Heston Blue Mental

[Archie_tect]

Do we have to bring up* the Salade Crankarme again?


*no pun intended

.... what is/was it?

 

[theclaud]

.... what is/was it?

The stuff of nightmares.

 

[pplpilot]

I dont care how many Michelin stars so called 'celebrity' or 'TV' chefs have none of them could make a Pot Noodle without having dry bits left at the bottom of the pot. It really is one of lifes mysteries, it doesn't matter how long you leave it standing...

 

[User169]

Part of the problem with this sort of discussion is that Britain is bereft of a gastronomic consensus. Nevertheless, the promise of "Michelen-starred dining" should rightly make the sentient contort themselves wincing.

 

[User169]

His cook book Heston at Home is very good. A mix of cut down restaurant style food and non restaurant recipes suited to the keen amateur plus lots of the thinking and science behind food and flavours

If you are interested in the chemistry of cooking, you need a copy of "McGee" (pretty sure Heston acknowledges a bit of a debt to it).

 

[Archie_tect]

It doesn't cost more money to cook food well... the time it takes is by and large the same, until the preparation and the processes you introduce start to take over the reason why you are doing it. The visual presentation is the principle driving force behind 'signature' Michelin restaurants, providing an excuse to charge ridiculous amounts for very small portions as a 'dining experience'. Generating TV celebrity status is then a driving force behind the branding. It's all getting more and more extreme and, frankly, silly.

 

[User169]

[QUOTE 3102730, member: 259"]My daughter has that and I've got first dibs on it when she finishes - it looks good. I've had a cookbook by Michel Roux <edit>Raymond Blanc for yonks, and it has all sorts of interesting bits written by <edit>McGee Nicholas Kurti in it.

<edit>How he did all that and still had time to set up Creation is beyond me! [/QUOTE]

It's not the sort of thing I'd read cover to cover, but it's good to dip into now and again.

(Assumed the last bit was a joke!)

 

[EltonFrog]

I tried to book the fat duck or what ever it's called , and the woman on reception was so snotty I told her to stuff it, then I wrote an email to a well known restaurant critic about what appeared to me to be the institutional arrogance of the place, the critic replied telling me that he had heard a few complaints like that. He published it, alas I can't find it on the web now. Any way we went to Roux's place round the corner and it was ACE. That'll learn them.

 

[Paulus]

[QUOTE 3103244, member: 259"]Was it Cranky?[/QUOTE]


I thought deep fried Mars bars was more their thing

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I tried to book the fat duck or what ever it's called , and the woman on reception was so snotty I told her to stuff it, then I wrote an email to a well known restaurant critic about what appeared to me to be the institutional arrogance of the place, the critic replied telling me that he had heard a few complaints like that. He published it, alas I can't find it on the web now. Any way we went to Roux's place round the corner and it was ACE. That'll learn them.

To be fair I wouldn't let you near a burger van let alone a Michelin star restaurant.

 

[format]

It doesn't cost more money to cook food well... the time it takes is by and large the same, until the preparation and the processes you introduce start to take over the reason why you are doing it. The visual presentation is the principle driving force behind 'signature' Michelin restaurants, providing an excuse to charge ridiculous amounts for very small portions as a 'dining experience'. Generating TV celebrity status is then a driving force behind the branding. It's all getting more and more extreme and, frankly, silly.

Are you, or have you ever been, a chef working in high level kitchen environment?

Your post is full of inaccuracies and quite insulting to the insane levels of hard work that go in to achieving and maintaining michelin stars.

 

[PK99]

It doesn't cost more money to cook food well... the time it takes is by and large the same, until the preparation and the processes you introduce start to take over the reason why you are doing it. The visual presentation is the principle driving force behind 'signature' Michelin restaurants, providing an excuse to charge ridiculous amounts for very small portions as a 'dining experience'. Generating TV celebrity status is then a driving force behind the branding. It's all getting more and more extreme and, frankly, silly.

You obviously know little, and understand less, about what Fine Dining is all about.

I was going to go on and explain why and how you are wrong - but I strongly suspect I would be wasting my time.

By way of analogy:

A bike is a bike is a bike, why do amatuer cyclists, like some on here, spend extreme and frankly silly amounts of money on bikes to the point that the kit you are riding takes over from the reason you are doing it?
The visual presentation of a bike or clothing is the driving force behind 'signiture' cycling kit - providing an excuse to charge ridiculous amounts of money for cycling kit.
Professionals benefit from the milliseconds difference in shifting speed on of a top range group set or electronic shifting - an amateur with that level of kit is just pretentious nonsense.

or:

Four walls and a roof make a house - why spend money on good design?

 

[Archie_tect]

My point is good design doesn't cost more than bad design, or put another way, there's an optimum amount of time to spend on a thing.... obsessing about the details to the nth degree is a waste of time whether it be bikes, houses or food preparation.

 

[format]

My point is good design doesn't cost more than bad design, or put another way, there's an optimum amount of time to spend on a thing.... obsessing about the details to the nth degree is a waste of time whether it be bikes, houses or food preparation.

Can you tell us why you happen to be more qualified than Heston (or anyone else in the industry) to decide when it's a waste of time?

After all, what good did innovation ever do anyone?

 

[Crankarm]

Can you tell us why you happen to be more qualified than Heston (or anyone else in the industry) to decide when it's a waste of time?

After all, what good did innovation ever do anyone?

It worked pretty well for the Romans.