On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 17:55:33 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne,
_the_ chancellor (*)) wrote:

>On the subject of smoking, am I the only one taken aback at the complete
>lack of preparation for the upcoming ban? I suppose some restaurants and
>bars will just go as normal all the way until June 30, and then blame
>the government that they weren't given enough preparation time?

there have been articles in the Restaurant, don't know what people are
actually doing.
--
Mike Reid
UK walking, food, photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" <-- you can email us@ this site
Spain walking, food, tourism "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk"
Beginners UK flight sim addons "http://www.lawn-mower-man.co.uk"

On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 12:41:20 -0400, Viking <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Note the slur on British food. It even continues:
>
>>" It is interesting to consider that on
>>this list, St John's is the only restaurant serving British food. The rest
>>are all in the modern style of cookery."

it should have said "traditional"
--
Mike Reid
UK walking, food, photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" <-- you can email us@ this site
Spain walking, food, tourism "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk"
Beginners UK flight sim addons "http://www.lawn-mower-man.co.uk"

On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 17:49:43 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne, _the_
chancellor (*)) wrote:

>Viking <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 07:30:57 +0100, "Ian F."
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> From the article:
>>
>> >"A decade ago, if you had presented a list of the UK having seven
>> >restaurants in the top 50, people would have laughed. But we have become
>> >very good at being multi-cultural."
>>
>> Note the slur on British food.
>
>That's not a surprise. While you can get terrific local cuisine, the UK
>has never had the food culture that some other countries have. What has
>made UK food a lot better in recent years has been the absorption and
>modification of other cuisines, and much more thought given to the
>quality of ingredients.

The quality of British beef has always been much better than in continental
Europe, there is nothing wrong with British vegetables other than a tendency to
overcook them.
--

Martin

"The Reid" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Is it? The world was broken up into regions with 22 regional teams,
> they arent Brits. Where their were ties, home region votes were
> ignored.

There'll always be the naysayers who think we still only offer fish and
chips and pies.

No amount of awards or magazine articles will convince them - they're best
ignored IMO.

Ian

On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 17:55:33 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne, _the_
chancellor (*)) wrote:

>David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*) <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> looks like
>> there is still smoking in the main area unfortunately, but that will
>> change soon.
>
>On the subject of smoking, am I the only one taken aback at the complete
>lack of preparation for the upcoming ban? I suppose some restaurants and
>bars will just go as normal all the way until June 30, and then blame
>the government that they weren't given enough preparation time?

Some pubs and restaurants in UK have already gone no smoking, what are you
expecting?

What preparation is needed to prevent people smoking in restaurants?
If McDs can do it anybody can.
--

Martin

On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 17:49:43 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne,
_the_ chancellor (*)) wrote:

>That's not a surprise. While you can get terrific local cuisine, the UK
>has never had the food culture that some other countries have. What has
>made UK food a lot better in recent years has been the absorption and
>modification of other cuisines, and much more thought given to the
>quality of ingredients.

you know the food in El Bulli is no nearer trad spanish than the Fat
duck is near Trad British. Its of course true that Spain, Italy and
France had much stronger food culture in past.
--
Mike Reid
UK walking, food, photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" <-- you can email us@ this site
Spain walking, food, tourism "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk"
Beginners UK flight sim addons "http://www.lawn-mower-man.co.uk"

Martin <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 17:55:33 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne, _the_
> chancellor (*)) wrote:
>
> >David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*) <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >> looks like
> >> there is still smoking in the main area unfortunately, but that will
> >> change soon.
> >
> >On the subject of smoking, am I the only one taken aback at the complete
> >lack of preparation for the upcoming ban? I suppose some restaurants and
> >bars will just go as normal all the way until June 30, and then blame
> >the government that they weren't given enough preparation time?
>
> Some pubs and restaurants in UK have already gone no smoking, what are you
> expecting?

There hasn't been a big change in the number of non-smoking ubs and
restaurants. That's what I was expecting.

--
(*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
(don't email yahoo address) usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:13:12 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne, _the_
chancellor (*)) wrote:

>Martin <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 17:55:33 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne, _the_
>> chancellor (*)) wrote:
>>
>> >David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*) <[email protected]> wrote:
>> >
>> >> looks like
>> >> there is still smoking in the main area unfortunately, but that will
>> >> change soon.
>> >
>> >On the subject of smoking, am I the only one taken aback at the complete
>> >lack of preparation for the upcoming ban? I suppose some restaurants and
>> >bars will just go as normal all the way until June 30, and then blame
>> >the government that they weren't given enough preparation time?
>>
>> Some pubs and restaurants in UK have already gone no smoking, what are you
>> expecting?
>
>There hasn't been a big change in the number of non-smoking ubs and
>restaurants. That's what I was expecting.

Any change is a big change :-)
--

Martin

On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:13:12 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne,
_the_ chancellor (*)) wrote:

>There hasn't been a big change in the number of non-smoking ubs and
>restaurants. That's what I was expecting.

they probably feel they risk losing trade less if they all switch at
once.
--
Mike Reid
UK walking, food, photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" <-- you can email us@ this site
Spain walking, food, tourism "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk"
Beginners UK flight sim addons "http://www.lawn-mower-man.co.uk"

The Reid <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:13:12 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne,
> _the_ chancellor (*)) wrote:
>
> >There hasn't been a big change in the number of non-smoking ubs and
> >restaurants. That's what I was expecting.
>
> they probably feel they risk losing trade less if they all switch at
> once.

In Manchester at least, I'll be more likely to patronise the restaurants
after the ban that started it before. Not hard really, as most of the
better restaurants here are completely non-smoking now.

--
(*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
(don't email yahoo address) usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:09:51 +0100, "Ian F."
<[email protected]> wrote:

>There'll always be the naysayers who think we still only offer fish and
>chips and pies.

Someone once asked me what british cuisine was. I think for english
speaking countries they see a lot of stuff thats British as thier own
home cooking, therefore not "a cuisine". Somebody added that shepherds
pie was from New Zealand!!!

>No amount of awards or magazine articles will convince them - they're best
>ignored IMO.

probably. But its nice you can eat well here nowadays. although I do
like pies, i'm currently developing a steak, stout and oyster pie,
thats certainly trad english. (someone will probably now say stout is
Irish! ) :-)
--
Mike Reid
UK walking, food, photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" <-- you can email us@ this site
Spain walking, food, tourism "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk"
Beginners UK flight sim addons "http://www.lawn-mower-man.co.uk"

On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:22:13 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne, _the_
chancellor (*)) wrote:

>The Reid <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:13:12 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne,
>> _the_ chancellor (*)) wrote:
>>
>> >There hasn't been a big change in the number of non-smoking ubs and
>> >restaurants. That's what I was expecting.
>>
>> they probably feel they risk losing trade less if they all switch at
>> once.
>
>In Manchester at least, I'll be more likely to patronise the restaurants
>after the ban that started it before. Not hard really, as most of the
>better restaurants here are completely non-smoking now.

eh? didn't you just say they weren't?
--

Martin

On Apr 24, 8:30 am, "Ian F." <[email protected]> wrote:
> http://tinyurl.com/2v3ffa
>
> London is home to six of world's best restaurants
>
> By Patrick Sawer, Evening Standard 23.04.07
>
> London scored a major triumph in the field of haute cuisine today after it
> emerged it has six of the world's best restaurants.
>
> The capital's international reputation for fine dining was confirmed by
> the inclusion of the six on a list of 50 restaurants drawn up by a panel
> of 651 judges who surveyed more than 70 countries.
>
> France had the largest number on the list, with the US second and Britain
> third with seven. Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck was the only British
> restaurant on the list outside London.
>
> The six were Le Gavroche, St John's, Nobu, Hakkasan, Restaurant Gordon
> Ramsay and the River Café.
>
> The Fat Duck, in Bray, Berkshire, is set to go head to head against
> Spain's internationally-renown El Bulli for the top prize at the S
> Pellegrino awards in London tonight.
>
> Blumenthal, who has previously won the S Pellegrino award for top
> restaurant, said British restaurants are benefiting from a greater
> interest in food from the UK public. "What's happened is that we used to
> consider going to a restaurant on a special occasion, and when we went it
> was all candelabras and fancy waiters in dickie-bow ties.
>
> "More recently we have seen more of a going out culture. People in Britain
> are much more aware and interested in food," he said.
>
> Britain has retained its third place spot for the third year running, but
> London's dominance is a reflection of the strength of the economy and the
> wealth of its restaurant-going public.
>
> Joe Warwick, editor of Restaurant magazine, which organises the awards,
> said: "There are some lovely restaurants outside London, but to make it
> work on this level you need to be able to fill it Monday through to Friday
> and that doesn't happen outside London.
>
> "A decade ago, if you had presented a list of the UK having seven
> restaurants in the top 50, people would have laughed. But we have become
> very good at being multi-cultural. It is interesting to consider that on
> this list, St John's is the only restaurant serving British food. The rest
> are all in the modern style of cookery."
>
> France still has the highest number of top restaurants with 12 entries in
> the top 50 - up from 10 last year. The USA has eight - the second highest
> number for any single country.
>
> Spain and Italy tie in fourth place with six entries each. The full list
> of restaurants and their positions in the top 50 will be revealed at the
> Science Museum ceremony tonight.
>
> Gordon Ramsay's self-named restaurant has made the top 50 again this year
> while The River Café has re-entered the list. Maze, which is part of the
> Gordon Ramsay stable of restaurants, came in at number 55 and scooped the
> " breakthrough award" for best restaurant under five years old.
>
> Pied a Terre in London was voted Restaurant Magazine readers' choice. Mr
> Warwick said: "There's a consensus among people who know about restaurants
> that France is definitely the strongest country and probably deserves to
> be top of the list.
>
> "I think the UK's position as third nation is very good. This is about
> highend restaurants and we have got that."
>
> The panellists were divided into 22 regional groups, each of which was
> headed by a chairman picked for their knowledge of that region.
>
> Each panel member was allowed five votes, of which a maximum of two were
> for restaurants within their own region.
>
> Best of British
>
> Le Gavroche
> St John's
> Nobu
> Hakkasan Restaurant
> Gordon Ramsay
> River Cafè
> Fat Duck, Bray
>
> Ian
>
> --

so tell me, why is food in the rest of the UK outside of these 7
overpriced establishments so crap, eh !!

On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:22:13 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne,
_the_ chancellor (*)) wrote:

>In Manchester at least, I'll be more likely to patronise the restaurants
>after the ban that started it before. Not hard really, as most of the
>better restaurants here are completely non-smoking now.

yes, but you're one end of the scale. I'm in the middle, not liking
smoke but not noticing it much in recent years* (except some pubs) and
at the other people end who are enraged by the ban. Its a % game.

*as you say most places don't seem to have smokers, although Quaglinos
must have, hence the stockinged babe of a cigarette girl, bloody hell,
what will she do? What a loss. I'm suddenly pro smoking :-)
--
Mike Reid
UK walking, food, photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" <-- you can email us@ this site
Spain walking, food, tourism "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk"
Beginners UK flight sim addons "http://www.lawn-mower-man.co.uk"

Martin <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:22:13 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne, _the_
> chancellor (*)) wrote:
>
> >The Reid <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >> On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:13:12 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne,
> >> _the_ chancellor (*)) wrote:
> >>
> >> >There hasn't been a big change in the number of non-smoking ubs and
> >> >restaurants. That's what I was expecting.
> >>
> >> they probably feel they risk losing trade less if they all switch at
> >> once.
> >
> >In Manchester at least, I'll be more likely to patronise the restaurants
> >after the ban that started it before. Not hard really, as most of the
> >better restaurants here are completely non-smoking now.
>
> eh? didn't you just say they weren't?

No, I said most restaurants and pubs haven't changed their policy since
the ban was introduced. A lot of these restaurants are relatively new,
and have had a non-smoking policy since they opened, or at least as long
as I remember- i.e. before a ban was being talked about.

--
(*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
(don't email yahoo address) usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk