Heston Blumenthal to revamp Little Chefs in York & Kettering
Discussion
http://www.bighospitality.co.uk/item/3634/pg_dtl_a...
Anyone know when he's going to be there, always fancied trying the Popham one, but is a bit far to go.
Anyone know when he's going to be there, always fancied trying the Popham one, but is a bit far to go.
I drove past the York site on Saturday, it is closed and is at present a construction site.
It isn't really at York. It is at the side of the A64 between Leeds and York. The nearest town is Tadcaster.
After Hestons' series we went to that Little Chef to revisit childhood memories of cherry pancakes. It was very poor, we were the only people there, and there were only two memebers of staff.
When the new improved Little Chef opens we will have to go back.
It isn't really at York. It is at the side of the A64 between Leeds and York. The nearest town is Tadcaster.
After Hestons' series we went to that Little Chef to revisit childhood memories of cherry pancakes. It was very poor, we were the only people there, and there were only two memebers of staff.
When the new improved Little Chef opens we will have to go back.
Glad to hear that this project is still ongoing, I figured that it had just been a Little Chef marketing ploy by that retarded CEO and that nothing more would come of it once the TV show had aired.
Drove from Southampton down to Cornwall and back earlier this week and I was amazed how many Little Chefs there are still open. And some of them actually seemed quite busy! I'm not far from the Popham one and keep meaning to give it a go sometime but haven't got round to it yet. [Shameless boasting time] I do have a table at the Fat Duck tomorrow for lunch to celebrate my 30th though so perhaps I'll try the real deal first and then see how much of the Heston influence has rubbed off on the Little Chef!
Drove from Southampton down to Cornwall and back earlier this week and I was amazed how many Little Chefs there are still open. And some of them actually seemed quite busy! I'm not far from the Popham one and keep meaning to give it a go sometime but haven't got round to it yet. [Shameless boasting time] I do have a table at the Fat Duck tomorrow for lunch to celebrate my 30th though so perhaps I'll try the real deal first and then see how much of the Heston influence has rubbed off on the Little Chef!
Although there was so much air in them they were gone in about three mouthfuls 
Anna_S said:
lauda said:
I do have a table at the Fat Duck tomorrow
Mmmmm jealous! Going for the tasting menu?lauda said:
Anna_S said:
lauda said:
I do have a table at the Fat Duck tomorrow
Mmmmm jealous! Going for the tasting menu?
Anna_S said:
lauda said:
Anna_S said:
lauda said:
I do have a table at the Fat Duck tomorrow
Mmmmm jealous! Going for the tasting menu?Will also try and find out why the a la carte menu has gone.
lauda said:
Anna_S said:
lauda said:
Anna_S said:
lauda said:
I do have a table at the Fat Duck tomorrow
Mmmmm jealous! Going for the tasting menu?Will also try and find out why the a la carte menu has gone.
lauda said:
(Shameless boasting time) I do have a table at the Fat Duck tomorrow for lunch to celebrate my 30th though so perhaps I'll try the real deal first and then see how much of the Heston influence has rubbed off on the Little Chef!
I'll see your shameless boast and raise it with my wife is working at The Fat Duck on a months stage through July. The amount of chefs they have and the work that goes into each of the ten dishes on the tasting menu is truely mind blowing. She say's it doesn't taste too bad either 
Edited by sal 965 on Wednesday 15th July 17:00
sal 965 said:
lauda said:
(Shameless boasting time) I do have a table at the Fat Duck tomorrow for lunch to celebrate my 30th though so perhaps I'll try the real deal first and then see how much of the Heston influence has rubbed off on the Little Chef!
I'll see your shameless boast and raise it with my wife is working at The Fat Duck on a months stage through July. The amount of chefs they have and the work that goes into each of the ten dishes on the tasting menu is truely mind blowing. She say's it doesn't taste too bad either Edited by sal 965 on Wednesday 15th July 17:00
Anna_S said:
Interesting... I wonder why he did that? You'll have to give us a full report on your return, still jealous
As promised, a quick review from my trip to the Fat Duck on Thursday. I'm no AA Gill so apologies for my slightly ham-fisted reviewing technique!The menu was as currently showing on the Fat Duck website:
http://www.fatduck.co.uk/menu_degustation.htm
The Lime Grove was probably one of the most invigorating palate cleansers I've ever had. It is an egg white, lime and vodka foam which is then popped into liquid nitrogen at your table and turns into a meringue-like texture on the outside. You eat it in one and the inside is very cold and fresh. It did set my sensitive teeth off though!
The gazpacho was delicious and an amazing bright purple. The heat from the mustard grain with the cold of the ice-cream was a great contrast and the strength of the red cabbage flavour was impressive.
Jelly of quail involved some great theatre with a little oak and moss flavoured sheet which you pop on the tip of your tongue and which then melts. Liquid nitrogen was then poured over a box of oak moss in the centre of the table and covered the whole table in 'smoke'! The depth of flavour on this dish was amazing and the richness of the quail jelly, langoustine cream and chicken liver parfait contrasted perfectly with the earthy flavour of the truffle toast.
The fois gras was fantastically rich and smooth and tasted sublime. Probably one of the less creative dishes but I'm a big fan of fois gras and this was probably the best I have ever tasted. All of the courses are quite small (as you'd expect when there are 14 of them!) but this was the one where I really would have liked more - not because the portion wasn't reasonable, just because it was so good!
Mock Turtle soup was exactly as on Heston's Channel 4 'Feasts' programme and the 'soup' was made using a little pocket watch 'teabag' covered in gold leaf which you disolve in a tea cup and then pour over the other ingredients. Possibly my least favourite from a taste point of view but definitely good fun!
Sound of the Sea is pretty famous so I won't repeat the whole thing but it tasted fantastically fresh and the sense of being at the seaside was impressive! I had the saki that was recommended with this dish which worked well with the fish but wasn't to my taste when I finished off the last few mouthfulls with no food to accompany it!
I'm not a fan of liquorice so was quite unsure about the salmon. I shouldn't have worried though as it was delicious and didn't taste of traditional liquorice at all. The salmon was beautifully moist and tender although the vanilla mayonnaise was in danger of overpowering some of the flavour.
The pigeon was delicious although even having eaten the dish, I'm none the wiser about what confit umbles actually are...The blood pudding was wonderfully rich and unctuous though.
I'm not sure exactly what was in the Taffaty Tart either but it looked and tasted fantastic. The crystalised flowers in particular added an amazing extra dimension to some of the more traditional flavours. The Not-so-full English breakfast is another Fat Duck classic which had some great table-side theatre and was fantasically flavoured. The hot and iced tea was quite an experience as one half of your mouth gets warm liquid and the other side iced. A very strange experience!
Chocolate wine slush was interesting with clear flavours of both red wine and chocolate coming through. And apparently it has aphrodisiac qualities! The millionaire shortbread was perfect and managed to be incredibly thin but still packed with flavour. I won't spoil the suprise on how the wine gums are presented at the table but suffice it to say that it wouldn't be Heston if they were just on a plate...
And because the first 12 courses clearly weren't enough, we also had an additional cheese course which was wonderful. I know it's not difficult to put together a decent cheese board (especially with the sort of budget that the Fat Duck has to play with) but each of the ten cheeses that we had (Mrs Lauda and I had five each) were delicious and a perfect way to finish off the meal.
'Like a kid in a sweet shop' is a selection of sweets to take away in an old-school pink striped paper bag which are a little different to your normal petit fours. We were both so stuffed by the end of our meal that we still haven't eaten them but I'm looking forward to trying the coconut and tobacco that comes in a small rolling tobacco pouch!
Overall, the meal was absolutely fantastic. All of the courses and combinations worked well, even those that included ingredients that I traditionally don't like. Mrs Lauda doesn't eat meat and so all meaty dishes that I had were supplemented with fish which looked (and I'm assured tasted) sublime.
The service was friendly, relaxed and highly efficient and the staff were so knowledgeable. Wine recommendations were made from the more sensible end of the wine list (one glass of red on the list was £190!!). Another nice touch was a copy of the menu for each guest to take away to remind them of an amazing meal. It was an unexpected surprise and made me wonder why more restaurants don't do this as I've got a terrible memory and often struggle to remember what I had for a particular meal. Having said that, I'm sure I'll remember this one more than most!
Oh, and I briefly caught a glimpse of the great man himself who walked through the restaurant in some decidedly un-white whites. Good to see he's still rolling his sleeves up and getting stuck in. Gordon Ramsay take note!
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