I'm desperate for a tweed jacket. I think I might buy one today but I face the dilemma of whether to go for leather elbow patches or not ?!?!
Proper country bumpkin or refined middle class tweed?
The former was my original idea but the latter is taking over, I think because I saw a rather nice one in a shop window off of Regent Street, didn't have a price tag on it though and around that area I believe the saying goes "If you have to ask how much it is then you can't afford it".
Also getting ready for the big move this weekend but really not expecting that to be a hassle at all because I've not got much stuff. Most of the bulk is up in the loft is my vinyl collection which my good buddy has kindly offered to house them in his music room and the bedroom furniture will be staying so we'll be done in about 30 mins.....good times.
Well that's wasted a few minutes now I've got to jump on the train and get my butt into London so until later my faithful readers.
Maybe I could get my Rabbits for the terrine idea too.
Thursday 28 October 2010
Wednesday 27 October 2010
Catch Up Mk2.....
Phew! What a few days I've had. Apologies for not keeping you up to date, I know your lives must be all the more lacking of not knowing my inane thoughts and ramblings but a combination of Harry Potter & Chronicles of Narnia has mean't I've been to-ing and fro-ing from London with barely enough time to even pop out for a beer let alone ramble on blog styleeeeee.
So what to catch up on? I'd love to tell you my thoughts on the films I mentioned but I'm duty bound to keep my opinions to myself but I suppose I could say that fans of either will not be disappointed.
I suppose the only gripe I have is that I had to go to Soho for a few days to get one of them working properly and I have to say I'm not Soho's biggest fan. I have no idea how some of my friends work there. They must be mad!
It's just full of people dressed the same with the same haircuts talking in that same nu-skool university language that has lots of "likes", "yaaars" and "whatevaaaars". I just find it all so very false. Has it always been like that?
The better side of the area is the food to be had. On Saturday I was wandering around looking for some lunch and stumbled across this little Chinese place just outside of Chinatown and scouring the menu I managed to convince myself that the Beef and peppers with chilli was the way forward, well it was either that or chicken because the rest of the menu was made up of such luxuries as Pig's intestines and Tripe.
Well when these guys mean chilli they certainly mean chilli and lots of it !! It was fantastic. I just had that dish with some Egg fried rice and there was enough for 3 people easily. I will without doubt visit there again and have second helpings. They also had induction heaters build into the surface of the tables which I found fascinating. People around me were using them but it wasn't necessary for me.
Sunday I was again in the office investigating, sorting out and fixing all the issues that sent me to Soho in the first place. Absolutely none of them the fault of ourselves but as so often happens in this industry people feel the need to point the finger to absolve themselves of any blame and because we are last in the line when it comes to post production any mistakes made by people before us mean us having to correct them to ensure the integrity of our work. It's frustrating but it happens and we have to deal with it....OK it's a load of old s**t!
Monday I was back that way again and this time found myself eating in a restaurant called Ping Pong just off Regents Street by Liberty's. It's a Dim Sum place and they have all the usual dishes plus some of their own creation. The whole setting was lovely and the food fantastic, especially the chilli oil and sauce, again not done by half measures. There are about 16 of these places around London so get involved if your in the area. Otherwise just find some Dim Sum wherever you are and enjoy it's loveliness.
In other news I was really disappointed to read the news that the London fire service had announced plans to strike on 5th November. I understand it's the unions forcing this issue and the firemen would really rather settle the dispute without it effecting the service but to call it on this day and for 79% of the brigade to support it shows a terrible lack of concern for public safety on what will be the busiest night.
I'm in full support of the 21% who agree that strike action is not the way to negotiate and I'm absolutely disgusted with the behaviour shown by some of the people on the picket lines towards their fellow workers and I'm afraid because of that those 79% have completely lost my respect and it looks like it's split the country too.
They do a great job no doubt but their places could be filled 10 times over by people willing to train up and put on that uniform. It's about time that these people and all those other who thinking that striking is acceptable start looking around themselves and realising that in this day and age and at the times we are going through economically (all thanks to the previous government and not the current one) that nobody is indispensable.
They are trying to blackmail Londoners using their lives as bargaining chips and to me that is not negotiation that is terrorism.
Oooooh that was an unexpected rant !! I must learn to control myself :-)
On a lighter note I had a dream about a rather spectacular breakfast last night which I might try and replicate at the weekend...Breakfast art it'll be.
So what to catch up on? I'd love to tell you my thoughts on the films I mentioned but I'm duty bound to keep my opinions to myself but I suppose I could say that fans of either will not be disappointed.
I suppose the only gripe I have is that I had to go to Soho for a few days to get one of them working properly and I have to say I'm not Soho's biggest fan. I have no idea how some of my friends work there. They must be mad!
It's just full of people dressed the same with the same haircuts talking in that same nu-skool university language that has lots of "likes", "yaaars" and "whatevaaaars". I just find it all so very false. Has it always been like that?
The better side of the area is the food to be had. On Saturday I was wandering around looking for some lunch and stumbled across this little Chinese place just outside of Chinatown and scouring the menu I managed to convince myself that the Beef and peppers with chilli was the way forward, well it was either that or chicken because the rest of the menu was made up of such luxuries as Pig's intestines and Tripe.
Well when these guys mean chilli they certainly mean chilli and lots of it !! It was fantastic. I just had that dish with some Egg fried rice and there was enough for 3 people easily. I will without doubt visit there again and have second helpings. They also had induction heaters build into the surface of the tables which I found fascinating. People around me were using them but it wasn't necessary for me.
Sunday I was again in the office investigating, sorting out and fixing all the issues that sent me to Soho in the first place. Absolutely none of them the fault of ourselves but as so often happens in this industry people feel the need to point the finger to absolve themselves of any blame and because we are last in the line when it comes to post production any mistakes made by people before us mean us having to correct them to ensure the integrity of our work. It's frustrating but it happens and we have to deal with it....OK it's a load of old s**t!
Monday I was back that way again and this time found myself eating in a restaurant called Ping Pong just off Regents Street by Liberty's. It's a Dim Sum place and they have all the usual dishes plus some of their own creation. The whole setting was lovely and the food fantastic, especially the chilli oil and sauce, again not done by half measures. There are about 16 of these places around London so get involved if your in the area. Otherwise just find some Dim Sum wherever you are and enjoy it's loveliness.
In other news I was really disappointed to read the news that the London fire service had announced plans to strike on 5th November. I understand it's the unions forcing this issue and the firemen would really rather settle the dispute without it effecting the service but to call it on this day and for 79% of the brigade to support it shows a terrible lack of concern for public safety on what will be the busiest night.
I'm in full support of the 21% who agree that strike action is not the way to negotiate and I'm absolutely disgusted with the behaviour shown by some of the people on the picket lines towards their fellow workers and I'm afraid because of that those 79% have completely lost my respect and it looks like it's split the country too.
They do a great job no doubt but their places could be filled 10 times over by people willing to train up and put on that uniform. It's about time that these people and all those other who thinking that striking is acceptable start looking around themselves and realising that in this day and age and at the times we are going through economically (all thanks to the previous government and not the current one) that nobody is indispensable.
They are trying to blackmail Londoners using their lives as bargaining chips and to me that is not negotiation that is terrorism.
Oooooh that was an unexpected rant !! I must learn to control myself :-)
On a lighter note I had a dream about a rather spectacular breakfast last night which I might try and replicate at the weekend...Breakfast art it'll be.
Thursday 21 October 2010
Something silly...........
So here I am thinking about something a little less serious to blog about and my mind was drawn to an email conversation I had at work with a guy from Poland.
The subject of the email was quite serious so in the initial email I wanted to be a precise as I could with my wording to get the message across but the reply I received was in Polish and using Google translate it roughly translated as "I have no idea what you are saying"
AHA I thought! Maybe I should just shorten the original email down and use Google translate to translate it. Now I know that Google translate can be more than a bit dubious which is why I wanted to shorten the email down to key phrases and just get those translated.....that was the theory anyway so that's what I did.
Soon after I got a reply in English from the same guy so I thought "Hang on! This thing actually worked"......Happy days :-)
So anyway emails went backwards and forwards and we actually ended up having quite a good conversation but something was puzzling me because why did he not just reply in English the first time if he could read and write it so well anyway ?!!?
Turns out he just looked at my email signature and from my name assumed I was Polish too which I suppose has some logic but then I asked him what he thought of my translated email and he just said it kind of got the message across but had he not known our company and what we do then it would have been complete gobbledegook.
So this is my idea. I'm going to have a quick game of "Euro Whispers". It's a new game I've just thought of and it's based along the same lines Chinese whispers except that instead of using the same language I'm going to use Google translate (or some other online translator should Google translate not do that particular language) to translate a simple phrase from English to others and try to have a little euro road trip through different languages and see what I end up with when I get back to England.
And the phrase "Hello, It's fantastic to be in your country and I'm very looking forward to exploring it and meeting some new people"
So where should one start this little journey? It's a road trip so we might as well head off through the tunnel to France.
"Bonjour, C'est fantastique d'être dans votre pays et je suis très impatient d'y explorer et rencontrer de nouvelles personnes"
Oh France with your beautiful scenery, your amazing cuisine and your bountiful wine. I need to see more of you but alas my journey must go on...
Hmmm where next? I really want to get to see more of eastern europe so I'll give Spain a miss and drive through Belgium, Holland and Germany before getting to the Czech Republic.
No need for a translation for Belgium as one of the languages they speak is French so as I drive into Holland -
"Hallo, Het is geweldig om in je land en ik ben echt op zoek naar het verkennen en nieuwe mensen te ontmoeten"
Couple of cup of coffee in Ansterdam and I'm off over the border to Germany -
"Hallo, es ist toll, in Ihrem Land haben, und ich freue mich wirklich zu erforschen und neue Leute"
An efficient drive along the efficient roads via the Nurburgring and a night at Cocoon in Frankfurt I head off to unknown lands......The Czech Republic, could get interesting from here -
"Ahoj, to je skvělé, že ve vaší zemi a já se opravdu těším na prozkoumání a nové lidi"
Being English it's just Prague for beer and I'm off again. Next stop has to be Poland -
"Hej, to dobrze jest mieć w swoim kraju, a ja z niecierpliwością do odkrywania i nowych ludzi"
Krakow oh how I love you so but yet I must leave on my quest. Slovakia here we come -
"Hej, to je dobré mať vo svojej krajine, a teším sa na preskúmanie a nových ľudí"
Now I'm sure Slovakia is a lovely place but all I can think about is that film "Hostel" so I'm not stopping until I get to Hungary -
"Hé, ez jó, hogy az országukban, és várom, hogy felülvizsgálják az új ember" -
Oooh I met a lovely guy selling Hungarian wine recently so I'll stop by his vinyard and camp up for the night or in the morning we're off to Romania -
"Hei, e bine ca ţară, şi aştept cu nerăbdare să revizuiască omul cel nou"
Hmmm Romania.....lets just head to the Ukraine -
"Ей, це добре для країни, і з нетерпінням очікуємо розгляду нової людини"
What do you mean Chicken Kievs don't come from here? That's it, I'm off to Belarus -
"Эй, гэта добра для краіны, і з нецярпеннем чакаем разгляду новага чалавека"
They eat a lot of Pork here and the countries name derives from the term "White Russian" which of course is also the name of a cocktail so lets have a few of them and then head off to Latvia -
"Hey, tas ir labs uz valsti, un ceram uz atlīdzību par jaunu cilvēku"
Growing venue for all male stag parties and the health system consistently ranks as one of the worst in the world....not a great combination but I'm sure it's still a great country as is our next stop Estonia -
"Kuule, see on hea riik, ja loodan, et vastutasuks uute inimestega"
Not really too much to say about Estonia other than it's really as far a we can go by road. Next stop is Scandinavia and to get there we need to hop on a ferry to cross the gulf of Finland -
"Hei, tämä on hyvä maa, ja toivon, että vastineeksi uusia ihmisiä"
Finland maintains a one of the highest levels of health care and standard of living in the world. Life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men however it is the 3rd most sparsely populated country in Europe. Perhaps they live so long because the have to walk so far to see each other. Sweden next -
"Hej, detta är ett bra land, och jag hoppas att i gengäld för nya människor"
I've always wanted to go to Sweden. I get the image or a place that's really clean and full of lovely, bubbly people. I also imagine there to be plenty of rock bands that play power ballads and that can only be a good thing. Off to Norway -
"Hei, dette er et godt land, og jeg håper at i bytte for nye mennesker"
Norway has the second highest GDP in Europe behind Luxembourg. All this prosperity seems to be down to it's capitalist welfare state and I'm all for that to be honest.
So that's it, the roadtrip comes to and end. All that remains is to get catch one of Norway's massive merchant ships back to England and the ultimate goal of finding out what these multiple translations have done to my original phrase..............
God I hope this is worth it -
"Hi, this is a good country, and I hope that in exchange for new people"
HaHa I like it. Imagine washing up on the shores of Norfolk and coming out with that.
Oh well at least last nights Steak was good.
The subject of the email was quite serious so in the initial email I wanted to be a precise as I could with my wording to get the message across but the reply I received was in Polish and using Google translate it roughly translated as "I have no idea what you are saying"
AHA I thought! Maybe I should just shorten the original email down and use Google translate to translate it. Now I know that Google translate can be more than a bit dubious which is why I wanted to shorten the email down to key phrases and just get those translated.....that was the theory anyway so that's what I did.
Soon after I got a reply in English from the same guy so I thought "Hang on! This thing actually worked"......Happy days :-)
So anyway emails went backwards and forwards and we actually ended up having quite a good conversation but something was puzzling me because why did he not just reply in English the first time if he could read and write it so well anyway ?!!?
Turns out he just looked at my email signature and from my name assumed I was Polish too which I suppose has some logic but then I asked him what he thought of my translated email and he just said it kind of got the message across but had he not known our company and what we do then it would have been complete gobbledegook.
So this is my idea. I'm going to have a quick game of "Euro Whispers". It's a new game I've just thought of and it's based along the same lines Chinese whispers except that instead of using the same language I'm going to use Google translate (or some other online translator should Google translate not do that particular language) to translate a simple phrase from English to others and try to have a little euro road trip through different languages and see what I end up with when I get back to England.
And the phrase "Hello, It's fantastic to be in your country and I'm very looking forward to exploring it and meeting some new people"
So where should one start this little journey? It's a road trip so we might as well head off through the tunnel to France.
"Bonjour, C'est fantastique d'être dans votre pays et je suis très impatient d'y explorer et rencontrer de nouvelles personnes"
Oh France with your beautiful scenery, your amazing cuisine and your bountiful wine. I need to see more of you but alas my journey must go on...
Hmmm where next? I really want to get to see more of eastern europe so I'll give Spain a miss and drive through Belgium, Holland and Germany before getting to the Czech Republic.
No need for a translation for Belgium as one of the languages they speak is French so as I drive into Holland -
"Hallo, Het is geweldig om in je land en ik ben echt op zoek naar het verkennen en nieuwe mensen te ontmoeten"
Couple of cup of coffee in Ansterdam and I'm off over the border to Germany -
"Hallo, es ist toll, in Ihrem Land haben, und ich freue mich wirklich zu erforschen und neue Leute"
An efficient drive along the efficient roads via the Nurburgring and a night at Cocoon in Frankfurt I head off to unknown lands......The Czech Republic, could get interesting from here -
"Ahoj, to je skvělé, že ve vaší zemi a já se opravdu těším na prozkoumání a nové lidi"
Being English it's just Prague for beer and I'm off again. Next stop has to be Poland -
"Hej, to dobrze jest mieć w swoim kraju, a ja z niecierpliwością do odkrywania i nowych ludzi"
Krakow oh how I love you so but yet I must leave on my quest. Slovakia here we come -
"Hej, to je dobré mať vo svojej krajine, a teším sa na preskúmanie a nových ľudí"
Now I'm sure Slovakia is a lovely place but all I can think about is that film "Hostel" so I'm not stopping until I get to Hungary -
"Hé, ez jó, hogy az országukban, és várom, hogy felülvizsgálják az új ember" -
Oooh I met a lovely guy selling Hungarian wine recently so I'll stop by his vinyard and camp up for the night or in the morning we're off to Romania -
"Hei, e bine ca ţară, şi aştept cu nerăbdare să revizuiască omul cel nou"
Hmmm Romania.....lets just head to the Ukraine -
"Ей, це добре для країни, і з нетерпінням очікуємо розгляду нової людини"
What do you mean Chicken Kievs don't come from here? That's it, I'm off to Belarus -
"Эй, гэта добра для краіны, і з нецярпеннем чакаем разгляду новага чалавека"
They eat a lot of Pork here and the countries name derives from the term "White Russian" which of course is also the name of a cocktail so lets have a few of them and then head off to Latvia -
"Hey, tas ir labs uz valsti, un ceram uz atlīdzību par jaunu cilvēku"
Growing venue for all male stag parties and the health system consistently ranks as one of the worst in the world....not a great combination but I'm sure it's still a great country as is our next stop Estonia -
"Kuule, see on hea riik, ja loodan, et vastutasuks uute inimestega"
Not really too much to say about Estonia other than it's really as far a we can go by road. Next stop is Scandinavia and to get there we need to hop on a ferry to cross the gulf of Finland -
"Hei, tämä on hyvä maa, ja toivon, että vastineeksi uusia ihmisiä"
Finland maintains a one of the highest levels of health care and standard of living in the world. Life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men however it is the 3rd most sparsely populated country in Europe. Perhaps they live so long because the have to walk so far to see each other. Sweden next -
"Hej, detta är ett bra land, och jag hoppas att i gengäld för nya människor"
I've always wanted to go to Sweden. I get the image or a place that's really clean and full of lovely, bubbly people. I also imagine there to be plenty of rock bands that play power ballads and that can only be a good thing. Off to Norway -
"Hei, dette er et godt land, og jeg håper at i bytte for nye mennesker"
Norway has the second highest GDP in Europe behind Luxembourg. All this prosperity seems to be down to it's capitalist welfare state and I'm all for that to be honest.
So that's it, the roadtrip comes to and end. All that remains is to get catch one of Norway's massive merchant ships back to England and the ultimate goal of finding out what these multiple translations have done to my original phrase..............
God I hope this is worth it -
"Hi, this is a good country, and I hope that in exchange for new people"
HaHa I like it. Imagine washing up on the shores of Norfolk and coming out with that.
Oh well at least last nights Steak was good.
Wednesday 20 October 2010
Hogwarts to you...
Thankfully I didn't have to watch that scary film yesterday as the necessary elements were late to arrive. Today I have a team member in the house so that task has now been safely delegated.
Quite the opposite of this is that I have to attend a sound check for Harry Potter 7 pt 1 on Saturday and this fills me with nothing but excitement, not a chance in Hogwarts that anybody is going to get there before me on this one....not unless they apperate !! Do you think they be happy if I turned up in my Gryffindor dressing gown....or wizards robes as I like to call it?
Cooked a couple of Chicken Legs in the water bath yesterday and the taste and texture was amazing, really juicy too. Today I think I'm going to go for Steak, just rump steak, nothing fancy. This method is supposed to really increase the quality of a cooked piece of meat by breaking down the toughness over the prolonged cooking period.
Rib Eye and Rump steak have the most flavour in them due to the fat content but they are also pretty fibrous and can be much chewier after cooking than a muscle less well used on an animal such as the fillet or tenderloin.
Theory behind this sous vide method of cooking is that because of the meat is cooked over time you'll get the best of both worlds without having to go and spend ridiculous amounts of money on premium meats such as Kobe Beef.
Ideally I should brine the steaks for about 6 hours first and them cook them for 18 hours but I'm just going to go for straight in for 10 hours, should still produce outstanding results but we shall see.
Quite the opposite of this is that I have to attend a sound check for Harry Potter 7 pt 1 on Saturday and this fills me with nothing but excitement, not a chance in Hogwarts that anybody is going to get there before me on this one....not unless they apperate !! Do you think they be happy if I turned up in my Gryffindor dressing gown....or wizards robes as I like to call it?
Cooked a couple of Chicken Legs in the water bath yesterday and the taste and texture was amazing, really juicy too. Today I think I'm going to go for Steak, just rump steak, nothing fancy. This method is supposed to really increase the quality of a cooked piece of meat by breaking down the toughness over the prolonged cooking period.
Rib Eye and Rump steak have the most flavour in them due to the fat content but they are also pretty fibrous and can be much chewier after cooking than a muscle less well used on an animal such as the fillet or tenderloin.
Theory behind this sous vide method of cooking is that because of the meat is cooked over time you'll get the best of both worlds without having to go and spend ridiculous amounts of money on premium meats such as Kobe Beef.
Ideally I should brine the steaks for about 6 hours first and them cook them for 18 hours but I'm just going to go for straight in for 10 hours, should still produce outstanding results but we shall see.
Tuesday 19 October 2010
Scary.....
Another day another buck. A very busy day yesterday but good in a way because I didn't get time to have any Monday blues and I'm expecting today to be much similar as once again it's me alone in the office, well in my department(s) anyway.
Have to watch Paranormal Activity 2 today as well and I'm not good with scary films. When I say not good I mean that they genuinely do scare the hell out of me. It's not that I don't appreciate them, indeed a lot of my favourite films come from this genre. When I was a teenager I used to watch all the old zombie films and of course the Nightmare on Elm Street series was big at that time too.
We used to watch them at my buddies house at the opposite end of my road and when walking back home on my own and invariably in the dark I had to walk past this alleyway and I was always petrified that there was going to be zombies running up it after my brains.
I have a couple of lasting horror movie memories and the first is from when I watched a film called "The Kindred". It was about horrible alien monster that had these slimy, knobbly tentacles and it would make these nasty appendages crawl under people skin and you would see it moving up. I was the most horrible thing I'd ever seen.
Since then anything to do with piercing skin of seeing things under skin turns my stomach. Hypodermic injections are a particularly gruesome to me and I'm not even going to get started on those horrid programs you see on TV about plastic surgery and liposuction etc etc.
The Exorcist is the other memory I have, I suppose it counts as two memories actually because I remember the first time I watched it again at my buddies house up the road but I don't remember it being all that scary at the time. However several years later in 2000 they released a digitally remastered directors cut and it was my duty to encode the brand new 5.1 surround sound.
Normally I'd have happily passed this on onto a colleague but it was one of those rush jobs that needed doing late at night to be ready for the next day and I was the only person in my team available...............great !!
So here I was completely alone in a hastily constructed cinema at the rear of a warehouse on a remote Berkshire industrial estate having to watch quite possibly the scariest film in cinematic history.
Even though I didn't have that many harrowing memories of my first viewing I was very aware that my opinions on scariness had changed and that this was in no way going to be a nice experience for me and I was right...........I have never ever ever been so jumpy and shaky watching a film in my life.
What made this different was that instead of watching in off a VHS cassette on portable TV in a room with 3 or 4 other friends. I was watching a crystal clear 35mm remastered film print being projected onto a 20ft wide wall with the sound coming from a full 5.1 digital setup being played at full THX level.......on my own.
The sound was what really made the difference. What I really like but also hate about horror films is those tense moments when you think something is about to happen but it doesn't.
The subtle background music builds up and you start to feel nervous about what's going to happen next, the eeriness slowly rumbles on and on until finally there is a massive crescendo of noise............................and bugger all happens !!!
Then comes a carefully measured moment of silence, you think it's all over then WHAM right out the blue there's a girl with a devils face wearing a blue nightdress doing a backwards crab down a staircase.
Well.................it was at this point that I was made all to aware that I was not infact the only person still at work because my boss was also staying late and had come into the cinema right at that point to inform me that she was off home.
Looking back now I understand why instead of saying she was going home she just pointed at me a laughed because there was I, a 26 years old man , knees up on a chair with my muffled screams barely audible from my mouth as I had my face buried into a cushion.
I do hope that she still tells this story too because it was a truly terrifying moment and testament to just how good that film is especially on the big screen. I vaguely remember being over in our Hollywood office and having to attend a sound check for the film "Cabin Fever" with my colleague and even he was laughing at my jumpiness but I loved that film too.......Hostel is another favourite, I even have the film poster for that on my studio wall.
Oh I've just remembered about a sound check I did for 28 Weeks Later where I was sat at the film lab with the post production supervisor and my coffee went flying at one point !! hahaha
I'm not allowed to let you know what I think of the film until it's released but if you see me later or speak to me at any point later today and notice that I'm a bit sketchy I think you can safely assume that it had it's desired effect.
Have to watch Paranormal Activity 2 today as well and I'm not good with scary films. When I say not good I mean that they genuinely do scare the hell out of me. It's not that I don't appreciate them, indeed a lot of my favourite films come from this genre. When I was a teenager I used to watch all the old zombie films and of course the Nightmare on Elm Street series was big at that time too.
We used to watch them at my buddies house at the opposite end of my road and when walking back home on my own and invariably in the dark I had to walk past this alleyway and I was always petrified that there was going to be zombies running up it after my brains.
I have a couple of lasting horror movie memories and the first is from when I watched a film called "The Kindred". It was about horrible alien monster that had these slimy, knobbly tentacles and it would make these nasty appendages crawl under people skin and you would see it moving up. I was the most horrible thing I'd ever seen.
Since then anything to do with piercing skin of seeing things under skin turns my stomach. Hypodermic injections are a particularly gruesome to me and I'm not even going to get started on those horrid programs you see on TV about plastic surgery and liposuction etc etc.
The Exorcist is the other memory I have, I suppose it counts as two memories actually because I remember the first time I watched it again at my buddies house up the road but I don't remember it being all that scary at the time. However several years later in 2000 they released a digitally remastered directors cut and it was my duty to encode the brand new 5.1 surround sound.
Normally I'd have happily passed this on onto a colleague but it was one of those rush jobs that needed doing late at night to be ready for the next day and I was the only person in my team available...............great !!
So here I was completely alone in a hastily constructed cinema at the rear of a warehouse on a remote Berkshire industrial estate having to watch quite possibly the scariest film in cinematic history.
Even though I didn't have that many harrowing memories of my first viewing I was very aware that my opinions on scariness had changed and that this was in no way going to be a nice experience for me and I was right...........I have never ever ever been so jumpy and shaky watching a film in my life.
What made this different was that instead of watching in off a VHS cassette on portable TV in a room with 3 or 4 other friends. I was watching a crystal clear 35mm remastered film print being projected onto a 20ft wide wall with the sound coming from a full 5.1 digital setup being played at full THX level.......on my own.
The sound was what really made the difference. What I really like but also hate about horror films is those tense moments when you think something is about to happen but it doesn't.
The subtle background music builds up and you start to feel nervous about what's going to happen next, the eeriness slowly rumbles on and on until finally there is a massive crescendo of noise............................and bugger all happens !!!
Then comes a carefully measured moment of silence, you think it's all over then WHAM right out the blue there's a girl with a devils face wearing a blue nightdress doing a backwards crab down a staircase.
Well.................it was at this point that I was made all to aware that I was not infact the only person still at work because my boss was also staying late and had come into the cinema right at that point to inform me that she was off home.
Looking back now I understand why instead of saying she was going home she just pointed at me a laughed because there was I, a 26 years old man , knees up on a chair with my muffled screams barely audible from my mouth as I had my face buried into a cushion.
I do hope that she still tells this story too because it was a truly terrifying moment and testament to just how good that film is especially on the big screen. I vaguely remember being over in our Hollywood office and having to attend a sound check for the film "Cabin Fever" with my colleague and even he was laughing at my jumpiness but I loved that film too.......Hostel is another favourite, I even have the film poster for that on my studio wall.
Oh I've just remembered about a sound check I did for 28 Weeks Later where I was sat at the film lab with the post production supervisor and my coffee went flying at one point !! hahaha
I'm not allowed to let you know what I think of the film until it's released but if you see me later or speak to me at any point later today and notice that I'm a bit sketchy I think you can safely assume that it had it's desired effect.
Monday 18 October 2010
Good Evening.
So nice to finish work today and get home to the kitchen.
Chilli Con Carne on the menu and I do like it hot. The vast amounts of hot chilli powder the 5 green finger chillies and the 2 scotch bonnets saw to that. Got a right old sweat on !!!
I like making a nice big pot of chilli and it's pretty similar to the way I make Spaghetti Bolognaise (or Spaghetti alla Ragu as it should be called but I'll get onto that a bit later) in that I don't think I've ever made it the same way twice.
The only constant ingredients are couple of chopped onions, a few cloves of chopped garlic, about 500g minced beef, 200ml stock, tbsp paprika, 3 tbsp of cumin, tin of red kidney beans, tin of chopped tomatoes and copious hot chillies, as many as you dare.
Basically that lot bunged in a saucepan and pretty much in that order will give even the inexperienced cook and a few chums a tasty treat after about 45 minutes of simmering.......make sure you wash your hands after chopping the chillies though.......a stray wipe of a sensitive area can cause immense discomfort. Serve it up with plain boiled rice and an ice cold lager.
If your worried about the heat whatever you do don't go drinking water to calm it down. It's the capsaicin in chillies that give off the heat and it's an oily chemical. Water will just was over it, it's best to have something dairy to hand, perhaps some yoghurt or a glass of milk, these will help break the chemical down and give you your throat back.
It's wonderful stuff really and teh link will take you to it's wikipedia entry where you can learn more about it.
Back to Bolognaise....or Ragu. No not the stuff you get out of a jar. Stuff you can make easily at home. I hate it when I see the words Spaghetti Bolognaise of a menu it should always be Spaghetti alla Ragu. I was shocked to see it listed a Spaghetti Bologanise on the menu at Jamies Italian.
The word Ragu just means a meat based sauce for pasta. In Bologna itself every family probably has it's own version and that's just how these dishes should be made so don't be afraid to experiment.
For the Chilli con Carne rather than using minced beef why not use stewing steak and let it cook for a few hours to soften the meat down like hearty casserole. Try red onions instead of white to give a deeper colour and a sweeter taste, try smoked garlic instead of fresh to give a completely different complexity of flavour. Got a odd carrot in the cupboard then chop it up and bung it in too, it'll add texture.
This is proper home cooking. Yeah it's nice to follow recipes and make it look like the picture in the book but in my opinion they should just be guidelines. It's all about making them your own and it's certainly not about dolloping a load of reheated gunk onto a plate of sticky, tasteless pasta and calling it home-made.
One other thing I've got used to using quite a lot in cooking, especially in spicy dishes is vinegar. Adding a bit of that can really enhance the heat and flavour, you have to add just a bit at a time because it can get overpowering and should you add too much you can soften it off with a bit of sugar to re-address the balance. I used Balsamic vinegar today and it worked very well.
So anyway until tomorrow mon cheries.
Chilli Con Carne on the menu and I do like it hot. The vast amounts of hot chilli powder the 5 green finger chillies and the 2 scotch bonnets saw to that. Got a right old sweat on !!!
I like making a nice big pot of chilli and it's pretty similar to the way I make Spaghetti Bolognaise (or Spaghetti alla Ragu as it should be called but I'll get onto that a bit later) in that I don't think I've ever made it the same way twice.
The only constant ingredients are couple of chopped onions, a few cloves of chopped garlic, about 500g minced beef, 200ml stock, tbsp paprika, 3 tbsp of cumin, tin of red kidney beans, tin of chopped tomatoes and copious hot chillies, as many as you dare.
Basically that lot bunged in a saucepan and pretty much in that order will give even the inexperienced cook and a few chums a tasty treat after about 45 minutes of simmering.......make sure you wash your hands after chopping the chillies though.......a stray wipe of a sensitive area can cause immense discomfort. Serve it up with plain boiled rice and an ice cold lager.
If your worried about the heat whatever you do don't go drinking water to calm it down. It's the capsaicin in chillies that give off the heat and it's an oily chemical. Water will just was over it, it's best to have something dairy to hand, perhaps some yoghurt or a glass of milk, these will help break the chemical down and give you your throat back.
It's wonderful stuff really and teh link will take you to it's wikipedia entry where you can learn more about it.
Back to Bolognaise....or Ragu. No not the stuff you get out of a jar. Stuff you can make easily at home. I hate it when I see the words Spaghetti Bolognaise of a menu it should always be Spaghetti alla Ragu. I was shocked to see it listed a Spaghetti Bologanise on the menu at Jamies Italian.
The word Ragu just means a meat based sauce for pasta. In Bologna itself every family probably has it's own version and that's just how these dishes should be made so don't be afraid to experiment.
For the Chilli con Carne rather than using minced beef why not use stewing steak and let it cook for a few hours to soften the meat down like hearty casserole. Try red onions instead of white to give a deeper colour and a sweeter taste, try smoked garlic instead of fresh to give a completely different complexity of flavour. Got a odd carrot in the cupboard then chop it up and bung it in too, it'll add texture.
This is proper home cooking. Yeah it's nice to follow recipes and make it look like the picture in the book but in my opinion they should just be guidelines. It's all about making them your own and it's certainly not about dolloping a load of reheated gunk onto a plate of sticky, tasteless pasta and calling it home-made.
One other thing I've got used to using quite a lot in cooking, especially in spicy dishes is vinegar. Adding a bit of that can really enhance the heat and flavour, you have to add just a bit at a time because it can get overpowering and should you add too much you can soften it off with a bit of sugar to re-address the balance. I used Balsamic vinegar today and it worked very well.
So anyway until tomorrow mon cheries.
Tired....
Awful night sleep last night which really wasn't what I needed after a rather heavy weekend. Hopefully my body will start to rebuild itself into something slightly more human as the day goes on. Well I hope it will anyway because I'm the only one in at work and there is plenty to be getting on with.
With that in mind I best crack on and think of something interesting to blog about later.
With that in mind I best crack on and think of something interesting to blog about later.
Friday 15 October 2010
Retail therapy....
Been quite an expensive morning so far but the saying "Two wrongs don't make a right" clearly do not apply when money is involved.
Had the car booked in for it's MOT which it passed only needing new wiper blades. Many thanks to our fabulous mechanic/neighbourhood watch superstar Paddy of Reading Drive-In
He relieved me of some cash as did the DVLA when I renewed my road tax just after. £112.75 for 6 months...........blinkin hell! Each time I drive over a pothole in the next 6 months or scrape an alloy on a poorly laid out width restriction I'll think of what else I could have spent it on.
So those are the two wrongs which needed making right so what better than a little retail therapy?
Soon I'll be up there with the Heston's and Joel Rubichon's or this would due to this little (or rather large) beauty
Sous Vide cooking is definitely the way forward so just the vacuum packer and I'm away.
Had the car booked in for it's MOT which it passed only needing new wiper blades. Many thanks to our fabulous mechanic/neighbourhood watch superstar Paddy of Reading Drive-In
He relieved me of some cash as did the DVLA when I renewed my road tax just after. £112.75 for 6 months...........blinkin hell! Each time I drive over a pothole in the next 6 months or scrape an alloy on a poorly laid out width restriction I'll think of what else I could have spent it on.
So those are the two wrongs which needed making right so what better than a little retail therapy?
Soon I'll be up there with the Heston's and Joel Rubichon's or this would due to this little (or rather large) beauty
Sous Vide cooking is definitely the way forward so just the vacuum packer and I'm away.
Thursday 14 October 2010
Fatherhood...
I'm sure that the joys of fatherhood and being around your offspring even when they are doing your head in is something that any doting dad would never want taken away. However have you ever seen the look on a young fathers face when an impromptu free evening pass to the pub is gifted to them?
I saw that very emotion last night when my good buddy was informed that his lovely wife had exited her friends house to find that the car had broken down and that she had to stay there for the night with the kids.
Never seen a face light up like it before, the realisation that those cheeky couple of beers after work had the makings of a full night out. What followed were the immortal words "Brilliant, I'm going to drop the car off and walk back here.....Get me a pint in."
"You're my best mate", "My home is my home" and "One more thing" were soon being uttered as well which is why my head was a little hazy this morning but feeling fabbo now.
Got some pub news too, well kind of. I called the area manager of Greene King to ask if he knew of any reason why the current people had not got back to me, perhaps illness or holiday etc etc but he said he wasn't aware of anything but he would himself contact them to see what the hold up is so that's good progression.
The overall feeling I got from our conversation is that we are certainly their number one choice for taking it on and although he's not allowed to comment as whether other parties are involved the overriding impression I got was that there wasn't anybody but still it would be futile to expect that as fact.
At the end of the day (damn I hate that phrase) regardless of who is put forward by the current people the final decision is made by the landlords who are Greene King. Now that they know we have put an offer in and are keen to get an answer and get in ASAP we will at least be in their minds when decision time comes.
Went to the restaurant show at Earls Court yesterday and it was a very good experience, unfortunately we couldn't get a reservation in the super duper restaurant as it was already fully booked but that did mean we could get to watch the demo by Ashley Palmer-Watts who is the Head chef at Heston Blumenthals Fat Duck and soon to be heading up HB's newest venture at the Mandarin Hotel.
He said at the start that he'd be making something simple................hmmmmmmm. Not so sure that a couple of dishes with a combined cooking time of about 4 days is all that simple but I suppose when you have three Michelin stars you can say those kind of things.
I came out of there with some good things stored in the memory banks. There was a great speech by a guy called Xavier Rousset who is the co-owner and Sommelier at the Michelin starred London restaurant Texture. He spoke very well about how to make a good margin on wine but also to make it fairly priced. He also gave tips of creating a wine list, which wines to stock and general service and presentation skills that will boost sales.
In that section there was also a company from Hungary who had bought over a selection of wines they produce using mainly grape varieties unique to Hungary, a couple of these wines were absolutely outstanding and I did resist the temptation to ask if some of the reds were actually whites before the chemical spill.
Got loads and loads of the usual bumpf associated with these things and I apologise now to K & B for the amount of crap they might very well receive through the letterbox as the barcodeing system mean't that all the exhibitors had to do was zap you when you showed a remote interest in anything which I assume links straight back to the registrations.
There was also a stand in the drinks quarter being hosted by Estrella Damm and they in conjuntion with Ferran Adrià (Chef and owner of El Bulli. 5 times voted as best restaurant in the world) have created a dining beer called "Inedit" and I have to say it is very very nice and very easy to drink with a strong floural nose and hoppy flavour, if you ever see some out and about you have to give it a go.
My main take home (to coin a phrase) was that I need to get practising and get mastering the sous vide way of cooking. It a technique of cooking food in a vacuum which makes food retain 100% of it's flavour and goodness seeing as there is no air or water being circulated around it diluting the bits that we want to keep.
Might be a bit of an expensive outlay seeing that you need a vacuum packing machine and a water bath but I feel it's just something I need to get if I'm going to take my cooking to the next level....................I'm just trying to convince myself arn't I? Dammit !!!
I saw that very emotion last night when my good buddy was informed that his lovely wife had exited her friends house to find that the car had broken down and that she had to stay there for the night with the kids.
Never seen a face light up like it before, the realisation that those cheeky couple of beers after work had the makings of a full night out. What followed were the immortal words "Brilliant, I'm going to drop the car off and walk back here.....Get me a pint in."
"You're my best mate", "My home is my home" and "One more thing" were soon being uttered as well which is why my head was a little hazy this morning but feeling fabbo now.
Got some pub news too, well kind of. I called the area manager of Greene King to ask if he knew of any reason why the current people had not got back to me, perhaps illness or holiday etc etc but he said he wasn't aware of anything but he would himself contact them to see what the hold up is so that's good progression.
The overall feeling I got from our conversation is that we are certainly their number one choice for taking it on and although he's not allowed to comment as whether other parties are involved the overriding impression I got was that there wasn't anybody but still it would be futile to expect that as fact.
At the end of the day (damn I hate that phrase) regardless of who is put forward by the current people the final decision is made by the landlords who are Greene King. Now that they know we have put an offer in and are keen to get an answer and get in ASAP we will at least be in their minds when decision time comes.
Went to the restaurant show at Earls Court yesterday and it was a very good experience, unfortunately we couldn't get a reservation in the super duper restaurant as it was already fully booked but that did mean we could get to watch the demo by Ashley Palmer-Watts who is the Head chef at Heston Blumenthals Fat Duck and soon to be heading up HB's newest venture at the Mandarin Hotel.
He said at the start that he'd be making something simple................hmmmmmmm. Not so sure that a couple of dishes with a combined cooking time of about 4 days is all that simple but I suppose when you have three Michelin stars you can say those kind of things.
I came out of there with some good things stored in the memory banks. There was a great speech by a guy called Xavier Rousset who is the co-owner and Sommelier at the Michelin starred London restaurant Texture. He spoke very well about how to make a good margin on wine but also to make it fairly priced. He also gave tips of creating a wine list, which wines to stock and general service and presentation skills that will boost sales.
In that section there was also a company from Hungary who had bought over a selection of wines they produce using mainly grape varieties unique to Hungary, a couple of these wines were absolutely outstanding and I did resist the temptation to ask if some of the reds were actually whites before the chemical spill.
Got loads and loads of the usual bumpf associated with these things and I apologise now to K & B for the amount of crap they might very well receive through the letterbox as the barcodeing system mean't that all the exhibitors had to do was zap you when you showed a remote interest in anything which I assume links straight back to the registrations.
There was also a stand in the drinks quarter being hosted by Estrella Damm and they in conjuntion with Ferran Adrià (Chef and owner of El Bulli. 5 times voted as best restaurant in the world) have created a dining beer called "Inedit" and I have to say it is very very nice and very easy to drink with a strong floural nose and hoppy flavour, if you ever see some out and about you have to give it a go.
My main take home (to coin a phrase) was that I need to get practising and get mastering the sous vide way of cooking. It a technique of cooking food in a vacuum which makes food retain 100% of it's flavour and goodness seeing as there is no air or water being circulated around it diluting the bits that we want to keep.
Might be a bit of an expensive outlay seeing that you need a vacuum packing machine and a water bath but I feel it's just something I need to get if I'm going to take my cooking to the next level....................I'm just trying to convince myself arn't I? Dammit !!!
Tuesday 12 October 2010
Awards.....
Wasn't sure what to blog about today. I have a huge rant building up inside of me but I'm not entirely sure what it is about?!? Keep them peeled because within the next couple of days it's going to burst out like that horrible slimy thing that erupted from Sigourney Weavers chest in Alien.
Today I'll just take a break from the normal self-appreciative, arrogant and narcissistic nature of my usual blogs and try to wax lyrical about somebody whom I have a great deal of time and respect for and someone for whom I was very fortunate to be invited along to see crowned as Reading's first food hero......Mr Paul Clerehugh.
He pretty much single-handedly bought good food to Reading and continues to do so. His association with the Primary school close to his Crooked Billet restaurant in Stoke Row preceded Jamie Oliver's foray into the field by many years and it's an association that continues to this day providing the children with good healthy meals using fresh produce from his own small holding. It's no wonder that he was asked to be a consultant for the second series of Jamies School Dinners.
What I really like about him and can relate to is his passion for life itself and his desire to let nothing stand in the way of his vision. At this time in my life particularly he's an inspiration and a guiding light.
Hard work and passion has got him to where he is today and he's showing no signs of slowing down.
PC is only the second pub chef ever to win the highly coveted Craft Guild of Chefs award. Previous winners include Paul Gayler, Brian Turner, Anton Mosimann and Raymond Blanc and that is quite some company to keep I think you'd agree.
Anyway Paul manages to do all this but still retain a very humble and gracious demeanour which is why he's admired by so many and fully deserving of this award.
Bottoms up!
Today I'll just take a break from the normal self-appreciative, arrogant and narcissistic nature of my usual blogs and try to wax lyrical about somebody whom I have a great deal of time and respect for and someone for whom I was very fortunate to be invited along to see crowned as Reading's first food hero......Mr Paul Clerehugh.
He pretty much single-handedly bought good food to Reading and continues to do so. His association with the Primary school close to his Crooked Billet restaurant in Stoke Row preceded Jamie Oliver's foray into the field by many years and it's an association that continues to this day providing the children with good healthy meals using fresh produce from his own small holding. It's no wonder that he was asked to be a consultant for the second series of Jamies School Dinners.
What I really like about him and can relate to is his passion for life itself and his desire to let nothing stand in the way of his vision. At this time in my life particularly he's an inspiration and a guiding light.
Hard work and passion has got him to where he is today and he's showing no signs of slowing down.
PC is only the second pub chef ever to win the highly coveted Craft Guild of Chefs award. Previous winners include Paul Gayler, Brian Turner, Anton Mosimann and Raymond Blanc and that is quite some company to keep I think you'd agree.
Anyway Paul manages to do all this but still retain a very humble and gracious demeanour which is why he's admired by so many and fully deserving of this award.
Bottoms up!
Monday 11 October 2010
And still we wait....
So another weekend comes and goes. Monday however has started well which hopefully points as all forward to a wonderful week ahead.
The sun is shining and the leaves on the trees are starting to brown off and fall from their twiggy perches, it's all so very autumnal and for me exciting too as it signal the start of the best season for all things Game. Great Venison & Pheasant to be had and loads of wonderful flavours to enjoy.
Well I'm guessing your all dying to know what I got up to at the weekend ?!?............NO............Good then I shall proceed....
Friday was lovely, had a nice night in with my lady. Little'un was off to Grandad's for a sleepover so we had some lovely food and some wine and some averna and some lemonchello and some whiskey and some..........nope that was it.
Saturday was a double DJ header affair kicking off at Mango for a short while to help start my good friends 40th birthday celebrations then over to Sakura until 2am to entertain the folks in VIP. Before that however spent a wonderful day with Bolger and Asbo starting off with lunch at Jamie's Italian before meeting up with a few other buddies and shooting some pool.
Finished Saturday off by heading back to Mango where the garden was at it's absolute best. Absolutely rammed full of fantastic people having a great time, testament to Kevin's chums and also to the old days of Mango weekends. Maybe the penny will drop and the vibe can continue......I doubt it somehow.
Sunday awoke with a stonker of a headache which was very disappointing because I was desperately trying not to make that happen, didn't really start to go away until I took a trip to the chinese supermarket and got some awareness food. Nothing like a good dose of MSG to get you going.
So that brings us up to today and like I mentioned it's been a good start. Sunny, traffic not too bad and McDonalds coffee all helping to get the minerals flowing ready for a days work then at 5pm I have been invited to attended the awarding of Reading very first "Food Hero" title which I'm quite chuffed about. One day I'll get that prize, it's a new goal. Forget your Michelin stars there's only one thing I'm after :-/
Still no news on the pub offer, each day that goes by I loose a little faith. I would have expected at least a response to say it had been received and was being considered (or flatly refused) but not a peep, not a sausage, not even a chipolata. I'll give them a few more days, I think each parties valuation of the existing business are at very opposite ends of the scale but there is always room for negotiation if indeed we have got our figures and forecasts wrong.
Toodlepipions xx
The sun is shining and the leaves on the trees are starting to brown off and fall from their twiggy perches, it's all so very autumnal and for me exciting too as it signal the start of the best season for all things Game. Great Venison & Pheasant to be had and loads of wonderful flavours to enjoy.
Well I'm guessing your all dying to know what I got up to at the weekend ?!?............NO............Good then I shall proceed....
Friday was lovely, had a nice night in with my lady. Little'un was off to Grandad's for a sleepover so we had some lovely food and some wine and some averna and some lemonchello and some whiskey and some..........nope that was it.
Saturday was a double DJ header affair kicking off at Mango for a short while to help start my good friends 40th birthday celebrations then over to Sakura until 2am to entertain the folks in VIP. Before that however spent a wonderful day with Bolger and Asbo starting off with lunch at Jamie's Italian before meeting up with a few other buddies and shooting some pool.
Finished Saturday off by heading back to Mango where the garden was at it's absolute best. Absolutely rammed full of fantastic people having a great time, testament to Kevin's chums and also to the old days of Mango weekends. Maybe the penny will drop and the vibe can continue......I doubt it somehow.
Sunday awoke with a stonker of a headache which was very disappointing because I was desperately trying not to make that happen, didn't really start to go away until I took a trip to the chinese supermarket and got some awareness food. Nothing like a good dose of MSG to get you going.
So that brings us up to today and like I mentioned it's been a good start. Sunny, traffic not too bad and McDonalds coffee all helping to get the minerals flowing ready for a days work then at 5pm I have been invited to attended the awarding of Reading very first "Food Hero" title which I'm quite chuffed about. One day I'll get that prize, it's a new goal. Forget your Michelin stars there's only one thing I'm after :-/
Still no news on the pub offer, each day that goes by I loose a little faith. I would have expected at least a response to say it had been received and was being considered (or flatly refused) but not a peep, not a sausage, not even a chipolata. I'll give them a few more days, I think each parties valuation of the existing business are at very opposite ends of the scale but there is always room for negotiation if indeed we have got our figures and forecasts wrong.
Toodlepipions xx
Thursday 7 October 2010
So it begins....
The offer has been put in. I'm sure it's some way off what was expected but you have to take things on their merit and be honest with your evaluations.
Will it be accepted ?!?!? I'm completely unsure but of course I hope it will because I think it's fair and anything more would be making a rod for our own back for no more than sentimental reasons which is not great business sense is it?
Quite nervy all this isn't it?
I guess this is how people feel when buying a house :-)
Wish us luck I think we'll need it.
Will it be accepted ?!?!? I'm completely unsure but of course I hope it will because I think it's fair and anything more would be making a rod for our own back for no more than sentimental reasons which is not great business sense is it?
Quite nervy all this isn't it?
I guess this is how people feel when buying a house :-)
Wish us luck I think we'll need it.
Wednesday 6 October 2010
a PM post
So I've been spending most of the day contemplating what we could have on our pub menu(s)
At the moment and of course it is subject to change I have decided on 5 separate menus which should suit the business model that I'd like to follow.
Bar Menu
Lunch Menu
Childrens Menu (still to do but Emily is helping here so proper input)
Evening Menu
Sunday Lunch
There will also be a monthly seasonal specials board which will add maybe 3 starters and 3 main courses to the evening menu (and maybe the lunch menu) each month
I initially made just one menu for the restaurant but it soon reached around 50 dishes including desserts which is just ridiculous so I've reeled it in a bit.
The Bar area and Restaurant area in the pub are quite clearly separated and I really want to treat them as two separate entities within the same building. When you walk into the bar it'll be like walking into a very "as you'd expect" village pub. Open fire, wooden beams bit of horse brass here and there and the air filled with jolly banter.
The restaurant area at the moment looks very much like it is, an old saloon bar filled with tables. I want to completely revamp it and leave the customer in no mind as to it's intended purpose...it'll be a restaurant full stop.
So I'd be interested to know what you think about these -
Bar Menu -
Freshly baked baguette, sandwich or tortilla wrap filled with choice of filling –
Egg mayo
Sliced egg & tomato
Ham salad
Ham & Mustard
Ham & Pickle
Tuna Mayo & Sweetcorn
Hummus & Red Pepper
Cheese Salad
Cheese & Onion
Cheese & Pickle
Nachos
Chips
Cheesy Chips
Lunch Menu -
Starters -
Soup of the day
Prawn cocktail
Chicken liver paté with crusty bread
Mini vegetarian meze platter
Breaded mushrooms with garlic mayo
Mains -
Tagliatella alla ragu
Traditional beer battered cod, chips and peas
Chicken curry and basmati rice or chips
Chilli con carne with long grain rice or chips
Steak and ale pie and mashed potato or chips served with peas
Desserts –
Selection from the dessert cabinet.
A la Carte evening menu -
Starters -
Rabbit & pistachio terrine
Smoked Berkshire trout with beetroot salad and horseradish créme fraiche
Dry cured bacon potato cake with poached egg and crumbled black pudding.
Watercress and wild mushroom paté with juniper berries
Carpaccio of beef with rocket & parmesan cheese
Panfried scallops with cauliflower purée
Mains –
Panfried salmon with crushed new potatoes and minted pea purée
Fillet of venison with celeriac mash, cumin glazed carrots and red wine jus
Pork fillet with creamed leeks and seasonal vegetable salad
Duck Confit with crispy potatoes and chilli peas
Tagliatelli with wild mushroom and white wine sauce
Salted cod with chorizo, butterbean and goats cheese stew
Desserts –
Selection from the dessert cabinet
British cheese and biscuits
Sunday Lunch -
Starters -
As per A la Carte menu
Mains –
Panfried salmon with crushed new potatoes and minted pea purée
Traditional roast dinner.
Choose from –
Slow cooked pork belly
Roast rib of beef
Stuffed shoulder of lamb
Cashew nut roast
Roast Potatoes (cooked in duck fat or rapeseed oil)
Potato Dauphinoise
Broccoli
Caulifower
Glazed carrots
Gratin of brussel sprout
Yorkshire pudding
Desserts –
Selection from the dessert cabinet
British cheese and biscuits
Quite like the Sunday one as it offers a vegetarian alternative to a traditional Sunday roast.
Like I say the specials board will be seasonal and will also offer more vegetarian dishes. I think it's difficult to add too many veggie dishes to a general menu without being repetitive and uninteresting especially from a meat eaters perspective.
Desserts will be varied and proudly on display in a glass fronted cold cabinet for all to see. Whatever they are they will be made in house and served up with the usual cream, custard or ice cream.
The basic premise is that it'll all be local food from local suppliers and producers (where possible) used simply to create wonderfully delicious food at a reasonable price to be enjoyed in a relaxed and convivial environment.
Leaving Steak off the menu could be a bit controversial mind you but then again it can go on the specials board. Does every single pub in the UK have to have steak ?!?! Maybe.....I'm really not decided. Perhaps we could.....perhaps we couldn't....oooh what a dilemma.
Roger Roger over and out.....
At the moment and of course it is subject to change I have decided on 5 separate menus which should suit the business model that I'd like to follow.
Bar Menu
Lunch Menu
Childrens Menu (still to do but Emily is helping here so proper input)
Evening Menu
Sunday Lunch
There will also be a monthly seasonal specials board which will add maybe 3 starters and 3 main courses to the evening menu (and maybe the lunch menu) each month
I initially made just one menu for the restaurant but it soon reached around 50 dishes including desserts which is just ridiculous so I've reeled it in a bit.
The Bar area and Restaurant area in the pub are quite clearly separated and I really want to treat them as two separate entities within the same building. When you walk into the bar it'll be like walking into a very "as you'd expect" village pub. Open fire, wooden beams bit of horse brass here and there and the air filled with jolly banter.
The restaurant area at the moment looks very much like it is, an old saloon bar filled with tables. I want to completely revamp it and leave the customer in no mind as to it's intended purpose...it'll be a restaurant full stop.
So I'd be interested to know what you think about these -
Bar Menu -
Freshly baked baguette, sandwich or tortilla wrap filled with choice of filling –
Egg mayo
Sliced egg & tomato
Ham salad
Ham & Mustard
Ham & Pickle
Tuna Mayo & Sweetcorn
Hummus & Red Pepper
Cheese Salad
Cheese & Onion
Cheese & Pickle
Nachos
Chips
Cheesy Chips
Lunch Menu -
Starters -
Soup of the day
Prawn cocktail
Chicken liver paté with crusty bread
Mini vegetarian meze platter
Breaded mushrooms with garlic mayo
Mains -
Tagliatella alla ragu
Traditional beer battered cod, chips and peas
Chicken curry and basmati rice or chips
Chilli con carne with long grain rice or chips
Steak and ale pie and mashed potato or chips served with peas
Desserts –
Selection from the dessert cabinet.
A la Carte evening menu -
Starters -
Rabbit & pistachio terrine
Smoked Berkshire trout with beetroot salad and horseradish créme fraiche
Dry cured bacon potato cake with poached egg and crumbled black pudding.
Watercress and wild mushroom paté with juniper berries
Carpaccio of beef with rocket & parmesan cheese
Panfried scallops with cauliflower purée
Mains –
Panfried salmon with crushed new potatoes and minted pea purée
Fillet of venison with celeriac mash, cumin glazed carrots and red wine jus
Pork fillet with creamed leeks and seasonal vegetable salad
Duck Confit with crispy potatoes and chilli peas
Tagliatelli with wild mushroom and white wine sauce
Salted cod with chorizo, butterbean and goats cheese stew
Desserts –
Selection from the dessert cabinet
British cheese and biscuits
Sunday Lunch -
Starters -
As per A la Carte menu
Mains –
Panfried salmon with crushed new potatoes and minted pea purée
Traditional roast dinner.
Choose from –
Slow cooked pork belly
Roast rib of beef
Stuffed shoulder of lamb
Cashew nut roast
Roast Potatoes (cooked in duck fat or rapeseed oil)
Potato Dauphinoise
Broccoli
Caulifower
Glazed carrots
Gratin of brussel sprout
Yorkshire pudding
Desserts –
Selection from the dessert cabinet
British cheese and biscuits
Quite like the Sunday one as it offers a vegetarian alternative to a traditional Sunday roast.
Like I say the specials board will be seasonal and will also offer more vegetarian dishes. I think it's difficult to add too many veggie dishes to a general menu without being repetitive and uninteresting especially from a meat eaters perspective.
Desserts will be varied and proudly on display in a glass fronted cold cabinet for all to see. Whatever they are they will be made in house and served up with the usual cream, custard or ice cream.
The basic premise is that it'll all be local food from local suppliers and producers (where possible) used simply to create wonderfully delicious food at a reasonable price to be enjoyed in a relaxed and convivial environment.
Leaving Steak off the menu could be a bit controversial mind you but then again it can go on the specials board. Does every single pub in the UK have to have steak ?!?! Maybe.....I'm really not decided. Perhaps we could.....perhaps we couldn't....oooh what a dilemma.
Roger Roger over and out.....
Tuesday 5 October 2010
There must be something....
I'm having a bit of a blank with regard to blog content today. I have been asked to do a little blog about how to cook the perfect steak which I'm thinking about at the moment but I've not quite worked out how to word it.
So I'm guessing all I have left to waffle on about is how the pub situation is progressing......
We'll be putting in an offer on Thursday...There you go :-)
All we need to do is get the financing agreed and hopefully we'll be in by December just in time for the build up to Christmas and the New year.
That's it...I have no more. Maybe something will irritate me later and I'll feel the need to blurb about it.
So I'm guessing all I have left to waffle on about is how the pub situation is progressing......
We'll be putting in an offer on Thursday...There you go :-)
All we need to do is get the financing agreed and hopefully we'll be in by December just in time for the build up to Christmas and the New year.
That's it...I have no more. Maybe something will irritate me later and I'll feel the need to blurb about it.
Monday 4 October 2010
Weekend
Well what a weekend that was.
Normally that headline would indicate a couple of very late nights interspersed with incredibly loud music and ending up on random sofas in the houses of people I've never met or am ever likely too again.
Nope this was something else. Friday night and indeed Friday day was all a bit of a mad rush around and I ended up speed walking to Copa Bar in Reading in time to make the 7pm DJ slot I had with my good buddy Kevin. Twas the birthday party of my amazingly beautiful and lovely friend Carrie (AKA Lemon Drizzle Cake).
The only unfortunate thing about that is that I had to leave early because I had cookery demo numero deux on Saturday morning and just had to be on the ball.
As for the demo itself I really do not think it could have gone any better. I was all miked up and got well into the chatting whilst cooking....I was like Madonna with a frying pan.
Started the demo off with a bacon, carrot and potato cake topped with a poached egg and I must say that the poached egg was perfection.....even got a round of applause when it was broken and the yolk poured out. Mind you I have to say it probably had more to do with the absolutely perfect organic eggs that were supplied by Bloomfield Hatch Farm they really are something else.
The carrots too were great, really nicely coloured and ever so sweet. The bite that they added to the potato cake was wonderful. They along with the potatoes came from Pagets farm which is based in Devizes, Wiltshire. They don't have a website but they are regulars at the local farmers markets so the next time you UK readers go to one....which I assume will be at the weekend......then do yourself a favour and get some of their goodies.
Next up I made a couple of apple crumbles which turned out a bit better than I expected. Nice crust on top of a deliciously gooey crumble and filled with a delightfully sweet and chunky apple and cinnamon syrup....................Oooh that does sound a bit "Nigella" doesn't it? Served that up with a whipped Chantilly cream which I definitely did not spill upon a black lace negligée then lick temptingly off a my full cupped bosom whilst fluttering my eyelashes at the camera.
For the life of me I cannot remember the farm that supplied the apple or indeed the variety but they were the most popular stall in the market by far. The queue to their display must have been 20 deep which was handy as they were right opposite me.
To finish I did a Fillet Steak with Wild Mushroom and Marsala cream sauce...pretty damn special if I say so myself......did get one criticism saying it was a bit chewy from and octogenarian with no teeth (I kid you not) but other than that it was all "Ohh" and "Aahh".
Weekend was topped of with some beers with buddies on Sunday.
Early nights and waking up without a hangover is absolutely the way forward.
Normally that headline would indicate a couple of very late nights interspersed with incredibly loud music and ending up on random sofas in the houses of people I've never met or am ever likely too again.
Nope this was something else. Friday night and indeed Friday day was all a bit of a mad rush around and I ended up speed walking to Copa Bar in Reading in time to make the 7pm DJ slot I had with my good buddy Kevin. Twas the birthday party of my amazingly beautiful and lovely friend Carrie (AKA Lemon Drizzle Cake).
The only unfortunate thing about that is that I had to leave early because I had cookery demo numero deux on Saturday morning and just had to be on the ball.
As for the demo itself I really do not think it could have gone any better. I was all miked up and got well into the chatting whilst cooking....I was like Madonna with a frying pan.
Started the demo off with a bacon, carrot and potato cake topped with a poached egg and I must say that the poached egg was perfection.....even got a round of applause when it was broken and the yolk poured out. Mind you I have to say it probably had more to do with the absolutely perfect organic eggs that were supplied by Bloomfield Hatch Farm they really are something else.
The carrots too were great, really nicely coloured and ever so sweet. The bite that they added to the potato cake was wonderful. They along with the potatoes came from Pagets farm which is based in Devizes, Wiltshire. They don't have a website but they are regulars at the local farmers markets so the next time you UK readers go to one....which I assume will be at the weekend......then do yourself a favour and get some of their goodies.
Next up I made a couple of apple crumbles which turned out a bit better than I expected. Nice crust on top of a deliciously gooey crumble and filled with a delightfully sweet and chunky apple and cinnamon syrup....................Oooh that does sound a bit "Nigella" doesn't it? Served that up with a whipped Chantilly cream which I definitely did not spill upon a black lace negligée then lick temptingly off a my full cupped bosom whilst fluttering my eyelashes at the camera.
For the life of me I cannot remember the farm that supplied the apple or indeed the variety but they were the most popular stall in the market by far. The queue to their display must have been 20 deep which was handy as they were right opposite me.
To finish I did a Fillet Steak with Wild Mushroom and Marsala cream sauce...pretty damn special if I say so myself......did get one criticism saying it was a bit chewy from and octogenarian with no teeth (I kid you not) but other than that it was all "Ohh" and "Aahh".
Weekend was topped of with some beers with buddies on Sunday.
Early nights and waking up without a hangover is absolutely the way forward.
Friday 1 October 2010
Fuzziness
Feeling a tad fuzzy today no thank to being roped into the pub quiz last night. I think we can forth last and I was useless I mean what the hell do I know about Fizzy Rascals or whatever his name is?
As the DJ I was expected to get all the music one right but it was all modern Crap factor/Britains got idiots stuff so I had no chance however I did win the raffle and managed to pick myself up a copy of the Hairy Bikers 12 days of Christmas book.................I reckon I know somebody who wanted that....now who was it ?!?!?
Double bonus was that I also got given two tickets to the restaurant show at Earls Court by the landlord and landlady. It's a trade only event so we'd be otherwise unable to attend so many thanks for that and I'm sure we'll look forward to being Karen & Bill for a day or two.
Cooking demo was really good yesterday. Such good fun and the whole project they have got going is amazing and really quite inspiring. Please do have a look at their website to see the wonderful things they do - food4families
Highlight of it for me was seeing all these kids so interested in food and vegetables in particular. I had a couple of chats with two young lads who both said that they are really excited about food and cooking indeed both enjoyed cooking at home and were asking all the right questions when I was actually doing the cooking. Emily even enjoyed some courgette cake !! It's made out of green stuff !!
Everything I made got snaffled up rather quickly and it would seem that the pumpkin cheesecake and the spicy pork and pumpkin pasties were somewhat of a sensation. All the cheesecake recipes went anyway.
Following on from that they asked if I'd be interested in taking part in a much bigger show in the town center later in the year so must have been doing something right.
Just this very second taken a call from the area manager of Greene King who is going to be about at around 1:30pm today for a little meeting concerning the progress and forward momentum of the pub lease. I think this meeting will be the definitive one and will enable us to really start making firm plans. I'm desperate to have that so I can discuss the situation with my current employers, not really any point in putting forward my vision to them without having a clear picture ahead.
Guessing I'm not really going to have time to blog again before Sunday but saying that I'll probably be busy watching Europe winning the Ryder Cup....Come on boys.
As the DJ I was expected to get all the music one right but it was all modern Crap factor/Britains got idiots stuff so I had no chance however I did win the raffle and managed to pick myself up a copy of the Hairy Bikers 12 days of Christmas book.................I reckon I know somebody who wanted that....now who was it ?!?!?
Double bonus was that I also got given two tickets to the restaurant show at Earls Court by the landlord and landlady. It's a trade only event so we'd be otherwise unable to attend so many thanks for that and I'm sure we'll look forward to being Karen & Bill for a day or two.
Cooking demo was really good yesterday. Such good fun and the whole project they have got going is amazing and really quite inspiring. Please do have a look at their website to see the wonderful things they do - food4families
Highlight of it for me was seeing all these kids so interested in food and vegetables in particular. I had a couple of chats with two young lads who both said that they are really excited about food and cooking indeed both enjoyed cooking at home and were asking all the right questions when I was actually doing the cooking. Emily even enjoyed some courgette cake !! It's made out of green stuff !!
Everything I made got snaffled up rather quickly and it would seem that the pumpkin cheesecake and the spicy pork and pumpkin pasties were somewhat of a sensation. All the cheesecake recipes went anyway.
Following on from that they asked if I'd be interested in taking part in a much bigger show in the town center later in the year so must have been doing something right.
Just this very second taken a call from the area manager of Greene King who is going to be about at around 1:30pm today for a little meeting concerning the progress and forward momentum of the pub lease. I think this meeting will be the definitive one and will enable us to really start making firm plans. I'm desperate to have that so I can discuss the situation with my current employers, not really any point in putting forward my vision to them without having a clear picture ahead.
Guessing I'm not really going to have time to blog again before Sunday but saying that I'll probably be busy watching Europe winning the Ryder Cup....Come on boys.
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