tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609131527796792369.post5012072085697695186..comments2024-03-19T09:36:56.082+00:00Comments on CHEF SANDWICH: Can Celebrity Chefs Learn From El Bulli?Lennie Nashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08446141000881802058noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609131527796792369.post-21867252845504884672010-01-30T17:29:36.937+00:002010-01-30T17:29:36.937+00:00@ Anonymous "I find this a bit of a loose and...@ Anonymous "I find this a bit of a loose and ungrounded statement. What are your arguments?"<br /><br />I didn't want to go on, but perhaps you should see the Blumenthal series' to understand better? <br /><br />His main lab chefs as shown on ISOP are American. Not a crime in and of itself, but I am somewhat surprised that Blumenthal saw it fit to import and employ chefs for his laboratory, who have apparently little or no knowledge as to the behaviour of basic ingredients. They are seen to explore and question the most rudimentary of combinations. I realise it's TV, but it always looks like the blind leading the blind with the experiments. Even Blumenthal's questions and reactions are odd. <br /><br />As to the Little Chef programmes, his Fat Duck chefs really let the side down, and made Blumenthal look like a poor leader. They were so arrogant and failed to see their job would have been made far easier, had they been decent enough to recognise the sensitivities present when consulting on someone else's turf.<br /><br />Instead, they behaved like the worse type of Brigade underlings, and didn't even stop short of openly calling the Little Chef staff idiots. I would have sacked them instantly for doing this. Instead, Blumenthal seemed to condone this outside representation of his Fat Duck organisation.Andrewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609131527796792369.post-56106640442040074392010-01-30T05:07:01.915+00:002010-01-30T05:07:01.915+00:00"His American lab chef's don't seem t..."His American lab chef's don't seem to be much better, and the guys that were on his Little Chef team were terrible. It could be the glass ceiling for Fat Duck."<br /><br />I find this a bit of a loose and ungrounded statement. What are your arguments?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609131527796792369.post-9668094388329405932010-01-29T16:38:18.515+00:002010-01-29T16:38:18.515+00:00Very good article. Thanks Lennie.
Indeed, restau...Very good article. Thanks Lennie. <br /><br />Indeed, restaurants should continuously innovate, lest they die a sudden death, one day. However, customers are often part of the problem, as they complain if they see "their usual" disappear from the menu. <br /><br />I've heard that the Fat Duck and other Michelin awarded restaurants get around 45% of their revenue from regulars. The sort who have no ability for independent thought and so clutch on to their connection to the Michelin World. Knowing the maƮtre d's name is everything, them knowing your name is simply sublime for the nouveau riche. <br /><br />Also, one has to question whether, despite all of the experimental showcasing on TV, (how to make a burger 100 times more complex to make for only a probable 10% better flavour etc) the Fat Duck has already reached it's pinnacle, and so there is a fear that there really isn't anything they can do better, and change equals loss of business and kudos for it's owners. <br /><br />I know it's TV, but I've always noticed that Heston Blumenthal seems to have a rudimentary knowledge about World food. It perhaps highlights his lack of classical training. No doubt he's clever, but I wonder whether he's got what it takes to grow, the knowledge? His American lab chef's don't seem to be much better, and the guys that were on his Little Chef team were terrible. It could be the glass ceiling for Fat Duck. <br /><br />As for El Bulli, doing what Ferran Adria is for his customers is very brave, but costs a lot of unnecessary cash loss. He still has to pay for the premises, he will presumably either have to pay the same rates for his team, or risk losing them all. So, I wonder what the real deal is? Why would Adria have to close El Bulli while innovating? Why lose all that revenue and the solid team? Why risk the Michelin stars? <br /><br />Shouldn't there be continuous improvement and gradual change for the menu. Is it a mid-life crisis? Does he want to back-pack around the world. However wealthy Adria is, I think there is something else going on there...Andrewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-609131527796792369.post-47130856797199266042010-01-29T11:19:07.236+00:002010-01-29T11:19:07.236+00:00Jaffa Cakes. I was just writing about those!
Thou...Jaffa Cakes. I was just writing about those!<br /><br />Thoughtful article and is just the sort of ting I wonder about. I started searching out menu's online, save them and then compare them and must say I know few (if any) restaurants that serve the same menu the entire year(s). The Fat Duck gave up on its a la carte menu, so this makes it even more, like, in your words, a factory line. The problem is, I think, that the names of the dishes (snail porridge anyone) became more famous than the actual food, so there is a pressure from customers to keep serving these dishes, especially since most of the people dine there once. Restaurants are in essence part of the service industry, but in the case of The Fat Duck it could very well be the thing that holds back the entire operation.Auldohttp://thebigfatundertaking.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com