January 2011 Archives

Time is running out to enter the 2011 Roux Scholarship, the winner of which will receive a three-month stage at a three-Michelin-starred restaurant anywhere in the world. The deadline for entries has been extended to Friday, 4 February.

Entrants, who must work in the UK and be between 22 and 30, have to submit a monkfish recipe for four people, accompanied by a rice dish and a green vegetable.

The semi-finals are due to be held on 10 March in Birmingham and London, with the final taking place at London's Westminster Kingsway College on 18 April.

Joining Michel Roux on the judging panel will be his son Alain, brother Albert and nephew Michel Jnr, as well as the first Roux Scholar Andrew Fairlie and judges Brian Turner, Gary Rhodes, David Nicholls and James Martin.

Previous winners include Simon Hulstone, Sat Bains, Andre Garrett and Hrishikesh Desai, who went to Thomas Keller's French Laundry for his winning stage and was the first Roux Scholar to venture outside of Europe.

Last year's winner of the Roux Scholarship, Kenneth Culhane of BaxterStorey, will be travelling to New York City to Jean-Georges Vongerchten's flagship three-star restaurant Jean-Georges in March.

To enter visit the 2011 Roux Scholarship website.

John Lanchester is distinctly underwhelmed by Barbecoa, the latest restaurant by Jamie Oliver, which is a co-venture with US chef Adam Perry Lang.

The Guardian's food critic says that the restaurant at the One New Change development in the City of London, "has acquired what the French call an on dit: a generalised opinion held by pretty much everyone who takes an interest"."And this is that the food is disappointing, the service slow and the bill expensive. It always feels like a defeat when you agree with an on dit, but it's sadly accurate," he says.

Writing in The Times Giles Coren has an even more disappointing experience at the Highgate branch of Côte, the French brasserie concept backed by Richard Caring, describing both his cassoulet and steak as "terrible". "I had a sirloin. Terrible. Ordered it rare, it came medium to well. The meat was flabby, grey, wan," he moans.

Meanwhile Nordic restaurant North Road certainly looks the part, says Zoe Williams of the Sunday Telegraph, but the kitchen seems to have lost its bearings.

Tracey Macleod, writing in The Independent, finds innovative food and great value but disjointed service at Tom Van Zeller in Harrogate, while AA Gill returns to Les Deux Salons and says the French bistro is still a good restaurant but adds that it needs to take the kitchen in hand as it's slipping away.

Finally, The Observer's Jay Rayner pays tribute to Elena Salvoni, one of Soho's living legends, who at 90 still works the floor of Little Italy every second Wednesday of the month.

After Team UK, led by Simon Hulstone, finished only in 13th place at the prestigious Bocuse d'Or competition in Lyon earlier this week, UK judge Brian Turner reflects on the results.

The president of the Academy of Culinary Arts, says we should not be too disappointed with the result and that Team UK's professionalism and dedication will help inspire a new generation of candidates.

"While we did expect a higher position, even a place on the podium, we cannot be too downbeat about the final outcome. What happened in Lyon has proved that we need to delve deeper into what makes a winner and increase our understanding of what the majority of judges are looking for.

"The standard of entry this time was incredible and right now the UK simply can't match the level of commitment that these winning chefs can give [to the competition]. Rasmus Kofoed spent the last eight years of his life preparing to win the gold and has already won the bronze and silver. 

"Regardless of our position in Lyon, Simon's ability and passion for representing his country has captured the imagination of hundreds of chefs and industry professionals. Not only has he been a fantastic ambassador as a candidate but he has generously offered to help the next candidate in his or her preparation.

"We must also look back at what we have achieved, the number of supporters increased by at least 100 per cent from 2009 to 2011, funding increased from a few hundred pounds to more than £60,000 and we've secured significant media interest - which is key to raising awareness and hopefully more funds. We need to continue to build on these foundations to ensure that we can give future candidates the support and insight that they need to perform successfully in this spectacular contest."

Denmark's Rasmus Kofoed  has won the prestigious Bocuse d'Or competition in Lyon, with UK representative Simon Hulstone finishing in 13th place out of a total of 24 competing nations.

As the winner of the most high profile international culinary contest, Rasmus has won €20,000 (£16,700) in prize money. He previously finished third and second in the Bocuse d'Or in 2005 and 2007 respectively.

Sweden's Tommy Myllymaki came in second place, with Gunnar Hvarnes of Norway in third.

Hulstone, head chef at the Michelin-starred Elephant restaurant in Torquay, Devon, has now represented the UK twice in the biennial contest and said he will now retire from the competition.  

The special prize for the best fish platter went to Switzerland, with France winning the special prize for the best meat dish.

Hulstone worked together with Team UK commis chef Jordan Bailey, sous chef at the Elephant, and a commis supplied by the competition's organisers, and was looked on by team manager Nick Vadis, UK executive chef at Compass Group.

The team worked solidly for five-and-a-half hours preparing, cooking and serving to the international judging panel two silver flats, one based on Scottish seafood and the other on Scottish lamb, each serving 14 people.

Hulstone's fish course comprised dashi-poached Scottish monkfish loin with wild fennel pollen; crab "bombe"; langoustine and caviar "buttons"; lemon-infused salsify with smoked salmon; "medusa" - monkfish liver and crispy shirazu; royale of Jerusalem artichoke, truffle and pea; verjus and spring onion butter; and trawlerman's pie.

His meat course was loin of Scotland's finest lamb with sweetbreads; "spiral" of shoulder; textures of beetroot; couscous "domino" with cucumber ketchup and watermelon; charlotte of asparagus and pea, foie gras bon bon; Madeira jus; and shepherd's pie.

The team could not precut any ingredients, although they were allowed to pre-peel garlic, portion oil, salt, flour and other ingredients, and bring stocks made in advance. 

Simon Hulstone, head chef at the Michelin-starred Elephant in Torquay, Devon, will today compete in the Bocuse d'Or, the most high profile international culinary competition held in Lyon, France.

Hulstone, who is representing the UK for the second time in the biennial contest, will be up against 23 other countries - each competing for the prestigious title and €20,000 (£16,700) in prize money.

Hulstone will be working today together with Team UK commis chef Jordan Bailey, sous chef at the Elephant, and a commis supplied by the competition's organisers, and looked on by team manager Nick Vadis, UK executive chef at Compass Group.

The team will work solidly for five-and-a-half hours preparing, cooking and serving to the international judging panel two silver flats, one based on Scottish seafood including monkfish, crab and langoustine and the other on Scottish lamb, each with three garnishes. The teams' two elaborate presentations must serve 14 people. No ingredients may be pre-cut, although teams are allowed to pre-peel garlic, portion oil, salt, flour and other ingredients, and bring stocks made in advance.

The judging panel will include high profile chefs such as Thomas Keller, representing the USA, Norwegian chef Gier Skeie, who won the Bocuse d'Or in 2009, and Academy of Culinary Arts president Brian Turner for the UK.

A group of more than 150 British supporters will be in the crowd at Lyon to cheer for Hulstone, who is hoping to finish in the top three at the Bocuse d'Or. He placed in fourth position and won best meat dish at the European final of the competition, which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, last June.

View our picture gallery of the Bocuse d'Or in Lyon here.

So we've let the results of this year's Michelin guide to Great Britain and Ireland sink in a bit and the initial excitement has given way to a distinct sense of anti-climax.

Our hopes had been so high. After all this year was the big one, with the Great Britain and Ireland guide celebrating 100 years since its first publication. As always, rumours were rife, with the likes of Marcus Wareing and Claude Bosi widely tipped for three-, Simon Rogan and Sat Bains for two; and Pierre Koffmann and Bruno Loubet for one-star.

However, with no change in the three-star stratosphere, it was Cornwall-based chef Nathan Outlaw and French female chef Hélène Darroze, who stole the show after being the only operators to have won two stars.

Michelin also awarded 12 restaurants in London and England with their first stars, but there were no new additions in Scotland, Wales or Ireland and 10 establishments lost theirs stars.

While the results bring the total of Michelin-starred restaurants in Great Britain and Ireland to 143, the highest number in the guide's 37-year history of awarding stars, the lack of higher accolades also marks, what is being described by the industry, as a disappointing crop of awards.

Phil Howard, chef-patron of the two-starred Square and co-owner with Rebecca Mascarenhas of Kitchen W8, which debuted with a star in this year's guide, said the results were "modest to say the least". "I do feel that there are restaurants in London that offer a world class experience so there should be some more acknowledgement at the top end," he said.

This was echoed by Alexis Gauthier, chef-patron of Gauthier Soho in London, who gained a star having opened last summer. "Overall I think it's a shame that there were no real surprises in this year's Michelin guide," he said. "London is the leading city in Europe when it comes to eating out and deserves more two- and three-star restaurants. But I have no doubt that it's just a matter of time and it will happen."

The Observer's food critic Jay Rayner was even more critical of the results. "This new list of stars is tedious and patronising in equal measure, a dull squeak of irrelevance," he commented on the Guardian's Word of Mouth blog. "The Michelin guide has apparently been publishing in the UK for 100 years (though not consecutively). Well it's certainly behaving like a stereotypical centenarian: gripped by the need for routine, fixed to its bath chair, smelling faintly of ointment and bodily fluids."

While the 14 restaurants who have been blessed with new stars will no doubt be celebrating, Michelin's centenary edition does raise the question of why there weren't more stars. With seemingly obvious omissions, many a chef will be scratching their head at Michelin's results.

Michelin has released its 2011 guide for Great Britain and Ireland and has awarded two stars to Cornwall-based chef Nathan Outlaw and French female chef Hélène Darroze.

The guide, which this year celebrates 100 years since its first publication in 1911, also awarded 12 restaurants in London and England with their first stars.

There were no new additions in Scotland, Wales or Ireland and 10 establishments lost theirs stars. However, the results bring the total of Michelin-starred restaurants in Great Britain and Ireland to 143, the highest number in the guide's 37-year history of awarding stars.

A total of 26 restaurants were named Bib Gourmands offering good food at moderate prices.

Commenting on the results, new editor in chief Rebecca Burr, successor to Derek Bulmer, said: "There is no doubt that 2010 was a difficult year but those hotels and restaurants that represented value for money, at whatever price, were the ones best placed to weather the storm."

Nathan Outlaw has debuted in the guide with two stars, having previously been tipped by Michelin as a rising two-star chef for two consecutive years in 2008 and 2009. He relocated his restaurant from the Marina Villa hotel in Fowey to the St Enodoc hotel in Rock last year, where he also runs a more casual Seafood and Grill restaurant.

Meanwhile, French chef Hélène Darroze has been awarded her second star having held one star since 2009 following the opening of her eponymous restaurant at London's Connaught hotel in 2008. Last year, Darroze lost one of her two Michelin stars at her restaurant in Paris in the 2010 edition of the Michelin guide for France.

Among those operators celebrating their first star are newcomers including Nuno Mendes' Viajante, Philip Howard and Rebecca Mascarenhas' Kitchen W8 and Alexis Gauthier's eponymous restaurant in London; as well as the 10 in 8 restaurant group's Paris House in Woburn, Bedforshire.

Gordon Ramsay Holdings has gained a star at the relaunched Pétrus, which re-opened last March a stone's throw from the original, now occupied by Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley.

More established restaurants being awarded their first Michelin star include Petersham Nurseries in Richmond; The Curlew in Bodiam, East Sussex; and the Pony & Trap in Chew Magna, Somerset.

The Michelin guide for Great Britain and Ireland this year celebrates its centenary as it's been 100 years since the very first edition was published in 1911 (it was published from 1911-1930 and then returned in 1974).

AA Gill finds the ideal nostalgic pub in the Lord Nelson in Brightwell Baldwin, Oxfordshire.

The Sunday Times food critic says his meal was a really good home lunch, "of the sort you'd be lucky to get if your mother was as good a cook as she thinks she is".

"A menu that was both local in ingredients and comfortingly national in intent, without being English Heritage or gastro-restoration. That's a very difficult thing to pull off as catering: it's not starred food, or photographed food, it's precisely what you want in a pub, but never seem to get," Gill enthuses.

Tracey Macleod finds the seemingly idyllic foodie paradise of farmshop café Bill's Produce's first outpost in the capital is all a bit ersatz.

"It's undeniably picturesque, this rus-in-urbe idyll, apparently created in some old light-industrial building. Until you realise that the whitewashed brick walls, reclaimed furnishings and exposed ducting all appear to have been imported on to an empty site and painstakingly reconstructed from a designer's look book," she says.

Writing in The Times, Giles Coren says Brawn, the new British restaurant from the team behind French restaurant and wine bar Terroirs, is terrific, while The Observer's Jay Rayner finds a mixed menu at kebab house Lahore but can't complain because of the incredible value for money.

The Archangel in Somerset is an absolute winner, according to Zoe Williams of the Sunday Telegraph, who says there's something wrong with you if you disagree.

The Guardian's John Lanchester says Nando's grilled chicken - albeit super hot - is proof that a multinational fast-food chain's offerings don't have to be awful.

Lisa Markwell's cover as the Independent on Sunday's food critic is blown at Peter Gordon's new restaurant Kopapa but it's not only the consequent special treatment that makes her want to come back to try more of the menu.

Finally Matthew Norman of the Daily Telegraph finds madding crowds, muzak and flashes of brilliance at the Michelin-starred Sienna in Dorchester.

The first episode of Michel Roux's Service aired on the BBC last night.

Over the coming nights, chef Michel Jr will attempt to transform a motley bunch of yoofs into passable waiters. Fred Sirieix, restaurant manager at the Hilton Park Lane's Galvin at Windows restaurant, plays Robin to his Batman. It's already clear that our Dynamic Duo has its work cut out. The only qualification their pupils seemed able to muster was Ashley's Asbo - though it became clear that if a GCSE in swearing existed they'd all be A-students.

The show had its amusing moments - Nikita offering diners a glass of prosciutto while they perused the menu; members of the team making up non-existent table numbers - but its underlining message was a sobering one: Too many youngsters have been let down by our education system, and are left on the cusp of adult life lacking even the most basic social and communications skills.

At the end of the first episode, Twitter burst into life as thousands of hospitality workers voiced their support of a show which is sure to give much-needed profile to the unsung heroes that work front of house. Among those who tweeted was chef John Benson Smith, who called the show "the first constructive Catering TV programme for 35 years".

What did you think of the show? How would you define service standards in the UK currently? What can we do to encourage more youngsters to consider service as a career of choice?

Most importantly, who will win one of the two Academy of Food and Wine Service scholarships up for grabs?

The AA will today announce the latest additions to its restaurant awards, with 13 establishments being honoured with three AA rosettes.

Among the winners are a mix of newcomers and existing operators including six establishments in London, six in England and one in Scotland.

New restaurants being elevated to the three-rosette-status, which rewards outstanding restaurants demanding recognition well beyond their local area, include Limewood in the New Forest and Kenny Atkinson's eatery at Rockliffe Hall in Darlington, County Durham, as well as Pierre Koffmann's eponymous restaurant at the Berkeley hotel; Portuguese chef Nuno Mendes's Viajante; and Alexis Gauthier's eponymous restaurant, all in London.

Among the more established operators to have gained three rosettes are the Ritz in London and the Royal Oak at Paley Street, Maidenhead, Berkshire, which last year gained a Michelin star.

Gordon Ramsay Holdings' Maze in London has been demoted to three AA rosettes, having previously held four rosettes, following the departure of both chef patron Jason Atherton and executive chef James Durrant last summer.

Three AA Rosette winners:

London:
The Ritz, Piccadilly
Viajante, Bethnal Green
Gauthier, Soho
Koffmann's, Knightsbridge
Roussillon, Pimlico
Maze, Mayfair

England:
The Royal Oak at Paley Street, Maidenhead, Berkshire
Lower Slaughter Manor, Gloucestershire
Peacock at Rowsley, Derbyshire
Kenny Atkinson at the Orangery, Darlington, Co Durham
Limewood, Lyndhurst, New Forest
The Black Swan, Oldstead, Yorkshire

Scotland:
The Torridon, Torridon

Read Caterersearch coverage for comments from the new AA rosette winner.

Spanish super-chef Ferran Adrià today opens a new restaurant in Barcelona.

The legendary culinary wizard of El Bulli fame is launching tapas bar 41 Degrees in the Catalan capital together with his brother Albert.

The menu at the new restaurant will offer dishes similar to those at El Bulli - including crèpe of Peking duck and marshmallow clouds of lime and cocoa. However, unlike El Bulli the average spend is around €50 and there is a no reservations policy so expect to find queues.

"I am sure this is going to happen but we will see," Adrià told Spanish news service The Reader.

"At 41 you won't be able to make a reservation because you can't say to someone who comes in at 7pm that at 9pm they have to leave. The concept is a bit new and we will see how we get on."

Additionally the Adrià brothers also plan to open a sit-down tapas restaurant in Barcelona next month. Called Tickets, it will be a 50-seat restaurant and will take reservations.

Last year, Adrià announced that he would close El Bulli for two years in 2012. On reopening in 2014 the iconic restaurant will run as a non-profit cooking foundation offering scholarships to the world's most talented chefs and providing a place for free thinking and kicking around ideas.

Read our Caterer Interview with Ferran Adrià.

Giles Coren enjoys the food at the relaunched Savoy Grill but feels he is of a generation too young to really grasp its relevance.

The Times' food critic says that while the Gordon Ramsay Holdings' restaurant now serves a vastly improved menu of British flavours and grills, he can't shake the feeling that it's not for diners of his demographic and age group.

"[It's] the sort of stuff I would return for again and again without question if the sense did not linger that this place simply isn't for me or for anyone of my generation," he says.

Meanwhile The Independent's Tracey Macleod finds potential in the fusion menu at Peter Gordon's latest restaurant Kopapa, but adds there's something distinctly studenty and no-frills about it.

"It was only with some effort that we managed to stretch our evening out to a full-length dinner, so keen were the young waiters to hurry us through our meal. Perhaps "Kopapa" is Maori for "get a bloody move on"," she says.

Writing in The Guardian, John Lanchester is impressed with the tapas served at Morito, sister restaurant to Moro in Clerkenwell, but finds the portions on the very small side of small.

The Observer's Jay Rayner says Albert's Table in Croydon is a solid, sturdy French restaurant knocking out solid, sturdy dishes full of flavour, which makes it worth visiting London's southernmost fringe.

Zoe Williams, writing for the Sunday Telegraph, says the food at healthy fast food chain Leon is wholesome and moreish if you ignore all that alfalfa, brown rice and quinoa.

Finally the Sunday Times'  food critic AA Gill is pleasantly surprised by old favourites at Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant Hakkasan's second outpost in Mayfair. 

The Sunday Times' restaurant critic, Michael Winner is charmed by the restaurant that he first dined at at just five-years-old, Wiltons in London.

"The best meals I've ever eaten were at Wiltons, in St James's, under Jimmy Marks. I first went in 1940, when I was five. It continued to serve staggeringly good, fresh food, simply cooked. Diners ranged from Winston Churchill to Mrs Thatcher, from Albert Finney to me," he recalls.

When Jimmy died, Winner never experienced a good meal there, until now. The kitchen headed up by Andrew Turner, Winner is impressed with what is now coming out of the kitchen.

"Terrific meal; superb company. Good to see Wiltons back on form."

The Observer's Jay Rayner learns that you cannot invest all your dining experience in a single plate of food, as he experiences at the Swan at Southrop, Gloucestershire.

Tempted by the whole vacherin cheese, baked in the oven and served - for two - with roasted garlic and Melba toast, Rayner heads to the Cotswold pub only to find that they have a vacherin.

The Swan offers an extensive menu, with references to Oriental vegetables, teriyaki of salmon, tempura and dishes lifted from Morocco, Italy and France. Rayner finds that some of the dishes, such as lamb knuckle tagine with merguez, chicken and chickpeas, was a well-cooked, but the precision was lacking.

Despite the "lovely and unflustered" service at the old Cotswold pub, Rayner remains unsure if the journey was worth the meal.

Meanwhile, Metro food critic Marina O'Loughlin, wants to start the New Year with a bang, so heads off to Brawn on Columbia Road, London, but isn't convinced the treak across London is worth it.

Brawn is the baby sibling of Terroirs in Charing Cross, with a menu that changes regularly and is backed by the people behind wine importers Les Caves de Pyrène, and O'Louglin describes the whole experience as "earnest".

"Please don't think I'm dismissing this as a bad restaurant: far from it, it's rather lovely, informal, friendly, sussed, full of cool and earnest young foodies. I like it better than Terroirs... If it opened on my doorstep, I'd use it a lot; I certainly wouldn't - and won't - make the great pilgrimage across town. But that would appear to be just me."