old Blighty, as I believe it’s hard to argue with France’s culinary heritage.

But as Michelin director Jean-Luc Naret rightly points out we perhaps overlook the heritage of countries a little further afield.

“[It is thanks to] Tokyo’s incomparable quality of the products and cooking techniques used, and to the heritage and culinary traditions handed down from generation to generation, that the Tokyo Michelin Guide has given stars to all restaurants," declares Naret.

Of course, this also presents an interesting twist in “Star Wars” (the battle between Gordon Ramsay and Alain Ducasse to be the most starred chef in the world). Joel Robuchon now proudly boasts 17.

Michelin are set to release this year's restaurant star ratings later this month and bloggers across the UK are already trying to second-guess them. On the Guardian's blog, food critic Jay Rayner has made a few predictions of his own.

Foodies will find his crystal ball-gazing interesting; but just as entertaining are the comments his post has provoked. I've listed a few of them below - clearly, not all visitors to the Guardian's website share Jay's fascination with the UK restaurant scene.

Soapysouter has vision enough to look beyond the fashionable addresses of London, Manchester and Birmingham, to a stretch of road in Hampshire for his tip for Michelin success:

I hope the Little Chef on the A303 between Andover and Basingstoke gets its first Michelin Star. Its all day breakfast is truly gutsy cooking.

Meanwhile, Rayner's assertion that "Michelin never goes in at more than one, unless it's a relocated restaurant (pace Hibiscus) or the new restaurant of an established big name (pace Ducasse)", causes Sloggers to rein in his hopes for his local Indian restaurant:

Personally I think the Shiplu Tandoori in Bexhill-on-Sea should be up for a Michelin star. I'd say more than one but since it's not a relocated restaurant or an established big name I guess we'll just have to go one-at-a-time.

As for Falconwood, he predicts a clean sweep for his local caff:

Franks Cafe, New Eltham, London, SE9 should get three stars. His Large Set breakfast is to die for although he's put it up 50p to £4.50 (Thank you, Gordon Brown). The room is suitably decorated with pictures of the 1998 Charlton Athletic Squad (signed). 'Chef' is a German Muslim fella, who cooks a perfect Bubble. I predict Three Stars are winging its way to Frank's Cafe as I type. Maybe he should rename it L'Manoir de Frank?

Come the end of the month, gourmands in andover, Bexhill and New Eltham will doubtless have fingers and toes crossed ...

Today, Caterersearch launches Guide Girl, a blog that will debate the world of guidebooks and all that comes with them.

So if you're remotely interested in all things Michelin, AA, Good Food Guide, Harden's and much, much more, then look no further. Guide Girl will scour the globe for all you need to know.

Of course, this week all eyes are firmly on Michelin. In his first video interview since the Michelin Guide to Great Britain & Ireland 2009 was leaked last weekend, Derek Bulmer highlights this year's winners and losers. Check it out along with video interviews from some of this year's success stories - Claude Bosi of two-Michelin-starred Hibiscus, Angela Hartnett of the one-starred Murano and David Moore and Marcus Eaves of the one-starred L'Autre Pied.

Parlez-vous Francais? Non? Never mind, Caterersearch thinks of everything. We have an exclusive interview with legendary French, multi-Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse and although it's conducted in his mother tongue with our star reporter Gemma Sharkey, we have delivered, for the first time in Caterersearch history, subtitles! 

Discover his thoughts on winning two Michelin stars at London's Dorchester last month, along with his views on the British culinary scene, Bocuse d'Or and our man in Lyon, Simon Hulstone.

And while you're in the Michelin mood, why not check out Kerstin Kühn's interview with guide editor Derek Bulmer in addition to British-based award winners Martin Burge (speaking to Emily Manson), Claude, Bosi, Angela Hartnett and Marcus Eaves.

While tomorrow night sees Heston Blumenthal, John Campbell, Marcus Wareing, Angela Hartnett and Phil Howard strut their stuff at South Downs College in aid of The Ark, an arm of Hospitality Action (HA) which focuses on educating people in the industry about the dangers of alcohol dependency and drug misuse, May brings a different kind of fundraiser for the HA in the form of a once-in-a-lifetime Great British Menu dinner involving all the finalists from the 2008 BBC2 hit series. Fancy attending? For more details, check out our Guide Girl blog.

 Last night, five Michelin-starred chefs, with no less than 10 Michelin stars among them, descended on South Downs College to cook a gourmet dinner and raise money for The Ark Foundation.

Heston Blumenthal, Marcus Wareing, John Campbell, Angela Hartnett and Phil Howard gave up their time to raise money for the arm of Hospitality Action which focuses on drink and drug abuse awareness. Working alongside the students and lecturers of South Downs College, the chefs managed to raise just under £20,000 for the charity.

But while many will benefit from the work of The Ark, they weren't the only winners for last night presented those college students - front and back of house - to not only rub shoulders with the Michelin elite, but also learn under the fine tutelage of Skylon GM Simon King and the Boundary's house manager, Olubunmi Okolosi.

Our video is still in the editing suite at the moment, but don't forget to check out the Caterersearch video channel over the next few days to see the highlights.

In the meantime, check out some of our photos from the night.

Three-Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal has been forced to close his Bray restaurant, the Fat Duck, following a food scare, according to Telegraph.co.uk.

The article stated that dozens of customers had reported feeling unwell after eating at the restaurant, however, initial tests conducted by environmental health officers as well as the restaurant's own food safety consultants have been negative.

Blumenthal closed the restaurant on Tuesday and reservations for have been cancelled.

It went on to say that no date has been set for the restaurant's reopening.

He told the Telegraph: "After 14 years of work, to come to the point where you have to close the restaurant is upsetting. The Fat Duck for me is very much a labour of love. The samples have all come back negative. It's very strange. We called in the environmental health officers and they said it could be a non-specific virus which is going around."

On Wednesday night, Blumenthal lead a brigade of Michelin-starred chefs who cooked alongside the students of South Downs College for a dinner in aid of The Ark. The dinner raised just under £20,000.

You might feel that you've got your hands more than full running lunch and dinner service, but Anthony Demetre and Will Smith, the men behind Arbutus and Wild Honey, feel there's a gap in the market - for afternoon tea.

Earlier this month, the two-times Michelin-starred pair launched afternoon tea at the Mayfair outpost, Wild Honey.

"It's just at Wild Honey," Will Smith tells us, adding that he doesn't think afternoon tea is a Soho (read Arbutus) thing. But Smith's thinking behind the concept was that people are often pushed for time and that a later, lighter offering might just do the trick.

The menu, called Sweet and Savoury, available from Monday to Friday from 3pm-6pm, includes a selection of Prosecco, Champagne and Champagne cocktails, savouries such as croque monsieur (ham, Gruyere and toasted sourdough), £5.95, a board of charcuterie (speck, finocchiona, coppa and five-year bellota), £12.95, and warm potato soup with chive cream, £5.50.