January 2007 Archives

It's been a bit of love affair watching the highs and lows of Claudio Pulze's relationship with A-Z restaurants, but I hear the relationship is finally over. Restaurateur Claudio Pulze has finally severed links withe the group he founded.

Sources close to the company tell me that Claudio has sold his 50% shares in the company to its third unnamed partner...... The seven-strong restaurant line-up includes the Michelin-starred Aubergine and Zafferano, L’Oranger, two Memories of Chinas, Alloro and Spiga Soho.

Ian Taylor, proprietor of Cotswold House in Chipping Campden, contacted me this morning to clarify the rumour that Von Essen are interested in his award -winning property.

"It's is absolutely not for sale at the moment," he added. "And if it was I would put it on the market first."

He did add that Cotswold House's sister property in Chipping Campden, the Noel Arms, might well come back onto the market pending a planning permission decision.

So I hear the infamous war chest of Von Essen will be a lit lighter soon if a rumour that the hotel company is to buy the well regarded Cotswold House hotel in Chipping Campden... The hotel, which was a double Catey winner two years ago, was also recognised in Michelin's latest ratings for restaurants, which tipped the hotel's restaurant to garner one Michelin star in the near future.

While some hotel chains are doing all they can to engender loyalty amongst customers, collecting data about their guests' interests to better target promotions, Ireland's Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa in Clonakilty, West Cork, is apparently pioneering a somewhat different approach. Obviously fed up of seeing the same old faces the company has come up with this fully featured, environmentally sound approach to guests.

...but it is true that you would have seen it here first...that is the news that Michelin awarded Marcus Wareing his second Michelin star at Petrus.

An anonymous comment confirmed the news at about 6pm last night:

"Yes, it's definite Petrus has been awarded two stars."

So well done Marcus - it's been a long time coming, but well deserved for consistently high standards of cooking.

Overall it was a good night for Gordon Ramsay Holdings - Royal Hospital Road remained at three stars as expected despite the rumours - and La Noisette and Petrus each won an additional Michelin star. This takes the group to double figures in number of Michelin stars... 10 in all.

If you want to find a complete listing of all this year's winners and losers head to this neat little Michelin-focused area...

Last year's Michelin guide tipped John Campbell to win a second Michelin star this year ... and I reckon he's going to get the nod. John's cooking has won even greater critical acclaim this year, so there seems no logical reason why he wouldn't. As Gaby Huddart from Square Meal put it in an earlier post "John Campbell hasn't taken his foot off the accelerator for one second, so I can't see any reason he won't get it".

Best of luck John and to all those other chefs hoping to win Michelin stars tomorrow. Catch up on all the latest news at this special Michelin area on CatererSearch.com.

I thought I'd ask a couple of web-based foodie professionals what they thought about the forthcoming Michelin stars and who'd win what .... so here we go.

Silverbrow on Food:

I think that David Everitt Matthias deserves to be bumped up to three. Despite some whining about Ramsay spreading himself too thin, he still has a team of excellent chefs. Marcus Wareing deserves a second star at Petrus, although I wonder what that means if anything for the Savoy Grill.

I loved the food at Arbutus but am not convinced that it is of Michelin star quality. Then again, it's a bit too high brow for a bib-gourmand. Nonetheless, if it does get a star then I would have thought Galvin Bistro Deluxe deserves one as well. Their styles are similar, the only difference is that Galvin says what it is on the tin.

Speaking of Galvin, Galvin at Windows has the drama and food quality to get a star. It wouldn't surprise me if it got two next year.

I would have thought that Bacchus opened too late for any sort of recognition this year, but I wonder whether it will get a bib gourmand next?

It’s that time of the year again when chefs are getting very excited about who's won how many Michelin stars... and as the Kitchen Rat spends a lot of time trying to uncover gossip in the restaurant and cheffing sector, I'd thought I'd let you know, what I think and who will be winners in this year's race for Michelin stars.

The 2007 Michelin guide is launched next week - it'll be in the shops on Friday, but the results will be released on Wednesday. One thing we know already is that for the first time, there'll be a dedicated London Guide.

Kitchen Rat thinks that a recent episode at the boutique Soho hotel in London shows that the UK still has a long way to go before it catches its European cousins in terms of introducing a sophisticated drinking culture.

The swanky Soho, whose owners Tim and Kit Kemp won a Catey award last year, trustingly offers guests the chance to mix their own cocktails in its Honour Bar. It is located near the main lobby and there isn't a single member of staff in sight. Once guests have helped themselves to a pina colada, or a Singapore sling, they jot down their name, room number and bevvy of choice in a book.

Well, you've guessed it, the system was just a little too open to abuse for one drinker. After knocking a few cocktails back, he decided to take his trousers and pants off in time-honoured drunken English fashion. What he was unaware of, though, is that his antics were caught on camera, and three security guards quickly pounced to boot him off the premises. Presumably once he'd pulled his pants up.

So Alain Ducasse - the world famous French chef, who has a collection of Michelin stars to his name is coming to town... that's London town. The rumour has been circulating that he was to take up a spot at the Dorchester... Kitchen Rat first mentioned this happening way back in August, but at last it's been confirmed. The restaurant, which will be called Ducasse at the Dorchester, will be in the Terrace private dining room over looking Hyde Park. So the Dorchester will have two serious restaurants almost backing onto each other - China Tang and now Ducasse's new venture, which is due to open in September. That's something for us all to look forward to...

Gordon Ramsay and two of his Michelin-starred chefs Jason Atherton and Angela Hartnett jetted off to Afghanistan's Helmand province in the run up to Christmas to raise morale of Britsh troops by cooking a turkey Christmas dinner. Rumour was that Gordon was playing cupid for poor old Angela, who's still searching for love by taking her to cook for a load of, well, what can we say "rationed" troops .... Anyway according to sources the troops were just as keen to get Gordon's autograph as they were to eat these star chefs' food.... Has our celebrity-obsessed culture spread to our troops now?

Kitchen Rat would like to clarify that Ollie Coullard is not leaving Tom Aiken's new restaurant Tom's Kitchen to make way for Tom's brother Rob as has been suggested on this site before.

A source close to Tom Aikens told Caterer that the only truth in the rumour was that Tom's twin brother Rob was on his way over to the UK - probably arriving late next month. He will be joining Tom's business and helping him develop some new ventures.

In Kitchen Rat's effort to keep on top of the hospitality industry gossip, he has to spend some time eating out in London's great restaurants. A tough job, but someone has to do it. Here's my picks for 2006, for what it is worth. Please let me know what your favourites were. I apologise for the London bias - the Rat ashamedly hardly gets out of the capital.

1) Arbutus, Soho - great food, great value and good wine.

2) Chez Bruce, Wandsworth - still a favourite. Consistently good food and good value for lunch.