Silverbrow on Food

Alinea Mosaic goes live today

I mentioned a while ago that I had pre-ordered the Alinea cookbook (now available on Amazon as well). In the same post I referred to the website dedicated to the book. The website is called Alinea Mosaic and has gone live today.

From a quick look around, the website gives members access to recipes, a forum to allow discussion, the ability to purchase Alinea cookware and videos on how they do things - such as their pineapple and bacon dish. My only gripe with the site at this stage is that they need to sort out the colour palette they are using. Grey writing on a black background is not easy to read. Or maybe I need to go to Specsavers?

As both a food lover and a geek, I find it very interesting how they are combining the web and the book and are quite clear that the two complement each other but don't serve the same purpose. They state that the book is intended as a more formal expression of Grant Achatz's cooking at Alinea, whereas the website will be "rougher round the edges" and will be an ongoing work in progress. With any luck, that means interaction between restaurant staff, including Achatz and members of the site.

I mentioned in my original post that it seems we're going to have a face-off between The Big Fat Duck Cookbook and the Alinea Cookbook and that has been confirmed today. According to the email I received from Alinea, the book is due out in October. According to Bloomsbury, the publisher of the Fat Duck book, it is due out in October as well.

Olive Magazine & Dizengoff

A few weeks ago I was interviewed by Tony Naylor for the BBC's Olive Magazine. It was for a feature in this month's magazine about bloggers' favourite but unknown restaurants.

Mine was Dizengoff. I've never done a full on review of the restaurant, which is a bit remiss because it's the restaurant I visit most frequently. I'll let the Olive article be a proxy for my review, as I really don't have time to write one now. Suffice to say though that for simple grilled meat, with fresh salads, I love Dizengoff. Given the tone of the article, I thought the photo accompanying the article (a dessert) was a bit of a non-sequituir. I've never eaten a dessert there, so am not in a position to express a view one way or the other.

You can download a pdf of the article here.

Google Maps
Google Earth (download)

Dizengoff, 118 Golders Green Road, London, NW11 8HB, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 8458 7003

What others think

Time Out - Dizengoff's is (sic) producing some great meals

An ology in cookbooks?

I've worried for sometime that my cookbook obsession has been getting out of hand. I was therefore intrigued by this programme on Radio 4 last night. It's amazing what happens when you're awake thanks to baby wailing.

The first half of the programme was about Andrea Tonner's PhD into what cookbooks say about people. I want to try to get hold of the final dissertation, sounds like interesting stuff.

You can listen to the full programme here.

Silverbrowlette

At 2.07pm today, our baby daughter was born. She's beautiful and has already brought us immense joy. Days simply can't get any better than today.

But - and here's the rub - her arrival means posting here is going to be very light for the foreseeable future. I'm sure you'll understand.

I'm not going to get the chance to explain why I regard much of Jay Rayner's latest book, The Man Who Ate the World, as a manifesto for eating. In many ways it's the food book I'd love to have written. It's erudite, funny and most of all it's about his sheer unadulterated love affair with good food.

There were some points I'd like to explore further, but I won't have the chance. If you feel so inclined though, maybe you could address why he doesn't eat anywhere in Spain and San Sebastian in particular. I know there are many great restaurant cities, but given the book's title and the global influence of El Bulli, it seems a bit remiss. I was surprised by the frequent references to his Ashkenazic roots - more an observation than a question. And finally, a second observation, I was most disappointed by the London chapter. I was hoping for a bit more insight on dining in the capital - although maybe that was the point of his dinner with his parents at Rules. For him, that's how it started - with the family - and despite all those Ashkenazi references, his palate lies with excellent, reliable, grounded restaurants.

I'm not going to be able to note how useful The Opinionated About Fine Dining Survey 2008 would have been to Jay on his travels. Nor can I riff about how fitting it is that both Jay's book and the OA book came out in the same month, given that Jay is a regular contributor to the OA forums amongst others. If you're the type of person who either travels in order to eat, or checks out the decent restaurants before deciding where to stay, the OA guide is for you. Ignore the others like Michelin, Zagat and Hardens. If you care what people like you think about Europe and the US's best restaurants, get your mitts on this.

I'm also going to be unable to write-up my meals at The Grill at The Dorchester or Hibiscus. Suffice to say Aiden Byrne (can't help but think of Dick) is a fantastic chef and a very nice bloke. The room at the Dorchester is hideous, but the food is generally astounding. We had a tasting menu, chosen by the chef, with wine pairings courtesy of the sommelier. It was a treat. One word of caution though, steer clear of any dessert with mushrooms in the chocolate sauce.

Similarly, I loved Hibiscus. They were accommodating, I found the much maligned room quite cosy and the food is astounding. Claude Bosi might not be comfortable working the dining room at the end of service, but he knows his way around the stove and I look forward to many return visits.

The Grill at The Dorchester, The Dorchester, Park Lane, London, W1K 1QA, UK
Tel: +44 20 7629 8888

Google Maps
Google Earth (download)

Hibiscus, 29 Maddox Street, London, W1S 2PA, UK

Google Maps
Google Earth (download)

Interview with Trusted Places

I always had a problem understanding Trusted Places. I couldn't understand what they were all about.

That was until I met Walid at a fascinating shindig arranged by Andrew of Eating Albion fame. After a bit of explaining it all made sense and I see that it's not simply another London Eating.

That night Walid asked me if I'd like to do an interview with them, I said yes and it's up now on Trusted Places. Thanks to Laura who asked all the questions. Welcome to all those who have come over here, from over there.

Marcus Wareing has got a blog - and a new book

He doesn't update it much, but Marcus Wareing has a blog, with a bit of YouTube thrown in for good measure.

I learned about it from a press release to his new book One Perfect Ingredient, Three Ways to Cook It. The book reminds me of Simon Hopkinson's seminal Roast Chicken, in particular the way both books focus on several recipes for a limited number of key ingredients. I quite like it, it seems straightforward and well written. I haven't cooked from it yet, but Silverbrowess has - more of that anon.

Given the infrequency that Marcus has updated the blog, I wonder if it's part of a wider post-Pétrus project? Funny that none of the links on the site are to Pétrus or any Gordo related site - they're only to his books or the BBC. Not really that much of a surprise I suppose.

Seriously though, if Marcus was to blog properly, himself, frequently, that would be pretty cool.

The Big Fat Duck Cookbook

WOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Sorry, I'll calm down.

I've been waiting for this for sometime. It's coming people, the book we've all been waiting for, or at least I have. (Sorry Jay, not referring to you this time, but here's a plug anyway.)

Amazon now have Heston Blumenthal's The Big Fat Duck Cookbook listed for sale from 6 October 2008. List price is £100 and you can pre-order now. No doubt there'll be some discounting, but sod it, there goes some of Siverbrowlet(te)'s inheritance.

From reading the blurb on Amazon's website I'm hopeful this will be a chefs book, rather than simply a cookbook. I want it to be Essence or The French Laundry Cookbook writ fat. Going on Heston's past form, I'm guessing the book will be very detailed, fairly complex, but written in an engaging way.

I've no doubt that for most people who receive it, it will be added to the pantheon of must-haves-to-read-but-unlikely-to-ever-be-cooked-from cookbooks. I'll try not to fall into that category, but don't fancy my chances.

There's nothing yet about it on The Fat Duck website, but I'm guessing there will be soon.

Makes me think that I'm due a return visit. I cannot wait.

[Strokes chin. Exit, pursued by a rumbling tummy and a light wallet.]

UPDATE: Further information on his publisher's website.

Watch this man

There can't be that many 15 year olds who eat twice at Per Se, Thomas Keller's flagship New York restaurant, especially alone. So it shouldn't be such a surprise that Nick N, author of Foodie at Fifteen, got special treatment, including a signed French Laundry cookbook, at the end of his last meal.

I was reminded of Heston Blumenthal. It seems a meal at the age of fifteen was a seminal moment for him as well.

Gordon to “rectify” Pétrus

I'd heard the rumours that all was not well between Gordon Ramsay and his protege and head-chef of Pétrus, Marcus Wareing, but I was surprised at how public Ramsay has gone.

In a full-page article in the Business section of today's Sunday Times he mentions that one of the things that made 2007 his annus horibilus were the “inconsistencies” at Pétrus. But don't worry, he's planning to “recitfy” them.

Oh right, those inconsistencies must include winning a second Michelin star.

Wareing's contract is up with Gordon Ramsay Holdings sometime later this year and from what I've heard Wareing is gagging to leave. Not bloody surprising. In my experience, he is a fantastic chef, with a proven track record. He doesn't need to put up with crap like this. I'd love to know a bit more about what actually caused the bad blood. Can it simply be Ramsay's concern at being overshadowed? Or is filthy lucre involved?

What with Bjorn van der Horst, former head chef of La Noisette leaving the GRH fold last week, it seems that Ramsay is shedding good chefs as quickly as he's acquiring gastropubs.

Starbucks buys Clover

I've been intrigued by the Clover since I first read about it a couple of months ago. $11,000 sounds a lot for some drip coffee, but then again, I've no idea how much the La Marzocco machines are that serve up my daily latte at Monmouth Coffee.

But as John Gapper suggests, knowing that Starbucks now owns the company takes the shine off somewhat.

I take it this is the latest step by Starbucks to regain its position as a premium coffee seller and differentiate itself from the likes McDonalds which has been encroaching on its space.

Maybe we're seeing the end of super sweet, cream laden excuses for caffeinated drinks?