Posts by: Jackwagstaff

Hi Andie, I think you'll find that Elmlea is quite good ,and the various brands of nata ( cream ) are also , but all are longlife.If you want whipping cream go for one that says "montada",Super Sol do a devon double cream , but again it's longlife,but all the spanish creams are fine. What about trying creme fresh,as you can tell I've never made icecream, I'm lucky ,have acess to Gib once a month, Morrissons is pretty useless compared to when Safeway had it , but it does ( generally ) have fresh cream,even if they rarely have fresh fish.

Myself and friends go every month from inland Spain. At home we always eat in spanish bars and restaurants ,so when we go to Gib we eat at the Clipper Inn in Irish Town, but although it has an extensive menu, and the quality and quantity of the food is suprisingly good ,it is a "pub " with pub ambiance,not anywhere special or up-market,but it depends what you want. For us as a welcome break it's more than adequate and extremely reasonable.

I soo agree guapa. I love the show,I think his food looks delish. The use of local game etc wonderful. But the hair !!! It drives me mad to watch him keep running his hands through it . Tasty food , using hands,I have no problems with , but touching your hair ,for me this is a big no no,and would seriously put me off eating his food. Reminds me of Tamsin and that motely mane of hers !!

Yuk ! I really really do not like this show,it's so OTT,like Gordan Ramsey meets Gladiators !

Good episode last night when they collected truffles. Everybody will be there next weekend !
I think Mike must know more about horse racing than he´s letting on,either that or he´s very lucky., but did you see him biting his nails ? He just cannot keep his hands away from his face or his hair ,it´s a real habit with him.grrrrrrr

No paul , we are still discussing his food etc,which I for one think could be fabulous, if there was slightly more on the plate, and if the mash was more like mash and less like puree, of course if it's meant to be potato puree then it looks excellent. However he's a chef , and he's a chef who keeps fafing about with his hair , and is often to be seen with his hands around his face and biting his nails.
Using his hands when preparing food I don't object to , but not when he's a fiddler. I personally , and it is only my personal view ,would prefer that all kitchen staff ,including all head chefs still wore something to cover their hair, not everybody these days uses " Head and Shoulders !"

I really envy you Coopsy , I would love to be able to sample his food ( despite his habits !) and the food he is selling in his farm shop seems really innovative.I admire him greatly for his business sense as much as for his obvious cooking skills,sorry , I just wish he could control his hands .
I was upset that the deer did'nt die immediately , but I'm sure it was a better "death ", if there is such a thing , than being transported to an abbotoir,which has to be the fate of most of our food. One minute you're happy in the field with friends ,pain for a while , then oblivion. Like everyone else I wish we could devise a totally painless death ,but with game that would always, I think be impossible .
In a home enviroment , hygiene is not an overiding issue, babies , children have to be exposed to some germs in order to build up their immune system . Industrial kitchens ,restaurants etc .different ball game entirely .
Unfortunately , even in this day and age , headlice are still a major problem, and yes they do like clean heads,not that I am suggesting for one moment that Mike has nits, hats ,bandanas,hairnets, yes please!

Actually yes I am . Lets go back to the "good old days ",when that was exactly what kitchen staff did .
I'm sure a lot of diners would be happy to see that happen,and why not ? Would it cause any major problems for anybody ? Do not chefs under formal training still have to wear a headcovering , why should this change later ?
Is this such a controversial issue ?
Mind you , I'm not suggesting face as well , I'm not that politically correct that I would be happy to only see the chefs eyes ,just to keep certain factions happy !!!

No it´s not a controversial issue to me, and I am not trying to make a"moutian out of a moalhill," or even a mountain out of a molehill.
Tell me why is it "stupid " to cover hair in a kitchen ?
Personally, I would prefer to have talented chefs in a kitchen , I don´t think personality really comes into it, not to the punter preparing to pay for the fruits of that kitchen, I would imagine , but you might know , that for every fantastic personality with great communication skills in a kitchen , you proberbly have , and need to have many more pretty competant chefs who just get on with the job without a song and dance.
I´m not obsessive about anything, it´s just simply a matter of opinion , and that is my opinion, I would prefer hair tied back and caps or hats worn, you and Cheesy obviously disagree, fine .
Watching the show last night , I do hope that Mike is going to be able to keep up the pretty hectic pace he´s set himself, what with sourcing and at times shooting or capturing the game, teaching ,cooking etc. I admire his stamina,and he seems to have an excellent team,but I hope he does´nt strech himself too thin.

This is about "Heavens Kitchen At Large ", which includes comments about ALL aspects of the programme
Because it is Mike Robinsons pub etc then it includes what people using this message board think about him , his food , his ideas, his cooking,personality,dress sense, you name it , it's up for grabs . Take it or leave it . We can comment on any aspect of the programme ,and in my opinion it would all be relevant because the programme covers so many aspects. It's not just a cookery programme like Delia Smith's programmes tend to be.
No Cheesy spelling does'nt matter if you work in a kitchen , so long as you are not the one writing the menu ! Other than that phonetic spelling will do fine.
Obviously what should matter to clients paying for whatever comes out of the kitchen is the standard of food served. I personally could'nt care less about the kitchen staffs personality,why should I ? I don't have to work with them .As a customer ,I care very much about their ability to cook.
I consider Gordon Ramsey to be an absolute artist in the kitchen , but how many GR's do you want working in one kitchen ? As for wanting to put eratic people in the kitchen , did I say that ? Of course not.
The comments from Trappist were very well put . Undre training ,most chefs are obliged to wear some form of head gear,which is what I had said ,and that I personally would prefer it if chefs still did . Although Trappist said he does'nt still wear a hat , he did'nt like Mike's "floppy locks." So you see Cheesy , it's not just me being pedantic as you implied because I'm not , nor am I obsessive about trivia.Tell me Trappist , what do you as a chef think about Mike's menu's and cooking.
PS. Why would you think I was either a chef or a teacher Cheesy ?

Just logged on and read your first thoughts on Mike, and I have to say I get the same "like him , but.." I really admire what he's doing ,and he's certainly pulling out all the stops.I love his recipies using game ,always keen to learn new ways,and was very lucky to be given a huge carrier bag of wild boar from a neighbour who hates anything not contained on a board under celephane,it was wonderful.
Like you however, there is just something "there" , that stops me liking the man as much as I feel I ought to. Every so often there's that slight smuggish air,a sort of ,"I'm better than you"attitude. He's proberbly a lovely person and I'm totally wrong.Either way it does'nt detract from the enjoyment I get from the programme.
Not "hats off" to him Trappist, Hats ON !! I'll get my soap box out again otherwise !!

I think he sees himself as something of a"hunter gatherer," and I would'nt knock him for that , although of course it would be totally impractical for us all to go out to shoot our dinner, fun but rather dangerous !
Anyone who shows us all just what is available locally is doing an excellent job,Hugh, Mike ,Jimmy on his farm and Gordon with his turkeys and pigs ,this brings home to people just exactly what has to be done to produce food , both meat and vegetables. It seems ridiculous that so many are so ignorant of how any produce appears on their supermarket shelves.
Unfortunately , not everyone likes to watch the television to be informed and well as entertained,some never get past sport or soaps,and no I'm not anti either, just prefer other things.
The other chef that tried to source products locally was "The Urban Chef ", I found that programme really strange, anyone know what happened to him ?

It annoys me that there are always so many repeats,sometimes it seems as if UKTV Food is just on a never ending loop.I want to watch something new and exciting,thankfully there's a new series of "Kitchen Nightmares " starting soon .( on A.N. Other channel !)

No , you're quite right ,maddening,every weekend the same,stacks of one chef's programmes until you just give up.So annoying,

I have actually always enjoyed watching Gary Rhodes,I think he is an excellent chef as is Gordon Ramsey,but I just did'nt think this format worked.
I agree with Jeben that Mike Robinson would have been far more convincing promoting local use of ingredients and of suppliers
Is'nt Oliver the "Urban Chef ?" That was one very strange programme !!

It certainly was'nt the programme I thought it was going to be after all the hype.
Thanks for confirming that Oliver was who I thought he was. Now I really wonder what he's doing ,surely the man's got too much on his plate to be trying to judge others. If I remember correctly he actually became the proud owner (!) of an allotement ,and was going to grow most of his own produce,thats if someone could show him how !
Tell me if you consider I'm wrong , but I certainly do not rate him as someone capable of judging others .

Yes the concept was good and I eagerly looked forward to it,watched it ,and for me it just all fell apart. Did'nt think it worked at all,and I had real issues with Oliver Rowe being part of the panel.
It should have been excellent, and I agree that UKTV food needs to look and learn from this series,don't dismiss it out of hand ,but pull it around and definately use different ,more plausable judges.
I'm quite happy with the nationwide scope , I'm interested in seeing what happens elsewhere, especially as I , along with many other viewers don't live in the UK. If you live in London , I agree ,no way would you travel to Glasgow for carrots, but you might look harder at the carrots you buy in London , or not as the case may be, what do you think Gnwillou ?

It may seem strange , but I cannot find just ordainary plastic bottles with a spout to transfer large bottles of oil into .
It seems that every chef on the television uses these for oils , dressings etc , yet I have hunted high and low and come up with ...zilch !
Any ideas anyone please ?

Well I've not visited the boards for months , so I've been catching up reading all the new posts .
I like MK , I agree it's a little stilted in places but I do like the concept better than that of GFL , it may just be that I far prefer Tana Ramsey to Jenni , in fact I like the atmosphere , less frantic and frenetic , Jenni is such a "motor-mouth ", rather like a slightly less volatile Janet Street Porter !
A few alterations here and there and I believe it would be extremely good , as someone said , it does need a little humour ,but at least I feel that the presenters know what they are talking about , and are willing to have a go .

Wow !! You really say what you mean Ian don't you ?!
I like to watch Gary Rhodes cooking because he explains so well exactly what he is doing ,and you know you would be able to follow him . '
I also like MK ,don't understand how you can call Tana Ramsey a " soulless trophy wife " ? In what way ? If Tom Parker- Bowles was plain Tom Smith , I think you would be more enthusiastic .I get the feeling it's the name and who he is , rather than what he is that you seem not to like .

Froth on food , repeats , agree with you completely , total rubbish !

Thanks jannymac , it's the little squeezy bottles , Lakeland don't have them I've looked.
It seems so simple , yet when you actually start to look , they are proving extremely elusive. I've tried craft shops , they have plastic bottles ,but they are too small .

I´m obviously in the minoritory ,because I really enjoy Market Kitchen ,but then I loathe BB and the rest of the reality rubbish currently dominating TV.
It took me a while to get into it but I find the format very pleasant ,no domineering fat women interupting with inane comments all the time . MK is informative , the chefs explain what they are doing , we are shown whats available in the markets , I cannot see that it´s anything less than entertaining to watch.
Again I have to say that I am happy with all the presenters , they tend to be a little wooden at times , but other than that , they make the odd mistake , so at least we can emphathise with them . Matthew Tebbitt is slightly "laddish " for me , but the others are good and there is so much going on in the programme that I stayed tuned quite happily .
For me there is no comparison between MK and GFL , but I would readily agree that they are so different that there should be room for both in the scheduling , it gets away from the "celebrity chef " shows for a change.

Many thanks to all of you , I've now found exactly what I wanted , and they are on order . I knew you would'nt let me down !

GFL and MK are so very different that I'm not really suprised that they seem to have attracted different types of viewers.
Personally I find MK far more informative than ever I did GFL. The fact that there are several presenters seems to ensure that you don't have just one person dominating the whole show ,also , if you don't particually like one of the presenters , then at least it does'ny spoil the whole show for you .Equally obviously , if you don't like any of them then the whole show is for you a total disaster !
What is there to dislike ? The four presenters seem to becoming more at ease with the camera and not so stiff and wooden . They have so many different chefs coming on ,people talking about wine ,and no matter what is being talked about , these people all get their opportunity to explain , educate or just give their opinion without being talked over .
I liked GFL , in that I liked the concept , which was very different from MK ,but I personally could'nt bear Jenni B , I used to cringe everytime she opened her mouth and bellowed . I really wanted to hear what the guests had to say , not her .
With a different presenter I would have enjoyed GFL so much more , but so many people really enjoyed JB's presenting as is evident from these posts .That just goes to show how different we all are , so MK proberbly appeals more to my type of person .
I still maintain that there ought to be room on UKTV Food for both , because they're not exactly flush with exciting new programmes are they ?
Come on UKTV , give us both , make us all happy !
( but if it has to be only one then keep MK and keep me happy and ... the rest !!)

For goodness sake Jenni B has gone , and not before time in my opinion for what it's worth .
Most of you don't like the four presenters MK has at the moment , TPB and TR because some think they are "snobbish ." I must be watching a totally different programme ,because I certainly don't get that impression .When Tana talks with the chefs ,other presenters and audience to me she comes over as very natural,especially as she is getting better at presenting . As a mother of four I think her comments and views are well worth listening to .
As I did'nt particually like GFL because I was'nt overenamoured with the JB , I don't feel the demise of the programme as intensely as some . I think the sections on various drinks is relevant , and so is showing a variety of prices , many people do spend a great deal on their chosen tipple .
If TPB was'nt who is he ,ie son of Camilla , and TR was'nt who she is, ie wife of Gordon , then I do feel that most people slating them would have adifferent view of them and their abilities .
I just feel that the removal of GFL is overshadowing everything that is good or could be good in MK