Jamie Oliver

[anonymous-user]

Burwood said:

Various videos of him circulated showing him to be obnoxious to his ‘fans’ young people. Now removed at great cost. If you are going to preach then you don’t want to be a fat yourself. He’s fake as far as I’m concerned. Eat healthy but look I did a deal with shell to serve you nachos and wing dings.

You’re a cynic.

Lighten up.

But not at Shell

[skwdenyer]

Brooking10 said:

Burwood said:

Snap. And there lies his problem. Sanctimonious hypocrite. If you name a chain after your own then try and stay out of controversy. His wife was doing the rounds with the media trying to cash in then did the ‘look at our 15m mansion’. It ruined his image. We all know he made a st tonne of money but his image is, kept it on the down.

The fact is he was told for years about the poor reviews. He did fk all about it. If he was present rather than off doing something else I suspect he’d still be in business. The cheeky chap turned in to a demanding and entitled millionaire. That is the simple truth

Quite a lot subjective assessment of the individual rather than an objective assessment of the business there B.

The business was poorly run and it's well documented how and by whom.

There were a number fo reasons for its failure and arrogance and lack of commitment from JO aren't amongst them albeit his most recent interventions were too late.

To say the business went down because people have the same view of him as you do simply isn't true. It's much more complex than that.

If JO was everything Burwood and others think he was, there seems little chance to me that he'd have thrown in something like £18m in the last year or so to try to revive it, given that that basically wiped him out on the deal.

[Burwood]

Brooking10 said:

Burwood said:

Various videos of him circulated showing him to be obnoxious to his ‘fans’ young people. Now removed at great cost. If you are going to preach then you don’t want to be a fat yourself. He’s fake as far as I’m concerned. Eat healthy but look I did a deal with shell to serve you nachos and wing dings.

You’re a cynic.

Lighten up.

But not at Shell

Oh just a hard day. I suspect restaurants are much easier to run than Hotels

[85Carrera]

skwdenyer said:

Brooking10 said:

Burwood said:

Snap. And there lies his problem. Sanctimonious hypocrite. If you name a chain after your own then try and stay out of controversy. His wife was doing the rounds with the media trying to cash in then did the ‘look at our 15m mansion’. It ruined his image. We all know he made a st tonne of money but his image is, kept it on the down.

The fact is he was told for years about the poor reviews. He did fk all about it. If he was present rather than off doing something else I suspect he’d still be in business. The cheeky chap turned in to a demanding and entitled millionaire. That is the simple truth

Quite a lot subjective assessment of the individual rather than an objective assessment of the business there B.

The business was poorly run and it's well documented how and by whom.

There were a number fo reasons for its failure and arrogance and lack of commitment from JO aren't amongst them albeit his most recent interventions were too late.

To say the business went down because people have the same view of him as you do simply isn't true. It's much more complex than that.

If JO was everything Burwood and others think he was, there seems little chance to me that he'd have thrown in something like £18m in the last year or so to try to revive it, given that that basically wiped him out on the deal.

Well he probably had to that for PR reasons, possibly not to that extent admittedly, but to let that fail while his multi-million pound publishing and TV empire thrived would not have been a good look.

I suspect he thought he was more popular than he was when he set up his restaurants. For every one person who thinks he’s a salt of the earth diamond geezer, there are probably at least two who think he’s a mockney, chancer wker. Of course the reality is, I suspect, as always, somewhere between the two, but perception is key.

[anonymous-user]

chrispmartha said:

nealeh1875 said:

chrispmartha said:

Talking of prices, I had a Five Guys for the first time on Friday, how do they get away with charging what they do for a burger? One normal cheese burger a small cheese burger one portion of chips and a one drink was £22

Is it just me or is that really expensive for a fast food place?

Completely agree, its McDonalds in kitchen foil

Mrs dragged me there a few months ago, never again !

I think the signature burger they do at McDonalds is better

You are all absolutely correct.

You will struggle to find someone who enjoys a simple and inexpensive fast food burger more than me, but I'm very late to the party in trying a Five Guys.

I had one a few weeks ago for the first time. Myself and my good lady decided to try one and went for a 'standard' double cheeseburger each, and on the recommendation of the server shared one medium cup of fries, topped off with two soft drinks.

£26.

TWENTY-SIX POUNDS.

We received what looked like something I would have badly put together, squashed, and wrapped in tinfoil. When I unwrapped the burger, it started leaked a stream of what appeared to be a combination of water and watery grease/fat.

I didn't find anything particularly tasty about the burger if I'm honest. The fries were fine. The 'cherry mix' drink was average at best.

For the money it was just rubbish.

The current special of a double Quarter Pounder with cheese meal from McDonalds at £5.79 is both infinitely more delicious and less than half the price.

Won't bother with a Five Guys again.

[ambuletz]

Lord Marylebone said:

The current special of a double Quarter Pounder with cheese meal from McDonalds at £5.79 is both infinitely more delicious and less than half the price.

Won't bother with a Five Guys again.

yup. the current double quarter pounder is excellent, great meat to bun ratio, yes you know it's still mcds, but it takes it up a level. their bacon double cheeseburgers are a bargain at £1.99 too, just get one freshly made,

[CharlieH89]

alfaman said:

At least Jamie’s is better than Little Chef.

Once went in for breakfast and wanted fried eggs.

LC :“We can serve you scrambled eggs, not fried”

Me :“Can you not just fry them rather than scramble?”

LC: (looking embarrassed) - “the eggs are pre scrambled in a bag”

Little Chef were dire...no idea how they lasted so long .. key locations I guess.

and how the fk does a breakfast cafe run out of eggs

Edited by alfaman on Thursday 22 August 15:13

I worked in McDonalds over 10 years ago.
The scrambled eggs came as a liquid before putting them on the griddle

[red_slr]

I suspect we will see JO doing his sad face a bit more then all of a sudden.... 8 minute meals... book, tv show, pop up restaurants and start the cycle again.... 3 minute meals!!!

In between he will probably be seen in the local prison / orphanage / hospital with a blender and a bag of nuggets.

He is worth £250M so can easily bank roll something else then once it gains traction go back the banks and rinse repeat.

[skwdenyer]

pavarotti1980 said:

Marco Pierre-White sticking the knife into JO for his assertion that Brexit was part of the reason for his business going south

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7379209/M...

Retail sales in general falling at the fastest rate since 2008, according to research published today, with a collapse in consumer sentiment.

Been pretty obvious for some months, but data always lags reality. Brexit figures highly amongst the reasons.

[Gameface]

ambuletz said:

yup. the current double quarter pounder is excellent, great meat to bun ratio, yes you know it's still mcds, but it takes it up a level.

Had one of these the other day. I added bacon.

Was the best McDonald's burger I've ever had.

I hope they keep it on the menu.

[Alex]

ambuletz said:

Lord Marylebone said:

The current special of a double Quarter Pounder with cheese meal from McDonalds at £5.79 is both infinitely more delicious and less than half the price.

Won't bother with a Five Guys again.

yup. the current double quarter pounder is excellent, great meat to bun ratio, yes you know it's still mcds, but it takes it up a level. their bacon double cheeseburgers are a bargain at £1.99 too, just get one freshly made,

Five Guys won't survive in the UK. Our local branch is already empty most of the time.

[red_slr]

Gameface said:

ambuletz said:

yup. the current double quarter pounder is excellent, great meat to bun ratio, yes you know it's still mcds, but it takes it up a level.

Had one of these the other day. I added bacon.

Was the best McDonald's burger I've ever had.

I hope they keep it on the menu.

Have to agree, its a close one between the dbl 1/4 and the BT but both are really good for the price.

[pavarotti1980]

Roman Rhodes said:

"One poster said" Much bks posted on this thread - I wouldn't rely on it.

Mid-market dining is on it's arse - not full to the brim (in this country, on this planet). Which ones aren't struggling?

Wetherspoons booze profits can subsidise food profits.

He did blame himself if you'd watched the TV program.

You may not like him (for whatever reasons) but your analysis doesn't bear scrutiny.

Edited by Roman Rhodes on Thursday 22 August 18:44

Im not suggesting Wetherspoons are the comparison. I said that JO got the same food from the same supplier as JDW

I havent said i like or dislike him. He did crocodile tears on TV. If you believe that you will believe anything. He is however a hypocrite. The constant media storms about obesity, school meal campaigns when his restaurants and receipes are massively unhealthy do nothing for his image

Which ones arent struggling? Carluccio, Waggamma, to name a few. I am not a fan of chains though and would happily support little independents for slightly increased cost

Edited by pavarotti1980 on Friday 23 August 09:13

Edited by pavarotti1980 on Friday 23 August 09:17

[anonymous-user]

pavarotti1980 said:

Roman Rhodes said:

"One poster said" Much bks posted on this thread - I wouldn't rely on it.

Mid-market dining is on it's arse - not full to the brim (in this country, on this planet). Which ones aren't struggling?

Wetherspoons booze profits can subsidise food profits.

He did blame himself if you'd watched the TV program.

You may not like him (for whatever reasons) but your analysis doesn't bear scrutiny.

Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 22 August 18:44

Im not suggesting Wetherspoons are the comparison. I said that JO got the same food from the same supplier as JDW

I havent said i like or dislike him. He did crocodile tears on TV. If you believe that you will believe anything. He is however a hypocrite. The constant media storms about obesity, school meal campaigns when his restaurants and receipes are massively unhealthy do nothing for his image

Which ones arent struggling? Carluccio, Waggamma, to name a few.

Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 23 August 09:13

Lots of people get some of their food supplied by the same supplier as Wetherspoons including some very high end brands and establishments.

The implication that JORG was buying in substantive parts of its menu as complete meal kits from BB and from the same ranges as JDW is a fallacy and a lazy read across.

Carluccio's still has much to do post shutting approx 25% of its estate.

Wagamama's parent company is in signifiant trouble.

It's a remarkably challenged sector with more distress to come.

[alfaman]

ambuletz said:

Lord Marylebone said:

The current special of a double Quarter Pounder with cheese meal from McDonalds at £5.79 is both infinitely more delicious and less than half the price.

Won't bother with a Five Guys again.

yup. the current double quarter pounder is excellent, great meat to bun ratio, yes you know it's still mcds, but it takes it up a level. their bacon double cheeseburgers are a bargain at £1.99 too, just get one freshly made,

Shake shack aren’t too bad. Used to be my ‘go to’ burger in Bahrain.

Fat boys are alright too- can get a decent burger and pint of Stella (Singapore) - not sure if they exist in the UK

[alfaman]

pavarotti1980 said:

Roman Rhodes said:

"One poster said" Much bks posted on this thread - I wouldn't rely on it.

Mid-market dining is on it's arse - not full to the brim (in this country, on this planet). Which ones aren't struggling?

Wetherspoons booze profits can subsidise food profits.

He did blame himself if you'd watched the TV program.

You may not like him (for whatever reasons) but your analysis doesn't bear scrutiny.

Edited by Roman Rhodes on Thursday 22 August 18:44

Im not suggesting Wetherspoons are the comparison. I said that JO got the same food from the same supplier as JDW

I havent said i like or dislike him. He did crocodile tears on TV. If you believe that you will believe anything. He is however a hypocrite. The constant media storms about obesity, school meal campaigns when his restaurants and receipes are massively unhealthy do nothing for his image

Which ones arent struggling? Carluccio, Waggamma, to name a few. I am not a fan of chains though and would happily support little independents for slightly increased cost

Edited by pavarotti1980 on Friday 23 August 09:13

Edited by pavarotti1980 on Friday 23 August 09:17

Wetherspoons and other *pub* chains can do OK to well simply because they are not restaurants / ‘mid market dining’.

‘Full service’ mid market chain dining (restaurants) have excess capacity in the UK,

coupled with a business model / financial model that makes it harder to make a decent ROI than a wet led bar or pub .. which may also sell food.

I’ve worked in and with many pub and restaurant and coffee chains in the UK (and some overseas).

Managed chain pub returns are (generally) better than restaurants. Fast food joints and coffee chains can also work very well. I personally would be very hesitant to sink money into a restaurant chain.

Edited by alfaman on Friday 23 August 10:04

[C70R]

alfaman said:

Nickgnome said:

I’ve never really understood why chain restaurants have such an attraction..

Predictability / know what you’ll get.

Particularly if away from home base.

Some chains can be good- a lot are middling / nothing special

I think you'd have to be particularly 'special' not to understand why a very successful business model works.

Availability and familiarity are huge drivers of why people choose restaurants.

That's not true for me, but I can easily understand why it's true for many (and enough to mean that there will always be chains).

[C70R]

The Hypno-Toad said:

Agreed.

Tried to eat at one of Olivers Italian places a couple of times, the first time was told there was a three hour wait and the other time was that they were shutting early as they didn't have a enough staff. Have a couple of friends who did manage to eat there and the universal review was that it was overpriced for what it was and the service was diabolical. Basically Prezzos does the same thing much, much better.

I see now he has jumped from Sainsburys to Shell and now Tescos. I am quite surprised anyone would want his brand now but hey-ho.

Again with the "overpriced" stuff. I'm really struggling to understand it.

Starters for £5-7 and mains for £10-15 are marginally more expensive than Harvester or Nando's.

What were these people expecting?

[C70R]

Europa1 said:

Roman Rhodes said:

Did JO use microwaves?

Did JO sell as much booze as Wetherspoons?

Does the exchange rate does affect the price of things?

Has the Brexit vote given people with marginal discretionary spend the jitters?

Agree the rents are high (as did JO). Don’t know what you mean by him lacking self-awareness.

The Cambridge branch certainly seemed to use ready made chips - we went on a bank holiday only to be told chips were off because they hadn't had a delivery that day. It was evidently beyond the wit of any of the staff to go the nearby Sainbury's and buy some spuds. And the wine came in Tetrapak style containers. I didn't rate it as a place to eat at all, which was a great shame, as it was in a lovely building.

You don't really understand how restaurants run, do you?

90%+ of restaurants are using pre-made ingredients (like chips - McCain do a HUGE range for catering), and will serve 'by the glass' wine from whatever they can buy in bulk.

I think your expectations of a place which charges marginally more than Nando's or Harvester were a bit high.

[C70R]

Lord Marylebone said:

chrispmartha said:

nealeh1875 said:

chrispmartha said:

Talking of prices, I had a Five Guys for the first time on Friday, how do they get away with charging what they do for a burger? One normal cheese burger a small cheese burger one portion of chips and a one drink was £22

Is it just me or is that really expensive for a fast food place?

Completely agree, its McDonalds in kitchen foil

Mrs dragged me there a few months ago, never again !

I think the signature burger they do at McDonalds is better

You are all absolutely correct.

You will struggle to find someone who enjoys a simple and inexpensive fast food burger more than me, but I'm very late to the party in trying a Five Guys.

I had one a few weeks ago for the first time. Myself and my good lady decided to try one and went for a 'standard' double cheeseburger each, and on the recommendation of the server shared one medium cup of fries, topped off with two soft drinks.

£26.

TWENTY-SIX POUNDS.

We received what looked like something I would have badly put together, squashed, and wrapped in tinfoil. When I unwrapped the burger, it started leaked a stream of what appeared to be a combination of water and watery grease/fat.

I didn't find anything particularly tasty about the burger if I'm honest. The fries were fine. The 'cherry mix' drink was average at best.

For the money it was just rubbish.

The current special of a double Quarter Pounder with cheese meal from McDonalds at £5.79 is both infinitely more delicious and less than half the price.

Won't bother with a Five Guys again.

If you think anything sold by McDonald's qualifies as "delicious", you probably have no place on a thread discussing restaurants (failed or otherwise).