When a chef opens a 2nd or 3rd restaurant,do you stop going?

[RDMcG]

I have a definite prejudice against the superstar chefs who become chain owners, even if they're at the higher end. Years ago I went to Gordon Ramsey on Royal Hospital Road. There was only one, it was great, and felt unique. It seems that nowadays everyone has to have a book, TV series, and then the inevitable growth of the chain based on the name.

No doubt some are very good, and I have tried them. Yet, that feeling of being somewhere special is gone for me, because I have the lurking feeling that its just a McDonalds for the foodie set. Am I the only one with this quirk?

[Output Flange]

Do you stop following bands when they get "mainstream"?

As long as the food is good, the service is good and the price is representative of what you get, then I see no reason to stop going.

[bigandclever]

Dunno. Would you go to the Fat Duck because there's only one - even though Blumenthal doesn't actually cook?

[RDMcG]

Well...I will gravitate towards something unique and there is plenty to choose from ,luckily. Not saying I would not eat in a multi-resto chain, but give the choice I woudl be biased in the direction of the one where there is only a single place for the chef to concentrate on.

[bigandclever]

I guess that was what I was getting at. In some (a lot? most?) cases it doesn't matter who the 'name' above the door is, they haven't necessarily done the cooking, so whether they've got one restaurant or a dozen it makes no real odds to me.

[Caulkhead]

I tend to go by review rather than how many.

[SimonMaidenhead]

bigandclever said:

Dunno. Would you go to the Fat Duck because there's only one - even though Blumenthal doesn't actually cook?

Or the Hinds Head which he owns which is about 40 meters away

[Rushmore]

Been to both FD and HH - and wouldnt ever return.

[bigandclever]

SimonMaidenhead said:

bigandclever said:

Dunno. Would you go to the Fat Duck because there's only one - even though Blumenthal doesn't actually cook?

Or the Hinds Head which he owns which is about 40 meters away

They're not even passably comparable But, it was a bad example from me - you could go to Dinner as well for a Blumenthal 'experience'.

[SimonMaidenhead]

bigandclever said:

SimonMaidenhead said:

bigandclever said:

Dunno. Would you go to the Fat Duck because there's only one - even though Blumenthal doesn't actually cook?

Or the Hinds Head which he owns which is about 40 meters away

They're not even passably comparable But, it was a bad example from me - you could go to Dinner as well for a Blumenthal 'experience'.

What about The Crown, which he also owns. That's about 50 meters in the opposite direction.
Something tells me he doesn't like to commute very far between restaurants